Zimbabwe and pyramid schemes; it is often a complicated affair. Over the years, many pyramid schemes have come and gone. You would think that many Zimbabweans have gotten smarter. Alas, many still go on to get duped. Given the mercurial economy and ever-depreciating local currency, desperation becomes a challenge. Many people are eager to make a quick buck. This is worsened by the fact that pyramid schemes are getting more sophisticated. Pyramid schemes emerging in this day and age are mostly no longer easy to discern. E-Creator is one of the latest entities to be accused of being a pyramid scheme to take Zimbabwe by storm. It is a subject worth delving into.

What Is E-Creator? Exploring The E-Creator Business Model

E-Creator is an e-commerce company that advertises goods and services of online shops mainly based in Eastern and European countries. Some examples of these online shops are Lazado, Zalando, Shopee, and Tokopedia. The thrust is 3-tier namely, to increase the number of views, number of purchases, and the number of positive reviews or ratings. E-Creator has created and monetized a way to push those 3 metrics for the online shops in question. Thus when you join E-Creator you are joining in to in essence push brand awareness of the products being sold on those online shops.

Overview Of How It Works

Upon registration, you become VIP 0 i.e. Level 0. Once you recharge with anything between US$15 and US$100 you become VIP 1. Upgrading to a higher VIP level depends on you completing VIP tasks and inviting more people using your unique link. Per day you are given a limit of 10 products to buy – mind you ‘it is as if you will be buying’. Then you will rate and leave a review. The daily products are selected for you and are in line with your account balance. The amount you would have ‘purchased’ the goods with is ‘reimbursed’. Then you will earn a daily commission based on your account balance and other dynamics e.g. the level you are on. What this means in short is that you will be giving fake product reviews (a practice known as click farming). You are in turn required to maintain a particular balance moving forward. You can cash out anytime you want. If you choose to cash out everything that means you are opting out totally.

You Are Engaged In Illegal Activities

It is just that in Zimbabwe there are certain things that authorities let slide. This is mainly due to poor enforcement and even the enactment of certain laws. This is especially so for cyber activities. Regulating most of what Zimbabweans do online is still elusive for Zimbabwean authorities. Regardless, posting fake reviews is both criminal and unethical. Yet this is the mainstay of what you will be doing daily when using E-Creator.

“Pyramid Schemes Are Getting More Sophisticated”

In the introduction I mentioned this in passing; it is worth elaborating.

E-Creator Is Not Faceless And Untraceable

Gone are the days when pyramid schemes were at least easy to discern. These days the lines are getting blurry and it is so with E-Creator. This is because some of the classical indicators of a pyramid scheme do not hold in some cases. E-Creator is a case in point. One, E-Creator actually registered their company this year in February. Two, they have a physical office and an online presence.

This is usually not the case with pyramid schemes that are often faceless and untraceable. E-Creator is thus sophisticated in that regard. E-Creator has even previously been officially covered in some leading Zimbabwean newspapers. Some of their company representatives were actually featured on ZBC TV at one point. Does this mean that they are not a pyramid scheme? Not necessarily! The key is in exploring what their business model or value proposition is.

An Interesting Aspect With E-Creator

When you closely examine the E-Creator framework it really is somewhat complex. As in, it is almost difficult to label it an outright Ponzi or pyramid scheme. Why? This is because you can actually use it in a way that makes it seem like it is not a pyramid scheme. For instance, let us suppose you join and settle for VIP 1. Then you do not bother yourself with recruiting other people. This means you can simply earn daily commissions and that is it. The moment you bring in others i.e. recruiting other people, tenets of a pyramid scheme come into play. It is an interesting angle; what do you think? It also has the aforementioned click farm element and also includes a “pay to work” element given that you must deposit money to start “working”.

What Is The Biggest Danger With E-Creator?

Looking at the E-Creator ecosystem there is one huge danger or risk. Remember that you are required to maintain a particular balance in your account in line with your level. There is a theoretical possibility of waking up one day with the platform closed and the people behind it gone. This is not far-fetched as there are countless so-called multilevel marketing schemes where this happened.

 “But There Are People Making Money With E-Creator!” – Some May Remark

That is the thing with any pyramid scheme. There are definitely people who will make money off it. This is usually the case with the early movers or adopters. Just because some have made from E-Creator does not mean it is not a pyramid. Even if probably you have made money from it. There will come a time when the pyramid will crumble due to saturation or some set of circumstances.

The issue of fake online reviews is a huge global challenge. It is ironic that you often hear of the importance of social proofs in driving online sales. Yet the same dynamic is being abused to mislead online buyers. Over US$150 billion in global sales annually are borne out of the influences of fake online reviews. What then is the bottom line with E-Creator? It is a heavily debated subject however there are red flags all over it. It is prudent for you to tread carefully and to invest only what you are prepared to lose. Pyramid schemes such as MMM and Elamant have come and gone in Zimbabwe. They were even once hyped as E-Creator currently is. Be careful!