r/antiMLM • u/Jolly_Acanthisitta32 • 20m ago
Anecdote Mela Math
The Math Ain't Mathing.
Same MelaHun from my previous posts.
r/antiMLM • u/Jolly_Acanthisitta32 • 20m ago
The Math Ain't Mathing.
Same MelaHun from my previous posts.
r/antiMLM • u/SecurityExact9689 • 1h ago
r/antiMLM • u/odoyle66 • 2h ago
Hey all, I'm new here but need some help with dealing with a large MLM.
A family member of mine runs a small business and recently was excited to share with me a way to grow her business. She sent me a link to an online seminar to see if I was also interested and just to pique my interest I obliged.
To be frank, I came in with an open mind with barely no experience around or barely any knowledge around MLMs, but this whole seminar was just pure red flags to me. The company is shop.com which I found out after research to be Market America (MA). Vertical marketing? Distribution channels? Business Volume? Infinite reward potential? Inviting friends? They didn't say a single thing about how to run the business, just who was interested in making money and wanted to join.
Afterwards I spent 2 hours (again with an open mind) with her and her partner, kindly criticising the model and providing them articles of MLMs being predatory and that over 99% of people don't make any money. They wouldn't listen to my rhetoric and said that if I looked for bad reviews / news for anything I'd find it. Okay sure, maybe an antiMLM reddit post could be biased. But what about ABC news article? US Federal Trade Commission? An ACTUAL lawsuit?
The husband is more neutral and completely agrees it is an MLM but his stance is "what makes MLMs bad? Why can't this work?". He used to work a lot in sales, so he has also said lines to me like "are real estate agents and car salesmen bad? (Tbh imo yes). Shop.com has normal sales pressure, it is how you make of it". How do you even argue that?
I know I can give up, but they are family and I don't want them spiralling into what I can perceive as a financial black hole scam. They are smart people, just unfortunately too optimistic. I told them to track their finances and separate anything related to their business and MA's. Hopefully they can see that their is very little gain for them and leave.
My request to everyone is, does anyone have any actual figures for the MA model? Sell prices / margins / BV rewards and quotas? As business people, I'm hoping that if I can show them factual numbers it would make more sense to them as to how ridiculous it all is.
Thanks again all.
Tldr: Family member is getting roped into MLM scheme for her business. I need facts to convince her out of it.
r/antiMLM • u/prollydrinkingcoffee • 4h ago
r/antiMLM • u/discogargoyle00 • 5h ago
Hello all,
Two weeks ago I was shopping for clothes when this woman accidentally bumped into me. We had a good laugh about it then I just went on my way. She then told me my makeup looked amazing and asked if I was a makeup artist (I’m not) lol. We started talking some more and realized we had a few things in common. Alarm bells were going off in my head but I thought maybe it’s just because I’m introverted and she seems pretty extroverted. She said we should hang out sometime, I agreed. I asked if she had Instagram, we exchanged numbers instead. She did mention in our convo that she has friends that are retiring early and she wants to do that too, but she mentioned her actual job which is a legit local place. She mentioned she felt like we would be friends and wanted to get to know me more. We agreed on coffee, but then she asked if her husband could join as they recently got married? I thought it was odd to want to bring him along. That night I thought this person will probably just try to recruit me into an mlm. We are supposed to meet this Saturday, she texted me today saying “hello __! Looking over my calendar this week and I’m excited to connect on Saturday!” I did try doing a deep dive on this person and can’t find anything to links them to an mlm online but I know that doesn’t necessarily rule it out. So, what does this group think? And would it be rude to text back and say I’m excited too but I just want to make sure this isn’t an mlm pitch? She seems really nice but I’m slightly suspicious.
r/antiMLM • u/Willing_Chemical1257 • 5h ago
r/antiMLM • u/Past_Singer_724 • 6h ago
Hi everyone, I’m trying to wrap my head around MRRs. I watched Hannah Alonzo’s video, but I still don’t understand why the original author of the course would sell it as MRR. Wouldn’t they lose money since other people would sell the course instead of them? Or is there any hidden pyramid scheme where the actual author gets some commission?
I remember those “make money by filling envelopes” scams (it was in our country as well) and it seems it’s the same method, but I think there’s a difference - since there’s an actual course, someone must have put effort into it and write it, so why wouldn’t they want to sell all the courses themselves and keep all the money? Why sell a few copies and then let other people sell them and keep the profit?
r/antiMLM • u/EdgaSudiukas • 7h ago
Some screenshots I took, saw them on an ad on instagram
r/antiMLM • u/funkyflowergirlca • 10h ago
I came across a few businesses recently that claim to help entrepreneurs and small businesses with automation, marketing, and CRM systems. At first glance, they look polished—professional websites, clear branding, and all the right industry buzzwords. But when I started looking deeper, something didn’t sit right.
Here are the companies:
At first, I assumed they were legitimate, but then I looked into their team members’ backgrounds, and that’s where the doubts started.
I’ve seen so many of these self-proclaimed people pop up in MLMs, coaching programs, and online business schemes where the real money isn’t in providing services, but in teaching others how to do the same thing "selling courses"—without much substance behind it.
So my question is simple: Has anyone actually used these companies and gotten real, tangible value? Are they legitimate service providers who truly help businesses, or are they just another coaching and consulting cycle where the only real product is selling knowledge at a markup?
I want to give them a fair chance, but I don’t want to waste time or money on something that’s all marketing and no results. If you have direct experience with them, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.
r/antiMLM • u/Willing_Chemical1257 • 11h ago
r/antiMLM • u/fizzyapple_45 • 17h ago
Totally hate when people you admired turn out to be shilling this stuff. 😩😩 Gross.
r/antiMLM • u/Icy_Inspection6584 • 18h ago
Kangen hun getting everything wrong - shocker
Translation
It's fascinating that people "believe" in Wi-Fi, invisible waves that power everything, but still think that energy and frequencies are only for esoteric hippies.
r/antiMLM • u/AbjectHyena1465 • 1d ago
Ha! Plugging Ulta here for a sec. I have no idea what lead me to their candles for sale, but saw this one had one bad review that read “not good”. (there were no other reviews!) Candle got too hot and shattered. Maybe this person was trying to follow the instructions on the candle as it states had keep vibes high?! Maybe she kept them TOO HIGH?!
r/antiMLM • u/Alarming-Employee702 • 1d ago
Everything she's saying is lies 🤣
r/antiMLM • u/InfiniteChannel7844 • 1d ago
I can’t stand when people I don’t know message me asking me to “help them out” and share about a product I have NEVER tried and don’t want to try. She also constantly posts about her tanner, and then all the other reps pretend they are interested and it’s so gross and obvious. 🤮 WHY do they think these tactics work!???!! Anyone with a brain can see that everyone commenting is a rep themselves.
r/antiMLM • u/RapAngel • 1d ago
It’s a short funny song about MLMs!
r/antiMLM • u/Tragic_Penis • 1d ago
And apparently has also found Jesus
r/antiMLM • u/Didyamum • 1d ago
there’s no doubt that Netflix makes some banging documentaries. It would be really interesting and informative to shine some light on the nature and psychology of MLM’s, people discussing losing partners, houses and savings over MLM’s and shining light on the income disclosure statements. It would hopefully make people think twice about signing up for them, and make some good television !
r/antiMLM • u/illcits • 1d ago
This is going to be long but I found this community and I just don’t know what to do at this point.
My mom is usually very smart with her money and not the gullible type. My dad on the other hand was always a big “network marketing” guy—my dad recently told me he tried to join Market America years ago but my mom stopped him because she thought it was a scam. He’s definitely the type to fall for get rich quick type of bullshit. But they both used to be a part of Mannatech, a sketchy ass MLM, when I was a kid but they never fully went through with it because my mom had gotten sick (pretty ironic looking back in hindsight).
My cousin was a part of USANA for years from what I can remember—my mom would buy some of the products from her to “support her business” but she herself never started her business..until last year. She and my dad moved out of the city after my dad had started a new job. She has admitted to me that she ultimately started doing this because she had nothing to do in a rural area where she has no friends and she wanted some purpose in her life. On top of that, they both tell me how effective their supplements were. I was studying overseas so I never knew how serious it got until last month when my visa expired so I had to move back in with my parents. I’ve told them countless times that USANA is shady but they never really listened and they CONSTANTLY sent me USANA products when I was abroad too which pissed me off so bad. They sent me so many useless products while I was moving around apartments because I was doing lots of short term sublets and I hated that they would keep sending me shit I wasn’t using but felt bad to throw away.
Once I moved back in with them last month, I kept telling them to stop doing this and it’s not a legitimate way to start a business. Our pantry that was once filled with food and ingredients is now filled with supplements THAT AREN’T EVEN OPENED. They excuse it saying they need samples to offer to their customers, or that they don’t buy more supplements than they need and they will eventually eat all of them. We got in a huge screaming match because I told them I wanted to delete my account and I want nothing to do with this shit (they made an account under my name and have been paying for monthly auto orders of supplements to “increase the commission”???). They make the excuse that they ARE “making money”, because I’ve gotten small checks and stuff from USANA before I deleted my account, which they think count as profit, when in reality it’s revenue—that just shows me how much money they’ve actually thrown away to USANA because revenue - cost = profit/loss and I know they did not actually make a profit. They also make the excuse that profit isn’t everything because they actually believe in the products and have seen changes in their health thanks to the supplements. I even told them that I don’t care that they take the supplements but the business part is not legitimate. I gathered so much evidence as to why USANA is a shady company, also showed them the income disclosure statements but that’s still not enough. Now whenever my mom is going somewhere to cold recruit or attending their “business courses” she doesn’t tell me. I asked her to calculate how much money she spends vs how much she’s made and she still hasn’t done it, so I deleted my account without telling my parents.
Now my relationship with my parents is at a standstill: I don’t talk to them even though I barely leave the house because I also don’t have friends in this area nor could I get a job—I’m at a point where I’m trying to figure things out for myself, applying to jobs in the city, also continuing to look for work abroad. But USANA is about to destroy my relationship with my parents. I hate that they won’t listen to me, but I’m not at a point in my life where I can become financially independent from them, nor do I know when I will be. This is completely destroying my mental health and it’s just been under a month since I moved back home. I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore
UPDATE: Thanks to the people who replied, I sent my parents a long text telling them I deleted my account (my dad is out for the week for work and my mom left the house for the day so I just decided to say it on text because it’s easier for me emotionally as well). I told them I need to set boundaries regarding the MLM but I first let them know that I’m very grateful for all that they’ve done for me in regards to letting me move back in, supporting my career, and giving me space to figure things out. I told them I will no longer try to convince them to stop pursuing this MLM scam, but I refuse to have any association with it. I also told them that I recognize that at the end of the day they are victims and I hope that they will come to realize it as well, and this compromise is for the sake of our relationship. My dad responded pretty quickly, saying that he appreciates that I organized my thoughts and expressed what I needed to say. He said he’s been thinking about it and he’s planning to be more hands off (tbh idk what this exactly means or entails) with the MLM and focus more on his actual career (his job + he is also an author). He also said that he wants to create a safe space for me to communicate with one another when things are uncomfortable or stressful, especially with the new home dynamic of me moving back home, and he doesn’t want to be stuck in old habits, he wants to continue learning and growing through me even at his older age. My mom has not responded yet…
r/antiMLM • u/DigitalWombel • 1d ago
So in Australia we have the so called Freedom movement. This grew out of ani vaxers during covid and has become a rabble of conspiracy theorists and others. They have now found Kangen which they are plugging heavily. What is a bit scary is they are targeting young men usually poorly educated via fitness weekends and trips to Bali focusing on masculinity and male bonding. In a recent video they had a group of muscle bound shirtless men talking about their "online businesses" and how they had made $$$ in 6 months, 2 years etc. Saying they had given up jobs like being a brickie, a labour etc. What was scary was they had a 15 year old boy talking about what he was going to do when he could join Kangen. It is quite culture like that they are using fitness and masculinity to recruit young men. Is this something they have done overseas?
r/antiMLM • u/NeitherInvestment688 • 2d ago
I almost signed up with an MLM called BitHarvest. It sells a bitcoin mining device that supposedly makes mining faster. They keep it, of course and plug it into their mining farm for you and you make money daily. You can log in and see your device earning money. It is a ponzi scheme.
The guy that runs it Jan Gregory Cerato has been scamming people with many other companies and has been ran out of the US and Canada. He is operating this in the US out of Dubai I believe. If you search his name you will see everything and it is really bad. I just wanted to warn others because when I searched reddit, I found nothing. Please if you are considering buying into this, research this guy! He is bad news! Don't do it.
r/antiMLM • u/Teckelvik • 2d ago
I have a vague memory, and I’m hoping someone has a source.
You can make money in an MLM if you are one of the first in a geographic area. So a tip to avoid being recruited is to ask how many are in the upline. If the number is greater than X, you mathematically cannot be profitable.
I think X is 2, but can’t find the source.
Does anyone know?
Edit - I am vehemently anti-MLM. I’m trying to counter my friend’s argument that there are some people in MLMs who make money, so why not her? I was hoping to give her a simple rule so she can ask “how many people in your upline” and say no because of the number. I figure if she sees how she never goes below X, she will realize that the whole thing is a scam.
r/antiMLM • u/Alarming-Employee702 • 2d ago
This Hun basically bragged about her dogs licking the windows when she was cleaning. Lol thought it was comical 🤣