What’s the R number of MLM schemes?

[ReeseWitherfork]

Goodness me the MLMs are ramping up! Or is it just the people I associate with?!

So I don’t have a “am I being unreasonable” but rather “how do I reasonably tell people they’re being idiots?” Does no one do any research before joining one? Because I can’t imagine google is telling them it’s a good idea.

I’ve only ever replied to texts telling me people have joined with a “thanks! xx” Has anyone been braver?

@Scarlettpixie

It's not the same as your example because if a company has shops and staff they are employing people and have responsibility to the employees such as providing holiday and sick pay. Lush are a company who I know a lot on here don't hold with for feminist issues but they run a business with short shelf life products and manage to do it without using commission based sales reps and pyramid selling.

You could compare it to shops buying wholesale goods to sell on, but again we have an ethical issue because people in MLM's are encouraged to 'expand their team' and sign up family and friends. If you were in any other business and someone suggested you set a competitor up in your neighborhood you would say they were crazy.

The MLM business model was set up to circumvent the laws against pyramid schemes (the podcast The Dream is really informative about how pyramid schemes morphed into MLM selling). So it really doesn't matter how good the product is, its still only going to the people at the top rich because that is how its designed.

Tropic is already sold direct via the website, they could have set up shops like lush, they could have sold through beauty businesses like hair care products are in salons, they could have employed local area sales reps and provided proper employment. So many options other than MLM which in this day and age we KNOW is unethical.

My bot has reeled one in. Apparently:

With the NEW catalogue launch this month and Christmas round the corner its the BEST time ever to join
🖤No cost to start, no websites fees
🖤Fast start bonuses of £1200
🖤Over 1000 products
🖤Mercedes car plans
🖤Incentive holidays - next one Australia!

One of the mums at school has started selling Tropic recently, she has a facebook page and from what I can see her school mum friends are supporting her by buying from her.

I had a look at the products but they aren't as nice as Lush and actually seem more expensive so I will be sticking with Lush.

She has invited me to the page but isnt hard selling so good luck to her I suppose.

Other FB people are selling bodyshop, literally tens of them and now they are bringing the catalogues in to work too. I have a couple who sell ann summers, JP and Arbonne too. A few who are travel agents and one who has a Candle franchise! FB is increasingly like one long advertisement/selling page.

A couple of parents at our school were big in to herbalife a few years ago, husband and wife. I heard on the grapevine that they got in to trouble with school for hard selling and trying to recruit other parents at the school gate. They moved out of the area, distanced themselves from Herbalife and set up a fitness business of some sort so at least they saw the light in the end.

It beggars beliefe that Katie Price and her latest boyfriend are now peddling the same old HB crap though!
Tough times hey.

I've got a sensible friend who's just started with Body Shop. Think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and message at some point.

One of my friends did Younique for a few months. She had an awful experience with them and lost a lot of money. I did send her a link to a blog about and explain why I don’t support MLMs, but unfortunately I didn’t know she had signed up until after she’d done it iyswim. It was horrible watching her Facebook taken over with their selling model, she isn’t that kind of person at all. I also felt I couldn’t support by buying something. She did figure out she’d been had quite quickly and stopped and went back to normal.

Now another absolutely lovely friend has been taken in by Tropic. I sent her a message explaining why I didn’t want to join, but I’m so worried for her as I watch the posts clock up about “an amazing opportunity” or “treat yourself”. Again she’s nothing like that in real life.

This came up on a local Facebook group yesterday, I'm guessing it's some sort of MLM but doesn't mention a name. I actually felt sorry for them when I read the last sentence.

@AlexCabot

When I was diagnosed with cancer I had both Juice Plus and Forever Living huns try to flog me their magic juice/aloe to 'cure' me. Both were told to thoroughly fuck off and as the Juice Plus twat was a registered nurse she was also reported to the NMC. Dickheads.

I have ulcerative colitis and experienced similar with people trying to say JP and another (some aloe) thing would cure me... my treatment cost the NHS thousands, I'm sure if it could be cured by fucking JP they'd have prescribed that instead

I absolutely hate the way they prey on vulnerable people who must be willing to give anything a try, it's actually despicable imo.

I joined my village Facebook group during lockdown- just hoping to feel a bit more in touch with what was going on. I've been amazed how many posts there are from MLMs, all trying to give the impression that they are helping the community. There's an Usborne books rep who posts at least twice a day with reminders of her latest offers, 'games for the children' (all of which seem to be a variation on paying £1 to pick a number and someone wins a book) and when the schools were closed there were lots of posts about how important reading is for the DC etc. On one occasion she put a post asking for suggestions on what people would like to see posted on the group and one brave sole replied something along the lines of 'no more posts from MLMs'. There were tons of comments after saying what a mean man he was and how wonderful the MLM was. As a village newbie I daren't respond but I find it unbelievable that so many people are taken in. We also have 2 avon reps and 2 body shop reps (in a village not big enough to even have a local shop!). I really can't work out why anyone buys from them when the same products can be bought online, often cheaper and with no need to go to the hassle of sending an order via someone else and waiting for them to make their weekly order and deliver it.

Haribo Exactly! My treatment must have cost the NHS thousands (which is very appreciated, in many parts of the world it would have bankrupted us) but apparently fifty quids worth of magic juice would have done the same thing.

I really don't get the likes of Avon, bodyshop and usbourne books doing the mlm thing. Surely people can just buy the stuff online, or go into asn actual bodyshop. Why is there the middleperson flogging it to us. To be fair, a woman I know has started Avon recently, and i had a look online, and bought some stuff via her link, so i'm guessing she got some sort of commision, which i really don't get as I was just ordering through their website, so why is the seller needed. I actually really like the products i got, so will buy again, it's such a shame its mlm crap

a teacher friend has started body shop. Its so weird..

@misskatamari the point of them doing mlm is that each new 'business owner' buys a starter pack and then recruits others to buy a starter pack, the starter packs are just another product to the company owners.

Ive had a few friends over the years who have announced loudly that they are now doing 'Yoooonique'.....'Body Shop' etc....usually accompanied by a Facebook page and lots of dodgy quotes....funnily enough they all go quiet after a couple of months...the evil part of me wants to ask them why but ive refrained so far.

I do Avon on a very small scale in my village. I have had absolutely no pressure to recruit anyone or become a 'sales leader.' I'm left to just get on with it, and it's up to me how much effort I put in to selling! There are a few older ladies who like to order as they don't get out so much. And I would NEVER do a party - always seems like a lot of work and high pressure selling. No thank you.
I have noticed a few friends becoming 'travel agents' lately. I hope they're bot paying for the privilege.
A friend of mine does Body Shop alongside her full time job and seems to do really well with it. I think she gets a lot of orders through her work though!

I have just read a few pages, it's all a bit Sad isn't it.

Mainly low education and poor backgrounds selling thus mlm idea to make money and they generally end up working long hours posting and annoying people for what amounts to pennies an hour....
It's very sad

More twisted words from the DSA:

‘Avon lady’ jobs back in fashion
digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/377/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/377/pub/377/page/208/article/90066

I've xome across loads of Avon, the gateway to mlm, gentle and familiar name, lots of raffles....
Then progress to Body Shop and Younique.....online presentations and more raffles....
Then scentsy.....
Not come across the intele travel yet

I know someone who was a solicitor and then she left and was suddenly posting about her best life and goals and coaching. A few of us met up with her and she was telling me it'd really help my skin (thought my skin was fine but thank you), my other friend it would help her weight and the other that she'd be "so good at this". We all saw it for what it was and were surprised she'd been sucked in. She was talking about it helping her lose weight but she looked the same. She was involved in Forever Living I think but I had to mute her on Facebook because she's always posting pictures of herself in the gym or in her office and either posting about how great her life is or the mental health problems she's overcome...

And then there are a few Body Shop reps!

Other than 'travel agents' and FM Perfumes, one of the worst ones I've encountered was one of the removal men on moving day trying to sell us some slimming pill or liquid as 'it would help us lose weight'

LoveEatYoga is she Leeds based by any chance?!

@anewdispensation

The coaching one is mind boggling. How can you teach people to make ‘6 figure months’ when you clearly don’t have the track record. To me this is the biggest MLM con going and now anyone with a mobile phone can put themselves out as an expert and coach and sell ‘online courses’ and ‘masterclasses’

The most terrifying one I saw was one woman who claims to teach women how to align their menstrual cycle with the lunar moon cycle or such crap so they can be at peace, be confident blah blah blah... it is crazy though! Always aimed at women too. Makes me so angry 😡😡😡

I used to live with a girl who was a life / business coach. It baffled me as she was disorganised, scatty and not at all practical (her sister used to pay her rent as she couldn't afford it) she also had similar business acumen to my 4 year old nephew, ie none. She would occasionally clinch a meeting but nothing would come of it. I have no idea how she actually made enough money to live!

When I was 20 I lost a friend due to one of these MLM schemes (she used to sell to me all the time and I went right off her) thing is she was just married and they were quite well off anyway and had good jobs — just very very greedy for more. Give it a miss ladies, your friends end up resenting you if you are trying to sell to them and their friends

Apparently my friend is making over £4k per MONTH Selling body shop

I doubt the shops even make that much profit!

@Isitbedtimeyet10 Yes I think so