Multi-Level Marketing, Pyramids

Motek ↓

Mon, Jul 25 2005, 6:04 pm

Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum has written numerous articles warning the frum public against wasting their money on business schemes that seem attractive and promise to earn them money but actually cost them.

He has posted them on his website:

http://www.campsci.com/scams/index.htm

Tefila

Mon, Jul 25 2005, 7:11 pm

They r the worlds biggest scams and the only ones that win r the people who thought this up to begin w/h it was in Readers digest awhile ago!

queenie

Wed, Jul 27 2005, 5:27 pm

Of course they don't work. It isn't logical. Only the first layer of people in a pyramid make money. Ok, maybe the second too but that's about it. That is why they are illegal in most places. Do the math. If you have to sell a product or get people to invest in something, only a small number of people ever want to get involved. Very quickly you run out of people and never make it to the top. Only those at the top of the pyramid make the money. Usually, that is only the person that started it in the first place and the started benefits from everyone else.

Just remember the old addage, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is..."

ForeverYoung
Guest

Fri, Jul 29 2005, 1:57 am

Pyramids r illigal in the US.
As for the rest of them - read the fine print.
It's all in there.
And use bbb.org - there is lots in there as well.

↑ Crayon210 ↓

Wed, Feb 08 2006, 10:30 pm

It's just very weird to me, because I've seen people take out advertisements in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter...it doesn't seem like a "Jewish thing" to do...okay so I'm not crazy. At least not in this respect.

chavamom ↓

Wed, Feb 08 2006, 10:33 pm

I believe the difference with Melaleuca is that they don't require the 'representatives' to buy the products upfront, they are making a % off the orders of the people they sign up (commission). Customers are always buying directly from the company, they are just recruited into the system by the reps.

The really problematic places (Amway being one) require you to buy a lot of the product up-front and then resell it to 'friends'. Most people lose money on this - except for the 'upstream' people who convince the sucker he is going to make money, but first he must buy caseloads of products.

↑ chavamom ↓

Wed, Feb 08 2006, 10:36 pm

Crayon210 wrote:

Yes, there seem to be a lot of frum people involved in Melaleuca. I've used their products, and thought they were good, but no, not selling them!

lucky

Fri, Feb 10 2006, 7:36 am

Yrs ago, A guy came to my husband trying to get him to put money into a MLM. He was going on and on about how it was foolproof, and you could make LOADS of money without even working Confused

. Our answer then was... If it is such a great,failproof something, then why in the world do billions of people go to work every day? Are all the people in the world really so stupid as to go to work when they can just sit back and relax. That was the last we heard of that guy. LOL

I know someone who made money in MLM, but he lost his freinds who he recruited "under" him.

happyone

Fri, Feb 10 2006, 7:45 am

Maleleuca, Shaklee etc.. these are all MLM's. The only difference is, that you don't invest a fortune. I don't think you really earn a fortune either, just cover the goods you use.
Personally, I've noticed that you don't make money unless you WORK!!!
and with that you still need help from Above to be successful!

chocolate moose ↓

Fri, Feb 10 2006, 9:45 am

You need a rabbi to tell you that?

Anyway, you can't hold Nshei responsbile for their ads; I 'm pretty sure they have a legal disclaimer somewhere in their magazine.

hardwrknmom

Fri, Feb 10 2006, 10:26 am

lucky wrote:

Yrs ago, A guy came to my husband trying to get him to put money into a MLM. He was going on and on about how it was foolproof, and you could make LOADS of money without even working Confused

I know someone who made money in MLM, but he lost his freinds who he recruited "under" him.

Lucky we say the same thing!!! Took the words right out of my mouth Thumbs Up

↑ Crayon210 ↓

Fri, Feb 10 2006, 10:37 am

SaraG wrote:

Anyway, you can't hold Nshei responsbile for their ads; I 'm pretty sure they have a legal disclaimer somewhere in their magazine.

Of course I can hold them responsible, but that's a different story altogether...

queen

Sat, Feb 11 2006, 9:18 pm

happyone wrote:

Maleleuca, Shaklee etc.. these are all MLM's. The only difference is, that you don't invest a fortune. I don't think you really earn a fortune either, just cover the goods you use.

I have several cousins selling Shaklee and have gotten CARS Exclamation

from the company due to amount they sell.

↑ amother

Sat, Feb 11 2006, 10:41 pm

Quote:

abbi Eli Teitelbaum has written numerous articles warning the frum public against wasting their money on business schemes that seem attractive and promise to earn them money but actually cost them.

A good number of years ago, my father got involved in JEWELWAY (an MLM dealing with jewelry) and then saw in the country yossi or such one of Rabbi Teitelbaum's aritcles. I dont know how this happened, but somehow my father was on the phone with teitelbaum for OVER AN HOUR arguing for MLMs. Teitelbaum told him at the end "call me back this time next year and tell me how you're doing" Needless to say, it was all over by that time. I dont think they (my parents) actually lost money since when you sign up, you have to put down $1000 but get that amount worth of jewelry. Still, people who signedup "under" them lost because they had not yet chosen their jewelry when the market crashed.

↑ Motek

Sun, Feb 12 2006, 11:58 am

sarag - no, you don't need a rabbi to tell you that, but it so happens that this particular rabbi hates to see Jewish gelt be robbed and so he writes these articles as a public service to protect people