SELL FROM HOME! EARN AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE!

The modern multilevel marketing business has to continually morph and adapt to comply with legislation - but is it an opportunity worth pursuing, or just a dressedup pyramid scheme?

- SANDRA PARMEE

I have an amazing opportunity for you. You can work from home and earn as much as you want. Plus, there is almost no risk. But hurry - you don't want to miss out!' You might have received a similar spiel from a friend, family member or someone on social media. When I saw that a friend of mine had started selling essential oils, I began looking into the company that she tagged in all her Instagram posts. What I found was a world of deception and double-speak. Companies that operate in grey areas, where they’re relatively safe from consequences. And people who are afraid to speak out, who blame themselves for their failure when, really, what we’re dealing with is a business model designed for failure.

‘The legal cousin of pyramid schemes’

Multilevel marketing (MLM for short, also known as network marketing or direct selling) is nothing new. But its prevalence is. Thanks to social media, MLM proponents are everywhere, from Facebook groups and TikTok to Instagram reels, all touting an ‘amazing opportunity’ that cannot be missed.

I won’t mention company names here – you can Google ‘MLM companies in South Africa’ for the names. Many of these companies originated in the US and they’ve found fertile ground in developing countries such as South Africa, with its high levels of poverty and unemployment.

In MLM, contractors or sales reps sell products directly to consumers in a non-retail environment. But they also recruit others to sell below them – this is known as their downline. Reps make money when they sell the products, and also get money from the sales of those who work below them; those they’ve recruited, the people they have, in turn, recruited, and on it goes.