http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/03/R511993business.pdf

The FTC took comments from the public on this proposed rule for business opportunity sellers. Unfortunately for most Americans, nobody knew about it except for the 15+ million people who are actively trying to sell these opportunities.

The MLM companies claim that it is far too burdensome for them to have to disclose statistics on their sales force to potential recruits. They don’t have to tell you how much money the average participant makes, nor do they have to disclose how many other people are living on your street and selling the same products.

In short - they still don’t have to tell you squat. So the game continues on, with people signing up and buying these “business opportunities” - and losing incredible amounts of money in the process.

Bravo, FTC!

Once again, Oprah Winfrey uses her show to hype an MLM - this time it was Shaklee.

Shaklee offers products similar to other notorious MLM companies, such as USANA and Melaleuca. They offer “environmentally friendly” cleaning products, touted as being free from dangerous chemicals.

Unfortunately, there is a reason these particular products are sold through MLM, and it’s not because they are better than what’s already available in the supermarket. (And most women know by now that white vinegar and baking soda are good “natural” cleansers.)

On Oprah’s show, she raved about the pricey Shaklee products, and the CEO of the company explained they need to sell through MLM so that the customers can be “educated” on their attributes.

Shaklee sells overpriced cleansers that must be sold through a lot of hype and pressure; i.e. the “home party”. It’s not because American women aren’t educated enough on the need for safe cleansers - it’s that most American women will buy the more reasonably priced product they can get at Target, if given a choice between the two.

Oprah is notorious for her promotion of MLM companies. She regularly sells ad space in her magazine to MLM. This month’s issue of her magazine features a full-page spread for none other than Amway/Quixtar! She’s had Mary Kay promoted on her show AND her magazine, as well…

it looks like Oprah is the one who is uneducated of the scamming involved with MLM, or simply doesn’t care and wants to cater to her audience (American women!) MLM participants in this country are overwhlemingly women - and of course, when you’ve been sold on “the business” - you’ll cheer for Oprah when she spotlights your company, even if you’re in debt up to your eyeballs and unable to make any profit.

We know there’s been talk about this on www.PinkLighthouse.com, but we must comment.

ABC News did two segments that gave positive publicity to the Direct Selling Industry. (July 12 and September 20, here’s the link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TakeControlOfYourLife/story?id=3368501&page=1 - sorry my html editor is not working for some reason)

Anyway, it was followed by ABC News giving an interview with Gloria Mayfield Banks, a well-known National Sales Director with Mary Kay:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3715173&affil=wabc

 Let’s just discuss the obvious things here.

First, the DSA (Direct Selling Association), the most powerful multi-level marketing lobby in the U.S. and abroad, is obviously the source of all the information in the first two segments. It is painfully clear that ABC News did not bother to check and see if there was “another side” to these claims of business opportunities for women. Instead they gave them some free positive publicity, encouraging women to join up - and in the process, giving legitimacy to these companies where they deserve none.

Shame on you, ABC.

Then, in an interview with Gloria, we see her giving the typical mlm hype. She makes it sound as if she just rose to her position from selling the Mary Kay product, and that all it took was hard work and determination.

We beg to differ.

These companies are dependent on endless chain recruiting of women, and selling these women large amounts of product that they will likely never be able to unload to an end customer.

After all the shilling ABC News has done for the DSA and Mary Kay, no wonder the women commenting on the stories were breathless with excitement. They are so desperate to recruit more women, in the hopes of actually making some money at these “opportunities”, that they jumped on this like wolves on a steak.

Let’s look at some of these excited women and their comments on the story, from the ABC News website:

“This is such a great story!! I’m a super excited MARY KAY INDEPENDENT BEAUTY CONSULTANT! Investigate this business opportunity. As a woman, your life will be changed. I am actively recruiting and looking for women of integrity who are willing to work to reach their goals. We have no territories, so I can recruit women in any U.S. state. CONTACT ME: www.marykay.com/XXXX or email me directly at XXXX@marykay.com. I am scheduling interviews right now. The interview is more for you to interview me to see if this business is a fit for you.”

Did you hear that? She’s “scheduling interviews right now!”

Too bad this is just a ploy, to make it seem like Mary Kay actually hires their sales reps. In reality, if you’ve got a pulse and a credit card, this woman will sign you up in an instant, no doubt telling all sorts of fairy tales about the business, and will encourage you to buy $3600 in inventory up front.

A big THUMBS DOWN to ABC News on this one. It’s too bad investigative journalism is so rare these days.

It’s been over a year since Exposing Mary Kay went dark, and since that time so many more women have stumbled into the Mary Kay forums and blogs. The numbers just keep growing, day by day, and so we’re even more committed to seeing this book through to the end.

 I know people are still checking on our progress here, so I’ll try to update regularly with our latest news.

I have discussed with some of you the possiblity of publishing our book through another means, if we can’t find a traditional publisher to take us on. We are still open to any and all options, but at this time we’re still pursuing the traditional route. The reason for this is simple: we’ve just had too much encouragement and input from literary agents, and we have had interest from publishers.

The problem seem to be that we are either #1.) not famous enough, or #2.) not famous enough. It’s hard to get a book deal when you’re not Paris Hilton or O.J. Simpson. (And we’re totally okay with being normal - so it’s not much of a let-down.. ha ha)

But we still have a lot of faith in the importance of this message, and the importance of the thousands of women sharing their stories. So fear not, oh gentle Mary Kay ladies! Thy reckoning draws nigh, like an auditor tracking an improper “home office” deduction.

It’s only a matter of time.

:)

so here we are, with our website almost finished and a new plan of attack. I think we’re getting our second wind. Couple of publishers in our sights; will post more as we wait…and wait…and wait.

Publishing takes donkey’s years. sigh.