I've been sucked into forever living!! Why do I feel like the bad guy?

[KindergartenKop]

Recently an acquaintance emailed me to ask if I could 'help' her by trying a few products and giving her some feedback. Being the nice person I am I agreed. When the bag of samples turned up the penny dropped and i realised that she's trying to sell them to me (I'm naive I know!). I thought id just buy a little bubble bath. Its fucking 14 quid! No way. I'm sending the bag back and pleading eczema. Does this whole company operate by guilting friends and family into purchasing crap quality at ridic prices?

I want to say that I have no problem with Avon.
And re FL, Amway etc, this is spot on from Summerisle1 : "Recruitment that is utterly cynical as can be seen from those sadder threads on netmums and elsewhere."

Don't know about Tupperware, although I do remember my mum hosting lots of parties in the late 1970s. Think pineapple cubes and chedddar on cocktail sticks

The other huge difference between direct home sales organisations - like Avon/Tupperware/Body Shop/the various book ones - and MLM is the way you are invited to participate. I've never had an invitation to a Tupperware party that didn't clearly state that it was a Tupperware (or similar) party.

Every approach I've had from a MLM bot has been in the form of a risible spiel about "exciting opportunities" that I might like to avail myself of. Not what these opportunities actually consist of in reality. Instead, you have to go along in person in order to be brainwashed get any further information. Or not, of course.

Yes quite summerisle the forever living bot that tried to recruit me refused to say what it was for in advance of coming to my house. I agreed out of politeness and lost an hour of my life watching awful DVDs and being shown glossy brochures full of pseudo scientific claims. It was immediately obvious to me that the only way you made money was by having more people beneath you, but then my normal job is in business law so I am probably not their target "victim". Terribly sad for those who spend money on the starter pack and then alienate family and friends trying to make a living by peddling these products to them/ trying to persuade them to join too

I have a friend on fb who is constantly promoting her business etc. The bit I am confused about though - the "selling" point of working for them is you can work from home, so you're there for your children and don't need to worry about childcare or miss out on important moments etc etc. However, my friend is alwayssssssss away at a training event or a celebration event, always miles and miles away from home, involving overnight stays etc. She was even abroad for a few nights recently for training. So that just confuses me that it's apparently so good that you can work around the kids, yet you end up away all the time anyway!

These threads are so interesting. Thanks for everyone's contributions. I agree this should be moved somewhere more permanent.

I have today found out that a friend is now selling 'exciting aloe vera products', which I assume are going to be from FL. She is classic fodder for recruitment. Her daughter, now in her 20s, has chronic health problems and the whole family has a very messed up attitude towards healthcare based on lack of trust, knowing better than the doctors, not seeing things through. So friend is so vulnerable as she is exhausted and desperate, unable to work conventional hours and amenable to suggestions of working to suit herself, and potentially liable to believe in random health claims that 'they', i.e. the medical establishment, just don't want you to know about. Any carrot dangled in front of her about living her dreams or holidays or any sort of validation is going to be so so tempting for her.

Bloody awful.

The Avon ladies round here only sell products, they don't try and recruit. The Pampered Chef seems legitimate too, although hideously expensive. They do try and get other parties booked, but obviously that is how they make their money, by commission on sales. They don't try and recruit either.

The local selling pages are full of "get rich now, ask me how" etc, but they never ever mention the product or name of the business. you have to ask them, so of course they already have that interaction with you.

As I said before, my XH was extremely gullible. if somebody talked to him and told him how they were making thousands etc, he would believe them and get instantly sucked in. Kleeneze was a joke too. He had to go out with books, go back to collect them, leave reminders and go back again, then go back with orders, go back to collect faulty products and go back to replace them! so hundreds of mileage, very few sales apart from little old ladies, and a miserly commission made. He managed to recruit one person who never sold a thing. Then the company started on at him for not meeting targets etc. he gave it up when he realised it was costing him money not making it!

and lo i have just found someone who has 'sacked the boss' and given up a full time teaching job'

FFS I was feeling all smug about my FB friends not being involved in this sort of crap.
About 30 seconds ago a family member of mine posted a picture of her fabulous start up goodie box.
I might block her.
I'm certainly warning the rest of my family to ignore it.

That startup goodie box has cost her £200. She'll be looking for purchasers!

Yikes! really? It looks like cheap crap!
Wow. I'm shocked.

Indeed, it must be the only application form that requests bank details.

I didn't realise this was a thing on other people's FB! I have someone on mine who goes on about it all the time and how much money you can earn, etc, etc (I always find myself thinking 'pre-or post-tax?') and it is pretty cringeworthy.

I just got the party invite!!!
Nope nope nope!

Afternoon all,

We've had a few requests for this thread to be moved somewhere more permanent so it doesn't auto delete.

We're going to move it over to our Freelancers / Self Employed topic soon. See you all there.

Thank you mumsnet

Thanks very much for moving it, would hate if it disappeared in 90 days.
Marthas thank you for suggesting

TheAssassinsGuild that is so sad.

I'm an HCP so my FB feed is generally full of sensible people BUT I live in an ex-pat community where there is lots of anti-vacs, 'big pharma' paranoia, rejection of mainstream medicine and a love of homeopathy. They are ripe To be pulled in by FL and the like.

In fact I checked out my local FLBots FB page (they're international obviously) and I was surprised to see how many people I know liking the page and getting sucked into the hype.

Just out of interest does anyone here live in Tenerife or any other of the Canaries?

It's just that aloe vera is grown a lot there and aloe products are readily available in markets and shops (at a cheaper price than FL I hasten to add). I wondered if FL existed there or whether, because it's a locally grown resource and freely available The Canaries might be a FL free zone!

Also, I bought some Aloe Vera gel there at a market but didn't really pay much attention to what else was available - do they do all the aloe drinks, cleanses etc too or is that just a FL invention to sucker even more people in?

No problem Gin

Oooo DSis is back on it, and has got my cousin sucked in too. I want to say happy days for the entertainment but i am worried she is going to get into debt

Ive recently discovered that a FLBot I am friends with on FB lives just around the corner from me. Most weekends she is posting about 'meeting newest member of our amazing team' (generally at Costa)- strange this is I have noticed that on a Saturday (when she meets the 'new blood') that she has a brand new Audi on her drive.... however in the week she drives around in a 58 plate Ford Mondeo..... I smell a rat....

im sure the Audi is specifically for use of driving to meet the 'new blood' and goes back to some garage in the week...

My Flbot is at her "job" with her team.

That's how she spells it. "job".

See I'm quite into the whole natural health movement - food as medicine and all that, and I don't mind a bit of Aloe Vera but surely you would need to be some kind of special stupid to think it cures all ills under the sun.

My DS1's best friends mum messages me yesterday asking if she could call in on Saturday as there's something she needs to discuss with me. I have a sinking feeling that she is going to try and assimilate me into a FLborg.

I'm so excited. one of my FB friends has just started selling FL. Now I don't feel left out.