Lost in a multi-level marketing wilderness of pain

[Alexander's Horse]

and all the children are insane

Someone close to me, who is currently bankrupt and separated btw, lost everything, has got involved in multi-level marketing, an Amway variant called Network 21 to be precise. He is also a fervent disciple of Robert Kiyosaki, of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame/infamy.

I have spent the last two days wading through this crap, watching hours of soul-destroying U-tube almost worst than porn, trying to put together material to show what a scam the whole thing is, including Kyosaki, who is a complete fraud and closely affiliated with Amway, though he plays this down while covertly spruiking for them.

It's like trying to get someone released from a cult, worse in some ways, because what is obvious to me and most people is not obvious to people who get involved in these things. It is very sophisticated and plays on people's worst instincts, turns them against their family, all in the hopeless pursuit of wealth these schemes almost never deliver.

This guy said it best:



It's one of the hardest things I have done for a while. Here is the tragedy of it all:



Have you been involved in this stuff? Any ideas? My loved one is very fragile right now.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Christ, does that guy in the first video ever get to the point? Are we basically talking about a pyramid scheme here?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I'm strongly in favour of financial awareness being taught in schools, and this would be one of the topics covered. As "Pyramid schemes are strictly for morons".

[Aeson]

MLMs are very common here, especially with vitamin supplements. I get approached all the time by people selling vitamin-C or multivitamins as a cure for diabetes, asthma, AIDS, cancer ect. Of course it costs 10x as much as regular vitamin-C or multivitamins, and the sales-person basically ends up working for free for weeks, months, or years for little to no compensation (after being promised riches beyond their wildest dreams), rather than getting outrageous sums of money like P120 for a honest day's work.

Usually these MLMs are based in the US. They even use this as a selling point. "Made in the USA". They neglect to say that they can't sell the product in the US because it's crap, or at least doesn't do what they claim it does. If one of the products gets banned, they just make a new formulation, change the brand, and start again with the same network.

The first few times I tried explaining what was wrong with the claims, but now I just smile and say no thanks ... You can't compete with the dream if what you have to offer is (a rather sad) reality.

[Alexander's Horse]

Christ, does that guy in the first video ever get to the point? Are we basically talking about a pyramid scheme here?

I know but I think to reach people involved in these schemes you need someone who speaks very slowly and calmly.

[Alexander's Horse]

It did have its lighter moments

[Alexander's Horse]

some of it is cultish

[Alexander's Horse]

MLMs are very common here, especially with vitamin supplements. I get approached all the time by people selling vitamin-C or multivitamins as a cure for diabetes, asthma, AIDS, cancer ect. Of course it costs 10x as much as regular vitamin-C or multivitamins, and the sales-person basically ends up working for free for weeks, months, or years for little to no compensation (after being promised riches beyond their wildest dreams), rather than getting outrageous sums of money like P120 for a honest day's work.

Usually these MLMs are based in the US. They even use this as a selling point. "Made in the USA". They neglect to say that they can't sell the product in the US because it's crap, or at least doesn't do what they claim it does. If one of the products gets banned, they just make a new formulation, change the brand, and start again with the same network.

The first few times I tried explaining what was wrong with the claims, but now I just smile and say no thanks ... You can't compete with the dream if what you have to offer is (a rather sad) reality.

once these scams get people in, it's just tragic, exploiting the poor like that...

[Alexander's Horse]

aargh! who would want to be like these arseholes

[Alexander's Horse]

words fail me, this is part 2 of the mona vie "compensation plan" for flogging exorbitantly priced fruit juice, presented by the grifter above



Watching this crap has damaged my soul, I'd rather be poor

[Zevico]

Christ, does that guy in the first video ever get to the point? Are we basically talking about a pyramid scheme here?

Not technically. I suspect pyramid schemes as such are illegal near everywhere. Seems like very attractive puffery based on smoke and mirrors. For the desperate and easily taken in.

[Elok]

MLMs are pyramid schemes that aren't technically pyramid schemes because, in addition to forking over your own cash, you also sell crap at a high markup and then fork over most of the cash you get from other people as well. So, in a sense, it's worse. I knew someone once who got into it and actually made money because she was really good at networking it. She gave up on it eventually, though. Didn't ask why.

[Zevico]

Well it doesn't seem like a very rewarding career judging by your description. Maybe she got tired of running what seemed to be a (legal) scam.

[Elok]

I figured she'd saturated her market with the junk, nobody wanted to buy any more, so she got diminishing returns for her efforts, got bored and quit.

[Alexander's Horse]

let's get another word from our sponsor, it's out of order, but with gibber like this, I don't think it matters...



Is this guy on something? Oh right, Mona Vie....