Multilevel marketing is a nightmare

Interesting article about multilevel marketing businesses. As a Mary Kay husband, much of this rings true. That company isn't as bad as others because consultants aren't required to buy as much product, but it can dominate the household.

Curious what other MLM consultants and spouses think.

MLMs Are A Nightmare For Women And Everyone They Know

 

There was a (very) attractive girl on a flight back from Vegas a few months ago sitting right in front of me. She spent the entire flight posting pictures of herself in various poses on Instagram and does MLM for a hair company called Monat. I have seen her numerous Instagram posts since then (I saw her name on her phone) and it’s amazing how many women/moms tout Monat as a life altering product and that they are all making six figures doing it. This is no doubt BS but I find the whole thing fascinating anyway.

 

Used to see female friends on my Facebook feed post about having parties for things such as this. Never seemed to last too long. Hope they didn't get suckered.

 

I have no direct knowledge of this, but I’m pretty sure there’s a toy MLM scheme or two out there.

 

Sex toys and Tupperware.

 

The late , great George Miller, a frequent Letterman guest in the NBC days, told one of my favorite jokes. Said his neighborhood wasn’t the toughest. The go-to insult was, “Oh yeah? Well, your mother sells Amway products.”

 

The dream Drew Brees -- and AdvoCare -- is trying to sell

 

They're pretty much all crooked. Oliver did a good piece on them in November 2016. It seems like they always rise and fall in cycles, which is understandable - that allure to just be your own boss, with a minimal amount of work and a good return on reward, is always strong. I don't think that 'drive' is dissimilar from the people who swear that they can "beat" the stock market via daytrading.

 

My daughter runs in a group of about 6-7 friends, and the parents are friends-ish to varying degrees, some just Facebook friends, some closer than that.

About 2-3 years back, one of the mothers we are not particularly close with starts posting about Plexus, this miracle weight-loss drink/system. She had a typical mom body type, probably needing to lose about 30 pounds to get to her college level.

Anyway, about 2 weeks into this, she sends me a DM, about how she knows I desperately need to lose weight, get healthy and get in shape so my kids don't lose their father prematurely, and pitches Plexus to me. I took offense but fought the urge to respond.

Fast-forward to now - no mention of Plexus for years and she's probably about 40 pounds heavier now.

 

I love MLM. When I was unemployed, I finally got a good job. The opening was created when one of their guys quit to sell Equinox, which deals in some sort of shampoo. Oddly, while I was unemployed, one of my friends took me to an Equinox presentation. I had formerly covered UCLA. The Bruins had this loud airhorn that blared whenever they scored. The guy doing the Equinox presentation was guy in charge of the airhorn. I got him aside afterward and asked him if Airhorn Monitor was a scholarship position in the UCLA athletic department.
On the other hand, my wife and a friend started up with Arbonne. They had a kickoff party at our house and one person showed up. The only good part was our realtor stopped by with two bottles of wine. We enjoyed the wine.