What Are the Pros and Cons of Being in an MLM?

Question

I've lately been offered a position in an MLM and I am contemplating this opportunity. Based upon your own personal experiences, can you outline the advantages and disadvantages of being a part of an MLM?

Answer 1

According to the shared experience, the disadvantages of MLM participation, which have been mentioned, include the risk of time and financial loss in the attempts of trying to invest into certain products and events which may not be profitable. Such Members may face inconsistent or challenges where they are forced to constantly expand the business at the cost of their own personal aspirations. But there are also some good like the personal growth skills development since there are always self-help and business books in MLM. Which goes without saying, it is very important to reflect on the concerns of values and aims of an individual when signing an agreement on MLM.showing career aspirations.

Comments

Girl I pulled out after the first chat. It seemed very cultish. The minute they told me not to listen to my mom, I had to dip. My momma has never been wrong when it comes to my life lol. She also been researching MLM.

---

To escape my Amway upline I had to fake my own death. Like there used to be a joke website to make your own newspaper obituary,  and I made one except instead of being a funny gag, I made it super serious and convincing.  My mailbox was a P.O box so they never had my real address to verify that I had died.

---

I was in the Amway cult bc my ex was into it and I fully believed what she told me and went 100% with her. Now hear me out, yes it’s a pyramid scheme, BUT pyramid schemes do work if you do it right. If u think about it a regular job is a pyramid scheme just with a for sure paycheck: you start at an entry level and work your way up and so on. Now back to Amway. They strongly insist that you attend every meeting (which usually costs you) they strongly insist u buy books and ebooks and tapes and content, all sorts of things (when you are big enough that’s where the real money comes from). Now u have what’s called an “up line”...that’s who introduced you to the program. And your “down line” is everyone you introduced into the program. Now it only works if u sell products AND your down line sells products thus earning you a little more. “Basic business and commission”. The real money only comes in when you have a bug mass of people under u selling mass amount of product. So in theory you can potentially make money and good income u just have to have the best charisma and silver tongue to persuade others. I will admit that when I went to the meetings they made almost mandatory, that they tell you ways of how to better yourself and put these dreams in front of you to chase. After I left a lot of the words from the actual big names resonate with me still. THEY DID teach me how I needed to better myself in order to get what I want. And they did help with how to act more professional. I run my own sound engineering business and dj business but I will say I took a lot from their meetings. All the meetings they had were to just “fire you up” ( you’ll hear that a lot) but the words they spoke made sense. Hope this helped! It’s not necessarily bad but also not a quick come up!

---

I was in Amway back in the early 90's.
Made just a little bit of money. Met the girl I would marry and start a family with.
The second time the group I built all quit so did I. Went on to have a successful career in the construction industry using a lot of the ethic and what I had learned from the books and tapes.

---

I did Amway in my early 20s and it wasn’t for me.  I liked the products, but they were too expensive.  I also didn’t like seeing people I met as people who could be part of my business. That made those interactions superficial and I didn’t like it.  I just walked away like yourself and felt better about myself when I did and didn’t look back.

---

Thanks for sharing.  I'm currently getting "vetted" so I've been on youtube getting other opinions.  Until this process, I'd never heard of Amway.  Its very much reminding me of Avon and Mary Kay.  What bothered me was that during a meeting I asked about statistics: success rates and timeline to start making significant money.  They fell silent and changed the subject.  It was also off putting how everyone was saying literally the EXACT same thing, and failed to get to their points.  They truly are very specific in how they talk.  I would rather spend time investing in myself without having to come out of pocket for something that may not yield any reward.

---

it's actually kind of sad because amway does/did have some really good products, but i got tired of trying to buy them because i got tired of arguing with the dealers every time they tried to show me "the plan"... amway dealers are more interested in selling you "the plan' rather than selling amway products.

---

I was an IBO several years ago. It was not a scheme, I learned more about business and leadership way more than I ever learned in college. It's not for everyone, just say that. But some of the greatest people I ever met

---

A woman from Amway is trying to recruit me & not gonna lie... it sounded very appealing. But after making all my research I’m gonna decline! (Very true about them pushing the self-development books & not mentioning the company at first).

---

The person who suckered my husband into it slipped up once and blabbed how the "diamonds" made most of their money.  Thank GOD that opened his eyes and got out.  The diamonds make the majority of their money forcing their downline to buy the tapes of their speachs, inviting you to their house then wanting a big fee for the "privilege" of attending...etc.

---

I been in for 3 months and I'm about to discontinue my relationship with Amway.

---

Thanks for sharing, Danielle! I recently watched a Netflix documentary that mentioned that over 90% of people in an MLM lose money. So many people get taken advantage of! I'm glad you're out.

---

I just love your unbiased view on your MLM experience... any people I come across speak of only the negatives and claim that there's nothing good to pick from it.

---

Don't be ashamed for going through all that. It's a blessing that you are sharing this with the world because it is such a secret organization and it's such a relief to hear an authentic story about them

---

A former coworker of mine is in Amway, he is a pretty smart guy and he knows is a piramid scheme and that he has been scammed for years, the problem is that he is so deep in that he hasnt been able to convince himself to just quit, i can see it in his eyes every time i see him. I hope he gets the guts to leave soon, I mountain bike with his son often and he was able to quit right when he started college and he is not coming back, hopefully he convinces his dad soon.

---

Don’t be ashamed in how you walked away. I am a writer and actress living in public housing and was just sold this dream. From the jump I was EXTREMELY bored but thought I was being childish and that it was a new thing so I may be uncomfortable at first. This past Saturday I went to a meeting and the worship of the leaders was too intense. Especially as a born again Christian it was very unwell with my spirit. Thanks for this content. You and God have helped me make my decision ♥️

---

Amway is like signing up to sell drugs as a dealer in the ghetto. The amount of times the drugs changes hands from the fields of Columbia to your hands is probably in the double or triple figures. Of course the product price is expensive for the customer. It cost amway a fortune just to get the product to the salesman who sells it to the customer. There are too many disturbutors in amway all taking a slice of the customer's payment. This means you the salesman get less of the pie too.

This is why Amazon is the more successful and respected company while amway is the most hated. Amazon cares about the customer while amway cares about profits. The only way to make money in amway is to recruit others to take your position as the salesman. Its a system that rewards deception as a practice.

---

Amway is still a MLM. That will never change the fact. But Amway is not something you will get success in a blink of eye. You should be consistent and never be obsessed. It sells daily life product. Just shop what you need. Try everything that you think you are interested. Share with people if you like it. Or make a refund if you dont like it. It’s simple. I found out people is soo obsessed in successing in short time. You even need to crawl before you run tho. Dont be rushed and fall into bankruptcy

---

I'm glad I just saw this content bc everything you said was true. They almost had me with their sales pitch

---

With all due respect, that’s how it works with any business. You have people above you and people below you. But you quit because you want to be an actor. If you’re a person who just keeps working dead end job to dead end job with no career path, I don’t see a problem with giving it a shot. Not only are trying to build a business, but you’re trying to build yourself. I have been approached my entire life with Amway opportunities, but this time I’m actually going to give it a shot.

---

They always pray on those who are struggling.  They are not worth it unless they have something that you like the best.  

Conklin was another company that was the same way.  They had good fertilizer for growing crops but then they expected those selling it to have a smaller commission and work harder.  

Work hard and smart and stay away from those too good to be true companies.

---

I'm watching this because I'm about to join Amway. My friend started going hardcore with her Amway business in the last year and is now making $40,000 a year. That's what I noticed. She brought it up once, a year and a half ago, and i looked into it but said no b/c i wanted to try something else. But now that i have an eCom business, I can see how their business model works. I guess, I'm not sure why this business model has such negativity associated with it.

---

30 yrs ago we left because they told us to stop paying the mortage and pay us instead

---

I joined Amway Australia. I went to a conference in Canberra. It's electrifying. I left afterward. The products I ordered, I never used them hehe. Church people got me into it.

---

Haha i joined one mlm paid a lil for products ,i actually wanted to learn the art of selling ;) served me well lol

---

Idk about y’all but because of Amway, my sister is making money and able to take me on a cool ass trip to Las Vegas next month  Y’all do you tho

---

So basically, you did not waste your money, every business requires some financial sacrifice and or investment. You also used your own products-some products are actually high quality. Some people like being a manager and teaching and marketing and sales, it was not for you and that is great you found your passion.