let's discuss MLMs, Pyramid Schemes, and Grindset Culture

PODCAST
for extra content every Wednesday 😈

SUPPORT

SOCIALS

PRODUCTION
written by Ella Gray and Mina Le
Edited by Charlee Reiff

SOURCES

Multilevel Marketing: A Historical Perspective by William W. Keep and Peter Vander Nat (2013)
Avon Products 1964-2014: The Slippery Slope of Direct Selling by William W. Keep (2015)
Islamic Marketing: Understanding the Socio-Economic, Cultural, and Politico-Legal Environment (Management for Professionals) by Cedomir Nestorovic

0:00 - intro
4:22 - history
13:01 - gender
19:27 - religion
25:34 - vulnerability
29:01 - conclusion

[taylorg]

To be clear, the MLM "business owners" don't actually purchase the product at a wholesale price. The actual company purchases the products at a wholesale price and sells it to their distributors for a huge profit, and then the distributor's upline also takes a large percentage of whatever sale the distributor makes. The issue here is that the distributors ARE the customer, the company survives off of turning their employees into customers, and often set a mandatory amount of stock that the distributors have to buy regularly in order to stay with the company regardless of whether they've sold their previous stock or not.

[SimsMovieNetwork]

me thinking mina paused to elaborate more on her gay fanfic referencing but she instead is just defending her curtains

[starburrow]

After I read the title I spent so long wondering what man love man stories had to do with scamming and grindset culture, I feel so dumb...

[gigitastic]

As a disabled person I feel like MLM's severely prey on my community. Many of us struggle to work outside of the home, getting disability benefits is a nightmare to go through that I would not wish on my worst enemy, and even when you do get those much needed benefits the amount still leaves you well belove the poverty level. Legitimate work from home jobs are hard to find and I feel people turn to MLM's thinking they might be "safe" option. They aren't and then people who have the most to lose end up losing what little they have. Not to mention how one of the major sections of the MLM market is sketchy health stuff that promises to make all your issues better if you only drink these oils or take this shake. I once was stuck at an MLM party at salon and the woman hosting told me that the Young Living oils would stop cancer and Ebola among other things that someone else might believe like drinking the oils would help my acid reflux. I thankfully had a mom who worked in health care and pharmaceuticals and knew right away her claims were false. Still there are many people who don't know these things and could easily fall victim in their desperation for better health.

[sapphic.flower]

Even though MLM uniquely targets women, a lot of its slander end up framing women overall as naive or selfish when we completely overlook the companies’ deliberate recruitment strategies and gendered marketing. Especially with the rise of NFT and AI bros, it goes to show that although women can be more vulnerable, they’re not any more delusional than a man when it comes to get-rich-quick schemes.

[af]

Here's a f***ed up story: when I was 16, I enrolled in "modeling classes" (yup, big yikes), with their promise to sign me after I took the class. The class was $600-$900 I believe, and I saved up my minimum wage dollars to pay for half of it. One of the reasons why it was so expensive was that the cost included a REQUIRED purchase of $200 worth of ARBONNE makeup and skincare products. This was "to ensure you had 'model skin'". Multiply that by that by 10 girls for each class and wow---you racked up some dollars. My teacher then bragged to us she was going to Hawaii with the Agency owner because they successfully sold so much product, Arbonne was GIFTING them a trip.

They weren't successful salespeople, they fed on the hopes and dreams of young girls and scammed them, by FORCING them to buy product. Love these MLMs man lmao.

[NoMoreCrumbs]

In the list of 10 reasons why the LDS dominate pyramid schemes, there's an important omission: these companies have a stranglehold on local and state governments in Utah. Their lobbying is so intense that the representatives in these government organizations routinely push to keep them legal even while they impoverish their employees

[fmartou]

I'm from Poland and here we have a meme joke, that your friend from primary school reaches out to you to say sorry for bullying you and then they go straight to "do you want anything from avon?" xd

[KattKirsch]

Herbalife: "We don't target the Hispanic Community"

Also Herbalife: ✨ E X T R A V A G A N Z A L A T I N A ✨

[angpina]

MLMs are heinous. I’m still in a Herbalife home, and my mom is very relentless when it comes to marketing. We recently moved and it’s been hard on her because she basically lost her whole down line when going from a heavy latino community to our now very white one without being able to speak English. I feel bad for her. She keeps trying to make me sell stuff with her and she’s guilting me into being part of her downline and I refuse to recruit people but it sucks. I once asked her if she wanted to donate Herbalife stuff to a high school thing and she said that I should get the names and email of anyone interested in Herbalife to sell it, which is not allowed so she refused to donate. It’s hellish. Every morning I drink a Herbalife protein shake. If your mother or father or parent in general is a MLM parent I feel your pain. This video was a nice and interesting listen and it’s nice to hear someone not disparaging the women involved, they’re pretty much victims consumed by the need to succeed and it drives them to depression and anxiety. It sucks. Thanks for the well made video :)

[diinalens]

girl! you don't remember the iconic scene in Edward Scissorhands where Peg goes around her neighbourhood selling Avon and then decides to go sell Avon to the creepy mansion up the hill??? that was my first introduction to Avon anyway lol

[kait]

MLMs oversaturate so many mediocre markets (beauty supplies, weight loss, vitamins, essential oils) these days - I'm seeing many of these "boss bapes" turn to real estate, NFTs and Crypto currency instead to try to get their friends' and online aquatainces' money. Scammers gotta scam :/

[thelonely_gaol]

someone should make a utah "divergent" where the coming of age ceremony involves choosing between mary kay, avon, and herbalife.

[Melissa-dcwe]

I live in Chile and herbalife is super prevalent here, everyone has heard of it and at some point had curiosity about their shakes. Also, I have gone to "job interviews" that end up being some MLM recruiting type reunion (for Omnilife, jeunesse and other that was about perfumes or whatever). It's obvious that they take advantage of us latinamericans

[luisa]

I met this girl at a party once and we talked all the evening, she was really cool, at the end she told me why don't we exchange numbers so the next time I pass by I'll let you know, and I was like sure, two days later it turns out she just wanted to tell me about an "incredible business opportunity"... At the party it was all just a show, she was just fishing for people to make money off of. I was repulsed, she seemed so genuine and I thought I'd made a new friend. I've never seen her again.

[elucia]

GIRL! As a stay-at-home mom with two kids, including one who is handicapped, you hit the nail on the head! You get us! Thank you for being willing and able to understand and convey our struggles without being a mother yourself. It IS a full time job and we are extremely lucky that I am able to stay home and care for our children and still afford food and clothes.

[fuitbaby]

I was in the military and the amount of times I had my male co-workers pressure me into going to their wives MLM parties/Facebook groups is insane. I honestly felt bad for everyone involved. Their wives just wanted to contribute to their household but can’t keep a stable job because of constantly moving or their spouse deploying. My male co-workers would always be shelling out thousands of dollars every couple of months to kickstart their wives new “business”. These companies are predatory.

[kelsie_fl]

as someone who lives in Utah, it is crazy to me how many people don’t even think twice about joining an MLM. I’ve learned to believe that everything is an MLM until absolutely proven otherwise

[bro.that.is.adorable.]

MLM culture is my true crime in that I’m obsessed with knowing everything about it lol. Last year I took a free class from an online school that talked about “how to self-publish” and while they had some good advice, they used a LOT of MLM up-selling language on a class of mostly older people who wouldn’t recognize what was going on. It made me wonder if these “successful” people made more money from selling books or selling their courses & consultations like everyone else who advocates for “financial freedom” 🙄

[suno]

Every person who owns a cat: “Let me preface this by saying that my cat does as she wants whatever I say or do...” 😹😸 I feel ya.