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.

Oh shit. Mil is now a bot - she's sent me an email to join her network - Herbalife.

She's another "on her way to a million" -dh has pointed out to her on numerous occasions that over her career she's probably earned a million. (She's 63 and has worked in well paid jobs since she was in her mid 20's). She won't have it though. She needs a million in the bank.

I've got someone on my friend list I want to unfollow. I don't want to unfriend completely, but I'm not sure how to unfollow. If someone can point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful.

God just looked (I 'hide' her on FB now) and there is a pic of her and her THREE WEEK old DD in the background.......

I'm self employed and I GET the need to work but bloody hell take some time when you have a baby ESP when you have money behind you.

Years and years ago long before the Internet I sold Betterware for maybe a couple of months, I realised very quickly that it was a mugs game and I dropped it.

Today you can instantly search the web and find out for yourself that these things are just scams .....I'm mystified that anyone can fall for it

Oh god, I sympathise.

I used to run a toddler group and would get regularly hassled by a woman (not a member of the group) who sold Usborne books.

She wanted to sell them to my group. I refused and told her that the parents who attend the groups want to relax and let their kids play without pressured into buying books.

She would NOT take "no" for an answer. I stopped taking her calls in the end.

My niece does Arbonne. She's just been given a Mercedes.

My niece does Arbonne. She's just been given a Mercedes.

No. Arbonne will have LEASED a car and allowed her to have the use of it on the condition that she keeps up her payments into Arbonne. Not the same thing AT ALL.

But hey, let's not worry about the truth when you can spam Facebook with pics of your "new wheelz hun" and "livin the dream babez" quotes.

Aha!

I have a work colleague who isn't the sharpest tool in the box who has, in the last 3 months, raved about Juice plus drinking disgusting sachets won't make you lose weight when you follow it up with 3 kit kats salt lamps? Her sister is a beautician and apparently had told her all about the 'health benefits' of salt and some tea/coffee thing that promotes weight loss? I've stopped listening and it's exhausting listening to the results of these people trying to sell magical cures. I've been trying to lose weight lately by healthy diet and exercise, and have lost about a stone - she reckons I should take some of these aloe drink things and I'd be 'able to have some treats and still lose weight' errr I do, and I am. They definitely prey on the vulnerable.

*No. Arbonne will have LEASED a car and allowed her to have the use of it on the condition that she keeps up her payments into Arbonne
a recruiting tactic for Arbonne, it makes the members look much more rich and successful than they actually are

Vulnerable?
Surely you have to be willfully and deliberately ignorant to fall for this nonsense?

You can't win if you say anything. Just keep blocking and if she asks you in person to buy stuff simply say 'I can't afford it right now' as many times as needed.

I've also had numerous fb inbox messages asking me to host an Usbourne books party, go to some essential oils party thing, to buy some make up (which frankly is crap) and to host an Enjo demo. Now, I like Enjo for a variety of reasons, but I don't want to be part of 'your team' and bother people to have demos! The person who does it invited me for a coffee and I went along looking forward to catching up. She was trying to recruit me and didn't listen when I said no, as I already have a full time job! She said she'd put me 'on her list' in case I changed my mind and then I wouldn't have to wait to get started!! I'm old, and I can see a pressure sales pitch from a mile off. Finished my coffee and went home as soon as I could. Haven't heard from her again except to try to get me to buy products.

Vulnerable - previous posters have posted about recently bereaved people being made to worry about their finances.
Also, my work colleague isn't very bright, I won't bash her for that, because she can't help it. Not everyone is taught critical thinking skills although my kids are as cynical as me now because I constantly pick apart adverts on telly

I'm with the vulnerable I have no doubt that the few I have on my fb will try again to recruit me once baby boy has arrived. You know when I'm sleep deprived and have no I idea what I'm doing. They'll try to show the benefits of working and having time with baby. Etc etc etc except you're always on bloody Facebook

This thread has been a fascinating read and just when I am feeling weary of MN and it's every increasing AIBU tone, a thread like this comes along that is so helpful and informative and I remember why I stay. Going to read the blog now.

Fantastic post! Worth reading 👇🏻👇🏻

Things that make me go hmmmmm.....

You pay for a gym membership
You pay for private club membership
You pay for book club
You pay for gymnastics
You pay to join Weight Watchers
You pay for a Golf club membership
You pay for Amazon Prime

ALL of this pays the COMPANY and none of this PAYS you. And everybody does it and tells their friends. And it's "normal".

However....🤔

You "PAY" to open your own home based business ..THAT PAYS YOU.......and people do it & tell their friends ...and the (uneducated to what it is actually going on says...."oh, that's a scam". 😂

They say "oh, they just get a lot of people (um, the decent word for that is customers) and they just build and, and, and..they just get people to join (um, the decent word for that is BUSINESS OWNER- that makes INCOME based on their performance).

Wait. ✋🏻

Stop for 1 second. 👆🏻

Can you tell me ONE business in the UK that operates without customers?? Supermarkets, clothes shops, restaurants etc are constantly posting junk mail through my letter box trying to gain my business.

Can you tell me ONE business in the UK that doesn't look to HIRE people to "work" for them and make THEM money?

Oh wait, those businesses are unfair and pay "certain" people "certain" pay. The checkout person isn't paid what the manager is. Nor could they EVER be regardless of how smart they are. For the traditional business owner, the owner banks the money and the employees are paid "by the hour".

Yet the world thinks that is "ok" and "normal"?

In MY business- we are ALL paid the SAME percentages on our work. Yep. 100% the same. We get to decide how BIG we want to take it. There is NO TOP. NO LIMIT on what we can earn. NONE. It's equal for ALL.

Maybe this mindset is why so many people are out of cash and missing out on an AMAZING, FAIR and EQUAL business opportunities RIGHT before their EYES???

Surely I'm not the only one who gets this........ ⁉️

Is Mary Kay an MLM product? One of my friends has been targeted by a Mary Kay seller.

I once heard a JP or similar seller try to sell her product to someone in a hotel she even claimed it cured chest infections, I nearly interrupted to say no, only antibiotics can do that!!

Anyone want to help me feed back to the above post just posted by a JPbot on my fb? She's looking for feedback right?!

I've done scentsy for about 5 years as a bit on the side.. don't over invest in it, I just buy the samples when the season changes. Costs me about £30 with new catalogues.
My experience had been very positive. I've not made a lot of money.. just pocket money really but get a lot of product for free or at a huge discount which is my main motivation!
I have a private customer group which only consists of family, friends, colleagues or neighbours who have bought from me. I don't ever post on social media and have never recruited.
My 'up lines' give encouragement, tips etc but there is zero pressure. Think scentsy are the happy medium

It's impossible to argue with bots though Heygirl as you'll be condemned as a hater.

Usually I'd point out that working for a company usually gives you a regular income, set hours, a pension, holiday pay, and a whole host of other benefits like training, career progression, subsided canteen, childcare vouchers etc. You also don't have to pay to start work.

If you're working on the checkout you don't spend your time on fb telling your mates how amazing your job is, and you're not paid to recruit your friends into the job. You don't earn a percentage of their salary each month.

It's a totally bogus comparison but one the bots like to churn out as it makes them seem smart and savvy.

Whoops, phone malfunction! Although it still makes the point...

MLM products are inevitably overpriced for what they are - because they go through a chain, the mark up is massive.

Yes I know it is probably pointless but del this post was quite smug so I'm itching to reply with the points above. Imagine a Tesco worker talking about how great own brand beans are on a night out? :)

Anyone want to help me feed back to the above post just posted by a JPbot
It's incoherent gobshite
I suppose it works on the principle that bullshit baffles brains
None of it makes any rational sense so people tend to respond in an emotional or gut response way

These people are brainwashed, there's no getting through to them ....it would just be Pearls Before swine

My mother used to do a skin care/personal care one, probably still does, I don't know, which we all used growing up. I like the products and still use them today and only signed up to get them at distributor prices.

She used to get commission checks of a few thousand a month on top of the profits from the goods. However she had a beauty clinic so they went hand in hand with her core business and was able to sell to clients and not badger friends as she used to do in the early days. She's still waiting for the car though

I also buy a face products from a friend that's made by the people behind proactiv. They've chosen the mlm approach for the new line. I love the products but they have a shitty thing for preferred customers that you can get 10% discount and free shipping, but you need to spend $80 every 2mths basically. And fine, i do need to replace products by then, but if you forget to update what's in your order, you could get a $300 set of stuff that you didn't need. I'd rather just order when I run out.