Hot take: most pyramid scheme arguments boil down to the same 3 talking points

I was at a backyard BBQ last summer in Austin and this guy Mark spent 20 minutes trying to sell me on a multilevel marketing thing for supplements. When I pushed back on the math not adding up, he just repeated the same lines about passive income and how the top earners are proof it works. Then he got defensive and said I was just scared of success. It made me realize that regardless of the product or company, the script is almost identical every time. The numbers never work unless you recruit heavily, but they always point to the same few people who made bank. Has anyone else noticed how these conversations always hit the same beats no matter what the product is?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron88018d ago

Ran into the exact same thing at a family reunion last year. My cousin was pushing some essential oil MLM and every time I asked a genuine question about profit margins she'd hit me with the same lines about "having the right mindset" and "you gotta invest in yourself first." I swear they get a script in their onboarding packet or something. What kills me is she's now 4 grand in debt and still posting those "boss babe" quotes on Facebook like the universe is about to flip a switch and make her rich. It's honestly sad how predictable the whole playbook is once you've seen it a few times.

spencer_gonzalez118d ago

The part that gets me is how they always frame quitting your job as this brave move, but never mention the real risk. My buddy's wife got into a skincare MLM and was told to stock up on product to "show commitment." She took out a small loan for inventory, and six months later she's sitting on a garage full of stuff nobody wants. That same weekend at the BBQ, the guy Mark probably would have told her she just didn't work hard enough. It's like they get you to bet against yourself, and then blame you when the odds don't hit.

felixlane17d ago

That part about the garage full of product really hit me. I've got a buddy named Derek who went all in on a travel MLM back in 2017, bought the top tier membership package for like 3 grand, and then spent the next year trying to sell vacation packages to people who could barely afford rent. When I asked him how many trips he'd actually booked for himself using the "employee discount" they promised, he got real quiet and changed the subject. Do you think these companies specifically target people who are already struggling financially, or is it more just that the desperate ones are easier to sell on the dream?