Why only read a book. Try to read the post by sampanboi and see
where M.T.I fit in:
Below are quotes from a report done by someone named Jon M.
Taylor
it can be found in www.pyramidschemealert.org
"One of the most problematical of business models is multi-level or
network marketing (MLM ). Many MLM programs show all the effects
and characteristics of a pyramid scheme, but the MLM industry has
nonetheless been allowed to continue and flourish. Though
considered benign by many, its insidious and corrupting influence
and the financial and social harm suffered by participants is
considerable. Unfortunately, victims of these programs
seldom complain, blaming themselves for their
failures.
This problem is compounded by limited resources available to
enforcement agencies, faced with a profusion of both naked pyramid
schemes (wherein no products are offered) and product-based pyramid
schemes (PPS's), operating as MLM's. They are now appearing by the
hundreds on the internet, and established MLM companies are
expanding into overseas markets.
Due to inadequate definitions of what constitutes a pyramid scheme,
insufficient resources, and/or lack of prosecutorial will in
enforcement of existing statutes, enforcement agencies often wind
up catching the minnows, but letting the sharks go free.
The consequences are enormous -- millions of MLM
participants are being bilked out of billions of dollars each
year."
"The key to predicting potential harm to victims of a PPS is to
determine the degree of leverage of the compensation system. Once a
highly leveraged PPS is identified by its compensation system, the
prognosis is certain: Inordinate emphasis on recruiting will
follow, and only a few at the top of the pyramid will profit at the
expense of the investments in product purchases by those in their
downline -- most of whom lose money. In other words,
emphasis on recruiting is just one of the effects, not the
cause, of the problems with PPS's.
MLM recruiters should be required to disclose average net payout to
distributors (total payout less purchases) from the company by
percentiles. This would reveal extreme payout patterns typical of
pyramid schemes. Significant resale of products at retail prices
should not be assumed, as MLM products are seldom priced
competitively."
