Going Platinum Inc.

Going Platinum Inc. was initiated in Lancaster, Penn., last August and promises that its multi-level marketing program can "turn a $3,000 per month Going Platinum income into well over $30,000 per month!" But I read all over the news groups that this is not true. I read on Deja News that this is a scam.

But it was mainly their delay in launching made a lot of people start calling them a scam.

Going Platinum charges an initial membership fee of $25.

And the business sounds great. As Going Platinum describes itself, "It is a full-service ISP, Internet Gateway, Search Engine/Directory, Shopping Mall, Virtual Office, and just about anything else you can think of, all rolled into one easy-to-use site."

But in truth, there is no Internet mall. Although Catalan once announced that it would open before Christmas 2000, and then on January 15, the mall now has no stated launch date. This false launch date has made many that were waiting furious.

It seems to me that in the absence of a functioning mall, Going Platinum's only significant revenue source is new paying members, who enroll other new paying members.

People who enroll 39 other payers are promised as much as 40 percent of the profits from the money those 39 people paid. This is called "Going Platinum."

Members who do all of this, however, may be surprised to find that they are entitled to little, if any, of the promised money. A lengthy "Membership Fees" document explains that Going Platinum will subtract a "monthly fee," up to the amount of a member's estimated payouts.

For a Platinum member with a full Organization of 39 other members, that would mean you have to pay Going Platinum a whopping $6,125 per month. Sounds to me like you're losing money instead of making it.

Another concern is the fact that the Going Platinum was paying commissions through CompuBank, a respected online bank in Texas. But the WorldWideScam site posted a message from CompuBank saying the bank ended its relationship with Going Platinum on Feb. 1.

Going Platinum confirmed this on Feb. 21, in a message to members that was also republished at WorldWideScam's site.

The horror stories of earlier Internet malls that collapsed will hopefully scare away potential members from multi-level programs like Going Platinum.

Going Platinum claims it pays you referral fees and commissions based on the amount of time that you and your friends surf and make purchases on the Internet. It is designed to turn every Internet session into an income-producing event. But again, I'm still a little skeptical about dealing with this company.

I think their announced launch date was the first sign of trouble brewing within this organization. The launch was delayed, and delayed, and delayed! That's when I first began to think Going Platinum is a very risky business. Plus I wasn't sure I could trust an Internet Provider that allows their members to spam the usenet.

Since I review business opportunities and internet gurus all day for a living, you can guess I know which ones work and which ones don't. Click here to see how I make my money.