Friend taking the piss with home business

[Magicnumbers]

A good friend is supported financially by DH and has recently decided to go into one of these multi level marketing beauty businesses. It's set her back quite a lot to buy all the products.

Suddenly her Facebook account is full of adverts and I have had the sales patter for these products every time we've met.

Keen to support her, I bought a couple of things. They were okay, but really expensive. I have politely declined to buy more but I still keep getting messages from her asking if I want anything more. She's done this will loads of friends in the area and she's so lovely but at least one person I know has shut off contact after a hard sell to recruit her too.

Now there are posts on Facebook with photos of her with her young DS on all these walks and out at clubs with hashtags and captions like "do what you love" "work from home" "would never miss this time with my boy" etc, right next to posts saying "who can help me reach my target this month? Just need two more sales of x product?". This goes to working parents who don't get to take their children to the same things she goes to with her boy because they are working- but she wants them to use their earnings to keep her in business, then posts (slightly smug) stuff like that.

To stop myself from getting more annoyed I have hidden her feed on Facebook, but (a) is she being unreasonable/insensitive and (b) should I try to say anything to her? Am I being crap in not supporting her more? She's my mate, I want her to do well, but this feels like the wrong way of going about keeping friends.

I have an acquaintance who has given up an extremely well paid job as an engineering project manager to do FL. She ropes her 14yr old DD into the videos and constantly updates her status with her new hairdos, bikini shots etc.

I'm pretty Teflon-coated when it comes to this sort of stuff so don't engage at all, but I don't like the way it's about becoming everyone's best friend and dishing out relentless love-bombing with the cynical intent of sell sell sell.

I had a complete random stranger friend request me last week. Yep, she's a juiceplus bot. As if I'd accept a friend request from a complete random!

Also her friend list is hidden so I can't trace if we have a mutual friend (which is annoying as that person would be receiving a polite message asking them to tell their bot friend to piss the fuck off wind their brass neck in).

Op..
Do we have the same friend? Drives me nuts.

MLM are scam city. I've had one FB friend fall victim to JP but fortunately she seems to have come out the other side of it, as all mention of JP has quietly disappeared over the last few months.

However I have another one who has just been sucked into Younique. There's no point in even trying to tell her because she is a die-hard convert - and the sudden appearance of many passive aggressive memes talking about 'haters' and how women should empower women, suggests that someone has already tried to warn her.

It's quite hard to watch to be honest. She's a SAHM trying to make some money for her family - I know finances are tight for them, so it's pretty galling to know that she's wasting money by doing this. I can only hope that the light goes on at some point.

I'd say 'if our friendship is to survive, stop trying to sell to me. I cant afford it'. Let her make the choice.

It's set her back quite a lot to buy all the products.

That's how MLM makes its money. Not by sales to end-users but by sales of product, marketing material and seminars to agents who have been conned into believing they can make a business out of it. You could try and persuade her that it's a folly that will just cost her money and friends but chances are she still in the evangelically brainwashed stage and won't want to hear any criticism. Don't buy anything you don't want and don't agree to get involved yourself whatever you do.

Scams that suck vulnerable people in who the try to get others on board. No one, literally no one, makes money.

A few years ago a friend I hadn't heard from for a while contacted me about her business, at this point I was a single mum with an ill child, Stupidly I went along to a 'presentation' where in the end to get out I agreed to join. £1500 for a starter kit later I panicked. Next morning I tried to cancel the order but was told I couldn't. I ended up buying produicts for a couple of months. I then spoke to CAB and trading standards as I was worried, Turns out I should have been able to cancel the order as there was a 14 day cooling off period=d. I went to the companies head office and got all my money back and took out a whole 'upline'. This was the worse experience of my life and at the time I was vulnerable. MLM's are about preying on weaker people. Luckily I stood up for myself.

Your friend may feel like she has no choice if she has thrown lots of money into it.

She's doing what she feels she has to do. On the other hand you are under no obligation to read this stuff or support her business. Just keep saying no you are saving up for new house/car and have cut out all unnecessary spending.

She's doing what she feels she has to do. On the other hand you are under no obligation to read this stuff or support her business. Just keep saying no you are saving up for new house/car and have cut out all unnecessary spending

Why make up excuses? The fact most women (and it is mainly a female issue) are to polite to tell their friends straight is what keeps these scams going.

I have seen countless female acquaintances taken in by forever living, Usborne Books, actilabs, jamberry, younique, juice plus etc and they all plug away, get a few pity sales from friends (I've done it myself) and we're all too polite to say anything.

I know one guy who got taken in by juice plus. His male friends were brutal! If they were tagged in one of his posts they would say 'untag me, I'm not interested in your shite'.

I'm an ex Younique bot. I am so ashamed

I remember a friend using the anniversary of his wife's fathers death to push his product. It went like this "one year DW lost her father to cancer, it doesn't have to be a sad day though, DW is down the gym kicking ass with our new product from gerbalife"
Click...unfriend.
Every photo had a tub of gerbalife in;
Here we are on the beach (gerbalife in hand)
Here is great aunt Hilda, 90 years old (swigging gerbalife when she wants a sherry)
Here's our dog (gerbalife for pets), ok, joking on that one but I swear they'd do it!

Disclaimer: gerbalife not actual product but you get my drift.

There's a great Netflix documentary about pyramid schemes called Betting on Zero. Explains all about how they scam innocent people.

I will admit I wanted the friendship. However it emerged I was a terrible seller and they turned on me

Aaaah! I have two of these.

One sells nuskin stuff. She claimed to me that I could make more than I earn working full time if I joined her business and worked from home. I asked how much. She said she makes £150 a week. I earn more than that working so declined. She claims via fb that this is all she does and she's on the way to making a million. She's also a registered childminder. So only does the mlm stuff part time.

Another is selling the magic slimming coffee stuff. She's also a childminder. She posts before and after pictures of her "clients" and testimonials from people who've supposedly bought from her. when people comment on posts she "dms you Hun"

I'm about to go on maternity leave. She's suggested I join up so I can make myself some money while on leave. I know full well that once I've had the baby the requests for me to buy etc will ramp up...

gardenmint doubt feel ashamed. These companies are ruthless and really brainwash people. I'm sorry you thought those people were your friends. How long ago did you get out?

I remember a friend using the anniversary of his wife's fathers death to push his product. It went like this "one year DW lost her father to cancer, it doesn't have to be a sad day though, DW is down the gym kicking ass with our new product from gerbalife"

My jaw just hit the floor.

I sell blue bottle stuff for pin money as I use it myself all the time. It makes sense for me, BUT my business page is separate from my home fb page and I have never been encouraged to do any of what you are talking about, it's like a parallel universe. :/

I sold Phoenix cards for a year. It was boring and after a year I really made just pennies, and only because I didn't really count all the phone calls, stamps and petrol I used running around doing this!

Your friend has got sucked into something feel sorry for her, not mean.

"To stop myself from getting more annoyed I have hidden her feed on Facebook" - good, could you tell her that and why?

"(a) is she being unreasonable/insensitive" she is not unreasonable for wanting a business but she has taken your and your friends' friendships and tried to convert you into customers...

" (b) should I try to say anything to her?" YES, just tell her no, the stuff is over priced and not that great and you don't want to buy it, end of.

"Am I being crap in not supporting her more?" No, you work hard for your money, only buy what you want and need.

"She's my mate, I want her to do well, but this feels like the wrong way of going about keeping friends." It is, but she will only learn if friends are honest, you want her friendship but you are no longer a customer.

I had a friend who wanted me to join her business, it was very annoying but I think she understands because I just said, no.

Another friend wanted to turn my social into a selling experience for herself. I had just finished a work seminar on assertiveness, I managed to say a firm no but she still tried to talk me into it! So I had to be blunt. Business changes friendships, and if you are not a customer she has a choice, friend or not, there is no point pushing you once she knows you are not a customer anymore.

How horrible, all these people losing their money and their friends, just to make others rich.

Forever around 18 months ago now! It was a strange time!

NotTheDuchessOfCambridge just wondering where I can get me some 'Gerbalife'!!

I left 18 months ago Italian and I'm sure you were trying to be kind but your message was extremely condescending.

Oh sorry gardenmintflower I was trying to be kind but it has clearly come across wrongly so I will report it and see if it can be removed. My apologies.