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

999 replies

KindergartenKop · 03/06/2015 20:27

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?

OP posts:
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14
Bambambini · 26/06/2015 16:13

I find it strange that the fL threads on netmums have went strangely quiet the past few days while all the other similar juice thingmy, herbalife, younique etc are still posting away.

lastuseraccount123 · 26/06/2015 16:28

agreed bambambini.

Chicken I had the same thought. Or even just an area or thread for MLM watching, tracking their tactics, warning potential victims etc.

lastuseraccount123 · 26/06/2015 16:28

My FL bot update: no update on the recruitment evening. Hmmm...mysteriously quiet...

TheNameIWantedIsTaken · 26/06/2015 17:54

I think my last comment was worded very poorly, what I meant was that I didn't think that it couldn't be used against MN as it's not their view but ours. I think the whole premise of MLM is dangerous against the vulnerable sucked in and that having the information held within this thread could prove invaluable. I'll keep quiet in future.

Jossysgiants · 26/06/2015 19:27

No need to keep quiet thenameiwanted this is a refreshing thread as everyone seems to be in agreement.

Eyespying · 26/06/2015 20:51

Might I suggest that everyone discussing the MLM phenomenon here, and who wants to do something to warn the public, contact Robert FitzPatrick of the Pyramid Scheme Alert.

Robert's e-mail address is - [email protected]

You can watch him being interviewed on this link.

PiercedMrsL · 26/06/2015 21:20

Well... I'm certainly glad I read this thread! I have been researching FL and other such companies while I've been on maternity leave (mainly due to an excess of them on the local selling pages - what can I say, I'm nosey!) and wow, have my eyes been opened! It's quite chilling stuff really.

That said, it doesn't stop me having a good old giggle at my FLbots on Facebook posting such motivational gems as "a year from now you'll wish you started today" Grin

MI5agent · 26/06/2015 22:09

I suppose my concern was the history of she who must not be named and fall out from that for MN as a Company.

I too have noticed how FL on NM has gone very quiet. Quiet before the storm in my opinion. I think there is a war to come from somewhere.

lastuseraccount123 · 27/06/2015 02:32

bot update. still radio silence on the recruitment evening, BUT she posted a screenshot of herself buying some stuff on line.

lastuseraccount123 · 27/06/2015 02:34

meh i'm not bothered. any MLM stupid enough to go for MN is going to put itself in danger of increased public scrutiny.

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 09:10

From the American Dream Made Nightmare:

I have been researching and writing about so-called 'Multi-Level Marketing' since the 1990s, and I have openly described it as a largely-unrecognized, ongoing, criminogenic phenomenon of historic significance. Tellingly, I have never once been sued or even threatened with a lawsuit, because my rational analysis is entirely accurate, and furthermore, it actually explains that, historically (when faced with low level, and/or timid, challenges) the bosses of 'MLM' cults have sought to invert reality, and maintain their monopolies of information, via the use of malicious lawsuits in which they have posed as 'innocent victims.'

Incredibly, despite my having spoken to literally dozens of journalists over the years, I have never once been quoted by anyone from the mainstream media. It's as though I don't exist, simply because what I am saying is unthinkable. It just doesn't seem possible that such vast unlawful enterprises have been allowed to spread all over the globe right under the noses of law enforcement agents, regulators, legislators, journalists, etc.? Nonetheless, the truth remains that this is exactly was has come to pass.

Ironically, since the Wall street tycoon, Bill Ackman (armed with the research and analysis of persons like Robert FitzPatrick) issued a public challenge to 'Herbalife' in 2012, an increasing number of people have started to look at the wider 'MLM' phenomenon and speak out. That said, few observers have arrived at the same conclusions as myself. This is probably because the fully-deconstructed explanation of the 'MLM' phenomenon, is a threat to how many people (particularly Americans) see themselves.

To his credit, in a television interview, Ackman strayed my own analysis and described the 'Herbalife Income Opportunity' as an example of the 'Nazi' propaganda technique known as the 'Big Lie.' However, subsequently, Ackman has not elaborated (probably on the advice of his attorneys). When I submitted an article to the investor platform 'Seeking Alpha,' in which I dared to elaborate on Ackman's (unoriginal) comparison of 'Herbalife' to the 'Nazi' Big Lie, my 'Seeking Alpha' account was immediately withdrawn. Prior to Ackman's limited intervention, 'MLM' rarely appeared in the news. When it did, it was (more often than not) given credibility by short-sighted, and/or corrupt, journalists who simply reported verbatim what they told by 'MLM' propagandists, and/or by deluded 'MLM' adherents.

xenu1 · 27/06/2015 10:02

Just a word... Its great that the MLM scams are being exposed and those hurt by them can warn others (theres lots of ex-Amway sites). Its great that those who have left Mormonism have a space to share (www.exmormon.org. One of many threads on MLMs and Mormonism is:
exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,18772,18772,quote=1 ).

But I flinch when MLMs and others are compared to Nazis. We are getting to Godwins Law territory and I think such comparisons are OTT and counter-productive?

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 11:07

Xenu1 - I'm sorry to inform you, but you are actually missing the point of Godwin's Law and, in the process, perfectly illustrating an insightful analysis:

Again from The American Dream made Nightmare:

Due to the understandable emphasis on their heinous crimes against humanity, few people seem to realize that the 'Nazi' leadership were also some of the wealthiest racketeers the world has ever seen. They ran enormous financial scams tailored to fit the existing beliefs and instinctual desires of their adherent/victims

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.fr/2013/06/the-lyoness-peoples-business-is.html

Today, as soon as anyone dares to compare kitsch, latter-day 'income opportunity' cultic groups like Hubert Freidl's 'Lyoness,' to Adolf Hitler and the 'Nazis,' casual observers have a tendency to throw up their hands in horror and deny that this apparently shocking comparison can be valid or appropriate. There are even some academically-qualified casual observers who will point to what is known as Godwin's Law. However, Godwin's Law (which was created with the intention of stopping thoughtless persons from making glib statements) specifically allows thoughtful and appropriate comparisons to be made with Adolf Hitler and the 'Nazis.'

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Resistible_Rise_of_Arturo_Ui

Thus (like others before me), I am not making some glib little statement about racketeering and 'Nazism.' On the contrary, I have taken the trouble to research this subject and, as a consequence, I am able to explain in great detail exactly why the 'Lyoness' People's Business, is an outrageous adaptation of the big lie entitled, 'Nazi People's Car,' but which has been cleverly up-dated, and tailored, to fit the spirit of our own age.

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 14:18

Xenu1 - Again from The American Dream made Nightmare:

'Lyoness' is an extremely sinister Austrian-based version of a blame-the-victim 'income opportunity' cult, it hides behind a 'cash back' scheme.

The 'Lyoness' logo is a perversion of the triquetra -

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triquetra

'Lyoness,' which has links with other European, and American, based income opportunity cults (particularly, in Scandinavia), was named after 'Lyonesse' - a mythical land of ancient legend. Its instigator, Hubert Freidl, has even boasted of his knowledge of ancient legends.

One of the cultic groups from which the 'Nazi party' sprang was the 'Thule Society' - named after 'Ultima Thule' - a mythical land of ancient legend.

lazycoo · 27/06/2015 16:57

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lazycoo · 27/06/2015 17:05

What I despise is that these companies prey on the weak - we can all be vulnerable whether it's a difficult time financially or emotionally. They prey on the less experienced and have an off-pat answer for everything. They are like a focussed burst of sunshine, offering to take you by the hand and show you how to do it, 'every step of the way'. It can be irresistible, especially to those who are feeling up against it for whatever reason.

Then they peddle the esteem-eroding lie that if you fail it's your fault because you didn't work hard enough. It's just not true. It's because to succeed you have to be utterly ruthless or persistent to an extent that's just not normal or socially acceptable!

So, those who can't or won't put such pressure on others sometimes end up putting it on themselves and becoming their own customer which leads to ruin. I find pretty well everyone in my life who is involved in a MLM annoying, shallow and materialistic (sometimes it's a huge personality change sometimes not) but I feel sorry for them all. Sorry if this sounds too bleeding-heart but they're victims.

throwingpebbles · 27/06/2015 18:26

Hear hear lazycoo
It definitely seems that stay at home mums are one of the big target groups for these schemes /scams

I too would love it if this could form the start of an awareness raising campaign, or maybe at least some Info on mumsney alerting people to the warning signs etc

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 19:11

The MLM phenomenon will finally become front-page headline mainstream media news all around the world, when 'Herbalife' gets closed down.

www.factsaboutherbalife.com/

Even then, I doubt whether many people within the mainstream media will be able to confront the truly staggering enormity of the deception that MLM has shielded.

Around one hundred million dollars have already been invested by Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, in an attempt to raise general awareness about how the Herbalife fraud functions and to persuade victims to come forward. However, Pershing Square stands to make more than one billion dollars from exposing Herbalife as an essentially-valueless company fronting a cruel fraud. That said, the more Bill Ackman has discovered: the more morally outraged he has become.

Just as in the case of Bernie Madoff, all the media organizations that completely failed to spot the Herbalife/MLM fraud, let alone warn the public, will courageously be telling the world about how many billions of dollars were stolen and how many people were destroyed.

lastuseraccount123 · 27/06/2015 19:30

lazycoo agreed, I'm glad you saw through it.

my brother was sucked into Amway during a period of unemployment. he lost money, of course.

throwingpebbles · 27/06/2015 19:54

My uncle also got sucked into amway during a period when money was tight and it only made things worse for him

I am doubly outraged by ones like Forever which claim to be able to "cure" or reduce all manner of serious illnesses

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 20:22

throwingpebbles - I Think you will find that the authors of the Amway/Nutrilite fairy story, have also been claiming to be able to cure or reduce all manner of serious illnesss, and for more than half a century.

All MLM cults pretend to be able to cure people of poverty.

throwingpebbles · 27/06/2015 20:47

Oh I didn't know amway were involved in that too!
What a grim business

Eyespying · 27/06/2015 21:19

throwingpebbles - All of these 'MLM' cults, indeed, all cults, are running essentially the same racket - what ever it is that vulnerable individuals most need/want, cults claim to be able to supply it (in return for blind faith and regular cash payments).

Apart from Wealth, topping the list of common human desires, are: Health
Long Life and Beauty.

The usual tactics of MLM cults, involve training their recruiters to act out a bleak charade of doom (in the form of poverty, illness, pain, misery, slavery, etc. outside the group), whilst peddling salvation (in the form of secure prosperity, health, srength, happiness, freedom, etc. within it).

Thus MLM cults are running a form of sophisticated protection racket.

PausingFlatly · 28/06/2015 00:20

Is it time to repeat that ad friginilla posted above?

"I sell more than aloe.
I sell confidence.
I sell self esteem.
I sell healthy.
I sell motivated.
I sell beautiful.
I sell hope."

Yep. Upfront about what they're selling for once. If not about the price tag.

Best things in life are free, mate...

Bovnydazzler · 28/06/2015 06:43

I've been on a FL loving website, everyone loving this ridiculous video 'it still looks like a pyramid scheme'. Again, trying to make the doubters look stupid and ill informed.

You tube link

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