JMO,
Sharon

What an excellent article! I’m new to the arena and yet I can still see the truth in everything you say! I can also see the complacency in human nature and how easy it is to go “back” after your first quick kill, hoping to make “real money” now that your “test” has paid off. I’ve been as guilty of this as others, but my advantage has been in starting in the whole hyip arena with gambling money only, with a full expectation that I could go belly up in days/weeks/months and just learn from it.

What really gives me pause are the newbies who come in with some decent money and expect to be “taken care of for life” based on their projected earnings in any one or even several hyips. I’m sure decent money can be made over the long haul with a learning curve, but anyone expecting to generate a living based on starting with a little bankroll and dumb luck are begging for disaster. I see kids on the forums thinking they will be able to pay all their expenses from one hyip just by investing a couple of thousand, who seriously believe that if they say they just want “real” solid programs, they’re going to get them. For heaven sake, don’t give up your day job!

“Real” programs fail just as often as ponzi do. There are a variety of reasons why, but I suspect the biggest reason is incompetence. I don’t say that to be mean but just stating a fact.

Most programs owners spend a few hundred dollars on a script and a few more dollar on a little bit of advertising and wha-la… they are in business.

In the meantime, they no very little about marketing, public relations or customer service.

Their customer base is made of people with unrealistic expectations and zero loyalty.

The first time an owner hits a “bump in the road”, investors yell “scam” and program owner decides it ain’t worth the hassle to keep the darn thing running. Besides, they only had a few hundred dollars invested and a little bit of time.

My point being, there are so many things that go into the success or failure of program that it is very difficult to know for sure how long any program will last, real or otherwise.

So what’s a would be hyip investor to do? …..

Well, first develop a strategy that will bend the odds in your favor and allow you to make money no matter what type of program you are dealing with. ( I know, that is easy for me to say ) But it is not as hard as you might think. Just think of ways to make consistent small profits. You will be surprised how they add up at the end of the month and year.

Treat every program as a potential ponzi. If you develop a hit-run style you will make money most of the time.

Take % of profits and look to invest in some sort of arrangement where you keep control of your funds. This is where your long term growth will come from. A good MA is great candidate.

This is a slow process but it works over time. Most people will not follow it which is why most people lose money.

Happy hyiping

Every single aspect of a DD document, reference and resource can be faked, photoshopped, phished.

As I’ve just mentioned in our forum, doing DD on a hyip to “prove” it’s a ponzi or a scam is like doing an experiment to prove that chicken tastes like…err…chicken.

Peter

JMO,
Sharon

The long and short of it is that HYIP gaming/investing does work but it takes work. Much more work than most are willing to do.

So ..

They go from program to program with no real plan until they finally lose all their money and drop out of the industry.

The “Hit and Run” technique is really the only way to make a descent return on your money in this arena. There are far to many outside influences that determine the life-span of a particular program to put your faith in just a few programs and hope it makes you rich.

I don’t agree that DD is totally worthless but I do see that most people put to much weight on what they find. I think a certain amount of DD will keep you out of the obvious scams but after that, it really doesn’t matter.

Even in the so-called “real” world 95% business fail within 1 year. Out of the 5 that are left, only 1 will be standing 5 years from now.

Running a business is tough and let’s face it, most people do not have the character or the stamina to handle it when things go bad.

Running a ponzi is deceptively simple. It looks easy but they are born to fail by their very nature. Thus the “hit and run” technique suites itself well for playing the ponzi game.

I have been in the hyip business since 1999. I have made a lot, lost a lot and learned a lot. What I can say is there is plenty of money to be made for those who want to put in the time to learn and work.

Unfortunately, most don’t have the discipline to do well at this type of investing and will end up with much less than they started with.

Best of luck to you all
-Paul-

I pretty much agree with what you said… but I think everything you said applies only to a specific sub-category of “HYIP” – that is, the illegal ponzi scams/games. Of course, that would include about 99.999% of what people out there throw under the “HYIP” umbrella.

As you said, however, there ARE real opportunities out there that have something real to generate the profits – they are hard to find as you said, and have varying results.

So I say, let’s focus this blog more on the “real” stuff than the ponzi stuff.. which Jude already seems to be doing as of late.

Peter.

TYVM! You could start with a smaller amount than $1,000. It would just take you longer. It’s like any investment. The more you have to start, the faster the build. Just don’t try to put all you got into each hit and run. Start with 2 or 3 (even if it’s $50 each) and build from there. But, don’t forget that to do this right requires a lot of time and work!

JMO,
Sharon

I’ve been in this stupid – yes, stupid – “industry” since November 1, 2005. I’ve learned some very hard lessons, and am worse off now financially than when I started. Test spends are a waste of time, yes. Sitting in a program and trying to build up capital to a certain level has done me in time and again. Hitting and running does seem to be the only way to really make a decent profit in this game but it hinges on this; that you have a big enough chunk of risk capital (at least 4 figures) to start with. Hitting and running with $100 isn’t going to do you much good, I would think.

So am I correct in saying that only a lucky few with a few thousand dollars lying around will succeed with this strategy?

Good article Sharon.

BBT.