MLM bot watch - Discussion of the network marketing companies Forever Living, Herbal Life, Juice Plus etc as a pyramid scheme or scam

[CheekySmile]

Continuing the discussion of the various network marketing schemes or multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs) that people we know are involved in.

If you have a bot of your own then join us and share what they are saying!

Or if you are researching a company before signing up to be a network marketer please take a look at the previous bot watch thread and also this thread which delves deeper into the workings of MLMs.

And don't forget our very own MN MLM Timeless Vie!
www.facebook.com/timelessvie
www.twitter.com/timelessvie

More people in the UK are involved in direct selling than actually live in the UK?

Or is it calling Direct Selling a profession?

No bot, your dog doesn't look like she wants any of your disgusting drink, she looks like she's going to run away. Far away.

fast both I guess!

The 554,000 million had me puzzled last night but the rest is all just

I can't believe someone presenting would make such a fundamental typo - I have come to the conclusion it's deliberate, some kind of subliminal conditioning?

Calling 'direct selling' a profession gives an air of moral authority but this is all a massive con... well done Todd Falcone you massive arse.

My FL bot has been on lots of "inspirational" training courses recently with "inspirational" people who are "life changing". She is posting pictures of her laptop with a toasty fire in the background saying how great it is to work at home.

Thankfully she hasn't sent me any more messages. I have just ignored them rather than get into an argument with her.

On a separate thing, friends keep posting on FB about buying 1 book and receiving 36 books back. If any have tagged me, I put the same response, "sorry I don't believe in pyramid scams". Some people have been really offended by this and argue that it is not a pyramid scheme, it is harmless and all you buy is 1 book. That may be true, but at the bottom of the scheme, will be a lot of people who buy 1 book and get nothing back!

Sky, they are also giving their childrens personnel details to strangers. It beggars belief !!!

Oo oo can I join in please? I have two FL bots and one Younique bot. One of the FL bots has just started the C9 and the other seems to be glugging that aloe crap by the gallon. Claims it has "cured" her IBS. She tried to recruit me but I just said I wasn't interested.

I saw in one of the pp's that it's against the "rules" to give a portion of sales to charity. Does that include holding charity raffles where most of the prizes are FL products and tickets are £10 a pop?

The 36 books thing is awful. I had 3 friends who tried to get me involved. Just like my bots, I thought these were sensible people who could understand about pyramids like this. Instead I pointed them towards this FB post which explains things pretty clearly and caused all 3 of them to change their minds and withdraw their participation.

There was a thread here about it too and someone said that if you replace 'books' with '£5' would you still be happy to take part?

Sairelou This is the advice given by FL in relation to their official charity Macmillan.

Please do not advertise sales promotions that include Macmillan Cancer Support’s logo. For example, you must not claim that 10% of your sales from a Product Launch will be donated to Macmillan. You can tell your Customers that you will be making a donation but it cannot be advertised as a percentage of sales.

I can't see why this wouldn't apply to other charities also. Tickets for a charity raffle is a new twist though.

The 36 book thing is a strange one. People who, quite frankly, I would expect to smell it a mile off think it is possible to send one book off and get 36 back.

I don't need 36 more books anyway

I've got another yooneek bot.... Sigh....

Shite, something tells me your bot is the same as mine...you've described mine to a T.

Quick maths: Those figures upthread are dodgy. $182 billion divided between 99 million people is $1838/year. That's approx £1200. Of turnover.

A year. Profit will be negligible.

But throwing large figures at people makes them go "ooooh!", I mean, the thought of having 98,999,999 likeminded people sounds quite amazing....

...when you've been brainwashed.

I've been invited to a chocolate party! Please don't tell me that's one - I love chocolate. Should I go or am I likely to be recruited to recruit more chocolates sellers?

Ooh Shirley I'll bet it is an MLM, but one that sells chocolate is intriguing. I wonder how much they hawk the chocolate for? Would you want to go?

My FL bot is so excited and 'buzzing' in every flipping FB status update. Something tells me they're told to slip this word in every now and then because I've never heard her use it in all the years I've known her!

She's also 'inspired' and made so many 'amazing friends' recently. Sod us lot who've been her mates before this all started!

A chocolate one might actually work... I would buy more chocolate...

I consider it my duty to attend and will report back - unless suck(ered) in. One thing strikes me as a little odd though... A chocolate 'party' with no wine apparently it would interfere with the taste of the chocolate. Having read Merchants of Deception I am now suspicious as these cults generally keep inmates away from the evil that is booze.

FLP can't be cult as their distributors are always drinking wine in pjs with laptop.

acatcalledjohn here's a tiny breakdown of FL figures from April's Singapore trip (it's called the global rally) where all the top people get a share of the company bonus.

This year Rex Maughan (owner) gave away over $24 million to his top distributors. The amounts varied from $4k right up to $1.24 million (google rolf kipp) To achieve a chairmans bonus you have to reach certain incentives and help others do the same. The more people in your team that qualify for global rally the bigger the percentage your cheque will be.

But here's the thing, there are approx 9.5 millions fbo's world wide and only about 900-1000 people got chairmans bonus this year. So it just shows you how many people aren't making a lot of money from it. The ones who are getting the bonus's make out its totally achievable (as it has been for them) and if you just follow the plan it will happen for you but I think well over 9 million people would disagree (but actually they probably won't as they believe in it so much)

So about 0.1% actually get bonuses.

Excellent.

I forgot I saved https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hads-xfp1/v/t42.1790-4/12254393190782094277692661385523484n.mp4?efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InYyXzQyNl9jcmZfMjNfbWFpbl8zLjBfc2QifQ%3D%3D&oh=27b4d116241734cf6c5c5550e6728098&oe=564CD939 this video]]. She talks a lot, but I have no idea what she is trying to get at. It's all vague, wishy washy, and buzzing.

Let's try that link again...

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hads-xfp1/v/t42.1790-4/1225439319078209427769261385523484_n.mp4?efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InYyXzQyNl9jcmZfMjNfbWFpbl8zLjBfc2QifQ%3D%3D&oh=27b4d116241734cf6c5c5550e6728098&oe=564CD939

Oh FFS!

Final try

It sounds like she's saying leave the kids at home although you're doing this to spend more time with them and go to every event spend loads of money on training so that any profit you might have had goes back to someone else.

Has anyone heard of Flavonmax? I mentioned my arthritis pain in a Facebook post and a woman who I know locally messaged me in private to try to flog me Flavonmax.
Looks like snakeoil to me. Powders containing antioxidants. Website doesn't exactly tell me much! I was so speechless and mad that she did this I didn't respond to the message. and it's £30 a jar! £120 for a starter pack. I'm from Yorkshire, I'm tight and I'm a total yoghurt weaver, I don't take supplements, I eat things that were grown at the local organic CIC and do yoga. I researched food supplements for arthritis last year and can only find proper medical evidence that Omega 3 supplements might help so I take that, nothing else.
I was going to message her today, to tell her I was upset, I go to her Facebook page and she's hosting one of those pan parties, you know the salad thing with the chopper thingy where they tell you your pans are poisoning you and try to flog you a set for three grand. Then I realised a relative of hers is selling FL. Got the heebeejeebees and unfriended her!
She's not well off so I worry about her, she can afford a three grand set of pans about as much as I can!

What an interesting thread. Thanks to all the contributors (except the bot, could see them a mile off).

I don't have any bots in my life aside from the odd random younique person trying to friend me on FB and an aloe weirdo at a toddler group who actually set up a stall there.

The comparison with the 36 books thing is useful as I just thought FL etc were hyped up crap, not actual pyramids. It makes me angry that they make money out of (often) poor women without good career options due to childcare or whatever.