i have a few sorors who do this stuff. two does Creative Memories, and one does Quixtar with her husband, another greek. They got me to go to one of their "informational meetings" and it was a freaking pony show of "making all your financial dreams come true." even if it means getting others to sell off-brand detergent, cookies and tampons.

Creative Memories doesnt seem as bad, but the sorors who do sell for them have quit. One is having a baby, the other started her masters. Theyre both good at selling the products (and honestly isnt nearly as sketch as Quixtar) but do admit its a big time commitment, bigger than most average, working people can commit.

I also have a soror who sells Mary Kay. She's not sketch at all, and really doesnt buy into the rules. she doesnt do any of her presentations by the book, but promotes the products she really likes and what she thinks would work. I've bought from her no problem.

Oh, and i have two OTHER sorors who sells Avon and Silpada jewelry, respectively. Though there's a difference between multi-level marketing, pyramid schemes and direct sales. I personally think Silpada is expensive, and am also not big on jewelry. Also not a huge fan of MK makeup and damn sure dont need any Quixtar mess.

i went to a quixtar presentation with a friend of mine back when i was in college. he was approached by some stranger at the grocery store asking if he needed a job. dumbass friend gave the guy his number. they call him the next day and asked if he could come to an information session held at a nearby hotel and to bring other people if he wanted. so i went to see what this was all about. when i saw that this had something to do with sales, i wanted to leave right away. when we walked out of the room, they had all of their reps standing outside and ready to sign us up. we said no thanks, but they still insisted we take home some information package and to think about it.

well, the stranger that my friend met at the grocery store calls him the next day to ask if he was still interested. he said no. the guy then says that he needed the information package back. my friend said fine and told him that he could pick it up later that night at a nearby starbucks since he was going to be there studying anyways. this time the quixtar rep brought someone else with him to do the talking. they even brought with them copies of checks to show that this was for real. the guy calls back the next day and leaves a message on my friend's phone saying that the CD was not returned with the information package. i remember taking it out of the package because it was titled "the next millionaires" so i can watch it, lol. my friend never called the guy back and i think the rep called 1-2 more times for the CD.

You might be their salesperson, but you do get a percentage of what people buy from your "business." My uncle does the whole Quixtar thing, and he makes a good amount of money from it.

What about all of the people that it has hurt? People that it has ruined financially? People who were brainwashed and driven away from their families because it has just taken over their lives? I've seen it first hand.

Salespeople get a percentage of what people buy from their "business". It's called commission. Just like a car salesman, etc.

Wow that sucks! I'm sorry that happened to whoever you know. But at the same time, did they rely on it as their sole source of income? I see it as comparable to any type of small business, there is always a chance of failure.

I have tried Quixtar and I know that I am not the type of person who could do it as my only source of income.

Well then, I wish I could make the ~$25-50,000 my uncle makes in "commission."

In Quixtar? I doubt it. As I said...you do not put any money down. Where are you losing?

Can I use this space to vent once more about the people who only sign up for GLO private sides/yahoogroups/facebook to plug their MLM business?

One of my sisters is a district director w/ Mary Kay but she is very respectful about not pushing it and she always contributes to the discussion of the subject at hand. The people who never say anything except telling you where their next sale is are the ones that irk me.

Has anyone mentioned Prepaid Legal? I stay the hell away from anyone who says they sell prepaid legal. The funniest thing is when they have business cards.

There's another thread about MaryKay so I won't go on that tangent here. I like the products and I have a friend who sells it. The customer appreciation gatherings are great because of the free products. Buuuuuuut, it never fails that it turns into a recruitment meeting and I end up having to be rude to the women who won't leave me the hell alone. Nooooo...I am not going to sell and noooooooooo it doesn't matter how much you try to talk me into it. And nooooooooo I don't mind being rude to you if you don't leave me the hell alone.

So your time has absolutely no value?

You're unwilling to receive full dispensation for sweat equity, while the people above you take a cut for literally no reason?

MLM scams usually require little to no start-up . . . it's the lost opportunity and the crappy pay that makes them suck.

what is prepaid legal? How could you possibly pay in advance for a lawyer? Or probably not a lawyer.

You wear Mary Kay?

We were members of PPL for a while, and it actually did come in handy. We signed up for help in starting our own business (they reviewed our documents etc.)

But it did come in real handy when we had trouble with Wells Fargo. We had paid off our car, and it cleared our account, but they refused to credit it to our account. We got ahold of the fraud department of our bank, and they proved that Wells Fargo had actually cashed the check, but Wells Fargo refused to make any changes to the account. We got ahold of PPL, and within a few weeks we had credit, and a letter of apology. ETA--It was about $2k in question.

We no longer have PPL, but it did work for us. We didn't sell it though. I have been through Monavie and Primerica, and I even sold Mary Kay for a while. I'd never do another MLM.

Thanks for the link. Yikes. Who would get a lawyer for a speeding ticket anyway?

glad it worked out for you, then

Generally speaking, the people whom it worked for are people who didn't need PPL anyway. PPL may've been a viable alternative but not their only option.

In many areas, PPL tends to target lower income and down-and-out sellers and customers. These are individuals who are desperate for SOMETHING. These are also individuals who tend to waste a lot of time and money, unless they put 100% in it because they have no other alternatives.