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Pyramid Schemes


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"Multi Level Marketing" or whatever you want to call it. It's like these weird cults of snake oil salesmen and their all over my Facebook. It's not even the fact that they claim this mystery powder that will "work wonders" on you. They don't just try to sell the product to you, they try to get you sell the stuff with them. They talk about how pushing this stuff gonna give you "total financial freedom" and you can "retire in five years."

 

But what bothers me is the weird cult like love they have for the company. Like they worship the company. I have two friends that I barely even talk to anymore, because all they talk about is trying to sell me/get me on board with their company. Anybody else deal with this?

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Many are borderline illegal, while many others are perfectly legitimate businesses.

 

It's like anything else: the people who work at it the most make the most, and the people that treat it like a hobby get paid like it's a hobby.

 

Also like anything else: odds are strong that if someone is turned off by the practice, then they ran into someone who is doing it wrong.


I used to be really close with a friend of mine. But now I avoid him in the store because I don't feel like listening to his scheme. And how he can cut my start up fee (what respectable job has you pay them to start) in half from $400 to $200.

 

None...it's not a job.


Also worth noting: Pyramid Schemes are illegal, and there's a very specific definition for them (i.e. the money gets funneled automatically into other people's pockets).

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Also worth noting: Pyramid Schemes are illegal, and there's a very specific definition for them (i.e. the money gets funneled automatically into other people's pockets).

I understand that. But these are the closest thing to a pyramid scheme they can legal get.

For some of them at least.

Edited by The Real Buffalo Joe
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I understand that. But these are the closest thing to a pyramid scheme they can legal get.

For some of them at least.

 

Some or all?

 

There are actually independent groups like e-biz review, the BBB, the DSN, etc. that audit such companies if anyone ever wants to know which ones are doing things ethically and which aren't.

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Once.

 

My mom went to a meeting at our old neighbours house for a product called Isagenix (health cleanser and mix stuff) and then had the neighbours hot daughter call me and invite me over.

 

I got there and here are 20 people sitting in a living room watching a presentation from 2 people about how much money they make and then came the dreaded words....

 

"the more people you sign up and get them to sell, the more money you will make"

 

I only went over because of the hot neighbour. Was not worth it.

 

Later that month my mom had a meeting at our house for the same product. I made sure the Pizza I ordered arrived just as they were all getting ready to leave

 

 

CBF

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Once.

 

My mom went to a meeting at our old neighbours house for a product called Isagenix (health cleanser and mix stuff) and then had the neighbours hot daughter call me and invite me over.

 

I got there and here are 20 people sitting in a living room watching a presentation from 2 people about how much money they make and then came the dreaded words....

 

"the more people you sign up and get them to sell, the more money you will make"

 

I only went over because of the hot neighbour. Was not worth it.

 

Later that month my mom had a meeting at our house for the same product. I made sure the Pizza I ordered arrived just as they were all getting ready to leave

 

 

CBF

So did mom retire 5 years later? Make crazies moneys?

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Once.

 

My mom went to a meeting at our old neighbours house for a product called Isagenix (health cleanser and mix stuff) and then had the neighbours hot daughter call me and invite me over.

 

I got there and here are 20 people sitting in a living room watching a presentation from 2 people about how much money they make and then came the dreaded words....

 

"the more people you sign up and get them to sell, the more money you will make"

 

I only went over because of the hot neighbour. Was not worth it.

 

Later that month my mom had a meeting at our house for the same product. I made sure the Pizza I ordered arrived just as they were all getting ready to leave

 

 

CBF

I love everything about this post. The pizza. The hatred for pyram... multilevel marketing. But mostly, the Canadian spelling of neighbour.

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I have a friend who always has his hand in something like this. Last two have been Lyoness and Zeal.

 

With Zeal, he says (and has pics/videos) that Zeal is paying for his brand new Cadillac and asks everyone to contact him about getting one, too.

 

I like the guy. He's a hard worker; always has been. But it does get old.

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"Multi Level Marketing" or whatever you want to call it. It's like these weird cults of snake oil salesmen and their all over my Facebook. It's not even the fact that they claim this mystery powder that will "work wonders" on you. They don't just try to sell the product to you, they try to get you sell the stuff with them. They talk about how pushing this stuff gonna give you "total financial freedom" and you can "retire in five years."

 

But what bothers me is the weird cult like love they have for the company. Like they worship the company. I have two friends that I barely even talk to anymore, because all they talk about is trying to sell me/get me on board with their company. Anybody else deal with this?

 

That's all Facebook is, is a multi-level marketing scheme. That's how they "monetize" "eyeballs."

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I have a friend who always has his hand in something like this. Last two have been Lyoness and Zeal.

 

With Zeal, he says (and has pics/videos) that Zeal is paying for his brand new Cadillac and asks everyone to contact him about getting one, too.

 

I like the guy. He's a hard worker; always has been. But it does get old.

 

That's the only part that gets on my nerves: when it becomes more about "look at me" than being about using spare time to develop another income stream.

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I looked at the one for Beachbody. I really dig their programs... some of them the best fitness programs ever created. They have a MLM structure. The issue is, what they encourage you to sell is this stuff called Shakeology, which has all sorts of stuff in it, its OK, but you could really spend a fraction and just take a scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin. This stuff costs like $120 a month. Then you have to convince people to subscribe to that and also join up and get others to do the same. People involved in this have to reach and kind of fool people into buying in to this stuff.

 

So yeah, I want nothing to do with that. I know some people who make decent bucks doing that, but they are pretty much constantly pushing the stuff and are putting in a high amount of work, basically sales work that Im not interested in

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"Multi Level Marketing" or whatever you want to call it. It's like these weird cults of snake oil salesmen and their all over my Facebook. It's not even the fact that they claim this mystery powder that will "work wonders" on you. They don't just try to sell the product to you, they try to get you sell the stuff with them. They talk about how pushing this stuff gonna give you "total financial freedom" and you can "retire in five years."

 

But what bothers me is the weird cult like love they have for the company. Like they worship the company. I have two friends that I barely even talk to anymore, because all they talk about is trying to sell me/get me on board with their company. Anybody else deal with this?

 

You need new friends.

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I looked at the one for Beachbody. I really dig their programs... some of them the best fitness programs ever created. They have a MLM structure. The issue is, what they encourage you to sell is this stuff called Shakeology, which has all sorts of stuff in it, its OK, but you could really spend a fraction and just take a scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin. This stuff costs like $120 a month. Then you have to convince people to subscribe to that and also join up and get others to do the same. People involved in this have to reach and kind of fool people into buying in to this stuff.

 

So yeah, I want nothing to do with that. I know some people who make decent bucks doing that, but they are pretty much constantly pushing the stuff and are putting in a high amount of work, basically sales work that Im not interested in

Back in like 2002 there was a vitamin. I got suckered into it. i dont remember the name of it. But they gave me a dumb website and the whole shbang. I think I paid them $1,000 and owed them $1,000. I know people. It was not overly priced. Well kinda. $50 a bottle. But it was a wonder pill. One better pay more for the wonder pill. I thought I would do really good with this.

 

The bad part was that when I got my start up welcome package and when I noticed the ingredients, a freaking centrum vitamin had more "punch". I was not going to push a bad product to my friends or anybody really.

 

I couldnt get my 1,000 back. They did waive the other 1000 for me. Waste of a freaking grand.

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... multilevel marketing. But mostly, the Canadian spelling of neighbour.

Canadians sell, say and do lots of things wrong.

 

Spell things wrong.....say things wrong....do things wrong.

 

That right there is a pyramid scheme all Canadians participate in.

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