MLM means fleecing your own relatives, friends

One Asutosh writes:

All Multi Layer Marketing (MLM) companies are the same. Their products are exhorbitantly costly. If you complain they say "if you want a superior product you have to pay for it". There is nothing "superior" about their products. The quality is same as other similar products that you get in the market. The commission of all the "down line distributors" are added on to the price and that makes them expensive. The sad part is that they make you sell all these expensive products to your friends and relatives. Many a time you end up spoiling relations with them. A normal person doesn't like to be fleeced and a person with strong moral values does not sell exorbitant profit margin goods to his friends and relatives. Just because the MLM guys say the product is superior and justify the high selling price you also get carried away by the Sales Pitch. Have you seen any INDEPENDENT STUDY by any GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION attesting to their superior perfomance? When you go to the market to buy a Coconut worth Rs 10 (20 US Cents) you shake it, knock on it and see it throughly before you part with your money. Then why do you accept what these MLM sales people say at their face?

These MLMs make you attend meetings where a number of "high selling sales people" are felicitated on stage for "selling" the highest amount of products and their incentive cheques are hand over to a large applause from the assembled people. This causes a inferiority complex in you. You start thinking "they are doing it & i am not". You start feeling inferior. You start measuring yourself in relation to all other MLM sales people. Normal life goes for a toss. You are so engrossed in your MLM work that any thing else doesn't matter. You are literally brain-washed. Most MLM sales people i met were "queer". Their presence makes you uncomfortable. If you have no qualm in fleecing your friends and relative of their hard earned money then this is your vocation. Butif you have some moral and sanity left in you, then keep out.

Amway apologists are tongue-tied

Suddenly we find all Amway apologists tongue-tied. After the text of the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgement which proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Amway India business model squarely attracts the provisions of Money Circulation Scheme, is published in the earlier posts, these nitwit Amway apologists could not come to terms with their wits, it seems.

The faceless fellow or the stupid fellow could not digest the hard reality in the judgement. Here is another comment I received from an anonymous fellow with the pseudonym Cloud.

Here Hello, I came across your blog today. Since this is my first and last comment to your blog I'll try to be brief.
Don't you have anything else to do than mess with someone else's business, seriously?! I think you're smart enough to mind your own work for which you get paid. I won't waste my time to feed the flames of your blog by arguing on Amway. But to just let you know, it became completely legal when it adopted the Rs.995 joining registration. No distributor get's (sic) profit off recruiting people, which is the funda of the 'binary system', which is what we call an illegal MLM. The court was jumping over amway because it was also thought to be a binary system joining scheme.
Anyways, it's a habit in the blood of journalists to criticize things they never understand. But I hope you are wise enough to do something productive rather than wage a cyber war against something that did more good than harm to anyone. The people who fail, fail to follow the ethical and friendly practices. I have no concern for them. Hoping that you come to your wits by doing something better like try to write poems or stories. "To live life to the fullest you need to serve others, rather than hurt others." You decide yourself whether if you are living properly or not. If you are then this blog wouldn't exist..isn't it ?

This type of fellows have no social responsibilities. They do not care whatever happens to the society and whatever happens to the economy of the country they are living in. They do not mind if the heists decamp with booty. They are happy with their cosy lives. They care very less if the social fabric of the society they are living in is destroyed due to this type of multilevel marketing companies. And above all, they find fault with the whistle blowers. They simply ask people like us to shut up and remain mute spectators to the daylight robbery.

They refuse to accept the reality that hardly a handful of people are only making money in the MLM swindles. They would be happy to dream and to remain in dreams. They refuse to identify the reality that actually they are losing money and someone else is making money at their cost.

The only question is shall we remain mute spectators to the on-going daylight robbery in the name of MLM or raise our voice against such atrocities.

This just another nameless fellow claims that after changing its entry fee to Rs. 995, Amway India has become legal. Anyway, he is agreeing that earlier Amway India was an illegal entity. It seems that he is a self-styled legal expert. He says that it is not binary system. Who said anyway that Amway India is a binary system. It is 6-4-3 system and the pyramid scheme is still in vogue. Just visit its website.

Amway India's business model is money circulation scheme :AP High Court

Now let's have a look at the second ingredient observed by the AP High Court.

Whether second ingredient is also satisfied or not is to be considered now. As seen above, each member on his enrollment pays Rs. 4,400. Payment of Rs. 4,400 by a member on his enrollment and his future earnings through marketing/enrolling other members constitutes event or contingency relative to his enrollment. The distributor gets all this money as a consideration for promise made by the sponsor at the time of his enrollment. Thus as far as the member joining the scheme is concerned, both the ingredients of Section 2 (c) of the Act, i.e. a) making of quick or easy money, and b) the chance or opportunity of making quick or easy money depending on an event or contingency relative or applicable to the enrollment of members into the scheme are satisfied (Para31).

As pleaded by the petitioners (Amway India) themselves, out of Rs. 4,400 a substantial part, namely Rs. 1,800 is collected as subscription fee, ;license fee, business kit etc. To qualify for earning commission a member has to earn the minimum monthly PV of 50 which he will get by selling products worth Rs. 2000. Respondent No 6 in Para 11 (c) of his counter affidavit specifically pleaded that 'Amway" (first petitioner) would automatically get a business of the quantum of Rs. 1080 crore (4,50,000x2,000x12 months) per annum which would yield an astronomical profit and it cannot but be stated as though the company may conveniently refer it as 'turnover by sale of products'. Significantly, this assertion made in the counter affidavit is not denied in the rejoinder of the petitioners (Amway India). They have merely tried to explain the said allegation by offering certain justifications. The petitioners have not specifically denied that the first petitioner (Amway India) would get a sum of Rs. 1080 crore by ensuring that each distributor maintains the minimum sales level. Even though the scheme per se does not stipulate that each distributor has to maintain the minimum required business level, prescription of minimum level of 50 PV to qualify for getting commission is sufficient inducement for the members to relentlessly strive for maintaining the PV level at or above the said minimum levels. (Para 33).

It is, thus, evident that the whole scheme is so ingeniously conceived that the inducement for aggressive enrollment of new members to earn more and more commission is inherent in the scheme. By holding out attractive commission on the business turned out by the downline members, the scheme provides for sufficient inducement for its members to chase for the new members in their hot pursuit to make quick/easy money. On the part of the promoter by pushing each member to achieve the minimum sales worth Rs. 2,000 er month, (this sale includes enrollment of new members) he is assured of about 1000 crores per annum. All this squarely satisfy the description of quick/easy money. In addition to this, it is an admitted fact that each person in order to continue to be the distributor, shall pay renewal subscription fee of Rs. 995 per annum. In para 11(b) of the counter affidavit on the admitted number of distributors of 4,50,000 this amount is calculated at about Rs. 45 crore per annum. These figures are not denied by the first petitioner (Amway India) in its rejoinder. The plea of the first petitioner that there is no compulsion that a member shall renew his distributorship looks to us to be specious. Once a person becomes a distributor ;in a scheme of this nature where the sops in the shape of commission are so luring, it would be very difficult for a member to withdraw from their membership to avoid payment of the annual renewal subscription fee. (Para 34).

From the whole analysis of the scheme and the way in which it is structured it is quite apparent that once a person gets into this scheme he will find it difficult to come out of the web and it becomes a vicious circle for him. In any event the petitioners have not specifically denied the turnover they are achieving and the income they are earning towards the initial enrollment of the distributors, the renewal subscription fee and the minimum sales being achieved by the distributors as alleged in the counter affidavit. By no means can it be said that the money which the first petitioner (Amway India) is earning is not the quick/easy money. Thus the two ingredients are satisfied in the case of promoter too. We are therefore, of the considered view that the scheme run by the petitioners squarely attracts the definition of 'Money Circulation Scheme' as provided in Section 2 (c) of the Act. (Para 35).

From the above analysis, the Andhra Pradesh has conclusively stated that the business model of Amway India attracts the definition of money circulation scheme. Is it not enough for Amway apologists? Do they need a slap in the face to come to reality?

The big 'Amway' lie

Shyam

Joseph Goebbels was the boss of the original Lord Haw Haw, William Joyce.

'Amway's' latter-day Lord Haw Haw, David Steadson, and his own bosses follow exactly the same twisted propaganda theories as those followed by their 'Nazi' predecessors, Goebbels and Joyce.

Goebbels said:

‘If you tell a big enough lie and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.'

The big 'Amway' lie, which Mr. Steadson and his criminal associates have kept repeating, is:

Thanks to the founders of 'Amway,' 3 millions of ordinary men and women around the world have all been able to become 'Independent Business Owners'.

Certain people have come to believe it. The lie has only been maintained, because the parallel 'Amway' State has shielded these people from the political and economic consequences of the lie. It has thus become vitally important for the parallel 'Amway'state to use its financial power to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie and, thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of 'Amway.'

David Brear (copyright 2010)

AP High Court confirmed it is easy and quick money

For the convenience of IBOFB let us look at the High Court judgement which held the business model of Amway illegal.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court held: As is evident from the contentions advanced on behalf of the petitioners (Amway India) as noted earlier, the petitioners have taken the stand that there is no quick or easy money involved in the scheme and that the money which the sponsor member gets does not depend on any event or contiency relative or applicable to the enrollment of the members into the scheme. But on the careful analysis of the true nature of the scheme as explained above, it is quite apparent that one of the components of the income earned by a sponsor member is the commission which is calculated not only on the personal PV of the sponsor memb er, but also from the PV earned by all the remaining 102 members falling within his group. There is, therefore, no gainsaying that a substantial part of the income which the first sponsor member of the group gets depends on the event of or contingency relative or applicable to the enrollment of members into the scheme. This conclusion can be tested by a further analysis of the income figures given in the earlier paragraph. Supposing the sponsor member at the top does not introduce any member and if he merely sells the products given to him, he gets an income of Rs. 12, 420. If he sponsors only six members and they in turn do not sponsor any member, then he will get an additional income of Rs. 23, 760. If those six members who he sponsored again sponsor four members each, he will get a further income of Rs. 1,14,480 and if the 24 members sponsor three members each, he will get a further sum of Rs. 6,83,300. Thus the money which the member at the top line gets depends upon the members who he enrolls or the members enrolled by7 him enroll. (para 28)

From the aforementioned discussion, it is proved that the schemes for easy/quick money to its distributors. The first ingredient (of Prize Chits & Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978) is thus satisfied. (Para 30).

Let us look at the second ingredient in the next post.

We are interested in the 'Amway' organ grinders, not their monkey

Shyam

The 'Amway' Lord Haw Haw, Mr. 'IBOFB' Steadson, has again fallen silent. However, it would be far more accurate to say that the billionaire bosses of the 'Amway' mob have fallen silent; for Mr. Steadson is their de facto agent, and his extensive, reality-inverting Internet propaganda activities are part of a pattern of ongoing, major racketeering activity (as defined by the US federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, 1970).

Mr. Steadson is a nothing more than an incontinent, little dancing monkey. Meanwhile the 'Amway' organ grinders are fully-aware that Indian law recognises that one of the fundamental identifying characteristics of a pyramid scam, or illegal money circulation scheme, is that its victims are deceived into handing over their cash on the pretext that they will receive more money than they started with. In the case of the cruel 'Amway' swindle, its victims have been arbitrarily defined as 'Independent Business Owners' (in order that they can be blamed, and silenced, when, inevitably, then fail to receive an overall profit) and their illegal cash payments have been arbitrarily defined as 'sales' (in order to prevent criminal investigation). Since (for more than 50+ years) virtually no over-priced 'Amway' wampum has ever been sold for a profit by any insolvent, non-salaried commission agent of the organization to anyone who is not an insolvent, non-salaried commission agent of the organization, then the only possible way left open for these poor individuals to try to make money has been to recruit more insolvent, non-salaried commission agents to buy the over-priced 'Amway' wampum. Obviously, because it has never really been sold to outsiders: from an economic and legalistic point of view, over-priced'Amway' wampum might as well not have existed.

The self-evident truth that Mr. Steadson and his de facto bosses now cannot accept, is that senior Indian judges are in complete agreement with all the free-thinking individuals whom the reality-inverting 'Amway' propaganda has previously sought to discredit as: childish liars, fantasists, pseudo-scientists, conspiracy theorists, cultists, communists, vulgar entertainers, etc. In fact, senior Indian judges have immediately deduced that an illegal money circulation scheme, or economically-unviable closed-market, is what lurks behind all the reality-inverting 'Amway' bullshit. The unsubstantiated claims that so-called 'IBOs' have sold 'World Class Amway' products for a profit, are absurd lies. Indeed, even the 'Amway' Lord Haw Haw, Mr. Steadson, hasn't gone so far as to claim that significant numbers of so-called 'IBOs' have sold 'World Class Amway' products for a profit. On the contrary, the incontinent, little dancing monkey has so far only steadfastly pretended that he himself is a successful IBO who has sold 'World Class Amway Products' (presumeably for a profit) to his dear old mother and to various unamed individuals whom he claims continually beat a path to his door.

Once you know how the cruel 'Amway' swindle functions, the rotten stench of Mr. Steadson's absurd script becomes palpable.

David Brear (copyright 2010)

Here is IBOFB's free load of unsolicited MLM bullshit once again

Shyam

I see that you have received another free load of unsolicited 'MLM' bullshit from the inflexible merchant of unsaleable 'Amway' wampum, Lord Haw Haw, a.k.a. Mr. 'IBOFB' Steadson.

For several years Mr. Steadson has hidden behind various puerile disguises whilst posting scripted lies on behalf of billionaire racketeers. Self-evidently, this endless Internet propaganda is designed to promote fraud and prevent investigation, and , thus, forms part of a pattern of ongoing, major racketeering activity.

Depite what the masked 'Amway' Lord Haw Haw steadfastly pretends to be reality, a mountain of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that, for more than 50 years, the bosses of the 'Amway' mob have been operating an absurd, but nonetheless pernicious, blame-the-victim closed-market swindle in which ill-informed victims (arbitrarily defined as 'Independent Business Owners' in order to prevent investigation) have been unlawfully deceived into making monthly payments of cash (arbitrarily defined as 'sales' in order to prevent investigation) and into recruiting more victims to make monthly cash payments and into recruiting more victims, etc., on the financially-suicidal pretext that the Exact Duplication of a Proven Plan of self-consumption and recruitment, combined with unquestioning belief in the Plan's infallibility, can lead anyone to 'Total Financial Freedom.'

Even now, when senior Indian Judges have seen through all his unsolicited 'MLM' bullshit, the inflexible Mr. Steadson continues to imagine that your readers want to receive it.

David Brear (copyright 2010)