I am sorry butvk, but having to wait a vey long time for a cable and pay for it upfront is almost the opposite of a Ponzi scheme. In a Ponzi scheme investors get a return from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the organization running the operation. To attract new customers, investors are offered a SHORT TERM abnormal high return. The first difference is you invest money and get a tanglible product in return. Hence, the 'one running the organization' actually has to create something. Hence, you do not get a return of your own and others' money. Two, because you have to wait for a long time it is not attractive to invest money. Hence, a Ponzi scheme would have collapsed because there are not enough investors and therefore, the organization cannot pay out abnormal high returns because they do not have enough money to do so.
Having said that, I can understand your reservations. In a sense Frank's success in creating high quality cables for a decent price can also create this downfall. At some point entrepreneurs like Frank have to understand that they need help. Frank is not a manager, but a designer and developer of cables. Maybe, he can use support from somebody who can deal with the administrative tasks of planning, basic communication, website maintenance and logistics. That will free up some time for Frank to design cables, reduce the delivery time, and attracts more customers.
After all, Adam Smith is right: through division of labour you create a qualitative increase in productivity. Workers who have to concentrate on their single subtasks gain greater skill and greater productivity on their particular subtasks, which also increases overall productivity. Frank will hopefully get to this stage. For now, be assured, it is not a Ponzi scheme, Frank will not run away with your money, and you will get your high quality cable for a decent price.
