More notes to read....
"MLMs make money by exploiting the salesforce"
Legitimate companies (LCs) use salespeople to sell their products. LCs pay
their salespeople basic plus commission on sales. LCs fund training, meetings, and kick-off events. LCs supply sales materials and tools free of charge. LCs incur, therefore, some costs per salesperson. LCs do not make money on salespeople purchasing their products. LCs make sure that each salesperson has a designated area such that salespeople don't saturate the marketplace. And of course, LCs don't allow salespeople to recruit other salespeople without OK from the company!.
Multi-Level-Marketing companies (MLMs) pay no basic to Independent Business Owners (IBOs) who, purportedly, sell their products. MLMs charge IBOs for joining. MLMs then charge IBOs for - and make money from - all training, meetings, kick-off events, sales materials, demo kit and tools. Therefore rather than incur costs per salesperson, MLMs make money off each IBO. MLMs encourage IBOs to purchase their products and MLMs profit off these; MLMs use jargon to blur the distinction between IBO personal purchase and "sales". MLMs are happy that IBOs recruit new IBOs below them (as MLMs make money off each salesperson, whether they sell anything or not); due to this, there are no restrictions on IBO-saturation of an area.
Bottom line at the bottom: "MLMs make money buy exploiting the salesforce(IBOs). And I hav'nt even mentioned the cult-like mind control hooks that MLMs use! Beware!
The issues we have with MLMs are-
- people don't make money in them but they are told they will.
- people put a lot of time and effort and their dreams into these schemes only to have it not work.
- when it doesn't work they are led to believe it is their own fault.
- attraction marketing - ie people bring bad things on themselves, even plane crashes and floods. You can have anything you want just by 'being positive'.
- fake it until you make it bollocks.
- the legal health claims made for the wampum being sold.
- vulnerable and desperate people targeted to buy products and join the scheme.
- the personality takeover of new recruits (hence the term 'bots') into the inanely smiling, meme-posting, emulate-my-wonderful-lifestyle bot who will defriend friends and family if they disagree with the MLM.
- the fake smiley 'family' that are other bots that will turn on you and bully you when you leave their MLM.
- the sneery dislike of people with jobs and the assertion that people who have fulfilling careers that are well paid with holidays, sick pay, free training, expenses, spare time, pension are worthless and not as good as a scheme where you will lose money, have no spare time, no pension, no sick pay, no expenses.
- the blind faith that, even when presented with all the above facts and supporting evidence, bots still think MLM is a good idea because they see people who say they are rich through it, clutching massive cheques.
- the whole cult aspect of mind control and some very dubious methods of making people comply in these schemes.
- the ridiculous arguments that are presented by MLM adherents that are just plain wrong e.g. It's not a pyramid scheme because the person below me can make more than me, all companies are pyramid schemes, pyramid schemes are illegal so this one must be ok as it hasn't been shut down, the MLM is in lots of countries therefore it must be ok if those governments have accepted it, if you disagree with MLMs it is because you failed at one yourself, you can't understand MLM unless you have been in one yourself.
A brief history of the threads so far-
A few people were bemused at their friends' strange personality changes when they joined MLMs.
Eyespying told us they were tragicomic, thought stopping cultic racketeers.
We told him to go away, he was clearly obsessed, and can he go to his own serious thread?
We delved a bit deeper into the issues.
Eyes started creeping back. We told him he was too serious.
We became more horrified at the information being turned up and were sharing links.
Eyes told us aboutMerchants of Deception.
Timeless Vie was set up as a parody about MLMs.Facebook, Twitter, blog, Instagram and YouTube were all used.
People started coming forward, telling of their experiences in MLMs.
We became more horrified.
Bot Watch started on Facebook where links were put up of interest to do with MLMs.
Botwatchblog started and produced factual analysis of the discussions from MN.
MLM members (bots) waded in saying it was all ok. You can earn great money. You just have to work 19 hours a day and not worry about morals.
Bots complained about their names being used. Their lawyers complained to MNHQ so that MN now do not allow us to use bots' names or show screengrabs of their writings even if it is in the public domain.
Blogs and FB posts increased, with the increasing amount of facts and whistleblowers coming forward.
FL lawyer tried to get TV YouTube video banned.
Bots claimed we were bullying them because we were asking them questions they couldn't answer. we were called middle aged women and accused of being drug dealers.
It got a bit nasty so we ate some cheese for a bit and they went away.
Health claims from FL bots now reducing dramatically as a result of pestering from all of us.
We stopped telling Eyes he was too serious. We all started thinking in his language and realised he was right.
Eyes turned out to be very funny and entertained us all.
Sunday Times article produced exposing FL. With a little help from people here.
Lawyers still persisting in trying to ban TV's videos.