FM world fragrances. Is this an MLM?

[Crumpettes]

Hi, a family member has started selling FM fragrances - basically cheap copies of perfumes. I’ve seen this stuff on Facebook before and I’m pretty sure it’s an MLM but it’s very hard to find any details about it online. She’s in a vulnerable position and I’m worried she’s going to lose a lot of money.

Does anyone know if you have to pay money to join, like paying for starter kits/samples? Or how it actually works?

Have a look at the Facebook group mlm lies exposed there's lots of info on there

Yes it’s an MLM but unlike many others the money is made through the selling process.

On Moneysavingexpert’s even they say that it’s a fairly low risk one in the scheme of things, although obviously one should tread with caution re buying fragrances which are known only by numbers rather than names and where the claims are made that these are in fact the same (not copied) fragrances but the only way they’re allowed to sell them is with numbers otherwise they’d be in breach of copyright. .

I’ve had friends who did it. TBH they all came and went as it didn’t make them much. But it didn’t cost them much either.

MLM. Avoid like the plague.

Yes it's an MLM. Yes payment for sample kits. www.fmperfumegroup.co.uk/incentives/. Joining fees seem to be squirrelled away somewhere.

I doubt she'll lose much much though as anyone I've seen selling FM perfumes gets no interest and don't seem to shift a thing.

Going by my local Facebook selling pages, FM World is a seriously over saturated market. There's only so much knock off perfume people want to buy.

There was an article on radio 4s woman's hour about this today

is it something aimed at women?
is it a luxury item?
is it being sold on facebook with lots of enthusiasm?

it's an MLM, a ripoff, someone preying on the vulnerable. Warn her if she will listen.

there's no easy money.

Our local fb group is also saturated, with FM makes a change from gel nails.
Real perfumes pay a lot for R&D hence why they’re expensive.

Yep, and shit they are too. They may bear a passing resemblance to the scent they are trying to imitate, but any smell is long gone within the hour.

Yes it’s an MLM but unlike many others the money is made through the selling process

Let’s be clear about who is making money; the distributors are the customer of this MLM, it’s the MLM who makes money, not the sign ups. I presume there’s the usual “team building” opportunity sometimes disguised as “sharing” or “mentoring”. MLMs have a product selling front but the ONLY way to make money is to build a huge downline; to do that you must set aside your moral compass and pull your social network into the scam - it’s so damaging.

Have a look at the MLM Lies Exposed FB Page, mlmtruth.org and Talented Ladies Club for information on the various different mlms and how they fleece their sign ups.

Thanks everyone. So it doesn’t seem like she’s had to spend a huge amount of money to setup, but I’ll keep an eye on things and will speak to her if necessary. Thanks for all the resources.

Just hoping she gets bored of it quickly!!

@Crumpettes she may not have had to pay out much to set up but there's a good chance she will now be pressured to buy samples to give people to try (or as giveaways/prizes), or to invest in other areas (branding, self help books, training from network marketing gurus that type of thing). It is worth trying to get her to keep a proper spreadsheet of expenditure. Anectodally it is that type of hard evidence that leads to people eventually realising they have lost money. Otherwise it is too easy to just ignore some of the incidental money you spend - coffees with prospective customers (when that is possible again), tables at fairs, giveaways - especially as people further up the chain will be talking about how you have to invest in yourself and your business to succeed.

This sort of stuff needs eradicating. Pointless, consumerist crap.

Seen loads of people selling these products recently, what does MLM stand for?

Ignore me just realised.

They claim to be a higher quality edp than the brands they copy.

On the mlm lies exposed FB page, a wonderful member posted a rebuttal by FM themselves, of the main lies their reps tell. Mostly about drom

I have a friend who has started to flog Monat products (similar mlm) online. It’s tricky because she’s defensive of it being called an mlm etc. She’s sucked in mostly by the illusion of being part of a ‘female empowerment and entrepreneurship’ community etc of influencers of various levels of success trying egging each other on on IG mainly. There’s a huge social aspect to it which the company preys on. She feels she’s found a support live community. Any critical friends are cut off much like with cults. I am trying to bite my tongue but will just try snd get her to keep a proper spreadsheet of what she spends on buying the stock, samples etc as well as the time put into the videos and social media etc vs actual sales income. I do think she’s smart enough to abandon it after a while hopefully without actually endebting herself.. it’s sad, she has lovely real life friends.

£4k a month. Yeah alright.

if you do it properly there is no way at all you can lose money

Ah yes, that old chestnut. Something like 95% of people who join an MLM break even at best or lose money. The system is stacked against you but if you don't make money, you'll be told it's your fault. You didn't try hard enough. You didn't do it properly. And so people slink away too ashamed and embarrassed to raise a stink about how exploitative the industry is

I thought you could copyright a perfume? With the decent stuff you are paying for a perfumier's years of experience and that the smell lasts a decent amount of time.

It all sounds very suspect.

Ugh my exMIL bought me an FM fragrance for Christmas because her niece sells it. I didn't even put it in the chariot nah, it went in the bin. Aside from the fact that on principle I don't do MLMs, it's the fact that they're trying to steal someone else's hard work and design rather than making their own fragrances. I know legally it's a grey area but to me that's stealing. I'd rather pay ten times the amount to the proper perfume company than spritz myself with that shite.

There are plenty of people who have quit their day job, for example a girl I know who has quit her nursing job to become an FM consultant. She now earns £4000 a month.

No she doesn't.

That's the lie she's telling because their mantra is "fake it til you make it".

I've looked it up and saying FM perfumes are average of £30 a bottle - and that's being generous. Say their reps earn 25% of each sale - again, being generous. To earn £4K a month she would have to sell £20k worth of perfume. That's 666 bottles a month. Do you REALLY believe she's doing that?

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

There are plenty of people who have quit their day job, for example a girl I know who has quit her nursing job to become an FM consultant. She now earns £4000 a month.

No she doesn't.

That's the lie she's telling because their mantra is "fake it til you make it".

I've looked it up and saying FM perfumes are average of £30 a bottle - and that's being generous. Say their reps earn 25% of each sale - again, being generous. To earn £4K a month she would have to sell £20k worth of perfume. That's 666 bottles a month. Do you REALLY believe she's doing that?

Don’t forget that she would then have to go and deliver all those perfumes. Assuming people would want them within 7 days of the rep receiving them that’s nearly 100 deliveries a day.

Which is why, whatever they say, MLMs are not about selling a product. If this person is one of the tiny minority who dies make huge sums per month they are doing it off recruitment (of people who aren't making 4k a month) not off sales.