Multi level marketing -is it a scan?

Paynemarland

A friend has started to sell for ACN. A MLM scheme from America, very close to a pyramid scheme. You have to invest £400, then get a small commission on you sales. But you can only sell to friends and family so a limited market. The real way to make money is to get other people to join. I am very suspicious of these schemes and would never get involved. I am shocked that this friend is selling this to his own friends and thought he would have been more clued up. I am worried how these schemes are monitored although I expect they are not and fall outside of any industry regulation. They prey on those who need more or a second income in these hard times and those are the very people without £400 spare to lose. I am interested in anyone else's experience of this scheme.

moxter

Is he finding it rather more difficult than he expected to persuade his friends they should plough £400 into something they know nothing about, with no likely return unless they, too persuade some other people (whoever they may be) to plough their £400 in turn?

Buy him a pint, commiserate with him that he'll never see his money again, and be secretly glad you're not that foolish.

PasturesNew

So long as there is a product to sell, which there is, it's not illegal.

However, it's not a good system that limits who you can sell to, and therefore the channels and income. There is a cap on earnings - and a major one in this case.

MLM in itself isn't all bad.... but you do need to understand the way it works, the opportunities and the products.

In the main, for most people, even a "good" MLM company/product will fail to yield the magical results the recruit believes they'll achieve.

Bonzowaite

Paynemarland wrote: »

A friend has started to sell for ACN. A MLM scheme from America, very close to a pyramid scheme. You have to invest £400, then get a small commission on you sales. But you can only sell to friends and family so a limited market. The real way to make money is to get other people to join. I am very suspicious of these schemes and would never get involved. I am shocked that this friend is selling this to his own friends and thought he would have been more clued up. I am worried how these schemes are monitored although I expect they are not and fall outside of any industry regulation. They prey on those who need more or a second income in these hard times and those are the very people without £400 spare to lose. I am interested in anyone else's experience of this scheme.

I am not saying that ACN is a scam, but google "ACN scam" - interesting reading!

The best that can happen with most borderline MLMs is that you only lose your own money. The worst is that you lose your money + all of your friends' money and then all of your friends.

Some MLMs are legit, but finding a profitable one would be a nightmare I imagine.