Selling Failure: MLMs and Pyramid Schemes

[@GeorgRockallSchmidt]

Heads up- someone is once again trying to imitate me in the comments, to sell bitcoin. How ironic. If you see a comment that looks like me, but has those two dots over the "i" in Schmidt, it isn't me. I'm removing and reporting them as quickly as I can, but feel free to report them yourself as well. Thanks!

[@brianyule1289]

Are you recruiting Georg Rockall-Schmidts to flog stuff for you? Where you recruited by a Georg Rockall-Schmidt?

[@jeenkzk5919]

Hey Georg! Why you selling bitcoin? .....oh it isn’t you. Maybe I should read your full comments before commenting

[@NuclearFireworks]

I'm reading this in your voice. Very strange.

[@jamiepratt9247]

Fulck off Schmitt. I'm not buying your bull shit. I'm heading over to get me some bit coin. Love the content. Your one of my top five KZbinrs. Don't let the mouth breathers slow your roll.

[@GodsBurden]

they commented on the post i made about how a scam video appeared before this one lol

[@BarkyLondon]

Had a casual acquaintance brag about how he was an entrepreneur. I told him he was in a pyramid scheme, because he was. He said -- "No, no, the structure is more like... a triangle."

[@OhV]

It's a reverse funnel system bro, totally legit.

[@AlejandroJMA]

LMAO that reminds me of that shark tank episode.

[@schmitty5461]

Did the light bulb go off in his head when he said triangle or was he to dense?

[@lennyjay8390]

So it was actually a triangle scheme 😨

[@BarkyLondon]

@@schmitty5461 No, he vigorously defended his * triangle * scheme that he hadn't made any money on until I left to drink myself into a stupor.

[@RedMeansRecording]

Dude your content is so godamn good. Thank you for your info and your personality.

[@J.Millhouse]

Omg I love you

[@AngusMokPhoto]

RMR commenting on a video GRS video... My worlds are colliding. Thank you both for your work 😊

[@antraxxslingshots]

I want to second that! Just a big big thank you for people that speak the truth. The value of his content is so high right now, like a breath of fresh air in a room full of shit.

[@agent_meister477]

I concur 👍

[@StCloud-ns7vt]

yes it's deeply deeply appealing. DEEPLY

[@Bluehawk2008]

I was almost recruited into a MLM for selling knifes during high school, but I crapped out because I couldn't put together a good enough list of friends, family and neighbours to harass in the opening phase of sales. By being a huge fucking loser, I was spared the stress and humiliation of buying a pile of inventory I could never sell, accruing debt and putting undue strain on my parents.

[@likira111]

King

[@ShawnThuris]

It can cut a penny, it can cut a rope, it can cut you off from your friends!

[@holiggan2008]

Exactly my situation. I can still remember the guy that was trying to recruit me (and a few other people), saying that a carpenter needs nails for their work, and our "nails" would be that contact list. I thought "f this guy, I'm out". That and having to pay to attend every """"seminar"""" that would supposedly teach me how to ace it. It looked too much like a scam.

[@josephmahar8809]

I was almost one too, except you had to buy the starter knife set to use for your demos. I couldn't afford it and was saved by that.

[@fromthefire4176]

Cutco by chance? I knew ppl who got pulled into that

[@NASkeywest]

If you have to try and explain that, “This isn’t a pyramid scheme.” To your friends and family. It’s probably a pyramid scheme.

[@espling]

It's a team building exercise!

[@xsteveconwayx]

“Yeah, we know! It’s a Ponzi scheme!”

[@BlindBison]

So Bitcoin lol

[@alexcarter8807]

It's the sales equivalent of "I'm not racist but ...."

[@mpazinambao2938]

😂

[@NASkeywest]

“99% of the people who invest in a pyramid scheme lose their money.” So you’re saying......THERES A CHANCE.

[@eastlynburkholder3559]

Really go out and buy some lottery tickets instead. You might lose your money but you will not lose as much energy and time and you will not lose friends buying lottery tickets with your own money.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Every MLM victim ever

[@richardtickler8555]

the 1% who make money are the 1% anyway eg DeVoss

[@dildonius]

LET IT RIIIIIIIDE!

[@cwg9238]

i imagine sociopaths do well at it. ive almost been roped into one that was called "prepaid legal services" and when i went to a seminar it was just desperate suckers being sold a lie by soulless suits.

[@MasterSanders]

There’s also the fact that the victims of MLMs are typically poor. There’s not enough incentive to prosecute these guys.

[@TheKid377400]

Me, naive, a fool: "Oh boy! A fun Georg video poking fun at MLMs? This definitely won't cut deep into the systems that govern us and leave me with a feeling of empty dread!"

[@real_fjcalabrese]

The one positive thing I got from AmWay was how to make a phone call and not sound depressed.

[@xBINARYGODx]

Worth it's weight in gold - perhaps literally.

[@real_fjcalabrese]

@@xBINARYGODx Although I lost money with the AmWay system, I made a living with the telephoning skills I picked up doing AmWay. I also learned how to give presentations and speak in front of people.

[@peppersaltman1805]

Thats very useful! Enthusiasm is important

[@etansivad]

My four years working retail selling film cameras taught me how to smile and fake it through dad's funeral. Especially came in handy when I'd tell morbid, gallows humor jokes just to see how people would react.

[@davidlean1060]

Isn't it telling that a company would come up with such training?! 'Why would I sound depressed on the phone?', 'because the people you are working for will grind your spirit and will down to a nub, that's why!'

[@anastasiacast]

“on becoming a god in central Florida” is a dark comedy series about pyramid schemes. Seriously underrated, highly recommend!

[@exquisitecorpse4917]

Definitely! I think the problem is just that most people don't have Showtime. I only saw it because my roommate got a 30 day trial. But it's an incredible show, witty writing, awesome performances, and a really intimate glance into a world that many of us have never experienced

[@michaelj8582]

yeah i recommend too 🤤

[@sicilianotoronto]

Thank you, I will need to watch that

[@ravenlord4]

The other part of the scam is the constant pressure of buying additional "training" materials. The guys up top make a ton of money by not selling product, but instead books, seminars, pod casts, and subscription fees for "advanced" strategy guides. All of which are non-refundable, of course.

[@emanym]

Amway had a problem with this, so they changed the rules. I knew people in Amway who left because their gravy train was cut off. They moved on to some other pyramid scheme after that, but I had lost contact with my former exploiters by then.

[@Kevin_Street]

It's amazing how similar this is to a certain religion.

[@ravenlord4]

@@Kevin_Street Indeed, and it quiet telling how often those kinds of religions and MLMs are referred to as "cults".

[@holiggan2008]

And useless too

[@ravenlord4]

@@holiggan2008 Unfortunately no, and that's the big problem. If only they WERE useless, then marks could dabble and then depart unharmed. Instead these schemes are brutally useful and effective, to the wrong people and for the wrong reasons :(

[@tophers3756]

Wouldn't it be grand if one of our 24/7 news networks would do reporting like this instead of harping about the same handful of headlines all day and night?

[@JustinTurpinRadicalDude]

"Here is the latest thing someone said that you should feel very angry about. If you don't feel angry, you are part of the problem. Look at all these people that are angry at said person. This many angry people can't possibly be wrong. Be angry."

[@djangofett4879]

John Oliver covered MLMs. great segment. mainstream media like CNN, Fox, ABC is owned by greedy sociopathic liar capitalists so why would they attack MLMs? Theyre birds of a feather.

[@apotato6278]

@@JustinTurpinRadicalDude Look at all these people being angry at the people they shouldn't be angry at. Obviously this is a huge problem. You should be angry at the angry people for being angry at the people they were not supposed to be angry at. This is a huge problem so why aren't you angry yet?

[@fersuremaybek756]

@@djangofett4879 ah yes blame the capitalists divert from the full facts just like they do...you even suggested john oliver did something good lol

[@cartoonhanks1708]

@@djangofett4879 The fact you think John Oliver isn't mainstream tells me a lot.

[@matthewmelange]

Loving these longer form 20 minute videos as you've made your way back to KZbin.

[@ladle9670]

There are even MLMs that don't exactly require you to buy product to sell, but just by selling to recruit for themselves, who then sell from company to recruits family and friends. The MLM I fell for was 'financial services' which ended up being life insurance. I wouldn't buy the life insurance as inventory, but I would pay them for training, likely buy my own life insurance and then sell life insurance not to strangers, but specifically my family and friends. I got out after 'only' going $120 deep in 'training' but I justify it as a lesson in marketing and employee motivation (they legitimately use very strong tactics to engender employee loyalty, for example, public recognition goes a long way.) Edit: hey, there's Primerica!

[@thepeatboggy]

My first job out of uni was something like this lol, never had to pay in, but the whole structure was sales people recruiting sales people to sell internet and other granny scams When I realised I wasn’t actually employed and was an independent contractor I left Whole thing just stunk so bad of bad business practice

[@JoakimKanon]

Thank you for bringing more attention to Emelem. He’s my favorite rapper.

[@theSemiChrist]

I hate you Mommy is probably my favorite Emelem song

[@crowmedicine3890]

Lol!

[@jackkraken3888]

This looks like a job for me so everybody just buy my tea.

[@toppersundquist]

My parents were in Amway for like seven years. They went to huge events, bought the motivational merch, had "uplines" over for dinner. It was a wild time. A wild... poor time.

[@michaeloneill1360]

I was in Amway for 1 year & Failed Out & Lost $5,000.00 Cdn. AMWAY doesn't Work!!

[@marmite8959]

The Peep Show episode where Toni gets Jez into a pyramid scheme does a great job summarising and stereotyping the whole thing. Perfectly captures the strategies and language used and the types of people who become unfortunate victims of it

[@abum4595]

Money pie!

[@heathershuler759]

how much washing-up do you think you could do without any washing-up liquid?

[@jonnoMoto]

What's pyramid selling?

[@mecca777]

SAVAGE!!!

[@emlynbeamish1565]

The best bit is when Jez is at the JLB job interview and tries to pyramid sell to his interviewer

[@nickbex]

On a roll with this content Georg, don't get burnt out!

[@luigimaster111]

I almost fell for an MLM, I was a young teenager trying to get his first job, in retrospect I'm even more disgusted at how hard the guy doing the seminar was trying to sucker me in specifically, if I had to guess it was because I had dressed nicely in preparation for an interview, so I looked more well off than anyone else there, perhaps I looked like I had a notable parental allowance to drain. I didn't know what an MLM was at the time, but I had fallen for enough viruse popups on the early internet at that point to know the phrases he was using were major red flags. Having felt robbed of my time, I did what any good angsty teenage would do and told the guy to go F himself up the A when he began to hock the starter packs. At the time being able to curse out an adult twice my age with no consequences was pretty therapeutic, it left me in a good mood despite it all.

[@notyourdamnbusiness8795]

"hey there, we have this great product we want you to sell." "sounds good." "but to do that you first have to buy product from us in big quantities." "sounds shit."

[@jonashansen6391]

A Danish comedian (Anders Bircow who is an Amway embassador) once tried recruiting me into a pyramid scheme. At first it was presented as a "job opportunity". I wasn't stupid enough to stick around though. One interesting distinction between American MLMs (as they are presented here) and the Danish one I was almost abducted into, is that it was centered less on the American "MONEY MONEY BE A BOSS" value set and more on being able to spend extra time with your family and stuff.

[@bendorlinhg6180]

Hip Tang is not a pyramid scheme, it is life.

[@yeoldpepsi]

The return gains from hip tang exceeds any monetary value put into it, this is a fact.

[@FloorFerret]

Even if he doesn't mention it you can always count on hiptang in the comments. Long live hiptang

[@keithlarsen7557]

That's because there's nothing about hiptang making you money. Being a hiptang distributor means buying a lot of hiptang, and giving it to your friends. You're not supposed to make money. You're supposed to hiptang.

[@ArabicNameGuy]

i have built a pyramid with my empty jars that will reach the heavens

[@maxwellbernard3446]

Despite all the economic crisis this is the right time to start up an investment

[@bizophone]

Ugh, this is like mental torture, but it's so well done. I once dated someone who got suckered into an MLM and it was heartbreaking & frustrating to see someone you care about get so ripped off. Hopefully this video prevents some people from getting caught up in an MLM.

[@irina3758]

One close friend tried to pull me into a blatant pyramid scheme once, I stopped being friends with them after that.

[@NecromancyForKids]

Had an uncle who tried to get me into a pyramid scheme, and my idiot brother-in-law joined one for a while. I feel bad for people who are genuinely tricked into these things, but basically, if a business opportunity sounds too good to be true, it 100% is.

[@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747]

It's so fucking shameful that must people enroll in this crap because they want to get a decent wage that their day job can't provide.

[@dominictemple]

Up the ziggurat lickety split! Love the Red Dwarf reference Georg, very subtle. Also, I do like the new direction of your channel. Keep up the fantastic work mate.

[@JohnTaylor-fh4et]

It's all like that movie "Human Centipede", you just hope your not the middle or last person. Psst most of us are the last person.

[@jvccr7533]

The Human Centipede could have been great commentary on MLMs if they had sewn 2 people to each person's butthole.

[@realGBx64]

When someone buys in for the pyramid scheme because they “want to be successful”, but have not made any effort to check what is the quality of the product, can they sell it to customers, but get in because of the hope they can recruit their friends... it is hard for me to feel sorry for them when their greed bites them in their ass. However, those who actually manage to earn money by actually managing to entrap people in the scheme, they should be thrown in prison.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Some just dont know better and lack the qualifications to make money any other way. The methodology is lifted from cults, and both target the vulnerable, both use peer pressure and the promise of success. Blaming the victims of financial scams not only enables the crooks who run these things, it targets society's poorest and most desperate

[@qwirky1709]

I wouldn’t be so quick to vilify those at the bottom of the totem pole. For example, some of the people being entrapped aren’t even legal adults yet when they start, because MLMs also target high schoolers. I’m 17 - I just graduated high school last Friday - and about a week ago I threw out a letter about a summer job offer that I found out was from an MLM that wanted me to sell knives. I do research and I like to keep my parents in the loop, so all of us could tell it was fishy pretty quickly, but I have no doubt that someone more naive and/or desperate might just go ahead with it when they see ‘$15 a case.’

[@theinternetexplorer7873]

About a year or two ago I remember seeing an ad of a 14 year old telling me how to make the big bucks by being part of his "gaming clan" or some weird shit like that. The streotype of MLMs or pyramid schemes always target the elderly is definitely true but people should also be aware of younger groups can be targeted just the same.

[@inventsable]

Georg is killing it lately, good to have my sardonic Englishman back

[@xsteveconwayx]

Maybe someday he can afford that second “e”.

[@WG55]

I'm so glad that you mentioned our former Congresswoman, Rep. Sue Myrick. Her open shilling for Amway was a scandal, and she deserves to be remembered for it.

[@Edward-jq2fc]

The truth must be told, "You can't cheat an honest man" but you can always cheat a crook. Most people who join MLM's are looking to get ahead anyway they can and think they can recruit sucker to make them rich but in the end find out they are the sucker who made someone else rich.

[@thomaseriksen6885]

@Mekehl don't be silly. Parasitic business practices were around long before america. Stop being so scared of then

[@Siledas]

Damn, I thought it was a way of tricking people into buying pyramids.

[@mslaerik66]

I have a nice bridge Im not using

[@qty1315]

You don't need to trick people into buying pyramids because they sell themselves. Everyone wants to buy a pyramid, including all of your friends and family members within 4 degrees of separation from you. Now, you might be asking yourself, "Hey, I feel like I should probably sell pyramids since they're so easy to sell. I have more than enough money to purchase pyramids to sell, and I have a large network of people who would be interested in purchasing a pyramid from me if they knew what a wonderful opportunity it is to make some easy money." Well, worry not, my friend, for I shall sell you a starter kit featuring eight pyramids at a discounted rate. You will sell the eight pyramids to your friends, and I will get a commission on every pyramid you sell, just like you will get a commission from every pyramid your friends sell. Of course, I will also get a small percentage of your commission from their sales, so it is in my best interest to ensure that you sell every one of your pyramids. You might be thinking that this sounds like a pyramid scheme, because it is one. But, luckily for you, this is your opportunity to get in on the early days of the pyramid scheme, which everyone knows is the most profitable time to get involved. In 3 years, the people at the bottom of the scheme will barely make enough money to purchase a can of soup to heat up over their fires made from the cardboard boxes that their pyramids were delivered to them in, and you will be living like a pharoah in luxury. You'll be the one being paid to go to those wonderful conferences and events to scam people into continuing to finance your lavish lifestyle. The head of the company will inevitably fall from grace, as they tend to do, but you won't have to face a single consequence for your actions. So, what are you waiting for!! Join my pyramid scheme now and buy your starter kit today!

[@brianyule1289]

I've got a pyramid I can flog you if you're interested

[@tophers3756]

I'll take two!

[@takashiari1598]

Wait it's NOT?! Then what have I been buying the last few years...?

[@japplek]

Keith lemon in a big hat introduced this video with an ad about bingo. Feels appropriate.

[@jamesmuthiani5680]

My ex-wife used to call me "small minded" and "shortsighted" when i refused to join an MLM she was into. She was fuirous when at one of the recruitment meetings I asked the 'boss' so many questions about hoe exactly the business works and he wasnt able give clear concise answers. Well, she held on, ran out of money. Hell she used to ask me for money just to do her deliveries and stay in the business. Of course I called them out, now I was a hater. Later that boss left the company, called it a pyramid scheme!

[@YoYo-gt5iq]

She was mad at you for doing what was best for your household.

[@MrWhipple42]

As a Mormon who lives in Utah (though not born there), I've been hit up by more people who want me to get into their MLM than I can count. I can therefore verify George's claim that Utah is the capital of MLMs. Lots of people here also hate MLMs, BTW.

[@alistairmackintosh9412]

MLM: Mormons losing money.

[@BlazingOwnager]

My ex-girlfriends family dragged me to a Multi-Level Marketing scheme recruitment thing so I could 'better plan for my future.' My favorite moment came when they did the Q&A and I asked a question about how the percentages trickle down and I got the guy to immediately get defensive, start drawing a bunch of figures on the board with lines and started screaming "THIS IS NOT A PYRAMID" right after he drew a pyramid. I felt very proud torpedoing the entire room.

[@victoriawilliams2786]

Thank-you for the chuckles. That's frickin hilarious.

[@liamhackett513]

I knew a guy who was desperate enough to try selling for some sort of American style sales company in London. Basically he had to go round London walking into pubs selling tat out of a sports bag on commission. He miraculously managed to sell 20 quids worth of stuff one day. When he got back to the warehouse the managers and sellers gathered round him congratulatiing him and made him ring a bell? " Juice John juice! ya gotta ring the bell, you made sales." He asked a guy what "juice" meant. The fellah replied "John you don't know what juice means? Juice- means join us in creating enthusiasm- John". The commission he earned was enough for him to buy a pack of cigarettes and bus fare home, never to return. .

[@larissabrglum3856]

I appreciate you going into the political, greed-related reasons MLMs are allowed to exist. I watch a lot of anti-MLM content and creators rarely talk about this.

[@1bardh1]

The part at the end about the people the MLMs target is really important and I'm glad you brought it up. It's very easy to think of MLM people as annoying privileged suburban wine moms with too much time and money on their hands, but the truth is that these MLMs target the most vulnerable people promising financial stability and then they drain them of the few funds they have. I often catch myself thinking of MLM people as annoying and greedy and I need to stop myself every time and understand that in reality they're just victims...

[@letsburn00]

This is common. Is it really surprising for a person who it's virtually impossible to get ahead tries something else? If you're working 50-60 hours a week in a normal job and still barely keeping your head about water, obviously, working hard to get ahead in a normal situation is impossible. So they try this new thing, since they are desperate.

[@RCAvhstape]

Targeting nice old people to steal their money is among the lowest of the low. As my mom gets older she is being hit with more scam emails and phone calls. Oh how I dream of getting into a room with those phone scammers just once...

[@Togmot]

GF of a buddy fell for a pyramid scheme involving vitamin gummy bears for 20 dollars per bag lol

[@bonjovi7399]

@@RCAvhstape My mother had that to. Some "company" was persistently calling her on the home phone line saying she had lost £1000 out of her bank and they were there to help her "fix" the problem. I wonder how the oldies get on their lists. Maybe its those phone calls you get and its silent when you pick up. When they hear an old person they spring into action for the hard con, and they get put on a list.

[@willnill7946]

No they don’t. 99 percent of those women know they won’t make money, they just like doing it. Few people believe they will make money this day in age

[@aneshalove226]

When I was 14 living in Jamaica an AMWAY team approached me.. it didn't feel right and logically it didn't seem profitable.. so I didn't join. My condolences to the adults that got FOOLED.

[@SidewaysN]

Got a pyramid scheme ad before the video "if you're not using this app, you're missing out on 95% of the profit from your recruits". But they got a fast wall of numbers scrolling so it's legit

[@Beardwhip]

Same

[@uncannyvalley2350]

KZbin is *crawling* with them, if capitalism is so great, why is it the only ads youtube can get are scams

[@MoebiusPan]

Well, you can't argue with math.

[@ATLIEN333]

OMG just came across your channel..Thanks for your voice and message to the people. We need more like you spreading truth across the globe.

[@spacedoohicky]

Amway is nuts. In my youth my friend's mom had bought into Amway. She had a new huge plasma T.V., and a bunch of other stuff she bought from Amway. She explained to me how she would one day be living her dream as a result of selling Amway, and she had a list of her children's wishes that were supposed to come true posted on the fridge. I was too young to understand completely, but when I got older I remembered listening to her tales of dreams, and felt down about it. It's a bizarre, depressing memory in hindsight. Back then it did seem weird because I had never heard of such a thing before.

[@zacharygirgenti3790]

I was expelled from a charter High School for having cannabis on me when I was 18. A year or so later I ran into the same principal who was now involved with a pyramid scheme. He harassed the shit out of me to try to rope me in but fortunately I was aware of these scams. What a loser.

[@MasterOctagon]

As a recent grad in business, you have to watch out for these. They disguise themselves as marketing firms and other businesses. Ways to identify them is if the respond to you applications really quickly and if they’re trying to SELL you on the job.

[@whitemagus2000]

Yeah, had to fight SO hard to convince an ex-girlfriend that she was about to get into a pyramid scheme. Any job that requires the "employee" to pay money is a scam.

[@fabiotellez6192]

true

[@benjammin8184]

You pick the best topics. Suggestion: Harmony Korine.

[@4nna5]

Seconded!

[@nicolederhone7847]

The director?

[@benjammin8184]

@@nicolederhone7847 Yeah man. His films are raw and brilliant, but also personally he is very interesting. He has a couple of appearances on letterman which are infamous and was subsequently banned. There are also later interviews where he goes into his philosophy and creative process and it's like speaking to an acid casualty, although not entirely unreasonable. To be so groundbreaking at such a young age is quite rare but also it's interesting in a "perils of fame" sense.

[@nicolederhone7847]

@@benjammin8184 I'd watch that. He directed "Kids" in 1995 when he was only 21/22 yrs old. For that reason alone, I would have to watch it

[@benjammin8184]

@@nicolederhone7847 Indeed, Georg will likely delve into it and present it well as always. Much like the Shyamalan "as an aside".

[@bbuny10]

I was in an MLM pitch (selling life insurance), and at one point just to let them know I was aware I said “I like how this doesn’t seem like a pyramid scheme” A lowball response IMO To which the supervisor responded with “Well, EVERY company is a Pyramid scheme”

[@mawnkey]

I tell everyone that's looking at starting with an MLM to just find sources for the same products independently and try to sell them instead. If it works out then great! You've found you're a good sales person and actually started a legitimate business you'll keep all the profit from. If you lose money then you've found out for far cheaper than an MLM and no further obligation that sales isn't your thing. Either way your life _will_ turn out better than it would by joining an MLM.

[@BlazePiffington]

You came round the right time Georg, it’s a rough Friday for me 😓😓

[@ytcorporate9237]

Same here. At least it's now the weekend, time to chill and get things done 👍

[@BlazePiffington]

@@ytcorporate9237 Alas, my job is more of a prison sentence and it is every day of the week, the only days I have off are the days where the weather is shitty… What a life

[@ytcorporate9237]

@@BlazePiffingtonI don't want to come off as a monk or a cliche motivational speaker (as I haven't got much to brag about myself), but there's always time to change that, man. It's all about maintaining focus on doing what you want to do, and if it's not working, find a new way of achieving it - it's quick to fall in the cycle of grinding away the years, as humans like the comfort of familiarity. I'm only eighteen, but I've had third hand experience of watching my dad. He was a talented man, an absolute genius, but he lived his life in factories and blue collar jobs. In the end, he died a bin man. Don't get me wrong, he loved the job, he always had a good time doing it - but deep down, I'm always pissed off that he really could've been the Orson Welles, the next John Lennon if he just fell out of that grind (or the rat race) and put a great amount of effort in being that. I know in reality it isn't as easy as that, but I think there is creedance to hard work, in getting what you want, paying off in the long run. The way I see it, life is short, so you better fucking enjoy it and be what you want to be. If not, die trying - as at least you'd die a happy man or woman. (Sorry for the essay, haha)

[@Vergast]

I love that after watching this I got an ad for a "network marketing company" - ironic.

[@kylebradley3]

Honestly though, MLM's are just doing the same thing stock brokers are doing, enticing you with financial independence and moving your money into their pocket.

[@juliusfucik4011]

Also, insurance salesmen.

[@henryavery4693]

When I was a student, I went to one of these things. It all sounded like a cult. Everyone on stage was telling the "I retired in my 30's" fantasy and everyone else believed them. They were not talking about the actual products (not even once) only about the revenues, houses, luxury cars etc. I asked someone from the room what were they selling and the answer was "shampoo and care products". I just stood up and went home. I was 19 years old and just could see through that bullshit. In my home country of Romania we had multiple pyramid schemes granted by the state during the 90's so people should ve known better.

[@crazypete84]

I'm a manager in healthcare. Many of my employees especially migrants are frequent targets of these schemes. The attempted weaponising of their social networks they are encouraged to do ends up leaving them feeling isolated and lonely and then the financial burden of unsellable goods hits. It makes me so angry that such life ruining systems exist without real challenge.

[@btarczy5067]

Maybe cults based around selling overpriced garbage products are a bad thing but I haven‘t made up my mind yet.

[@whitemagus2000]

I had to fight SO hard to convince an ex-girlfriend of mine that she was getting into a pyramid scheme and was going to blow what little money she had on a scam. After that, her next get rich quick plan was paper and phonebook delivery. Pays less than minimum wage, but at least you end up with a few dollars in your pocket to show for it.

[@MeenToss]

Nice touch with the sneaky pyramid at 09:43

[@Ektalon]

?

[@Metonymy1979]

You should also light like Angelica Huston in the Addams Family. Slit on the eyes light. It's interesting that at 5:33, the guy shakes his head no while saying a positive statement. There's some body language skills for ya.

[@pepepoopsonthefarright7531]

the lava lamp will never fall for any of those scams

[@erraticuk]

All those victims complaining about losing money, Would have been happy to rip off others.

[@casbyness]

EXACTLY. They aren't complaining because they were fooled. They're complaining because they didn't get to make enough money fooling others. It's like watching people call themselves victims because they bet on black at the roulette when red came up.

[@Yora21]

The American Dream is not about freedom from oppression by kings. It's the dream that you have a chance to become the king.

[@fall190]

not necessarily. they may think they are actually selling a good product. My mom was really into herbalife. I tried to warn her that it was a scheme but i was 13, "what did i know?". The fact that they are a MASSIVE company gives them a lot of credibility. we went from comfortable middle class to heavily in dept not only because of the stupid boxes and boxes of useless shit but also because she quit her job. Never really recovered. My mom is very trusting and naive. She actually believes the bullshit marketing.

[@casbyness]

@@Yora21 I have to strongly disagree. Your use of the term 'king' is unfortunate, because the core of the American dream is precisely that you get far, far away from any idea of a king and get to forge your own path and prosper without all that old world nonsense.

[@KnuckleHunkybuck]

This is my absolute favorite channel for a movie reviewer who tells me what things are terribly wrong in the world that are not movie related. I wouldn't ask for anything else.

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

I remember being 8 years old and listening to the meetings my older sisters etc would have for tupperware and amway... I thought it sounded disgusting back then, and it's still disgusting now.

[@JagGentlemann]

I went to meet someone to get a job and it was a pyramid squeme. Once I even went to a meeting about this, and that looked like a cult. There are some job portals where most of the ads are for this kind of thing.

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Some fraudsters attack people who were victims of other schemes,as the loss from the first attack will make them desperate and vulnerable.It seems pyramiders learned this trick.

[@patrickmoler8025]

When job hunting, I made it a point to ruin those MLM group interviews. Fuck them for taking advantage of desperate people.

[@isqmatheus]

The ending bit had me laughing out loud. Great video as always, Georg. See you next time. Edit: Crap, I just now noticed that my gramma participated in a MLM when I was a kid...

[@ahorserunning]

i had multiple aunts that fell for the Avon shit back in the day lol i know i'm not alone

[@isqmatheus]

@@ahorserunning exactly avon... maybe even more of those beauty products, but avon is the one that stuck with me

[@petesmith4498]

Whenever I hear "Herbalife", it reminds me of that TV news blooper, when the reporter hears it as Horrible Life.

[@chainedlupine]

"No no, not a pyramid! More of a 3-sided polygon!"

[@apotato6278]

It's an innovative method of sales and distribution based on a tetrahedral business model. If it can work for Tetrapak it can work for you too!

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Late stage Capitalism in a nutshell

[@Thetarget1]

Ah, a tetrahedon scheme. Those are much more trustworthy!

[@chriscock6584]

What's amazing is the amount of people who think they'll be good in sales. Sales is a skill. Some people are naturals at it while others have to work their asses off for a good amount of time to develop competency. Worst of all for most people is the high rejection percentage, which runs many people out of sales. I tried sales and quit after two weeks.

[@BrettJones27]

3:55 No, no, you don't call it DOWNLINE, that has negative connotations. No, you call it your THROUGHLINE, sounds much more palatable. According to my former AMWAY upline.

[@cflamingo2486]

Even an atheist would have to admit that you are doing god's work

[@The.Orange.Wizard]

Damn right he is.

[@netb3403]

While in school, Primerica got $99 outta me which I was suppose to get back if I was able to get a sale but I didn’t do anything after that first meeting because I realized Im not a salesperson. During the meeting, the couple that was leading the meeting would sell the dream that anyone that knows people can do this and make profit. You could also get rings if you make a certain amount of sales and MOVE UP the rankings. I’m pretty sure they made big bucks that night because there were young and older people there eating it up. They even offered a ride from wherever you were and free pizza as a invitation. TBH I wasn’t sold on going til I heard free pizza, I know better now! 😅🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

[@exquisitecorpse4917]

Eleanor Holmes Norton and Shelia Jackson Lee were on that list....both members of Congress who I deeply respected before seeing this. I guess no one's hands are clean.

[@RobbedTheBank]

This is incredible Georg. Massive fan of this unexpected but bold new direction for the channel

[@eastlynburkholder3559]

A good point here, pyramid schemes, MLMs, exist because they are politically connected and can be legal if not moral.

[@trogdo]

don’t die or go blind georgo we need you

[@Bored_Barbarian]

I originally found you from your movie reviews but this stuff is fun too

[@rheanstatements]

had a wee giggle, when you said remember april '97... well, i was in the midst of a mini nervous breakdown in grade 12, having taken on too much: AP classes, part time job, two plays, and life... so, ha! funnily i DO remember (in a hazy sort of way :P )

[@Jess-gr1qf]

“The product is incidental. The down line is everything.” I mean that pretty much sums it up. Promoting the lifestyle rather than the product itself is pretty telling.

[@Watch-0w1]

I joined primerica in 2008 during financial crisis. Leaving the group I was really devastated.

[@euansmith3699]

Three down votes? That must be the Big Three; they are on to you Georg!

[@euansmith3699]

@Georg Rockall-Schmïdt Sorry, I didn't realize it was you, and reported the two of these posts already as spam; ooops. I hope that doesn't get you in trouble with yowtoob. Thank you for another interesting and deeply depressing video.

[@GeorgRockallSchmidt]

It isn't me, it's just made to look like me- I don't have that double-dot over the "i" in my name. So no worries- I'm reporting it too.

[@euansmith3699]

@@GeorgRockallSchmidt Now I'm really confused. That'll be the Hiptang.

[@euansmith3699]

@@Balletified Multi-level Dislikes?

[@hangonsnoop]

Got an internet marketing scam and and a Bitcoin card ad and before this played.

[@maxpowermezzo]

Just out of high school, I saw a job posting on Monster dot com. It was kind of vague, but I had very little job experience. (I had worked in a supermarket and then at Hot Dog on a Stick in a mall during high school.) I get to the “interview” and it’s a bunch of student desks in a room and about a dozen other young people are there, too. None of us know what’s going on. After the intro to the presentation, the instructor announces this is for CutCo direct sales for knives and kitchen scissors. The whole “it will cut a penny in half” deal. We were trapped for 2.5 hours. I was so happy to get out of that hot room with no water to drink or a bathroom. Ugh. Same tactics those timeshare vampires use on people. Never looked back!

[@db5823]

fuuuuck -- been there. And it's a shit-show run by a load of low-IQ jiz-stains who think they're just so damn slick and clever. And then there was Ameriprise ... how did they suddenly go from obvious pyramid scheme to a large legit credit card business? Just sort of shows you that the rats are running everything in business, banking, and politics.

[@ahorserunning]

LOL thank you for including the "it will cut a penny in half!" detail that took me back in such a fun way

[@IvorMektin1701]

The Amway cult™

[@2thinkcritically]

For me, this video finished up with 2 ads for money making schemes. Nice to know Google has a category for these so it can aggressively market them 😒

[@rondotexe]

Seeing the part at 17:18 is so frustrating. Seeing that they have a "To Do List" ot make sure direct sellers are seen as actual businesses and not labeled as being in a pyramid scheme is so frustrating.

[@Silas_MN]

My parents have always been financially vulnerable, and I definitely remember them getting into Amway when I was a kid. I was young enough that I don't remember how long it went on, but they were out of it by the time I was a teenager at least. I live in Utah, and you can bet that what he says here about it being so high density in MLMs is totally accurate. Every time I'm contacted on social media by someone I haven't spoken to since an old job or school I have to be suspicious that it's an MLM.

[@theturret3421]

I wished you would've made this video a couple of years earlier. In 2018, i almost fell for the amway trap. Im from Argentina and MLMs where not a common know practice as today, we knew of AVON and Herbalife, but they were more like "stuff moms and grannys sell". So Amway started to ramp up operations on the country and took off like a storm, suddenly everyone was doing it, including some of my friends, and they managed to really hype me up that i wanted to join too, they really explain the whole "process" in a manner that sounded so smart and professional that they managed to convince me. The thing is, I didn't have a penny to my name, so they actually wanted me to take a loan at the bank to pay for the amway inventory, can you imagine? an actual loan to buy shitty overpriced products and re-sell them at a loss. It's funny, they actually convinced me and a week later i wanted out immediatly. They took to a seminar, and boy, it was not what i was expecting, it felt like I was at a party, loud music, everybody clapping, 20 something dudes on suits hyping up everyone. It had all the markings of a fucking cult. I was lucky to not even spend a penny on amway, but i think of all my friends that did and a video like this could've probably helped them a lot.

[@Giaphaige]

My dad got sucked into amway when I was a wee baby. We were quite poor and he thought he could get a bit more money on the side... he lost a couple thousand

[@gmorgan7603]

Most of my step family are in mlms. They always pretend everything is awesome with it

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Just like with cults, I dont think that's coincidence, MLMs use all the same techniques

[@ThisGuyAd.]

An hour ago I literally searched your channel and tapped my watch.

[@justintaylor3569]

One of their more sleazy tactics is to flood KZbin with "Is *insert MLM here* a scam?" videos. And its actually a member of the MLM trying to make it seem legit. They do this to dominate the search results and make it hard to find genuine criticism of that particular MLM

[@noobiusmaximus6314]

April 1997 was a fun month? That was the month I was conceived, so I guess it must have been.

[@casbyness]

Is Tiger Woods your father?

[@firemarshal2629]

My dad told me once “Son, it’s your responsibility to see through the BS” and I’ve never forgotten it. People need to stop thinking you can get rich without hard work. Companies are gna company but a little common sense goes a long way.

[@Tomi-oe5mz]

Oy vey!

[@marcturmel924]

I shit you not, got a Learning MLM seminar add after this video...

[@frennauta]

I remember that when I had family inside Herbalife, the company told them to never hang signs, logos or some form of publicity out of their stores (which were usually the living room), and to only put a green cloth covering the entrance. Was it for avoiding too much attention from government regulations or something else?

[@keithklassen5320]

Probably to avoid people who want to tell you you're in a pyramid scheme.

[@eastlynburkholder3559]

Overpriced products, miraculous claims as you what these products will do for your life, and a certain type of sales and marketing methods. Statistics show that it is impossible to see a profit unless you enter the pyramid early on. The math is real. To make profits, you must recruit others who will not make a profit to make your profit; once you figure that out, you have to decide if you will be a victim and step out of the game or become a predator of others.

[@512TheWolf512]

i actually quite enjoy visits to bogus "employment interviews" with these pyramid schemes and tearing the interviewer's a metaphorical new asshole with good questions about why exactly AREN'T they a pyramid scheme and why should "I" pay them anything at all if i'm there to be hired as a contractor

[@MrJohndoakes]

14:14 Betsy DeVos, before marrying into the AmWay clan, was the sister of Erik Prince of Blackwater (which now calls itself Academi), the military mercenary company. So the dubiousness of Betsy DeVos is genetic almost. By the way, her big thing as Secretary of Education was pushing for more charter schools in America, and avoiding to do a thing about college student debt, a problem that will explode in the next three years of so.

[@kludgedude]

Production is up. Very good!

[@joca3885]

I watch this video and every ad that KZbin shows me are MLM type ads.

[@1bardh1]

Man I cannot explain how much I'm loving these videos. Georg you're beautiful.