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AIBU?

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Original poster

Different between MLM and Pyramid scheme - are any MLMs ok?

59 replies

JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 28/02/2022 09:16

So can someone help me with the above. I found out about some products I liked the sound of but when I looked a bit closer it looks like the company is an MLM. This set alarm bells ringing. Do any of these MLM companies actually sell a legitimate product and are morally sound? I am just now instantly skeptical about something I thought sounded really good.

OP posts:
Staryflight445 · 28/02/2022 10:19

Please don’t support these ‘businesses’.
Many women end up in debt because of these and end up trapped.
Just don’t buy anything.

Original poster
JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 28/02/2022 10:22

Yes I googled and read stuff before posting on here, and my gut was telling me to steer clear I just wanted a bit of clarity on what is so bad about these things. I think actually regardless of whether they are an MLM it seems their product is potentially questionable so that is enough for me. Thank you all

OP posts:
Duracellbunnywannabe · 28/02/2022 10:32

@Creeeper

They make a lot of claims about their oils being purer, they say that you can apply them directly to your skin which other essential oils (e.g. Neil's Yard) say you can't do and have to use a carrier oil.

Lol, this just means they’re watered down already!

Yes! Many pure essential oil you can’t apply to your skin unless they have already been mixed with a large amount of much cheaper carrier oil.
Snog · 28/02/2022 10:39

I like Tisserand essential oils.

SeasonFinale · 28/02/2022 10:40

OK so you asked. Everyone said avoid.

But you are still arguing that it seems OK.

SW11twins · 28/02/2022 10:46

@JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome

So it is Doterra, the essential oil company.

It does seem expensive....they also entice you to join for £24 and then you get a discount on the products of 25%.

They make a lot of claims about their oils being purer, they say that you can apply them directly to your skin which other essential oils (e.g. Neil's Yard) say you can't do and have to use a carrier oil.

I am just a bit unsure....

I get my essential oils off ebay for £3-£4 each generally. Loads always in TK Maxx/Homesense too. A yoga studio I used to attend flogged doterra and it always seemed ridiculously overpriced.
AuntieStella · 28/02/2022 10:53

The only MlM that I don't mind is Avon.

Good products, competitively priced and some very chea.

No weird cultishness, and pretty transparent about what you wouid make if you onoymsell and don't also recruit.

Also, everyone knows what they are and what they're about

Pollymollydolly · 28/02/2022 10:54

I always think that if these products really were so ‘amazing’ they’d be sold in shops.

There are so many posts on our local Facebook group, several people selling doterra and all trying to outdo each other with silly names e.g ‘polly’s peaceful pod of perfectly predictable positivity’ and multiple exclamation marks!!!!!!!! Not to mention their gratefulness for having discovered the absolute amazing-ness of perfectly pedestrian products.

There are also lots of posts asking for people to ‘reply yes’ if they are interested in a great opportunity to earn money wfh.

I feel really sorry for people who get caught up in this bullshit - all too often it is people (and let’s be honest it is mainly women) who desperately need to earn money, and instead end up even worse off after ‘investing’ in whatever crappy product is being pushed.

Original poster
JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 28/02/2022 11:04

@SeasonFinale

OK so you asked. Everyone said avoid.

But you are still arguing that it seems OK.

Eh? I have said that I am not going to buy from them?????
OP posts:
LizDoingTheCanCan · 28/02/2022 11:23

[quote TigerLilyTail]I don't personally have experience of DoTerra, but I found this well balanced article that seems to answer a lot if your questions.

aromessential.com/best-oil-brands/doterra/[/quote]
An article full of affiliate links is not well balanced!

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 28/02/2022 11:55

@SeasonFinale

OK so you asked. Everyone said avoid.

But you are still arguing that it seems OK.

What thread are you reading?
JammyCandy · 28/02/2022 12:01

I would avoid as you will probably end up getting hounded

I went to a beauty party a while ago hosted by a Temple Spa rep and I’ve been so badly hounded since it would put me off going to anything like that again !

The party was marketed as her being a small local beauty therapist just trying to make some money during Covid (party was a virtual party in line with Covid rules before anyone jumps on me!)

Shortpoet · 28/02/2022 12:09

@JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome

I am not being recruited, I just saw a demo of the products.
If you’re watching a demo of any MLM then you are being recruited.

Sign up and get 25% off is how it starts.

ForTheLoveOfSleep · 28/02/2022 12:15

Oh my god they actually reccomend you ingest the oils!

Original poster
JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 28/02/2022 12:22

Yes they do @ForTheLoveOfSleep that was one of the first alarm bells...

OP posts:
Ariela · 28/02/2022 12:46

If you're looking to sell essential oils, then I'd look to an ethical company that wholesales, and set up your own brand/shop.

Lots out there with good traceability/story behind the products eg neoils.com/

Staryflight445 · 28/02/2022 13:46

Follow Hattie Rowe on tiktok op.
She explains figures, and general facts as to why these companies are awful.

ThatLibraryMiss · 28/02/2022 14:48

If you want essential oils I can recommend id Aromatics in Leeds. They have a very wide range of oils and a good turnover so their oils are fresh. Their prices are good. It's a long-established slightly hippy-ish little shop, not a chain certainly not an MLM.

Original poster
JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome · 01/03/2022 16:58

I watched the Netflix documentary (Un)Well, I did not think DoTerra came off well in it. Thank you for the recommending it.

I have already had my first voice message from the rep....I am ignoring.

OP posts:
YouOKhun · 02/03/2022 22:42

I know you’ve made a decision about Doterra @JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome and concluded it’s dodgy but I thought I’d include a few more resources for anyone coming across this thread. Doterra and Young Living are awful companies, all MLM are awful but there is a special place in Hell for these two. Both Doterra and YL were fined in the US in 2014 for claiming their oils could cure Ebola! These weren’t claims of misguided and desperate reps but lies straight from HQ. There is independent research that shows that 99.6% of sign ups to MLM lose money once the expenses of trying to make it work are included - it’s a scandal they continue almost totally without regulation in the U.K.

www.MLMtruth.org
www.talentedladiesclub.com/articles/much-money-can-make-doterra/
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p076n2hg
www.talentedladiesclub.com/articles/are-mlms-pyramid-schemes-and-other-questions-you-need-to-ask-before-joining-one/

YouOKhun · 02/03/2022 22:46

@AuntieStella

The only MlM that I don't mind is Avon.

Good products, competitively priced and some very chea.

No weird cultishness, and pretty transparent about what you wouid make if you onoymsell and don't also recruit.

Also, everyone knows what they are and what they're about

Most people lose money in Avon these days @AuntieStella. There are no territories like in the old days when it was direct selling. It means the market is totally oversaturated. Avon people overbuy stock and can’t sell it - take a look on eBay or FB marketplace :( it’s impossible to make money unless you recruit a large downline and make money from their purchases.
HelloBunny · 02/03/2022 22:53

First time I heard of Do Terra was a newly divorced woman of my acquaintance, who was hard up for cash. Exactly the sort of person MLM targets... She was in a sad place & thought this might be the answer.

AuntieStella · 03/03/2022 06:24

Most people lose money in Avon these days @AuntieStella. There are no territories like in the old days when it was direct selling. It means the market is totally oversaturated. Avon people overbuy stock and can’t sell it - take a look on eBay or FB marketplace sad it’s impossible to make money unless you recruit a large downline and make money from their purchases

Yes, that's a massive change: since when did Avon Ladies have to pre-buy stock? Because the joining fee always used to be really small (just checked website and there's a choice of two welcome Welcome Kits at £10 or £30, and then the rest is making/fulfilling orders by catalogue or own URL for website

You never did make much by just selling - couple of hundred quid per campaign tops usually.

I don't sell Avon, but do buy it. And if they really have changed and are requiring reps to buy stock then I'll be thinking again

Itsnotover · 03/03/2022 06:27

Knowing what I know, I always avoid anything that is MLM nowadays. Not least because you will always be overpaying for a relatively inferior product.

Aprilx · 03/03/2022 07:01

I have been buying most of my cosmetics from an MLM for nearly a decade now. No issues whatsoever, I have no interest in setting up myself as a seller and nobody has ever even hinted that I should look into it. I simply go to a website and order as and when I need, same as I do for anything else. I think there are some over the top reactions on mumsnet.

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