An eye-opener about MLM products (Advocare)
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Thank god I have no social media profiles besides this one and no one ever tries to sell me anything. People are so gullible it's sad!0
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »melonaulait wrote: »Amway operates this way too, don't they? My aunt is an Amway distributor, she always gives our relatives stuff from them for free, but only few people actually buy anything through her. All the stuff I've seen from Amway is really poor quality, too.
Yep. And low quality products is pretty much standard for all MLM products. Even Avon has subpar skincare and makeup products.
I have several coworkers who sell Plexus. They make the most ridiculous claims. It'll help you lose weight and have energy. It'll cure everything from lupus to diabetes to eczema. It's really upsetting to hear their sales pitches and know that they're lying through their teeth just to meet their sales quota.
My aunt was even misinformed enough or just purely lied to me that Amway is sustainable and hasn't done animal testing since the year whatever...
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Packerjohn wrote: »Some parents of a kid in one of my sons class were distributors. They invited a bunch of the kids to hang out one evening, they were all excited then they told the parents a high level Advocare rep would be there. We could sample products and hear about an opportunity.
Of course my kid was excited to go and he was long before being able to drive. The kids played and the adults got the pitch how great everything was, how much money you could make, etc, etc. They had samples of the weight loss products (the couple who hosted were the heaviest ones in the room BTW), Spark for energy, etc.
They ended up giving the kids Spark without the parents knowing. All the kids were bouncing off the walls from the caffeine after the parents got them home. One of the kids told his parents the hosts gave him some stuff called Spark. At this time Advocare wasn't out there like is it now, but it was pretty easy to Google and find out the caffeine content. The parents were p#ssed.
Nobody that was there was buying product or becoming part of their "team".
Some of these MLMs use some really obnoxious, sneaky tactics. I don't understand how someone can sell for a company that encourages lying to and tricking your friends.0 -
My former best friend sold Mary Kay and pushed really hard to get me to join her team. At that point I had never purchased anything from her or tried any of their products. It was all about recruiting to get to the next level. She also went on to try to sell Thirty-One bags and the last time I had contact with her she was selling some detox tea she found on Instagram. Some people get sucked into buying things from MLM's, she gets sucked into selling them thinking that it's going to bring her in a lot of money.
I've also been approached to try Beachbody products and a big selling point they tried to use was to become a 'coach' for the discounts.0 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »She made a side by side before an after out of my pics. ( one pic at 202lbs and another at 129 with abs ) she then used my pictures as a testimonial to her mlm woo . my friends told me they saw my pictures being used to promote mlm junk and sent me the advertisements she made without my consent.
This happened to one of my really good friends....only it was an actual FITNESS MAGAZINE that stole her photos! She was on the cover of People Magazine last year on their "Half my Weight" edition they do. She worked her behind off for two years, changing her eating habits and working out to lose over 100 pounds, then had Shape Magazine using her photos on their Facebook page stating they were before and after photos of someone who used their "special program" and you could lose this much in 6 weeks...it's been like, 2 years and she's still in a legal battle with them.
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I am a Plexus Ambassador. That is the first and last time you'll see me mention that on MFP. I don't have to push our products.0
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My sister-in-law did the Body by Vi thing. It was horrible. She was constantly on Facebook bragging about how awesome tasting and "natural" their overpriced shakes & supplements were. Then she would post Vi smoothie recipes using "natural" ingredients like instant pudding and Oreos. If it tastes so great, why are you adding all that other crap (and ruining perfectly good Oreos?) And if it's so healthy, why did you end up gaining 50 pounds after that initial 20 pound loss? But Vi products made her feel fantastic! And cured her arthritis! And her kid's ADHD!
The clincher was the "FREE Bimmer!" she bragged about. Constantly. (Yes, she called it a "Bimmer". Constantly.) She got the "free" BMW for meeting some outrageous sales & recruiting goal. What she didn't brag about, was that the "free" car was really just Vi paying a set amount towards a lease she had to put in her name. Of course she couldn't keep up the ridiculous the sales & recruiting quota, even after buying tons of her own inventory. So Vi quit sending her the checks for the lease, and the car got repo'd and her credit is now shot. Body by Vi changed her life all right...0 -
I am a Plexus Ambassador. That is the first and last time you'll see me mention that on MFP. I don't have to push our products. The people that want to know about it ask me and the ones that already use Plexus products know that they work.
So why did you even have to mention this fact if not looking for business?1 -
I am a Plexus Ambassador. That is the first and last time you'll see me mention that on MFP. I don't have to push our products. The people that want to know about it ask me and the ones that already use Plexus products know that they work.
Interesting, because Plexus is one of the ones I see pushed the hardest.0 -
I am a Plexus Ambassador. That is the first and last time you'll see me mention that on MFP. I don't have to push our products. The people that want to know about it ask me and the ones that already use Plexus products know that they work.
Way to plug Plexus by claiming you're not plugging Plexus.
Pink Drink Wooooooo!!!
Plexus- the cause of countless "Unfollow" and "Unfriend" clicks0 -
My old high school friends tried to get me sucked into a MLM. I hadn't heard from them in over 5 years, and she reached out talking about "oh, I want you to meet my baby and I'm reaching out to old HS friends." Next thing I know, her and her husband (we all went to HS together) were pushing some MLM product on me. Trying to get me to be a seller. I forget what it was called, but it was selling something, and trying to be nice, I went to a meeting trying to be nice, and was like "yeah, no." And we haven't spoken since.0
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I don't know how people get so sucked into MLM crap. My last two jobs have been at relatively large firms and in both places, there were one or two overweight assistants peddling that crap. One of the assistants consistently refuses to believe me that I've lost weight without shakes or supplements or doing anything particularly difficult. We both decided to start losing weight in early December 2015. I've lost almost 25 lbs, and she's lost less than 10 lbs. She's several inches shorter than me and started at a much higher starting weight. I tell her it's all CICO, and she just won't believe me. She just keeps on with her supplements (not sure which ones she uses, but she also tries to sell them). On the one hand, she can't stop talking about how amazing these supplements are, while on the other hand complaining that she isn't losing weight as fast as I am. She blames it on her slow metabolism and genetics, not on the fact that she is constantly eating and is clearly eating more than she is burning.0
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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.0
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melonaulait wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »...She made a side by side before an after out of my pics. ( one pic at 202lbs and another at 129 with abs ) she then used my pictures as a testimonial to her mlm woo . my friends told me they saw my pictures being used to promote mlm junk and sent me the advertisements she made without my consent. After seeing them for myself, I quickly had her page shut down. I've never used a mlm product and never will. These people have to steal pictures of others to try to trick people into thinking their products work. She wrote in the caption " client lost weight and gained muscle by using xxxxx for 6 months " I was devastated to see my pictures being used by these people. I felt bad for anyone who believed it and bought the products thinking they would get those results. If their products really worked so well, why would they need to stoop to such low levels to sell them ? !
I've heard more than a few stories of people being taken advantage of like that with their before/after pics. That's just downright scummy.
To this day, I still see my pictures being used by these companies on various social media sites. What's funny is that now more then one company is using it but both claim the results In the photos are from their product. ( just to be very very very clear - I have never taken a mlm product ever and did not consent to my pictures being used )
So now I don't use any social media but mfp. And I don't post side by side type of shots here. It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about the woo peddlers using my pictures to scam money from people.
For this exact reason I'm kind of scared to ever put my progress shots online... But I'm wondering if watermarking them before publishing would help. As in, if I plaster giant watermarks on there that go all over my body in the pics. I don't care to have my name/username associated with my progress pics, but I want to put something like "CICO - NO SUPPLEMENTS" and whatever
Genius, right?
The graphic artists I know could remove the watermarks but watermarks would deter lazier or less skilled thieves.1 -
I will never sell, but good grief I've bought a lot of stuff from friends selling... Tupperware, Southern Living, 31 bags, Mary Kay, Avon, Arbonne... lately, it's been a push to buy Rodan & Fields. I've held off because they don't actually have parties. I just get a lot of Facebook messages asking me to buy.
Surprisingly, I've never gotten hit up for diet/nutrition/weight loss stuff.0 -
I will never sell, but good grief I've bought a lot of stuff from friends selling... Tupperware, Southern Living, 31 bags, Mary Kay, Avon, Arbonne... lately, it's been a push to buy Rodan & Fields. I've held off because they don't actually have parties. I just get a lot of Facebook messages asking me to buy.
Surprisingly, I've never gotten hit up for diet/nutrition/weight loss stuff.
Sure, certain products are fine, especially from Tupperware or Pampered Chef, like @earlnabby mentioned. However, I don't feel comfortable supporting the business model, so I never purchase the products and I let them down firmly when asked.
One of my coworkers sells 31 and brought several of us a lunchbox for free once, obviously hoping it would woo us into buying more of her crap. No joke, that is the worst lunchbox I've ever used - no insulation and my food is room temperature in no time, even with a cold pack in there.0 -
IMO-
Aside from a trainer the cost of food, a food scale, maybe a gym membership/workout equipment at home.... Losing weight should never cost anyone money and certainly not money they pay to another person.
An individual should never MAKE money off of YOU for YOU to lose weight.2 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »I will never sell, but good grief I've bought a lot of stuff from friends selling... Tupperware, Southern Living, 31 bags, Mary Kay, Avon, Arbonne... lately, it's been a push to buy Rodan & Fields. I've held off because they don't actually have parties. I just get a lot of Facebook messages asking me to buy.
Surprisingly, I've never gotten hit up for diet/nutrition/weight loss stuff.
Sure, certain products are fine, especially from Tupperware or Pampered Chef, like @earlnabby mentioned. However, I don't feel comfortable supporting the business model, so I never purchase the products and I let them down firmly when asked.
One of my coworkers sells 31 and brought several of us a lunchbox for free once, obviously hoping it would woo us into buying more of her crap. No joke, that is the worst lunchbox I've ever used - no insulation and my food is room temperature in no time, even with a cold pack in there.
LOL - I forgot about Pampered Chef. Yep, I bought some of their stuff too - the worst apple corer ever.
I guess I'm a sucker for feeling bad for my friends. I'm pretty certain they will never be as successful as they are promised, but I try to be supportive of them by buying 1 or 2 things. You are right though - it's misguided support.
Although, I did buy a lot of Tupperware - I do like their products
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I will never sell, but good grief I've bought a lot of stuff from friends selling... Tupperware, Southern Living, 31 bags, Mary Kay, Avon, Arbonne... lately, it's been a push to buy Rodan & Fields. I've held off because they don't actually have parties. I just get a lot of Facebook messages asking me to buy.
Surprisingly, I've never gotten hit up for diet/nutrition/weight loss stuff.
I've purchased Avon, Mary Kay, and even Beachbody workouts. Those things I find definite use for. I love lipstick and mascara, so if I liked the color I would purchase. No big deal. Plus, I do like some of BB workouts, particularly Shaun T's more challenging programs. But as far as ingesting shakes or pills or anything like that, no, I refuse.
I was a part of a Facebook BB workout group, and I won some contest b/c I posted the most workout selfies, which was no real big deal, I was going to post them anyway, why not win a prize for it, and the page owner sent me that skincare line that BB sells and some packets of Shakeology. Everything collected dust, and eventually made its way to the trash. I don't put random things on my face and I already heard enough crap about Shakeology to never put that crap in my body, plus, even if I had liked the samples, I knew I was never spending that much money on a protein shake.0
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