How do you respond when a friend tries to.....

Friend of a friend got into that one... Made enough pretty quick to buy a really nice car, a Bentley or something, with the supplemental cash to his normal job then the bottom fell out. At least, he was approved for a loan to have the car but ended up having to sell it at a big loss once the pyramid thing fell apart.

 

Not sure about amway (been a while since my grandparents sold it) but my wife sells Avon.... Similar deal, pay $10 they give you some sales flyers and contact info to order crap. She does it as a side gig and makes more money then I expected. The lady above her makes $100k a year, and she is a LONG way from the top..... Guess its all in what you get into. A friend tried to get me into a pyramid scheme phone deal years ago, and that one actually turned out to be a scam.... So some are partially legit, others probably not.

 

Sorry, but I'm not sure I understand what point you are trying to make.

 

I remember some racers out here trying to suck me in with that stuff. I told them I didn't need any high priced kool-aid in a wine bottle.

 

The Avon crap, you can make a nice bit of change with that if you hustle your ass off. Mary Kay, same thing. Pampered Chef seems to be another that you can make some money at, until everyone else in the area starts getting in on it.

But you need to WORK your ass off at it like most things in life.

 

I recognized that he was trying to make fun of an ad, I just didn't (and still don't) get why it's relevant to the post I made.

 

I lost a friend to one of these "businesses" once. They were selling insurance and financial planning . They got people fired up to sell for them as independent contractors and had them going to so many meetings that they would get amped up but ultimately they were actually wearing them down.

They would get them to invest a bunch of money to get started up, and they would push them real hard to bring in friends and family. The thing that finally made me lose him as a friend is that I'm pretty sure they slowly get their new little minions to cut off anyone who is not "on board". So, eventually they cut off contact with everyone who doesn't jump in. I guess it's more of a cult than anything.

This financial service/insurance company was a real scary deal and I can't remember their name. I think there was a thread on here once about them.

 

OK, thanks, Mongo. I would never have made that connection - I know some smart people who have degrees from University of Phoenix, so I always assumed that it's more about what you put into and get from your education than the school name on the diploma.

Anyway, the two Monavie losers I know went to Clemson and UK

 

Why is it always the same dipshits that get all excited over and over again about the new hot MLM scam? They seem to be immune to learning anything about themselves.

 

My cousin told me she lives on the "cul de sac from hell" because every house has somebody selling some crap.

While it may not technically be a pyramid scheme, it is a scam when there is more incentive to sign up people below you than to sell the actual product.

 

In case anyone was interested, this particular one was Ambit Energy. Most of what I read up on it pointed to a whole lot of dissatisfied people.

 

This. The guy that tried to sell me Amway twenty years ago had been at it for days before I figured out what it was Amway actually 'sold'. Which makes sense, I guess, in that the real business model isn't selling 'stuff' but rather selling other people on being part of the scheme.

 

I look at UofP as an MLM. They certainly operate on the same principles. (hard sell and grandiose promises of "rewards") Only difference is the "hook" with which they use to lure you in.

 

I had a good friend try to sell us the Monavie crap... Went to meet him..... tried it... And I said.... That craps like Koolaide.... And your liking it right!

 

Another serious drawback to the pyramid schemes is that they are ILLEGAL! Mt neighbor was all gung ho on the airplane scheme from 30 years ago. You bought in as a passenger for 1 grand. After you sold 5 "seats" (mostly to friends and neighbors) and passed the money up the line you became the co-pilot....after they sold 5 seats apiece and passed the money up to you etc etc ........
I tried to explain to him how it couldn't work....looked up ponzi scheme in the encylopedia for him YET he still insisted on joining up. When the shit hit the fan he got arrested (along with many others) got fined and had to pay restitution. The scheme busted up many friendships, families caused some divorces....it hurt went on and on.

 

Seriously?

OK, thanks for sharing.