So you think you're building residual income for life ???

[littleroundman]

This letter was sent out to 900 AmeriPlan "IBOS" without warning this week:

On February 14, 2001, AmeriPlan Board of Directors exercised its right to cancel without cause with 30 days notice your IBO/Sales Director Agreement.

Cancellation effective March 16, 2011."

Best regards,

CECIL S. MATHIS
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW
AMERIPLAN CORPORATION
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
5700 Democracy Drive * Suite 1000 * Plano, TX 75204
VOICE (469) 229-4470 * FAX (469) 229-4515 * e-mail cecilm@ameriplanusa.com

One wonders how many MLM companies have the same right to "cancel without cause" written into their "Independent Business Owner" agreements

[A Life Aloft]

Excellent and truthful point as usual, LRM! This is one of the huge red flags of MLMs. They swear up and down that their compensation plan will never change or their fees or this or that. But they always change. They change to benefit those at the top and the founders. The always touted bull that you own your own business is nothing but a phony and false lie. You own nothing except the paultry, some over priced products that are sitting in your garage. They are in control and they own and direct you. MLMs often change their plans several times, again to benefit themselves. You are in charge and in control of nothing. You own nothing. You pay for a distributorship and they control every aspect of that. Nothing is yours. Nothing. You have no real business, it's all a facade and smoke and mirrors. They even own "your" website. You just pay a fee to rent it in all truth. It's all their design, wording and they are all cookie cutter, word for word, picture for picture.

While claiming to offer independence, the system comes to dominate people's entire life and requires rigid conformity to the program. MLM is largely fear-driven. Solicitations inevitably include dire predictions about the impending collapse of other forms of distribution, the disintegration or insensitivity of corporate America, and the lack of opportunity in other occupations. Many occupations are routinely demeaned for not offering "unlimited income" and the infamous "being your own boss". Working for others is cast as enslavement for "losers." MLM is presented as the last best hope for many people. This approach, in addition to being deceptive, frequently discourages people who otherwise would pursue their own unique visions of success and happiness. You are not the boss of anything and you control and own nothing.

This not even count all the phony, unfounded and false claims about the MLM's products, which are little or no real value and benefit and are way overpriced and come with many restrictions for purchasing them. Do you think multilevel participants are qualified to judge whether prospective customers need supplements, drinks, teas, or actual medical care? Hardly.

MLMs grow by exploiting people's relationships, biliking the gulliable, the needy, the desperate, the greedy, the lazy and laying a path of victims wherever they spread. The incentive is to exaggerate claims without any accountability and make a few pennies. The real reward and sucess (although still limited compared to the flounders and those hand picked at the top of the sham) in all MLMs, is rewarding people to recruit others in multiple levels. Period. Business failure of any type is traumatic on the relationships involved, but in most small businesses there is at least the chance of real success and you have the total control over your business and you make ALL the profits of that business. This is never ever the case in any MLM, unless "success" can be defined as profiting off of the failures of others.

It's always been amazing to me that no one ever wonders, if the product or service is so great, then why isn't it being sold through the customary marketing system that has served human society for thousands of years? Why does it need to resort to a "special marketing" scheme like an MLM? Why does everyone need to be so inexperienced at marketing it? Why does noe legit entity put their brand on it and why has no legit research ever been done on the product and why doesn't the FDA among others not approve of these products? Where is the legit science and proven tests, double blind studies and research papers writen? Oh yeah, there are none! There is only the false claims of the makers of this garbage and the blind, uneducated placebo effect (and again undocumented, untested, unfounded and unproven) "testimonials" of those bilked into buying and consuming this crap.

In MLMs, you do not own your own business, you do not own the product, and you are not in control of your destiny. The company holds all the strings.....product supply, computer tracking, commissions, collections, customer service, order fulfillment, publicity, compliance, public relations, comp plan, everything. You? Zip! All you own is a position in a long line of distributors. You do not control the product you sell, the comp plan, what the company does or does not do, the money that is paid....distributors own nothing other than the "opportunity" to sign more distributors and manage the existing downline. You are at the mercy of the company, upline, downline, etc.

[Theophilus]

I don't think the IRS views the distributor of MLM products as a business owner. Those at the top and the upline will say you can deduct business expenses if you are a distributor, though I am not sure about this.

One thing that is untrue, as pointed out by ALA is how they always try to say it your business, no it not your business, it is their business.

I'll never understand why the distributors of MLM seem to think it is their business, wait scratch that, of course I understand. They either under a spell or simply refuse to accept the truth.

A logical person would understand the reasons why most people fail in MLM and would never join one.