Isn’t MLM a Pyramid Scheme?

pyramid schemes
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“Isn’t this a pyramid scheme?”

In the network marketing industry, also known as the MLM industry, this question comes up frequently.

If you have been in Network Marketing for a while, and you have faced this question for the umpteenth time, this is how you might feel….

 

pyramid scheme

 

However, when you present your network marketing business opportunity to someone, and they ask you, “isn’t this a pyramid scheme”, know this: it is a good question! And it’s a very legitimate question as well.

 

The reason it’s a good question, is because most of the time when network marketing is explained, a diagram is used looking similar to this:

 

network marketing

 

Now, when you compare this diagram with what a true pyramid scheme looks like, you will understand the confusion in your prospect’s mind and you will realise that his or her question, “isn’t this a pyramid scheme”, is quite legitimate. This is what a typical pyramid scheme looks like:

 

typical pyramid scheme

 

Definition of a pyramid scheme:
A pyramid scheme is inter alia defined by Wikipedia, The Pyramid Scheme Federal Bureau of Investigation and Debra A. Valentine in her article on “Pyramid Schemes” for the United States Federal Trade Commission as follows:

“A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.”

In other words the real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships.

 

The Real Problem is not the pyramid shape

The problem therefore is not the geometrical shape, or the so-called pyramid shape of the structure. As a matter of fact, this is the strongest structure known to man and is replicated all through life – from government organizations, schools and corporations. Look at this:

 

legitimate pyramids

 

If you have been working in a standard business model, where you slave away 8 hours or more a day, just to be underpaid for your services (like in all businesses, as they leverage off of your efforts to make profits for the company), you might appreciate this picture:

 

pyramid scheme

In the above legal pyramid scheme, who is getting paid the most and who is getting paid the least?

Do the employees on the bottom have an opportunity to earn more than the people above them?

The answers to these questions are quite obvious and should hopefully serve as an eye opener if you are trapped in one of these legal pyramids where you have no prospects of improving your financial future.

At least with network marketing, everybody gets the same opportunity to create wealth through leverage, not just those who got in first, like with normal corporations.

 

The true test of a Pyramid Scheme vs Network Marketing is this:

Is there a product or service of real market value?

If not, it’s most likely a pyramid scheme!

Are you getting paid for recruiting new members, or are you getting paid when a product or service of real market value is being sold?

If you are paid for recruiting instead of the sale of marketable products or services, it’s most likely a pyramid.

 

For a very good article comparing Herbalife to pyramid schemes, see Herbalife Pyramid Scheme…..Get Rich Quick Scam.

 

EZHealthBiz Training Tuesday Video:

How to answer the “Isn’t this a pyramid scheme?” question in Network Marketing.

 

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Albert Stark
1 year ago

MLMs are often called pyramid schemes because they have an initial investment that leads to the recruitment of new members who pay their own way up the ladder. But it’s more than just a pyramid scheme. The real problem with MLMs is that they are illegal pyramid schemes.

travisimo
travisimo
7 years ago

Actually mlm has a higher failure and loss rate than straight up gifting circles. Nobody makes any money selling junk product. The only money that can be made is through recruitment, and only a few people can do this due to simple math.

 


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