Samantha Bee says that companies are exploiting women by persuading them to invest in multi-level marketing schemes that do not deliver the income they were promised.
My ex went through three or four MLMs while I was married to him. I was supportive but refused to actively recruit, which got him quite upset with me. But after the last one, I had no choice but to point out to him that none of his money-making ventures had worked, and that he was simply wasting money. That didn’t go over well. He was in pretty deep denial, and it didn’t help matters that the people on his upline kept telling him that he was on the verge of success. They reel people in and work hard to convince them that millions of dollars is JUST around the corner if only you would work just a bit harder. Of course it’s all BS.
Mano Singhamsays
Heidi,
I am so sorry for what you went through. These companies exploit the ‘sunk cost fallacy,’ that once people have invested in something, they are reluctant to admit that they were wrong to do so.
Jenora Feuersays
There’s also the fact that when you get right down to it, the only way to really make money in these sorts of schemes is to recruit other people and get your percentage from them. You don’t really make money on the sales themselves. This leads to the pressure from the ‘upline’ that Heidi mentions.
I once ran into someone who had been a classmate in University who tried to sell me on Amway. The thing that I found interesting about that was just how long the introductory spiel and even videos went before mentioning the company name. When the videos talk about the great opportunity that this company represents for five or more minutes without saying what the company is, it’s time to get suspicious.
jrkrideausays
@ 4 Jenora Feuer
Came close to that once. Scared me half to death.
Katydidsays
In the homeschooling community, the religious homeschool mothers in particular swallow every MLM out there--peel-off stickers for finger- and toe-nails, tacky jewelry, essential oils (this one is HUGE), etc. etc. They come to blows over the shoddy leggings with Disney prints on them. They eat up with a spoon the “mom-boss” and “mom-preneur” labels. I think this is part of the brainwashing that stay-at-home women are doctors because they can put on a band-aid, they’re gourmet chefs because they make tater-tot casseroles, they’re financial experts because they pay the credit-card bill, etc. etc. etc.
Not like the old days
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putting-out_system
My ex went through three or four MLMs while I was married to him. I was supportive but refused to actively recruit, which got him quite upset with me. But after the last one, I had no choice but to point out to him that none of his money-making ventures had worked, and that he was simply wasting money. That didn’t go over well. He was in pretty deep denial, and it didn’t help matters that the people on his upline kept telling him that he was on the verge of success. They reel people in and work hard to convince them that millions of dollars is JUST around the corner if only you would work just a bit harder. Of course it’s all BS.
Heidi,
I am so sorry for what you went through. These companies exploit the ‘sunk cost fallacy,’ that once people have invested in something, they are reluctant to admit that they were wrong to do so.
There’s also the fact that when you get right down to it, the only way to really make money in these sorts of schemes is to recruit other people and get your percentage from them. You don’t really make money on the sales themselves. This leads to the pressure from the ‘upline’ that Heidi mentions.
I once ran into someone who had been a classmate in University who tried to sell me on Amway. The thing that I found interesting about that was just how long the introductory spiel and even videos went before mentioning the company name. When the videos talk about the great opportunity that this company represents for five or more minutes without saying what the company is, it’s time to get suspicious.
@ 4 Jenora Feuer
Came close to that once. Scared me half to death.
In the homeschooling community, the religious homeschool mothers in particular swallow every MLM out there--peel-off stickers for finger- and toe-nails, tacky jewelry, essential oils (this one is HUGE), etc. etc. They come to blows over the shoddy leggings with Disney prints on them. They eat up with a spoon the “mom-boss” and “mom-preneur” labels. I think this is part of the brainwashing that stay-at-home women are doctors because they can put on a band-aid, they’re gourmet chefs because they make tater-tot casseroles, they’re financial experts because they pay the credit-card bill, etc. etc. etc.