Amway, Shaklee, Cosway, Usana and other Direct-Selling(DS) companies are exploitative marketing schemes/scams selling hyped-up products at twice or more the normal retail price. The extra profits is used to be distributed to upline and downline members as an incentive for them to recruit more members and sell more over-priced products, usually to their relatives and acquaintances = victims.
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Eg Vitamin supplement selling for RM50 a bottle/30 pills at Guardian/Watson, the DS companies sell the same for RM100 a bottle/30 pills by hyping or falsely claiming extra health ingredients/benefits and blah blah blah or brain-washing stuffs. The extra RM50 profits(= RM100 - RM50) is used to pay commissions to downline and upline recruiters/direct-sellers, up to 3 or 4 levels of recruitment and for the coffers of the DS companies.

1 top person or upline direct-seller recruits 3 Level One downline direct-sellers,
the 3 Level One downline direct-sellers in turn recruit 9 Level Two downline direct-sellers, ie 1 person recruits 3 other persons,
the 9 Level Two downline direct-sellers recruit 27 Level Three downline direct-sellers,
the 27 Level Three downline direct-sellers recruit 81 Level Four downline direct-sellers.
....... 1 to 3, 3 to 9, 9 to 27, 27 to 81 = a pyramid.

Direct-selling is a limited pyramid scheme = limited to a few levels of recruitment. Ponzi schemes and MLM scams are unlimited pyramid schemes that will eventually run out of new recruits after a few years = the masterminds disappear with the loot of RM millions. Even if prosecuted, they just spend a couple of years in jail and come out still a millionaire in their foreign bank accounts.

- 1 Level Four downline d-s sells a bottle of the RM100 Vitamin supplement and gets about 15% commission or RM15.
- 1 of the 27 Level Three d-s who recruited the above Level Four d-s gets about 10% commission or RM10 from the above sale.
- 1 of the 9 Level Two d-s who recruited the above direct-sellers gets about 7% commission or RM7 from the above sale.
- 1 of the 3 Level One d-s gets about 5% commission or RM5 from the above sale.
- The 1 top upline d-s gets about 3% commission or RM3 from the above sale.
....... Total payout in commissions by the DS company to the top upline and Level One to Four direct-sellers is RM40(= RM15 + 10 + 7 + 5 + 3) = company pockets RM10 out of the extra RM50 profit from the above sale of the RM100 Vitamin supplement.

If all 81 of the Level Four downline direct-sellers each sold 1 bottle of the RM100 Vitamin supplement, the top upline direct-seller gets RM243 commissions/income(= 81 X RM3 from every sale) from his/her simple recruitment effort.
....... If all the 81 Level Four d-s each sold RM1k of stuffs per month, the top upline d-s gets RM2,430 commissions/income per month(= 81 X RM30 or 3% of RM1k).
....... If the 27 Level Three, 9 Level Two and 3 Level One d-s also sells RM1k of stuffs per month, the top upline d-s also gets about RM2,000 more per month. Total monthly income of the top upline d-s is often at least RM4430. That is how top upline direct-sellers can earn RM 5-figures passive income per month in good months and show off their Mercedes and bungalows to tempt new members.
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This post has been edited by lurkingaround: Jan 8 2020, 09:39 PM

Bumped as PSA.
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https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4876239/+100 - MC ocean MLM have graduation ceremony?
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