I have a confession to make.<\/p>\n
Gather ’round closely now, I’m going to whisper it in your ear…<\/p>\n
I’m suspicious of products marketed through MLM (multi-level-marketing) schemes. I know, I know, there are some reputable companies that do business in this manner. And yes, I know… some of you are not going to be pleased with me for saying so, but unfortunately, I’ve found\u00a0the very nature of MLM makes\u00a0it the ideal medium to market products of dubious integrity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here’s why…<\/p>\n
With MLM products, you are\u00a0sold on both the product and its “benefits”\u00a0and the “opportunity” it offers\u00a0(i.e., the option to earn “boat loads” of cash by introducing the product to friends, family, colleagues, strangers you meet on the bus, and what not). Of course, you earn a commission on\u00a0the purchases made from\u00a0people who enroll to purchase the product as a result of your introduction. Commissions are usually paid on a multi-tiered matrix, where you earn commissions on the people you recruit, the people your recruits recruit, and so on down the line. Demonstrations of the tiered matrix show how “simple” it is to earn $1,000’s on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n
Because “selling” offers users the opportunity to offset the cost of the product, most people make at least some effort to introduce the product to others. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Since\u00a0consumers now\u00a0have a financial incentive to tout the benefits of the product, this creates an\u00a0eager, enthusiastic army of promoters. Obviously, this marketing model is not conducive to criticism, since everyone stands to gain financially from product sales. Worse still, disenchanted customers are less likely to complain strenously when it is\u00a0a friend, family member, or colleague who has introduced them to the product. Instead, they are likely to simply discontinue using it.<\/p>\n
That’s one problem.<\/p>\n
The other problem is\u00a0pure logistics. It’s impossible, for instance, to pay commissions on\u00a06\u00a0or 7 levels and not run into probems. Everything costs money, and when you consider the sheer amount of commissions paid out, plus the margin the company needs to earn to sustain itself, the cost of the raw ingredients, the bottles, labels, etc, you encounter one of two problems…<\/p>\n
1) There’s not a whole lot of $$$ left to devote to the product and ingredients, which then tend to be of lesser quality of similarly-priced formulas readily available on the market. \u00a0<\/p>\n
2)\u00a0The product’s price is artificially inflated to cover the referral costs, so you end up with\u00a0an item that is grossly overpriced compared to similarily\u00a0formulated items on the market.<\/p>\n