re: Anyone involved in Direct Sales or Network Marketing?

What's happening is exactly what happened to my in-laws.

These companies need people to operate. Without people, they don't make money. Body by Vi, for instance requires their "workforce" to pay $39/month for a website and propaganda magazine (called "Success") and buy $125 worth of products. You have to sell $500 worth of products just to break even, and the average distributor sells under $450.

In order to get people, they need people to react. People react to success. Big houses, flashy cars, etc. Ever wonder why Mary Kay "gives" a pink Cadillac and Body by Vi "gives" a black BMW 5 series to their top people? Its because people look at the BMW and they want it.

Technically, both places do not give the cars, they give the people a bonus as long as they hit certain numbers that will cover a lease payment that you have to secure personally.

My only expertise is the research and time that I had to spend bailing my in-laws out. They lost their jobs, home, cars, and friends because people just got tired of them always pushing crap on them.

Just be careful. Like I said, if a company profits from its employees more than its products, then something is afoot.