MLMs/ Network Marketing: Thread 45

[Spongebobette]

This is the 45th thread in a long series about the dangers of network marketing/ MLMs such as Forever Living, Ariix, NuSkin, Arbonne, Younique, Valentus, TS Life, Monat, Stella and Dot, Tropic, various slimroast/weight loss coffee MLMs and MANY MANY more!
Posts here will give examples of the lies told by 'top bots' who portray luxury lifestyles in order to lure in new victims and of the other techniques and brainwashing used by MLMs.
The reality is that 97% of people who join an MLM end up LOSING money. Always bear that in mind when considering paying money to join!

and now, with her new travel MLM she's trotting out all the same tired lines. I can't see if her business is ABTA protected though...

No Autoships Required
💎 Earn in 3 Different Ways
💎 Dozens Already Earning a Residual Income
💎 Daily Pay
💎 Car Plan, Bonuses & More
💎 In the Popular Travel Industry
💎 Wholesale Hotel Prices for All
💎 Free Holiday On Joining
💎 Only 9 Weeks in the UK
💎 6 Years Old - Cash Rich & Debt Free
💎 Travel Agent Perks
💎 60% Commission on Holiday Referral Bookings

Naive fool that I am, the travel based thing doesn't sound too bad. At least there's a real service involved... y'know, something that actual customers might want to buy... something that customers might sensibly be able to look at & work out how its price & quality stacked up against the alternatives. Surely has the potential to be better than all the standard 'pills & potions'/snakeoil MLM nonsense.

There are people on this thread who understand the travel business a lot better than I do, @puffyisgood. I think that consumer protection is an issue and that if you sign up to become a 'travel agent' through one of these MLMs you can expose yourself to risk if things go wrong.

I'm sure someone will explain better then I can.

I've not seen an MLM travel company that has ABTA protection. I'm certain the prices are more expensive as well than if booked via the more traditional route as obviously the bot needs to make a profit.

It is also more focused on recruiting others into the scheme than on selling holidays. I haven't yet seen a bot mention an actual sale of a holiday or travel.

Not sure about Travel Counsellors but In the case of Inteletravel there’s no need to get involved with the product at all - PlaNet Marketing, the company behind it, simply requires people to recruit (or so I was told by one of their reps). No need for any travel knowledge! Just sign up, pay your money and start recruiting ... hang on, that sounds a bit pyramiddy...

Did anyone listen to the R4 You and Yours piece on Inteletravel?

This is the Inteletravel piece on R4. Not much focus on its business model but talk of the unsurprising poor outcomes for those involved. I spoke to the journalist involved and she was obviously well aware that there was more to say about its biz structure but was confined by time and her brief (I imagine). Here it is if you missed it

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001bpy
Broadcast on 29 November 18. About 8 mins into the programme

Anyone searching for Iron might want to Google ‘achieving time freedom with Juice Plus’ and look at the video results.

Their Zoom calls are twice a day, 6:30am and then 9:30pm (I think). More calls on a Friday- 5 or 6 throughout the day. That’s time freedom for you!

I find that quite disturbing @BangingOn. It smacks of cultish brainwashing; the first thing you hear after waking is the leader's voice and her message, then again before you go to sleep. All to keep you believing.

The ‘coming off antidepressants’ thing: there is a VERY dodgy mindset/health/mental health spin off set up by some Ariiix top bots (the ex-soldier, muscled ones). You purchase the programme, pay to go on ‘retreats’, include a few exprnsive Ariiiiix supplements and become happier, healthier and anti-depressant free. I’ve seen lots of FB testimonies from Ariiiiiiiix bots who have paid to join H3 and who claim their lives have been transformed and any mental health issues they may have had have been ‘cured’ by this programme. Smoke & Mirrors is one, Rasher is another.

Bear in mind that the people behind this programme have no medical or mental health training. I would also assume that this programme is making them a lot of money. Oh, and as soon as S&M left Ariiix, she was blocked/excluded from the H3 support groups/community. So they’re clearly not concerned with anyone’s long term wellbeing.

@spongebobette you’re absolutely right, it’s particularly disturbing when they are bragging about having women on the call literally hours after giving birth.

@BangingOn - i can easily imagine how those Friday calls go...

'you've not met your targets yet? c'mon, hun [insert various threats & emotional blackmail]... how about you pawn your engagement ring [or whatever] so you can buy enough stock to get you over the line?

@puffyisgood you’re spot on I’m sure!

The irony is that when I worked with her she had a reputation for being an excellent line manager.

A Poonique bot I know posted on FB that she was up ridiculously early for a training call a few days before Christmas. Today I noticed that her so-called business page has disappeared from FB and she's locked down her personal account - she used to post a lot of things on there about Poonique for everyone to see.

Whoever recruited her must've thought she was a sitting duck. She's young, naive, and trapped in a minimum wage job with long hours. I suspect her credit cards have taken a hammering over the last twelve months.

Let's hope she's seen sense and sacked the bots. I hope she's not in too much debt.

Nice to see a TOWIE star getting slammed for promoting skinny coffee club.

www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/8099520/lauren-goodger-slammed-coffee-diet/

I can't say I've seen Ms Goodger since her early TOWIE days. She's looking, ahem, well.

She may be getting slammed but I bet the coffee bots will be using her posts

Yawn is back to work tomorrow!
I have a close family funeral tomorrow. You will be pleased to know I left my clown outfit in the wardrobe. I will also not take pics of my children smiling fakely for the camera.

Norma I'd love to see you in your clown outfit. Did you get it from a LuLaRoe bot?

Norma, I'm so sorry for your loss and I hope tomorrow is as easy on you as a funeral can be.

You do need to take photos of your children though, gotta put the fun back into funeral. Try flogging some aloe gloop to your fellow mourners, that will go down well.

I still have yet to see a nice item from LLR. The shape of the clothes and patterns are made to make the wearer look as unattractive as possible. The sizes are great for plus sized women but make them look like shapeless clowns.

Looks like Ms.Goodger has quite a lot in common with BBLBot... “LOOK AT MY ARSE”

Can you imagine what would happen if bots started planning their own funerals?

Would they have a white hearse with #askmehow on each window?

The letters "MLM" created using aloe vera plants instead of the usual family flowers?

Selfies with the deceased - filtered, of course.

Scentsy candles in the church.

A big plastic cheque instead of a headstone if you qualified for CB, but an unmarked grave if you didn't.

RIP(Off) Forever Living.

I can’t see the LuLaRoe Fail FB page, has it been shut down?

The consensus on the defective group is that the page owner is taking a vacation and has deactivated the page while she isn't there to keep an eye on it. She's done it before so it should be back up soon.

That makes sense White, thank you.