We have briefly discussed Multi-Level Marketing schemes before but there is a lot more that you need to know so that you won’t get suckered into one of these schemes and become a bear yourself. MLM schemes are illegal and if even if you get suckered into becoming a part of one, you are just as guilty as the person you involved you. Ignorance of the law is not an acceptable excuse.
These ‘plans’ for success on the Internet come packaged and presented in ways that make it difficult to identify them as MLM schemes. They do, however, all have some things in common. The most obvious and the easiest to spot sign is that you are offered a commission for sales of products or services that are made by others….this is above and beyond any commission payments for sales that you make yourself. That’s the thing that makes these plans MLM. You will be paying part of your commission to the person who recruited you and you will be receiving commission payments from people whom you recruit, as will, the person who recruited you and the person who recruited them.
The only limit to the number of levels that can be achieved in a MLM scheme is the point at which it collapses in on itself. Did I mention that the pyramid is an upside down one? The point is at the bottom…not at the top. There is always a point at which the scheme will collapse. When it gets heavy enough at the top, it will come tumbling down. You do not want to be anywhere near the point of collapse. As a matter of fact, you don’t want to be anywhere near the pyramid at all.
Do you recall ‘chain letters’? Chain letters are started by a person of a group of people and they prey on the greed of others. The first person starts a letter and collects $1000 from each of the next nine people. Each of those nine people recruit (there’s that word again) others to send them a $1000 each…and on and on the pyramid builds until it gets top heave and collapses. That is precisely what happens in an MLM scheme except that there is always a product involved in an MLM scheme and there isn’t ever a product involved in a pyramid scheme.
Fact: MLM schemes are illegal. Be certain that you are not drawn into one because then you are guilty of fraud.