Pyramid Schemes - Melaleuca - MLM

by NOdenial 33 Replies latest jw experiences

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  NOdenial

  OK... this topic will probably get some people quite upset - but I am going to say it anyways. The topic of 'con artist types' in the borg reminded me of this issue.

  Where I come from in Western Canada and USA, there is a huge issue of Dubs getting involved in MELALEUCA. There is one brother in the interior of British Columbia that is making MUCH more money in a month than most people make in a year. No doubt - many of his clients are other Witnesses.

  Aside from the morality of being invloved in such schemes... I have a problem associating with anyone whose friendship with me is not transparent. They always seem to have an alterior motive.

  Did you know Dubs that got caught up in this kind of stuff? What did it do to their relationships in the hall?

  NOdenial...

  PS... I HATE Melaluca crap! It makes me sick - and I feel their claims of it's medicinal and anti-microbial qualities are grossly misrepresented. But that's just MY opinion.
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  the_classicist

  I do, my grandma and her brother sold it. They didn't make very much money off of it, but they certainly believed in the melaleuca claims.
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  unbeliever

  I am not familiar with Melaleuca but Noni juice was real big here for a while with the local witnesses. Some brother got my mom to join and over a period of about 6 months she spend $800 on that shit and made like $40. I was furious at this so called "brother". She is so poor and $800 is a lot of money to her. When he got out of that he then tried to sell her "magnets" that gave you energy. I told him flat out he was a snake oil salesman and to leave my mother the f*** alone. I told him I would tell the elders how he would watch playboy videos (his daughter told me) if he tried to sell her anything else. The magnet venture failed and last I heard he was trying to sell these $1000 pots and pans where you could cook anything in them with some kind of oil and not use water. That man was a pile of crap...right along with the crap he sold.
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  jeanniebeanz

  As embarrasing as this is going to be to admit, I once got dragged into one of these things by another 'brother'. It was because with no education getting a job for anything but minimum wage and as a manual laboror was tough. I was looking for a way to not have to eat beans and tortillas every night with my family. Thing is, it just turned into a big expensive mistake. We ended up using the product ourselves because as soon as I started to sell, I realized that I did not have any outside contacts to sell to, and I did not want to sell to the other witnesses.

  Painful costly lesson learned very young... Mainly though, if there had been other opportunities open for me through education I would never have gotten involved... These people really screw you up by limiting your ability to function in society, some of us were grasping at straws at times trying to make ends meet...

  J
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  Mulan

  I posted about this on the con artist thread.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/91058/1532308/post.ashx#1532308

  I'm sorry some had bad experiences. Not everyone does! I didn't try to recruit my friends, and didn't want them to think that of me. But if they came to me, I talked, and they liked it. Some also made money. Some didn't and just wanted the products at wholesale. So far, no one has mentioned my company.
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  NOdenial

  BTTT
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  Honesty

  Aaah Yes, Noni Juice. That stuff looked, smelled, tasted and acted like prune juice concentrate on me. I still felt like crap but at least I didn't need to eat any ruffage or make sure I had enough fiber in my diet when I was on it.
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  jeanniebeanz

  So far, no one has mentioned my company.

  Herbalife?

  J
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  bikerchic

  Melaleuca is a rip off! I got into it via a JW who had left Bethel with nothing and I mean nothing they even borrowed the car the left in, lol. Long story short they are making 6 figures in Melaleuca using nothing but JW's as their pyramid and are busy living the "good" life with boats, new expensive cars and houses while waiting on Jehovah to destroy the earth and it's wicked inhabitants...... yeah wait on Jehovah but tie up your camel!
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  Eyebrow2

  Maleluca has some KICK ASS skin lotion...especially the one for very very dry and damaged skin...very expensive though.

  My mom was involved with it for a while. Didn't make any money, because she has always tried to just sell the products, not make a second religion out of it, like most involved (which is really the only way you could ever make a living off of it.)

  It isn't technically a pyramid scheme though, because there is product involved etc...but of course MY argument has always been, if these products are so wonderful, and the company so redeeming, why don't they just sell them in stores? That is the same argument I have for Shaklee (which has some awesome biodegradable cleaning products) and other such MLM companies. Or why don't they just restructed themselves like Avon and Mary Kay, and keep it purely direct selling so that the person can make a little money with out putting people under them...etc...etc...

  I just read Mulan's post she linked to. She is right, I think 90% of the people that get involved with MLM don't expect too, and don't want to do any real work. They you have organizations like Amway that probably make more money off of their stupid tapes and books and endless peusdo religions meetings. (Amway has some great laundry detegent and cat litter, btw)

  In reality, if someone is good at direct selling, and isn't too pushy, then Shaklee and Melaleuca really are not bad companies to be involved in. I think Shaklee...from what I have seen with the people I know in it, is probably the least annoying. A good sales person that has a decent product can sell anything. Too many people sign up for MLM that just cannot cut it, or have "get rich quick" attitudes.