An eye-opener about MLM products (Advocare)

snikkins

caseypcarlin wrote: »

I have a not so close friend who is an ItWorks distributor, and she posts anywhere from 6-10 times per day about why you should try "those crazy wrap things" (that phrase makes me want to barf). I don't think she realizes that she is being taken advantage of, but is a grown woman and can make her own choices. I don't understand why anyone would buy into this. The pictures that posts are mostly not even people she sells to but probably ones she gets sent and told to post. There are glaringly obvious "cheats" in pictures (bad posture in the before picture, standing straight in the after picture, wearing totally different clothing, different lighting). I don't really know why I started to post this but it feels really good to rant.

I'm in this almost exact same situation, except this woman posts obvious immediately post-partum pictures as "before" and then the afters. It's definitely cheating.

Today, she posted about a skin cream that supposedly gets rid of C-section scars... if you use it for 2 years. There was a "before," "after 6 months" (or something like that), and then "2 years" photo. It's called healing.

Wetcoaster

kshama2001 wrote: »

My aunt was into forment water, which came and went before the internet age. It may be Kangen water now.

http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/kangen-water-scam/

...here is what the FTC says about MLMs and pyramid schemes:

"Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan. If the money you make is based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, it’s not. It’s a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal, and the vast majority of participants lose money... Avoid any plan where the reward for recruiting new distributors is more than it is for selling products to the public. That’s a time-tested and traditional tip-off to a pyramid scheme."

I love that site. I used to comment in the Visalus story

singingflutelady

Oh don't get me onto the water. I was on an IBD and IBS fb group that had a guy posting about how this water cures Crohn's etc (no known cure) and he posted this multiple times a day. Me and a few other members disputed his posts and he called us big pharma trolls and every time one of us posted on anything he'd tell everyone not to listen to us because we were being paid by big pharma to push drugs and bash all naturopathic remedies. I quit that group because of him.

cdstewart51115

earlnabby wrote: »

At least you know what you are getting into when you get invited to a Pampered Chef or Tupperware party (and their products last a lifetime, unlike consumables like Beachbody, etc). Even Mary Kay is upfront about their "parties" and products although a rep told us we should use Mary Kay moisturizer instead of Oil of Olay because you should never put oil on your face. I asked her why, since mineral oil was the first ingredient in the Mary Kay moisturizer. She had no answer.

Oh goodness! I love Mary Kay but you should know your own products and ingredients. SMH. While they do have superior grade ingredients than some cheap brands, the well-known brands spend Millions more in technology and product testing. While you don't always get what you paid for in some instances, watchdog groups are making consumers more aware I did buy It Works for a while and liked the Hair and Green products...but not enough to keep spending the money hehe.

vivmom2014

Ah okay - thank you @Alyssa_Is_LosingIt and @Wetcoaster for the differences between MLM and pyramid.

And when someone mentioned skin cream it reminded me of NuSkin. That was another one! Trecherous!!! We actually drove a bag of the stuff over to the distributor's house early one morning and hung it on their front doorknob - we didn't want to talk w/ them and we didn't want to have it in our possession, lest that be taken as a green light that we wanted it. Sheeeesh.

melonaulait

kshama2001 wrote: »

The graphic artists I know could remove the watermarks but watermarks would deter lazier or less skilled thieves.

There are ways to remove them, sure. But I can always try...

Char231023

But but but what about Slumber Parties. It's a great way to shop for toy and lube.

mkakids

There are some mlm products that i like.....but i would never sell any.

Personally, i like some products from tupperware, marykay and norwex. Ive never tried anything else.

I had a 'friend' who sells it works ask me to use my before and afters to claim i used their product. I was pissed.

mkakids

Char231023 wrote: »

But but but what about Slumber Parties. It's a great way to shop for toy and lube.

Right, because what i want most is to sit in a room of 20 other women and look at sex toys....that doesnt sound awkward at all, lol.

Wetcoaster

mkakids wrote: »

Char231023 wrote: »

But but but what about Slumber Parties. It's a great way to shop for toy and lube.

Right, because what i want most is to sit in a room of 20 other women and look at sex toys....that doesnt sound awkward at all, lol.

Not to me ....err...I mean ya.

TuesdayMarch01st2016

What you should never have to do, to get/keep a job:

1 Pay your employer an "employee" (membership) fee.
2 Purchase your employers products either as inventory, to meet a sales quota and/or "for your own personal use" (unless you want to use them).
3 Seek strangers in stores, etc. & start an irrelevant conversation with them, for the sole purpose of recruiting them.
Example:
MLM: Hi you look familiar, did you go to UCLA?
Victim: No, sorry.
MLM: Well anyway (notices victim looking at supplements) I sell a superior line of supplements, then these stores have via Advocare, etc.
4 Use your personal life (Facebook, Family, etc.) to gain customers.
5 Your time spent doesn't amount to, at least minimum wage in compensation, "after expenses" (using your vehicle, to deliver products, etc.).

AnvilHead

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »

I had a good friend who was into Amway for many years. She and her husband were recruited at church, where most of the attendees were a part of the Amway cult. It's interesting that the article delves into the religious part of it, because it's one of the least talked about parts of the recruitment process. Very very sneaky. Although they tried to sell us the product, the majority of their pitches were of trying to get us involved in the "business". Every time I would ask to see how much money they were actually making, they would reply with the fact that they themselves were only breaking even, but their higher-ups were making a great deal of money and could show us how. She finally saw the light but it took a huge toll on her friendships and her marriage. It saddens me every time I hear of a friend getting involved in an MLM. I have never known of anyone to get rich on one.

A co-worker tried to get me into Scamway (Amway). He asked me to go to a meeting with him to check out a business investment he was thinking about making. I asked him what it was, and he dodged the question, saying "Just come along with me and check it out". I thought it was suspicious, but went along anyway.

Through almost the entire meeting, the sales pitch continually just referred to "The Business" without naming it, while showing slides and flip charts of all the glorious money-making opportunities. The name "Amway" didn't even come out until near the end of the meeting, and it was almost under his breath. Come to find out my co-worker was already a salesman and was trying to recruit me. He gave me a "Decision Pack" of their products to try for myself. My wife and I tried one or two of the products, decided they were junk, and I gave the "Decision Pack" back to him. He was upset that I didn't want to become a salesman and pestered the crap out of me about it at work until I finally set him straight. Then he presented me with a bill for the couple products we had used out of the pack (and the prices were a lot higher than what you'd pay for comparable products at a grocery store!). I paid it and told him to never mention Amway in my presence again.

The whole thing felt very dishonest and slimy to me. The way he solicited me to go along, the way they presented "The Business" and avoided any mention of the name, etc.

TuesdayMarch01st2016

AnvilHead wrote: »

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »

I had a good friend who was into Amway for many years. She and her husband were recruited at church, where most of the attendees were a part of the Amway cult. It's interesting that the article delves into the religious part of it, because it's one of the least talked about parts of the recruitment process. Very very sneaky. Although they tried to sell us the product, the majority of their pitches were of trying to get us involved in the "business". Every time I would ask to see how much money they were actually making, they would reply with the fact that they themselves were only breaking even, but their higher-ups were making a great deal of money and could show us how. She finally saw the light but it took a huge toll on her friendships and her marriage. It saddens me every time I hear of a friend getting involved in an MLM. I have never known of anyone to get rich on one.

A co-worker tried to get me into Scamway (Amway). He asked me to go to a meeting with him to check out a business investment he was thinking about making. I asked him what it was, and he dodged the question, saying "Just come along with me and check it out". I thought it was suspicious, but went along anyway.

Through almost the entire meeting, the sales pitch continually just referred to "The Business" without naming it, while showing slides and flip charts of all the glorious money-making opportunities. The name "Amway" didn't even come out until near the end of the meeting, and it was almost under his breath. Come to find out my co-worker was already a salesman and was trying to recruit me. He gave me a "Decision Pack" of their products to try for myself. My wife and I tried one or two of the products, decided they were junk, and I gave the "Decision Pack" back to him. He was upset that I didn't want to become a salesman and pestered the crap out of me about it at work until I finally set him straight. Then he presented me with a bill for the couple products we had used out of the pack (and the prices were a lot higher than what you'd pay for comparable products at a grocery store!). I paid it and told him to never mention Amway in my presence again.

The whole thing felt very dishonest and slimy to me. The way he solicited me to go along, the way they presented "The Business" and avoided any mention of the name, etc.

I'd never pay for anything "given", to me because it's a "free sample" & I would've reported this recruiting attempt, to our employer.

TuesdayMarch01st2016

I am having a problem of my own with an MLM, I am a council member for my apartment complex's resident meetings (nothing formal) well at 1 of our resident meetings a resident mentioned something about implementing health & wellness. After he & I were both voted onto the council. He mentions it again but at our council meeting. Then another council member informs me of him having people over his house, about it & she offers to take me, plus I get a call from him inviting me as well. I thought that it'd be a council meeting to discuss how to educate our residents about health & wellness, since the council member whom took me there & another council member, other than him, was there also. Well it was actually a recruitment meeting for an MLM. I'm very glad that I went because now I know, his idea & plan but I am completely against it, especially since we reside in & preside over, a low income complex/area. These people live paycheck to paycheck & can't afford to lose money. For the 1st time I am glad that our resident meetings aren't popular & hope that the meeting being rescheduled, will prevent most from coming because I'm not sure that I'd be able, to discourage him; from trying to recruit the residents at the resident meeting. Since I'd be leading the next resident meeting my only 2 other options're to either insist that he approaches the residents, after I adjourn the meeting & done on his rather than our time, to ensure that none of this is connected with the other council members; especially if a problem arises or to quit being a council member & do it while there publicly, to protest, inform the residents & distance myself, from the situation.

What concerns me the most, is the automatic shipments of products. They're able to opt out but 1 what if they forget to or 2 what if they try to but the company didn't cancel it (as there're many complaints concerning this)? My fear is that a customer might like the products but have to cancel their order/membership because their vehicle breaks down & they have to spend the money to get it fixed. Only to find out that the company didn't cancel their shipment & now the customer doesn't have the money to get their vehicle fixed. Then they lose their job because they had no other way, to get to work & after lose their apartment, etc.

ninerbuff

What most "new" people who get recruited fail to realize is that THEY are the buyers who support upline income and not the people they are trying to recruit. Upline just want "owners" to continue as long as they can keep them. Granted, the regional and district supervisors make good money, but NOT part time. These people work 12-15 hour days including weekends. Not the "part time" gig that was promised to make extra cash.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

melonaulait

AnvilHead wrote: »

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »

I had a good friend who was into Amway for many years. She and her husband were recruited at church, where most of the attendees were a part of the Amway cult. It's interesting that the article delves into the religious part of it, because it's one of the least talked about parts of the recruitment process. Very very sneaky. Although they tried to sell us the product, the majority of their pitches were of trying to get us involved in the "business". Every time I would ask to see how much money they were actually making, they would reply with the fact that they themselves were only breaking even, but their higher-ups were making a great deal of money and could show us how. She finally saw the light but it took a huge toll on her friendships and her marriage. It saddens me every time I hear of a friend getting involved in an MLM. I have never known of anyone to get rich on one.

A co-worker tried to get me into Scamway (Amway). He asked me to go to a meeting with him to check out a business investment he was thinking about making. I asked him what it was, and he dodged the question, saying "Just come along with me and check it out". I thought it was suspicious, but went along anyway.

Through almost the entire meeting, the sales pitch continually just referred to "The Business" without naming it, while showing slides and flip charts of all the glorious money-making opportunities. The name "Amway" didn't even come out until near the end of the meeting, and it was almost under his breath. Come to find out my co-worker was already a salesman and was trying to recruit me. He gave me a "Decision Pack" of their products to try for myself. My wife and I tried one or two of the products, decided they were junk, and I gave the "Decision Pack" back to him. He was upset that I didn't want to become a salesman and pestered the crap out of me about it at work until I finally set him straight. Then he presented me with a bill for the couple products we had used out of the pack (and the prices were a lot higher than what you'd pay for comparable products at a grocery store!). I paid it and told him to never mention Amway in my presence again.

The whole thing felt very dishonest and slimy to me. The way he solicited me to go along, the way they presented "The Business" and avoided any mention of the name, etc.

I wish my aunt had been as brave as you, but she has trouble speaking up for herself. I think that's how she got suckered into Amway peddling. The stuff I have had to try from them has been poor quality, and I don't even want to think about the prices I see in her pamphlets sometimes.

oksoitsjen

I feel like everyone is selling something these days... I have to constantly unfollow people on Facebook because of their constant posting about how amazing their products are.

Jozzmenia

oops