TLDR: Friend tried recruiting me into Amway/LTD, want some advice on how I can possibly get her to see it’s a scam and leave without scaring her off.

For context, a friend of mine messaged me out of the blue a couple weeks ago asking how I’ve been and asking to call. I called her and we caught up a little bit, then the conversation steered to how she’s had this business opportunity for financial freedom (it’s been a topic of discussion between us in the past, getting financially free and not having to worry about money). She says she’s made great connections with “top 1% people” and made great friendships and that she gets to travel to conferences and meetings with them, and that she’s cut off people that don’t have a similar mindset anymore. She seemed really happy and excited about it so when she brought up me joining the team I was open to it. Note that I was already a bit skeptical about it since a coworker from the past tried recruiting me into Primerica a few years ago, which I refused after doing a bit of research on it.

I agreed to at least meet with her and her “mentor” to “connect” at a local coffee shop. We met, he talked to me a bit about mindset and future goals and then asked if I could attend an event one night and i said sure why not, it didn’t cost me any money so I agreed. The meeting went how these types of MLM events usually go, not gonna go into it much it was pretty much your typical “quit your 9-5 job/trading time for money” talk for most of it promoting amway/LTD as a business opportunity to reach financial freedom without having to work for anyone. They tried making it seem like this was some rare opportunity and that we were all lucky to be in this event. That not everyone would get the privilege to make the team and that they were very selective. I imagine this is just a tactic to get as much new recruits as possible so I just sat and listened to the whole thing trying to understand what was really going on. After the event her and her mentor then scheduled another follow up meeting. Thing is after I left I did research on this amway/LTD stuff and it just confirmed what I was already skeptical of, being a MLM/borderline legal pyramid scheme where I’d end up just wasting tons of time and money for a dream they’re selling me, just to make the higher ups more money. I had another meeting today but I cancelled last minute with some bullshit excuse. After reading others experiences with this I obviously don’t want to be a part of this, but the issue is she already is, she’s been in this for the last couple months and it really seems like they’ve completely manipulated her into thinking this is the ticket to her dream life.

She’s a few years younger than me, just turned 20 when she told me she was first approached 2 months ago. I know she can be really naive and is inexperienced with stuff like this so it’s very clear to me it was very easy to manipulate her into all this and sell her this dream that amway can give her. The thing is I really don’t want to just ghost her and leave her in this mess, I genuinely want to get her out of this because I do care for her. What’s the best way to go about this? I’ve read that amway uplines really drill into your head that people outside the MLM are not to be trusted and have a “consumer” or employee mindset and to not listen to anyone but people in the team, so I feel like she’ll just brush me off or cut me off purely based on that. The big thing is I can tell she genuinely sees these people as her friends now, and maybe they are, obviously I can’t control her or make her do anything, but what if she’s just being used to make her uplines more money and I’m just here witnessing her get scammed? Anyone else been in this situation and has some advice as to what I should do next? Is it too late already?

A loved one from a team member passed away and the hun went online immediately to bank on a strangers death. You‘ll get a link to a zoom recording when you react to the video.

They are so disgusting

from everything i’ve seen, i think they are but haven’t been able to find any information on them really. i have my second zoom meeting today for “onboarding”. i think they also want me to pay to get licensed, which is $199.

just wanted to see if anyone else has ever dealt with them.

Bruh. I’m in the ER right now at the VA Hospital because I did something to my hand and I needed to get it checked out. The ER doctor starts giving me a Beachbody pitch in the middle of it all. Seriously dude. Knock it the fuck off.

Lately my (limited) social media activity has been bombarding me with crappy AI ads for something called The Loaded Tea Shop, claiming they’re going to be doing regional popups in Costco stores. Yesterday, while buying a sink and 30 pounds of onions, like any other Costco shopper, I was visually assaulted by their Lisa Frank-hued tent next to the checkout lines. So yeah, they’re definitely in Costco stores.

Is this not just repackaged Herbalife? Their own website says they started as Herbalife distributors.

I bought Monat Global products ONCE in 2022. I though I immediately canceled my subscription but apparently not. I guess I didn’t notice I still had an active “Flexship” order with them because it was going to my promotions folder in gmail I rarely check. I also DON’T EVEN HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT because I closed it shortly after I made that purchase in 2022 so I’ve never been charged again by them. UNTIL TODAY. They charged my Cash App card??! Again, I have no bank account and none that is associated with my Cash App card since I just don’t have one. How TF did they get my Cash App information?! It scares me how they were able to get that information 4 years later and charge my card. Has anyone else experienced this???

They always talk about what they will have in the future, but never what they have right now. "I'm going to have a business!" "I'm gonna go on vacation in Tahiti!" "I'm going to be rich!"

A while back a bunch of bros from my work encountered me at the mall and they tried to get me to sign on to this MLM that sold energy drinks or something. They told me that I could make it big and get a mansion and a nice car. I refused to join bc even back then it sounded too good to be true, then the guy was like, "OP, you're gonna look really stupid driving that minivan when I roll up in my Lamborghini!"

My brother in Christ, you Do Not Have a Lamborghini

These have been hun's Facebook posts over the last few weeks. Very little to do with the products she is trying to sell as of late.

Almost weekly, she was sharing that she received another payment that helps with gas and groceries! No more.

Once per week, she would go live on Facebook to show off some new products. No more.

She's floundering, but doesn't want to outright admit it.

My mom’s “functional doctor” set up account on Doterra for her and ordered things for herself snd sent them to our house. When I asked her if she knew what she was getting into, my mom said “she said she’d cancel it right away”. I’m uneasy and skeptical about this women as it is, and I knew it was only a matter of time before she shilled her Doterra MLM on my my mother. How likely is it that her account will be canceled right away? My guess is not that likely or that it’ll be difficult to get out of.

Hello Everyone!
Has anyone in this group reported someone with Beautiful Yü? ( or any health marketing junk. I’m curious how much importance they place on someone showing evidence of failure to comply with deceptive behaviour under FDA/FTC regulations. Did the company message you back or have you seen that the person is not promoting the product due to certain circumstances.

Thanks & Enjoy your night.

I was talking with my wife about our hatred for MLM’s and how predatory they are, especially on poor people. It came to me that there actually has been one decently successful one and whoever made the pivot was genius. My barber and his wife got sucked into Herbalife back in the day like mid 2000’s and they went to the conferences and all that bs. At some point while I was in college I remember seeing the nutrition shops popping up and learned most of them got product from Herbalife. I moved back close to home and lo and behold my barber now owned a nutrition shop. The fad seems to have slowed down some but they sure did good while it was running.

Edit: are there any more that ever semi succeeded?

Edit 2: I was specifically saying nutrition shops via Herbalife (energy teas) are seemingly successful though I don’t know their actual finances. They just always seem to be busy with girls loading up on their daily chems.

Also I had no idea Tupperware was an MLM which is crazy because everyone I know calls those plastic containers “Tupperware”.

I just finished doing an interview for a financial brokerage company called level up financial and at the end of it she told me they’re a primerica company…… can I just ghost them from here on out?
She used words like “we can become besties” and “if you have friends talk to them about this.” And the red flags started going off and I immediately knew it was an mlm company.

Now I just feel really dumb for even agreeing to the interview.

Edit: I sent her this message right after I did more research.

“Thanks for reaching out and for taking the time to explain the opportunity.
After giving it some thought and doing a bit of research into the company and its business model, I’ve decided that this is absolutely not something I’m interested in pursuing.
I’m looking for legitimate employment opportunities with clear responsibilities, transparent compensation, and a business model that doesn’t rely on recruiting other people into the same opportunity. What you’re offering simply doesn’t align with what I’m looking for, and I’m not interested in being persuaded otherwise.
So, respectfully, I’m going to pass and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t continue trying to convince me that I’m “missing out,” that I just need to have the right mindset, or that I need to hear the pitch one more time. I’ve heard enough to make an informed decision.
There’s no hard feelings, but my answer is no. Please remove my contact information from your recruitment list and don’t reach out to me again regarding this company or opportunity.
I wish you the best with whatever you choose to pursue, but this definitely won’t be something I’m pursuing. Take care”

Basically telling her to F off respectfully

So, there is this Facebook group popular in my country, that is meant for women that are looking for jobs, career advice, and such. Very "women supporting women" vibe. Of course, every now and then I saw MLM girlies advertising there, but it is normal in every jobseeking related group I am in, so I didn't pay it much attention. There were hundreds of normal posts from different women, including some that I know irl.

Recently I lost my job and wanted to post that I offer translation and content writing services in the group. Imagine my shock, when my post was rejected and I got a DM from the group admin saying that "to post an offer" on the group I had to "contribute" and "support her running the group"... Accompanied by a link to an aloe vera MLM page of hers.

Apparently, to post a job offer or a "looking for work" post you have to BUY SOMETHING FROM THE ADMIN'S MLM. I did some quick calculations on how many job ads I saw in the group and I was annoyed, but also amazed at how this woman figured out a way to sell her crappy aloe gel...

Anyone seen something like that before? I don't remember the MLM name but they sell aloe vera gels specifically, marketing it as pretty much a miracle treatment for every issue.

A girl in my sorority sent out a message for any girls looking for work to feel free to check out this wellness company she works for. It didn’t seem pushy at all. As college students, we all need a little extra money. I messaged her and she sent me the introduction video. Obviously I instantly recognized it as a pyramid scheme. My boyfriend did make a decent comment, one that is used a lot but not necessarily considered. Every company basically IS a pyramid scheme. That being said, this had to be one of the most painfully obvious ones. I truly started to wonder if none of them had ever watched TV to know how comedically obvious their videos were.
My boyfriend constantly is my “devil’s advocate” in a way, or more so that he always helps me keep an open mind by always suggesting the possible opposite of my assessments. He asked me if I would at least get the products sent to me for free? That way I dont necessarily have to bug anyone like i keep reading about. The type of person I am, I am honestly constantly getting approached and asked questions about something I’m wearing, or a compliment on my appearance, even as simple as being told I appear as I’m “glowing”. Considering all this, I did see ways I could naturally promote this brand I am affiliated with, if I truly was using their products consistently. Again, does anyone know if their associates are sent free stuff?
Or is it really the basics of buy my product, recommend it, and tell ur friends to do the same!!