Interesting Behavior on Amazon.com

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-02-06 01:20am

On Monday night I had a bad case of insomnia. Late night TV has not changed much in the last 10 years. Lots of commericals about making money fast. Most of them revolve around real estate and special systems you can learn by paying $29.99 or some such thing.

Anyway, there was this guy talking about how to make money and of course there are no specifics so I googled him. Turns out he has a book and I went to Amazon to read the customer reviews.

This is where it gets interesting. Most of the reviews are 5 stars and contain the same vauge description of the infomercial. After a bit you realize these are fake reviews. They dont list a single concrete thought in the whole book. Also, if you look up other book reviews by the customer they are 5 stars for other books of the same type. Hmm.

The only reviews that I think are genuine are the 1 star reviews because they specifically outline problems with the book. Ie) Page 64. This advice is illegal in the state of CA and FL.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that Amazon.com is being used by trolls to promote crapola books.

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-02-06 07:36pm

Is that the guy with question marks allover his suit? I can only speak for financial aid, but you don't need his book to find out how to go to school.

Frank_Scenario · Post by **Frank_Scenario** » 2003-02-06 08:11pm

The Riddler-esque fellow is Matthew Lesko - a true genius, if I've ever seen one. He peddles information about government grants and financial aid programs for more than just school. Other notables include Don Lapre (make money with just <constipated> tiny classified ads </constipated>) and Carlton Sheets (the real estate guy). Ah, I love infomercials.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-02-06 09:07pm

Wow, never really heard of the riddler dude. What exactly does he do with government grants?

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-02-06 09:09pm

Wait, 'Carlton Sheets' is his real name? I thought they were the name of his product. 'Carlton sheets', ya know, like 'Cliff notes'

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-02-07 11:02am

Occasionally there are critical reviews... especially in the non-fiction section.

Actuallly, I'm going to chekc out potential fundy targets. Will be back...

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-02-07 12:12pm

The guy I saw was Robert Kiyosaki, he wrote a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad.
He has a website too. I have not seen the guy with question marks yet.

Anyone remember Tom Vu ? That is old school late night scams.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-02-07 02:02pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:The guy I saw was Robert Kiyosaki, he wrote a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad.
He has a website too. I have not seen the guy with question marks yet.

Anyone remember Tom Vu ? That is old school late night scams.

There is a club at my college devoted to the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. They gave a spiel in one of my econ classes to pick up members, and the professor pretty much told them how stupid they were.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-02-07 02:15pm

neoolong wrote: There is a club at my college devoted to the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. They gave a spiel in one of my econ classes to pick up members, and the professor pretty much told them how stupid they were.

THANK YOU my East Bay brother! I went to the website I cruised through the bbs there. Some of the people there are so stupid. I cant believe this guy actually tells people not to invest in pre-tax retirement accounts. He also poo-poos home ownership. Not to mention in the book he talks about using his cat as a business partner. Try that in CA and you will end up in court.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-02-07 02:21pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
neoolong wrote: There is a club at my college devoted to the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. They gave a spiel in one of my econ classes to pick up members, and the professor pretty much told them how stupid they were.
THANK YOU my East Bay brother! I went to the website I cruised through the bbs there. Some of the people there are so stupid. I cant believe this guy actually tells people not to invest in pre-tax retirement accounts. He also poo-poos home ownership. Not to mention in the book he talks about using his cat as a business partner. Try that in CA and you will end up in court.

Though, who's Tom Vu? I don't think I've ever heard of him.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-02-07 02:56pm

Though, who's Tom Vu? I don't think I've ever heard of him.

Tom Vu used to be on infomercials at night about 10 or 12 years ago. He was quite a character. He supposedly had a system of investing in real estate the brought him up from being a Viet boat refugee to a multi-millionare. Last I heard he ran into legal trouble and stopped showing his commercials.

The guy was quite a character, he would go for rides on boats with lots of hot women and talk about money.