Paid2Party and Efusjon Pyramid Scheme

I have periodically been checking the et cetera, part-time and tv/film/video sections on the craigslist job postings for potentially interesting ways of making some extra money. My most recent find was something called Paid2Party. Sounds a little too good to be true already, doesn’t it? I figured so myself, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and called the number. I scheduled an appointment for an interview a few days later. My expectation was that it would involve handing out energy drink coupons (or tickets, as referred to in the ad) at select events and getting paid a nominal amount. In other words, I was expecting infrequent, low-paying part-time work for promoting a product.

When I arrived at the location, I walked into a bar and realized that this wasn’t exactly an interview. The door to the bar said nothing, but the two small windows beside it had images of coy fish. This was the Coy Lounge that I walked into. It was dimly lit, with chandeliers and mirrors on the wall. There were tables that each had four energy drink cans on them and the bar had several dozen cans in a display case. These cans weren’t filled with Red Bull or Rockstar. They were filled with Efusjon.

I had never heard of Efusjon before, and as I would later find out, typing it into Google would pair it with all sorts of unattractive terms, such as “scam,” “class action lawsuit,” “mlm,” and “pyramid scheme.” I have only briefly perused the web searches that came up, but it sounds as if Efusjon is already fairly well recognized as a shady operation, so it surprises me that it’s still around. Perhaps this is why the craigslist ad that I stumbled upon had no actual mention of Efusjon - to get people’s feet into the door before they even have the chance to do any research that might discourage them. In contrast to Efusjon, a Google search on “Paid2Party” will not be paired with any of the aforementioned terms, which makes it seem much safer. The Paid2Party website also makes no mention of Efusjon.

When I was sitting in the bar, listening to this guy give me his spiel, I was waiting for him to tell me about logistics and locations - what events this alleged business would be promoting at, where they were, what my responsibilities were, etc. I was never told anything like this. Instead of talking about parties, he spent nearly all of his time talking about Efusjon and complicated signups processes. It costs $30 to sign up with Efusjon as a “member.” This gives you your own Efusjon page through which people can buy their product. Any purchases made through your webpage give you a return of %4.25 of the amount spent. This is only the first level of involvement with Efusjon and it is probably designed primarily as a way of simply getting people into the door.

The real goal for them is to get you involved at least at the “associate” level, which requires you to spend $120 on Efusjon products in addition to the $30 member signup. This allows you to participate in Efusjon’s “Matrix Compensation Plan.” You can get up to three people to sign up under you, who can each get three people to sign up for them, who can each get three people to sign up for them, etc. I was told that I would get $100 for each of the first three people that I sign up, a percentage of what they make from sales, as well as a percentage of what the people they sign up make. Supposedly, you can earn commission down for 15 levels of a hierarchy, which is supposed to be lots of money that you don’t even have to do any work for. Basically, “Matrix” might as well be their substitute for pyramid, and there were times when this guy was literally drawing triangles on a dry-erase board to explain how this thing works.

There is actually a whole lot more to this, but as of this writing I do not exactly have the time to read everything I can find on this company. It seems to be pretty well established as a pyramid scheme. It is BBB accredited, but between this and The Southwestern Company, I’m really beginning to question the trustworthiness of the Better Business Bureau (not to mention their use of “better”). Efusjon does not even have its own Wikipedia entry yet.

If it seems like I’ve gotten off the track from Paid2Party, that’s how I felt when I was in this bar while this guy - who did not seem like a professional businessman - was trying to hardsell me on Efusjon. He was waxing philosophical about taking control of your personal finances and changing your life, he told me that JOB means Just Over Broke, and he said "makes sense, right?" after any explanation of some element of the Matrix Compensation Plan.

Efusjon seems well established as a pyramid scheme, but Paid2Party is something people don’t really know about yet. Paid2Party seems to be a local, San Diego-based business whose primary goal is to get people enrolled into Efusjon by giving out “free drink tickets” at parties and events, according to the craigslist ad. The first red flag I noticed was that the energy drink “tickets” were not “coupons” or anything exchangeable for an energy drink. Instead, they are referral cards to get people signed up into Efusjon’s Matrix Compensation Plan. I don’t think the guy with Paid2Party is at the top of the Efusjon hierarchy. He just seems to be another guy who has gotten into it, and is figuring out his own way to make money off of it and get more people signed up. He represents one level (or perhaps multiple levels) of this pyramid scheme, and I would say that Paid2Party is not to be trusted either.

Perhaps in the future, when I have more time, I will create a more extensive blog entry on Efusjon. For now, check out some of the following links; read carefully, cautiously and skeptically.

Related Links:
efusjon
efusjonscams
efusjon Policies and Procedures
Paid2Party