alright, i figured most ppl on this forum would be smart enough to stay away from multi-level marketing business models, but i'm starting a thread on it anyway.
i'm not into this MLM shit, it's too much like a pyramid scheme to me.
that said, there are businesses that have used MLM to become very successful, and are very reputable businesses.
One example is MaryKay make up products. most other examples involve ladies selling make-up. State Farm insurance, and other insurance companies also work as an MLM in certain areas. UBS uses MLM to attract business too.
legit MLM schemes can bring you a lot of money, but it works as a pipeline, once your 'downline' dries up, the money stops comming.
then there's companies that are just blending the line of legit businesses, and scams.
Primerica is a good example. they offer a good product, debt consolidation, but they go about it in a crazy way. first, they give you a presentation filled with convoluted numbers (i know about interest, compound interest, and some of the numbers in their presentation look very very fishy), and then they try to get YOU to sign on as a sales person. Amway falls within this category too, but they're also very very VEERY fishy. To be fair Amway has some of the least pushy sellers out there.
that to me is borderline scammish...
then there's the outright bullshit businesses.
Monavie, Organo Gold, (in certain cases, Amway), and almost every other MLM business that you can imagine. i can tell which business is the bullshit business because they offer an over-priced, over-hyped product, promising a whole shit ton of benefits without any proof. they'll typically include outlandish profit numbers in their presentation. I know a guy selling OrganoGold who SWEARS his boss makes 100k per week... yeah, right....
I remember my father's response the first time somebody tried to sell him Monavie: 40 dollars?! I could buy 6 months supply of vitamins and minerals from walgreens for less than 15....... what could this nasty ass juice have than isn't sold at walgreens?? .... the sales person just got up and left, very rude, as he'd said he would buy lunch, and stuck US with his lunch bill... asshole...
my poor mother got sucked into one of these schemes, but she actually made her money back, and about 200 bucks in profit, only because me and my army of siblings( i have a big BIG family) stepped in and used our hundreds of friends to help her unload all the inventory. she didn't waste more money on that shit....
point is: be careful where you spend your money. MLM business models could be a good way to make a quick buck, but you could also loose a lot of money very quickly. watch out, one method MLM companies use to keep you hooked is making your loss seem small compared to what you could make. don't be fooled, a loss is a loss.
another super red-flag is: LEGIT MLM OPPORTUNITIES ARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT, SCAM MLM ARE ABOUT RECRUITING NEW SELLERS.
use ripoffreport.org, scam.com and other watchdog sites, they're there for a reason.
google all of the claims made by the seller.
here's an easy one: OrganoGold sells coffee products with some weird mushroom in it that's supposed to make you healthier (no study proves this). they claim a world famous health organization (based out of the phillipines) has endorsed their product. you google that claim, and the only results you'll find involve links back to the organo Gold site making the claim. you won't find any press release, any article, anything tying the organization with organoGold, except the claim made on their own website. This is a great indicator that the claim is false, and since the organization is on the other side of the world, they're betting the organization won't find out.
you should also do research about the top ppl at the companies. find out everything about them. it won't take long to find out that most MLM companies are a scam.
be careful where you spend your money, and remember this: the MLM business Failure rate is 97%.
cheers.
i'm not into this MLM shit, it's too much like a pyramid scheme to me.
that said, there are businesses that have used MLM to become very successful, and are very reputable businesses.
One example is MaryKay make up products. most other examples involve ladies selling make-up. State Farm insurance, and other insurance companies also work as an MLM in certain areas. UBS uses MLM to attract business too.
legit MLM schemes can bring you a lot of money, but it works as a pipeline, once your 'downline' dries up, the money stops comming.
then there's companies that are just blending the line of legit businesses, and scams.
Primerica is a good example. they offer a good product, debt consolidation, but they go about it in a crazy way. first, they give you a presentation filled with convoluted numbers (i know about interest, compound interest, and some of the numbers in their presentation look very very fishy), and then they try to get YOU to sign on as a sales person. Amway falls within this category too, but they're also very very VEERY fishy. To be fair Amway has some of the least pushy sellers out there.
that to me is borderline scammish...
then there's the outright bullshit businesses.
Monavie, Organo Gold, (in certain cases, Amway), and almost every other MLM business that you can imagine. i can tell which business is the bullshit business because they offer an over-priced, over-hyped product, promising a whole shit ton of benefits without any proof. they'll typically include outlandish profit numbers in their presentation. I know a guy selling OrganoGold who SWEARS his boss makes 100k per week... yeah, right....
I remember my father's response the first time somebody tried to sell him Monavie: 40 dollars?! I could buy 6 months supply of vitamins and minerals from walgreens for less than 15....... what could this nasty ass juice have than isn't sold at walgreens?? .... the sales person just got up and left, very rude, as he'd said he would buy lunch, and stuck US with his lunch bill... asshole...
my poor mother got sucked into one of these schemes, but she actually made her money back, and about 200 bucks in profit, only because me and my army of siblings( i have a big BIG family) stepped in and used our hundreds of friends to help her unload all the inventory. she didn't waste more money on that shit....
point is: be careful where you spend your money. MLM business models could be a good way to make a quick buck, but you could also loose a lot of money very quickly. watch out, one method MLM companies use to keep you hooked is making your loss seem small compared to what you could make. don't be fooled, a loss is a loss.
another super red-flag is: LEGIT MLM OPPORTUNITIES ARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT, SCAM MLM ARE ABOUT RECRUITING NEW SELLERS.
use ripoffreport.org, scam.com and other watchdog sites, they're there for a reason.
google all of the claims made by the seller.
here's an easy one: OrganoGold sells coffee products with some weird mushroom in it that's supposed to make you healthier (no study proves this). they claim a world famous health organization (based out of the phillipines) has endorsed their product. you google that claim, and the only results you'll find involve links back to the organo Gold site making the claim. you won't find any press release, any article, anything tying the organization with organoGold, except the claim made on their own website. This is a great indicator that the claim is false, and since the organization is on the other side of the world, they're betting the organization won't find out.
you should also do research about the top ppl at the companies. find out everything about them. it won't take long to find out that most MLM companies are a scam.
be careful where you spend your money, and remember this: the MLM business Failure rate is 97%.
cheers.
