MLM schemes @ the hall, i.e Amway, , etc... (page 4)

besty

We were recruited (willingly) into Tahitian Noni at the KH by friends who later gave evidence against us to the Judicial Committee which DF'd us for apostasy. Fair enough we are apostates :-)

MLM even in its best guise tends to have some of the hallmarks of a commercial cult and at worst is a clear scam - ie Ponzi schemes etc

Incidentally the top earner globally in Tahitian Noni is a JW from Oklahoma - Ken Rol**** - PM me if you want his full name - he has thousands of JW's in his downline, including some that post on JWD :-)

Dorktacular

The big thing at my father's Kingdumb Hall right now is Arbonne. Yeah, my dad and his wife bought into it. My dad is a senior on a fixed income but he sunk several thousand dollars into this crap. He hasn't made dime one yet on it. I think it is very unchristian for these vultures to take advantage of gullible people who don't have much money to begin with.

SnakesInTheTower

WTWizard:

Herbalife. Their products suck. ......The weight loss package includes soy protein, which I definitely do not recommend in this form. And you still gain any lost weight right back as soon as you stop taking the products.

There was an older sister in a congo I was in back in the late 80s/early 90s that sold Herbalife. She had an adult son that was the sweetest man who would and often did help anyone out (probably one of the few genuinely nice JWs I knew back then) but he was mentally challenged. His momma had him out there selling that crap. He used to wear a button to the Kingdumb Hell that said.... "LOST ___ POUNDS. ASK ME HOW".... he had 5 or 10 written in the blank spot. ...one problem.....

HE WEIGHED 400 POUNDS. Where did he lose the 10 pounds..between his ears? I felt bad for him. His momma making him think he could take a pill to lose weight.

I just got Steve Hassan's book...I did not realize MLM was mentioned...have to check that out....doesn't surprise me.

Primeamerica....yep...and one of the elders that got into that is now into ACN....and he still isnt getting wealthy. Avon, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Amway, Herbalife, ACN, Primeamerica, PamperedChef, Tahitian Noni, PartyLite (candles), Shaklee.... most of them are still making the rounds through the congos locally. Trimline was big here in the 80s. WOW...

Suckers born every minute...and they seem to be concentrated in Kingdumb Hells. At least we know how to avoid them. LOL

SnakesInTheTower (of the "never was in an MLM, just a cult" Sheep Class)

Junction-Guy

The guy that founded trimline was a JW, and now an Apostate, I doubt they push trimline anymore at the K.halls.

SnakesInTheTower

JG:

I doubt they push trimline anymore at the K.halls.

Yeah, it died a quiet death around here long ago..

Snakes ()

juni

Shaklee products were huge at the congregation I attended. I used to buy their stuff and cleaners (cause they were eco-friendly). It was an elder who had the business. It was just accepted... others were told not to promote their stuff while at the Hall. Again, it depended who you were if it were allowed or not.

Mulan

Once again I have to defend MLM. I was in one starting in 1993, and we left the WTS in about '97. I got started to buy weight loss products at the wholesale prices, and boy did I lose weight, and fast. Everyone I knew noticed and wanted in. Some of them did very well too. I didn't do much with the business part of it unless people came to me, because I was too busy being a good JW, elder's wife, etc.

As soon as we started to withdraw from them, I got busy in the business, and because they were so similar, I really knew how to do it. I became very successful, with an international downline. Eventually, with the Asian financial crisis of the late 90's, I lost most of my Asian downline, that were making me a ton of money.

I set up a website to sell the products and got tired of the meetings and constant recruiting, so now I only sell off of my website, and do very well, with a regular income from that.

The products are personal care, health and nutritional supplements, and weight loss products. The FDA banned the ingredient that really worked for weight loss, so they don't work as well anymore. The other products are top notch though. We use many of them.

My point is, that some of the MLM business are very good, with excellent products. How well you do, depends on you. You can't just join and wait for the money to come in. Your upline isn't likely to build your business for you, although I've known a few who do that.

By the way, I was not in Amway. My company was Enrich International, that merged with Rexall Showcase in about 2002 and is now called Unicity International. I don't talk against Amway though. They were the first and broke the ground for the rest.

OnTheWayOut

This older pioneer and her adult daughter, also a pioneer, were both moving away from
the congregation. Their dear bestest of best friends invites us to a going away party.
We bring gifts for the two departing ladies, others do the same. We were told to bring
food, also. We did that, so did the others. This had all the makings of a JW gathering.

Well, after the arrival of everyone, but before the food is served, the hostess says she
has a video for all of us to watch. We just assumed it was home video having something
to do with the ladies leaving us. It was a sales pitch for Ameriplan- some monthy pay thing
where you pay for minimal costs for dental, chiropractic, and maybe optical services. It's a
typical MLM where you can buy the service, but they really want you to sell the service and
get in at the bottom of the pyramid.

I actually dared to ask why they were showing this at the party. The hostess tried to shush
me, but I wouldn't stop. Finally, I went to the other room with her, and she asked me to just
let this finish. Wrongly, I complied. After the video, one of the guests (an elder in the cong)
happened to be at the top of the local pyramid and was helping the hostess get started by
signing anyone here up at this moment.

Well, I was a brand-spanking new elder, and this other guy was like the golden boy of the
city, but I just couldn't keep quiet. I asked the two ladies if they were making anything from
this. They didn't know anything about Ameriplan, they were just there for the party. I asked the
elder why he or the hostess didn't inform guests about the nature of the party. He was so slick
and just said, "If you aren't interested, that's fine." I tried to make the misses leave early, but
she had to see the ladies open their gifts and had to share cake.

Probably because I was right, nothing was ever said by that elder or the hostess about my
problems with the whole thing. They just acted like it never happened. Only one person signed
up for the Ameriplan, and she never sold any of it, just used the service for a few months before
dropping it.

Mulan

I never did anything like that, even after leaving the witnesses. I knew other non JW's who recruited that way. I always thought it was a bad idea.

OUTLAW

Get rich schemes were big in our area..I remember the cash scheme..There was nothing to sell..Just bring your $2,000.00 and wait till you get to the top of the pyramid for your pay out..............................Mulan..The difference between most MLM and your MLM....Is..You actually have some quality products.......I was in the health and fitness business for years..I can spot crap in a heart beat............. Clint Eastwood ...OUTLAW

MLM schemes @ the hall, i.e Amway, , etc...

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