MLM Bot Watch 23 - Powered by Twunk's Yazoo: Tragicomic cultic wampum flogging scamalangadingdongs like Forever Living, Ariix, Herbalife, Younique, Juiceplus, LifeTreeWorld.

[ForeverYazoonique]

Still going strong here at bot watch HQ on MN!

Previous thread here

Botwatch on Wordpress and on Facebook

Timeless Vie on Wordpress and on Facebook

Eyespeying's Blog aka #manhun, even if he's been banned by MNHQ

Hommetepreneur on Facebook

NEW Link to the Daily Mail article of 20 May 2016 regarding an ex-bot's treatment at the hands of her 'spline' at Forever Living UK

NEW Link to NastashaBarnbotShingles' refutation of the above.

We have our own regularly returning bots to tell us how bullying and hateful we are.

Glossary:

Bots: our affectionate name for victims of the MLM racket

MLM: Multi-level Marketing schemes - essentially pyramid schemes that are just legal because you sell a product. Reliant upon constant recruitment despite there not being enough people in the world to go beyond about 12 levels if everyone recruited 6.

Downline/Upline: the people you recruited and those who recruited you (going up and down the pyramid inverted funnel)

Timeless Vie: Parody of MLM schemes (though you might spot one in particular) that also carries out fearless investigative work

Hommetrepreneur: also excellent parody site focussing on the menz

BotWatch: Rather more serious, keeps an eye on what the Bots are claiming next, particularly in reference to health and income claims. Also fearless.

Inverted Funnel: Timeless Vie is NOT a pyramid - it's an inverted Funnel, OK?

Eyes: Our former member Eyespying who knows LOTS about MLM schemes. He's still our very own #manhun.

Twunk (AKA ForeverYazoonique) has a bottle of Banana Yazoo in her fridge. She's still too afraid to drink it. Yahoo is important as seems to be the primary retail product for Life Tree World.

Hi all - bit of a lurker here with no bots in my friends but waiting for the day one appears! Anyway, I've delurked briefly to point you in the direction of this Avon thread as I think it's been mentioned on here that Avon may have turned into a MLM and this person may or may not need a friendly warning, but I am less than qualified to go and post on there.

And if not a warning about Avon specifically, perhaps just one about MLMs in general as her situation sounds like the sort that ladies may fall into, the MLM trap, looking for that extra income etc.
Keep up the excellent work

Slugs, your friend might need to check FL's policies. I believe they are forbidden from joining another MLM at the same time as being with FL. I personally don't care if the rule has been broken but I wouldn't want we to get into trouble. And besides, if we can get her to leave one of them, it might help her situation a bit?

Welcome Wing. Have you liked Bot Watch and Timeless Vie? If not, do it now before you get a bot and then you feel too awkward to do it in case they get offended. Spread the word and protect people with the sharing of information. I'll have a look at that thread you linked to.

I think it's worth a check. I have just the vaguest memory that there has been some 'easing' in that position - on the ground at least?

Yes, I'd heard that the rules had very recrntly been relaxed to allowed membership of more than one MLM (fl has, anyway). Coincided with the change in CCs in June?

It rings a bell with you also? Very very recent if so.

In any case - I would imagine that some MLMs are less threatening than others. In all the circumstances.

stopfaffing is indeed correct - I receive the newsletters and last Wednesday's confirms that they can indeed be a part of 2 MLMs, as long as they don't attempt to solicit FBOs to join the second company.

More ways than one for an MLM to expand its organisation if the 'market' is showing signs of saturation.

Just had a Facebook friend sign up to Maëlle. I assume it's yet another MLM. Has been very upfront about it being new into the country and go to get in first as they are the only people who ever make any money "on this stuff" 😒 She has also had a phone call from the president too!

I'm getting quite a collection of bots now and with DS making me chicken pox housebound I've spent quite a bit of time on Facebook the last few days, just observing their behaviour. I find it genuinely interesting behaviour (I know, I've been bored ok?!). They seem to all follow a serious of: product advertising, how busy I am, how much time I have , wonderful life, love my family, how healthy I am posts. Is this a 'thing' they must follow?

Sorry if I'm going over old ground!

Thanks Toobusytowee (I know that feeling...). Yes I've liked them both and read the blogs when I get the chance. I find the whole thing fascinating and tragic in equal measures (perhaps like you Hesalovernotabiter?).

Luckily the nearest I've got to the whole thing is hosting a pampered chef party a couple of years back and knowing some friends who have moved to Norwex once PC shut down their UK operations last December. But nothing like FL or Younique or anything.

The phone call from the director/president/top bot seems quite a common tactic, my Ariix bot had one too when they signed up.
I have seen mutterings about Maelle, too, including from an ex FL bot that was treated quite badly and ostracised by her up line that we talked about briefly here in the past.

Ah - The Phone Call. ('They took time out of their busy day to cal lil old me!') You can do that when you're quite a small organisation and you're looking for good prospects - worth its weight in gold for word-of-mouth/social media advertising.

New to this thread. Have NC but was on one of the previous threads.

Observations about my bots today :

1. They keep going on about an 'all expenses paid' trip to the Global Rally but yet they posted recently that FL has negotiated special fare discounts with Emirates for Qualifiers and Non-Qualifiers for Dubai GR in '17. How does that work then? all expenses paid trip, but um you have to buy your own flights to Dubai.

2)One of the bots favourite hashtag currently is #girlswhoruntheworld.
No dear. You're flogging aloe goop.

3. The runtheworld bot loves telling everyone how she can spend so much more time with her DC. Looking back over her FB for the past year since she qualified as 'Manager', she's out two nights a week, away at training/success days every other weekend and has been to Dubai a couple of times already this year. Without her DC.

4. Another bot that I purposely havent' seen for several months after I got pissed off at her 3 failed attempts at recruiting me is now telling me that she's going through a very rough time and wants to catch up. I suspect this is a ruse but as a friend I feel guitly if it's genuine and she needs support. Are any of you aware of bots using this technique ?

Oops! Sorry, epic post

Who told you about this 'rough time' and was the info 'volunteered'? Would you be meeting her if it wasn't for her seeming problems?

Difficult one.

Oh joy, my FL bot is offering lovely 'men hampers' with aloe gloop products for Fathers Day.
Trying to imagine my father's reaction if I presented him with one!!!

Cozie, she's the one who told me. I'd already decided that we could no longer be actual friends while she's still a FLbot so during the last several months I've kept it to a few texts and been very 'busy'.

So no, I wouldn't be meeting her if it wasn't for this problem. Whatever it is. Will probably meet her this time around, but if she starts flogging her goop or trying to recruit me again I'll have to politely remove myself from the situation and just end the friendship. I hate that MLMs do this to families and friends.

It's very very difficult to back away when you're faced with a real life person in a 'setting' - eg over a cup of coffee. Not impossible .......but difficult, especially when they're a former close acquaintance or relative and your every instinct is to help.

You might have a look at Timeless Vie and go with a pre-printed copy of their 'Thinking of Leaving an MLM' (or whatever the precise wording is) guidance - see the 'About' drop down. Then you could just hand it over to her as your response to what she was saying - if necessary.

Oh - and this BotWatch piece might also be useful.

People who care about you are worried

Just checked. That Timeless Vie piece would be 'Need help leaving an MLM'.

In the 'About' drop down box.

First time I've seen this!

Ahh yes I remember back when I worked in retail having to persuade people to buy products through means of throwing things on my head.... Not.

Yes Wing, that's exactly how I find the whole thing! And crazily addictive (bot watching that it!).

One of the FL bots has just asked if any of her Facebook friends are horse owners or groomers... No why would a horse need aloe

whirlwind that made me laugh out loud.

Um...what's a 'Kudos sale'?

*Hes
*
Because the human market is near saturated but there's still money in pets - and fewer 'complications' with medical claims. Anyone that doesn't have just a horse might well find themselves approached about their cat and/or dog.