Moving to a new home

I am switching over to a new blog --- one with more options and features. The blog is located at http://rabbit.akwo.net. I will be posting there from now on with updates at least every other day. Please update your bookmarks. The RSS Feed link will be the same, and the subscriptions will be switched over to the new blog.

Be careful with Wiredsurf and 14DailyPlus

We should be careful with these two paid to surf programs. Both of them are currently having payment problems -- which is usually a very bad sign for these kind of programs. Wiredsurf is now allowing members to compound their overdue earnings if requested. I have been waiting for a payment for an upgrade that expired on May 7th. It is almost June 1st now, and I still have not been paid. I submitted a ticket 3 days ago about the issue and the reply I got was to read the latest update on their forums. I decided to submit another ticket asking them to compound my payment. I figure that I might as well try to make some more money in the remote chance that they can catch up and start paying on time again.

I would recommend that everyone stand aside when it comes to these two programs. If you do get paid, keep your money in your pocket for now and see what happens in a few weeks. If you are considering joining either of the programs, wait to see how things turn out. I have moved 14DailyPlus to my Programs on Hold list.

Joyfund Worth A Look

I posted a review I did on Joyfund -- the new kid on the transparent HYIP block here.

Here is a summary:

Quick Program Facts

URL: www.joyfund.info

Minimum Deposit: $1000

Returns: Approximately 30% on average (20% net after admin fees)

Returns Generated From: Trading Options on Commodity contracts

Methods of Payment: E-Gold

Deadline for deposits: 23^rd of the month (soon to be the 20^th of the month)

Lock Period: Principal and Interest is locked for 3 months

Withdrawal: After the 3 month lock period, principal and interest can be withdrawn between the 1^st and 10^th of the month for payment between the 20^th and end of the same month.

Overall Impression

The Good

*Program is transparent and is being audited by third parties

*Admin is very responsive and on the ball

*Average returns are attractive

*The program is being kept low-key and semi-private

*The admin has long term plans for the project and has business management experience

*The admin is working on establishing a legal framework for the project

The Bad

*Minimum investment is a bit high at $1000 (however he is seeking serious and savvy investors)

*The program is currently a one man show

*Admin / Trader has only about 9 months experience trading options on commodities contract (although he has just under 4 year experience trading other instruments).

*Too many fees

Overall Rating:

Solid A

Udachu Diversified Fund's B+ Rating

A few of you of sent me e-mails asking why Udachu Diversified Fund is only rated a B+ on my High Yield Programs list. This article on my friend Merovingian's (aka Van Bassidor) blog sums it up nicely. While there is proof that there are involved in real businesses, no one knows for sure how they generate their returns, as they are not audited by a third party.

You can also find an interview that Merovingian did with Rod Spiller -- one of the admins at Udachu Invest here.

PTS News and Commentary - May 27th, 2006

Phoenixsurf

This excerpt from an update sent out a few days back explains whats going on with this dead dog: "As a result of the recent events affecting the program, Phoenixsurf has a cash shortage. Our situation is being reviewed by our lawyer. We are working to come up with a strategy to get our members the return of their initial principal purchase less profits taken."

My Comments:

The quick failure of the program can be laid squarely on the backs of the arrogant admins of the program. They came up with a hare-brained idea to abandon e-gold in favour of a debit card only solution for upgrades and payments. Despite reservations by a lot of members, they chose to go ahead any way. This is not the way to treat your customers -- especially for a Paid To Surf program that requires new membership upgrades in order to stay afloat.

I removed the link from my list completely, and will be adding them to my Dead and Abandoned Programs list as soon as I update my spreadsheet to determine my gains.

Wiredsurf

This program is still having problems. They are way behind in payments, and are still blaming Rackspace for their technical problems. I am not sure why a big provider like Rackspace cannot keep their site up. I am also not sure why others using Rackspace (such as Alientrust) are not having the same problems. I am expecting their "we are out of cash due to recent problems" email any day now. I hope I am wrong though, and everyone end up getting paid. The way I see things at this point, even if I get paid, it is doubtful that I will upgrade here again. I now have these guys listed in my "Programs on Hold" list.

Compactsurf

These guys are humming along very nicely. I am very impressed by the running of the program thus far. Their communication is very good, the admins are very responsive, and most importantly, they pay on time every time. They had some technical issues this week, but did not use it as an excuse not to pay people on time (how refreshing).

My only concern with this program to date, is their plans to start their own payment processor (Compactpay) in a few days. I am not a big fan of programs having their own payment processors. All the programs that have tried it in the past have failed. In fact, based on my experiences, programs start to fail as soon as they start running their own payment processor. Still, I will give Compactsurf the benefit of the doubt for now, and will be watching them closely for any signs of trouble.

Right now the vast majority of my Paid To Surf funds (a few thousand) is with Compactsurf. I do not like putting all my eggs into one basket, but right now there is no other Paid to Surf program that can be compared to Compactsurf in my opinion.

14DailyPlus

This one is still going, and from what I have heard, still paying. They recently switched away from e-gold, and is now using ebullion and Safepay. I just re-activated my ebullion account a few days ago, and updated my profile on the 14DailyPlus site. Thus, I am anticipating a payment some time next week. If I do get paid, I will upgrade again. Still, I am a bit wary of the program, which is why it is still rated a C+ on my PTS list.

AlienTrust and BlackGoldSurf

I received payment from these programs a few weeks ago, but decided not to bother with them. Alien Trust is still doing ok from what I have heard, but I am not keen on sending my personal information to the folks running the program. I am also not happy that they are now forcing their members to abandon e-gold in favour of a debit card solution for payments and upgrades. I will also add these later today to my Dead and Abandoned Programs list once I update my spreadsheet to determine my gains/losses.

Time to get back to business...

I just realized that I have not updated the blog in 2 weeks. I hope that my readers are not too disappointed. There are a lot of things I need to catch up on and write about, so you can expect a flurry of posts over the next few days. I will also be posting a little about what I have been up to over the past few weeks :).

Within a day or so I should have the emails that readers have sent me (about 60 at last check) cleared out.

The latest on Wiredsurf's site issues

The WiredSurf web site hasn't been up and running for well over a week now (maybe longer -- I have lost track). It is not very clear why they have been unable to get the site up and keep it up. A few days ago I received an email from them saying that the site is back up. However, when I check for myself to do my surf it was down again.

Anyhow, you guys can check up on the latest news with this Paid To Surf program here.

eGoldspinner Craze?

I have had at least 10 people contacted me within the past week and a half asking me what I think about egoldspinner. 50%+ daily for 5 days have ponzi scam written all over it. There is no doubt about this. The site is even fitted with the famous (for all the wrong reasons) ponzi / scam script. If you have a burning desire to try it out, treat it as a gamble and try to get your principal out as soon as possible.