To hate MLMs with a passion?

[dailymailaredicks]

I've never gotten involved with one. So I don't actually know for sure if I could be someone who made £40k a month. But...

I've been pitched again this morning. I wasn't expecting it. Thought it was a brew and breakfast chit chat. Instead, 4 other women there I didn't know. Products laid out on the coffee table like a stall. Then the sales pitch. 3 hours later, "I'll think about it!".

My friend is missing and there is someone else using her body. She didn't even speak the same anymore, lots of sales words and presumptive language. RIP Polly. I'll be here for you when you reach the other side of this.

Very sorry but I can't make head nor tail of your post. And I don't know what an MLM is either.

I hope this helps :)

Friend of mine just got out of the Forever cult - it's like she has been reborn! I feel your pain OP

Feel your pain OP. How unfair of her to spring it on you at breakfast!

One of mine has fallen to the forever cult, I’m very concerned about inviting her to my hen do as I imagine she will use it as an opportunity to try and sell to everyone!

MLM's are almost always a scam and the money made comes on the backs of others and the only "winners" making money are those in very early and completely immune to rejection. A friend of mine told me he was joining as it was a pure numbers game and he figured he could get in early and make it work. The response rate is generally 2-4% with half of those merely being too polite to say no. He was told if he wanted to be a success he had to cut off as soon as it was clear the person wouldn't spend anything but to see if you can get contacts from them to contact - neighbours, visitors, family names on the fridge, school lists, anything you can find, steal or pick-up.

It does appear ruthless. It's not the Forever cult but Arbonne. From what I can tell, the only ones who make money are the ones who recruit others. And those others recruit and money is made through signing up fees rather than actual product sales.

My friend is really quite vulnerable and I feel crap that I can't support her with this. As in support her to help steer clear.

In 6 weeks she has invested £1300 in products for herself, her samples and where she is 'saving' by bulk buys while they have a 'never to be repeated' special offer on.

Have a look at timeless vie. And there is anti mlm thread on here somewhere as well

Send her this: ellebeaublog.com/2017/02/01/chapter-1-getting-reeled-in/

The last chapter has good tips on unloading stock before jumping ship. eBay might help as well.

TopShagger: MLMs is Multi-level Marketing. They're basically pyramid schemes. Here's a podcast that explains why they're just scams.

theartofcharm.com/podcast-episodes/robert-fitzpatrick-mlm-doesnt-work-episode-247/

Thanks, the Elle blog is brilliant. I read it when I was pitched for Forever Living. I just didn't see this one coming! And this friend is usually very good and astute financially. But emotionally vulnerable at the mo.

She's only 6 weeks in and the positivity/screw you seesaw isn't there yet. She's in deep and will need to make back this £1300, £1200 was put through 2 days ago.

I also hate them, company I work for just won a chunk of business with one of the fuckers so they'll be clients of ours - I did say to senior person* 'shame they're so evil' so hopefully I have made my 'please no' attitude clear re: not having to work with them directly. Bah.

(*senior person is a good egg, I'm not going to be fired for shooting my mouth off btw.)

Thanks for that, Cariad! It sort of clicked after I posted that but as there is no delete or edit function :)

Two members of my family are buggers for it, they flit from one mlm to another, each one is the best thing ever and a sure-fire way of making money quick... until it dries up and they move on.

They are intelligent people, why are they falling for this time and time again?

Forever living, Lifetree world, traffic monsoon, some weird crypto currency one (which has been just on the cusp of making them millionaires since early 2017)

Why why why?!

There was a spate of Younique people around my workplace...it seems to have petered out now. I have one obsessive Younique-bot on my FB, i find her weirdly fascinating (although i would never buy from her - i dont like it)

I think they use very clever techniques to manipulate people - flattery and ego stroking. I'm being told how clever I am, astute, I will make more money than the bot trying to recruit me will make (cos I'm that good) and so on. Even seemingly intelligent women fall for this. The same as OLD cons I suppose.

I have someone on my FB who is doing the life insurance one. No idea what that's all about- why on earth would I go through her to get insurance? She's living her best life being a #bossbabe though.

I have just fb-friended someone I went to school with who it turns out is into an MLM (I did wonder why on earth she wanted to be fb friends with me, we weren't friends at school and haven't seen each other in at least 16 years). It is fascinating watching it unfold on her fb page.

I haven't heard of the insurance one. It really is fascinating to watch, but when it's a close friend I admire and respect, it feels like watching a car crash unfolding.

I guarantee I hate MLM with more passion than you do, OP! I had one bot try to ‘network’ and recruit my friends whilst at my daughter’s funeral. What’s more, I doubt she even saw it as something inappropriate to do. Totally inexcusable as far as I am concerned and something I will never forgive her for, even if/when she sees sense and finally leaves the ego flattering con company!

OMG that is shocking! Truly the worst MLM not experience I've heard of. I'm so sorry.

I currently have a Facebook friend who is involved with Younique. She’s right in the thick of the early stages, thanking people who have shown an interest for getting her up to the next stage. Tonight’s post is of her poorly daughter (2 year old) who still insisted on having lipgloss and highlighter even though she’s ill
My cousin was drawn into an MLM a few years ago. I swear they can spot a vulnerable person a mile off! She had just suffered the loss of her baby at 21 weeks pregnant and was an emotional mess. She spent hundreds of pounds ‘investing’ in ‘her’ business and frequently posted pics of her children drinking aloe vera gel etc
She would send me long rambling messages about how she was so glad she’d found this ‘focus’ and how good it all made her feel. Telling me how all her friends think it’s amazing for her, that she’s a better person now etc.
She really believed in it.
She changed, so much. I told her that she had too. She was so dismissive and continued to try and tell me that the changes were positive and tried selling to me to ‘help me to have the same happiness’!
I didn’t cut contact because I love her so I messaged her to explain how I felt she was being used for money and told her that I loved her. Then I stepped away.
Things were quiet for a while but around a year later she got in touch on one of my dc birthday, just a simple message to say happy birthday. And that was that, she’d come through it.
I’ve never spoken of it again and neither has she.
I HATE them!

I once had someone praise their products saying it basically cured her daughters ADHD symptoms. I’d had enough, she got unfriended!

(I’m sure it was forever living but it was one of the shitey things anyway)

(Maybe if she replaced feeding her kid lucozade for it she might have a point)

My friend was most offended today when I described it as an MLM.

"Why would anyone even think it's something like that?!"

I didn't realise that she is so blinded to it that she can't even see the similarities to other setups that are known MLMs.

I'm guessing you've come across the MLM Botwatch threads? If not, here's a link to the latest: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/3290442-MLM-Bot-Watch-41-Forever-Living-charity-giving-are-MLMers-using-charities-to-increase-their-CCs-while-making-it-look-like-they-are-being-charitable

Recruiting at a funeral is just shocking. I thought I'd heard everything but that is just beyond the pale.

Just when you think you have heard it all...

I have no time for MLM