Talk about perfect timing! I stumbled upon this comment just as I got to the story where the aunt sold to and then Pitched her 13 and 9 year old nieces!
Hi Hannah! Thank you for reading my story (my aunt was the one that sold Arbonne when I was young)! I didn't quite know what MLMs were even after all that, until about 5 years or so ago when John Oliver had done a piece about MLMs and everything sort of clicked into place. I've been anti MLM since!
To clarify, yes I think that was credit card fraud! I know my grandmother found out about it eventually and paid it off using some of the money she had in her retirement fund. She ended up leaving my aunt out of any inheritance because of that, and my aunt has become estranged from most of the family. I love your videos!
I was in Primerica for a hot 3 weeks. Lol one major red flag for me was people bragging about how much money they made ($5,000 a week sometimes) and they were driving a falling apart 1998 honda with duct tape holding the seatbelt together.
Gosh mentioning Shaklee brings me back! My aunt sold it in the late 80s/early 90s. She would give me bottles of chewable calcium supplements and tell me not to tell my mom, i never figured out why- I recall it tasted like chocolate flavored chalk.
I used to be in Mary Kay and yes, they do recommend that you keep products prepackaged in cute little bags in your car along with your demo kit so that you can sell from your trunk everywhere you go because you never know when you'll get a "client".
The Mary Kay part of the story is very true. They tell you that you need the bigger package to have a good start to your business, have inventory on hand, etc. But it's really about the bonus they get. If I remember right from my time, they get around a $600 bonus (maybe a little more) from the $1,800 package. That is why the encourage it. And if you leave and do the buy back program, they have to give that bonus amount back if I remember from what I read
Regarding the last story: After seeing that nonsense with the NFL Hun-husbands (hunsbands?), it was so nice to hear about a husband who was truly supportive of his wife. He didn’t get mad and he realized that his wife was honestly trying to help.
I've been considering sending in my experience with a Monat hun who was also my landlord and roommate at the time but most of my story doesn't actually involve mlm directly but rather just her demeanor and way of dealing with money had to do with it so I have no idea if it would count or even be a good story
Currently binging the playlist and I had NO IDEA Noonday was an MLM!!!! I have purchased from them through an influencer probably three years ago. I always thought I was good at detecting scams but this just shows how sneaky the companies AND the sellers are!
I love these where it's just you talking/reading. I find it really soothing. I have to really prep myself to watch fails because the huns are really triggering and draining sometimes.
Your MLM horror story readings are the best! I love listening to them while I clean/do homework. The 2nd story you talked about with the young girl whose aunt was an Arbonne hun gave me flashbacks to when I was in highschool. My step dad got roped into Mona Vie ( weird acai berry wellness garbage) and sometimes I would try to sell things to people at my high school 🙃😂. Might have to shoot you an email soon haha
yay new video before placement! i have no idea how they don't see how saturated they are, my small town girl guide group had at least two people trying to sell Scensy, i think. there was always a catalog and deliveries coming to the hall, and they tried getting me to buy several times. i was like, thats a stuffed animal for $40. no thanks. they also had a stall every little fete the unit held and it was so so expensive. SO expensive. i had no idea it was an mlm at the time
You don’t hear much about Scentsy. I have quite a few warmers and actually really enjoy them but only ever paid full price for one. I NEEDED the Stargaze warmer lol. The rest I got off of Kijiji (the local buy and sell site) for a fraction of the cost. I even found a lady that sold the waxes for cost. She enjoyed them and always had enough for her “quota” just from her friends and family and wasn’t trying to profit off of it or anything. She just enjoyed it and wanted to share with others. I very much lucked out. I haven’t bought waxes in quite a while but still use the warmers just as lamps and pretty decor.
Scentsy is too pricey for what they are. I bought a warmer in the clearance section at a local store for $8, and one at Walmart for $6 (original prices $20+). I find really nice waxes on clearance after holidays and stock up. Not going to pay those high prices when I don't have to.
The story about Mary Kay just... unlocked a memory of mine. I remember about 20 years ago when I was 4 and my sister would have been 7, my family went on a trip to Florida (we are Canadian). What was weird was at the resort we were at there was a Mary Kay woman, and she got really close with my sister and I at the pool, where we were playing with another young girl around our age. She ultimately invited us to come to a “make up party” where if we were lucky we could “win free makeup”. Being 4, I obviously wanted the free stuff. We went to the party, and I don’t remember much about it other than I did get a goodie bag with stuff in it. I’m honestly not sure our parents even knew we went to this party. But I do know it was only me and my sister, and our other little friend. 3 YOUNG children. Alone. With a stranger. Giving us make up. Not to mention she found us IN THE POOL. I have NO idea what this woman’s thinking was, but she definitely didn’t get a sale from any of us.
She probably thought your parents would be so grateful that she'd been nice to you and kept you busy, and of course that your mom would be so impressed with the make-up, that they would come and buy hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from her, or maybe ask her to host a party for them, too.
@@dqverify6797 Honestly. I ended up asking my mum if she remembered this, and she did. She apparently took away the makeup right away because she was worried it was poisoned or something, and also we were never allowed to go to the pool unsupervised again.
The Amway experience...that brings back memories. Those of us who refused the alter call were slamed and shamed during the service. Many of us quit that day as well. I was 19 then. Am 59 now have not had any desire to mlm it again.
Hi Hannah. Honestly this sounds like a similar situation to someone I used to know but with party light. I was visiting a friend and his aunt was pressuring me to purchase and host a party. I was like wow. Her up line was pressing her so much to sell. My buddy had to be like relax he has to speak to his wife. Keep up the awesome work.
i've said before that having an mlm rep in the family is very similar to having a drug addict in the family, and sadly the second story in this video really highlights that. it's a good reminder that no matter how much we want to support someone, sometimes the best way to care for them is to not prolong the thing that they're addicted to. sometimes there's so little difference between one more hit or one more sale.
Lol I’m so grateful that my mom got sucked into mlms like pampered chef and stuff because she taught me early on anything like that is BS. Sooooooooo many people approached me in college. It’s insane how bad it is. We would get flyers at our dorm room doors for “parties”. That should be illegal! Ugh. Thankfully none of my good friends joined any because I was so against them and wouldn’t let them join lmao!
I was a Mary Kay consultant for 2 years back in 2014. The “dress code” was a black skirt, white blouse, and closed toed shoes preferably with a heel for our weekly “success meetings”. Once you hit the Star Team Builder rank until you became a Sales Director you would also have to wear the coveted “red jacket”.
I have a lady on my list who joined and just attended the conference for the new MLM Ariel 😬 super cringy. I looked into the company and was none too shocked to find it’s got a super shady back story as the two founders were sued by their MLM they left for stealing company insider stuff and team members as well as their downlines, super iffy you should look into this company as a deep dive!
The amway one hits home for me 😑 I was sucked into that one for almost 2 years. They took up so much of my time. Would love if you did more amway ones! Those are hard to find here.
OMG this reminds me... Just about every woman in my family has been in at least one MLM and my mom was in dozens. She even tried paying for me to join one. Also filed bankruptcy a couple times, so take that as you will... 😬
And yes, fast cash is a real thing in MLM's. I was in Tupperware and we were encouraged to have inventory on hand and carry it in the car in case we ever met someone who wanted to buy product. Always be ready was the theme. Hannah, as far as how they know, when I signed up under a person that person had to fill out a form registering me as her recruit. Then if I sold anything of course she got commission. And if I wanted to sign up under someone else, or if I came back as a return consultant I would have to wait a year to sign up under someone else and their team.. That's how they track it. Big Brother of MLM lol.
Since I recently found your channel, These videos are convincing me to share my own mlm horror stories over the years. Maybe I’ll write one soon about my experiences with Herbalife, amway and my family’s experiences and getting me to support their Avon and Mary Kay businesses.
I know that this video is put up a while ago, so this comment probably seems a little weird but I’ve been binging your videos this week as I was on a road trip. When I was in my MLM, I got one of my best friends into it after about a million times of her asking me about it. Everyone in my up line encouraged me because she was selling the product really well and she was doing really well, but since we were from the same town, I was losing customers that I could have had because they were choosing her over me. I tried to do a really good job of separating my feelings about this because they tell you that you need to be happy for them, and that jealousy is a disease, and that “they are doing well so you’re doing well”. But when a 4 year client of mine left me to work with her after she told them that I “wasn’t even as dedicated as she was”, and I asked her about it, she told me that even though we were best friends, she was looking out for my best interest by saying that I needed to leave the company altogether. It ended up completely destroying our friendship, and this was someone that I had as a bridesmaid in my wedding. This was someone that I have been friends with for 14 years, and she competed so harshly with me that we could no longer be friends after all of the betrayal in the situation. They talk all the time about how it’s great for you to build your team, but what you said in here about putting your direct competition underneath you is absolutely the truth. It’s sad that so few people realize that that is what you are doing when you bring somebody else into your team. That person is going to sell the same products, they’re going to interact with a lot of the same people, there will always be overlap, and there are not enough people in the world for all of these companies to have a customer base that doesn’t overlap with other companies as well.
I’ve tried Shaklee! My grandparents have used it forever. As far as I know it’s vitamins. My grandma gave me one of their supplements recently, and after taking it for a bit I had the worst headache I’d ever had in my life! So that’s fun.
Shaklee is an older one, sort of an Herbalife lite with (at least when I knew ppl in it) an emphasis on supposedly green cleaning products. I got a laundry powder and OMG it had a role in my developing Reactive Airway Disorder and adult onset asthma.
The story about the girl selling makeup in school reminded me of my friend from school whose mother was in Oriflame (it was pretty big in my home country, I think it’s from Sweden). She would bring catalogues to school and pitch the makeup to us (we were around 13/14) I was definitely into makeup and some things looked pretty cool in the catalogue, I distinctly remember buying little pink and blue crystals that you stick to your face, they definitely looked cooler in the catalogue 😅 Only now as an adult I see how inappropriate the whole thing was.
A grown ass woman was messaging me when i was like 16 trying to get me to join some MLM i was so appalled that she’d honestly take money from a CHILD with a part time job like wtf lol
Hi Hannah! I binged your anit-MLM content in the past 2 weeks, thank you for that! I did not really like the idea of MLMs in the past, but I never really knew why exactly, it was a "gut feeling" - you explain these facts really well. I hope lots of people contemplating MLMs will find your channel. And I also love the comments, even more stories and experiences to learn from. I have some related experience, certainly not enough to make it as a horror story (which makes me rather happy), but this may be an interesting read as a comment, as the products are a "little bit" different than the MLMs represented here: there is a company called OVB. It's a German MLM (so I don't know if they are active in the US) which is selling savings, insurances, and their reps are "getting trained" as financial advisors. It's scary that guys and gals with basically 0 training and literally 0 experience are selling you financial products and give you advice on what to do with your savings. One of my friends joined a year ago, and shortly after that, he gave me the usual "hun-talk" (sorry :)) that this is an opportunity for him to earn some money with more freedom while helping others making their lives better. He told me that if I need financial advice he's there, all of the advice is free, and all it takes is that I should give him three names from my friends that he can also contact. This was the point where I started to get really uncomfortable, and politely told him that I've got all things set financially right now. He did not push me afterwards. I would really be intrigued if he succeeded at all (looking at your videos explaining the general MLM business model - probably not), but I don't want to bring up the topic, it would not be good for neither of us if I provided some false hope.
mary kay is into a also brownie scout badge conference thing, you get a badge with your name on it with a tiny diamond on it when you join, a bag of samples with a catalog of products, I only got in on the sample bag which was $150.00 & sold it to a brides bachelor party when i was discouraged after the conference for $300.00. i never ordered products so I got to keep my profit from selling the sample bag.
Avon is irritating, for a long time they weren't an mlm they were just direct sales, Susan down the street with a catalogue and she didn't need to build a team. They switched a few years ago but they had the literally decades of a seemingly legit business model to play off. A pretty nice co-worker and neighbour sold it, we knew my mum bought a lot but we didn't realise just how much until she got really sick and we had to take over management of her finances. Stacey knew how sick she was, was still happily taking so much money off her for shitty make up
I know many people compare mlms to cults, and while that's definitely a spot on comparison, I'd also like to compare them to drug addiction. Think about it: They make you waste your money on things that you don't need and some are even potentially harmful, you become estranged from those not sucked into mlms, they have an addictive nature, and the way the huns pressure other people makes me think of drug dealers. They're dealing you the promise of a "high" in the form of "potential" financial success and a sense of belonging. They're difficult to quit too.
I would really love to hear about your deep dive on noonday. Noonday and Sseko are 2 companies that literally had me bawling because I thought I was doing so much good for the artisans in Uganda and Ethiopia. Thanks for another amazing video!
Hi! I just started watching all you videos! Thank you for bringing awareness to the truth of MLM’s. Everything you say is so true 100%. Please do a video on Savvi. Seems like a new MLM. Seriously can’t believe how many MLMs there are. Thanks Again! You Rock!
The one thing I hate to see in these stories … it’s that so many of the story-tellers feel the need to apologize for the length of their messages. This is a by-product of women constantly being told we talk too much and that our stories don’t matter. Please, please, please - your story takes the time it takes to tell; you don’t need to apologize for that!! The MLM industry relies so heavily on stereotypes about women, that our socialization - our desire to be “polite” and “friendly” - will keep us from telling these predators to leave us alone and will keep us from walking away when we feel uncomfortable. AND it will keep us from calling them out for their lies and manipulation and outright fraud. But these stories are so important. I’m opposed to anything that’s fraudulent, including MLMs, and the deep dives that Hannah has done and the other anti-MLM channels and content - awesome! But nothing compares to hearing the stories of actual people who’ve been duped and harmed financially and emotionally and psychologically. These stories are the best evidence that may steer desperate people away from these losers and their phony opportunities. So I hope everyone will keep sharing them and Hannah will keep reading them for as long as there’s even one MLM out there!
Listening to how the top earners always berate the low earners and guilt-trip them is the worst experience. Imagine being yelled at by your top boss whose luxury lifestyle is financed by your effort and that of thousands of others who make a paltry amount in 'the business'. The social media heavy ones are worse than slavery because they even force you to attend webinars where you silently listen to them brag and berate you when you could be spending that time doing something productive.
OMG there's an ad playing on this video where the woman was literally prospecting a lady who turned out to be a stripper and said you can make more money stripping ($20,000 a week according to this stripper) and the woman was like no thanks I'll stick to my MLM thank you
Wow I just looked up Monat product prices and they are ridiculous!!! Who is buying this stuff? It’s no affordable at all. $40.00 for shampoo??? I rather shave my hair off.
Holy cow. One of my good friends in college dropped out sophomore year to marry a guy she had met a couple of months prior and join Amway. The way they push their “way of life” to college-aged people is sickening. She never finished college. They’re still married and have two kids. They ended up dropping out of Amway after a couple of years.
I was at a town founder's day festival yesterday, and there were a ton of booths, including a Cutco one. As we walked by, I almost wanted them to try to get me to come over so that I could be like "No thanks, I'm not interested in joining a pyramid scheme!" No such luck. 😂😂
Oh how this reminds me of all the Weekend Seminars (WES) as it's called in South Africa, we went to! I went to support my parents who were my direct upline, but I hated these seminars! I also always waited for the training to start only to find myself listening to yet another ego boosted person telling us their from rags to riches story. Thank goodness I am rid of AMWAY!
I have long thick healthy hair too snd I get targeted from MLMs all the time bc of it. And I even said to one of them "if my hair is thick and long why would I need to take YOUR vitamins ans products for my hair?? I neber understood that!
Shaklee ("shack-lee") is an old MLM with an Amway style "breakaway" comp plan that most MLM people despise, but before the computers we have today that was how they had to do it.
LOL! That Monat story reminds me of a mom who reached out to me about a hair product company (fairly sure it was Monat), telling me how she found a hair product that helped her hair grow thicker and fuller. I have naturally deceptively thick hair, and I texture & layer the bejeezus out of it to lighten the weight on my head and make it easier to manage. So, hearing I could buy a hair product to make my hair THICKER made me laugh! I told her I'm good with my hair, and in fact, wish I could make it thinner.
I was at that same Amway conference 😂 I’m not in Amway anymore ❤, I bet it was Larry Winters , but no it wasn’t to be saved by him 🤭he was just the preacher. Definitely didn’t worship him 😂😂
It's amazing how it's the us the MLMs that sell items are more focused still on recruiting people than selling the products. Honestly here in Latin America at leat in my country is totally the opposite, by example I use Avon products since I was a kid and my mom sold those and others like Stanhome, lebel etc, and I have meet many people that sells them and also are great products but noone try ti recruit you they are more interested in selling, plus we know that what earn is just a side income just the zone managers are the ones totally dedicated to it as full time job but is because they are in charge of the packages and keep the order. I don't understand why in other places people keep thinking that it can be a independent dream it's quite weird to me because I believe our reality was the standard, maybe is a cultural thing but now that I see so many cases I see that I was so wrong and actually we are quite lucky. The only one that was trying to promise Heaven on earth was Herbalife and still didn't succeed
I just want to tell you that if you join a cult and get out, you are more likely to join another cult than your average person off the street. I say this because you said if you joined and mlm and left, you are more likely to join another. I think these ways of thinking are related.
🤬I’m always like where are the parents when I hear people were pushed at 11 to have parties or at 13 to help their aunt Sell. Are you kidding me?? I would never allow that🤬
The monthly website fees I always hear about on this channel are a scam in and of themselves. I know there’s a large price range based on what the domain sold for, but… I manage a small nonprofit in Oklahoma and our domain fee is $20 per year. The content management platform is about $200 per year. I have a hard time believing each personal link has to be supported by its entire own content management system. The MLMs are likely only paying these fees once per year but charging everyone like $15 a month just for their link. Seems sketchy to me but I guess that’s why we’re all here watching this channel.
Yes, I'm Mary Kay you get one recruit, you were known and pinned as a senior consultant. Get 4 or more, you are known as a senior consultant, and you have to buy their scratchy red jacket. My recruiter stole my customer, yes she knew Delphine was my customer, she was at my business debut, she went to Delphine's house a few weeks later, and recruited her!! She showed her off at our weekly meeting and basically called me inadequate because I couldn't pressure her to join. I approached my director, she told me to toughen up, but that goes completely against the "go give" spirit. My recruit was NEVER give back to me, so I guess because of that ladies status, they gave her that recruit. I was recently asked about pampered chef, I said no, been there, done that, Amway, Mary Kay, Beach Body, and Actilabs, so the answer is a VERY FIRM NO.
Tell me why I kept reading the Thumbnail as “I Sold a Child to Arbonne” ? And yet, even that level of behavior from some huns wouldn’t surprise me…😐
Plot twist: That’s actually how you make Regional VP
Same here
It's just your Brian trying to confess something you did
😂😂😂😂 I came back to chek IT and read the same 😅😊😂
Omg bless this upload. I've been stuffing envelopes at work for hours and dying of boredom because I ran out of good videos to listen to.
🙌😝
Literally same. I am 4 hods in with many more to go and I love watching her videos!
I think sometimes it goes from faith manipulation into spiritual abuse. Makes me so angry.
You are exactly right. It is spiritual abuse.
Brb, gonna go pitch my mlm to my nephews… they’re 5,7, and 9…
Talk about perfect timing! I stumbled upon this comment just as I got to the story where the aunt sold to and then Pitched her 13 and 9 year old nieces!
Hi Hannah! Thank you for reading my story (my aunt was the one that sold Arbonne when I was young)! I didn't quite know what MLMs were even after all that, until about 5 years or so ago when John Oliver had done a piece about MLMs and everything sort of clicked into place. I've been anti MLM since!
To clarify, yes I think that was credit card fraud! I know my grandmother found out about it eventually and paid it off using some of the money she had in her retirement fund. She ended up leaving my aunt out of any inheritance because of that, and my aunt has become estranged from most of the family. I love your videos!
Thank you for sending in your story Kathryn! Truly one of the crazier ones I’ve read. I love that John Oliver piece too!
@@PointeStarr It's gross that your aunt berated you like that, btw. I'm so sorry you dealt with that.
I was in Primerica for a hot 3 weeks. Lol one major red flag for me was people bragging about how much money they made ($5,000 a week sometimes) and they were driving a falling apart 1998 honda with duct tape holding the seatbelt together.
Gosh mentioning Shaklee brings me back! My aunt sold it in the late 80s/early 90s. She would give me bottles of chewable calcium supplements and tell me not to tell my mom, i never figured out why- I recall it tasted like chocolate flavored chalk.
Oh my gosh those sound disgusting 🤣
Probably made of the same ingredients as their ghastly laundry powder 🤣
I remember my Aunt and Grandma always had Shaklee vitamins all over the bathroom. 😮
Honestly...this story about the 13 y.o. is so heartbreaking. Goodness. What a sweet kid.
“Her name was Karen, which makes it even better” literally made me cackle 😂
I used to be in Mary Kay and yes, they do recommend that you keep products prepackaged in cute little bags in your car along with your demo kit so that you can sell from your trunk everywhere you go because you never know when you'll get a "client".
Yeah they’re slow. Just left the company because they were giving my money bad tax advice.
I’m a tax preparer
The Mary Kay part of the story is very true. They tell you that you need the bigger package to have a good start to your business, have inventory on hand, etc. But it's really about the bonus they get. If I remember right from my time, they get around a $600 bonus (maybe a little more) from the $1,800 package. That is why the encourage it. And if you leave and do the buy back program, they have to give that bonus amount back if I remember from what I read
That Amway story is crazy and really shows that it’s a cult. 😱
Regarding the last story: After seeing that nonsense with the NFL Hun-husbands (hunsbands?), it was so nice to hear about a husband who was truly supportive of his wife. He didn’t get mad and he realized that his wife was honestly trying to help.
I've been considering sending in my experience with a Monat hun who was also my landlord and roommate at the time but most of my story doesn't actually involve mlm directly but rather just her demeanor and way of dealing with money had to do with it so I have no idea if it would count or even be a good story
Do it! She’s read stories from plenty of people who weren’t directly in an mlm and there’s always something to take away 😊
Do it, please! One if the big issues with MLMs is the way they encourage people to see other people as nothing but dollar signs.
I second that. Those kind of stories are still great… palate cleansers, if you will.
U should send it, any story regarding people in these things are always good to hear
Yep, I'm late to the comments but I agree, please send your story. There's always a lesson in these things.
Currently binging the playlist and I had NO IDEA Noonday was an MLM!!!! I have purchased from them through an influencer probably three years ago. I always thought I was good at detecting scams but this just shows how sneaky the companies AND the sellers are!
Noonday restructured recently so is no longer an MLM structure, but they used to be.
I love these where it's just you talking/reading. I find it really soothing. I have to really prep myself to watch fails because the huns are really triggering and draining sometimes.
Your MLM horror story readings are the best! I love listening to them while I clean/do homework. The 2nd story you talked about with the young girl whose aunt was an Arbonne hun gave me flashbacks to when I was in highschool. My step dad got roped into Mona Vie ( weird acai berry wellness garbage) and sometimes I would try to sell things to people at my high school 🙃😂. Might have to shoot you an email soon haha
Wanna hear this one haha ❤
My day always gets better when I see there's a video from you waiting. I need to send in my story one day.
Aw this makes me smile!
I do love seeing that blue dot!
yay new video before placement!
i have no idea how they don't see how saturated they are, my small town girl guide group had at least two people trying to sell Scensy, i think. there was always a catalog and deliveries coming to the hall, and they tried getting me to buy several times. i was like, thats a stuffed animal for $40. no thanks.
they also had a stall every little fete the unit held and it was so so expensive. SO expensive.
i had no idea it was an mlm at the time
You don’t hear much about Scentsy. I have quite a few warmers and actually really enjoy them but only ever paid full price for one. I NEEDED the Stargaze warmer lol. The rest I got off of Kijiji (the local buy and sell site) for a fraction of the cost. I even found a lady that sold the waxes for cost. She enjoyed them and always had enough for her “quota” just from her friends and family and wasn’t trying to profit off of it or anything. She just enjoyed it and wanted to share with others.
I very much lucked out.
I haven’t bought waxes in quite a while but still use the warmers just as lamps and pretty decor.
Scentsy is too pricey for what they are. I bought a warmer in the clearance section at a local store for $8, and one at Walmart for $6 (original prices $20+). I find really nice waxes on clearance after holidays and stock up.
Not going to pay those high prices when I don't have to.
Playing Stardew on the switch in bed listening to mlm horror stories, winning ☺️
You're incredibly kind and I think that's awesome. The Amway cult story was.. something.
The story about Mary Kay just... unlocked a memory of mine.
I remember about 20 years ago when I was 4 and my sister would have been 7, my family went on a trip to Florida (we are Canadian). What was weird was at the resort we were at there was a Mary Kay woman, and she got really close with my sister and I at the pool, where we were playing with another young girl around our age. She ultimately invited us to come to a “make up party” where if we were lucky we could “win free makeup”.
Being 4, I obviously wanted the free stuff. We went to the party, and I don’t remember much about it other than I did get a goodie bag with stuff in it. I’m honestly not sure our parents even knew we went to this party. But I do know it was only me and my sister, and our other little friend. 3 YOUNG children. Alone. With a stranger. Giving us make up. Not to mention she found us IN THE POOL.
I have NO idea what this woman’s thinking was, but she definitely didn’t get a sale from any of us.
She probably thought your parents would be so grateful that she'd been nice to you and kept you busy, and of course that your mom would be so impressed with the make-up, that they would come and buy hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from her, or maybe ask her to host a party for them, too.
That's deeply creepy.
@@dqverify6797 Honestly. I ended up asking my mum if she remembered this, and she did. She apparently took away the makeup right away because she was worried it was poisoned or something, and also we were never allowed to go to the pool unsupervised again.
@@2_Gay_Rats_Kissing Yeah, that's probably what I would have done, if it happened to my girls.
The Amway experience...that brings back memories. Those of us who refused the alter call were slamed and shamed during the service. Many of us quit that day as well. I was 19 then. Am 59 now have not had any desire to mlm it again.
Hi Hannah. Honestly this sounds like a similar situation to someone I used to know but with party light. I was visiting a friend and his aunt was pressuring me to purchase and host a party. I was like wow. Her up line was pressing her so much to sell. My buddy had to be like relax he has to speak to his wife. Keep up the awesome work.
i've said before that having an mlm rep in the family is very similar to having a drug addict in the family, and sadly the second story in this video really highlights that. it's a good reminder that no matter how much we want to support someone, sometimes the best way to care for them is to not prolong the thing that they're addicted to. sometimes there's so little difference between one more hit or one more sale.
Lol I’m so grateful that my mom got sucked into mlms like pampered chef and stuff because she taught me early on anything like that is BS. Sooooooooo many people approached me in college. It’s insane how bad it is. We would get flyers at our dorm room doors for “parties”. That should be illegal! Ugh. Thankfully none of my good friends joined any because I was so against them and wouldn’t let them join lmao!
It concerns me how many people join an MLM, lose their money, realise they got scammed, then go on to join THREE MORE MLMs.
Yikes…that Arbonne story was super upsetting to listen to.
I was a Mary Kay consultant for 2 years back in 2014. The “dress code” was a black skirt, white blouse, and closed toed shoes preferably with a heel for our weekly “success meetings”. Once you hit the Star Team Builder rank until you became a Sales Director you would also have to wear the coveted “red jacket”.
I can't stop watching 😭😩
I have a lady on my list who joined and just attended the conference for the new MLM Ariel 😬 super cringy. I looked into the company and was none too shocked to find it’s got a super shady back story as the two founders were sued by their MLM they left for stealing company insider stuff and team members as well as their downlines, super iffy you should look into this company as a deep dive!
The amway one hits home for me 😑 I was sucked into that one for almost 2 years. They took up so much of my time. Would love if you did more amway ones! Those are hard to find here.
OMG this reminds me... Just about every woman in my family has been in at least one MLM and my mom was in dozens. She even tried paying for me to join one. Also filed bankruptcy a couple times, so take that as you will... 😬
And yes, fast cash is a real thing in MLM's. I was in Tupperware and we were encouraged to have inventory on hand and carry it in the car in case we ever met someone who wanted to buy product. Always be ready was the theme.
Hannah, as far as how they know, when I signed up under a person that person had to fill out a form registering me as her recruit. Then if I sold anything of course she got commission. And if I wanted to sign up under someone else, or if I came back as a return consultant I would have to wait a year to sign up under someone else and their team.. That's how they track it. Big Brother of MLM lol.
Since I recently found your channel, These videos are convincing me to share my own mlm horror stories over the years. Maybe I’ll write one soon about my experiences with Herbalife, amway and my family’s experiences and getting me to support their Avon and Mary Kay businesses.
I know that this video is put up a while ago, so this comment probably seems a little weird but I’ve been binging your videos this week as I was on a road trip.
When I was in my MLM, I got one of my best friends into it after about a million times of her asking me about it. Everyone in my up line encouraged me because she was selling the product really well and she was doing really well, but since we were from the same town, I was losing customers that I could have had because they were choosing her over me. I tried to do a really good job of separating my feelings about this because they tell you that you need to be happy for them, and that jealousy is a disease, and that “they are doing well so you’re doing well”. But when a 4 year client of mine left me to work with her after she told them that I “wasn’t even as dedicated as she was”, and I asked her about it, she told me that even though we were best friends, she was looking out for my best interest by saying that I needed to leave the company altogether. It ended up completely destroying our friendship, and this was someone that I had as a bridesmaid in my wedding. This was someone that I have been friends with for 14 years, and she competed so harshly with me that we could no longer be friends after all of the betrayal in the situation.
They talk all the time about how it’s great for you to build your team, but what you said in here about putting your direct competition underneath you is absolutely the truth. It’s sad that so few people realize that that is what you are doing when you bring somebody else into your team. That person is going to sell the same products, they’re going to interact with a lot of the same people, there will always be overlap, and there are not enough people in the world for all of these companies to have a customer base that doesn’t overlap with other companies as well.
Saved this for after my big night time fur buddies walk. Got my laaarge glass of red, all settled in, ready for many 'wtfs'.. 😁
I really love this for you ❤️
I’ve tried Shaklee! My grandparents have used it forever. As far as I know it’s vitamins. My grandma gave me one of their supplements recently, and after taking it for a bit I had the worst headache I’d ever had in my life! So that’s fun.
Perfect timing! Chilling with you and my post workout meal🌟
Shaklee is an older one, sort of an Herbalife lite with (at least when I knew ppl in it) an emphasis on supposedly green cleaning products. I got a laundry powder and OMG it had a role in my developing Reactive Airway Disorder and adult onset asthma.
I just finished your live and now a horror story yass!! I will be sending you a fails I screen recorded today it was crazy. 😂
The story about the girl selling makeup in school reminded me of my friend from school whose mother was in Oriflame (it was pretty big in my home country, I think it’s from Sweden). She would bring catalogues to school and pitch the makeup to us (we were around 13/14) I was definitely into makeup and some things looked pretty cool in the catalogue, I distinctly remember buying little pink and blue crystals that you stick to your face, they definitely looked cooler in the catalogue 😅 Only now as an adult I see how inappropriate the whole thing was.
A grown ass woman was messaging me when i was like 16 trying to get me to join some MLM i was so appalled that she’d honestly take money from a CHILD with a part time job like wtf lol
I would wager if you had a venn diagram of mlm's and anti vaxxers, they would be pretty well aligned!
You would be wrong. Quite the opposite.
There is for a sure an mlm/ anti vax pipeline
Amway ruined a dear friend's marriage years ago.
It was very sad.
Hi Hannah! I binged your anit-MLM content in the past 2 weeks, thank you for that! I did not really like the idea of MLMs in the past, but I never really knew why exactly, it was a "gut feeling" - you explain these facts really well. I hope lots of people contemplating MLMs will find your channel. And I also love the comments, even more stories and experiences to learn from.
I have some related experience, certainly not enough to make it as a horror story (which makes me rather happy), but this may be an interesting read as a comment, as the products are a "little bit" different than the MLMs represented here: there is a company called OVB. It's a German MLM (so I don't know if they are active in the US) which is selling savings, insurances, and their reps are "getting trained" as financial advisors. It's scary that guys and gals with basically 0 training and literally 0 experience are selling you financial products and give you advice on what to do with your savings.
One of my friends joined a year ago, and shortly after that, he gave me the usual "hun-talk" (sorry :)) that this is an opportunity for him to earn some money with more freedom while helping others making their lives better. He told me that if I need financial advice he's there, all of the advice is free, and all it takes is that I should give him three names from my friends that he can also contact. This was the point where I started to get really uncomfortable, and politely told him that I've got all things set financially right now. He did not push me afterwards.
I would really be intrigued if he succeeded at all (looking at your videos explaining the general MLM business model - probably not), but I don't want to bring up the topic, it would not be good for neither of us if I provided some false hope.
YAYYY! So excited for a new Hannah video 🥰
mary kay is into a also brownie scout badge conference thing, you get a badge with your name on it with a tiny diamond on it when you join, a bag of samples with a catalog of products, I only got in on the sample bag which was $150.00 & sold it to a brides bachelor party when i was discouraged after the conference for $300.00. i never ordered products so I got to keep my profit from selling the sample bag.
Avon is irritating, for a long time they weren't an mlm they were just direct sales, Susan down the street with a catalogue and she didn't need to build a team. They switched a few years ago but they had the literally decades of a seemingly legit business model to play off. A pretty nice co-worker and neighbour sold it, we knew my mum bought a lot but we didn't realise just how much until she got really sick and we had to take over management of her finances. Stacey knew how sick she was, was still happily taking so much money off her for shitty make up
yes it definitely is CC fraud to open CC accounts in other peoples names or even under a false name.
You're wearing my favorite shirt!
I know many people compare mlms to cults, and while that's definitely a spot on comparison, I'd also like to compare them to drug addiction. Think about it: They make you waste your money on things that you don't need and some are even potentially harmful, you become estranged from those not sucked into mlms, they have an addictive nature, and the way the huns pressure other people makes me think of drug dealers. They're dealing you the promise of a "high" in the form of "potential" financial success and a sense of belonging. They're difficult to quit too.
The MLM praising your success sounds like lovebombing!
I would really love to hear about your deep dive on noonday. Noonday and Sseko are 2 companies that literally had me bawling because I thought I was doing so much good for the artisans in Uganda and Ethiopia. Thanks for another amazing video!
Echoing the props to Hannah's speaking and articulation skills. ALSO props to all these folks' writing skills 👏
Hi!
I just started watching all you videos! Thank you for bringing awareness to the truth of MLM’s. Everything you say is so true 100%. Please do a video on Savvi. Seems like a new MLM. Seriously can’t believe how many MLMs there are.
Thanks Again! You Rock!
The one thing I hate to see in these stories … it’s that so many of the story-tellers feel the need to apologize for the length of their messages. This is a by-product of women constantly being told we talk too much and that our stories don’t matter. Please, please, please - your story takes the time it takes to tell; you don’t need to apologize for that!!
The MLM industry relies so heavily on stereotypes about women, that our socialization - our desire to be “polite” and “friendly” - will keep us from telling these predators to leave us alone and will keep us from walking away when we feel uncomfortable. AND it will keep us from calling them out for their lies and manipulation and outright fraud.
But these stories are so important. I’m opposed to anything that’s fraudulent, including MLMs, and the deep dives that Hannah has done and the other anti-MLM channels and content - awesome! But nothing compares to hearing the stories of actual people who’ve been duped and harmed financially and emotionally and psychologically. These stories are the best evidence that may steer desperate people away from these losers and their phony opportunities.
So I hope everyone will keep sharing them and Hannah will keep reading them for as long as there’s even one MLM out there!
Horror stories are my favorite.
Ho boy.... Amway is alive today. Let's go back to childhood! 😂
Listening to how the top earners always berate the low earners and guilt-trip them is the worst experience. Imagine being yelled at by your top boss whose luxury lifestyle is financed by your effort and that of thousands of others who make a paltry amount in 'the business'. The social media heavy ones are worse than slavery because they even force you to attend webinars where you silently listen to them brag and berate you when you could be spending that time doing something productive.
OMG there's an ad playing on this video where the woman was literally prospecting a lady who turned out to be a stripper and said you can make more money stripping ($20,000 a week according to this stripper) and the woman was like no thanks I'll stick to my MLM thank you
Love your videos! Subscribed!
So happy you’re here Kimberly!
Wow I just looked up Monat product prices and they are ridiculous!!! Who is buying this stuff? It’s no affordable at all. $40.00 for shampoo??? I rather shave my hair off.
Holy cow. One of my good friends in college dropped out sophomore year to marry a guy she had met a couple of months prior and join Amway. The way they push their “way of life” to college-aged people is sickening. She never finished college. They’re still married and have two kids. They ended up dropping out of Amway after a couple of years.
I was at a town founder's day festival yesterday, and there were a ton of booths, including a Cutco one. As we walked by, I almost wanted them to try to get me to come over so that I could be like "No thanks, I'm not interested in joining a pyramid scheme!" No such luck. 😂😂
Oh how this reminds me of all the Weekend Seminars (WES) as it's called in South Africa, we went to! I went to support my parents who were my direct upline, but I hated these seminars! I also always waited for the training to start only to find myself listening to yet another ego boosted person telling us their from rags to riches story. Thank goodness I am rid of AMWAY!
I have long thick healthy hair too snd I get targeted from MLMs all the time bc of it. And I even said to one of them "if my hair is thick and long why would I need to take YOUR vitamins ans products for my hair?? I neber understood that!
That MLMs are predatory towards college students is absolutely criminal.
My only interaction with Amway was at a garage sale. It was such crappy stuff!
Shaklee is probably one of the originals! I really wonder what's in those shakes?
Have heard of Shaklee and Keep Collective, but not the other. They never stop coming...
Hannah you are by far my fav anti mlm channel...these horror stories are my fav.
Shaklee ("shack-lee") is an old MLM with an Amway style "breakaway" comp plan that most MLM people despise, but before the computers we have today that was how they had to do it.
LOL! That Monat story reminds me of a mom who reached out to me about a hair product company (fairly sure it was Monat), telling me how she found a hair product that helped her hair grow thicker and fuller. I have naturally deceptively thick hair, and I texture & layer the bejeezus out of it to lighten the weight on my head and make it easier to manage. So, hearing I could buy a hair product to make my hair THICKER made me laugh! I told her I'm good with my hair, and in fact, wish I could make it thinner.
“Fake it til you make it!”
Who would’ve thought that MLM huns and up-and-coming rappers in the rap game have something in common?! 😂
I was at that same Amway conference 😂 I’m not in Amway anymore ❤, I bet it was Larry Winters , but no it wasn’t to be saved by him 🤭he was just the preacher. Definitely didn’t worship him 😂😂
My advice to those stuck in MLMs. Keep secrets from up lines and don't answer the phone when your in a family function.
It's amazing how it's the us the MLMs that sell items are more focused still on recruiting people than selling the products. Honestly here in Latin America at leat in my country is totally the opposite, by example I use Avon products since I was a kid and my mom sold those and others like Stanhome, lebel etc, and I have meet many people that sells them and also are great products but noone try ti recruit you they are more interested in selling, plus we know that what earn is just a side income just the zone managers are the ones totally dedicated to it as full time job but is because they are in charge of the packages and keep the order. I don't understand why in other places people keep thinking that it can be a independent dream it's quite weird to me because I believe our reality was the standard, maybe is a cultural thing but now that I see so many cases I see that I was so wrong and actually we are quite lucky. The only one that was trying to promise Heaven on earth was Herbalife and still didn't succeed
I’m kinda surprised he didn’t encourage her to go to the big wedding and recruit.
Oh man that title has me NERVOUS.
That Amway church service is just creepy!
I just want to tell you that if you join a cult and get out, you are more likely to join another cult than your average person off the street. I say this because you said if you joined and mlm and left, you are more likely to join another. I think these ways of thinking are related.
Shaklee has been around since I was a small child, maybe longer. I'm 53. They have supplements, food items and makeup.
🤬I’m always like where are the parents when I hear people were pushed at 11 to have parties or at 13 to help their aunt Sell. Are you kidding me?? I would never allow that🤬
I had been binge the horror stories.
I understand doing churchy things if you work for your church, but if not, that is just weird and scary.
The monthly website fees I always hear about on this channel are a scam in and of themselves. I know there’s a large price range based on what the domain sold for, but… I manage a small nonprofit in Oklahoma and our domain fee is $20 per year. The content management platform is about $200 per year. I have a hard time believing each personal link has to be supported by its entire own content management system. The MLMs are likely only paying these fees once per year but charging everyone like $15 a month just for their link. Seems sketchy to me but I guess that’s why we’re all here watching this channel.
Don’t forget about Nice & Bella essential oils
That Arbonne story, wow.
Geez i could never imagine making my young neice buy junk like this let alone make her sell to her friends. Yucky
hahahaha, when we were in Amway it was a gazillion cassette tapes😂
Yes, I'm Mary Kay you get one recruit, you were known and pinned as a senior consultant. Get 4 or more, you are known as a senior consultant, and you have to buy their scratchy red jacket.
My recruiter stole my customer, yes she knew Delphine was my customer, she was at my business debut, she went to Delphine's house a few weeks later, and recruited her!!
She showed her off at our weekly meeting and basically called me inadequate because I couldn't pressure her to join.
I approached my director, she told me to toughen up, but that goes completely against the "go give" spirit. My recruit was NEVER give back to me, so I guess because of that ladies status, they gave her that recruit. I was recently asked about pampered chef, I said no, been there, done that, Amway, Mary Kay, Beach Body, and Actilabs, so the answer is a VERY FIRM NO.
Story 4 is Tomboy erasure, and I’ll not stand for it!
I don't wear Make up at 45 let alone 13. Seems very illegal to me to have your 13 year old niece resell make up for you. That is just wrong.
Have you ever done a deep dive into Juice Plus or Crunchi?
Wow, once-in-a-lifetime meetings three times a week... that's kind of hilarious.
Thanks!
Bless hannah for this content
So the aunt kept half of the money she made...😠 what an awful person.
Paul Sika (not sure how you spell his last name) is the leader of Amway church. Also John C Maxwell