To consider joining a multi level marketing thingy!

[walkinginmercury]

I've never really given multi level marketing stuff any thought before, have in the past ordered from Avon reps and been quite happy etc but lately I just seem to be so broke despite working (part time as cannot afford more childcare)

There seems to be a lot of options, the likes of juice plus or forever living don't interest me at all but there are a few that is basically ordering things for people, no bullshitting or lies, just show them pictures of household items/gadgets and what not and if they want to buy they do- no pushy sales tactics involved?

Or am I being totally naive and missing something?
Why do these things get such a bad reputation? I know how irritating the culty ones can be but what about a no frills "here you go, you want one? Great I'll see you Wednesday!"

Because you can't make an income by selling the products. You have to sign up people to your 'team'

Put simply, YWBVU, and very naive. No-one makes money apart from a very few people at the very top of the pyramid (yes, pyramid scheme). Anyone on your facebook or elsewhere who tells you they work 20 mins a day and earn £1000 a week is lying.

There are a lot of threads in Money Matters about this, there are MNers who are keen to expose these scams and protect people who might get sucked in and lose their money. One of the latest threads is here

You're being naive and missing something.

Ah feck.

I haven't felt this desperation for years, I'm living pay day to pay day with less than nothing left. The possibility of some spare cash just seems so appealing right now. I really thought this one looked okay.

OP have a look at eBay - it's a revelation to see that people can and do sell Poundshop crud and makeep money on it! Spend a few hours looking at it and see what sells (look at things you know/like etc) and maybe give that a go. Also look at the Primark listings - you'll be amazed that it is possible to resell Primark stuff at a profit.

I don't know what "makeep" is but clearly my phone thinks it's a word

You can make money from just selling the products, but you do make more money from recruiting others to join your team. I did Phoenix Cards for about three years and was quite successful - it certainly paid for holidays, but not the mortgage! Phoenix are one of the better ones - they don't insist on a large outlay up front, and the products (cards and wrapping paper) are very popular. The pople you recruit act as traders exactly the same as you (it's not pyramid selling), but you make a little extra % from their sales too. Avon is another good one to try. They are not "scams".

But on MN it's akin to saying you worship the devil.

twat that's a really good idea actually and I've thought of that before, wouldn't it just be handier to buy x, y or z in bulk and sell in myself! Definitely worth investigating!

I wish u had a trade of some sort that I could do in the evenings when DD has gone to bed, nails or eyelashes etc but I can't imagine I would have the patience plus shelling out for the courses etc!

It's not pyramid selling

And I'm Elvis.

there are a few that is basically ordering things for people, no bullshitting or lies, just show them pictures of household items/gadgets and what not and if they want to buy they do

You could just run your own actual small business doing this.

Just buy the stuff and then sell at a profit. Or take orders and payment for stuff, order them yourself at a profit and then deliver. No need to "work for" a specific company, you could just do it completely for yourself.

If you want to retail with these MLM companies (rather than recruit), the problem is that you order and get sent packs of stuff. So you don't really have any say in which products you sell. You just pay some money and get sent a box of random products to sell.

For example, you decide to sell for Body Shop and hope to sell loads of White Musk Body Mist (my personal fave product) and some almond body butter - the best sellers. But instead they send you half a dozen random make up brush singles, a couple of hairbrushes and some hand cream. And you have to flog these to make a profit.

Thanks Coin it's nice to hear something from the other side.
The outlay in this particular one is very small and apparently you get 900 online credit (this is the bit I'm dubious about, it seems a huge amount for such a small outlay)

That's what I thought Fate but you can decide what to sell then you take orders from your customers (if I had any!) then order from the website. For example one girl is selling loads of wall decals and valentine bed spreads but another girl is going for blenders and beauty items.

I do much rather the idea of doing it myself though!

I'm sure some of them are just 'selling stuff' companies and not MLM, the trick is finding out which is which. Certainly avoid Forever Living and Younique.

A friend of mine sells Me&I clothes at home parties - I regularly buy from her because I like them and the majority of her money comes from a fairly decent commission. The clothes aren't cheap though and some of the main selling points are the fact they're organic/ethically made. I think how easy they are to sell depends on what kind of area you live in. There's a lot of 'yummy mummy' types round my way, which I suspect would make it a bit easier than if you live somewhere where people are struggling to make ends meet.

I would think you'd need to be constantly arranging parties/have a good network to make more than 'pin' money so as others have said you may be as well to think up your own business idea.

It's hard! I'm not a salesperson so I'm trying to do some freelance writing but that's not easy either.

I'm another evil cult member mlm bot as well.
Love the products I sell, do well at it, haven't lost any friends or been encouraged to behave like a twat on facebook either!
I only signed up to get a discount but really enjoy selling, doing fayres and events and market stalls etc.
It is possible to find mlms that don't have links with Utah and Scientology, although the hysterical thread in money matters would have you believe that we're all deluded souls who need saving.

FateDestiny I'm not sure which company you've had dealings with but with mine I order what my customers want, I don't just get sent random stuff?

See sales is usually my thing but there's no way i could ever foist rubbish on anybody, cheesy as it sounds I couldn't sell something I didn't "believe in", that's why I couldn't sell Younique etc when I think it's over priced and could recommend some amazing reasonably priced high street make up, but with general items there's not really much to them, they are what they are.

So off putting though all this online ordering and having x people over you and possibly only a small % commission though I think she said 40 or 60 (though items wouldn't be very expensive at all)

I don't suppose you'd pm me which one inlove?

Inlove Hysterical? That's what they used to say in the 19th century to minimize women's opinions.

Might help to read the other billionty threads about this....

My thought is that you'd probably spend more on necessary Stuff than you'd ever make before you gave it up as a bad job.

OP do you enjoy writing? If so, I have been copywriting for Copify, PureContent and Textbroker for the past year and earning around £300 per month just sat on my bum on my laptop when the kids have gone to bed. Apply online, it's fun and easy if you like writing and they pay you per article direct into PayPal. I'd highly recommend it for anyone wanting to make an extra couple of hundred pounds a month!

LadyHonoria - in order for it to be pyramid selling the people higher up sell products to those below them. That's not how Phoenix, Avon and many others work - everyone buys their stock from one central point.

I don't deny there are quite a few unethical schemes out there, but there are many with honest business models too. You are just trading, simple as that. Buying products for x and selling for y. It is very important that you like the products in order to sell them effectively.

I used to love writing missdread but I haven't had the chance (excuses) for a very long time and have absolutely no experience of copywriting? Did you have previous experience? Sounds more my cup of tea alright!

I won't PM you - but you might find this site useful. It compares MLMs and is scathing about some, less so than others.

www.businessopportunitywatch.com/reviews.htm

Lady Honoria My use of the word hysterical wasn't intended to be oppressive to other women.
I do find it very interesting that that thread is continually perpetuated by a man who has a book to sell!

Walking, no, I didn't have any experience as such. It's mainly writing blogs, articles and webpages for online businesses and as long as you have a solid grasp of English, you would be find. The clients all give fairly clear instructions about what they need e.g. "I need a 500 word article about conservatories using the keywords blah and blah". If you search Copify and visit their website you can see how to apply: it's just a short written test.