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Message
re: Brees the face of a pyramid scheme?
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:17 pm to partywiththelombardi
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:17 pm to partywiththelombardi
quote:
I have always interpreted pyramids to be selling someone on the idea/dream that if they follow a set requirement of steps and work hard they can achieve financial freedom to some kind of capacity through the method/product being presented.
From the article:
quote:
But AdvoCare is pitching more than nutritional products. It's also offering people a pathway to financial freedom -- the opportunity to "design their own lives" by selling those products and to earn even more money by recruiting others to join the fold. This business model, called multilevel marketing, helped the company generate $719 million in net revenue last year.
This pitch -- the promise that if you sign up for AdvoCare, you can reap "rewarding" financial results -- draws tens of thousands of new distributors every year. But an Outside the Lines/ESPN The Magazine investigation has found that few of those salespeople will ever achieve that vision. In reality, only a tiny fraction of AdvoCare members earn anything close to a modest income, even as they're pressured by higher-ranking distributors to keep buying inventory. "They plant the seed that you're gonna make money -- life-changing money," says Gabriel Chavez, who joined in 2010.
1
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:18 pm to Chad504boy
Morestead didnt strike me as the type to be a masochist
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:20 pm to partywiththelombardi
quote:
Morestead didnt strike me as the type to be a masochist
he's keeping an eye on me, that's how self inundated he is.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:21 pm to bonethug0108
quote:
It's the same thing almost every store and business in the world does. You buy wholesale and sell resale.
May as well (incorrectly) call every grocery store in the world a pyramid scheme.
I've never sold Advocare, nor know someone who has, but from everything I hear and read, it's multi-level marketing (aka a pyramid scheme), which is not the same as retail.
From the Federal Trade Commission:
quote:
In multilevel or network marketing, individuals sell products to the public — often by word of mouth and direct sales. Typically, distributors earn commissions, not only for their own sales, but also for sales made by the people they recruit.
Sounds like Advocare.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:25 pm to mm2316
Multilevel marketing is a total pyramid scheme that has been around forever. Same as the essential oils, Mary Kay cosmetics, shakeology...etc. Advocare is the same thing.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:29 pm to mm2316
Congrats to Advocare for exploiting desperate people who want to be shareholders without a percentage stake in the company. While also getting free product promotion and free sales staff out of the same people without having to pay to have your product in a store All for the promise of a very marginal cut of the profits.
I will be in my office all day thinking of the next Advocare.
I will be in my office all day thinking of the next Advocare.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:31 pm to NOFOX
Agreed. Limu was the big thing about a year ago in my area. That was so damn annoying. You hear the same shite as you do with EVERY pyramid scheme:
"The product will change your life"
"You will gain financial freedom for your current job"
"Be your own boss"
If you achieved a certain level a sales, they "give" you a BMW- Which really means they give you $600 a month towards a lease, as long as you maintain a certain level a sales. One guy I went to High School with actually went through with leasing the BMW, and being that the Limu hype died down, I'm guessing he isn't maintaining his sales, and is tuck with a hefty car note every month.
"The product will change your life"
"You will gain financial freedom for your current job"
"Be your own boss"
If you achieved a certain level a sales, they "give" you a BMW- Which really means they give you $600 a month towards a lease, as long as you maintain a certain level a sales. One guy I went to High School with actually went through with leasing the BMW, and being that the Limu hype died down, I'm guessing he isn't maintaining his sales, and is tuck with a hefty car note every month.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:45 pm to partywiththelombardi
quote:
Congrats to Advocare for exploiting desperate people who want to be shareholders without a percentage stake in the company. While also getting free product promotion and free sales staff out of the same people without having to pay to have your product in a store All for the promise of a very marginal cut of the profits.
I'm certainly not going to act like the moral police and condemn Brees for his involvement.
People should know what they are getting into with these multi-level marketing schemes, and they do so voluntarily.
At least with Advocare I've heard decent things about the product, whereas Limu on the other hand seems like a total fraud. IIRC, Limu is an energy drink, along with other supplement, that claims to be made with seaweed off the coast of Tongo, which is supposed to give you magical healing powers. People that I saw on social media selling it claims that it heals injuries/conditions/illnesses stemming back from many years that no doctor, or another treatment, could heal. It was ridiculous.
Another big difference between Advocare and Limu is how the product is sold. As far as I know, anyone can buy the actual Advocare product from the distributor. With Limu, a distributor will buy a sampling pack, but can't sell the actual product to customers. They can give a can or two of the energy drink away to people, with the hope of selling them the sample pack and making them a distributor.
This post was edited on 3/15/16 at 1:52 pm
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:48 pm to Broski
OMG!s
Thank you espn. You may have saved us all. I mean sales people being sold on selling? Wow. Tupperware...your next.
Hey espn next check allllll those companies who advertise on your networks and their sales forces. Could be some more great stories to dig up no?
espn
edit
I take back every thing I said.
Thank you espn. You may have saved us all. I mean sales people being sold on selling? Wow. Tupperware...your next.
Hey espn next check allllll those companies who advertise on your networks and their sales forces. Could be some more great stories to dig up no?
espn
edit
I take back every thing I said.
This post was edited on 3/15/16 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:56 pm to goatmilker
was the article sponsored by subway, the franchise that promised me i'd lose 100 lbs?
Posted on 3/15/16 at 1:58 pm to goatmilker
... yet if this story were about Matt Ryan or Cam Newton being spokespersons for some Pyramid Scheme, y'all would be putting them on blast.
So I'll continue to make fun of Brees, even though I really don't care all that much. Just another feather in the cap.
So I'll continue to make fun of Brees, even though I really don't care all that much. Just another feather in the cap.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 2:01 pm to DoubleDown
A feather in the cap? He's been a spokesperson...along with a bunch of other guys, for AdvoCare for years and years.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 2:05 pm to DoubleDown
For about two seconds DD and thats all this piece of garbage is worth.
Her writting was entirely over dramatic and inflammatory.
"a army of people" "all wearing the same shirts" "yelling and screaming" etc etc. She purposely makes it sound like a nazi party rally
The company is selling a pipe dream to its sales force up front. If you buy in thats on you.
Now if advocare ask their sales people if they are gay then I say we bring down the whole damn company
Her writting was entirely over dramatic and inflammatory.
"a army of people" "all wearing the same shirts" "yelling and screaming" etc etc. She purposely makes it sound like a nazi party rally
The company is selling a pipe dream to its sales force up front. If you buy in thats on you.
Now if advocare ask their sales people if they are gay then I say we bring down the whole damn company
This post was edited on 3/15/16 at 2:09 pm
Posted on 3/15/16 at 2:24 pm to bonethug0108
quote:
Not even close to what a pyramid scheme is.
It's the same thing almost every store and business in the world does. You buy wholesale and sell resale.
May as well (incorrectly) call every grocery store in the world a pyramid scheme.
Advocare is a textbook MLM dude. Who are you trying to fool?
Posted on 3/15/16 at 2:28 pm to goatmilker
quote:
Now if advocare ask their sales people if they are gay then I say we bring down the whole damn company
I see what you did there.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 3:55 pm to partywiththelombardi
quote:
Jordan's $200 shoes say hello.
Beats by Dre are $200 headphones...repped by pop culture and athletes...headphones.
That's nothing. Kanye West's torn up Yeezus sweaters go for as much as $2000. There are some idiots in this world that will buy anything despite the exorbitant prices.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 4:08 pm to DCtiger1
quote:
DCtiger1
Your friend is dumb. I want to say to join the company as a normal distributor (20% discount on products and 20% commission on sales) it runs $75.
Your friend went all in and paid to become an Advisor (40% discount and commission and you start making money from those underneath you) with the company which is something "some" distributors work towards slowly. I say some because most people, like myself, on join to receive the 20% discount on the products. I love their omegas, thermogenics, and protein.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 4:40 pm to Breadstick Gun
quote:
Your friend is dumb. I want to say to join the company as a normal distributor (20% discount on products and 20% commission on sales) it runs $75.
Your friend went all in and paid to become an Advisor (40% discount and commission and you start making money from those underneath you) with the company which is something "some" distributors work towards slowly. I say some because most people, like myself, on join to receive the 20% discount on the products. I love their omegas, thermogenics, and protein.
You are mostly correct though you omit certain details. You can't make money from people you sign up until you are an advisor, though those people can count towards your advisor goal that you need to hit. There's a time limit on reaching the $3000 in sales (a quarter?). They give you 30% off if you buy $3000 worth of retail jumping straight to advisor (spending $2100+tax+shipping). Once you hit advisor, you are "locked in at advisor" (though lose commissions below you if you + them don't sell enough continuously
), allowing you to keep your 40% discount for yourself personally...as long as you spend $50.00 at the beginning of the year. So, yes, if you want to make any money, it behooves you to dive in on the product at Advisor level or it will be a massive slog at the distributor level, including having to pay shipping on a 20% discount...you better order in bulk or it's close to the same as buying from Little Andy driving his car on the street with his number and Advocare symbol on the back. The reason it's easier to succeed in Dallas particularly...there's no sales tax on nutrition products...so 40% off retail is 40% off retail. In Louisiana, if it costs $20 and you can "buy it" for $12, you are still paying tax on the $20 retail price. There's also a regional center you can order to and pick up from, costing nothing but gas and time to drive out there.
I read the whole article. I've been through the system at Advisor level. There's merit to the article. I don't "blame Advocare" for letting my cousin talk me into going for it. I got a decent chunk of my investment back and used the product myself. I would highly recommend that people not get caught up in it though, especially if you know someone willing to sell it to you (hint: you can "probably" haggle if they get 40% off to get it for retail price without tax at least by saying you'll buy from someone else). If these people were really your friends, they'd sell it to you at a slight discount, enough to make a couple bucks, but not gouge you. It's what I did. It would have gotten me kicked out if caught selling to anyone below Retail + Tax! Life moves on though. Just thought if one person on the fence reads this post, you'd feel more informed from the inside.
This post was edited on 3/15/16 at 4:47 pm
Posted on 3/15/16 at 4:46 pm to Breadstick Gun
Multi level marketing companies and pyramid schemes are not the same thing. Nothing is actually sold in a pyramid scheme and they are illegal. However MLM companies are pretty damn scummy and I lose respect for people that are involved with them.
Posted on 3/15/16 at 4:50 pm to ShamelessPel
I ain't got time for that
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