How Are MLMs Legal??
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2022
- Grab AtlasVPN for $1.83/mo and get +3 months for FREE using my link: atlasv.pn/LeejaMiller ! How are MLMs legal? What's the difference between an MLM and a pyramid scheme? How does an MLM become a pyramid scheme? I'm a lawyer and I'm here to walk you through it! What I uncovered was pretty shocking...
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SELECTED SOURCES:
Herbalife, Younique, LuLaRoe And Other MLMs Suddenly Under Fire, www.forbes.com/sites/lisettev...
MultiLevel Marketing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, (November 2016) • Multilevel Marketing: ...
LuLaRoe Washington State Lawsuit, agportal-s3bucket.s3.amazonaw...
Washington State Lawsuit Result: www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-rele...
MLMs might not be able to get away with their shady promises much longer (Oct. 22, 2021) www.vox.com/the-goods/2273258...
Business Guidance Concerning Multi-Level Marketing, www.ftc.gov/business-guidance...
Millennial Women Made LuLaRoe Billions. Then They Paid The Price. (Feb 22, 2020) www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
MLMs during the pandemic: www.vox.com/the-goods/2268831...
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THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE - Everything contained on this channel is meant solely for entertainment and informational purposes. Nothing herein should be considered legal advice nor does anything on this channel create an attorney-client relationship of any sort. Please seek guidance from a licensed attorney before making any legal decision.
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trash ads ruining youtube
@@DontHateMeCausImSexypatreon then?
Leejah, you should do a 'how neoliberalism ruined everything' video. Research it!!!!
@@DontHateMeCausImSexy😅qq,,22❤qà❤❤1q1
Enjoyable video. I can't criticise your research. However, the camera zooming in and out felt excessive. Personally, I would change the zoom when you switch to something else, such as stock footage. Just trying to be helpful. 😊
I heard about a guy once who got so enthusiastically into Amway, he was not paying attention to his family. He reluctantly quit after his wife threatened to leave him. After leaving, he did an assessment of how much money he had made during his time with the company and discovered that he was in the hole.
My Mom LOVED LuLaRoe literally there was a package everyday for months. All of the purchases she made were from facebook live. She always had it on in the background. I think a lot if felt like she had a community and people she could talk to (comment) during her retirement. Thankfully she found out about the shitty things they have been doing and she stopped
Oof, I'm sorry your mom got sucked in, but good she was able to stop!
My mother was the exact same, down to the Facebook live stream being on 24/7. We even had a neighbour that was selling it and she would help her when she had her lularoe parties.
When the lula rich documentary came out, she stopped doing it and now we just have boxes of lularoe clothes sitting in our basement that she never wears and probably never wore in the first place. My dad says that she was going through a pretty rough time during that whole lula addiction period of her life (health problems and stuff), and that was the catalyst of the whole ordeal. She was leaning on shopping to distract herself i guess, which makes sense.
The unfortunate thing is that before, during, and still to this day she’s actively involved in an essential oils MLM called young living. It’s crazy to me that she realised how bad the Lula thing was but she still hasn’t realised the same about young living.
💸Not only do I hate MLMs because they are shady and pry on people (mostly women) who are lower class trying to make some extra cash but I ALSO hate them because if anyone I care about tries to join one I either have to be supportive watching them shoot themselves in the foot or tell them it's a bad idea and get the "so you don't believe in me?" Speech.
MLMs ruin not just your life but also the relationships around you.
so your position is that there is not one single, ethical and moral MLM in existence in the world?
@@downundarob - The business model itself is corrupt.
@@arthurwintersight7868 explain to me precisely what is corrupt with the model itself.
@@downundarob - Profit for members isn't based on actual sales to the customers, but on the basis of how much inventory people under them purchase. That creates perverse incentives, and it should be banned.
@@arthurwintersight7868 that is incorrect, in a true MLM commissions are only paid to members who have managed to make sales to end users, either by themselves, or via people who they have introduced to the network similarly making sales of products, no product sales, no commissions. What you described is already banned by MLM companies, although there may be some more unethical operators who may still encourage such things.
I always find it interesting how offended people get when suggesting “hey, I think you’re in a MLM.”
Yess ! I recently started to follow a mom friend on IG & found out she is w Young Living & i wanted to tell her something but then she posted about how this one essential oil has the ability to fully prevent breast cancer . She posted ‘1 in 8 woman in the US will develop invasive breast cancer, rub this oil on your lymphs so you are not one of them’ Man , do they brainwash these people . I havent met up w her since but yeah , they’re cults ! 🫠
💸 I think people feel they are being called stupid when you tell them that. (Which they kinda are.) I knew someone who got sucked into a scheme selling fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. She was actually going to get a business loan to open her own "store" up. Fortunately someone in her family set her straight before she made that mistake; I wanted to tell her but geeze I knew it wouldn't go over well. When she and her husband told me "Oh that was a pyramid scheme!" I went, "Oh. You don't say."
Either that or they tell you that an MLM ‘isn’t actually that bad’. Even though they’re actively losing money from it.
It’s cognitive dissonance. We’ve all been taught better so why would we fall for the okie doke? So when we do fall for it and people tell us about it, it’s a double whammy. “How could you see it from me just saying a couple words, but I couldn’t when I heard the same thing? What’s wrong with me?”
By then they may have already spent the money and it's easier to deny than to sit there and admit right then and there that you wasted hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. People don't wanna believe they made a mistake that big so they'll outright deny it to themselves. That and mlms work like cults, they lovebomb, they make you reliant on them, and they convince you that its for a greater purpose, that you're more important to them, that this gives you purpose and drive. And to be told the thing you find community and support in is taking advantage of you and stealing your money is really hard.
I'm not saying mlms are as bad as some cults, I'm just saying they use similar tactics to convince people to spend money on THEIR mlm. Plus the mlm has probably been telling them that other people will call it an MLM and that they assure them it's not a pyramid scheme, it's a way for you to take back your finances! It's not quite as extreme but it's similar to anti union messaging, they make propaganda and convince you they support you and believe in you.
When you're a desperate single mom who needed money for her kids, being told you just spent $5000 on a scam that could've been used to feed your kids its a little hard to face. I'm glad my aunt got out of her MLM but she just wanted to provide for her kids while being able to stay at home with them while her husband is away working.
I was reached out to by an MLM. I went into the interview assuming all the red flags would be confirmed, but I at least gave a bit of a doubt. It could just be a small business. Maybe they don't know how to make sure they look more professional. They're learning. It was worth at least listening to them talk.
Then they talked about overnight success, made absolutely wild claims about what percentage of sales for [REDACTED] they were responsible for, discussed their "direct marketing" model, and more. Also, it was a group interview *and* that was a surprise. Yeah. Every red flag was a real red flag.
Note to self though, always remember to check Glassdoor first.
Thank you covering MLMs! I hope recent lawsuits are a sign that more MLMs will be held responsible in the future. They ruin lives.
MLM do not ruin lives. If you don't make money , you need to look in the mirror. MLMs are not for everyone, just like not everyone can be a doctor, or lawyer, or gold medalist!
@@shellieamelsberg2428 MLMs have ruined countless lives. Almost no one makes any real money in an MLM; they put tension & stress on the relationships in your life; and they target low-income families by design. They intentionally use cult tactic to make their members feel fiercely defensive of the company. They are not good companies. They're predatory and despicable. These arent my opinions. They're facts. People defend them because the company has successfully manipulated them into thinking if they just work harder they'll do better, when in reality the deck is stacked.
@@shellieamelsberg2428MLMs are predatory and actively seek people that are vulnerable. stop acting like these pyramids are good for anybody.
@@shellieamelsberg2428
40% fail to become a doctor.
Of those 40%, they can still go back and try again.
It's about the same for the bar.
And those who fail to reach gold are still among the top 10 of their field...
99% of people who enter an mlm will not make money.
No matter how much they hustle.
Mlms ruin lives.
Your pie in the sky language doesn't change simple math.
@@shellieamelsberg2428yeah that’s no where near the same thing.
I still have a lot of Lularoe in my closet. Before the quality fall, those leggings were great, thick and soft. There was something addictive about searching through tons of ugly patterns to find a unicorn.
I always knew the clothes were overpriced. But, as a plus size woman, it was nice to find clothes that were comfortable, feminine, and modest. I think that was the big appeal in general.
Yeah I have a few that are cute patterns and good quality that I got from a friend. I usually just go for black or gray when it comes to leggings though.
At one point the leggings I bought from Walmart though was better quality than the later stuff to come out.
You consider leggings "modest?" When I first saw women wearing them, it was like seeing women who forgot to put on a skirt walking around in nothing but their tights. You can pretty much see everything, and most of the time, I don't want to see it.
LOL. AMEN TO THAT!@@briancrawford8751
My first job interview was for an mlm. Herbalife. I felt it was all a bit weird after the initial presentation, so i asked for a minute to go talk to my mom who was waiting outside.
She was soo pissed. We'd spend the last of her salary on the bus tickets to get there, and they hadn't given me any details over the phone so i couldn't know.
These people are truly disrespectful.
💸
I don't support MLMs, but I will say that my wife and I have purchased a couple of LuLaRoe dressed at Goodwill that were very comfortable and fit well, but their business practices were absolutely horrid.
I'm a veteran, my wife comes from a Mormon extended family (immediate family is not) and the two biggest groups I've seen fall into MLMs have been military spouses and Mormon moms. One of her aunts has sold everything from Pampered Chef to fitness supplements. I'm annoyed when I get messages asking me to buy something, but I feel awful for the people who lose money on these scams.
I've seen Lularoe items a couple times at my Goodwill in LA. It's not my style but I can see how it would be comfortable.
MLM= Mormons Loosing Money.
@@jerrimenard3092 - (*losing)
The Dream is an amazing podcast that takes a deep dive into MLMs and pyramid schemes. People literally have to work with cult de-programmers to get their loved ones out of them.
🤔👊😪✌
As a British person who don’t get me wrong has plenty of shady MLMs, but watching Lula roe fall apart via the anti MLM corner of the internet was satisfying and we didn’t even have it here, that I know about anyway.
i first heard of lularoe when i was in high school. i took a summer school class at a nearby art university for fashion & was interested in pursuing it. my dad told me about this post on nextdoor (neighborhood forum app) of someone offering a “fashion internship” and the introductory meeting was at her house. turns out she was just a middle aged woman who saw those facebook videos of lularoe and wanted the riches like them, but was not very trendy herself so she wanted to hire teenage girls to help her come up with ideas for the selling livestreams. i remember seeing the patterns & being like “yikes yeah there’s no way those would ever get sold” so i didnt go through with the “internship”. but the saddest part was that she had a teenage son she was trying to save up for his college for, but her husband had just passed away so a lot of her savings went to funeral expenses. i don’t remember her name or contact info, but i still think about her & now realize she probably spent like all of her savings to invest on a “dream” that was a total sham. i feel so bad for her.
My best friend signed up for Mary Kay and quickly saw it was all about recruiting. After a small amount of time w no sales she was deemed inactive and would have to pay a $250 fee to be a "consultant" again. Thankfully she got out
God. These people are really trying to tell workers that they have to pay to work. Its the other way around
@@galllowglassfor real dude. It’s nuts.
I mean, I guess at some jobs you do have to pay some sort of out of pocket amount for things like nonslip shoes, like I did when I started working, but you have a guaranteed income (and a tangible, useful item you can use at another job if you get hired somewhere else). MLM’s are not a guaranteed source of income at all. You could be putting a full 40 hour work week into them and see very little return, which sucks.
My LLR story: I got into buying solid colored or easy to the eyes patterned dresses when I was doing my student teaching and first year teaching. I bought from a fellow educator. I was very picky about what I bought. I agree with you about the patterns being horrible at times. The material wasn’t horrible back in like 2016, but I also wasn’t expecting it to be on the same level of Torrid or anything.
Now, though, I’ve ended up donating all of my LLR dresses because I’ve gained weight over the last six years and updated my wardrobe to have more versatile pieces to be a bit more professional.
I need to watch the LuLaRich documentary series, but I know it’ll make me super pissed to learn everything in a more in-depth manner.
A last comment: It’s like LLR wanted to be boutique style without actually being boutique style clothing. 💁♀️
You should definitely watch the documentary. It's crazy
If you donated it, it likely got thrown out. Thrift stores complain about having too much of it and no buyers for it, so they just chuck it now.
Give the clothing to a shelter. As a man, I give mine to the local men's refuge.
As someone who went to school in Ohio during the rise of LLR, the leggings used to be of far better quality and the prints used to be nicer, but as was made obvious in the documentary, their supply chain and manufacturing became a victim of its own success and the graphic designers were grinded into the ground that they started to produce prints with dumb shit like hot dogs and candy corns.
Thank you for laying out the subtle differences between MLMs, pyramid schemes and ponzi schemes - I sort of knew there was a technical difference but couldn't for the life of me articulate that difference, so that was a light bulb moment!
(Oh, and 💲💰)
A friend of mine ended up with an entire garage filled with Lu La leggings. She had a "subscription" that wouldn't stop, was being told she just needed to "work harder"to sell them. A mutual friend's husband is a lawyer and that's what it took to get my friend out of this nightmare.
I always feell like 17,4% smarter after watching your videos. Thanks you so much for all the time you take to educate us
Ok. I’m gonna be honest. I was fully in the LLR cult. I didn’t sell it, but I bought it. A lot. People tried to recruit me a few times, but once I heard the startup cost I told them they were insane. I bought it cuz - full disclosure - I was at my highest weight. Nothing I owned fit anymore. I literally stopped wearing things with buttons and zippers. So LLR came at the perfect time. Their stuff fit me, made me feel good and like I could still be cute. Which is funny to think about now cuz i was truly wearing baggy shirts and leggings. Haha. Also What’s wild is their sizing was insane. Some things I was a 2x and something I could do a medium or large.
💸 I work in thrift, and it’s wild the amount of lularoe we receive. Most of which is new w/ tags. Even when it’s “new” we recycle some because of popped seams or other manufacturing defects. Thank you for the enlightening perspective! It truly shows that not only does it profit on recruits, it profits on cutting corners (I.e. product flow mgmt and storage) and sweatshop labor exploitation. If a company can proliferate to such an extent as LuLaRoe, then it’s manufacturing cost must be fractions to the penny, allowing its “consultants” to profit on product bought vs. product sold.
Lol as a former Mormon they're not all crazy, but Damn are they good at getting people into MLMs 😂😂😂
😂 but why???
@@RedLion502 Because Mormons are talking strong ethics and when another Mormon proposes something like this they just trust it assuming the other person is being totally honest.
I once did a "job interview" that turned all of the applicants into the audience of a self help presenter. Took them an hour twenty to reveal what the company even actually does. Actual insanity.
My mother has been in Amway since the 90s. She retired from her 6 figure IT job last year to “focus on her business”. I finally confronted her a few months ago. She said she makes about $1k/yr GROSS. She spends tens of thousand traveling to different conferences where they wheel out success stories, but she doesn’t see them as expenses because she “treats it like a vacation.” She also got a tour of the owner’s private jet to help motivate herself. She’s so desperate to build something and follow the “American dream” that she couldn’t see the opportunity she had with her inflated salary. She probably could’ve retired over a decade ago if she put that money in her 401k instead.
Oh man… a friend of my husbands got into A*C Cookware (The middle initial is between L & N, but I don’t wanna be sued for identifying them 😂) but we didn’t know that… she suddenly visited us out of the blue and invited us to dinner, but at our house. My husband agreed not understanding what was going on (we’re in Italy, where MLMs aren’t as prevalent). I knew though… I knew immediately it was a scam-something something.
The cookware is good, ngl, but when I saw the prices 😮. A simple 10” pan with lid is around 700€ 😂 😂😂 yeah no
I can find brand new pieces on the Italian version of Craigslist for almost nothing; these companies screw people over hard
This is a great video and I hope more folks who are exposed to MLMs can see or at least hear the information you shared here.
After moving to Utah(wasn’t really a choice I got stuck here) I was immediately drawn into this insane MLM world, constantly being pushed to join one and another and another. Sadly I did get sucked into a few and a while ago I said no more. Honestly, I feel as though I am a social pariah now, I don’t want to waste what little money I have buying junk and especially don’t want to be sucked into another cult of capitalism. So I simply decline making purchases, I haven’t shared how I feel about the business structure and remain polite but all anyone wanted was my money and if I’m not going to give them sales, I am not worth their time.
I've tried to take a step back from youtube recently so this is my first video in a while and I've missed you Leeja! Glad I'm back, this was so interesting to me. I've had a few friends join things like Arbonne and Body Shop over the pandemic so this is very relevant, and the legalities have always confused me. Thank you!
I’d love to see a video on the do’s/dont’s when you get pulled over by an officer, and what your rights are.
💵 Love you Leeja! ❤️ Thank you for this great coverage of MLM’s! I love me some anti-MLM content
I once dated a girl who was involved in an mlm. I wasn't very well versed in financial shenanigans at the time, but as she described the system to me I just knew something was off. Crazy how easy it is for some people to get sucked into these things without having any idea what they're doing
I still love my select LLR leggings and LLR V cut tops and cardigan tops, size and patterns what drew me to them as a big girl. Was definitely unaware of the predatory behavior and only bought from people getting out if I wanted anything after the word got out. I feel awful for those who lost so much money by being roped into it.
I was in an MLM for about a year in 1983. I was fortunate to not lose much money, but I did put in a lot of time and effort for sub-peanuts earnings. I also grew tired of annoying everyone I knew trying to convince them how wonderful the products were. Not directly mentioned in your video, but strongly implied, is that most MLMs are essentially cults!
💵 I worked for a marketing company that hawked “free cellphones” aka “Obama phones”. I got privy to the whole scheme when my pay wasn’t equal to the work I put out and I called it out. I was ostracized and called a “neg ball” for demanding my money. I left after a month or so.
It makes total sense: they called you a "neg ball" because compensating you for your work would have a negative impact on their profits.
"It's Direct Sales, not a pyramid scheme" is about as convincing as those t-shirts that say "I'm not an alcoholic, alcoholics go to meetings"
This is such an important topic and I'm so happy you keep covering them in a very approachable way 💸
I had an “Avon lady” in middle school (13-16 yo in Poland). Idk if a kid doing that is legal or how that worked (probably just her mom doing it and she’s basically advertising but still don’t know the legal implications). She had a lot of body mist orders and every girl was smelling the same.
I work for a company that delivers a lot of Avon's products in big boxes that have "Avon" written on them. Really had no clue what the company was like but now I'll think of this video's comment section when I pick up one of those boxes.
i feel like printed leggings were definitely one of those 2010s novelty fashion trends…i never owned lularoe, but i can recall the galaxy print leggings i wore religiously in 2012 in middle school…it makes sense to me that they kinda popped off at the time seeing as all over corny prints like these were very very popular…
Hey Ms. Miller Esq. I totally enjoy your perspective on so many different topics, you are answering many different questions that bounce around between my ears. Thank you for your efforts your work and your commitment.
I chose to become a subscriber
When I was unemployed in 2011 about 80% of the interviews I got called into where MLMs… it got to the ooint where I would just walk out -_-
So disingenuous about what they are!!!
I always Google the address, person I'm communicating with, or company name. If I find poor employee reviews or no information, I cancel the interview.
I’ve stumbled upon your account 24hrs ago, and I’m a huge fan already! Love your content, keep it up (:
you are 100% one of my favorite people on the internet. thank you for what you do
A big reason that so "many" "lose" money is that many MLM companies regard ALL customers as potential distributors. Then, those customers don't actually try to make money. In my experience, this is more of a semantics problem than a real business problem. This is exacerbated if the company also requires purchases by the distributors to stay "active."
I didn't wear LulaRoe, but I wore a similar style of clothes for years after my son was born. I was always fond of a patterned legging and a solid tunic dress. It was as comfortable as PJs or work out clothes, but didn't look like I rolled out of bed. Also it looked a little bit more "put together" than jeans and a t-shirt, but I could still chase a toddler without feeling restricted.
I never bought LLR because of the cost, and I'd get overwhelmed looking through their booths with all the clashing patterns.
Another great video, thank you! I unfortunately got pulled in by a MLM and lost money in my 20s. Definitely learned my lesson.
I just recently found your channel and you’re already one of my faves! Smart and funny, thanks for the vids
My friend bought me some in the early days when they were better quality. They were comfortable and the pattern was just flowers on a lavender background. We didn't know they were an MLM at the time, but when her birthday came around I tried to buy some for her and figured out that it was an MLM.
So a friend of mine actually was one of the few to be able to make money off of LLR, because she was the 1st to bring it to our local area, signed up almost everyone, both she & her husband were able to retire from their government jobs, as she was in the top 3 at LLR. Meanwhile, the rest of the people who signed up under her were struggle busing it! Then when she saw the writing on the wall, she got out! Sold all her inventory back and opened an independent online boutique with her husband! Only MLM susscces story I know of!
great video! i was always kinda confused by how some mlms get away with calling themselves legal mlms when they're very obviously either turning into pyramid schemes or have been a pyramid scheme for a while.
💵
I went to highschool with a guy that ended up becoming a door to door salesman that unironically sells tupperware, classic MLM stuff. No one wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room and buys how much of a "success" he has become.
It's honestly baffleing how much people will joke about MLMs, but can't even identify what they look like.
My mom and sisters were so into LuLaRoe. They bought so much of the tacky trash that I'm STILL receiving LuLaRoe crap, tags still on, for Christmas. It's all ugly and isn't even comfortable.
💶 Not even in the legal field or living in the U.S., your videos provide so much knowledge with empathy and sass that I just enjoy learning about things I've never would have learned otherwise. :D Thank you! ❤
I did Pampered chef back in the 90's. I worked about 8 shows and paid off my kit and made a little extra and had fun. Had 2 toddlers and not much support there so I stopped. Still have a few things and loved their product. I also did Partylite , made my money back had a little fun, but again not my thing. This was all 20 plus years ago, after the amway bs, lol... so things were OK and on the up and up. Now they are all scammers! Thanks for doing this video!
💵 This video brought me so much clairvoyance about the legal differences between multilevel marketing, pyramid schemes, and Ponzi schemes - and, for that, I thank you very much!
OMG I was waiting for you to cover MLM's!!! Would you do any videos on the legalities of current cults? We have an odd one in Australia lol
It's killing me that you aren't getting more views. These are some of the best videos on YT.
Great video and love the clarification. I am so confused about this topic. They all seem the same so what is bad and what is just a company with a different marketing plan? Any I laughed so hard when you talked about family owned businesses. I worked for a small, family owned software company and it was exactly what you said. The software was legit but all of the leadership team was family. One guy was a former professional baseball player that got injured so he could no longer play. He was given a job on the "board" and did practically nothing. The owner had a huge office and we never saw or talked to him but when he did talk to us he talked down to us. They fired whoever they liked and the pay was terrible. They also had zero training. I had to beg to get training on the product I was supposed to be a technical expert on. One day they will get sued because they also promised commissions and did not pay out.
I loved Lularoe mostly because, having grown up in ultra evangelical Ohio, there was no way for me to dress how I wanted (tight clothes, wild prints) within the guidelines of the religion, but if I was buying the clothes from other holy women, it was perfectly fine to wear that. Additionally, Lularoe became a sort of fashion trend in my small town just due to how many women in the church were selling it. I was also like 13 years old at their peak (2015ish) so it was much less embarrassing to wear that to school.
💸 Love your show! Glad someone is exposing these pernicious parasites. Can we go back to the time when making a lot of money was just a function of having a well-made product and offering it for a reasonable price?
My cousin was into selling LuLaRoe at one point (moved onto Herbalife after losing money in LLR...sigh). My aunts loved buying stuff from her partly to help her out but partly because of the fabric. At the time (not sure if this is still the case), the fabric was this buttery soft material. Nearly suede. So it was incredibly comfortable. If you were a 40-50 year old white woman that loved a flowy basic top and a printed legging, it was a huge hit. I never purchased anything because the patterns are truly hideous. However, if they made basic color ones with that incredibly comfy fabric I may have considered
In the last 5 years ir so my sister-in-law has been involved with about 6 MLMs. Creepy marketing practices aside, I was actually more worried about the products themselves, some really weirded me out and felt like snake oil type products, at the height of covid the owners of the MLM she was involved with during that time was anti-vax and convinced my sister-in-law not only to not get her family vaccinated but also that their product could cure covid 🤔😐. My sister-in-law was/us so brainwashed by these companies they teach them how to spot people trying to dissuade them from leaving by using straight up cultish techniques. I'm hoping she'll be out for good soon since her cousin and her started a catering business and have just bought a restaurant, but we'll see.
(For background, I come from a Mormon background, though I haven't been involved with the church for the last 8 years, and while I was raised in the church and like 6th generation, I had extracurricular activities growing up that kept me from truly being active in the religion, plus since my father wasn't active we didn't have a strong presence of the typical religious upbringing in my home growing up, I'm saying all this because I wasn't to believe this helped me from being sucked in to these MLMs even when I was a desperate points looking for work, I was first presented to them as jewelry and candle selling parties, but it felt really weird to me to be going to someone's house to then only be obligated to buy something at the end, I always had a bad taste in my mouth from the beginning so it never interested me. But that's me, anyways. My sister-in-law on the other hand I've always found to be quite gullible and persuadible, and her money situations had been worse and more desperate than mine because my brother (her husband) had been out of work quite a few times in the past and they have kids and she's needed to be the bread winner a few times because of it, and when my brother finally found stable work, having extra money on the side was extremely enticing for her, and I think she got drawn in that way. She tried to get me to join but I live outside the US and these types of businesses are illegal in the countries I lived/live in nor can some of the products be allowed to be imported into those countries because of regulations and stuff, because, well, as we can see here, lol, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I just told her that those companies don't have a presence in the country I live in.)
💵 Let me send this video to my mom right quick. Thanks for the great breakdown Leeja!
When I was a summer associate, I was asked to research Herbalife for a potential pitch. The only conclusion I could reach with my limited legal experience was that these things probably weren’t legal, but no one was paying attention. And I haven’t looked into since then…
Also, how I came to own a LulaRoe sweater thing: a friend who doesn’t know how to say “no” got badgered into hosting a sale party for several friends involved in MLMs as a “birthday party.” I was just told the birthday party part. I was drowning in cringe and felt bad for the MLM ladies and bought one thing from each of them.
I still have the sweater. It’s in pretty good shape. It’s just made from some kind of bizarre woven material that feels like waxed embroidery thread.
I’m so glad you talked about this because MLMs are super evil. Quite a are doing well I’m CT and I’ve been targeted a few times. Never fell for it but god it seemed really cut throat and the sales people seemed really desperate for a sale 💲
help lol i thought the title meant men loving men and i was like what and the thumbnail too omfg.
but ily leeja this is actually something i had no idea about
Hello Fresh seems pretty MLM-adjacent. (not to mention the dark patterns and how hard it is to cancel). It's insanely expensive unless you can convince people to sign up with your code then they give huge discounts for signups and money spent by your downline. So... the difference is you get paid only in store credit and they don't pretend you're supposed to try and sell the product delivered to your own home lol
There is no (ethical) shortcut to success in business and fashion business is my expertise. Opening a legitimate clothing boutique would require massive amounts of market research, investment capital, and really, a long term business plan. All of my classes in fashion school talked about intimately knowing your “Customer” down to like, where they get their coffee in the morning.
The other thing Fashion School (and common sense) teaches you is that solid , wearable staple colors like black, white, and navy will always be your top sellers and the bedrock of your business. LuLaRoe knows and abuses this fact by throwing hideous patterns on everything and solid black leggings are incredibly rare. They are distributing a percent of merchandise to “wholesale retailers” that is unsellable BY DESIGN because to them, the consultant IS the end customer. it’s evil and should be criminal.
💵My daughter & son-in-law got sucked in by a fraternity brother of his while both were in college. My daughter dropped out & son-in-law actually considered dropping out a semester before he graduated, but thankfully did not. He got a very good job after graduation but quit less than 2 years later. They have no backup, no safety net, yet if anyone tries to talk about it with them, they get the 1000 yard stare. I get the cult-like following that these things engender, but it's really frustrating & heartbreaking to see your child go through this. All we can do is hope that they are somehow successful, despite overwhelming odds against them.
💸 Fascinating, as usual! Didn’t know you had a book club, will def be checking that out!
The draw of wearing LuLaRoe clothes for me was that they were actually soft and comfortable to wear. It's really hard for me to find clothes that fit and are comfy, so it was a really nice find. I bought a couple things, then learned what MLMs are and never did again. The clothes didn't last very long, anyway. :/
💰💸💵 always love your well researched and entertaining perspective as a lawyer.
💵 Good to hear your take on this. Thanks for the sources, and if I could add another, I suggest The Dream, an excellent podcast by Jane Marie (Season 1). MLM stories are strange and fascinating
💰💲💸💲
I love your channel, you explain your subjects so well. I especially love your snark 😆
You're the be💰💸 creator I've seen in a minute. I'd nearly given up on UA-cam being my go-to for edutainment or entercation.
Thank you!
Super late to the party here XD
So I live in Washington and one of my friends was obsessed with buying Lularoe. The draw was the endless number of designs and feeling really soft and breathable I guess. Essentially I heard it described as bamboo clothes without it being bamboo and expensive... Super glad I never bought any. Lol
She bought some because the women at her church (mormon church) were super into the clothes. One of her friends at the church was selling them. She almost got into it but college was filling her time so she didn't. Thankfully.
I think they also liked to buy the clothes because it covered where it needed to while being affordable.
That was my takeaway anyway.
💵💵💵 love you Leeja!! Always killing it
Well presented explanation of MLMs. After watching the video I see that there's no difference between MLMs , Pyramid schemes, and yes Ponzi schemes.
Usually if a job emphasizes recruitment rather than product sales, I steer clear of it. It literally makes no sense why recruiting is more important than selling the products or services. 💰💵💸
And why do they need to be done by the same person anyway? It's not the same skill set.
Love you’re storytelling! 🤑🤑
My mom was really into LuLaRoe back in 2016-2017 if I remember correctly. I remember them actually being really soft and comfortable and my mom said it was nice to have something that she could count on fitting as a plus size woman. Some of the patterns were actually kind of cute and more thoughtful then… later patterns lmao, but they were definitely very expensive so we stopped buying them. I definitely can’t speak on the more recent quality of the leggings, but they were pretty nice back when we were buying
💵💰 Always great videos and well detailed research! Thank you! as someone who should have gone to law school (and still may) you are certainly making it slightly more appealing. However the MLM of higher education and continuing education post bar exam has me dubious. 😁🤣
My mum's got into Epicure and boy do i see her losing money even though she is convinced that if she just works harder at it, now that she's retired, she'll make IT.
MLMs should be heavily regulated.
First video for me! For me to watch of you! Great video!❤
Hi Leeja, there's a great podcast called "Am I in a Cult?" and there was an episode about LuLaRoe - the woman was a former member, but she made a ton of money while she was in it. It was very interesting to hear how she got into it & what she liked about it, before it became so bad. Episode was called "MLM LuLaRoe: "What's your why?"" 💸💰
I was in AMWAY, Primerica, and New Vision. I couldn't make them work for me but some people could. I'm not mad at them but it was a hard lesson learned.
My wife owns two LulaRoe shirts (a striped and a plaid pattern) that she found at a thrift store and to be entirely honest: of the quality, feel, and look of those two shirts is how LulaRoe started I can absolutely see why people wanted it.
When she brought them home I said "oh these feel super nice" and she replied with something like "yeah, its an MLM and the new stuff is super cheap and horrible"
💵 So happy I found you from your original Drag Race contract video! This Minnesota queen is now invested in all your content!
Love the hair!
I'm not criticizing the sponsor but have always wondered about the legality of VPN's and using them to watch geo-restricted content. How is that legal?
This sounds like a great Leeja Miller video idea!
Also, yea they may be "protecting" your content from Google or other search engines, but you're still giving all your personal information to a company (VPN) who can do whatever they want with it.
💵this explained so much I always wondered why they weren’t getting sued constantly
🤢🤮 LuLaRoe is the WORST I never owned anything but was BOMBARDED for YEARS by girls begging me to buy $40 leggings
Finally understood what MLM is. Thx man
💸 been binging your videos
Really appreciate what you do, thanks!
I admit, I like some of luluro dresses due to the skirt and I work with small kids and bright colors keep their attention (only ever get them from thrift stores though)
Also a big distinction btwn mlm and pyramid is the sales of product an mlm usually has coverage on their product that they are banking on people not redeeming.
I find a lot of Lularoe at the thrift store and I buy the dresses on sale for like $2-$4 as PJs! I’ve also found the super rare solid color (black) or black and white patterns that I use for lazy work clothes. I would never ever pay full price for these things though and I laugh really hard to myself when the thrift store prices the lularoe up there with the other brand name clothes lolol
i truly loved the video, i just came here after rewatching the violating community guidelines podcast and it was perfect to really understand how you guys in the USA have such a huge problem with those 💸💸💸
I've heard that LuLaRoe is popular among elementary school teachers because it's comfortable and has bright, "fun" patterns.
💵 😉
Hey also, would you cover sometime the legal side of Wolf of Wallstreet and what actually got him in trouble from the finance law side? If not no biggie. Love your content, I learn so much
I got sucked into primerica! The MLM for life insurance. They saw I worked for another finance company and sucked me in. Worst decision I have ever made
Not all MLMs are horrific! I promise! I recently joined under one (not clothing) and I have not once been encouraged or bullied into recruiting people under me. The benefits of starting my own team are clearly laid out in the handbook, but not once have I been overly encouraged to do so. I have t even been encouraged to do so. But I do understand that if I want to grow that’s what I need to do. I also refuse to hound my friends and coworkers to buy, join or host. The product should for the most part sell itself, and this one does. Now if I were to be super aggressive like many, I would be more successful, but I’d also become one of those reps I can not stand.
I think a business model set up so that the people who are super aggressive are the most successful is an unethical business model. A more responsible business would include some checks to avoid letting either salespeople of products, or recruiters to the business being incentivised to be super aggressive. Whether the product sales and recruitment are done by the same people or different people.
One time when I was in college doing a group project, a guy used it as an opportunity to proselytize for his MLM to a captive audience. That was fun.