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.

You know the Monty Python spam Song?
Well sing that to her but replace the word spam with scam
🎼🎶🎵Scam scam scam scam scam scam scam scam 🎶🎵

The difference with Avon is that the products are actually affordable and it's not quite so cult-like and brainwashy. Avon reps are just reps, not "CEO of my life" trying to recruit a million other hunbots.

You can recruit a downline now in Avon - they changed it a few years back. It does have affordable products though which seems an obvious help really - if you want repeat customers, it's more likely with affordable stuff (I'd say the same about Phoenix Cards too).

As for heygirl's hunbot - well yes, Tesco might like you to work for them but they don't tell you about 'the opportunity' when you step through the door to buy a loaf of bread and they don't expect you to set up another Tesco right next door to them selling the same stuff to the same people. They do have competitors but different brands.

So the next time someone from Younique tries to recruit you, say you'll do Avon instead. That should go down well ...

Cotswold, that's a great post.

Heygirl, only you know the real truth of what you are earning and how great the opportunity is in reality. But I suspect my friend has been given the "opportunity" to spend a lot of money to stockpile products that aren't really worth the money so that those in her "upline" get some cash, even while she actually makes a loss because she can't sell those same products. More worryingly, for her the name of the game seems to be to recruit, recruit, recruit. That indicates to me that the real profit is in bringing in more distributors in, so that they stockpile, and thus generate more profits.

These companies may get round the law on pyramid schemes, but it doesn't sound far off. No amount of emojis will change that 🏆💕✋💪

By the way, if you can't understand why it's fair that a manager is paid more than someone on the checkouts (responsibility, risk, delegated authority) then I am not surprised that you feel like this online stuff is the way to go- you must be a nightmare to manage.

Sorry, didn't read heygirls posts properly! Sorry!

That was meant for your hunbot, not you

I'm not a hater really, if a product is good I'll be interested and possibly buy it regardless of whether it is a high street/online/MLM who makes/sells it. It's the join me pressure that is the killer really. I think some MLM businesses would get more money by focusing on sales rather than recruitment really.

An MLM near me used to do good group sessions where you could try the stuff out but the insistence on including the recruitment section in it put me off going back. A shame, as I'd probably have bought a little more of the stuff without the join me pressure tbh. Bring back the old party plan!

But Cotswolds, they are so pushy on recruiting as that's where the money is... the product is secondary to that. It's their whole business model.

Yes, that's the ML bit of MLM, but I do think it puts off people who would be good customers sometimes.

Unless the start-up fee is fantastically high though, they still want the reps (at least!) to buy the products. Unless someone is buying the stuff, the company are not making any money - it's not like a franchise where you pay a fee anyway. With an MLM, money only changes hands when you buy the start up kit or product, surely?

Cotswold, with my friend's MLM I don't see the full picture but I know that she buys in stock in order to reduce postage cost and promote new products or special offer gift packs. For her upline that counts as a sale, because it's a sale by the company to her. They don't seem to care that she hasn't necessarily got a buyer herself. But as I say, I don't see the full picture.

I think with my friend, whilst there is a product to sell, the real commodity is actually the ridiculous starter packs (and numerous add ons) brought by new reps. That can only hold for so long as a business model.

The pressure on recruitment seems massive, which is why I think my friend is blinded to the strain on her friendships. Sad to watch 😞

Reps don't have businesses, they are the customers to the actual business, or funders to the Pyramid Scheme.

The equivalent would be a Tesco cashier who was paid on commission based on how many of their friends and family they could persuade to come through their till and buy overpriced groceries of questionable quality that the cashier themselves has had to pay for first before selling them on. I'd rather be paid by the hour in an actual store without paying anything upfront and without being reliant on endlessly pestering friends and family to form all of my client base thanks.

YANBU to dislike your friend's behaviour and not buy anything; and to be concerned about her wasting her money and effort.

YABU to make remarks about her being financially supported by her DH. She's a SAHM: fair enough.

Loopy, the only reason I mentioned her financial support was to connect the fact that she doesn't need to see an immediate profit. That's why she's able to stockpile.

I have never judged her for being financially supported by DH- I am far from being financially independent myself and being a SAHM is hard work.

I love this thread, I can relate to the op' so much. I feel stuck in limbo of wanting to support my friends in their venture and but yet being judged by them for not being at home with my child (I only have one at school age so not sure why I feel this way for working) .. the irony is if I didn't work I could afford the make up they are pushing???? Unfollow and stick to Boots for a simpler life I reckon.

I've just lost the weekend to Elle Beau's blog! Brilliant!
Meanwhile, my hunbot went very quite with her amaaaaazing 'poonique' (I love that!) products. Thank fuck thought i. Not sure I could handle any more pouting spider lashes selfies, bollocks contouring videos and up close her make up looks like its orange been clarted on with a trowel.

But no, she has now set up an online boutiquepeddling cheap shite using the same 'teamie' name she used with yooooounique.

I'm out. I've only stayed friends out of damn nosiness as she's a smart woman. But the shite on her new website suggests more #bossbabe memes are incoming.

I used to sell Pampered Chef but on a very relaxed basis. She needs to set up a specific FB page for her business (which means you can still be friends but you won't get her ads!) as FB get snotty and could block her account. Most sellers of products are like this at first. You're friend will either become very successful and earn free holidays etc by getting herself an interested client base, or more likely, the whole thing will fizzle out and she'll go very quiet on the topic. This is a temporary phase of first enthusiasm which should be short lived enough to be bearable.

Does anyone remember Titan?
That was a pyramid, they didn't even bother trying to sell you anything you just had to invest £3000 !
Then you had to drag poor unsuspected friends along every week and make them invest £3000...
I very nearly did it but decided not to and they got shut down the week after.

I've been guilted into going to many 'parties' over the years - containers, food, cooking, clothes, beauty products, candles etc, etc, etc. It's always galled me that at most of the parties there's 7 or 8 people all with the same mindset that they'll order something for a few pounds to support the host because they're a friend, and then the host sits there going 'oh I've earned £xxx to spend tonight! So when 'friends' approach me with the 'my new business' spiel it makes me feel the same way.

I did get sucked into the Juice+ bollocks though and I'm not even sure how - I gained a lot of weight and this ex-colleague said she had a solution. I paid monthly and of course I lost weight but then she added me to all these chats and groups and wanted me to share my story. There was no story - I was fucking starving, spotty and was suffering migraines because I was living on 2 disgusting shakes a day with meal on an evening (thank god). I could have lost the same amount of weight eating 3 healthy meals a day and felt so much better for it.

A year later I was on maternity leave and went to a local toddler group, one of the mums approached me and invited me round for a coffee. I was excited at the prospect of new friend until she told me she would show me her promotional video for her new business and that she could get me involved. I was so pissed off that I cancelled at the last minute despite knowing I was never going to go.

No worries magicnumbers, the post got two likes!

A couple of very good school friends of mine are part of one of these MLM's, one of them seems to be doing REALLY well out of it and has her "wooooo, white Mercedes" the other has been chasing the holy grail for coming up for 7 years... she is constantly "up for qual" whatever that means - I am assuming its the next step in the pyramid, I mean MLM structure and her posts are RELENTLESS! Constant affirmations and pictures of her diary, laptop and strategically placed branded products. Videos talking over and over again about the 'opportunity' and how she is living the dream and creating a residual income the whole time bragging about her amazing life then begging friends to place orders so she can hit her targets. I almost got sucked in once but I'm far too lazy to self motivate myself to be this kind of person and I am certainly not a seller by nature.

What irks me is how blase they seem to be about the cost of the stuff... like £50 for a face cream is totally normal!

I feel sorry for people sucked into MLM at the same time they irritate the hell out of me. They're clearly disatisfied with whatever their work or career is and see this as a way out - working for self. But MLM isn't like aiming to sell and promote a service, its someone else's "baby" as it were, relentless sales work dependent on hassling people you know to buy stuff. & yes they have to make it sound brilliant, that theyre living the life going places etc so as to attract people. I wouldn't bother saying anything to your friend, she will learn for herself the hard way. I agree with hiding her newsfeed. If she approaches you directly then stick to saying no you don't want anything, and thats it.. MLM takeover of a friend is horrible but, what can you do

I had a random woman approach me on a cafe a couple of weeks ago, telling me how adorable Ds is and what an amazing mummy I am

Anyone else heard of Acti-lab? That's the latest one I'm seeing, weight loss crap and skincare plus shampoo plus makeup etc. The bots are all diamond level sales and comment on each other's statuses. "I'm interested" "Pm'd you hun" etc. I have to sit on my hands to stop commenting "Why do you need more information when you're a 2 carat seller?!" The whole thing is ridiculous.

Thing that gets me about this crap is the lack of genuineness.

Had some girl I went to school with add me on Facebook, pushes younique and her being our enjoying life, and enjoying life with her kids etc. But in real life she blanks me, but I've smiled and said hi, when I'm with my boyfriend she blanks him, but she makes a point of chatting him up when I'm not there.

All I see in my news feed is her having the best life and videoing herself doing her make up.... Irritating beyond belief.

Saw some congratulations thing this week that she's made it to Blue status. I looked it up and worked the £ out, and it was pitiful.

It's all utter bullshit! Feel like sending her that blog, but that would show I'm invested, when frankly I'm not given she's so rude in real life ...

Its the way they turn into automatons ALL about their business, and nothing else - any work that requires you to give your time energy focus 24/7 and the organisation does not even belong to you, is shit. Desperation to achieve and to get customers turns these people into boring MLM drones. All that "living the life" gumpf is nonsense, its more stuff to draw people in. There's no flash lifestyle based solely on MLM. I don''t even try to be polite - I keep away. But its sad in that its turning these people's brain, there's a vulnerabiiit somewhere