Have you ever been involved with Multi-Level-Marketing?

[NurseJackie]

Did you make any money? Back in the 70's I sold Viviane Woodard and Tupperware... briefly. It was fun, but it wasn't profitable. I think I sold more to MYSELF than anyone else. After I'd bugged all my family members and friends, the market kinda fizzled out. (But, with the cosmetics, I did get some repeat business.)

Oh... here's what made me think of it.

https://wamu.org/story/21/09/22/hey-hun-want-to-talk-about-mlms/

The documentary exposed the inner workings of the MLM business model. These companies recruit contractors to sell their products and recruit more independent contractors. The more people a contractor brings into the company, the more money they stand to gain.

Many of these businesses recruit their contractors through flattery and promises of wild riches. However, according to one estimate, only 25 percent of those in an MLM turn a profit. And the Federal Trade Commission has even designated some MLMs as pyramid schemes.

19 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	No.
	11 (58%)
	Yes... skin & cosmetics.
	2 (11%)
	Yes... health & nutrition.
	0 (0%)
	Yes... fashion.
	0 (0%)
	Yes... housewares & decor.
	0 (0%)
	Yes... cooking & kitchen.
	1 (5%)
	Yes... a combination of these.
	3 (16%)
	Yes... other.
	2 (11%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[NewHendoLib]

1. two things - fools and their money are soon parted. and..

I could or would never do that to friends and family.

I have relatives that coyly pushed their garbage on me - that ruined those relationships.

[NurseJackie]

2. Fortunately, I wasn't too aggressive and when their interest waned...

... so did my enthusiasm. But at the time (in my neck of the woods) if you wanted Tupperware, you went to a Tupperware party or ordered from the person who gave you a catalog/order-sheet.

[Aristus]

3. I've been approached a number of times.

Long ago, I worked in a bookstore for minimum wage. It was a dead-end job, but it paid (some of the ) bills until I could get a better-paying job. And I loved books, so that was cool. I was good at my job, and usually pretty good with customers.

Every so often, I would have some smarmy guy approach me after I had done a good customer service job. They would invariably start out with "You seem like a real go-get-'em kind of guy who knows what he wants. How would you like to be your own boss and make a lot more money than you're making right now. I'd like to run some numbers by you."

I caught on pretty quickly that these guys were pushing a scam, so I stopped being polite and stopped listening to their spiel. I would just say "No, thanks. I'm not interested."

I always pitied people who got caught up in the direct marketing treadmill...

[NurseJackie]

5. Yeah... that whole approach is like a creepy used-car-salesman.

"Act now! Have I got a deal for you! Get rich!"

When I sold cosmetics and tupperware, I was just looking for some supplemental money... not really expecting to get rich or be a queen of requiters.

[Shellback Squid]

4. and it was a mistake, was invited to a Amway convention, Ken and Barbie wantabe's

it was a cult

[NurseJackie]

7. That's a good description... cult.

[3Hotdogs]

6. Friend's sister got into Mary Kay.

Ended up with a Cadillac and a garage full of unsold stuff.

Probably would have been better if she just bought the car.

[NurseJackie]

8. Some of the vintage cologne bottles sell well to ebay collectors.

[keithbvadu2]

9. Yes. I got talking into scamway. Got soured on it immediately when the very first product I sold had

Yes. I got talking into scamway. Got soured on it immediately when the very first product I sold had a price hike from the catalog they gave me. I had to tell the customer it was going to cost more. It was the last thing I sold for them. I considered that buying the kit was a waste of money for a few cheap products. I have been approached several times afterwards about it and they always hid the fact that it was scamway until you get there for the presentation. A friend of mine told me to always ask to see their tax schedule of self-employment income. Most don't want you to see the small gain or most likely a loss. The real money is in selling seminars and motivational material to your downline. That's where the big boys make the big bucks.

[NurseJackie]

11. It sounds so easy... until you get started.

Glad you got out quickly.

[Mme. Defarge]

10. I signed up as a Nu Skin distributor

because I liked their skincare products - high quality ingredients - and wanted to buy them at wholesale prices. Never tried reselling them and was never pressured by the company to increase my sales volume.

[NurseJackie]

13. Yes... buying Viviane Woodard at wholesale for my own use was a nice perk.

[csziggy]

12. The closest I got was to be solicited to sign up as a Mary Kay person

The bookkeeper at my CPA's office tried to get me to sign up. Major difficulties - I am allergic to scents and back then, Mary Kay products stank to high heaven, plus I did not wear make up. I'm not sure what her thought process was but she got so obnoxious about calling to pester me I spoke to the CPA about what she was doing and he shut her down cold.

He didn't fire her, but made it clear that if she tried to approach another of his clients for something like that, she would be out on her ass. She was very cold and rude to me after that. That was OK since I no longer needed the bookkeeping part of the CPA's business. I'd bought my first computer and found a checkbook program which was sufficient for allocating expenses and income. I paid for the computer by what I saved the first year alone in bookkeeping fees.

Best revenge I could have gotten!

[Mr.Bill]

14. My mom sold Tupperware in the early 50s.

No idea if she made any money, but I still have and use some of the old stuff. She knew enough about the gig that she hooked upn with a dealer in the 60s and got real good at just letting our house be used for the parties. Several times a month for awhile. Back then you got lots of free stuff and discounts just for throwing a successful party. The more the party sold, the more stuff she got. She tapped into every network she had access to in order to get people for parties. PTA, Boy Scout moms, moms of kids on sports teams with me, wives of people my dad worked with, etc.

In the 70s, she became a part time Travel Agent and found out if you sell ten cabins on a cruise ship, you get one free. She and my dad went on over 20 Caribbean cruises for free. I even went on one free as the "Tour Director". Smart lady for someone who dropped out of the ninth grade to take care of her sick mom.

[NurseJackie]

16. I found this... it made me chuckle a little bit...

[Mr.Bill]

18. My living room in the 60s.

And they really did dress like that, too. I scammed a small B & W TV for my bedroom so I could retreat to there during the parties. For the younger folks here, a TV in your bedroom when you were ten years old in the early 60s was a major score. Next best thing (especially for girls) was an extension phone in your bedroom. In High School my girlfriend had recieved her own private line in her room as a 16th Birthday present. She was queen of the neighborhood. She realized years later it was really a gift her parents gave themselves to get her off their phone.

[keithbvadu2]

21. Norma

[NurseJackie]

22. Ha!

[FakeNoose]

25. Tupperware was/is an awesome product

It moved to grocery store / retail sales long ago, and I'm pretty sure they're still in business. It sounds like your Mom had a good head on her shoulders, and she had an instinct for sales. A lot of times women start out great, and then they find out how hard it is to sell things. So they don't stick with it. Your Mom must have been special.

[Totally Tunsie]

30. It starts with the Tupper family itself.

The campus of my university was built on land donated by Dr. Earl Tupper, the founder of Tupperware. It's a beautiful spot - 220 acres of rolling hillside in Smithfield, RI, and is now known as The Tupper Campus of Bryant University. Prior to Dr. Tupper's donation, the school was located within walking distance of downtown Providence, on College Hill and right next to Brown University. Brown later enveloped the old Bryant campus in a large expansion. It was a win-win for both schools.

https://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/hist_photos/17/

Dr. Earl S. Tupper: the man who made Bryant's dream come true

In 1967, Bryant President E. Gardner Jacobs learned that Mr. Tupper wished to sell his 220-acre estate located in Smithfield. Tupper had initially expected a price between $75,000.00 and $100,000.00. Gardner Jacobs met with Earl Tupper in his suite at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Providence to discuss the goals of Bryant College; foremost being a site for the new campus. Mr. Tupper was so impressed with Bryant's ideals that on October 24, 1967 he signed the papers donating his property, which included the historic Captain Joseph Mowry homestead, to Bryant College. Now Bryant University, the institution still resides on this same parcel of land so generously bestowed in 1967. At Bryant's 1968 Commencement Earl S. Tupper was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.

[pidge]

34. A grandson goes there.....great place.I was unaware of the Tupper connection.

[Totally Tunsie]

35. Your grandson will get a great education at Bryant.

It's a wonderful school in every aspect, and well regarded by the business community.

I had the best of both Bryants. Did my first stint at the old campus in Providence right after high school, but went long enough for only my Associate's degree. Being able to easily take advantage of all that Providence offers was a plus. I finished up with my BSBA after marriage and living in CA/IL when hubby and I were transferred back to MA. We lived near the MA/RI border so it was only 20 minutes to the Smithfield campus.

[pidge]

37. He loves it...even spent a couple of weeks on a school educational trip to Singapore.

[Totally Tunsie]

38. Fabulous!

He must have worked hard to earn that opportunity.

Your pride is showing, Gram!

[Johnny2X2X]

15. I've been pitched a few times

I live in West Michigan, Amway headquarters. So the Amway MLM has been pitched to me more than once. And another couple ones too.

My question to them is always, "So, do you make your money by actually selling these products, or do you make your money by holding these events and getting other people to sign up?" It destroys them every time.

I mean, hey, if you could see yourself pitching the MLM in a room of strangers like that and successfully getting them to sign up, maybe it's for you. But there's very little money in the actual business other than that.

[Mr.Bill]

20. Did you ever hear the line "There is no selling involved at all...

because these products sell themselves"?

In the 70s they were trying to get you to come hear about a "business opportunity", but they refused to tell you what it was.

[Johnny2X2X]

26. YEs

MLMs are all the same, you're not selling products, you're selling "businesses." Getting people to sign up and them to sign more people up is how you build your network and make money.

Amway figured out long ago, that they could tweak their pyramid scheme just so and pay a mountain of money to lawyers to continue to dance all over the line between legal and illegal. They used it to become multi billionaires and major GOP donors.

To be successful in a MLM, you have to be willing to get your friends, family, and neighbors to sign up for the scam too.

[MiniMe]

17. The main goal of all of those things seems to be to recruit other people

I never got involved with any of it.

[Ocelot II]

19. No, and was never interested, since I have no sales ability whatsoever.

I hated even having to sell Girl Scout cookies back in the days when you went door to door because it meant I had to interact with strangers, which terrified me and to some extent still does. However, I have attended sales parties for jewelry (cheap costume stuff which I bought anyhow because the party was held by a co-worker and I didn't want to seem like a poop), Pampered Chef (by another co-worker, same result, that stuff is expensive), and some kind of energy/nutrition product (yet another co-worker, icky taste, no obvious results). None of these people stayed with these efforts for very long.

[Mr.Bill]

23. My Granddaughter

is 30 years old and is a stay at home mom. She sells cosmetics (she is a licensed Cosmetologist, so she's pretty knowledgeable) and inexpensive jewelry and does very well at it. These days it's all about doing it on the internet and she is very good at that. She demos the products with videos on Facebook. It's nothing that will get her rich, but she makes money without having to pay for day care for her three year old son.

[LAS14]

24. Shackly (I think) cleaning products. But I never bumped into the cult-type culture.

I just did it for a few months, maybe a year. Can't remember if I made any money or not.

[NurseJackie]

27. I bought a box of Shaklee laundry detergent from a co-worker who was selling it.

As a courtesy... it wasn't that great. (I was always better off buying Girl Scout cookies from co-workers who had daughters in the Girl Scouts.)

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Their Formula Is Junk

Same with the Amway "fizzy" powdered laundry.
They use way too much sodium lauryl sulfate which has poor hard water tolerance. Just a few ppm causes precipitation and reduces micellar concentration.
The Shaklee product used to have actual soap in it too. It's very hard water intolerant & works poorly in warm or cold water.
Those products are all hype and are FAR inferior to most store brands.

[slightlv]

28. I did well back in the 70's with Tupperware

made manager in less than a month. That's when you begin to make some money. But it's only because you're so busy recruiting new members and holding parties yourself that you have no time for anything else, and I really, really wanted to go to college. So, I quit. But it was a good transition from AF to private life to Academia for me. Sure wouldn't do it again, tho. I was a much more energetic, outgoing person then than I am now. Mom often said I could sell ice to an Alaskan.

[Amishman]

29. Family member for sucked in with Norwex

Such a waste; mediocre products at stupid high prices. Glad she wished up eventually

[TlalocW]

31. I've been pitched a few times and my sister and BIL signed me up for Amway when I was in high school

Because I was, not joking, an excellent sales person. Sold more magazines for Prom, broke records at telemarketing jobs, etc. I don't begrudge their doing it. They were young, and you look to make money fast, and they didn't understand the concept of an MLM/triangle scheme because they weren't as prevalent when they were younger (they're 15 years older) so they might not have been studied them in school. Later on in life, their daughter (my niece but just 4 years younger than I) and then-husband got into selling MonaVie, and I bought bottles of it from them to be nice. I doubt it did anything, but I liked the taste and did craft activities with the empty bottles. Oh, also in high school, my best friend and I sat through a CutCo pitch, and the guy giving it was surprised (and a little upset) that we didn't sign up for it, but we had had the aforementioned lesson in them in class that my sister and BIL hadn't and discussed it during a break in the spiel. We hung around for giggles.

So I never participated in one, really, and my family members who did never did great with it.

TlalocW

[liberaltrucker]

33. Went to an Amway "meeting" once

Smelled the bullshit about 10 minutes in and left.

[yonder]

36. I never got sucked into it, but brushed against it a few times.

A friends dad was a big time Shaklee distributor for years. Their full basement was packed to the gills with that shit.

My stepmom was an Avon customer and dabbled in sales just a bit. For years, those products were everyone's Christmas gifts - still have a 45 year old rusty can of borax-like, granular hand soap in the garage. It still works.

I had a kooky, pentecostal boss who thought it was okay to hold "bible studies" in the shop area of our company during lunch. He was also heavily involved in Amway which he relentlessly pushed to most everyone he came into contact with.

[JanMichael]

39. Our (USA) economy is a giant swindling machine so yes, I have.

The whole thing is a Ponzi scheme.

[vercetti2021]

40. MLMs are full of antivaxxers

Mainly to push the essential oils that you can give your kids instead

[vanlassie]

41. Podcast: "The Dream". All about the industry.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/slate.com/business/2018/12/multilevel-marketing-podcast-review-the-dream-facebook.amp

[Xolodno]

42. Was pitched a couple of times when I didn't know what they inviting me for....

One was for Amway, had no interest in being a "pusher". Some people I talked to said some of their products were good (like their soap) and I thought "ok, maybe there is a bit of a discount or something and I'll just buy some stuff every once in awhile". Nope, not worth it. And that was the end of that.

Another time, someone I knew heard I was starting to look for another job and was looking for something a bit professional before I graduated college. So he said the company he worked for was looking for people like me and they were in the supplement and make-up business. Thought, "oh cool, paid internship". Dressed up in a suit, went to a nice office in Costa Mesa and I was thinking, "nice and posh". Once I found out it was a MLM...realized I got dressed for nothing and wasted a bunch of gas. Told them thanks, but no thanks.

And the last one, this is a bit different and was from Herbal Life. Didn't want me to push the MLM, but actually wanted me at their HQ as an analyst. I politely declined.

[Wicked Blue]

43. Tupperware

Once I saw the presentation done by the woman who was training me, I was turned off completely.

They wanted me to prey on my friends, and I hated that.