Rant needed: Multi-level marketing and the 'mysterious' messages from those sucked in.

[natwebb79]

I know IABU as this has been done to death. Apologies in advance. BUT. .. I am sick to the back teeth of otherwise lovely people going loopy when sucked into 'Forever Living' and co. I fully appreciate it's a handy sideline for those working around other commitments, but it's the whole 'If you're looking for an amazing opportunity to run your own business...' bullshit they pedal to the people close to them. 'PM me if you want to know more'. A lovely woman I know looked crushed when she sent a group email round about 'the launch of her mystery new business blah blah' and I replied saying 'Are you doing Forever Living? I might need you for the odd tube of BB cream if so'. She's spent the last week posting bullshit inspirational quotes on Facebook and can't actually talk any more without trying to rope people in. Her best friends have no idea she needs to sign them up to earn commission. Aaargh. Yes, I have blocked any more updates now so my bloid pressure will survive but seriously? Why can't they just say 'I'm earning a few quid flogging aloe vera products. You fancy it?' Why the bullshit?

I'm sure these people are told to 'fake it till they make it' in their online personas. I know a Juice Plus person whose Facebook boasts regarding her lifestyle bear no resemblance to the reality. I am actually finding it rather sinister and frightening - she used to be so nice and normal.

I find it infuriating too. One has just started posting on a local mums fb group I an a member of. So far the posts haven't had any likes or comments, but there are a fair few ladies in that group who have had bad luck recently and I can see them being vulnerable and buying into this

Ugh the wife of a colleague of mine does ALL of these. She was a hyper, gossipy pain in the arse anyway, now she is off the scale.

What I don't understand is how do all those doit them make money and do they make much? I also see posts about people advancing in the companies and going on amazing reward holidays, who pays for them?

Not sure if this falls into the same kind of scheme, but utility warehouse! One of my friends husband's is adamant that I should sign up. We've told them no on no less than five occasions. Still has it in his head that I must go to the meeting they have tonight to recruit.

What is that Utility Warehouse nonsense? When my DH sold his flat the estate agent left leaflets about it for the new owner. Sounds super dodgy. He then got a redirected bill for services he hadn't signed up for, so we just ignored it.

MyBoys...I'd love to know how the holidays work too. I know someone going to Cancun this year but how does it work. Is it really all expenses paid? The person I know is such a sweet person but it has changed her so much. She gave up her really good job for it. I don't hear anything from her in ages and when I do, it is to try and rope me in. She tried to bag a relative too who lives overseas as there is a lot more money in that allegedly. I hear all about her hopes and dreams and I'm looking at the dream house bullshit but then she is still living in her little terrace a year later. Same with the car...drooling over new cars yet she drives a banger.
Don't even get me started on the juice plus...she does it several times a year, puts the weight back on and then lather, rince repeat. It is really sad. The only way you are going to make decent money is hard graft so it is not really a replacement wage for most people

Is Forever Health and Wealth one of these schemes too?

Notquotehuman- they get you to change your suppliers, electric,gas, broadband,phone everything.

You can save money from them all (apparently) but its just one of them things where you are hounded by the person who does it.
Once thryve made their money off you as a customer- the rep gets a one off payment followed by small monthly payments monthly a % of your bill (about 2%)
They'll want to sign you up as one of their distributors.

Their recruitment DVD tells off 10,000 a month earned in commission.

I have a friend who does Utility Warehouse. He is insufferable! He roped us in as customers which I'm ok with, apart from teething problems when our broadband switched over we've had no issues with the service. But he also convinced DH to sign up as a distributor . He then started phoning and texting ME every day asking how we were getting on, if anyone had signed up yet etc. I got annoyed and told him I wasn't interested because I'm shit at selling. He then told me not to worry about that, it's not about selling, it's about signing up more distributors. If that's not a pyramid scheme I don't know what is!

No power! Thank you! I literally thought it was only us being hassled!
I really like this couple but i kind of have to avoid them cos they just wanna sign us up.

My UW pain in the arse is a very old, good friend. He's stopped pestering us now because I think he realised he was close to losing our friendship!

miaowroar- IME anything with Forever in the title is usually realetd to Forever Living. It looks like the FLBots can name their website/business anything they like as long as it has Forever in the title.

They are encouraged to use either Forever or Living in their 'business' name, but not both.

Mine has been take over by that crazy wrap thing!! ????But in the past 2 weeks this craze of a new group with a misleading name. Then being added and it's a selling page. They had a frame I got in B&M for £6.99 selling at £15. My friend works in a "cheapy shop" and says they are selling a lot of the stuff too but for cheaper prices than these groups. I've googled but cannot find a thing about this company which has crazy online bargains which it really isn't!

Utility warehouse is not dodgy itself. They provide gas, electricity and broadband at (supposedly) cheaper prices than other providers.

We were with them for a few years but have now changed some providers as we didn't find the broadband very good.

The way they try to sell it to you is awful. They use typical MLM tactics, and they keep on and on. A friend of ours does it, and sadly it means that we now avoid her because she seems almost brainwashed. She posts embarrassing things on Facebook about running her own business and helping people. She tried to sign me up but I didn't want to be involved. DH said that he would give it a try, but that he would not do any hard selling. He now mentions it to his customers (totally unrelated business) and if they're not interested he doesn't mention it again. I think he gets £6 a month in total from people he has signed up in the past, and doesn't mention it to his customers anymore. He also said that he would not ask (hound!) anyone to become a distributor.

Our friend keeps offering to give DH 'training' to help him, which is a bit insulting as she hasn't worked (apart from UW) for the past 30 years, and he has worked very hard to study and progress in his own career.

Our friend was recruited not long after her children left home, by a relative who was recruited after leaving his job after a breakdown. It seems UW target vulnerable people like the other MLMs.

LivinLaVida yes, that's exactly the sort of thing. And talking about how lucky they are to be working together with such a fantastic team to achieve greatness...

Anyone would think the work involved was something really meaningful, for the benefit of humanity, rather than just the of selling vitamin pills of dubious merit to friends and family at heavily inflated prices.

Someone I know is busy ruining her primary business with JP. Her primary business is something she had to work very hard to get the qualifications for, and even harder to build up a good reputation in. But she's taken to pushing JP in all her communications, and she's invited JP reps along to events to market her primary business which gives people the impression that she seriously thinks JP is some sort of miracle cure for everything. And now I'm afraid she is seen as a bit of a fruitcake and is alienating left right and centre people who otherwise would have supported hr.

wow, inimitable we could almost be talking about the same person!

Ugh a friend of mine has just been sucked in by Younique. She thinks it's going to be a get rich quick scheme, and she's not the brightest bulb in the box so it was only a matter of time before one of the MLMs got to her.

But I'm sick of hearing about it. No, lips without lipstick are not like cake without frosting. I don't want to go to your launch night, stop trying to rubbish my reasons for not wanting to go. And yes, I'm annoyed that I'm lending you that tenner because you're skint when you've spunked £60 on overpriced makeup this month (but I'll do it because I hate knowing that people are struggling). Grr.

I've got one who has got 'the car' regularly goes on 'the 5 holidays' has given up her full time job and speaks of little else on fb. Her motivational* videos are as dull as shit as she has no presentation skills at all, it's laughable.

I must admit I'm a bit to all the bonus's she's seemed to have got but it's a pyramid scheme- it's just part of it.

Anyone know anything about Wikaniko?

I thought it was more of a franchise style thing, but then the person I know doing it said you get commission if others sign up and sell...

She started a sales pitch on me (I think...) along the lines of - do you know who makes your toothpaste? Getting at the fact that it's a big pharmaceutical company, wouldn't it be better if it was a nice local supplier of an eco-friendly product? Style of thing.

Well, yes it would. But it's not someone locally making locally sourced natural face scrub, is it?

It's the incessant selling invading personal relationships that gets me the most.

Can I just say, you people on here are sounding bitchy now.

Just leave them to it, I've read here that these are your 'friends'. Have S quiet word with them if you have issues. Stop slating them behind their backs.

After all, they're probably just trying to earn a few quid on the side.

The thread is 3 months old so well done for resurrecting the bitchiness you hate.