Would you invest in a pyramid scheme?

[Anonymous]

Business or no? Or its a scam?

[dynamicyandere]

Pyramid schemes are straight up illegal—it’s when people get paid to recruit and the recruits get paid to recruit others, but it’s not sustainable because there’s not actually product being sold and the money being paid out to the guys at the top is just from people who pay to join.


A pyramid scheme is pretty much an illegal version of a legal multi-level-marketing (MLM) or network-marketing company.


There are long-lasting technically legal network-marketing companies out there. However, even though these legal ones are technically obeying the law, I find their approach to be incredibly deceptive and with how things are structured, deception is incentivized.


Basically, they market it as an opportunity that anyone can take and anyone can do it and anyone can succeed. They sell it like a get-rich-quick solution. All you have to do is XYZ and you’ll be making millions. What they don’t tell you is all the skills you need to develop and all the hard work that is required to actually succeed.


I believe the ones that succeed fall into one of two categories. One, they joined at just the right place and just the right time and they already have a huge network full of people that would be eager to join them and try out their new business opportunity—everything runs smoothly simply because they’re lucky. Two, they have developed the entrepreneurial skills necessary to succeed.


It’s similar to becoming an entrepreneur. Yes, an entrepreneur can make millions. But, if they aren’t a fluke or overnight success, they need to work their a** off grinding and developing themselves and eating sh*t until they succeed.


If I’m not relying on luck to succeed like some lottery ticket, I’m going to need to be ready to hustle like an entrepreneur to make the business work.


But, if that’s the case, I rather be working for myself and building my own business instead of spending years of my life slaving away for a company that can drop me from their payroll at any moment.


A friend of mine was very successful in one MLM. He was a 7-figure earner and spoke on stage at their conferences. The moment he mentioned the possibility of resigning, the company totally kicked him to the curb and he got excommunicated from the organization. They wouldn’t even let him pass his network to someone else—they just took over it. He lost everything.


So yeah. I wouldn’t invest in a MLM or network marketing company. You need to basically become an entrepreneur to succeed (or be really lucky) and they can take all your money away with the snap of a finger.

[slatyb]

Scam. Multi-level marketing is just a pyramid scheme by another name.

[Daniela1982]

Scheme = Scam. Only ones that make any money is the ones at the top of the pyramid. The ones on the bottom are the big losers.

[jennifer_bloom]

I have hundreds of ways to make money so there is no reason for me to hurt others in the process of becoming rich.

[NathanDavis]

only when I want to lose my money

[Guy13]

It is a scam to me...