A Multi-Level-Marketing Expose: The "Dream Stealers"

Have you ever driven around and seen those signs plastered everywhere, saying something like "Work At Home, $3000-$5000 Part Time!" or "Lose 40 Pounds, Call 1-800-YOU-R-FAT"? Or have you ever watched a cable television program, only to have your commercial break be filled with pleas to visit website with names like "Crazy Cash Fox.com" or "Mertle the Work-At-Home Turtle.com"? Or have you gone to someone's ridiculous blog and seen a stupid ad on the side promising fast riches by letting your computer work for you???

Me too, and I decided to do a bit of investigative journalism on it.

A couple weeks ago, the girlfriend and I were watching TV and one of these commercials came up. Couples (always couples) were extolling the virtues of this work-at-home program that allowed them to quit their jobs (or forget about their recently-laid-off status) and live lives of luxury. All you had to do was go to a website. I turned to my girlfriend and said, "I'm going to see what these sites are all about." She rolled her eyes and gave me that "not another crazy scheme" look. "For research purposes!" I protested.

After entering my contact info into a site that had a creepy animated fox saying something or another (couldn't get him/her to shut up), I forgot all about it.

A couple days later, my phone rang, with a number I did not recognize. Now, I am a raging phone screener, so, after looking up the area code and seeing a California address, I decided not to pick up. Nor did I pick up the next 10 times that number called. Then, I remembered my investigative journalism. The next time the phone rang with that number, I picked up.

"Hello?" I suspiciously asked.

"Hello, this is Shane, you visited our website the other day. You interested in starting a business from home?"

And so it began. Shane was supposed to send me a packet containing a DVD and a booklet explaining what the business was all about. After not receiving the package on the day it was due to arrive, I called the number, and left a message to that effect. Minutes later, I received a phone call from Dan, who was to be my "mentor." He apologized for me not receiving the package and promised to send it out overnight the next day. He also set up a phone meeting with me for after I viewed the DVD and answered the questions on page 13 of the booklet. Homework already? This job sucks!!

The package arrived as promised, and the girlfriend and I sat down to view the DVD. The Asian man sitting in a chair by his outdoor pool (luxury!) quickly informed us that he was not an actor. Which is funny, because he sure could have fooled me! Anyway, the DVD consisted of his pre-work at home sob story, and then his post-work at home SUCCESS STORY. The "lecture" was accentuated by his visual aids of copies of the giant checks he received from the company. At one point, he talked of the lack of support his family and friends gave him at first, then he nonchalantly added, "Now, of course, I know these people to be 'dream stealers,' but I didn't let that stop me." Little cultish, no? However, not once in the video did he mention what it was I would be selling, or the company from which I would be selling. I turned to the booklet, to see what was on page 13.

Before page 13, I had to endure an awkward "story" about how we (people who don't work at home) are "slaves" working for our corporate "masters" in (get ready) "slave labor work camps" from 9-5 every day. Not sure if that comparison is exactly accurate, but it was a theme that would resound throughout this whole process. The booklet did, however, reveal that the products are part of the "health and wellness" industry. Page 13, by the way, had me list the 6 things I would do after I made a lot of money working at home. #1 was "Build a Time Machine to go back in time and not watch that DVD, thus giving myself those 30 minutes back".

My pre-arranged phone call with Dan came, and he quickly revealed that 1.) I had made it this far, congratulations!, and 2.) The company was Herbalife, who sell diet and nutrition products and also decorate David Beckham's new L.A. Galaxy jersey. Dan was actually a pretty nice guy, and a Herbalife "success story," both from using the products and from selling them. However, my opinion of him went down considerably as he praised his mentor, THE GUY FROM THE VIDEO. Anyway, he was understandably excited about Beckham shilling his products, and half the phone conversation was about that. The rest was about the need for me to be serious and a hard-worker. Done and done. He gave me a website with my SECOND free packet, including a new workbook and instructions on how to access the second video, which was actually on the original DVD, hidden ever-so-slyly.

This second workbook explained how this all worked. As you might have guessed by now, this was a "Multi-level-marketing" or "MLM" system. Basically, there were three ways to benefit from Herbalife:

1.) Use the product, and "save grocery money";
2.) Sell the product and build a consumer base;
3.) BUILD A DISTRIBUTOR BASE BY FINDING OTHER PEOPLE TO SELL THE PRODUCT.

Of course, as in all MLM's, the third option was the way to make real money. The booklet even flippantly remarks that just building a customer base will only get you so far, and will not help you achieve "financial independence". From the slave masters, remember?

Well, to really show your commitment, not just to Herbalife but to YOURSELF, the booklet encouraged purchasing the highest level of start-up packaging, which would cost roughly $4,000 (start-up kit, elite "supervisor" membership, and a whole lot of product to sell). It noted that you can't start to make residual income from other people (option 3) until you reached "supervisor" level. There were a number of ways to "slow-track" your way to supervisor, mainly by selling a lot of product or signing a lot of people up, but the best way was the "fast-track", in which you could basically buy your way to the position. Genius.

After reading through all of the materials and getting my fill, I politely emailed Dan and told him I'd be passing on the opportunity. He responded equally politely that if I decided in the future to improve my financial situation, get in touch with him. He knew of a good way to blow $4,000.

To be fair, unlike most MLM's, Herbalife does actually sell a legitimate product that seems to work for a lot of people. However, the emphasis here, like all MLM's, is not in actually selling the product but in recruiting other distributors.

Can you really get rich by doing this?? Who knows - some people do, most people do not. But, remember, next time you mock one of those signs or commercials, you're just being a dream-stealer.