Above left. Brig Hart may be the top MLM earner in the world.
He and Leta have driven me around in that Rolls Royce.
He and Leta have driven me around in that Rolls Royce.
MLM Critics
So what's wrong with MLM's? The industry and its critics.
People can be evil and their motives can be evil and the way they do things can be evil but MLM’s are not intrinsically, morally wrong in and of themselves. Websites that purport this idea may be good theatre but they are not logical. No major government outlaws MLM’s. The laws that would be needed to do that would have ramifications far beyond the Direct Sales industry and some believe that they would cripple insurance, real estate, car sales and many other industries including a huge number of internet enterprises.
What? But aren’t MLM’s pyramid schemes?
No. They do not have infinite payout. A person can earn more than the one who recruits them. And people in the industry are always saying that the biggest earner probably hasn’t yet been recruited.
While sometimes luck and circumstances and personality all play a factor in success, and I have seen many fail at a MLM and go onto become very successful in other enterprises, I’ve also seen that rubric proven over and over again throughout the years. Some declare the industry dead and leave it, just as others get in and go right to the top.
Are there problems with MLM’s? Sure. Scandals? Yes. And there are companies that systematically defraud their own distributors.
But there are problems and scandals with retailing too. Petland was accused of misrepresenting the origin of their puppies. Burlington Coat Factory was allegedly caught selling fakes.
And there are problems and scandals with manufacturing companies. Chinese toy makers were using deadly lead paint on toys that were marketed to the children of the world. An American peanut manufacturer was overlooking the issue of contaminated peanut butter to keep their profits flowing uninterrupted.
There are scandals with banks, hedge funds, NBA referees, Olympic ice skating judges, the medical system, the law, the courts, university admissions, and with governments.
There are even – get this – problems and scandals with sites that attack MLM’s for being unethical. Many of these sites are filled with inaccurate and false information.
Now, there are indeed occasional problems in MLM-land but pronouncing MLM’s as evil and retailing as virtuous is kind of like saying that multiplication is bad but addition is okay.