Mulit level marketing companies

[TattyDevine]

Does anyone have a wary dislike of these or am I on my own?

Companies that have people sell their products through running their "own business". Some of them seem fine and sound in business model - for instance some have less of a pyramid style "downline" that stops at 3 levels, whereas some don't.

Some sell products that people may genuinely want to use for the sake of the products alone - Avon is quite a reasonable brand of cosmetic, Bettaware I don't particularly like but do sell cheap and cheerful reasonably useful household items, PartyLite quite good quality (though on the pricey side due to mark up) candles, but mainly sold through parties, and of course you don't have to go to a party. Pampered Chef, very nice bakeware, if you want to go to a party, etc.

Other companies - seem to focus more on recruiting a maximum amount of people into your "business", not necessarily selling the actual product. Those being recruited into the business have to buy a certain amount to "start up" and then the marketing seems to be as much about joining the business as buying their products.

So you get people who have invested a reasonable chunk of cash into starting up their "home business" in a position where they have to shift their product. Next come the fantastical claims on social media. "I have cured my lifelong allergy to wheat by taking this drink once a day". "I cured my tonsillitis virus by swallowing this gel". "I lost 18 pounds in 9 days"

These claims are of course anecdotal (though not objective if they are a seller of the product) and not likely to be claims the company itself could make. Convenient. The company has managed to get people to pay money to make claims they can't make - clever.

It also seems to attract people who are desperate to find that job that fits in around family life that they can do from home - but in trying to get their business off the ground are sharing memes on social media ridiculing people in a 9-5 job for having no ambition and various other semi-brainwashing tactics.

So I don't like them, therefore I don't support them or help promote them. Does anyone else find that this kind of marketing makes them feel uneasy? And does anyone actually know anyone who became a millionaire from selling personal care products or similar? AIBU?

No, TattyDevine, but can I interest you in shares (on the ground floor, there'll never be a better time) in my Atlantic Tunnel Company?

Ooh sign me up "hun"

Someone on my facebook has recently (very clearly) become a Herbalife rep.

Everything she posts now is preachy bullshit about how much her and everyone else she has convinced to join her cult lives have changed.

Yes Mollypup!

I've had a couple "convert" recently though not to that particular company, and part of me thinks I should hide them, but part of me wants to see how low they are compelled to stoop in terms of ridiculous claims. One is far far worse than the other and suggests that anyone working in an office is a loser

If these products were really so fantastic for the whole population, surely they wouldn't pass on various chunks of the profit to people in various levels of the marketing tree...surely they'd open a shop or website and pocket the profits for themselves?

I knew a rep from Herbalife many many years ago who wasn't that bright to be honest, but his psudeoscientific claims included that he "used to have to go to the chiropractor all the time but since he'd been taking "the product" (some calcium tablets) he didn't have to!

I'm with you sister. Have lost friendships over brainwashed people trying to cure my serious disease with pap drinks.

People confuse MLMs and pyramid schemes as the two are very similar. MLMs are unfortunately legal.

MLMs are non-sustainable business models. Just consider an example where each member recruits 10. At level 8 you would have 100 mill vendors, so more vendors than people available to buy the product.

It is possible to make money in MLMs if you are willing to put in one hell of a lot of effort and you are good at sales. However if you are a gifted salesperson who is prepared to work long hours, you could probably earn a decent salary in a conventional sales job.

What I personally hate about MLMs is they exploit friend and family relationships to sell kit. I have a friend who I have now had to avoid for 9 months as when she asks me to meet up for a coffee this invariably means another hard sell. In fact she recommended I quit running my business that I set up from scratch and sell these bloody multivitamins. They can cure cancer apparently, but as of yet the NHS has not put in an order.

Oh god raltheraffe you have summed up just about everything I hate about the whole schemes in 4 very succinct paragraphs. I vote you for Prime Minister.

See there are some that are great, though I suspect they are not as "multi level" in the true sense of the word, they stop at a certain level so whilst you can expand your business a bit by recruiting, its really more about the product, which is good.

I have a friend who is a Stella and Dot rep, which do really nice pretty good quality jewellery and accessories. I've seen them in real life and they are great. She does the odd party and trunk show or whatever and she'll give you a catalogue if you ask. But she didn't shove it down your gob or make a nuisance of herself, and the stuff she does sell is not just useful but desirable.

Its all about the business model and the desirability of the product I suspect.

I hate the "party" sales. I was persuaded to have a PartyLite for my flat warming many years ago after attending a colleagues party (I hadn't even known it was about candles and didn't buy any there). I invited lots of friends for the party but then felt really uncomfortable with the selling and upselling. I ended up being given a "really good deal" on loads of candles I didn't really want but gave in to the pressure of. It turned out to be really expensive, and then I had to sort out everyone's buys etc.
Would definitely avoid all of them in the future.

A lot of people avoid the parties like the plague because there can be a slight "obligation" element. I've been to them and generally I'll buy something...usually just one thing and I tend to get invites around this time of year so you can generally tick one of the Christmas gifts you need to buy off your list. If there was genuinely nothing on there I or anyone wanted for the right price I'd have no problem saying "not for me tonight, thanks" but I tend to turn up to these do's with a bottle of wine so don't feel too bad.

One thing that can be good about them is the ability to try the products which you may not be able to otherwise - so you can sniff a candle for instance or try a body butter.

You need a thick skin if you don't want to buy though - that said with PartyLite I've never had a hard-sell, just a want to sell, which is understandable.

I think social media makes these things all the more annoying, but it depends on the seller and how obsessed they may become.

Get quite snarky about health products and the silly claims...you can't make silly claims about candles or jewellery or tupparware but health stuff I get really cob-on about pseudoscience. Ngrhrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

i couldn't agree more - hate the way they are marketed at women struggling to get back into work after having children too.

YANBU, I've been part of two MLMs and they are a waste of time and money. You CAN earn a lot of money if you're lucky, get in before the market is saturated and don't mind coercing your family and friends into spending lots of money through you. One of the MLMs was Avon and they make you pay for everything from the catalogues, to the paper bags to put orders in, even to the free samples! When I told my area manager I wanted to leave because I was going on maternity leave so wouldn't be in the office (where I got most of my customers) anymore, she told me I should just put through £10 of orders myself a month!

The second time I met the woman who sells the magical multivitamins, she brought one of her customers along with her. A 22 year old girl who has been told by the medical profession she has terminal cancer. However this poor woman thinks she may now be cured and I even heard my so called friend tell her that she will get better. It was horrible. I kept my mouth shut as I did not want to be the one to break it to this lady that she will die, just with considerably less money than should she have just listened to the doctors. I still do not know should I have spoke up and ruined the only hope this woman has, or keep my trap shut. I am no longer even speaking to the so called friend.

Disco if you were setting up a shop you'd have to pay for bags, catalogues etc etc-no reason not to when working a business from home!

War, I think the issue is you have to pay for their branded bags, their branded catalogues etc
This is why I would not mind becoming a franchisor, lots of extra revenue streams to catch out unsuspecting franchisees.

Then just buy plain bags somewhere else.....?

Thank you, Raltheraffe. My point is they make the promise that you just have to pay a small fee for a starting kit, then you end up with lots of expenses on top of that. I could have just nicked a load of carrier bags from the supermarket to put people's orders in, but they probably wouldn't have appreciated that.