Pyramid schemes/multi-level marketing

[BluesBloke]

Anyone ever know someone who has gotten sucked into one of these?

From Amway and Herbalife to the seemingly innocent Tupperware and Avon, there have been no shortage of these business models over the years preying on the vulnerable, desperate and gullible.

Then we hear non-stop about how 'empowered' it has made their lives. How they've 'found themselves' through their 'amazing small business' and how you too could be reaping the benefits!

Someone I know is in the midst of it, selling 'Kangen Water' through a company called Enagic.

Basically the aim is to sell water purifier machines which supposedly ionise normal tap water, turning it into alkaline (Kangen) water, which, among all the other BS spouted, is said to prevent horrible diseases like cancer and other chronic illnesses. There is no scientific evidence to back this up, and there is little scientific evidence to suggest that the water has any health benefits at all.

This person already 'invested' several thousands of dollars in 'starting up' their 'business', which then includes endless love-bombing webinars and training sessions from other 'empowered' individuals about how we're all special and amazing, and how this is the key to unlocking life's potential.

It's disturbing how much of a cult it is.

This person's social media feed is post after post about how incredible their life is now, among every cringeworthy inspirational quote imaginable while pushing their product. They're likely going to end up broke.

I've thought about intervening from a genuine position of care and concern, but I'll only be told how 'wrong' I am, and how 'wrong' I'm living life, I guess.

Share your stories!

 

[Legends of 2017]

Nearly got sucked into amway a couple of decades ago, amongst a couple of other schemes. What I found consistent with these is the ambushing of prospective dupes. Without fail, you would be invited to a get together without being told the reason, just an innocuous catch up with friends, work colleague or family. Then once you’re settled in and comfortable, the marketing spiel would begin. Cost friendships and put a strain on family relationships, especially once you declined the “opportunity “ to get involved in these amazing schemes. That’s probably because you’ve just cost the organizer of the meeting easy money

 

[TigerMasochist]

Got an older Bro who did the Amway *smile* a long time ago, but he was forever on the scrounge for the easy lifestyle marketing gimmick. The only ones that ever make a quid out of these schemes are the ones that invent the scheme or jump in at the very start. Once it's up n running " successfully " it only survives on the amount of suckers it can continue to hoover up.

 

[eZyT]

Anyone ever know someone who has gotten sucked into one of these?

From Amway and Herbalife to the seemingly innocent Tupperware and Avon, there have been no shortage of these business models over the years preying on the vulnerable, desperate and gullible.

Then we hear non-stop about how 'empowered' it has made their lives. How they've 'found themselves' through their 'amazing small business' and how you too could be reaping the benefits!

Someone I know is in the midst of it, selling 'Kangen Water' through a company called Enagic.

Basically the aim is to sell water purifier machines which supposedly ionise normal tap water, turning it into alkaline (Kangen) water, which, among all the other BS spouted, is said to prevent horrible diseases like cancer and other chronic illnesses. There is no scientific evidence to back this up, and there is little scientific evidence to suggest that the water has any health benefits at all.

This person already 'invested' several thousands of dollars in 'starting up' their 'business', which then includes endless love-bombing webinars and training sessions from other 'empowered' individuals about how we're all special and amazing, and how this is the key to unlocking life's potential.

It's disturbing how much of a cult it is.

This person's social media feed is post after post about how incredible their life is now, among every cringeworthy inspirational quote imaginable while pushing their product. They're likely going to end up broke.

I've thought about intervening from a genuine position of care and concern, but I'll only be told how 'wrong' I am, and how 'wrong' I'm living life, I guess.

Share your stories!

this is a rehash BB.

a friend of mine paid a couple of grand for a water ioniser about 20 years ago.

she thought it was a miracle.

I undid 4 screws on the back to reveal a coiled pipe and a restrictor from the inlet to the outlet and a few different coloured LEDs.

A fool and their money are easily parted,

as they say.

I got a cheap lesson from Joker88 scheme when I was about 30, and flat broke. I deposited $100 in a complete strangers bank account and forwarded a chain letter to 10 people, slightly expecting tens of thousands to appear in my account.

of course I didn't get 2 bob. but thought the lesson was pretty good value.

Fortunately it didn't stop me going all in on the most lucrative, and real scheme ever ......... Tigers17

The 50-fold, tax-free return, eclipsing the Poseidon Nickel Boom, Dutch Tulips, and Australian Houses

 

[Tigers of Old]

The age old motto..If it looks to good to be true it probably is.

Have definitely lost friendships to people who tried to ambush with Amway. Crappy business model.

 

[Sintiger]

Multi level marketing has very strong links to the Mormon church. Many well known MLM companies are based in Utah.
Make of it what you will.
Many years ago I worked for a US company that had a direct selling/MLM business and they used that methodology to enter markets in underdeveloped countries as the model is very successful in that environment where there is no social safety net and people have small businesses to survive. Avon for instance is very big in the Philippines (or was).
A few of the execs we hired to start these businesses were mormons.

 

[BluesBloke]

For a laugh, I checked out one of those 'webinars' on YouTube pushing the iodised water, and one of the guests they had on was some seppo and his Australian wife who run some wellness clinic.

This pr1ck goes on to say that hospitals, gastroenterologists etc. are treating people with digestive and bowel diseases all wrong, and that they're only out to make money. If I'd caught this webinar live, I'd have chimed in with the question: What's your end-game then, ar$ehole?

I'm sure he's only in it with his grifting wife for the greater good of humanity.

 

[Ralphie]

The ol "I have a business you might be interested in"

 

[BluesBloke]

The ol "I have a business you might be interested in"

The business opportunity of a lifetime.

 

[Tigertool]

Thermomix one of the other big ones I think these days? I know the product itself seems good, but i'm pretty sure the salespeople running the friend group showcase events only make $100 per machine on a $2k+ sale.

Voluntary slave labour. Genius.

 

[MD Jazz]

Thermomix one of the other big ones I think these days? I know the product itself seems good, but i'm pretty sure the salespeople running the friend group showcase events only make $100 per machine on a $2k+ sale.

Voluntary slave labour. Genius.

Thermomixers are a great product, couldn't live without ours

 

[Tigertool]

Thermomixers are a great product, couldn't live without ours

yep, not slighting the product itself

 

[Scoop]

What was the weight loss product from a couple of years ago?

I saw people change beyond belief and now don't say a thing about it.

Every few years they pop up.

 

[eZyT]

Thermomixers are a great product, couldn't live without ours

they completely confound me and seem a bit like the stone soup fable?

do you really throw flour, tomatoes, cheese, ham and pineapple in, and it turns out a perfect Hawaiian Pizza?

pleased to hear you love it.

 

[eZyT]

Neo Liberalism is the ultimate Ponzi scheme,

that large numbers of people are just starting to think

'HTF did I fall for that?",

An increasing number can't quite put a finger on it,

so they hop on Facebook and tell everyone to open their eyes to the woke peodophile lizards stockpiling children underground

 

[tigersnake]

The red flag is when an aquaintance contacts you out of the blue and says 'I need to talk to you about something important'.

I've had this happen to me many years ago and asked an older and wiser workmate what it could be. "Amway" was the instant reply. And so it was. I've had people ask me the same question over the years, "Amway" is my instant response. I see them a few days later, "you were spot on!".

Yes the cultishness is sad.

 

[BluesBloke]

Interesting watch, this episode of SBS' 'The Feed' on MLM schemes. You almost feel sorry for the desperados profiled in it, until you remember how hard you bust your arse at your own job to earn a living.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=310182869848274

 

[AngryAnt]

Former friend who got into the whole "Essential Oils" wellness scam, markets relentlessly to her friends and family until they pretty much told her to *smile* off. She's vulnerable and exploited - the company offers things like "free trips to Europe" based on acheiving sales goals, but "drawn by lottery" if they make the goal.

This encourages her to guilt trip her friends further to buy as she "could win the trip".

*smile* unethical *smile*.

 

[TigerForce]

Can't believe how many gullible idiots still exist. Wake the f up.

 

[RoarEmotion]

I got sucked into Herbalife when I was 20ish and also did something else after that working with someone I respected / book author that I’m still friends with.

Burnt some relationships (with Herbalife) and wasted a lot of time. Roughly broke even financially but did hundreds of hours of work for nada.

My gut told me the maths didn’t work but I ignored it. (Infinite growth doesn’t work anywhere - mlm just makes you see that more quickly) I leant more to product sales than recruiting but that means you don’t win. Everything, even if legit, and not backed by unscrupulous health claims, was massively overpriced and you cannibalise any of these sales the more people get recruited.

I’d strongly recommend this podcast.
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/the-dream
Has a fair bit on Essential Oils @AngryAnt if I remember correctly in season 2.

It’s heartbreakingly sad who gets preyed on but also fascinating how the industry manipulated it way out of oblivion with the regulator.

For me personally I did get some good out of it improving public speaking and learning various marketing stuff (including seo and Google AdWords in their infancy) but at its heart the business model is evil and predatory.

If it is of use to anyone that has someone stuck in the system PM me if you think they would listen to a different voice and want some help.

If you are in it can be cultlike and you are told anyone outside talking you out of it is a dreamstealer. And you would be encourage as a leader to parrot these same messages - wasn’t something I ever did. You’d also be encourage to spend thousands of dollars to go on expensive conferences and that only people that went were successful. This was of course *smile*.