College Student Auctioning Off 2% of All Future Income

I don't think he'll regret it. He would have to average $125,000 over 40 years to pay back the $100,000 dollars. Now, with inflation and some hard work on his part I see this being completely reasonable, however, this just would mean that he got a $100,000, 40yr loan for 0% interest. Try to beat that as a loan. Say he averages more than $125,000, most people would agree that if he is making enough in excess of this amount to actually have lost money, factoring in interest, etc. then he would be well enough off that he could easily afford the 2%. It's really a win-win for him and a gamble for the investor.

umm... what exactly is there to keep this guy from bolting on this?

It's a Bowie bond - collateralising future revenue streams. Good kid.

That is freaking clever!

the costs of educating ones self in this nation have gone beyond stupid. there's a very large portion of the youth of America today who are pushing off significant purchases and life decisions simply because they don't have the money to buy a house, a car, or raise a family, or get married, and continue the contribution to the America economy as their parents and grand parents did in ages past. Simply because they pay upwards to 1/4th of their income to the student loan agencies that they had to sign up with simply to get an education that would get them a good job down the line.

Sounds like a smart plan to me, I hope it works.

Genius! But what % will eBay/Paypal get?

genius? it's a really stupid idea if it's legit. the guy could easily get a student loan with a more favorable interest rate and end up paying a lot less in interest. eventually student loans get paid off, but the guy is saying he'll keep paying until he dies. silly.

once he receives and spends this money, nothing is stopping him from declaring bankruptcy and wiping the debt clean.

If I had a enough money that I wouldn't miss $100,000 I would bid on it just because it is such a good idea, and you never know if you did bid on it you could make some money off of him.

Since the 2% is calculated off of his W-2, he could avoid paying anything if he just earned his income in a non- W2 manner, most significantly, being an entrepreneur.

Cute idea.

Its not hard at all to get a student loan, unless you've completely screwed your credit over at the age of 18, so have them invest in him. They can laugh him out the door about a "return on their investment" and lock him down into a 25 year educational services loan.

I wouldn't invest in this obvious losing situation. If the guy was willing to work his way through, skimp and save, undergo severe stress to get an education, then I might give him a few dollars. Sounds like he is scheming ways to get through school. He will probably want to scheme his way through life as well. He may never be the moneymaker he envisions.

On the other hand, he is trying, he has imagination and more power to him if it works.

This Turd Wad is going into communitcations and is expecting to make 30 million dollars in his lifetime. No wonder there are no bidders.

Oh hey by the way guys. I need about 30 grand to buy some musical equipment and when I become a huge famous rockstar you can half 2% of my earnings.

That is basically what he is saying where does he expect to earn 30 mil as a broadcaster. Try 11 bucks an hour running camera or spinning records thats what you get with a communications degree.

adios

And if he dies?

I would think it would be advantageous to him to use a spell check in his responses to member questions. Not really putting his best foot forward with constant typos in those responses.

He expects to make 750,000 a year on avg? good luck.
If you invested your money in a Bond making 3.5% compounded annually, he would have to make 3.09 million in his first 10 years just to match what you made in 14(because the first 4 years you will get nothing from him because he's in school) considering the bond has no risk at all, and he is obviously retarded(because he thinks this will work) i'd definitely go with the bond.

I wouldn't trust him.

Q: Have you thought about offering something more like 15 or 20%? The current promise of 2% doesn't make you sound like a very impressive investment. What...more
Aug-10-06
A: Lizzy, Your ending comment was very rood and insensitive. I am going to make tons of money and if you believe me you can ride the wave, if not than I...more

Yes folks, don't be "rood" to the scammer. It's not very nice.

This reminds me of similarly crazed idea I had years ago: some % of a person's income would go into an account or fund where it would be distributed to his or her teachers. Teachers being ludicrously compensated for what they are supposed to try to do.

Silly rabbit, college doesn't get people jobs anymore.

I know more people with college degrees who are functionally retarded and lacking any level of professional skill than I care to think about.

Besides, if the kid is smart enough to do something like this, he needs college like he needs another hole in his head.

Now that I've made my initial "didn't follow the link" post, here's my real analysis:

1) Communications? No friggin' way. Talk about a glutted market with a degree from a no-name public school. That's as worthless as my degree from a no-name department at a no-name public school.

2) He's hard working, but couldn't find anyone to proofread the Ebay posting. "I want succeed, and I will." "I can't really think of any one thing that pays off ever year like this." And that's not counting poor grammar/grammatical errors.

3) This guy has no concept of finance/economics. "I don't want to take out loans and go into debt", so instead, I'll call debt 'tbed' and go into 'tbed' to you in the amount of 2% of my income for the rest of my natural life. Also, if this guy thinks he's going to make $30M over the course of his life, he's better off taking out student loans and paying them back rather than giving up 2% of his gross income for 40-some years.

4) "This agreement does not include any money I may inherit." I smell a trust fund kiddie.

5) Even the comments and questions on the auction question his spelling and grammar. I'll reiterate my opinion that 95% of the people out there who are unable to effectively communicate in writing (in their own language, of course) lack the 'stuff' that makes $30M earners. For the successful 5% who have difficulty writing, they probably have someone who knows more PROOF READ THEIR WORK.

6) He mentions his dad AND his dad's Ebay business several times in the auction. I wonder if he'll learn about PR stunts in communications courses at Cal Fullerton?

Excuse me, I think I hear a toilet flushing.

Kind of depressing to reduce one's life down to a futures stock like this guy's doing. If his main goal is to make a ton of money in life, I'd steer clear of this investment. I'd rather put my bucks behind someone with a passion for something other than money.

I was just reading the questions and the kid claims he got a 1550 on the SAT. I think he needs to post a picture of his score sheet because there is no way I would believe he got a 1550 without proof.

Hmmm ... starts by stating you get 2% of all future income paid once a year, including lottery winnings (if he played the lottery that is),

2% of whatever my income is annually in the form of a check once a year. This also means if I win the lottery you will get 2%, any income is your income

then starts whittling it down and contradicts this by stating that it will be 2% of what appears on his W2 (lottery winnings would not appear on a W2). Also then goes on to state no payout on investments or inheritance.

I will be paying you in my working years, from the moment I finish college in 2012 until I am 65 in 2052 you will receive a check in the mail every January made out for 2% of my earnings from the previous year according to my W2's.

but if he were to get a large inheritance, would there be a guarantee that he would continue to work? More importantly, would there be any guarantee that he would continue to work in a high income position instead of working for a low paying, or non-paying gig to fulfill his obligation to the agreement?

He does state, and in fact guarantee, a six-fold payout, so if you were to win by bidding 100k, you would then be guaranteed 600k. In theory at any rate.

And if he defaults, then what? Do you get to repo his degree? :)

I think he's got a great idea, but is using the wrong format - an auction.

He should issue stock on himself and see if he can demonstrate performance that attracts shareholders willing to speculate on his future ROI in the form of dividends. For now, instead of quarterly earnings, he could post his semester grades and a shareholder report indicating his interests, career strategy, and occupational leads, internships etc...

I have often wondered why young athletes haven't started an individual stock-trading market. With the craze behind fantasy sports and the idea of investing in a future star-athlete to earn a share of his future earnings, I would expect a capitalistic labor market like this could really get traction. I know it sounds far-fetched but if David Bowie has issued bonds on himself with higher ratings than many corporations it is a very plausible model.

He got a 1550 on his SATs...not bad. Of course, the kid from my high school who got a 1580 dropped out of college and works at Kinkos.