Is GDI (and GDI Goldrush) a scam?
September 25, 2009 | 10:12 amThis will be my last post on the GDI (Global Domains International) scheme (probably)and is a bit of a summary. The story so far (in brief): I decided that while the many “Get Rich Quick” schemes advertised on the internet sounded too good to be true, I decided to try them out. The first one I tried was the GDI scheme through GDI Goldrush which claimed needed no investment. The claims about not needing investment were suspect at least, and certainly the earnings predictions were way off.
So, my earnings were: zero. I did however pay $10 for the first month of my GDI subscription (after a 7 day free trial), and $35 for advertising through Bidvertiser when the free $20 ran out sooner than I expected. So the bottom line for this scheme is I’m down $45!
Read on after the break for my experience in cancelling, and my thoughts on whether it’s all a big scam.
So I cancelled before I spent any more. The GDI help says the only way to cancel your subscription is to ring them (supposedly for security reasons), but of course the number is a US one, and they are only available 8-6 US Eastern Time (I think). Well I didn’t want to ring up and spend loads on international phone calls while I stayed in a queue, so I sent them an email (ready for a fight) asking for their UK phone number which given they are an “International” company they must surely have.
The response I got to this surprised me. They said they didn’t have a UK number, but if I supplied them with a phone number and time to reach me they would call me! Great! I gave them my number and told them to call from 9-5 BST M-F. That evening (which is the start of the day for them) at around 6 (after the time I gave them) I got a call which I couldn’t take, but Abby took. I thought this was the start of lots of back and forwards, but I logged in to my email and found a nice friendly email asking for the security details and confirmation that I wanted to cancel. I replied and they cancelled the account.
So, in the end cancelling was very easy, and I was able to do so without expensive international calls. I also cancelled the Paypal regular payment agreement just in case though!
The big question: Is GDI a scam? That’s a tough one to answer. I have a fundamental problem with the scheme in that the only people you are really trying to sell to are other people who want to make money. There is no real product (unless you count the domain name, but that’s just marketed as an address to use to sell more!), which makes it not much better than a pyramid scheme.
On the other hand it was surprisingly easy to cancel, and they seem to be generally honest and helpful people. If you have the right people to sell it to then it would be possible to make a lot of money, but I wouldn’t feel right doing so for the reasons above.
A secondary question: Is GDI Goldrush a scam? GDIGoldrush is the scheme which got me to sign up to the GDI scheme, and was supposedly going to show me ways to make thousands without any investment or work. Well the claims are a load of rubbish. They do ask you to invest in various advertising and mailing systems, and if you do this you may well bring in the “sales” volumes they say, but it’s a big risk given the claim of no cost involved has turned out to be rubbish.
By all means give it a try, but be wary and check what you are signing up for: the free trials run out quicker than you would think!
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gdi pays on time and everytime. great company to work
GDI Scam | May 1, 2010 | 1:19 amgdi pays on time and everytime. great company to work with. awesome support. and great huge potential
I do not believe GDI is a scam, my first
Steve | May 6, 2010 | 3:21 amI do not believe GDI is a scam, my first 6 months we’re painfully slow, but now I have a personal program that is working for me. I haven’t made my millions yet, but hopefully I am on my way. I would give GDI another try. Joining with someone like me you’ll see results within the free 7 day window. I’m sorry you lost money….
Steve and anon (you really should leave your name): You
Rob | May 6, 2010 | 8:41 amSteve and anon (you really should leave your name): You will see that I was actually pleasantly pleased with the company, but I had a fundamental problem with the product.
You are only selling to other people who want to make money. The product is only really useful for getting others to join up (as a domain registration service it is extremely expensive). This makes it not much better than a pyramid scheme.
If GDI also allowed their users to sell domains without the “business opportunity”, it would be a realistic business, and have less of a scam feel about it.
I don’t doubt you can make money with a lot of work, but so can my business, and I enjoy that.
It was interesting, but not for me, and I still believe slightly immoral.