Your Take on Multi-Level Marketing

[cschin4]

No, you don't go. Just say tell him you are busy and have other committments. No need to explain any further.
The big red flag of the MLMs to me is the focus on recruiting other people to sell. If you are selling a great product, then I would think you would want to sell as much of it as possible yourself and not be focused on turning other people into salesmen. That is what MLM is all about, not the actual product.

[brig2221]

MLM is all about getting others to buy into the system. It hardly matters what an MLM "sells" or "provides" - if you are in a MLM, your task, if you wish to be a success, is to get more people in the MLM - period.

I despise MLM.

I totally agree and could not have said it better myself. THe ONLY way to make money in MLM is not by actually selling said product or service in large quantities, but to actually recruit as many people as possible to sell the product for you and under you, taking a nice commission from them every time they make a sale.

IMHO, they are all scams. For example, one of my buddies is now trying to hock $4,000 water filtration systems, claiming they prevent cancer due to making the water an alkaline, not acidic like the current drinking water we have now. Cases of people losing extreme amounts of weight, curing diabetes, etc.

I then got on Google after the phone call, sure enough, first hit, a big site devoted to how much of a scam those filtration systems are.

You ever wonder why anyone would ever need to market products and services in that way if they were actually legitimate, and not ripoffs? The answer is painfully simple to me, it's because they are not legitimate products, and they are ripoffs.

[Scanner]

Or you can take legitimate products (toilet paper, paper towels) and just mark them up 50% and sell them.

[brig2221]

Or you can take legitimate products (toilet paper, paper towels) and just mark them up 50% and sell them.

That would fall under the ripoff category

I guess I should have stated that they were not legitimate products, OR were ripoffs.

I would call a legitimate product marked up 50% a ripoff for sure!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I've told this story before, but here goes again. Once in a bank parking lot, I spotted an "Ask me about tea tree oil" bumper sticker. This was oh, maybe, 22 years ago when it was still hard to find tea tree oil retail. I had run out of a tiny bottle and was happy to think I'd spotted a salesperson. So I did as his bumper sticker requested; I asked him. Well, fricken-fracken murrgledy-gump, I couldn't get the guy to sell me any or give me the contact info for another sales person. All he wanted to do was given me a recruitment folder and tell me how much money I could make.

[sweeps]

"Health" juices (like Xango) seem to be the hot scam -- uh MLM I mean -- right now.

[Exile]

People that want to get involved in this need to stop pestering everybody. Some friends of ours are always selling and hawking something. It has changed our friendship. We are still friends but it is ALL they can talk about and is really annoying and sad.
I also cannot stand it when some acquaintance invites me to a "party". Sorry, but if the only time you can invite me to your home is to sell me something, I am not interested. I refuse to attend any and all "parties".
I used to go out of some sense of obligation to friends or coworkers but no longer. In fact, I do not even RSVP to these anymore. It is no different than a telemarketer or anyone else hawking their wares.
I find the whole thing very tiresome. I would like to have relationships with people and just be friends. However, when you start throwing business and money into the relationship it becomes tainted and you wonder if you are really their friend or just part of the business network.

A few months ago my wife was shopping at a department store when another customer struck up a conversation with her--a very friendly woman according to DW. The lady suggested that they get together sometime. This person let on that she deals with Amway products but didn't push the issue at that time.

However, a few weeks later the gal called and invited DW to a "party" at a hotel banquet room. As soon as DW told me about this call, alarm bells went off in my head. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what DW's new found "friend" was up to, so I suggested that DW decline the invitation, and she agreed.

The "friend" contacted DW once again after that and suggested that they get together sometime. DW realized that she was probably being used from the get-go and turned her down.

How can MLM people be so shameless (or to use the expression here in the Philippines "thick-faced") as not to realize that they're as transparent as glass?

[plumpossum]

When I was 18 and a senior in high school, about to move into my own place, I put my resume up on a very popular, reputable job search website (I'm sure you know which one) because my evening job was a pretty far drive, and I didn't make very good money. I sent it out to a few companies I was familiar with both through the mail, and applied for jobs online. Not even 24 hours after I sent out the initial group of resumes, I got an email from this lady saying she had seen my resume and wanted to interview me. I thought it was kind of weird because it wasn't one of the companies I had purposefully sent it to, but since I had made it public on the site, I wasn't too weirded out.

She tells me they are having a "group interview" on whatever day (and I had to take off work to get there- joy of joys). I get there, I'm dressed up, resume in hand, and ask for the lady that I am supposed to be interviewing with. Instead, along with about 40 other people, get shuffled into a room and introduced to the wonderful world of MLMs and told they me, (yes you! even though you're still in high school, failed accounting class, and have no financial background whatsoever) could become rich working only a few hours a week as a FINANCIAL PLANNER for *bum bum bum* Primerica (hey! we're a part of CitiBank, that means we're legit!- they really pushed the CitiBank thing). I'm stuck in this dark, closed door room with other, equally perplexed people (except for one guy who was really, really enthusiastic about everything) for at least an hour watching this slideshow, and then a speaker comes out and does the bit about how much he makes.

The thing ends, and I ask the people that "work there" if they had seen the lady who had "scheduled my interview". I find her, she pulls me into some guy's office, and I asked her why it had some guy's name on the door. "He's my contact"- She then tells me I need to give her $200 and come to meetings two evenings a week and take life insurance sales classes saturdays and sundays for something like three or four weeks. Huh? So I asked her, "so does this mean I'm hired?" and get the response, "well in a way, yes, just give me the money for your life insurance classes and come to all the meetings."

WTH?

Still, incredibly confused, I showed up to about three meetings during the week. The first part was a lot like a church service, people getting up and speaking about how many people they influenced to buy their "financial planning services" (Even in three meetings, I never heard of anyone doing any financial planning, or was told that there would be any planning courses for the people...only told to meet people, have them meet my contact, and then my contact would sell them insurance and mutual funds- what what what?). People would jump out of their sheets, shout, put their hands in the air, and pray to the temple of Primerica.

I stopped going to the meetings when I caught on- and next thing I know the #&%$ing lady called my work. She spoke to the OWNER of the company (a small business) who called me into his office to ask me if I was having financial trouble because a financial planning agency "supervisor" had called him and asked to speak with me. The owner of the company asked if I needed an advance to help pay these people off (thinking it was a collection agency), and then I had to explain the whole thing to the owner.

When I eventually talked to the lady (after she called my home and work several times a day) I told her that what I was looking for was a JOB (and not a "career"- how they describe MLMs) and that even if I knew anyone who would be dumb enough to buy the crap they were selling (advice that I was never trained to give, or her, or her contact, or anyone else in the whole place), that it would be morally wrong for me to try to give them my advice under the guise of having financial planning training.

SO- if you survived that long winded story, I'm sure you can figure out how I feel about MLMs.

[Madwand]

Scam or Not!!

They are scams when they suck people in and leave them out to dry. There has to be some proven marketing strategies new reps can put into place so they get off to the right start. Don't join for emotionial resons. Have a business strategy first.

Scott

[cschin4]

Yes, you could possibly earn money on MLM's which as one poster pointed out, still could be a way of you scamming others and profiting. So, just because YOU could potentially earn a profit, does'nt mean you aren't participating in a way to scam others.
My point, people sometimes get involved in this and alienate their friends and family. And, the time you would spend actually hawking the MLM product could have been time you spent on an actually paid job. Also, MLM's often require that you invest initially to buy their product and most who sell these MLM's buy these overpriced products themselves so in many ways, they are spending and not earning.

[cschin4]

Primerica - I briefly got involved in that. I kind of used it as a way of learning more about finances. I did do the insurance training and actually got my insurance license. I figured it couldn't hurt to actually obtain a state license as you just never know. Anyway, I never went beyond that and didn't sell or buy any of their financial products.
However, when this hit the community, there were 2 acquaintances of mine who became passionately involved in this and quit long term jobs to do this "full time". Well, recently I ran into to one of the ladies and she is now a cashier at Walmart. The job she left was a management job with good benefits, salary and hospitalization. I know because we worked at the same place.
The other lady did actually make a go of this and ended up becoming a financial planner and opened a small office. I am not sure it is still in business or if she is still engaged in that. However, the original Primerica office where this all started is now closed and has been for some time.

[cschin4]

Just one more comment on Primerica. They do sell legitimate products such as insurance and securities. However, if you are someone who wants to get involved in this type of career, I would suggest looking at the more traditional route of schooling, college, training, etc.
WIth Primerica, you get lay people who took a little bit of training coming in and trying to tell you how you should plan your retirement. Sorry, but 3 weeks ago, you were pumping gas and now today you are going to plan my financial future? Um, not.

[irmanator]

alright first please don't beat me up. I sell pampered chef because i love their products. I am not makeing a whole lot because i am too shy and don't "offer the opportunity" as they say as much as they say i should. I have a party here and there and it gives me a little extra. I would not expect to quit my job anytime soon or ever. But as a low income mom of 3 an occaisonal extra $100 is nice. I don't push too hard because my friends all do marykay and they drive me crazy a little like was said earlier by only contacting me when they are selling. I mention that i sell and that you don't have to have a party to place an order and leave it at that. that is how i work. I would rather have friends than ......not.

[cschin4]

There are people at work that sell stuff. But, they bring in their catalog and leave them in the lounge for people to browse if they want to. There is no direct selling pressure. The person selling does not go around asking people personally, but her name is on the catalog so people know who is selling. And, also the party invitations are posted for whoever wants to come. I really don't think anybody minds that kind of selling.
It is the MLMers who turn it into a high pressure pitch and are constantly obsessing and mentioning their great products at every and all opportunities.
And, I also find it interesting that a lay person starts selling vitamins or health shakes and all of the sudden, that person is an expert on your health! Amazing!

[disneysteve]

I also find it interesting that a lay person starts selling vitamins or health shakes and all of the sudden, that person is an expert on your health! Amazing!

I agree. A friend of ours did that years ago. Went to visit one day and she brought out the vitamin and supplement catalog that she was selling and started telling me why the vitamins you buy in the store aren't any good and these were. Of course, they were also 10-50 times more expensive. No thanks.

Certainly, some of the MLM product lines really are quite good. Tupperware makes some great products as does Pampered Chef. They aren't cheap but they often are much better than the cheaper alternatives. If there is something you know you will use regularly and you are experienced enough to recognize the difference between the better quality and the lesser quality, it may be worth buying the items. We have a number of Tupperware items that we're very happy with. We also have few that, after buying and using them for a while, really weren't worth the premium we paid for them.