OT: Modern Day Snake Oil Salesman

[horshack.sixpack]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Snake Oil replenishes your Dead Eye.**


If you know, you know.

 

[Felonious Junk]

Just delete Facebook. Problem solved

 

[jxndawg]

I've had one friend like that, and it put a serious dent in our relationship. He'd mentioned his MLM to me a time or two and I'd let him know pretty adamantly I wanted nothing to do with it. So one Saturday morning he sends me a text, saying that he's going to be in town around lunch time, would my wife and I like to come meet him? Made it sound like it was just going to be us. We had a toddler and a newborn at the time, so it would've been a production, but I said sure, just let me know what time and where. About an hour later I was on FB and saw a post from him saying, "Friends in the Jackson area, I'm going to be hosting a lunch gathering today for anyone who is interested" and it really pissed me off. Shot him back a text saying I told you I don't want anything to do w/ MLM. He never responded. We probably didn't speak again for almost a year, and the next time we did he casually mentioned that his old MLM gang was "a bunch of crooks" who tried to screw him over.

 

[blacklistedbully]

At first I thought this was gonna be another Hugh Freeze thread.

Pyramid schemes are pretty awful for all but those who are at or near the peak. But I am aware there are many folks who have done well with Mary Kay, and Avon. Probably not a coincidence they are both cosmetics.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Just delete Facebook. Problem solved

I don't have it but I lurk on my wife's just enough to be irritated because I'm stupid.

 

[ckDOG]

Damn I thought this was going to be a Liver King thread...

 

[eckie1]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

Wuuuuttt. You mean that the $5K I paid to buy the software that would have my mortgage paid off next week wasn’t legit??****

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

Hell, I thought this was about Hugh Freeze.

 

[vhdawg]

My mom was part of an MLM that seemed to be the exception to the rule and she made a career out of it for probably a good 20-25 years. They had a decent quality product for an affordable price, stood behind their product, and the company was built by people who were not shysters and genuinely were out to help people and used it to fund missions and ministry. That said, it was absolutely a job and was not a get rich quick, it required a lot of work and sales and people skills, but she was able to do it as basically her sole source of income as a single mother for at least 15 or so of the years she was heavily involved.

Of course it also revolved around going into people's homes, so the pandemic pretty much did it in and the company had to shut down a year or so ago. It would not have ever been my thing, but I knew a lot of people who were pretty successful at it that treated it as a job and put in the work.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

Snake oil gets a bad wrap to be honest... It obviously works because I have never heard a snake squeak.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

I did. We're no longer friends.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

At first I thought this was gonna be another Hugh Freeze thread.

Pyramid schemes are pretty awful for all but those who are at or near the peak. But I am aware there are many folks who have done well with Mary Kay, and Avon. Probably not a coincidence they are both cosmetics.

Sales Rule: Sell things to women and hunters/fishermen.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

My mom was part of an MLM that seemed to be the exception to the rule and she made a career out of it for probably a good 20-25 years. They had a decent quality product for an affordable price, stood behind their product, and the company was built by people who were not shysters and genuinely were out to help people and used it to fund missions and ministry. That said, it was absolutely a job and was not a get rich quick, it required a lot of work and sales and people skills, but she was able to do it as basically her sole source of income as a single mother for at least 15 or so of the years she was heavily involved.

Of course it also revolved around going into people's homes, so the pandemic pretty much did it in and the company had to shut down a year or so ago. It would not have ever been my thing, but I knew a lot of people who were pretty successful at it that treated it as a job and put in the work.

That's awesome, and not at all like what I've experienced/been exposed to. I've had actual friends tell me that I must not understand what they were offering because I wouldn't lay out 4 figures to join Team National to save money. I was like dude you don't understand ROI. Same guy is now hawking BS weight loss pills that are likely mostly caffeine and unlikely to be healthy or lead to long term weight loss, but no matter, he's doing his best to get others to buy in too.

 

[Yeti]

***Listen I’ve got this coffee I drink everyday and I’ve lost weight with it. You just need to DM me and I can hook you up. You take it with a vitamin which I’ll need to get you started on too. Once you’ve had the coffee and the vitamin you’ll need lunch… I have a killer shake mix I use ..and hey these products are so great you will want to promote them to friends family and church members as well…what’s that you don’t belong to a church well you will want to start going because you will want to spread the gospel of these products….and if your wife or lady friend is interested my wife has some cosmetics she should try. Maybe the wife and I could meet up with y’all for coffee..Dutch of course …and show you how to lose weight, feel and look better and not to mention put a little jingle in your pocket ***

I’ve done so well I just bought a new used Ford Ranger ..it’s a 91 but I like vintage stuff

 

[Conman90]

Yes, and the newest thing is fuel mileage tablets. Just pop a couple in the gas tank and magically your F250 get 37 MPG!

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

Knew a guy that had a wife and seven kids; sold his successful Physical Therapy business, and the health insurance that went with it, to sell advocare. Haven’t heard from him since, but I can’t imagine it went well.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Yes, and the newest thing is fuel mileage tablets. Just pop a couple in the gas tank and magically your F250 get 37 MPG!

Link please***

 

[The Cooterpoot]

I rub a little snake oil on a few times a week.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

 

[Blldawg87]

I've unfollowed or unfriended every person on Facebook that I've seen push MLM.

...libs too.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

That's awesome, and not at all like what I've experienced/been exposed to. I've had actual friends tell me that I must not understand what they were offering because I wouldn't lay out 4 figures to join Team National to save money. I was like dude you don't understand ROI. Same guy is now hawking BS weight loss pills that are likely mostly caffeine and unlikely to be healthy or lead to long term weight loss, but no matter, he's doing his best to get others to buy in too.

You clearly don’t understand Team National. For that one time investment, your whole family can save money for life! What is a few grand spread of generations?

My friend was legitimately upset with me for not investing with him in Team National. He forgave after he finally realized he was wasting more and more money. The Team National people really pissed me off, though. They used a bunch of semi-famous and we’ll to do people in the Memphis area who would invite poor people to their house and show off all the fancy toys and say “I can afford this because of Team National”. No, you could afford that because you own multiple motorcycle dealerships or you own several successful restaurants. My friend and other suckers were so wowed by these wealthy people’s houses and toys that they couldn’t scrape their pennies together fast enough.

 

[Other Kind]

I had a really close friend that was pushing me to join one, I couldn’t remember which and he was talking about how he’s made $15k in the last three weeks. I let him go on and on with a few of us sitting there and I got out my checkbook and wrote a check for $5k.

He asked what I was doing and I said, “I have a check for 5k here that I will hand over to you now personally, not for your product, but if you pull your bank statement and show me deposits equaling -15k over the last few weeks.” He squirmed like a mf. He reached out to me a few years ago and apologized. It’s sad how seemingly good people get mixed up in these lies and just can’t see through it.

 

[was21]

I had a really close friend that was pushing me to join one, I couldn’t remember which and he was talking about how he’s made $15k in the last three weeks. I let him go on and on with a few of us sitting there and I got out my checkbook and wrote a check for $5k.

He asked what I was doing and I said, “I have a check for 5k here that I will hand over to you now personally, not for your product, but if you pull your bank statement and show me deposits equaling -15k over the last few weeks.” He squirmed like a mf. He reached out to me a few years ago and apologized. It’s sad how seemingly good people get mixed up in these lies and just can’t see through it.

I'm disappointed.....thought it was going to be about Freezus

 

[Other Kind]

I forgot about this one. I don’t live in MS anymore and was out in town wearing my state polo (obviously), strutting around the grocery store and a guy randomly says, “Hey! You went to State?” Me being the sucker I am to link up with the true maroon faithful just fell right in talking about football, us needing to fire Moorhead, etc and he was just going right along with it.

He then said, “hey man, I’ve got to run. Want to watch a game sometime?”. I don’t mind having state friends especially when I’m in a city 5+ hours away so I gave him my number and didn’t think anything else about it. Later that night I get a vague text about a business opportunity and meeting with his business partner. I pulled him up on LinkedIn and he didn’t even go to State. 17ing psycho.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

I tell them they can be an idiot on their own, but don't try to drag me into it.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

Hell, I thought this was about Hugh Freeze.

I figured Crypto.

 

[AlCoDog]

I remember my parents getting into one in the mid 80’s called Melaluca(sp?). They made different things, but I mostly remember the household cleaning and hygiene products because they smelled like absolute ****, especially the shampoo, which was the only kind we used for a year. That’s kept me away from such things my whole life.

 

[GloryDawg]

Everybody knows that guy. They are usually looking for the easy way up. They are easily sold on the idea all that all they have to do is get enough enough people under them they don't have to do anything but rank in the money. They themselves never sell anything and the few they get to sign up are just like them and don't sell anything either. Not to say there are not people who are successful. However they are the ones who actually get out and sell.

 

[patdog]

Had a guy several years ago ask me to lunch. I stupidly accepted. Turned into a marketing presentation for something called Team America. He kept telling me about other mutual friends that had joined. I just thought, well all that does is limit my pool of potential people to sell to and get to join. I thanked him for the lunch and got the hell out of there. I have noticed that neither him nor any of the others have quit their day jobs.

 

[Ranchdawg]

My all time favorite western!

 

[PBRME]

I remember FB being flooded with essential oil nonsense. People are exceptionally gullible.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

My wife has an old roommate that was full bore into the Adovacare stuff to a point where she made a decent living at it. She almost became homeless when the FTC shut the company down back in 2009. It's sometimes sad watching her on FB moving around the country chasing the next big MLM program.

 

[SwampDawg]

In my wife's home town, the deal was as soon as you signed up you were supposed to buy the most expensive car you could to impress the people you were trying to scam. No telling how many people lost their cars to the repo people.

 

[kired]

Co-worker sells the loaded teas. I kept turning it down ("I've already had a big cup of coffee this morning") and finally quit asking me. Looked up the prices on their FB page - holy ****. And I thought I was splurging on a strangebrew drink once every week or so. $12 - $15 for a huge cup of tea? wtf

And the really crazy thing, I drop off my kid at the junior high and see other kids walking in with these huge 32 oz teas. Parents really buying their kids a $10+ drink before school every day?

 

[Cantdoitsal]

My all time favorite western!

Wow. Not too many share that sentiment with me on OLJWales. It's actually my favorite all time movie ahead of GF 1 & 2.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

I'm making a killing with bitcoin right now and no way I'm letting any of you 17ers in on it.
DM me so I can tell you that directly!

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

It's always the Facebook message from the old classmate you haven't talked to in years for me. Hey you want to try this amazing product? Nope

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

If I had an amazing way to get rich quick without working hard, the last thing I would do was let anybody else know about it.

 

[johnson86-1]

Do any of you also have a subset of friends who are always hawking the latest pyramid scheme? I seem to have a handful of people in my orbit who move from one to the next. You always know when they've switched because the suddenly change from being really passionate about, oh I don't know "saving you money on things you buy already" to some kind of magical weight loss pills, etc. The key tell is that they NEVER post the real name of the company for fear of people knowing what brand of snake oil they are selling and stiff arming them out of the gate. It also never seems to occur to them that I've been watching them not get rich off of schemes A - Y, so I'm pretty confident that not only does the product/service not actually get real results, but also , they re not going to get rich off of scheme Z either.

If you are successful in one of these pyramid schemes (MLM) please feel free to correct my take.

PS: It also seems that all of these run through churches with people moving on the the next biggest church in town once they've exhausted, and I do mean EXHAUSTED, all potential marks at their first church. Maybe I'm just cynical.

Have lots of wives of friends that got into one thing or the other. None of them were too pushy. Wife "had" to buy some close out of trunk shows that she probably wouldn't have and even bought one time what I guess were essential oils? Basically different ones were supposed to be calming or energizing or whatever? Pretty minimal costs and going to people that would do us a favor for us at the drop of a hat, so I didn't mind doing it even though it's a pretty inefficient signal of friendship and it's not like most of them needed the money.

Do have one wife of a friend that can't help herself and is just a serial pyramid schemer. Crazy thing is she has a pretty good job with good incentives and she could make a **** ton if she would just layoff the pyramid schemes and focus on her actual job, which involves real products, incentives, and stock options with a ton of upside. And she really has no business having the job she has. She fell into it *** backwards and is too stupid to realize she's unqualified and overpaid but that she could actually do the job and make a lot more money if she put her mind to it. Have not and will not ever allow wife to buy anything from her because I view it as equivalent to giving an alcoholic a drink.