Wow, still much debate over this. This is my advice as an ex-agent from one of these companies.

1. Whether its a scam or not.. Maybe yes, maybe no.. I still havn't cracked the code on how the company earns so i wont say much on this part.

2. Can agents earn allot of $$$? YES!

3. Can customers earn? YES.. BUT!!! (read below)

Companies now are taking wayyyyyyyy too long to give you your gold once you paid for it. So what happens if the company gets busted in between? Some ppl say, close eyes and pray lor.. Fine.. So once you get it you are "safe" for 3-6 months depending on contract.

Then comes the next hurdle. If you decide to stop, or renew you do not get money or gold on the spot. You need to give them processing time to get back and that takes another few weeks depending on companies. So another few weeks of stress? Can you take it?

Another problem that you should be aware of is the price of gold. Back when i was an agent it was based on FGJAM price. Prices from some of these companies are much higher now. The question you have to ask yourself is, can you hold on the gold for years to come if anything bad happens?

Honestly, if i can still find a company that sells @ FGJAM price and can give me the gold/money on the spot, I might still consider.

Some people might flame me for saying this, but I've experienced the ups and downs of such companies. I see a potential in clients and agents making money if all of the above issues are addressed. Some of you might say why FGJAM price? Its too high.. blah blah blah.. you can get around 15% cheaper ,you are actually paying a premium..blah blah.. That part I agree. However, if you look at FGJAM prices:

When Genneva 1st started FGJAM price was RM125 which they were following. How much can you sell it for today? Around 2 years ago, FGJAM price was RM145. How much can you sell it today? And the plus side is, how much have you gotten from the rebate/hibah/whatever they wanna call it? Do the maths.

As for the prices that they are charging nowadays which is much higher than FGJAM......................................... I still havn't been able to do the maths.. haha.. enough said..

Oh and one more thing these companies are not APPROVED by BANK NEGARA!!! I keep getting stupid sms updates that some companies have gotten approvals. SYARIAH COMPLIANCE is not the YES license la.. geez...

I don't think the clients don't know where to buy cheap gold. The target market here is those who wants convenience. Even if you hold their hand and give them cheap gold they will not be interested.

Anyways, I don't think the main issue in this is how the company makes money and if they purchase it at a premium. Nobody is considering the waiting period without holding anything for each renewal. Holding nothing is riskier than holding gold at a premium price.

The "hibah" is 1.5%- 2% depending on grammage if I'm not mistaken. 3% was given during some special occasion. Agents are paid around 0.8% if i'm not mistaken. It works on a binary system.