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FIB - Scams 101
Re: Wow! No wonder I can't make any money!
Posted By: Dennis Bevers In Response To: Wow! No wonder I can't make any money! (Mike S.)
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 1:11 a.m.(pst)
A definition of business is: a
>> person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or
>> a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern. One of the talking heads
>> here said MPM was not a business.It's been a while since anyone inquired about My Power Mall here, but I do recall responding. I remember because of the tactics being used to promote it. Taking a cue from AMWAY , they were promoting as a place where you and your family could shop and earn profits on all your purchases. In other words, buy on your own site and earn money.
My response was (and you can find this in the archives) any money you get from shopping on your own site could be considered savings or a rebate, but if they called it profits, you'd then have to pay taxes on those dollars they paid you.
A man who opens a grocery store to buy wholesale, and sell to himself at retail, just to put profits in the cash register, so he can pay himself profits at the end of each month is not engaged in business. If he and his family are the only customers, he's engaged in lunacy. Might as well triple the prices, so he can claim a greater return on his investment.
So, any idea how many of the MPM sites that were started are still going and still paying profits or rebates? It hasn't been promoted or inquired about here on FIB in a while, so it can't be near the money maker they promoted or people would be raving about it. Instead of a buzz, it seems to be generating a wall of silence.
I say it could be, regardless of him
>> thinking it can't be. I understand why many people view MLM's with
>> disdain. Many make it so incredibly hard to make money.....but not all do!
>> People talk about being the last one in, as said by another talking head.
>> Give me a break....If I told everyone I saw as I walked through a stadium
>> at a baseball game, that there was a hundred dollar bill waiting for
>> anyone that went to the corner of Third and Vine st. I'd be lucky to give
>> out 500 $100 bills. Same can be said about saturation...it ain't going to
>> happen. If just because something was a good idea everyone should do it,
>> we would all be the same religion right? Well, that won't happen any time
>> soon.
>> Regarding the pyramid idea;why does it only applied to scams and MLM?
>> I used to work for a large grocery chain, talk about a pyramid!Oops. Wrong again. A pyramid is a geometric structure, sometimes used as a toom. A pyramid scheme is a business that operates without a real product. Look again. That grocery store was filled with real products, and real customers, spending real dollars, generating real profits (unless the store has too much over-head, in which case they can generate a net loss.). But, it is definitely not a pyramid scheme.
I think you meant to claim the grocery store was engaged in multi-level marketing, where everyone invovled in moving the products to the consumer was making a profit. Yes, the manufacturer, jobber, wholesaler, and retail store each get a profit on the retail transaction. But, that doesn't make it multi-level. Each level performs a distinct role in getting the product to the consumer. And every participant handled the product.
When MLM started, each member in the chain handled the product, as the corporate office shipped it to the first level, who broke down his collective order and passed it on to his group members, who passed it downline to their recruits, etc, with each keeping their own amount for self-consumption or storage for future sales.
That no longer happens with most MLM today, as each order is shipped to the bottom level distributor or auto-ship customer. Bue, every level in the organization still gets paid, even though they no longer handle the product.
The grocery store still takes delivery from the manufacturer, jobber, or wholesaler, depending on his volume of business. Kroger may buy direct from the dairy, take delivery at their own warehouse, and use Kroger trucks to deliver to their own stores. They don't have 5 to 12 levels between the producer and retailer each getting a portion of the profits, without adding any value.
The producer, jobber, wholesaler, and retail all play a role, and earn a portion of the selling price for their part in the transaction. You won't find 3 jobbers or 7 wholesalers involved in moving the products or claiming a portion of the profits in the grocery business model.
Wholesalers buy in greater volume then the individual store. And jobbers buy in greater volume from the producer. The wholesaler goes through the jobber when their purchase volume isn't great enough to enable them to buy direct from the producer.
I learned this when I worked in retail auto parts over 30 years ago. The store I worked for had to buy a truck load of air and oil filters at a time, in order to buy direct from Wix. In between the bulk orders, if they needed a small quantity, they had to buy from the wholesaler. Buying direct from Wix, they received the lower price normally given to the wholesaler.
Each level of the chain has a role that hasn't changed in decades. In MLM, many people earn a portion, merely for signing up others, who sign up others, who sign up others, ad infinitum. There is no correlation to the jobber to wholesaler to retailer transactions.
Is GM a pyramid? (Again, I believe you meant MLM as the cars and trucks produced meet the gov't definition of a product, so there is no pyramid scheme!) It's structure sure is.
Not!!!
Assuming you are referring to General Motors, your comparison is no better than the grocery store. GM manufacturers or orders every component that goes on the car, assembles it in one of their many plants across the U.S. and North America, then delivers it to their customers, a restricted group of dealers who meet a huge criteria to earn the privilege and prestige of displaying the Chevrolet, Saturn, GMC, Hummer, or other brand, before they can purchase the assembled vehicles from GM and retail them to the customer.
How many levels between the manufacturer and the customer - One.
And in neither case does the cashier or sales person have to order the products and find retail customers to buy from them. The store fulfills that role in bringing the customer to their location.
I find that most people that post here,
>> asking about this opp or that, are looking for an easy buck. I say this
>> because of the businesses I see them asking about. If they took that
>> energy and found the right MLM, service, selling or regular business, they
>> would make money.
>> I'm not in or going to join My Power Mall at this time. It's late and
>> that thread hit a nerve. Sorry for the rant.Unless you just came across the MPM thread in the archives, it sure took a long time for the sore nerve to cause the rant.
>> I've been coming to this
>> forum for years, and I have rarely seen a business asked about or reviewed
>> that would be considered a must try. Everyone must be keeping those close
>> to the vest!There really aren't that many good businesses that can be promoted online, allowing the promoter to earn money for selling the opportunity or business info, that the average person could start from their home. Although many people have made more money promoting the opportunity than they actually earned from doing the business themselves.
There just aren't that many business secrets left that people can keep secret and sell to a limited number of others. Once the secret is out, it's very difficult to sell it to someone else.
A couple years ago I posted a couple ideas for someone that
>> wanted to make $1000 or more a month at, with no connection to me
>> whatsoever, and not a single person asked for more info. My daughters make
>> $2000 plus a month whenever they work the business.Congratulations to your daughters. I just have to wonder why they don't continue to work the business rather than just doing it "whenever".
Magic word...work. In
>> any situation, do your homework, check out every opportunity completely.
>> And whenever anyone tells you it won't work or it isn't any good, make
>> sure the answers are facts not opinions.And when someone tells you that anyone can make money at a business, be suspicious. Businesses don't come in "one-size-fits-all". Just like swimsuits, there are different sizes and styles for different people with different heights, shapes, and weights.
My business is the perfect business for me, but it won't work for even 20% of the U.S. adult population. No business is perfect for everyone. My business may not even be perfect for me 20 to 40 years from now, but I will watch it and make changes as necessary to keep working it as long as I can. I'd hate to have to close my business down and get a job.
>> Good luck with your next venture,
>> Mike S.I hope I don't need a next venture. If I can continue my present business another 41 years and 7 months, I'll reach my goal and retire on my 97th birthday. Provided I can still remember my birthday by then.
Good luck to you in your business Mike.
Dennis Bevers
A list of criteria for evaluating business opportunities
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