Serious MLM question

[Anonymous]

My issue is that the sellers do not have to know anything about the products that they are selling before hitting the marketplace. If I go to the Clinique counter, I know those people have been trained on how to use those products and what they do. They're not dermatologists by any means but I know they do receive some training in what they are selling. Unlike the preschool teacher I know who now sells Rodan and Fields.

Same with William-Sonoma or Sur la Table with the equipment they sell. As opposed to my cousin, who has NEVER brought a home-cooked dish to any of the parties she has attended in the 40 years I have known her, who sells Pampered Chef. This woman could not boil water. It's almost comical.

I also hate the fact they seem to have no issue asking me to push their stuff on my friends (who they do not know). And they have no shame in asking--it's almost like they feel they are entitled to use my social media as an outlet for their stuff. It's mind-boggling.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see how someone can criticize a poster who brought up Sha’nnan Watts as an example just because she was murdered.

The issue here is her apparent success w/direct sales + marketing.....
Not how she died.
Two separate issues.

Her Facebook videos are typically showing the viewer how the company that she represents has provided her w/certain benefits her previous jobs never did.
She stated that she & her husband could never afford to travel much before she started “Thriving.”
Yes, she and her husband did have money issues.

But she also had her Lexus covered by her 800 company points and she traveled often w/every expense completely covered by Le•Vel.
Those are excellent benefits that no one can argue that not many jobs offer.
Plus at Thrive, you get paid 100% commissions every Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how someone can criticize a poster who brought up Sha’nnan Watts as an example just because she was murdered.

The issue here is her apparent success w/direct sales + marketing.....
Not how she died.
Two separate issues.

Her Facebook videos are typically showing the viewer how the company that she represents has provided her w/certain benefits her previous jobs never did.
She stated that she & her husband could never afford to travel much before she started “Thriving.”
Yes, she and her husband did have money issues.

But she also had her Lexus covered by her 800 company points and she traveled often w/every expense completely covered by Le•Vel.
Those are excellent benefits that no one can argue that not many jobs offer.
Plus at Thrive, you get paid 100% commissions every Tuesday.

Oh my gosh let it rest. MLMs are terrible and anyone who believes that garbage is not doing the research. You do not win the Lexus, they pay for the lease each month and if your numbers drop one month, you are then stuck with the lease. They are a cult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why? Because it’s an entire system set up to take advantage of unsuspecting sellers. It’s a pyramid scheme. Thousands of sellers are lured in with the promise of making it rich. It’s a scam. They put out thousands of dollars in buying the product, only to realize that the market is saturated and anything they sell provides a minimal return on investment.

I don’t want to be a part of that or encourage that.

Not all mlms are like that. I sell Younique. It cost me 99 for a kit of over 300 worth of makeup. I make 25- 30 % on anything I sell and I get paid off my downline. I don’t have to buy anything else if I don’t want. I use my y cash for my makeup. So I get most of my makeup for free. You can make alot of money with Younique if you are willing to work for it. If you want to be in the top 1 % of the company you have to do what the other 99% are too lazy and unwilling to do.

Ok, so how much did you make in 2018?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how someone can criticize a poster who brought up Sha’nnan Watts as an example just because she was murdered.

The issue here is her apparent success w/direct sales + marketing.....
Not how she died.
Two separate issues.

Her Facebook videos are typically showing the viewer how the company that she represents has provided her w/certain benefits her previous jobs never did.
She stated that she & her husband could never afford to travel much before she started “Thriving.”
Yes, she and her husband did have money issues.

But she also had her Lexus covered by her 800 company points and she traveled often w/every expense completely covered by Le•Vel.
Those are excellent benefits that no one can argue that not many jobs offer.
Plus at Thrive, you get paid 100% commissions every Tuesday.

Are you sure the lease on that Lexus was being paid by the company? Usually you have to sell A LOT to get the car "bonus" or else the company won't reimburse the lease--and she'd only been there for less than two years. I also doubt the company was covering all the travel and conference expenses. That's not how it works; you're usually paying 50% of the cost (plus airfare) unless you are at the top of the pyramid. I really doubt she moved that much product if her family was having financial difficulties.

[Anonymous]

This John Oliver video says it all:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI

[Anonymous]

I work for a software company that builds contact management systems for MLM reps. I have spent the past 15 years getting a close look at MLMs, working with top leaders as well as corporate entities.

I would never, ever sign up to be a rep for one of these companies, even to get discounted products.

That said, I have purchased products from a bunch of them with no regrets. The pricing can be competitive because MLM companies don't have to pay $$ for traditional advertising.

Another thing: MLM companies are not all created equal. There are some companies that I feel genuinely want to provide an opportunity for people to make some money working part time. These companies have very low (or no) cost to entry, provide training/tech for their reps, and have good products.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Younique’s rose mist.
But I am sure if I looked around, there would be a comparable mist somewhere else.

Sha’nnan Watts was very successful in her work for the MLM company Le Vel.
She made lots of commissions selling Thrive products which she heavily promoted.
She also earned the car bonus & was rewarded w/three free trips a year.
San Diego, Dominican Republic, New Orleans + Vega$.
She also got enough people working under her that she got the product for free.

While few and far between, it IS possible to be a huge success in MLM.

Wait, you’re propping up a woman who was murdered by her husband (while she was pregnant and who also killed their 2 young children) as an example of someone successful with MLMs??

And I heard that the husband was stressed about money problems...

Yes, the Watts family was very heavily in debt, had already filed for bankruptcy a few years earlier, and at the time of the murder was being sued by their homeowner’s association for not paying their dues.

Proof that even when people claim to be “very successful” in their MLM, when they plaster their “free trips” and “free car” all over Facebook...it usually just ain’t so.

Everything said above. The MLM only dug her a deeper grave so to speak.

[Anonymous]

Join "Sounds like MLM but Okay" on Facebook and thank me later. Absolutely hilarious/rage inducing.

[Anonymous]

I have seen a few of Shan’nan Watt’s LeVel/Thrive videos on YouTube & what she says about her company sounds way too good to actually be true.

No offense toward her (I think she was excellent & very experienced in sales).
But everything advertised by her sounds perfect.

She says she + Chris get all their product for free, she earned the eight-hundred car bonus points within 2 mos. of joining the company.
She claimed that since she started Thriving, she got her “happy” back.

She had lupus + fibromyalgia & said the products helped her pain.
She also said she had more energy, lost inches and had mental clarity.
Every time she went Live on Facebook, you would see her in her meticulously clean home, w/her adorable and outgoing kids plus her handsome/supportive husband in the background.

This is what I usually hear + see w/these pyramid schemes.
The seller/promoter will usually show others what a perfect life they live....due in large part to their product.
They claim they want to help you achieve the perfect life that they have.

In the beginning they will suck you in by pretending they are your best friend and before discussing their product, they begin by discussing what are your dreams in life? Goals??
That they truly care about YOU.
They want to see you financially blessed, etc.

Then they make claims that it is possible to make $3,000 in your first two weeks.
Good Christmas cash.

They prey on people who do not have much money and then they tempt them w/all the rewards....
Free car (Mercedes, BMV, Lexus....even a Tesla!!)
Free all-inclusive vacations to tropical locales.
Where even your meals and drinks are included.
Best of all, you can work from anywhere, anytime.

Perfect life, perfect pocketbook all the while brainwashing you and capitalizing on your weaknesses.
These Pyramid + Ponzi schemes need to be outlawed.
Ethically they are criminal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all MLMs require sellers to buy and stock inventory.

Name them.

Was this ever answered?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please Op, tell us what products are good. Waiting...

Not OP, but Rodan & Fields has an eyelash serum that's supposed to be very good. Of course there are non-MLM alternatives that I'm sure are equally good.

To answer OP's question, these companies have predatory and scammy business practices, so I don't like to support them. I also don't like to "open the door" to my friends who sell MLM...they get pushier if you buy once. I also don't like ordering through an individual. It's a pain to order and takes longer to receive what I ordered. I haven't come across a quality MLM product that didn't have a good alternative that could be purchased in the normal marketplace...if I did, maybe my views would change.

And you know what’s better and cheaper? GrandeLash on Amazon. I know because I use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all MLMs require sellers to buy and stock inventory.

Name them.

Was this ever answered?

I don’t think Usborne requires inventory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it's based on selling to your friends and family, which is crappy.

Many small and local businesses have gotten started by selling to friends, family, neighbors. Amazon and target didn’t start out as national name brand chains.

LOL. That sounds like a stupid canned response some MLM.

No, Target and Amazon did not start with a MLM-like selling model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Third recommendation for The Dream.

There is absolutely zero reason to support any MLM. The only people making money (and lots of it) are the owners. It's disgraceful.

Thanks to the PPs recommending this podcast. Very interesting so far. Needed something good to listen to while I clean house today.