Re: MLM or anti-MLM - It's the variety

This community is composed of many people, some long-term regulars, many lurkers who never post, some have found something that works for them, while others are still searching.

Some here are strongly Anti-MLM, while others are just as strongly in favor, with many somewhere in between. I lean in favor of those MLMs that focus on selling a line of quality of products over those who put most of their efforts into endless recruiting others to recruit others, ad nauseum.

I've failed in three different MLMs, all in different product categories. But, I still believe that some are legitimate and viable, offering more than just savings on consuming their products you sell to yourself.

The examples I use are Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Watkins Products, Home Interiors, Avon, Tupperware, and others of that type. Some of these will deny that they are MLM, but they are engaged in direct selling and also offer the second stream of income from personal recruiting.

The company I sell for is close to MLM, but stops the override compensation at the first level. So no real upline or downline sales or cashflow is involved. So it's not Multi-Level. The sponsoring dealer is reward for the sales of his or her immediate associates. Every dealer has to remain actively selling for any over-rides to be earned. No one can simply sign up a bunch of people to do all the selling (or consuming), with the person at the top of a pyramid reaping great rewards.

On the other hand, many of the "Black Eyes" the MLM industry has gotten over the years, has largely be self-generated by less than stellar companies, MLM corporated management, and a few ethically challenged distributors.

Of course, the non-MLM corporate world also has receive similar black eyes for many of the same reasons.

Most MLMs have been tolerated here, until one or more distributors from a particular company attempted to use this forum for their private recruiting site. More than once, we've seen an unknown person pose questions, only to have a new MLMer respond with answers that were definitely about gaining recruits. And many time, a moderator would discover that the questions and responses came from the exact same server.

Not the best example of ethical recruiting.

Those of us who have been moderators during the past 5 or 6 years, have all stayed busy at times deleting various spam ad, scams, and drive-by posts. It takes the efforts of several people to keep this board clean.

I post on several forums on a regular or semi-regular basis, but this one has been my favorite for the six years or so that I've been online. I've learned a lot from both present and previous members of this community. And even though I don't agree with everyone here, it's still a great pro-business, anti-scam forum.

JMNSHO!