MLM Madness among "Real Life" Friends

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LongingSoul said:
The ones that do make the money have to have sold their soul to the basic secret. That is that success depends on the someone getting screwed over in the end. Profits made in pyramid schemes are dirty money.
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Exactly.

If I hear one more time, “I’ve been challenged by my director to . . . . . . (fill in the blank).” I will scream.
 
Not sure if you knew this, but many of these people try (some succeed) at writing off huge losses on their tax returns as self-employment losses. It offsets DHs income–assuming–and they recoup money that way.

I always refuse to file those returns! The stories I can tell on this end.
 
1990Domer said:
Not sure if you knew this, but many of these people try (some succeed) at writing off huge losses on their tax returns as self-employment losses. It offsets DHs income–assuming–and they recoup money that way.

I always refuse to file those returns! The stories I can tell on this end.
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Oooo–that’s a new wrinkle.

I’d hate to explain that stuff to the IRS.
 
Xantippe said:
Oooo–that’s a new wrinkle.

I’d hate to explain that stuff to the IRS.
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One of the major themes of a “training” session I attended was basically all tax evasion. Corporate can probably get away with it because it’s “unofficial.” There’s lots on the Pink Truth website about how some training materials “disappear” from time to time.

At that one, too, I saw the national director wince when the new director we were supposed to be congratulating let slip that she’d signed up a fake consultant (and purchased materials herself) to qualify. Oops, not a good thing to let the newbies overhear!
 
pensmama87 said:
One of the major themes of a “training” session I attended was basically all tax evasion. Corporate can probably get away with it because it’s “unofficial.” There’s lots on the Pink Truth website about how some training materials “disappear” from time to time.

At that one, too, I saw the national director wince when the new director we were supposed to be congratulating let slip that she’d signed up a fake consultant (and purchased materials herself) to qualify. Oops, not a good thing to let the newbies overhear!
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Noooooo!
 
maryjk said:
Keep claiming losses and the IRS will conclude that your “business” is a hobby.
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Exactly correct, but the IRS are short-staffed, so fewer of these audits. But, I wouldn’t want it on my conscience!
 
pensmama87 said:
One of the major themes of a “training” session I attended was basically all tax evasion. Corporate can probably get away with it because it’s “unofficial.” There’s lots on the Pink Truth website about how some training materials “disappear” from time to time.

At that one, too, I saw the national director wince when the new director we were supposed to be congratulating let slip that she’d signed up a fake consultant (and purchased materials herself) to qualify. Oops, not a good thing to let the newbies overhear!
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Oh…I need to check this out! Thanks for the info!
 
maryjk said:
Exactly.

If I hear one more time, “I’ve been challenged by my director to . . . . . . (fill in the blank).” I will scream.
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That’s the part that really gets to me. Isn’t the product supposed to stand on its own? When I buy a product and then go back and buy again, it is because I liked it. Most businesses that I buy from don’t beg me to help them meet their quota, they try to interest me in their product or service.

Right now in my very small town, we have three or four people trying to sell the shakes, another two selling the wraps, and many selling the bracelets. I can’t imagine why the third person down in the pecking order thought a population of under 10,000 could possibly support three sellers of the same items…
 
HouseArrest said:
That’s the part that really gets to me. Isn’t the product supposed to stand on its own? When I buy a product and then go back and buy again, it is because I liked it. Most businesses that I buy from don’t beg me to help them meet their quota, they try to interest me in their product or service.

Right now in my very small town, we have three or four people trying to sell the shakes, another two selling the wraps, and many selling the bracelets. I can’t imagine why the third person down in the pecking order thought a population of under 10,000 could possibly support three sellers of the same items…
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Exactly. Recruit all your friends, and suddenly you have no customers and neither do they. 🤷

When I am asked for advice on this, I recommend that if you really, really like the particular products, you’ll save way more by looking on eBay than by signing up “just for the discount.” Though most companies have comparable competition that sell in regular stores, too.
 
LongingSoul said:
The ones that do make the money have to have sold their soul to the basic secret. That is that success depends on the someone getting screwed over in the end. Profits made in pyramid schemes are dirty money.
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That’s one thing I’ve worried about with my friend who has clearly been successful at this (I won’t go into all the details but he makes *very *good money at it, to the point that he goes to the national conferences and has met with the CEO). I don’t broach the topic with him anymore because he tends to get very upset if you mention pyramids around him and he doesn’t have any intentions of changing.

As far as Mary Kay goes, I know a lot of people who tried selling it. They all lost a lot of money, one to the point of bankruptcy. On the plus side, my wife got lots of cheap Mary Kay stuff whenever any of them went out of business and liquidated their inventory.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
That’s one thing I’ve worried about with my friend who has clearly been successful at this (I won’t go into all the details but he makes *very *good money at it, to the point that he goes to the national conferences and has met with the CEO). I don’t broach the topic with him anymore because he tends to get very upset if you mention pyramids around him and he doesn’t have any intentions of changing.
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Your friend may be making tons of money. If you really want to know? The next time he brings it up, ask him if you can see his schedule C.

I was part of a MLM.

I did really well. I went to the National Conference. I got to meet with the Founder/CEO. That year? I made a grand total of about $500. For the year. :mad: That year, I was asked to speak at our local conference. Me. The great success. 🤷

I got out not long after that.
 
Oh my goodness.

They do seem to pay mostly in warm fuzzies, don’t they?
maryjk said:
Your friend may be making tons of money. If you really want to know? The next time he brings it up, ask him if you can see his schedule C.

I was part of a MLM.

I did really well. I went to the National Conference. I got to meet with the Founder/CEO. That year? I made a grand total of about $500. For the year. :mad: That year, I was asked to speak at our local conference. Me. The great success. 🤷

I got out not long after that.
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Yes, these companies sell through relationships–and ruin them. I could never put friends or relatives on the spot like this.

I once answered an ad for a Christian stay at home job that stated no selling but it was a pyramid scheme to recruit new people. To stay with the company you had to buy 70.00 a month of products for yourself. I never heard of mlm companies at the time.

When they asked to conference call my friends and relatives to help recruit them -I said no- they told me they had to “prune” me as I was a dead branch and was not producing " Good fruit". It took me a few months to stop the shipping of the 70.00 items too.
 
mommy_k said:
Yes, these companies sell through relationships–and ruin them. I could never put friends or relatives on the spot like this.

I once answered an ad for a Christian stay at home job that stated no selling but it was a pyramid scheme to recruit new people. To stay with the company you had to buy 70.00 a month of products for yourself. I never heard of mlm companies at the time.

When they asked to conference call my friends and relatives to help recruit them -I said no- they told me they had to “prune” me as I was a dead branch and was not producing " Good fruit". It took me a few months to stop the shipping of the 70.00 items too.
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Ugh, I’m so sorry. Good on you for sticking up to them.

I really hate that they play up the “Christian,” “family” angles. It’s horrible manipulation, but with that angle I think people put their guard down.
 
Yes, pennsmama, it was very misleading. I thought it was for typing or crafting religious items because the ad said-no selling.
 
mommy_k said:
Yes, these companies sell through relationships–and ruin them. I could never put friends or relatives on the spot like this.

I once answered an ad for a Christian stay at home job that stated no selling but it was a pyramid scheme to recruit new people. To stay with the company you had to buy 70.00 a month of products for yourself. I never heard of mlm companies at the time.

When they asked to conference call my friends and relatives to help recruit them -I said no- they told me they had to “prune” me as I was a dead branch and was not producing " Good fruit". It took me a few months to stop the shipping of the 70.00 items too.
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Yuck!
 
pensmama87 said:
Ugh, I’m so sorry. Good on you for sticking up to them.

I really hate that they play up the “Christian,” “family” angles. It’s horrible manipulation, but with that angle I think people put their guard down.
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It’s especially nasty to emphasize “family” when they then go on to tell people to lie to their spouses.

Blech.
 
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