Posted By:
warshawlaw"If I believe in the profitability of Microsoft the reason I buy shares is that I can't afford the whole company, and it's probably not for sale."
No, you invest in a stock gambling that it will increase in value. The main reason why you can make that investment with confidence is that the shares are liquid on a ready market that is open and regulated, and your account is held by insured, highly regulated entities, meaning that it is virtually certain that you will get what you pay for when you want your assets. Cardtarget essentially reverses 100 years of hard lessons for investors and asks you to give your money blindly to some guys who say that they have a card and say that they will make good on your share of that card when the time comes. Where is the third party escrow holding the cards and the cash and certifying the existence of either or both? Where is the insurer who can verify that the company has a fidelity bond to cover against its officers stealing the cards and money, or even casualty insurance on the purported collection it professes to hold for you? Nevermind the unregulated, illegal securities questions already raised, anyone stupid enough to hand over money to people they don't know on a promise that they now own shares in something that none of them ever will see with no external controls deserves to lose it. I suspect that the end of this situation will not be a nice one for those who put their money into it.