Another Reason MLM Sucks

[chefbrian]

On a network marketing forum the other day, I asked what I thought was a rather innocuous question - was there any MLM companies marketing a quality whey protein rather than some cheap soy crap?

I should have been more specific with the question because a number of reps mentioned their company that offered a whey that was a actually a MRP packed with a lot of unnecessary crap. I was looking for a pure whey product for muscle building.

One person mentioned a product that wasn't MLM, but was available at Walmart.

Body Fortress packs 52 grams of protein per serving (2 scoops) and retails for $12.64 for 2lbs. There are 14 servings in a container.

Now compare that to a pure whey powder marketed by AdvoCare (a traditional MLM company). Muscle Gain packs 25 grams of protein per serving and retails for $71.95. Not sure of the container size, but they claim 25 servings per can.

Go figure!

Not only that, but Body Fortress is a combination of Whey Protein Concentrate and Whey Protein Isolate (the most pure and concentrated form of whey protein available). Muscle Gain is a whey protein concentrate - the cheaper form.

Just tossing out some numbers to see how you're getting ripped off if you don't look beyond the hype.

I'm sure the same comparison applies likewise with all these "super" juices being flogged for $35 a bottle that you can get as good a product at Cosco or Walmart for $3.00.

[wserra]

A couple of weeks ago, I ended a second round of trial posting at scam.com, a misnamed site populated largely by MLM shills and people who are strangely conciliatory to them (there are a couple of notable exceptions, such as soapboxmom). One gets tired of the proverbial ten-hour arguments with the town drunk. Were I still posting there, I would ask them to post a single example of a product sold by MLM which is similarly priced (forget cheaper) than a comparable non-mlm version of the same. Perhaps there is one out there, but I've never seen it. And if there is one, I would be willing to give long odds that it's a loss-leader, not one of the MLM's hyped products.

Gotta pay that upline.

[chefbrian]

But you're overlooking the fact, Wes, that the product sold via MLM is of a much higher quality than that available in traditional markets, hence the premium.

[VinnyZ]

If I remember correctly, there was a story years ago about a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that was a private label vitamin manufacturer. They would make and package the vitamins and slap whatever name that companies wanted on the label.

Translation: A lot of the "better than anything else out there" products are actually made by the same company.

[webhick]

If I remember correctly, there was a story years ago about a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that was a private label vitamin manufacturer. They would make and package the vitamins and slap whatever name that companies wanted on the label.

Translation: A lot of the "better than anything else out there" products are actually made by the same company.

I work with truckers who haul fuel and after seeing how many tons transfer between all the stations regardless of "brand", I find it funny when people attempt to argue that fuel from one gas company is better than another.

[chefbrian]

Actually, you're correct, Vinny.

There's only a handful of companies that manufacture the products to the specifications of smaller, private label companies.

Besides, how much can you put in a pill anyhow?

They can only specify certain nutrients, otherwise the pill would be the size of a grapefruit if they put every known thing in.

Note "known thing".

What about the nutrients in real food they haven't discovered yet?

People that rely on tablets are likely shortchanging themselves.

Supplements are just that - supplements to a healthy diet.

They aren't "onlyments".

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

If I remember correctly, there was a story years ago about a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that was a private label vitamin manufacturer. They would make and package the vitamins and slap whatever name that companies wanted on the label.

Translation: A lot of the "better than anything else out there" products are actually made by the same company.

I work with truckers who haul fuel and after seeing how many tons transfer between all the stations regardless of "brand", I find it funny when people attempt to argue that fuel from one gas company is better than another.

My grandfather managed a Standard Oil service station for about 30 years. In those days motor oil still came in cans. He said it wasn't at all unusual to open a case of oil and find a can of Texaco Havoline, or Mobil oil in the box. There are some differences in additives to motor oil, but not enough to make any significant difference. The same goes for automotive batteries. There are only really two companies in the U.S. that manufacture auto batteries.

[Evil Squirrel Overlord]

Same goes for national beer brands. Although because of microbrews, our tastebuds for beer have been furthered beyond the G. Heiliman same beer for every can days.

[Doc Bunkum]

The California AG, Edmund G. Brown Jr., outlined another major problem with MLM companies, one that most people don't consider when they join up.

To quote Brown from his lawsuit against YourTravelBiz.com ...

According to company records there were over 200,000 members in 2007 who typically pay more than $1,000 per year--$449.95 to set up an “online travel agency” with a monthly fee of $49.95. In 2007, only 38 percent of the company’s members made any travel commissions. For the minority of members who made any travel commission in 2007, the median income was $39.00--less than one month’s cost to keep the Website. There are at least 139,000 of the company’s travel Websites, all virtually identical, on the Internet.

So the company gives you a self replicating web site and tells you people will flock to it and you'll make a ton of money through the automated order process that pays you commissions.

One problem.

In this example, you're competing against 138,999 other people with identical web sites to yours.

Just how are you suppose to get into the to 10 in the search rankings, and if you managed to do that, who would order from you anyways?

[finvik]

i have had a bad experience with amway. has anyone tried amway?. let us discuss it
Vik

[wserra]

i have had a bad experience with amway. has anyone tried amway?. let us discuss it

There were a couple of lengthy threads concerning Quixtar/Amway here before the board went kablooey a year ago. You know what we found? It's pretty much all in Eric Scheibeler's book and site, both titled "Merchants of Deception". The book is a free download.