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?

All those inches and pounds lost is because you're starving and dehydrated. It goes straight back on when you eat something.

So relieved OP, thought you meant from thread title that you had started selling that shit.

My sister has a friend who does this and feels the need to post pictures on FB of her kids surrounded by various products and messages about how happy she is that she can stay at home and look after her kids by flogging overpriced crap to her 'friends'.

Ha ha. Snap though I coughed up and then stashed the product in a corner of my room. I think its been almost 2 yrs and I still haven't tried my bodywrap DH would feckin howl if I sat down beside him coated in gunge and wrapped in cling film for a few hours. My friend gave up asking how I'd gotten on with it after almost a year. Lost cause and all that. I've blocked her posts on FB as a) they are so dull and b) they give me the rage.

I was overjoyed when my best friend's future SIL started Forever Living

My personal favourite was the picture of the ratty old sofa she posted on her FB

''Makin SO MUCH MONEY from my new business, just decided to treat myself!!!!!"

I'll pass, thanks

I have one of these 'friends' too. It's some sort of pyramid scheme yes?

OP, I am quite disappointed that you aren't selling it and coming on here to update us about your wonderful new lease on life, rejuvenated skin, filled out wrinkles, shiny new car because you are working for yourself now.

My favourite was when my friend patiently explained that FL isn't a pyramid scheme "it's a multi level marketing scheme", and "if you think about it, all companies are a pyramid, aren't they - with more people at the bottom than the top?"

It is a brain washing cult. I just smile and nod (and don't buy anything!)

I've got a Tropic something friend ....a Dragon Den based start-up, I believe. They hold Tropic parties at your house (tupperware stylee) and your mates all get conned into buying expensive stuff to keep their pyramid alive and kicking.

It seems like no one is interested, so I feel a bit sorry for her (I'm sure she has already been conned into buying some hugely inflated priced starter and catalogue pack.

I've got it all on my news feed, forever living, clean 9, younique and now the latest one - instantly ageless (i.e. glue, for your face).

Oh dear, I have unknowingly been to a forever living party. The products were shit! I only realised when I googled it just now. I didn't feel the need to join the cult and I only bought a lip balm. How do all these normal seeming women get sucked in?

A friend of mine was hospitalised after a reaction to whatever was in that aloe vera shit.

I bought some of the aloe vera spray stuff (for sunburn) at a market a few years ago. It actually worked quite well so I made the VERY foolish mistake of asking if anybody sold it when I ran out... the only reason I got away was by moving across country and I still get the updates asking if I want to pick stuff up when I'm visiting!

Aloe vera skin spray. You need:
Aloe vera plant
Vodka
Salt
Jar
Spray bottle
Chamomile (optional)

Break off a couple of large leaves.
Split them down the length with a vegetable knife.
Use a teaspoon to scrape the gel into your jar.
Add the same amount of vodka (to dissolve and preserve.)
Half a teaspoon of salt for antiseptic properties.
Add about 4x the volume of water OR
Use cold, strained, chamomile tea for extra herby goodness.
Shake it until all dispersed.
Put into spray bottle :)

Alternatively, if you don't mind being a bit sticky afterwards, just split the leaves and rub the insides over your sunburn. 100% pure aloe vera does work!

... Hang on a sec, I'm just about to buy a job lot of aloe plants and knock up some motivational memes ...

I was just wondering about this, because I just clicked on a thread, idly, and there is a MNer telling someone else about a FL product and she is going to PM her with the details. I presumed it was some sort of private selling thing she was into. Can't find he bloody thread now to warn the OP she will get sucked into a pyramid

Come on, CattyCatCat share an inspirational, motivational quote!

I do hope "feeling made up!" isn't one of them .

.

wow. My eyes have been opened! My 'friend' (not close, but we do chat in real life) sells arbonne stuff. She also posts motivational quotes. Not knowing what arbonne is, I hadn't connected the two. It all makes sense now- I just thought she was a little bit mad!!

I'm not sure about putting the vodka in - unless you're going to drink it. I wouldn't put alcohol on sunburn.

But I have some lovely 100% aloe I bought in Sri Lanka a few years ago, it's really good. I think it was probably about two quid.

Why don't people just buy from the FL website if they want the stuff though?

How do normally sane people get sucked into these things?

Upthread someone said 'it should be illegal' - pyramid schemes are illegal. But 'multi layered marketing' isn't, which is why they are at pains to tell you it's the latter, not the former. Here you go - one quick Google and it seems Hebalife were being investigated in the US for being a pyramid scheme (obviously didn't get the MLM patter quite right):

www.investopedia.com/articles/04/042104.asp

www.gurufocus.com/news/336880/herbalife-faces-investigation-from-federal-agencies

The first link tells you the difference between the two.

Cosmetic selling doesn't normally get bothered by the courts - it's when it's real money involved usually, the investment 'clubs' etc, that are actually just ways of passing money up the chain to the top guy.

As someone else here said, they might work OK at the start (yes, just direct fraud at that stage I guess) but lower down the pickings get thinner. The first article explains all that though it is pretty simple and obvious maths really.

Shameless Boast
I have 3 Forever Living, 1 Younique and 2 HerbalLife sellers on my FB and I love it.
Today's motivational quote from one of the FL'ers is
"If you hang out with chicken, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles you're going to fly"

I'm blessed huns!

I want a FL friend now

My FLFBF posts all the time about being promoted. She's also constantly excited about members of her team getting promoted.

"So excited for Emma who has only had her own FL business for 4 hours and has already been promoted 54 times!!!! Fantastic achievement Hun!! You'll soon have that new car!!!"

i dont have any FL or Younique (shitty name btw) friends,

where are the sellers to update here????

I think someone I used to work for did this,years ago,it was definitely something to do with Aloe Vera.Sadly, I no longer work for her so can't report back. I am on a couple of horse based FB groups and the madness has even seeped in onto them. There are ads asking if we'd like to try a natural blah blah cure all for free,and if any of us would like to start our own business,make loads of dosh,holidays ect. They don't seem to have much success roping the horse people in though,I suppose horses are expensive enough without chucking away money on a dubious product.