To not see the point in Body Shop At Home?

[Rosieposy89]

A few people I know have started doing this and it's endless FB posts of things you can buy direct from Bodyshop (and get better offers!). I don't really see how they can call themselves businesses either? It must be a scam!

@Rosieposy89

A few people I know have started doing this and it's endless FB posts of things you can buy direct from Bodyshop (and get better offers!). I don't really see how they can call themselves businesses either? It must be a scam!

100% with you here, and I have spoken about this a few times on here this past few weeks.

I have had 2 requests in person (from 2 young women in my village,) in the past 3 weeks, trying to palm off their Bodyshop at Home stuff, and I said no to both. Still, a few days later, one of them pushed a bastard catalogue through my letterbox, with a card that said 'YOU can have this great opportunity to join as an agent. Call me (CLARE!) on 077777777777.' I got DH to stick it back through her letterbox the next day. Untouched and unacknowledged!

In addition, I have had facebook requests from six OTHER different people, over the past 6 weeks or so, and 3 of them have sent requests 8 to 10 fucking times. I have declined them ALL, and yet 3 of them keep sending a request for me to 'join them.' Why they keep coming when I have declined, just baffles me.

Their facebook pages are littered with Bodyshop at Home stuff, praising the AMAZING products, and posting pics of them with the stuff on their hands, their feet, and their face etc... They also have a dozen different friends on there saying 'oooh Rachel, your products are AMAZING!' (And other sickly sycophantic comments!)

And they keep posting pics of them holding a 'certificate' they printed off (that Bodyshop at Home sent them,) saying 'Well done Louise, you are our agent of the day.' And 'Congratulations Amanda! You sold £50 worth of products today! You go GURRRL!' And '50 people on your page now Anna. You are AMAZING. You got this babe!' (They have a raffle every week too, to win a great prize!!!) It's cringeworthy and embarrassing, and it's literally like a cult!

I am too long in the tooth, and too old and jaded to get taken in by such utter bollocks, and I actually pity these women. They are being conned, and will end up making a loss (like Gemma from Coronation Street, with the selling-from-home scam that Sean roped her into.)

For the record, I have discovered a way to stop these requests on Facebook. Click on 'settings and privacy' on the top right-hand corner of the screen on facebook. Then click 'settings.' On the left hand side of the screen is a menu... About halfway down it says 'BLOCKING'.. You will see 'restricted users' and 'blocked users' there, then 'block messages' ... If you scroll down a bit, you will see block app invites... and block event invites ...Then type the name of the friend(s) who keep sending you invites for their pages...

I have blocked all 6 this morning(from sending invites to me!). I don't know if they will know/realise, but I don't care, as I am sick of it.

As a number of posters have said, it's multi-level-marketing AKA a pyramid scheme. I am shocked at the amount of women I know who I thought were intelligent and savvy, who are being taken in by this bollocks.

I am also baffled as to why so many people are suddenly joining Bodyshop at Home. I had never even heard of Bodyshop at Home til this year! (The Bodyshop yes, but not Bodyshop at Home...) Yet now, first week in March, I know eight people who are doing it, and have read dozens of posts on several forums (including this one) from posters complaining about their friends, colleagues, acquaintances, (and even their extended family,) trying to rope them into it!

I know people have been at home more, but it's just bizarre that so many are so heavily 'into' Bodyshop at Home!' As I said, it's like a cult!

@Findahouse21 there is so much negativity for all this, (and things like it,) is because it's a scam and a con, and it preys on vulnerable people (usually women, and usually young women with children.) They are sold a dream, and the promise of high earnings, and a great career. The reality for the VAST MAJORITY of them is that they end up losing 1000s of pounds.

They are encouraged to invest 'just a few hundred,' and are roped into contracts that say they need to make a certain amount of hundreds of pounds every month. If they don't make it, they have to fork it out of their own pocket. You are deluded if you think these companies are just 'harmless enterprises...'

My hands were so dry so I once got bsah hemp cream (conned with the buy one get one donated to nhs) and then I found aldi hemp on 99p and better so just dont bother now.

@littlepattilou - thanks for the advice re: FB. It's completely shocking that they have to pay money if they don't sell! No wonder they push the hard sell

@Findahouse21 your friend making her own products has a genuine business in which she makes the decisions - good for her. If you choose to support her business and like her products then great. But BSAH and MLMs in general is a different thing altogether. It’s not the individual’s own business, they are a customer and a commission only sales rep. Most lose money overall and only discover this when they start doing a proper profit and loss exercise.

There have been many examples of “business owners” waking up one morning to discover the MLM they “work with” has pulled the plug - they lose everything and have zero control over events. They are misled that they can make a living from product sales but the ONLY way to make any real money is to recruit lots of other people and keep doing it as they drop out. There is an awful lot of lies and smoke and mirrors to get people to join and it most definitely isn’t a supportive environment. There are people who don’t need the money and just treat it as a hobby but the vast majority of people entering MLM like BSAH are doing it because they really need the money, and for those people it can be pretty disastrous (financially, socially and emotionally). But judge it on and individual basis as you suggest and you won’t see it for what it is (a recruitment device with a veneer of product sales).

@littlepattilou agree with all you’re saying. Re BSAH, there has been a big push by the MLM trade body, the DSA during the pandemic. As one of their member company’s boss said, “we always exploit a good crisis” and he was delighted with the money they’re making right now out of recruitment

The DSA is particularly pushing BSAH, Avon, Neal’s Yard, Usbourne; anything that has a traditional direct selling persona even if it is now MLM (Avon) or has a high street presence, which gives people a false sense of security. I think this in some ways accounts for the high recruitment numbers and why people are seeing so many of these companies on their FB. What the DSA never does is speak about some of its other members such as Valentus (shut down for illegal products), Forever Living (massive income lies by reps and obscuring of uplines’ insolvency etc), Arbonne (Covid cure lies, recruiting MH patients), etc etc. Sadly some of the lazier media take what the DSA says as legitimate.

Meanwhile lots of people are falling into debt having signed up to something they thought would make all the difference to their finances and I feel really bad for them. As you point out, they are in a totally saturated market and it can’t work.

Don't use it then.

@FangsForTheMemory are you a 'consultant' by any chance?

@FangsForTheMemory

Don't use it then.

Great contribution to the discussion. You must have spent a while formulating that. Well done

@Findahouse21

Appreciate your honesty there, I did expect a comeback full of denial, 50/50 is fair!!

I like the body butters, I buy from BS as opposed to savers/home bargains because I thought it was ethical. Helped people in poorer countries make a living. Is that not the case anymore?
We don't have a store anywhere near us and aren't they all closed anyway?

@digthroughtheditches M&S do a body butter which is half the price. www.marksandspencer.com/olive-body-butter-200ml/p/hbp60433704?color=NOCOLOUR

I think there are some questions about BS’s original roots being somewhat different to the story we’ve been told apparently and some of the corporate decisions along the way have been iffy I’m told. A lot of people don’t like some of the stances they’ve taken lately, for example J K Rowling. Then there’s the question of MLM. BSAH are owned by Natura who also own Avon, a lot of people don’t like Avon because of their animal testing record so link BSAH to that.

@YouokHun so i wonder if the stories in the BS catalogues fake news? Can't they be done for that? Makes you think about all companies then I guess, and they're track record with being ethical. Are there any flawless big biz? I have friends trying to sell me Neals Yard stuff is that classed as MLM too?

Yes Neals Yard is an mlm too.

I like Bodyshop products. I regularly buy from a local rep who does it full time and makes a living. She sells a lot of stuff though. She has lots of good offers and delivers to the door. Saves on postage and my closest store is 10 miles away. She has kept a lot of folks in handwash, hand gel and hand cream through lockdown!

Preying on the vulnerable to guilt their friends into buying over priced stuff they don't need and lure more people into parting with their cash to become the 100th "consultant" in The Smallest Village. Unethical and evil

Honestly, I'd rather just hive my friend a tenner and spend £15 on my family.

[quote Findahouse21]@ohwaitthatwasme if I'm being really honest then I'd say it's probably a 50-50 split. Half of what I buy is make up. I like to buy mid range which I'd say bodyshop falls into and I really like it actually.

Ivve also bought face masks and moisturiser which are just not products that I would usually buy. I' ve done it partly because they're being offered but also for my own enjoyment during lockdown as options are limited. Some I've seen the benefit of for my skin and will buy again, others haven't been great so I won't.

I just don't see the huge hate for all of this, rather than judging individually. Another friend has set up her own business selling hand made bath bombs (with proper lisencing/testing whatever). The same arguments about me only buying them because she's offering them could be made, but it's more acceptable and even approved of because she's making her own product.

Sorry I think I'm rambling now![/quote]
Buying from your friend making bath bombs, though, is 100% supporting her and a small business. She gets 100% of the profits. With an MLM the rep gets a percentage but then EVERYONE in their upline also gets a percentage. Then the actual company gets a percentage. By buying from a friend who probably makes £50 a month if they're lucky, you're giving money to reps who got in early, recruited a massive downline and therefore are making a six- or seven-figure amount, purely from everyone underneath them.

It's so different from your friend making her own products.

Omg, I have that BSAH friend. Videos daily showing how good the products are and raffles at least 3 times a week. Then I have all the Weight Watchers lot who are doing Scentsy with the hard sell.

Happy with friends making bath bombs and chocolates.

New message on one of my facebook friends timeline...

As some of you may know, I was recently promoted to area manager within my body shop journey.

I have an amazing team, who are constantly supporting each other. They are all wonderful!

But we feel that there is definitely room for more. If you have ever thought about joining then why not take the step?

We are here ready and waiting to support you on your journey. Any questions, pop one of us a message.

Or feel free to head over to the opportunity page to see what it's all about.

She is really well and truly sucked in. SIX WEEKS she has been doing this, and has already been promoted to 'AREA MANAGER?!'

In addition to the facebook post above, she put a collage of some of women she has sucked into it with her. 8 of them, with all their names included. There's a message saying 'YOUR picture could be next on the collage! Contact me NOW to join me on my wonderful JOURNEY!'

It's actually getting a bit scary now tbh.

I'm surprise Body Shop still exist really, there are so many other better and cheaper products available now, with less crap in them.

Lol at the 'area manager' post above....I had a 'friend' who got sucked into flogging Younique...within days she'd been promoted and was yellow status or some other crap...god do these idiots not see how ridiculous they look.

[quote clpsmum]@Subordinateclause I buy from them regularly I use face wash, toner, serum, moisturiser, face masks, hand cream, body yoghurt and body butter x[/quote]
Heavens, I admire your commitment to personal care! I use a flannel, a bar of soap and a bottle of all purpose moisturizer! 😂

I agree OP.

It's an MLM.

I have also thought why would I buy from rep when the Body Shop often has really good offers.

It's awful for the sellers. I had a party and my friend made £10 and my sales were hundreds. I got more out of it in host gifts than her. She quit as they became pushy with targets and changed their approach