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.

P1nkSparkles "Omg this reminds me one of our admin at work who is a FL bot.... about a year ago she tried to suggest one of our psychiatrists should recommend it to clients [...] , but I have to say I was surprised by the brass neck!! "
When I first encountered Amway (in the 1990s) a cow-orker was involved and nearly got disciplined for hassling people at work. He was a true believer and got burnt, out of it all now I think. Thats when the internet was starting and I found sidney schwartz's "Amway the untold story" www.suburbia.com.au/~fun/amway/ It was the first open critic of the cult and helped 000s. There are 60+(!) files of comments and they are enlightening: a mixture of thankful people who left and understood they were conned and some TrueBelievers (tm) who spout the Bot litany...

Well done y'all for spreading the word!

Sideorder, I didn't realise AS was MLM now, do they recruit people now? I thought you just became a direct rep, a bit like Avon before it changed to an MLM set up.

Greetings... I'm an ex FL & regularly read this post.
I was completely sucked in by the dream of financial freedom & I just feel so embarrassed now about my conduct over that period of time I was brain washed! And don't even go there when I see my Facebook history & those cringe updates!!!
I still follow the bots out of sheer entertainment & to see how many of still trying to make it. The main issue is that the high flying / earning FL bots allow the underdog bots to have something to aspire to... But what they don't get is, most of the high flying bots 'lifestyle' is smoke & mirrors the dream is non achievable. You can't have thousands of 6 figure earners on a company.. It wouldn't survive.
A lady in my up line who I must say is a very nice lady has recently had to take time away from the 'business' something very serious has happened to a family member. So all the troops are rallying around & there has been many a positive quote about team work etc and not letting her business fail whilst she is going through this awful time which is all very supportive... BUT what everyone is failing to mention / realise is that as this girl won't be actively selling or recruiting & achieving the '4cc' minimum sales target, she won't be entitled to ANY of her team bonus so she'll earn sweet bugger all!
And this is the point that bots fail to mention. It's fine 'sacking the boss' but with a J.O.B at least you'd still be earning a wage at times when you can't get to work or are ill. You'd get sick pay or compassionate leave or use up some holiday entitlement! The pressure would not be as high.
A particular team I was involved in have members of the same family at the helm. I'm still baffled as to how they earn so much money .
I'm not the type of person to want anyone to fail and if people can make a good wage from home then that's amazing. Also I do use some of the FL products still as I do think they are quite good. But what I do struggle with as fair as FL is concerned is the smoke & mirrors. Everything is extra.. Training, promotional materials, even postage on orders.
I'm glad in out of it now & couldnt be more grateful for my J.O.B!!! Regular pay, holiday pay, training etc I enjoy social situations so much more as there is no pressure to recruit everyone.
I would urge anyone ( as an ex bot) to steer clear of any mlm....

Hi there, I do lurk on this thread and I enjoy finding out about the murky world of MLM, I only have 1 bot in my life (FL) and she really doesn't hassle me that much so I can have a smile at her FB posts (I know she has another closed group for her customers, so must keep the worst of it for there). But the past couple of days she's been posting about how everyone should avoid MAC because they are owned by L'Oreal who test on animals in China and this is why FL never sell there.
Is there a big FL move against MAC or is it just her taking up a cause? I'm just so bloody nosey I need to know!

FL try to make out their products are as good as MAC to try and justify the high prices I think.

Also, they do sell in China. I wonder why they said they don't? Products sold in China have to be tested on animals so your Bot is wrong.

The bots just make things up or spread stuff that uplines or even the company have told them that turn out not to be true. I've seen some pretty ridiculous health claims out there.

Nice to hear from you user, welcome to the thread. Great to hear you're doing well now. 😊

Cozie - she has her parents, but no siblings. Parents seem to be encouraging it, as they think it shows ambition.

I'm in the UK for Easter, and have arranged to meet up with BotFriend, as I didn't get to see her when I was there for Christmas (as she was away). I'm hoping that talking to her face to face, might be more productive than via e-mail and Facebook.

Her parents likely won't have a clue about the organisation(s) she's involved with. They're likely subsidising it as well. ('Business startup' costs etc.)

I know a Younique bot, late 40s, only child, parents dote on her and are very proud that she has her own business. I think her mum buys lots of stuff from her and gets her friends to as well to 'support' her in 'building her business'
Big celebration when she became a 'yellow', whatever that means.
Latest photo she's posted has a checklist in the background and I can make out instructions about posting every day on social media et

Here's the photo with the checklist hiding behind a shite book

Some parents are pretty pleased when a child appears to have found their way at last - especially when all they hear are 'real positive messages'. I just hope they don't spend all their assets on her, Sponge.

Out of interest, do you know what sort of things her Mum is buying?

Any sort of makeup I think

Sponge - that sounds very much like my friend's situation, only in a younger age group. Only child, doted on by her parents, and full of pride that she's 'taken the bold step of launching her own business' (paraphrasing a FB post from BotFriend's mum).

Cozie - I fear you are right, because the 'enrollment kit' she purchased from doTERRA was over £800, and I know that's not an amount she would simply have to hand.

Also, much like Sponge's friend, my friend's mum also buys a lot of stuff to 'boost' her daughter's business. Her mum, and my aunt are friends, and my aunt got a Younique lipstick from the mum for Christmas. She wasn't alone in receiving a Younique gift from her.

NB: I've been reading up on doTERRA, and they sound appalling, at one point they were marketing their oils/products (here in the States) claiming they could cure autism and cancer, along with other diseases/conditions. Just horrific.

Hi User. Welcome. To be honest if the lady who is in your upline is earning a decent amount, she will just buy 4CCs of product that make sure she gets paid. Spending £600 (ish) to be paid what ever she usually earns, makes financial sense. I know loads of managers used to buy lots of CCs themselves because the products are difficult to sell!

But you don't spend £600 and get back a whole load more, Dora?

This is very interesting!!! I spotted this on one of the FL bots walls that I look at occasionally. Looks like they've changed the slides that they use for their presentation. The manager income used to say £2000+ per month. Now it says £1200+ per month. The presenters always used to say that legally they can only talk about incomes that are actual average earnings which are proven. That says to me that the average manager income has fallen by 40%!!!!

It's difficult, When. People with single chicks are very vulnerable - you get into the 'Oh Well, she'll get it all when we go anyway' territory.

It sounds to me as if she's 'garage-qualified' - or at any rate as if she's 'her Mum's kitchen cupboard' qualified. I'm not surprised that her Mum is giving away stuff as presents. What would she, realistically, do with that amount of makeup. How old is she?

I don't get it Dora
If you buy 4cc worth to stay active how much money do you make when you have to cover that outlay?

@DoraTheExplorer17 I can remember it used to be £2000 for a manager.

Those presentations. How they draw you in. I remember the first one I went to, I couldn't sleep that night I was so excited. I fell for it, I freely admit it.

Of course you did. They're enormously carefully set up.

Spongebobette So if your bot sells nothing and recruits no-one then she doesn't do the 4CCs you need to be paid the money from your team. But if they were just to buy 4CCs of product then that's enough to be paid the bonus on their teams. Depends on what your earnings would be, if you're earning £2k a month, then it's worth spending the £600 on products to get paid. If you would end up 'net' worse off then definitely not worth it. My best month was £3.5k so it would definitely have been worth buying my 4CCs to get paid that £3.5k.

Wow 3.5k is not to be sniffed at!

So what's the 'downside', Dora ?

Downsides.....hmmm let me think...😉

Sacrificing your family, friends, time, sanity, stability......not to mention the debts you run up while trying to sustain a fake lifestyle that you can't afford. All while working your balls off to make someone else rich!!!! I could go on but I think bot watch explains it all!! 😂