Direct sales programs that call themselves “multilevel marketing” (MLM) companies run the gamut from being merely annoying to full-blown pyramid schemes, and the folks at the Federal Trade Commission are responsible for holding MLMs accountable when they cross that line from irksome to illegal. But two pieces of legislation, both backed by a trade group with direct ties to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, are attempting to limit the FTC’s ability to investigate and prosecute rogue MLMs. [More]
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Group Tied To Betsy DeVos Is Trying To Block Feds From Investigating Multilevel Marketers
By 9.19.17
Should Anti-MLM Blogger Be Allowed To Remain Anonymous, Even After Losing In Court?
By 1.17.17
Four years ago, an anonymous former Amway marketer who operates a blog critical of multi-level marketing companies published in its entirety the text of a book published by a prominent figure in the MLM industry. The publisher of that book successfully sued this unnamed blogger for copyright infringement, but the court allowed the shroud of anonymity to stay in place. Now the publisher is calling on a federal appeals court to unmask the blogger, while free speech advocates argue that there is no need to know this person’s identity. [More]
Trump Education Secretary Nominee Is Indirectly Invested In Student Loan Company
By 12.6.16
It’s generally unwise for someone who works in government to have a personal investment in companies that could be affected by policies that he or she oversees, and that turns out to be the case for Betsy DeVos, President-Elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education. Her investment in a company that refinances student loans is relatively small and indirect, but it exists, and is a potential conflict of interest. [More]
Are You A Pro-Sumer? Let Bill Quain, PhD, Show You How!
By 6.16.09
Amway! There, we just saved you the trouble of reading Pro-Sumer Power!, Bill Quain’s riveting get-rich-quick book from 2000, which Alan Scherstuhl found in a thrift store recently and recaps for your amusement over at the Village Voice. You see, producers make money. Consumers spend money. And Pro-sumers make money while they spend. Still not clear? You’re a banana when you should be some sort of banana-gorilla hybrid.
Multilevel Marketing Is Bad
By 5.12.09
Everyone seems to have a friend or family member that’s been suckered into a multi-level marketing road to nowhere. While you may have no trouble identifying Amway, Zrii, Arbonne and the like as pyramid schemes, convincing naive loved ones, blinded by get-rich-quick dreams, is another matter entirely.
Just What The Heck Is MonaVie, And Should I Sell It?
By 10.6.08
I’ve been approached by a friend to join up with MonaVie acai juice—it’s a “superfood” juice that’s sold through “network marketing.” I actually do like the product, and this is a friend I trust, but my alarm bells are still going off. I don’t want to get sucked into a scam, obviously. There’s nothing about this company on your site, so I thought I’d drop you a line and see if you had any advice.
Amway's Baaaaaaccck!
By 6.13.07
Like a sequel to a horror movie, the Amway brand name is bursting out of a shallow grave, reports ABCmoney:
The move also was widely viewed as a way of helping the company shed some of the negative connotations the Amway name had acquired. The Quixtar name, however, never resonated with the public.
Pursue Exciting Opportunities In Energy Deregulation
By 5.31.07
You too can work for an energy supplier and seize a piece of this exciting money-making opportunity! At least, that’s what the Craigslist ad told us.
You may know well the great promise of Network Marketing.
We love the part where they say the amount of money you can make from this depends on,
The timing of entry of the networker into the company growth curve.
aka, it’s better to be at the top of the Ponzi scheme. For the uninitiated, network marketing is just another name for multi-level-marketing (MLM), structurally similar to a pyramid scheme, except usually there’s an actual product being sold. Employees get money for selling products, and for signing up new recruits. A cut of your commission flows up to the guy who signed you up, and you get a cut of your recruits’ commissions, and so on up the pyramid. The FTC ruled that MLM isn’t illegal per se. Often they’re set up so the people on the very bottom don’t make much, or even end up losing, money. Amway is a famous example.
Department of Duh: Multi-Level Marketing Is A Scam
By 11.15.06
Ramit has a neat post on how Network Marketing and Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) are nothing more than a pyramid scheme in a cheap suit.
