In short, the problem wasn't whether any one person expected to receive presents back - it was the inherently unfulfillable promise that a $10 buy in would result in hundreds of dollars worth of returns for others. However, that interpretation neglected to consider those solicited (by any single user's participation) stood to lose out, thereby rendering individual intent (to give or receive) largely irrelevant. (Chain letters that ask for items of minor value, like picture postcards or recipes, may be mailed, since such items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.)Ī common objection raised by prospective participants addressed the motivations for participating in the exchange those users held that whether the scheme worked or not, the initial $10 outlay seemed a minor risk (which served to altruistically served to bring joy to others). Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute. They're illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants. There's at least one problem with chain letters. Postal Inspection Service, gift chains aren't just "mathematically impossible" they're also illegal: However, the plausibility of actually garnering returns was secondary to a far bigger problem with the "secret sister" scheme. According to the U.S. Had such a plan ever borne fruit, accounts of such success mysteriously remained virtually non-existent. But while a handful of individuals claimed to have received a single gift, none reported an avalanche of $10 trinkets arriving at their doors. It's worth noting that amid the myriad enticements for such initiatives on social media, many users expressed interest and committed to the exchanges. As a telling number of social media commenters pointed out, the idea was simply a repackaging of age-old chain letter gifting schemes, the pitfalls of which are both well-known and about as ubiquitous as the practice itself. The majority of "secret sister" gift exchange solicitations that arrived in our inbox definitively promised 36 randomly selected $10 gifts for each "sister," a number that seemed to hinge on static participation levels for every individual group exchange. You should begin receiving gifts in about 2 weeks if you get your letters out to your 6 people right away. Seldom does anyone drop out because it's so much fun to send a gift to someone you may or may not know. Soon you should receive 36 gifts! What a deal, 36 gifts for giving just one! Be sure to include some information about yourself. You might want to order directly from a web-based service (Amazon, or any other online shop) which saves a trip to the post office. If you cannot complete this within 1 week please notify me, as it isn't fair to the ladies who have participated and are waiting for their own gifts to arrive. Welcome to our secret sister gift exchange! Here's how it works:ġ) Send one gift value at least $10 to secret sister #1 below.Ģ) Remove secret sister's name from #1 then move secret sister #2 to that spot.Ĥ) Then send this info to 6 other ladies with the updated name infoĥ) Copy the secret sister request that I posted on my wall, to your own wall. Many of the postings warned naysayers and skeptics that their objections would be deleted from comment threads: Participants who opted in to the "secret sister" exchange were instructed to send a gift to the first "sister" on the list, move the second on the list to the first spot, and put their own name into the second spot. Posts on Facebook, Reddit, and several forums described a process that involved sending one present (commonly valued at $10) and receiving 36 in return. In late October 2015, social media users began sending and receiving solicitations to participate in a "secret sisters" gift exchange scheme.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |