This is your chance to help create something valuable on the internet.

 
At the end of April, 2003, Mark Willett from Boston wrote and asked if I had any information on the "FREE CAR" websites. I didn't, but he motivated me to do some poking around.

The story is that there are companies just lining up to pay you $3200 a month to wrap your car in advertising, or offering a free advertising-car for you to drive around town everyday. 

There are about five different sites (free-car.com, thefreecar.com, paidtodrivecars.com, freecarsource.com, forfreecars.com) selling a directory of companies who give away new vehicles and/or pay you to drive yours. They sell the directory for $19 to $29.

 

I know this is a scam, you know it is a scam, and your baby sister knows it is a scam, but I can't prove it or expose it without paying the $25, so I've decided to raise the money with this auction.

This ebay auction is for the yellow "sponsor" declaration on the bottom of a short cockeyed.com investigative report about the "drive a car for free" scam. 

The yellow sponsor block can contain your jpg photo, your name, your email address (not recommended), a website address and/or up to 150 words. It will be your little space, although I won't update it more than twice.

I hope to raise $25 to pay for one of the car reports. I'll then buy the report and compose an article exposing how the free-car scam works and why you will never get a car. I'll also try to get my money back after the car doesn't materialize and describe how that fails.

If I get the money back from the free car scammers, I'll send it back to you, but I'm not counting on that ever happening. If the list is transferable, I'll send that to you, so you can try to get a free car too (although you aren't going to ever actually get one).

We are kissing your money goodbye, but you will be able to proudly assert your community mindedness on the critically acclaimed website, cockeyed.com.
The great thing about writing a consumer-investigation web article is that it can easily stay online for years and years, providing help to anyone who is willing and able to google for it.  I think it is pretty cool that we can help one another out like this, exposing the Nigerian banking scam, the stuffing envelopes scam, the herbalife "work from home" story, the venture marketing story, the ebay "free electronics" scam and the "$29 laptop matrix" scams.

I'm not a trained journalist, but I like figuring these things out and exposing the tricks.

 

Here is a sample of how your yellow sponsor block could look, if you were as attractive as Carol here. Your block will be about this size (610x240 pixels). You can use a photo of your cat if you want.

No herbalife sponsors. No pharmaceutical adverts, No porn, No Jackjohnson2002, No printer cartridges, No HGH. No crap.

FAQ:

Q) Are they really giving away free cars? A) I seriously doubt it.

Q) Can I have the free car? A) There isn't going to actually be a free car, all these sites, and sites like them are probably a scam, but I don't know how they work yet.

Q) My brother-in-law tried this, do you want to hear what happened? A) Yes. Email me.

Q) I just bought the report, on your recommendation, and it is a scam, will you help me get my money back? A) Arrrgg! This totally backfired! Now they have your money! Still, I'd love to hear what happened, but I'm not offering a yellow sponsor box for the info. I hope you got screen-shots.

Q) Can I help? A) If you have special, interesting information that isn't on the free car sites, then yes, if you just read the first site and want to tell me what it says, no.

Q) What if the auction doesn't raise $25? A) If it raises at least $12.50 (half), I'll pay for the remaining amount. If it raises more than $25, I'll keep the surplus.

Q) Can I just pay $5? A) If this auction fails to raise at least $12.50, I will raise the money with a fund-raising drive instead, and just list the sponsor names on the article (no yellow box).

Q) So if I win, I don't get anything? No car, just a photo on your site? A) pretty much. You just get bragging rights. Oh, I'll send you a printout of the finished report.

 
Thanks for reading and considering this auction.