Pyramid Scheme issues

[Indefinite Integral]

So, some of my high school friends started posting about a "children's book exchange" basically like the one described in these posts where you send out one book and get 36 back and I am trying to decide whether I should call their attention to the fact that it is actually a pyramid scheme or not...

What do you guys think? Is it my place to say something? I feel like what they are doing is probably actually illegal, though since it doesn't directly involve money I'm not sure.

[NerdGirl]

I would say something, just because it is illegal and they may not know that and they may want to know so that they can choose not to participate in something illegal. Then if they get upset or argue with you, though, I would probably just drop it at that point.

[Shrinky Dink]

It would almost be better if you just suggested that your friends all got together and bought books for one another's kids. Or, they could just buy books for their own kids.

If their kids are all the same age, maybe they all just chip in in buying a variety of books that the kids can pick from and borrow from one another. Children's picture books can get read thousands of times and eventually get boring, they could use this to rotate books. They could just go out and buy a whole bunch of Arthur, Berenstain Bear, or other similar books that they can all swap and rotate as needed.