Market America is a Scam

I have been a Market America Distributor for the last 13 years and have watched this company grow from 30,000 distributors in the United States to 185,000 Internationally. A pyramid it is NOT. People's lives have been changed in my organization because of this unbelievabe business opportunity. Throughout the years I have seen people come into this business and not succeed, not because of this business, but because they either didn't have any drive or ambition or they just thought they didn't have to do anything. Tell the people in my organization, whose lives have been changed, that this is a scam and they will just laugh because they know otherwise. Sure, it's not for everyone neither is vanilla ice cream. While you are crying and complaining about how hard it is to find a job or how Social Security is not going to be there for you when it's time to retire....we will be thinking of you and how glad we are that YOU are not in our business. We look for motivated people not people we have to motivate. If this is a pyramid then it's upside down because the people at the top cannot succeed unless those they have sponsored are successful.

I'm sorry Dan, but if I owned a CVS and my family shopped at Walgreen's, what kind of family are they? The fact is that often your family does not want to see you succeed, earn $50K per month and leave them at a dead end job. I won't say one should ailenate his/her family, but as one successful network marketer puts it, "you can spend a few minutes with some folks, but not a few hours." If they're going to stunt your personal and business growth, envy you when you drive up in a new Benz and talk about you behind your back, I'd say you're better off spending little time with them. Who's writing your retirement check?

I had a few 'good' friends who tried to persuade me to join MA. When I refused to join 'politely', they became total strangers. What a bunch of losers!!

Kinda crazy what people expect after they invest money. You don't get ur initial investment back in conventional business for about 3 to.5, years . The overhead in conventional business is crushing. The ability to to do business just like big corporations without the overhead is genus. Look up the definition of an economy . Is a social network that has been monetized. Products and services are sold from one group of people to another. Just that simple. Social networking and online shopping will become the biggest economy ever. Social shopping. Some people need a job. Some people want a life . You choose.. just get your questions answered by someone that knows what they are talking about..

There are a lot of people that run businesses in different industries, but I think that here is where everyone has missed the mark completely. IF you want to own and operate a business, ANY business comes with expenses. My husband and I owned a restaurant. There were monthly expenses like the utilities and food costs to run our business that we HAD to incur every month or there would have been no business. With Market America..there are costs too to running your business, just as there is in any franchise that you buy. Market America is not a get rich quick business as there are no such businesses. You have to work to reap the benefits. As a former restaurant owner, the Market America unfranchise costs far less to own and to operate than most businesses that I am aware of. So, I think the bottom line is this: If you don't want to incur monthly costs for things related to owning and operating a business...don't own and operate any business. Now, I worked in radio as a sales manager and was paid a % off of every one of my sales team's sales. CBS paid me no differently than Market America is paying it's team. People....if you don't want to work. The business will not pay you. It's that simple, but please quit trying to find fault with a company that has been in business for almost 20 years! If this company were a pyramid scheme the owners would have been caught a long time ago and they wouldn't publish (as a privately held company, btw) an annual report. They wouldn't hold large training functions for 180,000 unfranchise owners if they were hiding because they were doing something illegal. Not everyone is cut out to own a business. It's that simple, but become educated first about what it takes to run ANY business before you make assumptions about companies like Market America or any others. There are cheaper franchises out there, but any will require an investment and work. It's that simple.

To Anonymous, 

 

It's unfortunate how you were introduced to Market America. My wife and I are UnFranchise Owners and you have every right to report how you were treated. I assure you we’re all held accountable by corporate and are rated on our performance. 

 

Market America is a franchise opportunity with a very different business model. For many of us, this is difficult to comprehend. We’re so used to punching a clock every day for “the Man or Woman” that we lose sight of other possibilities. The idea that everyone benefits from each other’s activity simply doesn’t compute. But, it is the way business should work! 

 

You feel you’ve been wronged and none of us are going to change that! 

 

I agree with “THINK”. My advice to you is take the time to investigate thoroughly before entering into any future business arrangements and work with people you trust. 

 

Best wishes…

I can understand why and how people would call this a scam, putting out $1,000 may seem like much, however it's nothing compared to what you would have to put out to open lets say.... a hot dog vendor, which will cost atleast $20,000 for a decent cart, which you will have to lug around from point A to B everyday, disassemble and reassemble. on top of storage costs, food costs, labor costs and licenses, banking accounts, insurance... trust me it just keeps going on and on. That's a TINY taste of what a real business is like, if you are unable to realize any of the above and complained, it simply means you are not experienced enough. 

 

I've been sharing and selling products for other companies to my friends and family if I truly believe in that product, yet I don't get any sort of compensation for helping my friend/family get something he/she needs.(it will take time to do your homework, I doubt all products are worth their cost, but I have come across MANY great products at better prices than what I already pay for) 

 

If you put out alot of money just to buy their products that you can't sell by nagging your friends and family, then you should thank Market America giving you a valuable lesson at a small cost. the lesson is you are not meant to be a leader, and you should NEVER own your own business because you will fail at it, you lack the discipline and experience to run a successful business. 

 

 

I join MA mainly to SAVE money on house-hold essentials that I CANT escape from using for the rest of my life. It helps that I get great products delivered to my door at greater value(that alone should be reason enough to join, if you are smart enough to organize what you need for each month and purchase it all at once).  

 

If you can't see the savings, IF you havn't taken the time to compare product quality and prices, then how will you really know market america's true worth? 

 

To be rich isn't about having a high income, you can still die broke with that additude. To be able to identify worth and value of products (this includes groceries) means you are financially intelligent.It means you are above the 95%). You get rich mainly by knowing how to SAVE MONEY, and that's something you should practice everyday for the rest of your life if you ever want to be wealthy. 

 

MA provides tons of training for personal growth(you learn real life experience and knowledge that can be applied to everything virtually for free) All it costs is your time and effort, IF YOU WANT IT. I'm always learning something new at these meetings, alot of times I'm learning something I already know, but it feels good to know I'm on the right track, rmb this business is for your average joe, seeing how I was above the average joe, i was able to grasp the potential of joining MA. I do admit I'm not totally thrilled with what they teach you (In regards to how to recruit more people) However, if you are not in control of yourself and your destiny and forget why you joined in the first place, you will end up drinking a poisonous-cool-aid, BUT THATS HOW THE REAL WORLD WORKS. All employers hold a poisonous-cool-aid of their own, the foolish employees drink it without questioning, the employee who takes the time to question what's in it will eventually own that cool-aid 

 

If you own a restaurant and your supplier is telling you the beef he is giving you is SUPERIOR and the price you are paying for it is WELLL WORTH IT but in reality it isnt. Thats your fault if you continue to let your purveyor get away with those things, you got fooled, he knows you got fooled, and he knows he can do it again.  

 

In a room of 30ish people, I was able to sense 95% people were blindly drinking a cool-aid, significantly increasing their spending habit and following the rules. Then there were others who knew how to use this "money making instrument" to their fullest advantage and made money out of thin air, like myself. Ultimately, it really comes down to who you are working with, or who is trying to recruit you. 

 

MA isn't for everyone, just like how running a business isn't for everyone.

Some aquaintances tried sucking me into this one. 

 

Is it a scam? In the purely legal sense, no. There is enough buying and selling of legal product to keep government regulators happy. 

 

Should it be considered a scam? Absolutely. Come on. Having to recruit people, and making money off of "uplines and downlines" The idiotic gobbledygook MA distributors use to bring you in and convice you that it will work. 

 

It is a pyramid scheme, but one that has sneaked just inside the law. I know people who have been "working" at this for months, and have not seen a penny. They spend all their money though, on trips, training sessions, motivational materials, etc.

Ok i just joined MA, I've seen scams and pyramid schemes. If you only make real money by signing people up (which you don't with MA) or if you make a certain percentage off of the people you bring in, that's a scam. Yes it costs $399 to join, but you get a website, all the training materials, and about $300 worth of products. I've sold them all except for the stuff i'm using. And it works, my mom, my dad, my lead at my job, all use and will testify that the stuff works. This business, like in life, is a reflection of your efforts. The people who call it a scam...did you call 10 people a day? Did you tell everyone you know they can save money? Who wouldn't do that? The most important question: the people who think it's a scam, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE YOU MAKING? AND WHAT'S A BETTER IDEA TO NOT WORK FOR THE NEXT 30-40 YEARS? Without spending a ridiculous amount of money first...i'll be waiting for the answer

Ok i just joined MA, I've seen scams and pyramid schemes. If you only make real money by signing people up (which you don't with MA) or if you make a certain percentage off of the people you bring in, that's a scam. Yes it costs $399 to join, but you get a website, all the training materials, and about $300 worth of products. I've sold them all except for the stuff i'm using. And it works, my mom, my dad, my lead at my job, all use and will testify that the stuff works. This business, like in life, is a reflection of your efforts. The people who call it a scam...did you call 10 people a day? Did you tell everyone you know they can save money? Who wouldn't do that? The most important question: the people who think it's a scam, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE YOU MAKING? AND WHAT'S A BETTER IDEA TO NOT WORK FOR THE NEXT 30-40 YEARS? Without spending a ridiculous amount of money first...i'll be waiting for the answer