MLM Bot Watch 27 - The Yazoo iis past iits use by date, but we have a massive #lardon: Tragiicomic cultiic wampum floggiing scamalangadiingdongs liike Forever Living, Ariix, Herbalife, Younique, Juice

[acatcalledjohn]

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
www.lazymanandmoney.com/is-every-mlm-a-scam
We have our own regularly returning bots.

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. Flogging the amazing skinny lard and now carbonated lard. The arsenic is not the evil Victorian stuff. #TeamDannii #gettingalardon

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.

Makes me laugh as soon as you mention losing weight, my poor sil got abushed on fb after mentioning her weight, and how she wants to lose it, at least 3 actibots, 1 fl, 1 arbonne, 1 jp and a valentus jumped on it. I told her to cut the crap out and take away's, cut back on carbs and sugar and she'll be good.

Tell your SIL to put the money she might otherwise have spent somewhere safe and watch it mount.

Anyone seen this Utility Warehouse thread? Howling! We've not covered them much here. Maybe we should explore the world of jizzpenguins and rancid bat faced cunts.

FWIW, I switch on to a cheaper dual fuel deal annually with cash back through Quidco. Normally £24-£30 just for switching on to a cheaper tariff. Not failed me yet. Same for internet.

Why on earth you'd go with UW is beyond me, given you have all the comparison (moneysupermarket, uswitch) and cash back websites (Quidco, topcashback) to DIY in very little time indeed.

Just seen a south African "major" bot. Its quiet scary tbh!!!!

She'll be back on R17000 before she knows it. No way can you sustain a customer base (or continuing downline) in an economically struggling country like RSA.

She seems to give "classes" in how to annoy people too. Thats obviously where any bit of money is coming from. Others falling for this crap!!!

A colleague has started 'taking' herbalife just as a diet supplement, no intention I don't think of becoming a bot. How bad is the product from a value for money perspective? I'm guessing superior to the real snake oil stuff, the quack pills & potions, I suppose I assume that it's basically just overpriced protein shakes marked up to say double [or more] price you'd pay in a normal shop?

TFPsa yeah they say that you are getting quality products cheaper because they're cutting out the marketing team

bollocks though, they are massively marked up

if you like the MLM products you can support failed bots who quit by buying on amazon/ebay for half the price, you'll usually get better customer service through paypal/ebay than you would through the MLM companies

It's all standard stuff in varying mixes no matter which MLM potion you buy : "superfood powders", laxatives, protein powder, caffeine, multivits & "natural sweeteners".
it's never anything special/new. Except that usually the laxative warnings are in smaller print.

TFPsa yeah they say that you are getting quality products cheaper because they're cutting out the marketing team

bollocks though, they are massively marked up

if you like the MLM products you can support failed bots who quit by buying on amazon/ebay for half the price, you'll usually get better customer service through paypal/ebay than you would through the MLM companies

It's all standard stuff in varying mixes no matter which MLM potion you buy : "superfood powders", laxatives, protein powder, caffeine, multivits & "natural sweeteners".
it's never anything special/new. Except that usually the laxative warnings are in smaller print.

It's basically the shit-yourself-thin method innit?
You can achieve the same results by replaceing breakfast with licorice and multi-vits (that you're going to shit out with the licorice, but it's still a selling point of the shit-yourself-thin MLM weight loss products to contain multivits)

lol at "shit-yourself-thin" method

So true though

Apologies if this new MLM has already been mentioned (I used to lurk religiously but am now a couple of threads behind ) but has anyone come across Divvee Social yet? My bot friend has jumped ship yet again (funny, her upline from previous 3 MLMs are also on board ). It's rating apps and videos, no selling, and (the bit that really caught my attention) you children as young as 12 can take part!

Another one being pushed by the Helo/Mighty Buyer Botclub is Direct Cellars. Now I like my wine but according to Behind MLM retail customers pay either $69.95 or $99.95 for two bottles of wine. Two. Bottles.
I'll stick to my £5 bottles of plonk from Tesco thank you!

A film maker that has been in contact with Botwatch has made a film about MLMs- specifically about a Chinese one in Uganda.

Have a read and watch the film. The MLM is exactly like the ones we have come into contact with on this thread.

www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2017/02/uganda-health-pyramid-170202054305553.html

That's some expensive wine. Is it harvested from grapes grown on vines in idiotic times?

You'd have to be seriously deluded to sign up to that.

Saw that link on fb, Too. Made me angry at seeing desperate people exploited (yet again!).

So many people are learning (to their cost) just how insidious these MLM companies are, how they operate a carefully crafted business model which places all blame for (inevitable) financial failure upon the rep .

The failed rep then creeps away to lick their wounds privately, too ashamed to tell the truth. Or, even worse, they move on to the next new MLM company, believing that this one will be a success. It won't.

We know of many bots who have several previous MLMs under their belts. Heartbreaking.

A few thoughts on the Sorensen/Mumsnet issue. I'm no lawyer, but I do have a good deal of reputation management & PR experience.

Firstly, to point out the obvious, Dr S has yet to take legal action against the individuals whose identity MN was forced to reveal. He's already spent a lot of money getting to this point, Defamation/Libel trials are notoriously lengthy and expensive if no one settles out of court.

Secondly, the publicity about Dr S & his clinic has constantly referenced the negativity/criticisms that appeared on MN. This is very bad news for his reputation. Rather than being confined to a limited set of users reading that thread on MN, a vastly wider audience now knows that Dr S has inspired some serious complaints. Whether they are true/justified is not an issue.

If I were - for example, just plucking this out of the air here - a high-profile Uber Bot at FLP who didn't like the criticism of their possibly dubious 'business' practises on here, I would ask myself this:

1. Can I afford the £££££ it will cost me to bring a court order forcing MN to reveal identities?

1. Can I then afford - and do I stand the vaguest chance of winning - a libel/defamation case?

1. Can I afford for all my potential recruits to read all about my 'business' practises in the national press?

I think we know what the answers will be.

I love the 'plucking it out of the air'.

Out of interest, would any extra negative publicity attendant on making a complaint likely be held to be 'on the complainant's head' or would it count towards any settlement?

...plucking this out of the air.....

No, the negative public city from the reporting of the case could not be blamed on the individuals who made the criticisms on a web page.

You would have to be either 100% certain or 100% desperate (ie business destroyed, nothing to lose) to bring a defamation case because you risk utterly brutal public airings of dirty linen. Win or lose, your reputation will be scrambled.

My advice? Ignore it and focus on the praise you get elsewhere or go online and address your critics directly within the containment of MN. That way it stays nicely contained & the extent of the damage is naturally limited.

In my opinion, Dr S thinks he knows the ID of the individuals in his case and believes it is a very deliberate and calculated attack on his professional reputation. Revenge? Rival? Who knows.

In short, I believe that the Dr S case is a very particular set of circumstances that we are unlikely that to see replicated - particularly on this thread.

But THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting the link here for us, random new poster! You must really care about protecting the good work we do here! Or am I just #pluckingthisoutoftheair hun?

Thanks for that.

Divvee premise sounds identical to Traffic Monsoon. You pay in, you recruit & you click on things. The clicking on things bit is basically a distraction: it's a pyramid scheme. Most people will lose money & it's illegal.

Since leaving my mlm I r spoken to several people who have also left, and tell me they are so much happier now they're out too. Debts, upset family who never see them....all the usual. I love being back at work. I've only been there a matter of weeks and my boss told me yesterday I'm being eyed up by a couple of people for a promotion. I'm so excited about it. It's hard work but I thrive under pressure. And I feel like my job has a purpose again. Not just flogging products that no-one needs and getting people started in a business which also has no purpose. The more I think about it, the more I realise that MLM is just pointless!

How does it feel, Dora, being able to talk to acquaintances in your personal life without an agenda?