Multi-Level Marketing Companies Are NOT Pyramid Schemes (They Are Worse)

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#mlm #business #scam
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Multi-level marketing companies like Herbalife, Avon, Lu La Ro and Amway are often mischaracterized as pyramid schemes, an illegal structure whereby people pay a fee and then try to make their money back by taking a share of the fees that new members pay to join the scheme under them. But I in good faith can no longer sit by and watch the good reputation of pyramid schemes be ruined by comparisons to multi-level marketing companies.
MLM’s are not pyramid schemes… they are worse…
The business structure of every multi-level marketing company is slightly different, and the same companies use different structures in different markets to skirt around local regulations, but the basic concept remains the same…
You sign up and join the company as an “independent business owner”, you pay a fee which can range from twenty dollars to five THOUSAND dollars depending on the company. For that money you get given a sample pack with the company’s products. You are encouraged to sell those products at a markup like a traditional business, but your ALSO told to sign up friends and family under you to share in a cut of their commission. Commissions structures are intentionally made confusing so that new recruits can’t understand how badly they are being screwed. Most of the money get funnelled to the very top of the program to people that will flash a lot of money around as proof of the system working. If you think this sounds like a pyramid scheme your not alone, even the Federal Trade Commission after it concluded a year’s long investigation into Herbalife the third largest MLM in the world concluded that the company was “not determined not to be a pyramid scheme”.
But really these companies are a lot worse for three reasons.
The first reason all comes down to what actually legally separates them from a fraudulent pyramid scheme, their products. The legal argument is that money only changes hands when a product is sold so they are no different from commissioned salesmen.
Unfortunately, it’s exactly that product that makes MLM’s so much worse than pyramid schemes.
The average return of the from the victim of a pyramid scheme is around 90%. For every one dollar a victim puts into the scheme they can expect a return of ninety cents, a bad investment, but not financially crippling. The returns remain surprisingly high because early investors get paid out and when the whole thing falls apart the money hadn’t really gone anywhere and a portion of it can be recovered by authorities and returned to victims. Bernie Madoff ran the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, and even most of his investors ended up getting most of their money back because after Madoff used the money to buy a penthouse apartment, a private jet and a house in the Hamptons he had nothing left to do with it besides keeping it in the bank and paying it out to investors.
Pyramid schemes are different to Ponzi schemes, but the results are the same.
HOWEVER, the average return of a multi-level marketing company is around thirty percent according to their OWN marketing materials promoting their bonus structure.
The actual returns for most people are far lower than thirty percent and sometimes even the highest ranks of MLM members struggle financially but we will get to that soon. The reason the numbers are so bad is because of the product, for the people at the very top of the MLM to collect everybody’s money LEGALLY they need to move a lot of products, but product has overhead that syphons money out of the scheme. Some money goes to manufacture and ship the product and some money goes to the MLM company itself.
MLM products are priced well above market competitors even after the discount given to their members because the companies need to add the overhead to pay out bonuses. Somehow having returns three times worse than the most infamous corporate fraud in history is only reason one.
So it’s time to learn How Money Works to find out why multi-level marketing companies are actually much WORSE than pyramid schemes.

[@HowMoneyWorks]

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[@harrypotter5460]

I’ve gotta disagree with your definition of MLM at 1:14. Not all MLM’s require a a fee, or any payment for that matter. I can name at least one MLM which does require payment of any kind, including for the company’s products, but which still satisfies the FTC’s definition of an MLM. That’s not to say this MLM isn’t bad, just bad in a different way than you describe.

[@AlexFariaOliveira]

You talk about a lot of shady companies, do you make your due dilligence when accepting sponsoship?

[@arealious25]

😂

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@harrypotter5460 So name it. Which MLM is this?

[@harrypotter5460]

@@ArawnOfAnnwn CutCo/Vector Marketing

[@camd9886]

Finally now these evil companies can stop hurting the reputation of my pyramid schemes

[@Lonovavir]

😅😂😅.

[@ApplePi1]

Lmfaoooo

[@_CoachW]

🤣🤣🤣... well played. You got me with that one.

[@nickelbutt]

LOL! 🤮

[@quickbuck189]

thanks this made me genuinely laugh till my stomach hurt , its been a while since that happened

[@magicmagic8188]

This is so disheartening. These MLMs target vulnerable people and then isolate them. We need more people who earn money ethically, like my uncle who robs banks

[@Lonovavir]

I hear the mafia's hiring 🤔...... you heard nothing 😉😇.

[@R8Spike]

Bank money is secured upto 100k

[@migueldelmazo5244]

That's where the money is!

[@typingcat]

Rob those congressmen who earned fortune with inside stock trading.

[@rayzerot]

Bank robbers are vital for the economy. They provide jobs for guards, insurance agents, bulletproof glass fabricators, PTSD therapists, and police detectives. They pay for themselves really

[@notvenom1152]

It's a scam that doesn't meet the legal requirement of a scam.

[@Demmrir]

It's a scam that isn't legally a scam because they paid the government to write the laws to make them not a scam. Like how sports betting apps aren't gambling because they paid legislatures to exempt them from gambling laws.

[@notvenom1152]

@@Demmrir agreed

[@foxymetroid]

A lot of it is because courts sometimes love being extra strict with what constitutes a crime where "case law" is concerned. A company was convicted of being a pyramid scheme, so the courts used that case to set the absolute bare minimum of what constitutes a pyramid scheme. I think that minimum involved how much of their revenue came from recruitment instead of actual goods or services. So now MLMs just have to avoid reaching that minimum.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@Demmrir To be specific Gerald Ford is the one responsible for the laws to make them not a scam. Yeah, that Gerald Ford.

[@tomlxyz]

​@@Demmriri find sport betting less than gambling than MLM not being a pyramid scheme because there are actually people who can predict those well (and get squeezed out because they don't like people winning)

[@jackvankirk8552]

Rule of thumb: if the company you're applying for or interviewing with can't tell you what their business does in plain English, it's probably a scam.

[@sophiedowney1077]

"We're making the world a better place by marketing cloud-based platform innovation."

[@samthecar]

​@@sophiedowney1077you forgot to add "ai" and machine learning 😂

[@sophiedowney1077]

@@samthecar "through artificial intelligence powered by machine learning on a neural network through the Blockchain."

[@FlameUser64]

I mean these days that's _most_ companies. "Legitimate businesses" barely exist anymore.

[@GreyPunkWolf]

A scam for society, yeah. But most of those jobs are actually real jobs from real companies making real profit. Which is even sadder.

[@tomsmith4955]

Years ago, I worked for a Big 4 accounting firm, and we were the auditors for a major MLM. I was shocked to see that a HUGE portion of the revenue (and Profit) from the MLM was selling training materials - tapes, books, seminars, rallies, etc. NOT from selling products.

[@free_at_last8141]

The gold miners don't get rich, the ones selling them their shovels get rich.

[@tomsmith4955]

@@free_at_last8141 I think thats how Nordstroms got started.

[@Dozying]

If I had to guess, I’d hope Primerica.

[@leibniz4455]

They sell the dream, not the products.

[@Miatalustrium]

I know I spent $8k on Market America in mostly seminar tickets. Every seminar was in an okay venue (sometimes even in the casino I worked in, so I knew the cost of the rental was $1500 for the day for everything and they sold the tickets for $25/each and would pack 300-500 people in). You were also encouraged to buy many more tickets than you needed to help encourage you to recruit more people because that hold burnt in your pocket would motivate you. It didn't ever really do that. Thankfully I never became fully indoctrinated in the cult mindset.

[@ADarkMindsArt]

I've had people pretend to be my "friends" and women pretend to be interested in me or even dating me, when in reality they just wanted to sign me up for their MLM. Thank god I never did.

[@fraydizs7302]

Thats actually psychotic behavior lol

[@rexx9496]

Haha, yeah same here, this woman was acting interested in me then started trying to get me to go to a seminar and sign up under her for an alkaline water system.

[@fedyx1544]

EZ just pump and dump the pyramid offering girls

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

​@@fedyx1544Not going to happen. First they're going to ask for a meeting with you that will sound like a date, but it's not. You may show up to a coffee shop or restaurant to find you two are not alone, she's brought along someone else (likely, her "upline"). Should you sit down, you will be talked to about vague aspirational goals and being your own boss, but never will they get to the crux of the conversation until they feel they've hooked you. They won't give the name of the company up front, because they're scared you're going to quickly Google it and find all of the search results that end in "scam". You will be intensely pressured to join the "business opportunity" and if you decline, you are likely never going to see that person again, because that is your worth to them, just another person in their downline to make them money. So, "hitting and quitting" is not very likely to happen (and that also makes you just as bad as them, using them only for sex the same way they are using you only for recruitment. Now, if you don't mind lying in bed with dogs and getting fleas, so be it).

[@lazar2949]

I had a teacher in highschool many years ago basically convincing us all on his class about his business and program that he joined and half of the class gave him their emails, but the moment he started talking about it i knew whats up, its regular scheme, just a different name. Looked it up later at home, that same company changed its name and "products" like 5 times in the past, every time starting new bullshit just under the new name. Of course, i couldnt convince friends that he is spitting bullshit, but that he probably doesnt even know it as well. Some of them even ended up taking some money from parents for that shit.

[@frank4uever]

My wife and I got involved in the Herbalife scam and I ended up over $15,000 poorer. Finally it dawned on me the only one making serious money was our upline. The couple had a beautiful home in a gated community as well as a cabin in Idaho. I finally realized that all we were doing was to fuel their lifestyle. So I pulled out and my wife left a couple of months later. The really reprehensible thing, though, is how they are scamming poor Latinos. I attended a couple of seminars and saw the hope in those people's faces. Most of them end up poorer than when they started MLMs are despicable.

[@RandoHandle]

A lot of the Latinos/Hispanics don’t know any better. MLMs aren’t something they are familiar with so it’s a lot easier to target them. Along with providing a sense of hope for a better future. That’s all we really want, a better future. MLMs know this and take advantage of everyone. Give people hope and you pretty much have complete control.

[@Robutube1]

@@RandoHandle Where Scientology goes, MLMs follow... (I'm aware that Mormons are over-represented in MLM leadership; my comment is more about pivoting to a new audience when the old one has got wise to your scam).

[@MeiHengIntra]

My MLM company is not a scam. They have a very good product that keeps you healthy. True, you must pay some money (to buy products) to rise to a certain level to get the highest discount. But after that, there is no minimum order required. I have benefited from their health product for more than 10 years. The name of the product is Intra.

[@Tman33919]

It is possible to make more than your upline though.

[@prima6170]

Was the $15K a membership fee?

[@TomMcMorrow]

"Back when Vice was good" This snark is why I keep tuning in. A+ shade right there.

[@WillyKillya]

Yeah I caught that too, it occurs at 8:30 for anyone wondering

[@KinnyRiddle]

I was just playing the video in the background while working on other stuff, but quickly LOL'ed at that dig when he said it.

[@EugeneTChu]

I am a military veteran and know of some military spouses or veterans that joined an MLM. They mistakenly believed that it would provide entrepreneurial opportunities with flexibility. They sadly quit when they lost money from bad products, bad structure and too much competition.

[@trapaneezus]

Veterans fall for that shit more than anyone from what I've seen lol unfortunate

[@prw56]

Its not sad that they quit an mlm, its sad that they got suckered in to begin with. Quitting is way better than sticking around.

[@mattitude4464]

I feel bad for them, they move to the middle of nowhere with their husband. There are no jobs in the area and military pay is low so they try to make some money

[@BusinessWolf1]

they *fortunately quit

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

​@@mattitude4464 I've heard it's usually the military wives, not because their husband's don't make enough, but because of community. Being uprooted every few years means saying goodbye to friends or having trouble making any. An MLM provides a possible source of friendship and you can then build a "community" off of it wherever else you go. This is why I've heard that while losing money in MLM's is bad, many are hurt the most at the connections they lose when they leave an MLM and those still within are ordered to cut that person off (yes, very much like a cult. MLM's and cults have a lot of similarities).

[@lam7499]

When I was in the military one of our Sergeants got involved in one of these companies. I knew her before she joined the MLM, and the change in her personality (from hard core no-nonsense type to befriending everyone in the unit) was part of what tipped me off that this wasn't a good idea. She tried to get me to join and (being the naive junior Marine I was) I went to a few meetings. I eventually got out after a few weeks, but in hindsight it was really messed up for her to abuse her authority and our trust in an NCO to shake us down for money.

[@Chris-ci8vs]

Yeesh, that is fucking crazy man.

[@surewing66]

Maybe she genuinely believed she could make a profit from this. I have friends who have strong beliefs that they can make money from it. You go to see it through but they are blind. Don’t blame her😣

[@megaMagaManX8]

@@surewing66 true not her fault. Govt needs to step in crush these MLMs

[@megaMagaManX8]

@@surewing66 lol instead of protecting people were giving the CEO of Amway a path to citizenship

[@Volkbrecht]

My mother joined one. Hearing how she advertised it, I knew from the start she would not make it. She still buys some of their stuff, though, and occasionally attends their big hype-fests because it's a chance for her to hang out with friends. Imo MLMs get their bad rep unjustified. The entry barrier is very low, and the promise of getting a salary at some point is tempting. Of course this will draw in a lot of idiots, and of course there will be tough competition, because hey, who doesn't dream of starting their own business on the side? When my mom and her sponsor, who was one of her coworkers, tried to recruit me, I declined. I had just moved out to study and they were seing this as chance to widen their circle. I of course pointed out to them that pennyless undergrads are not quite their target demografic. They did't quite get it, but they accepted the no.

[@faaaaah]

I didn't know what Herbalife was back then but I went to their office for a 'free lunch session'. I sat there listening to these people hyping up a chocolate shake they gave us (it's a meal substitute for dieting), all the while wondering when is the food coming. Took me way too long to realise that they're saying the stupid shake IS lunch, and that this was a sale/recruitment session. I went away hungry and upset and I hated the company ever since.

[@terrytitus5291]

A liquid lunch,wow! How deceptive,these things are.They tend to go to expensive restaurants while new people are sitting there broke!

[@chinaarlene7035]

😂😂😂😂 this is hilarious

[@zuglymonster]

I'd be so irritated, thinking I was getting a yummy free lunch and just getting a crappy shake and sales pitch. They're so manipulative. Why would they think that tricking people would appeal to them? Although unfortunately it must work, I don't understand why

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

You lose money and friends and family. Sounds a lot like drug addiction. It’s a disgrace that MLMs aren’t illegal.

[@ameyskulkarni]

It's worse. You deliberately cut people off. That's a cult, not just an addiction. Evil.

[@tomlxyz]

​@@ameyskulkarnialso, there's no high, only chasing for one

[@Rotebearda]

​@@ameyskulkarniyeah mlms clearly studied cults to not just financially ruin cult members but make active recruiters to the cult as well

[@Volkbrecht]

Nobody forces you to join. It's true that they try to harness their social circles. Just say no. I did. My mom's still my mom.

[@ameyskulkarni]

@@Volkbrecht The video literally just explained how these companies take advantage of bulna people and strong social structures. Are you not capable of comprehending?

[@jacobjensen7704]

Another reason MLM's get Latter-day Saints so often is because they pitch it to the young members who just returned from their missionary service as a job where they can use their missionary skills and make money. Working your way up MLM's is all about recruiting, and so the MLM will convince them that this recruiting is similar to what they did on their missionary service.

[@decreer4567]

I am a return missionary. It’s also because of a lot of stay at home mothers who have a lot more free time than they want to admit.

[@masterdecats6418]

I mean, if they’ve already been suckered into scams once, why not again lmao.

[@kartos.]

So it's jist like religion, lol

[@alvadagansta]

I mean, if you were already doing unpaid work for an organization worth billions of dollars (Mormon church), an MLM is not much of a step down

[@sana_saint]

TIL. Makes sense!

[@garreswe]

I was considering one MLM (went to a couple of meetings and bought some products) and joined another and the first thing they tell you is to contact your friends and family to invite them to meetings. I felt super disingenuous and awkward while calling and reading the script and I'm glad I only talked to a few. These things can really mess up your relationships if you do what they tell you.

[@noahquiles5791]

Yes!!!! I experienced such a change in the way my relationships were affected after trying to get in touch with EVERYONE about this, when I got sucked into it 🙃

[@Holistretch]

It only “messes up your relationships” if you are inauthentic and trying to “get something”.

[@jaynycha1705]

"You are not selling clothes, you are giving people freedom" 🙄

[@rexx9496]

That's so dumb it could only work in America.

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@rexx9496 Never underestimate the stupidity of humans. Wherever humans are, stupidity can be found.

[@rexx9496]

@@kmouratidis I hear you but in this case Americans seem particularly gullible about anything the word "freedom" is attached too. I still remember the white house back during the war in Iraq renaming "French fries" to "freedom fries" because the French weren't showing support for our debacle.

[@Volkbrecht]

@@rexx9496 it's a cultural thing. In my experience, Americans are not more or less stupid that other nationalities. Their culture is just so dominant around the world that their specific "brand" of stupidity could become a cliché.

[@AchedSphinx]

if americans could grind "freedom" down and snort it up their nose they would.

[@miguelinop]

As a latino in Latinamerica, there was a wave of Herbalife in which my older brother fell into, and only stopped pushing it to us as his family after his aunt scolded him hard for "tricking" him into a wine tasting session which was actually a herbalife session

[@sasquatchhunter86]

Mismo situación en USA. Muchos latinos se involucran con MLMs.

[@yankees29]

They are constantly looking for fresh “territory” everywhere. My wife is Jamaican she always falls for crap like that. 😂

[@WDSimp]

When you started talking about MLMs isolating people from their families and convincing them to turn to the company ecosystem for human interaction is when it clicked for me. That's a thing that cults do.

[@CindyTemple]

well that sounds just like a 9 to 5 you are stuck there all day with 'coworkers' and team builders and blah blah.

[@LEFT4BASS]

Beyond what the video said, I feel like the real social damage comes from the way they pressure you to monetize your personal social life. You invite people to a “party” at your house that is really a sales pitch for the snake oil you’re peddling. When you spend time with a friend, you pressure them to “support your business” by buying something. It doesn’t take long before people start to see you the same way they see that pushy salesman at the mall kiosk that you avoid eye contact with at all costs.

[@DeannaJacksonDJsDelectables]

I have family that fell for an MLM. My mom was in Tahitian Noni International. A cousin was sold Cutco knives while he was in high school. I got told that I'm "being negative" when I questioned anything. One of my favorite books on this topic is "Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing" by Robert L. Fitzpatrick.

[@katrinkarose175]

I went to a "job interview" for Cutco knives during college and almost got sucked in but was too broke to get into it. Once out of their space it didn't take very long to realize I was glad I didn't buy in but they're good at what they do.

[@przemekkozlowski7835]

@@katrinkarose175 When I started university, the first day I got on campus I was handed a flyer for a Cutco "opportunity". However, I have a pathological fear of having to sell stuff to people so I am immune to most MLMs.

[@ridgetopcrafts4441]

Oh yes, the "being negative" line. I have a friend deep into an mlm for years. She sucked me in for a while too, and she constantly says I am "being negative" about things, especially when I had lots of questions, which I always did.

[@melchormartinez]

Hmmm🤔 maybe we can find a way to sell these books to “help” people

[@fredwebster1091]

You can thank former Speaker of the House Gerald Ford for pushing legislation through Congress to make Amway legal and not a pyramid scheme...Yep that Ford

[@shane_rm1025]

To be clear, the one who as president pardoned Nixon? Yeah that tracks...

[@andrewcherpeski3180]

Ford was never Speaker of the House

[@dannydaw59]

Speaker of the house?

[@fredwebster1091]

Yes Ford was Speaker of the U.S. house of representatives...

[@andrewcherpeski3180]

@@fredwebster1091 which years? His party never had the majority during his time as party leader.

[@CatsMeowPaw]

I had a good friend who was so excited to have been made a 'network manager' at World Ventures MLM. She boasted that she paid only $2000 for the position. I almost hit the floor. Of course they were happy to make her a 'manager' if they were getting thousands of dollars from her, as well as hefty monthly fees. She quit the MLM a couple of years later, never recouping her investment or huge amounts of time promoting 'her' business.

[@BrendaAmerind]

One thing I’ve come to realize is that it doesn’t matter what product an MLM sells because the actual product are the sellers/customers. They are the money generators for those at the top as they continue spending money on physical product in the hopes of selling enough to get to the top themselves. I feel like once you realize that you are the product, it becomes much easier to leave compared to those who fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy.

[@Horseofhope]

Reminds me the time me and my friend in our late teens stumbled on a job posting, where someone wanted a website. We went there, the guy started shilling his miracle pills, we didn't know what MLM was, but when we realised he's not paying us for a site, wants us to make one and do all the work selling pills that we'd have to buy as broke teens, we just left really confused, wondering who'd be stupid enough to agree :V

[@Volkbrecht]

So much this! All you need to know is that there is no free lunch, which most halfway smart people understand in their teens.

[@przemekkozlowski7835]

When I was as unemployed, I posted my resume on all kinds of job websites. When I was contacted, I though that I finally landed a job as an IT tech. Turns out it was a MLM trying to recruit me.:)

[@benkeller6027]

A co-worker started getting into this multi level marketing scheme and tried pushing it upon everyone at every opportunity. It totally changed him as a person. It seemed like he saw everyone as a potential sale. He ended up losing quite a lot of friends due to his involvement in an obvious scam.

[@turtleanton6539]

Indeed

[@kartos.]

I wanted to sell things when Amazon was still new, and they acted like I was crazy for trying to focus on sales and not signing people up. Stole my contacts and started calling them without my permission, absolutely awful.

[@e65666]

Which company?

[@Chris-ci8vs]

Yeah not focusing on sales is a huge red flag.

[@Volkbrecht]

You tried the right thing, though. It's how MLMs originally became sucessful. By selling decent products, and occasionally recruiting customers that seem to have what it takes to become salespeople themselves.

[@LuisSoto-fw3if]

@@Volkbrecht Worst part is that MLMs could work as an business alternative for people, if it werent designed to be fucking awful and scammy

[@kora4185]

Aaah this gave me the chills, I would be automatically so freaked out by it 😬

[@matthewhalsan6459]

While i feel horrible for everyone deceieved and destroyed by these scams, hearing lines like" your selling freedom" and them telling you to immediately dump your friends and family for not buying your stuff is so crazy and whack that i feel you have to be crazy to stay after hearing that.

[@chinaarlene7035]

Exactly. Like damn, where's your loyalty?

[@jollyroger2594]

I mean who does this? Where and when you were told so? Please be kind to tell.

[@orpheusepiphanes2797]

I had a friend who got sucked into this shit. He ruined his life. I dont feel bad for him, he turned into a douchebag

[@playboymaxim]

I am 56 years old. I have been around MLM's and pyramid schemes my entire life, from family and friends selling Avon to meeting with co workers at Mcdonald's after work. I never participated because, while they talked a lot, they never actually said anything about how you got paid, and the people pitching them didn't seem to be doing much better than I was lol

[@Volkbrecht]

They tell you if show serious interest in joining. You get paid a percentage of the revenue your line creates, and once that revenue has been large and steady enough you actually get salaried. Although that is not that easy to achieve nowadays, since the companies have been around for a long time and most people are either customers already, or don't want to be.

[@Erin-rg3dw]

When I did Mary Kay (many years ago, don't judge), they were fairly upfront about the pay: 50% commission on everything you sell for base level, taxes and shipping come out of your commission since you're independent. My recruiter then got 2% commission on each sale I made, and she was paying her way through college with her earnings. After that level, it changed based on your group size, etc., eventually to the point of a salary. What they don't tell you is that the products are often overpriced, not enough quality for the price, and people generally don't love it enough to make a good business from. Also, that with the older brands (like MK and Avon) everyone and their mother sold it at some point 😆

[@playboymaxim]

@@Erin-rg3dw Would never judge lol! These are life lessons, no shame in the game!

[@playboymaxim]

@@Volkbrecht That was one of the things that turned me off about them, nobody really explains when you're going to get paid. That, and the fact I knew I was a really crappy salesman and would never convince enough people to get me paid lol

[@Chuntise]

Growing up in Utah I thought Amway was a shipping company like FedEx/UPS because my dad was a contractor to deliver Amway products to the people actually selling the product. It only dawned on me after two decades that, when I told people my dad worked for Amway, people thought he sold Amway products.

[@mrchrislikestolaugh]

I was in 2 MLM’s, Vemma and The Global Information Network. I received a settlement check for each one being a pyramid scheme.

[@m.vojkovic-fm9gn]

Can you remember how old was Vemma when you joined at that point?

[@RioluLucario1994]

I almost got sucked into one of these MLM schemes a decade back. Vector Marketing was their name and they sold Cutco products. I was 18, just graduated high school, moved to a new town, and didn't know any better. Got passed the interviews and was excited to land my first job...but I was sceptical. I wasn't sociable enough to go door to door as a salesman, and I certainly didn't have the money to afford any inventory. Needless to say, after the first day of orientation I never went back. Granted, we were still feeling the effects of the 2008 recession and I couldn't get a job anywhere, but it was better than forking out hundreds of dollars for a company I don't know. Enlisted in the military in 2016 with a rate that translates well to a civilian job. I'll be getting out in a few years, and every now and then I look back to where I started. I have no regrets with not going through with the MLM scheme. That, combined with spending years in a futile effort searching for a job, allows me to appreciate where I'm at now.

[@pescanubes]

Great video, this culture isn't only affecting migrants, here in latin america there is an explosion of mlm stuff disguised as other things.

[@AwesomeHairo]

"Great video. This culture..."*

[@weird-guy]

Better to sell used iPhones or fast fashion imported from Europe 😂

[@koklead7904]

It's so easy to stop people selling you MLM. Instead of being a tier down, since they are so confident of the brand tell them you will join only if they will switch tiers with you. See them run away

[@Volkbrecht]

It's even easier than that. Just say no. They get that.

[@Spartan0430]

@@Volkbrecht i want to live in your fantasy world

[@karinaz8756]

@@Volkbrechtno - is a full sentence.

[@Volkbrecht]

@@karinaz8756 ?

[@ZanethMedia]

I was nearly part of the Amway MLM a few years back. Thankfully my mom knew what it was and rescued me from joining.

[@Frzned9x]

I remembered getting recruited to MLM by an old senior I was a friends with. They sat us in a small room, i was actually very swayed by their product and their model. But then they spent 30 minutes talking about how MLM is not a pyramid scheme and it triggered all the redflag in me so i didnt. Like i didnt know what the fuck pyramid scheme is but there aint no way they have to spend this long saying they are not it if they arent doing something illegal.

[@Volkbrecht]

My mom joined. Tried to get me in, too, but I did not want to. She is still with them, although only as a customer. Never any problems with the company or her sponsor. In the end it's about how clueless people are. Of course MLMs are about selling product, not recruiting people. That is just their way of marketing.

[@AstraCrits]

​@@Volkbrechtbruh you're all over this comment section trying pathetically to defend MLMs just stop trying bro

[@Pancakegr8]

I go out of my way to try rescuing people since I know first hand how the damage caused by Amway is pivotal.

[@phyrexian_dude4645]

I used to work in one, not as one of the seller but inside of the company in the warehouse and then archive. Just looking the sales bills it was insane the amount of money was burned on the trash that was sold there. Low end sales where at worst in the $50 USD and the absolute worst one i ever saw was a woman buying around $20k in products. But the seminars... oh boy, the seminars... that shit its brainwashing cultish nonsense and $250 for a ticket just to enter. The most senior guy i met there told me this on MLM "Dont waste your money on this kind of shit. The only real difference with this and a Pyramid Scheme is that, the government wont touch the MLM just because they pay their taxes and as long as they pay their cut, this wont ever end."

[@t1ll316]

had one friend that got caught up in an MLM and completely ruined his reputation with one friend group, its evil stuff

[@mariokarter13]

"Herbalife spent $810K on lobbying in 2021 alone." If you know anything about lobbying, that's basically nothing.

[@cryptaveli]

Not sure what’s worse, the MLMs or the people who take up for them.

[@jacobjensen7704]

Exploitation is far worse than naïveté.

[@chrisjackson1215]

@@jacobjensen7704 Depends who you ask. Being "naive" is often an excuse used by people who are engaging in greed. There often isn't much of a distinction between the two.

[@irvinm1957]

Why not both😂

[@LuisSoto-fw3if]

@@chrisjackson1215 There is nothing greedy about trying to make a better life for yourself. Most people who fall into MLMs are people who have no education or fresh graduates, so their income opportunities are limited. Sure, there are SOME who are trying to abuse those people, those are the ones that make money off MLMs, but the ones that loose it are mostly naive or ignrant or both.

[@1wun1]

​@@LuisSoto-fw3ifsome people can sense the bs but they still join hoping to make their cut from the suckers who'll come next.

[@jordankendall86]

I didn't know that some even at the top of a MLM are also not necessarily doing well financially. I can confirm that MLM top members do accumulate large hoards of unused product. A friend of mine had a family member that was a high ranking member of Doterra. He passed away and the family had to figure out how to get rid of hundreds of boxes of Doterra product. He lived in Utah and I can also confirm that too many people in Utah fall for scams. Utah has a very high trust community. Also, this guy didn't pay taxes for many years and left his surviving wife which had no clue with the job of cleaning it up and paying all the penalties. And it is also worth noting that he thought COVID was a conspiracy and refused to observe social distancing, wear a mask, and take vaccines, which is why he died. He got COVID, did not take it serious, and essentially died due to lack of proper early preventative treatment. When he arrived at the hospital, it was too late. On his death bed he said he was stupid for not getting a vaccine and waiting until he had to be rushed to the hospital. This is probably because Doterra as a whole have tried to convince everyone that you can cure or fix anything with essential oils. His wife, who also was brainwashed by Doterra, but no more, now tells people to get vaccinated and listen to real medical research.

[@-JazzHands-]

The clot shots and masks did absolutely nothing to stop the spread.

[@tangydiesel1886]

They say that for all diseases and illnesses. Sure, lavender may help you relax, and lemon may sooth a sore throat, but cinnamon on your feet isn't going to cure/prevent influenza and their "ointments" and sprays aren't going to prevent infection. I have a relative in that mess, and they say the most bonkers things. And they guilt people into it. "Oh, your family members will all die gruesome deaths unless you buy $300 a month of this." And yes, they tell everyone to refuse to see medical help and just rub stuff on yourself. I'm not sure how they can legally say all that they do.

[@alvadagansta]

@@-JazzHands- ^ another MLM member

[@eudofia]

​@@-JazzHands-It did stop the spread. How do you explain the 90% drop in ordinary flu cases over the same period? Masks and social distancing. More than half the US population have taken the Covid vaccine, and we now have have herd immunity, so the other half can now falsely claim: see we told you, vaccines don't work. I didn't take the vaccine and I didn't die. Yeah right. And by the way, you are alive today thanks to the various vaccines you were given as a kid against common diseases like chicken pox, rubella, etc

[@MorbidEel]

You can just not pay taxes and there will be no consequences until you die?

[@Zed_Oud]

MLMs would only be sustainable if the entire hierarchy cost less to pay than traditional marketing costs any company. Unfortunately for them, marketing is more efficient than direct sales.

[@beyondEV]

They work if you sell something really valuable, like life insurance + retirement products. There you do need the personal sales rep contact anyway, and people trust their friend more than any stranger salesperson. the problem is: this is a rather limited market. MLM with a good product will saturate it very rapidly. and when market saturation is approached there is next to no more money to be made (unless for the very top). if you sell cheap consumer products, you will never be able to sustain the hierarchy.

[@michaelvick2872]

@@beyondEVPrimerica is the largest insurance MLM in America, and they only sell insurance and investment portfolios. I think luck and timing have a lot to do with it as well

[@harrypotter5460]

I’m not sure this is true. There are MLM’s which have existed for almost a century, so at least some are sustainable.

[@Zed_Oud]

@@harrypotter5460 part of sustainability is the ability to coexist and not deplete the (economic) environment. Amazon warehouses are a good (bad?) example with their high turnover rate and rate and intensity of workplace injuries.

[@kunkker77]

@@harrypotter5460 MLMs are sustainable. They just need to keep ruining the lives of the thousands of foot soldiers to feed the owners and there will always be a supply of more idiots to scam into joining and donating their life savings to the MLM

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

REALLY happy you covered this! You did a really great job covering the beats of just how disgusting MLM's are. For those who would like to see and hear first hand just how bad these schemes are, I cannot recommend Hannah Alonzo's KZbin channel enough. She has a great playlist dedicated to reading the stories sent in regarding MLM's and she's always happy to accept new submissions. I think a lot of us have had some kind of experience with an MLM...sadly, I actually worked for one without realizing what it was and then was pitched one by my own cousin. Hannah also has a series where she shows social media videos and posts from those in MLM's and debunks the lies and half-truths often told, so you get the first-hand stories and then as a sort of supplememt, you can see the videos and proof of their tactics. Her goal isn't to shame people, but to pick apart exactly why these posts and videos are harmful. She's a former teacher, an elementary school teacher, so breaking things down for even a child to understand is her forte, and she does an excellent job of it. Also, if you enjoy cats, her cat Zeke makes himself the star of the show, so there's another reason to watch 😊

[@Geneparmesan]

They are far worse and I’m glad you said this. They live on for so long, the prey on the most vulnerable and the turn good people into robots.

[@CindyTemple]

are we talking about mlm or medicare?

[@bacool]

Life coaching and coaches coaching coaches are very similar to this MLM set up. The entire click funnels crew very similar

[@LuisSoto-fw3if]

When I was younger I went to one of the Herbalife seminars, mostly following a female friend, so you know why I was there. They make it sound legit, and it's because it follows some basic level of business logic. You sell product, you get money. It's pretty simple, really. I stopped because of a few factors. 1) I wasn't confortable approaching random people on the street and thought there was no way that could work (which it doesn't) 2) My friend's dad also got into it, the dude spent lots of money to get into a highlevel position and then nothing came of it. 3) A friend of my friend was also into it (he was the one that rope her in in the first place). The dude ask me "Do you have a Ps3? (at the time it was the newest one)" I said yeah, he told me to sell it to buy some products. I knew he would get a cut of my purchase, as he was two levels above me, and that, together with everything else, made me realize he was just going after my money. The last part also happened in a nice restaurant that he paid for, so he was definitely trying to look like an important person. Thankfully I didn't spend anymoney, other than the start up kid which was cheap. But fuck them.

[@pushslice]

Did you at least score??

[@Nutrition_77]

@@pushsliceimmediately my first thought, that’s hilarious

[@CatsMeowPaw]

I remember an excited new Amway member telling me in 2006 that Amway is the future of shopping. Well, 17 years later that still hasn't happened.

[@jdavi195]

The amount of people who want the human connection of an MLM is staggering.

[@zaknyberg]

Thank you for doing a video on this topic. When I was in high school I was seeking a business mentor to learn more about entrepreneurship. Low and behold this attracted an MLM recruiter. I remember having a meeting with him where he introduced me to his other “mentee”and how “he saw something special in him.” The kid worked at IHOP and was definitely English second language. Sadly, I knew it wasn’t because he saw something in him, and more saw him as gullible to his “financial freedom” talk. I hate that they take advantage of minorities seeking a better life. Thankfully I never spent any money and got out once I learned of the company which was Amway. Like anyone with internet connection, I Googled Amway and learned what it truly was. The next meeting I had with the recruiter I started to ask some very direct questions to which I was brushed off or given vague answers to. I remember the recruiters mentor flaunting a very average middle class suburban lifestyle. Which to me didn’t scream “financial freedom” like the dreams of Lamborghini’s and coastal real estate. I was like “soo what’s the big deal…” I felt frustrated in the end because I wanted to expose the cult like behaviors and convince the recruiter he was doing something wrong. I sent him John Oliver’s video on MLMs and again was brushed off. What frustrates me the most is they cut you off the minute you start exposing them. Making it impossible to actually convince them or others inside what MLMs actually are.

[@Volkbrecht]

It's not all that clear cut. MLMs actually do work for some. And try achieving a middle-class lifestyle as what is basically a self-employed salesman. It's not easy. Amway does sell products, some of them fairly decent. It's just that in a saturated market, it's difficult to aquire new customers, not to speak of recruiting an active line of new salespeople you can mentor. This is imo where the problems stem from. The MLM idea was successful for a reason. I think the mistake they made was to not switch to a more traditional distribution model once their growth potential via direct marketing was exhausted. Once internet shopping started, they were done anyway. But even before that they were basically just scraping the bottom of the barrel. When the only way to make (more) money is predatory, people wil resort to that. That doesn't make the concept predatory.

[@lbiesek]

People are always ruined by greed. If the offer is too good to be true, most of the time it is.

[@hazzdazz]

my ex girlfriend is part of Juice+ MLM company and it was here entire life , she only talks about " The business" and how it is going to someday make her a millionaire ,finacialy free and not have to work a 9 to 5 job , she had those always grind mindset, I even went with her to an event and it was the weirdest thing ever, the funny part is that she broke up with me because she didn't want to be tied up in a serious realtionship right now because she is on a growing path , whatever that means and last week I found out she quit her part time job to do this "business" full time. But have to admit she was a pretty good talker . pretty cute and fit and had an active tik tok and insta, so of course people are going to buy her products.

[@mikestaihr5183]

I too have lumped MLM with Ponzi schemes. Love the way you made MLM much worse....LOL... There is a side note here....If Madoff hadn't screwed over rich, "influential", people he wouldn't have been "punished" as hard as he was...... MLM continue to strip the last crumbs from the "less wealthy" and suffer no consequences whatsoever...

[@KnightMirkoYo]

Some of it is so reminiscent of cults. It's insane that such things are still legal.

[@ryancraig2795]

Cults are legal. Some of them get big enough to be considered religions, like LDS or Jehovah's Witnesses.

[@CA-bw9vw]

I have to both defend and attack Avon here. My mom used to be a rep for 10+ years here in the Philippines. 1. They did not push hard on recruitment. My mom never recruited anybody herself. 2. Their pricing was competitive until drop shipping and online selling exploded. In fact, most of my mom's customers were housemaids, security guards, street vendors, etc. 3. No, my mom could not have possibly earned full time income by selling Avon. She worked HARD. Some days she walked around the neighborhood for hours under the burning sun, talking to literally everybody she walked by. Which is exactly why: 4. MLM people can only succeed through DECEPTION, not honest hard work. To succeed, you have to market yourself as some enlightened guru living a fancy lifestyle and/or fool just enough people to be recruited under you.

[@FazedForever]

I was recruited into Amway a couple years back by some lady who came through my job. I went along with it for about week or so, cause i was curious and figured it might actually lead to something. Then they explained everything to me and talked about the events they hold that cost its members like a hundred dollars or more i think. Never contacted them after that and just decided to keep on struggling my way

[@Volkbrecht]

I have never been to any of those events. My mother has been, though. And from what she described, you get a decent show for the money. My mother is no dummie, though. She sees the whole thing for what it is, and has long ago abandoned any hope she may become successful in the business. She still enjoys attending these retreats every few years, though. For her, it's like a little vacation with some former coworkers (she's retired), and the motivational speakers are fairly good, she says.

[@FirstNameBunchANumbers]

Appreciate you addressing MLMs targeting Mormon women. an incredibly vulnerable group to be taken advantage of by these companies

[@amanasd26]

you could say the same thing about mormonism in general(or any religion) Just another scam

[@JustMe99999]

LDS is cult-like, so it's not surprising that they fall for cult-like MLMs.

[@FirstNameBunchANumbers]

@@JustMe99999 I think they're susceptible to scams, sure, but I don't think that's because on anything inherent about them. They're trained to rely on blind faith, to fight against doubt, and to ignore naysayers - I don't have as much of a problem with individual Mormons as much as I have problems with the leaders of the LDS church and the people who lie (and know they're lying) to take advantage of perfectly kind regular people, until they're unable to protect themselves about others taking advantage of them Not to mention an equally, or maybe more, disgusting contributing factor is that women are so heavily discouraged to pursue education or to work outside of the home. The emphasis on traditional gender roles, deferring to your husband, and only focusing on raising a family informs every decision a Mormon woman makes. So if a stay-at-home wife/mother needs to make extra income because it's unrealistic to raise a large family on a sigle income, it makes complete sense that they would buy into the opportunity these MLMs sell

[@appalachiabrauchfrau]

@@JustMe99999 it's not just that, it's that the LDS has iffy feelings on women in the workforce so MLMs let moms feel like they're still contributing without engaging with the taboo of holding a real job.

[@Pyro_Might]

I seen a lot of active duties and veterans get involved with this crap. We tend to see a lot of BS amongst ourselves but yet fall for MLM.

[@orpheusepiphanes2797]

The military is itself a pyramid scheme/cult that sucks in poor people so if it worked once itll work again

[@shrimpofdeath5199]

I dated this girl who was into some MLM scheme. She was cute and had a great butt. I was always sceptical about her "business," but didn't voice it too much. And then she left me because I was dragging her back and preventing her from succeeding, or something like that.

[@rocktor1987]

One can ignore many things for a great butt!

[@FastRacer-kg6cz]

Life can wait just to grab some great butt on the way bravo my friend

[@notvenom1152]

These MLMs do a great job of convincing people something like, "don't listen to other people that this bad for you. They're holding you back." And "you're failing because you're not trying hard enough."

[@dcoy8666]

Ahhh TMI

[@MARKCRASTO]

I hope you tapped that hard!!

[@DaFactsNoNonsense1713]

Funny how they teach you how this all works as a "kid", when they get us to sell "popcorn" or "chocolate almonds" = at that age it should be pretty obvious when you get-in over your head with "too much" product/inventory, that you can't sell anymore OR you're smart enough to know "exactly" how much product you need because you know exactly who you're selling to

[@theflyingspaget]

They made us fill out pages of everyone we knew and estimate how much we could sell to them whenever they'd hand out the packets for these stupid fundraisers, in all of my school years I've only known one kid who ended up overstocked for one of these, he planned on selling a ton of candles to his hippie aunt but oops, his cousin had already done the same fundraiser a year prior and she was still burning through those candles. Still, he lost what, thirty bucks? There's a reason they switched to just making you fill out forms instead of expecting you to keep stock. I feel like MLMs would be less predatory with the same model, but then again they wouldn't make money.

[@DaFactsNoNonsense1713]

@@theflyingspaget they'd do that if they were smart, but their "greed" overrides their common-sense

[@Francisco-Danconia]

It is so hilarious that you just released this video. I have been binge-watching "Always Marco" MLM vids out of nowhere

[@DexterDavidDexterSD]

Great content. It's so sad that there are so many get rich quick schemes out there trying to sell you the idea of financial freedom, extra source of income, being your own boss, etc. If it was that easy to become rich quickly, everyone would be rich. Heck even career counseling can be misleading nowadays. If someone is trying to sell you a dream, a better life, financial freedom, a course, a subscription, etc, it's 99% likely going to be no good for you. At the end of the day, the majority of them are not selfless. They do what they do to gain something out of it at the cost of your loss.

[@joshuapatrick682]

MLM is the perfect business model, you convince your customers that they are somehow “empowered” as “contractors” meaning you force them to huy your products as employees with no legal protections.

[@kaloyandichev]

“Back when Vice was good” - love that one 😂

[@wmjessemiller]

I caught that too haha

[@workwithjoshua]

Epic! I wrote an article 'Why MLMs are bad' - in fact, I rank #1 for that keyword on Google. Glad to see you used some of my points and even went beyond in this video. Remarkable! 🔥 I'd never thought that someone would actually be more successful in a pyramid scheme, but here we are. P.s. Always Marco recently put out an epic video about Primerica that's gaining some huge traction.

[@edgarLV]

I was in one MLM scheme. It was good in beginning - you buy when you want and need and product was good. Got a lot of members etc. But then they change - have to buy monthly or you loose your position in the scheme. It end up fast. People just left and all Business went in the dust. Business went well when people had that freedom and no pressure, but collapse when they change to traditional MLM. 🤦‍♂️

[@sured1227]

sounds like you just werent able to lead a group.

[@ubcroel4022]

@@sured1227 ligma

[@drunkenxrage]

Great vid as usual! Not sure if you can change it at this point, but you have a small editing blooper at 5:48 😉

[@AmazingDuckmeister]

MLM= the business equivalent of a cult.

[@hydraulichydra8363]

One thing I have noticed is: if you make a financial decision in your own head, with all input for the decision being stuff you already knew, or information you asked for from friends, family, internet, even strangers, it is far more likely to be the correct one than a decision made when someone, even a family member, _came to you_ to convince you to make it. Whenever someone is trying to "sell you" on a product, they are attempting to get past your better judgement. They don't want you making comparisons between theirs and their competitors, and they _certainly_ don't want you researching them online. My profession is not a "sales job" but management is pushing it anyway. Many of us (myself and coworkers) have ethical objections because, surprise surprise, you can get the same damn thing at Walmart for 1/3rd the price. But of course, the silver tongue and convincing the customer (who likely won't get out his phone and check during the conversation) that your product is "better" than the competitors can sometimes circumvent that. Back to MLMs, it's the same thing. A person who decides on his own that he would like to start a business, upon actually finding out all that it entails will think twice. If he does go for it, he will be more likely to be actually prepared and have realistic expectations about how much money he's going to be making by what time. If he thinks the math of his prospective field isn't adding up, he won't go for it. But again, the silver tongued MLM salesman can get him to look past all that.

[@jamilahrazzaq8780]

I'm so glad someone is calling out MLMs.

[@Waldohasaskit210]

The LDS church does not allow MLM companies to post opportunities on their job site, they have sent many letters to be read at the pulpit warning members to be cautious of any business opportunities or get rich quick schemes even from fellow members and being honest in all your business dealings is a requirement to stay in good standing. That being said, it's still an ongoing issue as a side effect of having a close knit community.

[@agmuntianu]

"That being said, it's still an ongoing issue as a side effect of having a close knit community.", so basically LDS has worked hard to build an isolated community of gullible members and it's salty other fraudsters are poaching on their turf.

[@cl5470]

It's actually becauze both MLMs and Mormonism are only rewarding if you recruit and because both use cult tactics to keep the bottom of the pyramid invested.

[@Pancakegr8]

I have friends still in Amway and watching this video is tearing me up inside.

[@KrolPawi]

And here i thought Avalon was just a legitimate fancy cosmetics company.

[@jaynycha1705]

"Avon"

[@pushslice]

It’s just a fancier-than-average animated movie with weird looking ‘humans’

[@Connor-vj7vf]

Mormons are overrepresented in MLMs because if you've already fallen for one you may as well go for another

[@varniitprofessional]

Selling hope is good but not at expense of making them hopeless after that.

[@jfrankcarr]

I wish this info had been readily available 35 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of money.

[@tabathaterry2998]

I knew a Chinese family the dog was named Amway I thought it was a Chinese name my mom told what it was then I started noticing all the products around the house boxes and boxes everywhere

[@Chris-ci8vs]

hahaha

[@goremaker244]

The group of people I've seen hit the hardest by MLM's are military wives. A lot of them are very young, stuck at home with a baby and far from friends and families to talk them out of it.

[@Ryan-wx1bi]

Disappointed he didnt put the largest MLM called Primerica. They need more scruitiny

[@Lazaven]

Primerica is not the largest MLM Amway is.

[@Ryan-wx1bi]

@@Lazaven Primerica has over 6 times the market cap so their company is at a much higher valuation

[@Lazaven]

@@Ryan-wx1bi Amway has more reps Primerica is bigger on wall st because unlike the MLMs in this video, you actually have to get federal and state licences and there is no products only services so your garage doesn't fill up with junk you don't need thereby losing 10s of thousands of dollars it only cost 99 bucks for your application fee to the state and 25 a month for your back office and that's it for comparison real estate agents pay hundreds for MLS every month. And when you pass your life insurance test Primerica gives you the 99 back so really it's only 25 bucks if you think about it you can also get your mortgage and securities license as well I got my series 65 to become a licensed Financial advisor through Primerica. I never have to recruit a single soul to make 6 figures I just need 10 million dollars AUM helping clients save for retirement through IRAs annuities and Managed accounts and I'll make 15,000 a month forever

[@_CoachW]

I had heard that a lot of MLMs come out of Utah. Just thought that was an interesting coincidence if it's true. Now it sounds like a documentary needs to be made.

[@user-jk5rt4kd8q]

"back when Vice was good"... I caught that lol and I loved it 👍 Vice went from awesome to insufferable at breakneck speed

[@lovetobe6118]

I remember a lady throwing a makeup party to try out products. Because of severe skin sensitivities I declined to actually participate and was just an observer, which I believe helped me see what was going on. I was shocked the lady seemed more focused on signing us up to sell rather than on actually getting us to purchase the products we tried. My mother was interested, but I changed her mind when I helped her realize she kust didn't have the time to sell products and throw parties just to get a discount.

[@PERTEKofficial]

Someone tried to rope me into Amway at one point, it seemed enticing but something felt fishy about it. I ended up attending one of the seminars and noticed it was basically just some guy flaunting his wealth and promising we can have that too. I was given a CD afterwards, and listened to it all the way through, and at the end, it stated the average Amway IBO makes around $2,000 a year. A YEAR. It became very obvious to me that it’s a scam after that. Now I have a friend that’s doing Amway and I’ve talked to her about it, but she’s convinced it’s a legitimate way to start a business unfortunately. These days I am starting a company, my own company. It’s hard work. But saying you have to work all day every day doesn’t sound as motivating. Fellow entrepreneurs, it is definitely possible, but MLMs aren’t it. Start your own company. It isn’t easy, you’ll be working all the time, BUT you’re working on YOUR dream. Not someone else’s. You’re making your idea come to life. So working all day long means you’re spending all day working on your dream, your idea. You’re not selling someone else’s product, you’re selling your own product.

[@petereinert7581]

I was a Pampered Chef (MLM) rep for about 3 months. I bought in for $300 (350?), got $800 ($850?) worth of product, ran a few Facebook sales and made more than my money back. Not much more, but a couple hundred bucks. Could I have made more by working at McDonalds? Yeah, maybe.I left when I realized that a "live" show would require me to bring nearly every product in the starter pack (3 giant boxes!) and do all the dishes afterward. Never recruited anybody. Good quality product, everybody loves it, no complaints.

[@D4rK3sTsH4d0W]

A few of my friends are in to selling Scentsy products. I'm not sure how it's going for them now, but about half a year after the first one started, She said she wasn't doing it for the money, but by acting as a seller, she could get some free products and or a big discount on products or something like that. I'm pretty sure she's invested all the money she's made back into her own supply of it. I bought some from her and it's great, though a bit more expensive than candles, but basically no risk of starting a fire, so I like it

[@godthatisfox]

This sounds like the business version of scientology. Interesting.

[@tjnotico]

Wanna start one?

[@4spooky8u]

I had a friend try to sign me up for one of these in Highschool. I went to one of their meetings and everything. I knew right away it was some sort of scam cult lol. I stopped talking to that friend shortly after too. edit: It was Amway he was trying to get me to sign up for.

[@TheRonnieaj]

Oh god. I went to an Amway meeting with a friend who wanted to join and me to join him, and we were both like, oh they’re for real for real crazy!

[@4spooky8u]

@@TheRonnieaj The thing that annoyed me the most was how almost all of the people that were there being recruited were newly arriving immigrants. Their own friends and family were taking advantage of them.

[@leibniz4455]

So... I am a student. Yep.. Got scammed. I'm ashamed to announce, but it's 50,000 pesos. I was baited to the idea of my talents. I don't really show it on KZbin, but I got a talent on editing, as well as public speaking. I remember one of the persuayers' (if that's a term) arguments were that my parents were business people. (Actually on real estate) Hence, scammers would go on heights as well as lying to get you to pay up, or even target your vulnerabilities, on my case.. I was open to this industry WAY TOO EARLY. I was even shocked why I received soap, coffee, and such on my FIRST DAY. That was a heads up, further research suggested that this is how MLM/Pyramid Schemes work. Hence, if I can.... I'd really just educate anyone else here on the surface of the Earth to never be a part of MLM/Pyramid Scheming.

[@LizRealGirlBeauty]

I hate it when someone defends MLMs by saying "after [insert amount if time] I broke even." No, you lost time where you could have been working somewhere and actually earning income. Or you lost time with your family and friends. You still lost.

[@jollyroger2594]

I earned good money on direct selling considering amount of time and effort... It is job like any other!

[@qlxmaosldk3576]

Japanese call MLM "rat seminar" and I like that term

[@alliu6562]

I’m so glad that anti-mlm is growing as a movement. We need to inform people, because MLMs make people lose an insane amount of money. You’re better off gambling at a slot machine.

[@hughmann706]

At first I was like, this almost sounds like a cult, but after hearing they try to make you cut ties with your family I'm sure it's 100% a cult.

[@DevinJamalSims]

Imagine become a successful entrepreneur but selling a product/service that isn’t even your own lol 🤡. These “companies” are pure evil.

[@britneythao]

Getting involved in MLM is like buying a growing stock. The sooner people buy that stock, the better. The later you buy, the worse. The profit people are making in MLM business is based on the monthly payments made by their members. The older ones will feed on the later ones and so on, until one day - definitely and absolutely that day will eventually come - when the number of members reaches its peak, the later ones will suffer. When you buy a stock, you want to be one of the very few early people who bought at the low prices. If you see an MLM organization start to grow so big, don't get so excited, but instead, you should be worried because you are already late to the party.

[@eryalmario5299]

Not pyramid scheme but much worse

[@Obamanamamama]

Shout out to the exciting mistake at 5:47

[@ArthurvanH0udt]

What always strikes me is that Tupperware also was marked as an MLM. Although it had the parties it didn’t have the excessive buy in and multi level (hence the word MLM) of people above earning a LOT.

[@karinaz8756]

When the only way you can get ahead is to sign people up and not by selling your product it’s a pyramid scheme. Many stay alive by buying their own inventory at the end of the month.

[@deannal.newton9772]

Yeah, you know that Multi-Level Marketing companies are bad when it even makes Pyramid Schemes look bad. At least with a Pyramid Scheme you can opt out of it after realizing that something shady is going on but with a Multi-Level Marketing company you'd have to jump through loops just to opt out of a payment plan or "employment" for them. I'm also aware that Multi-Level Marketing companies are predatory by nature as well as unsustainable compared to a single level marketing company. It's not to say that single level marketing companies aren't shady, it's just that with MLMs most if not all are shady and they are similar to cults. It doesn't really help that some cults are disguised as MLMs which is like a con artist who is secretly a serial killer, both of them are bad but one is worse than the other. Also he's not wrong about Multi-Level Marketing companies having pyramids inside pyramids and sometimes pyramids that are on top of those pyraminds that are inside of pyramids.

[@Volkbrecht]

The thing is, for the MLM scheme to work as a scheme you need to be an idiot. Who in their right mind subscribes to a payment plan for shit they don't need? I have seen how Amway works, nothing technically wrong with that. You buy an initial package for a certain amount of money, you are even advised to buy products you like and want to use yourself, the idea being that you will do easier advertising shit you are convinced of. But that's it. Nobody forces you to buy more, or recruit anyone. You do this only if you want to. Also, the monetization scheme is absolutely transparent: you get paid a percentage of the revenue your line creates. If your idea of success is to repeatedly grab the 3% of the initial package your recruits need to buy, for how long do you realistically think you can keep this going before you run out of friends and relatives? Ultimately the focus needs to be on moving product, and if you can't see yourself achieving that, maybe you shouldn't waste time on trying. Just take the partner-discount and shop what you need without the need for inviting your sponsor over. It's true that they employ certain brainwashing techniques. But, as I said, for those to work you need be stupid to start with. If this shit was as easy as they try to make it sound, they wouldn't come to you to try and sell it, people would be queuing up to join. Since they don't, well maybe it's not such an easy side hustle after all. Problem solved.

[@deannal.newton9772]

@@Volkbrecht They make you think that you don't have to recruit people or buy the products but the moment you decide to leave the company everyone there would shun you, call you horrible names, and try to ruin your life long even more when you joined the place. It's one of the reasons why I compare MLMs to cults, they do the exact same thing to recruit members and when you want out they attack you. So it's not always that simple because anyone could be fooled into joining a cult when it comes to desperation or when you're new to town and don't know anyone. I'm not saying that you should join MLMs or cults to have a social network of like-minded individuls, I'm just saying that under the right circumstances anyone could be fooled into joining a cult just like with MLMs.

[@isaacvitela5131]

​@@Volkbrechtunfortunately there are more idiots in the world that we have several leading countries

[@earthsteward9]

I was listening to the podcast Money Feels and they said MLM basically means Mothers Loose Money

[@narongritrodphroboon8456]

I got down into this business thing for 4 whole years in university, at that point I'm still a weak mind person, vulnerable, easy to manipulate. Thank god that there's a breaking point helping me get out of that cult and never turning back again. When I looked back, I really wasted my youth, friends, and a lot more. I'm really glad for you all that are realized this sooner than I.

[@antonSugar]

I always thought Avon was legit cause they never asked my mom to join. They just ordered whatever she circled on the catalog, and she would get it in a few weeks.

[@whiteshadow7584]

Same. Might look into them this weekend.

[@Lazaven]

Avon is legit they just are a more low-key MLM without the high pressure sales tactics and terrible reputation and lawsuits

[@OverEast34]

College students are another group they love targeting because of financial struggles and naivety. Me and a couple guys in college got into a travel based MLM and lost thousands of dollars.

[@Rotebearda]

College students are already familar with massive debt with faithless promises of return

[@OverEast34]

@@Rotebearda that’s figured out once the diploma is in hand lol

[@marcomartinez1843]

As someone who is in the Philippines, I can verify that 13:05 is true (especially the former); Tutok To Win Party-list won in the House of Representatives with Sam Verzosa ,an MLM co-founder of Frontrow, as their 1st representative. I'm even ashamed not only because I joined his MLM by a friend, but I also indirectly financed his party-list's victory.

[@torernning8652]

Lost a couple of thousand in the stock market today, a new video from you guys was what I needed.