icerat
Philosopher
There's a couple of threads on MLM (multilevel marketing) running at the moment. I'm a supporter of the MLM model, but I've noticed that many skeptics are not. In discussions I've noticed that their criticisms are pretty much never about the actual MLM model, or if they are, they've misunderstood the model (thinking for example that it's "endless chain" or you get paid for recruiting ala pyramid schemes).
The MLM model does however have a major weakness that is also one of it's major strengths - it has a very low cost of entry. This is the case both from agents, who can register for low or even no fees, and also for companies that wish to get their products to the marketplace.
There are two results from this. One is that lots of people join MLM companies and don't take the business seriously, so to 3rd parties it looks like lots of "failure", when in fact it's lots of "didn't really try".
Perhaps a bigger issue though, and a big reason why many skeptics in particular feel MLM is a scam, is the low cost of entry for a company. MLM allows a company to offset the majority of their marketing costs to the field, and not pay unless sales actually result. In traditional marketing this would be akin to putting ads on TV and not paying anything unless they actually got sales because of it.
The result is that if you have some new product you want to market, but not much money to market it, or not enough to market it against established players in the category, then MLM is a smart way to go. That leads to an inevitable influx of ahh ... interesting ... products in the MLM using marketplace.
I received an email today about MLM products from Len Clements, an author and expert consultant in the MLM industry. Here's what Len had to say -
Below is a short description of several M.L.M. products. All but one is a real product, that was, or is, actually sold by an M.L.M. company. You must choose which is the fake product. After reading the list the common reaction is that I mistakenly reversed my description of the list, and I must have meant that all but one are fake and you must select the one real product. Nope. As hard as it will be to believe, only one is fake.
#1 - Sound Wave Gel.
A topical gel that interacts with your body's "energy field" to assist the body in healing itself. Works by infusing the body with high energy sound waves. This inaudible tone helps the trillions of cells in the body come into harmony. It miraculously organizes and harmonizes all human, plant and animal DNA.
#2 - Oxygen Supplement.
Many illnesses are caused by oxygen deprivation and our air "contains 50% less oxygen than 20 years ago." This 2 ounce tincture supplements the oxygen supply in the blood. It consists of "stabilized oxygenated water and sodium" which is administered orally where the oxygen is absorbed via the digestive system.
#3 - Electrical Matrix Aligner.
Molecules and atoms are made up of electronic charges. Therefore, we should not focus so much on the chemical nature, but the electrical nature of our bodies. These nutritional products "align your body's electrical matrix." These are products with their "life energy" still intact.
#4 - Luminescent Blood.
Research in Japan has shown that the growth of harmful bacteria and viruses are inhibited by certain spectrums of light. Also, these light spectrums accelerate the production of antibodies. A line of products have been developed that can introduce harmless, luminescent phosphates into the blood stream, thus causing "the bad bugs" to go dormant.
#5 - Antibody Trainer.
Bacteria and viruses are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. This product "trains" chicken antibodies to recognize and destroy over 250,000 forms of viruses within the human blood stream. Can "stop sickness and disease forever!"
#6 - Shoe Insoles.
Acupressure therapy has shown that when certain sections of the bottom of the feet are massaged, there is a positive effect on various body organs. There are a variety of shoe insoles each with a different pattern of strategically placed bumps and ridges that are therapeutic in the treatment of various bodily ailments.
#7 - Amazing Crystals.
These microscopic crystals can cause water to freeze at room temperature, will increase the power and mileage in your car engine, will clean laundry for up to seven years without detergent, and causes skin care products to work 85% better.
#8 - Death Bonus.
Distributors purchase several life insurance policies and make the company the primary beneficiary on all but one. Bonuses of over $100,000 are distributed upline from the proceeds of the policies after a distributor dies. On average, one out of every 110 downline members will die each year.
#9 - Age Reversing Capsules.
The human body naturally sends "longevity signals" to the brain which tell your brain that your body is growing younger. This product increases and amplifies those signals. The result is that a 50 year old can achieve a "biological" age of 34 within six months (which can be verified by a "highly sophisticated" at home urine test sold by the company).
#10 - Sour Milk Perfume.
Distributors buy a package of milk culture which they grow in their refrigerator. The resulting culture is used as an ingredient in the reproduction of the actual perfume once used by Cleopatra. The company will repurchase the culture for more than the price paid for it, plus upline commissions are paid on the original culture purchase.
#11 - God's Soap.
Cleansing products that, when used during bathing, will prevent or even cure various diseases. According to the company founder, he awoke in the middle of the night to find that God had written the formulas for these soap products in light on his bedroom wall.
#12 - Dilution Solution.
Prevents or cures toxin related diseases by adding the actual toxic substance to water, pouring half of the solution into an equal amount of water, pouring half of that resulting solution into an equal amount of water, and then repeating this process thousands of times until the solution is so diluted that not a single molecule of the original toxin remains. This final solution will still possess the "resonant energy" of this toxin and when consumed will protect the body from that toxin.
#13 - Asteroid Juice.
A large asteroid exploded over Siberia in 1908 leveling hundreds of square miles of trees and killing all life, even microbial, within the blast zone. But soon after various exotic forms of plant life began to grow within the area, including a fruit never before found on Earth. This fruit possesses amazing health and curative qualities.
#14 - Magic Wand.
This $400 metallic wand shoots a narrow beam of "zero point energy" up to 30 meters. When directed at an object or person and waved clockwise three-and-a-half rotations it can make food taste better, plants grow faster, increase strength, and treat or cure various diseases by causing the cells to "return to source".
All are obviously crap, but can you pick which one is the "fake" product?
The MLM model does however have a major weakness that is also one of it's major strengths - it has a very low cost of entry. This is the case both from agents, who can register for low or even no fees, and also for companies that wish to get their products to the marketplace.
There are two results from this. One is that lots of people join MLM companies and don't take the business seriously, so to 3rd parties it looks like lots of "failure", when in fact it's lots of "didn't really try".
Perhaps a bigger issue though, and a big reason why many skeptics in particular feel MLM is a scam, is the low cost of entry for a company. MLM allows a company to offset the majority of their marketing costs to the field, and not pay unless sales actually result. In traditional marketing this would be akin to putting ads on TV and not paying anything unless they actually got sales because of it.
The result is that if you have some new product you want to market, but not much money to market it, or not enough to market it against established players in the category, then MLM is a smart way to go. That leads to an inevitable influx of ahh ... interesting ... products in the MLM using marketplace.
I received an email today about MLM products from Len Clements, an author and expert consultant in the MLM industry. Here's what Len had to say -
Below is a short description of several M.L.M. products. All but one is a real product, that was, or is, actually sold by an M.L.M. company. You must choose which is the fake product. After reading the list the common reaction is that I mistakenly reversed my description of the list, and I must have meant that all but one are fake and you must select the one real product. Nope. As hard as it will be to believe, only one is fake.
#1 - Sound Wave Gel.
A topical gel that interacts with your body's "energy field" to assist the body in healing itself. Works by infusing the body with high energy sound waves. This inaudible tone helps the trillions of cells in the body come into harmony. It miraculously organizes and harmonizes all human, plant and animal DNA.
#2 - Oxygen Supplement.
Many illnesses are caused by oxygen deprivation and our air "contains 50% less oxygen than 20 years ago." This 2 ounce tincture supplements the oxygen supply in the blood. It consists of "stabilized oxygenated water and sodium" which is administered orally where the oxygen is absorbed via the digestive system.
#3 - Electrical Matrix Aligner.
Molecules and atoms are made up of electronic charges. Therefore, we should not focus so much on the chemical nature, but the electrical nature of our bodies. These nutritional products "align your body's electrical matrix." These are products with their "life energy" still intact.
#4 - Luminescent Blood.
Research in Japan has shown that the growth of harmful bacteria and viruses are inhibited by certain spectrums of light. Also, these light spectrums accelerate the production of antibodies. A line of products have been developed that can introduce harmless, luminescent phosphates into the blood stream, thus causing "the bad bugs" to go dormant.
#5 - Antibody Trainer.
Bacteria and viruses are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. This product "trains" chicken antibodies to recognize and destroy over 250,000 forms of viruses within the human blood stream. Can "stop sickness and disease forever!"
#6 - Shoe Insoles.
Acupressure therapy has shown that when certain sections of the bottom of the feet are massaged, there is a positive effect on various body organs. There are a variety of shoe insoles each with a different pattern of strategically placed bumps and ridges that are therapeutic in the treatment of various bodily ailments.
#7 - Amazing Crystals.
These microscopic crystals can cause water to freeze at room temperature, will increase the power and mileage in your car engine, will clean laundry for up to seven years without detergent, and causes skin care products to work 85% better.
#8 - Death Bonus.
Distributors purchase several life insurance policies and make the company the primary beneficiary on all but one. Bonuses of over $100,000 are distributed upline from the proceeds of the policies after a distributor dies. On average, one out of every 110 downline members will die each year.
#9 - Age Reversing Capsules.
The human body naturally sends "longevity signals" to the brain which tell your brain that your body is growing younger. This product increases and amplifies those signals. The result is that a 50 year old can achieve a "biological" age of 34 within six months (which can be verified by a "highly sophisticated" at home urine test sold by the company).
#10 - Sour Milk Perfume.
Distributors buy a package of milk culture which they grow in their refrigerator. The resulting culture is used as an ingredient in the reproduction of the actual perfume once used by Cleopatra. The company will repurchase the culture for more than the price paid for it, plus upline commissions are paid on the original culture purchase.
#11 - God's Soap.
Cleansing products that, when used during bathing, will prevent or even cure various diseases. According to the company founder, he awoke in the middle of the night to find that God had written the formulas for these soap products in light on his bedroom wall.
#12 - Dilution Solution.
Prevents or cures toxin related diseases by adding the actual toxic substance to water, pouring half of the solution into an equal amount of water, pouring half of that resulting solution into an equal amount of water, and then repeating this process thousands of times until the solution is so diluted that not a single molecule of the original toxin remains. This final solution will still possess the "resonant energy" of this toxin and when consumed will protect the body from that toxin.
#13 - Asteroid Juice.
A large asteroid exploded over Siberia in 1908 leveling hundreds of square miles of trees and killing all life, even microbial, within the blast zone. But soon after various exotic forms of plant life began to grow within the area, including a fruit never before found on Earth. This fruit possesses amazing health and curative qualities.
#14 - Magic Wand.
This $400 metallic wand shoots a narrow beam of "zero point energy" up to 30 meters. When directed at an object or person and waved clockwise three-and-a-half rotations it can make food taste better, plants grow faster, increase strength, and treat or cure various diseases by causing the cells to "return to source".
All are obviously crap, but can you pick which one is the "fake" product?
