--

Teacher/Dave sells a particularly magic ginseng preparation that he claims
has (somewhat) cured his emphysema. He has not, of course, specified in what
way his ginseng is different from that sold by hundreds of non-MLM
purveyors...if he knows.

--Rich

Of course.  Ask Michael Milken, Saadam Hussein, and some unnamed
Franciscan monk living in a hermitage. Each one will have a very
different definition of "success."

Dy definition, MLM success is inexorably linked to recruiting people
and building a downline. If you don't build an MLM downline, your only
source of income is by selling wildly overpriced MLM-channel products.
Only a miniscule percentage of people who attempt this will ever have
a remote chance at long term business success and stability.

In my experience, ALL MLM is based on the same general principles, and
the greed-factor is thick in all cases. There's this "achieve your
dreams" get-rich-quick lottery mentality in which up-line cheerleaders
are constantly banging the drum. This is an integral marketing
requirement of every MLM scheme I've ever seen. When recruitment is
the only way to make any real money, an almost cult-like mentality of
"get on board" religious salesmanship emerges. And this, my friend, is
terribly unhealthy.

They ALL promote magic in some way or another.

If you're not building a downline, then you're not personally engaged
in MLM. You're simply a reseller, and I have no problem with that.
Good luck making a living, however. At best, you'll be selling a jar
of this and a can of that to your friends. Ask yourself, is this
really how you want to live your life -- hawking magic to your friends
and family?

If you really want to "help people," I'm sure you could think of
dozens of ways within your own community to achieve this goal -- all
of which would give you a healthy and legitimate sense of
accomplishment and honorable self-worth.

Then again, if you're convinced that hawking MLM products to friends
and family is a high value in your life, who am I to argue? But I will
almost certainly guarantee you ==> if you tell this newsgroup exactly
what is you are selling, the exact chemical composition (if the mfr
tells you! many MLM companies keep it a "magic secret"), and the price
points per weight -- someone here will show you an identical (or
better) product that costs far less, and is not encumbered with MLM
stigma.

I'll be waiting.

Paige

The point that I was making is that the definition of "success" and of
"failure" has one meaning
to you, but could be defined differently by someone else. For example, Amway
is about making
money, not selling "soap". It attracts   "greedy" people. Most Amway
participants end up with
a basement full of "soap" and choose to think they have been duped. They
have alienated their family
and friends because they dragged them in as well. Greed does not form a very
solid basis for true
success.

On the other hand, lets say you became invoved in a MLM plan that offered a
meaningful product
that would help people become heathier. Lets say that people didn't have to
"recruit" anybody to do
this. Lets say that you didn't have to buy any particular amount of product
to do this. How would
this be uinethical? Would this attract "greedy" people? How can a dream be
shattered if the dream
was to help people?  How cynical are you? Greedy?

I really don't think so. But for the sake of argument, I'll concede
your point.  

However, I can speak for everyone when I point out that for every MLM
"success story," you'll find -hundreds- of dismal failures ...
shattered dreams that ultimately only served to enrich the top dogs in
the upline. This is only one of many reasons why MLM is inherently
unethical.

This MLM failure statisitic isn't my "opinion" -- it's fact.

- PT

You are confusing your personal values with everyone elses. You are
describing greed,
not a marketing program. The same marketing program could be  healthful for
right thinking
people. For you it would obviously be unhealthy. You are right to follow
your dream
and not become involved in MLM, but when you fight to impose your view on
others
to crush them you show a very mean spirit.

Exactly.

MLM ultimately turns 100% of our waking life into a "recruiting"
mindset. As we increasingly see every person as a "prospect" we
eventually undermine the sacred foundations of true family and
friendship. At best, it is a very unhealthy lifestyle.

PT

Excellent post. What you omitted was the fact that recruiting friends often
turns them into former friends.

I recently received some spam e-mail from a Multi-Level Marketing lady
hawking "Lifeforce" health products. She seems like a nice person, but
I had to tell her the truth. Here's my reply:

................

Thanks xxxxxx, but I'm already too familiar with the perverse
influences of MLM. It's an unhealthy, all-consuming lifestyle.

For starters, the goods sold via multi-level marketing will, by the
fundamental nature of MLM, exhibit artificially inflated end-user
prices. This borders on unethical because there are any number of
"down-line" payoffs which had nothing to do with the sale, other than
"signing up new recruits" in a ideal endless pyramid. Take any MLM
product and sell it via a traditional chain (mfr ==>
wholesale/distribution ==> retailer) and that same product will
generally sell for a fraction of its MLM pyramidal mark ups.

MLM has the added dimension of recruitment, which is contrary to both
efficiency and fairness. Building one's down-line is the only viable
method for serious MLM prosperity, and such a scheme is largely
dependent upon "who arrived first" to the party, not necessarily the
skill or perseverance of the individual. Take any MLM model to its
extreme and we run out of people to recruit. Such MLM schemes are
almost always accompanied by a strong "motivational" agenda, sometimes
bordering on cult-like ritual.

For proof, simply take a look at MLM's biggest success story. Amway's
most recent SA-4400 report (as required by FTC) shows an extreme
degree of down-line turnover and the need for top-level distributors
(of which there are in reality very few) to continually harvest new
down-line. At the top, it's not about "product" but almost entirely
focused on motivation and cheer leading -- feeding people their daily
dose of dreams. It's well established that less than 1% of people who
become multi-level distributors ever turn a true profit, and that
those who achieve a sustainable living are a much smaller percentage
still.

Distributors are fond of calling MLM the "wave of the future." But
after 50+ years of MLM, far less than 1% of all retail sales are made
via MLM models. And most of those new sales are from hopeful new
distributors who are "paying the price of admission to a business they
will soon abandon." Xxxxxx, you seem to have convinced yourself that
all is well in pyramid land. But for every MLM "success story" there
are untold masses of burnt out wannabes who worked hard to grow a
business, enriching their up-line in the process, but ultimately
becoming just another sad MLM statistic. I would not want this on my
conscious.

Indeed, MLM is growing -- in the same way legalized gambling and
lotteries are growing. The compulsive desire to "get rich quick" and
"live the life" is more powerful now than at any time in American, and
perhaps world, history. And just as obsessive gambling can destroy
families, MLM marketing tends to commercialize and cheapen family and
friendship relationships. It's an MLM lesson I learned long ago --
friends and family are not business prospects. Such a mind-set
(pervasive in MLM) can pervert natural affection and the very
foundations of filial love and trust, ultimately alienating us from
authentic relationships. When everyone is a "prospect" -- we lose
sense of authentic human and spiritual value.

The FTC's MLM warning page
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pyrdalrt.htm

Best wishes to you,
PT

Some people confuse an MLM marketing plan with the illegal pyramids  that
were prevalent in the 1970's. Because they harmed people, financially,
pyramid schemes have been outlawed by both lawmakers and the public.

The assumption that all MLM companies are scams shows a very cynical and dim
view of all people
because MLM's are about people. Millions of people. When you call an MLM a
bad thing, you are calling all those people stupid or crooked, or however
that negative thinking goes.

One person on this newsgroup summed up the whole point of the MLM concept
(and showed where his knowledge of an MLM came from) by saying his parents
are Amway Distributors, but, he said thats alright because they just sell
soap to their friends. Amway has the most intrusive marketing plan of any
MLM that I know, but his parents are able to participate in whatever way
they wish. That is the whole spirit of the MLM concept. Its not about evil
companies. Its not about evil company founders. Its about the people. Its
called an "opportunity" because it allows people who don't have the
capabilities to found a corporation, to have a business of their own, with
no appreciable investment, part time or fulltime. They have the choice to
offer for sale products to their friends, relatives or
strangers. It is their own choice. They can sponsor and train others if they
wish. Or not.

So to make a sweeping statement that MLM's are a scam, would be ignorant.