Weekday Randoms- 7/17

jsnakehole

Happy Monday! Back to work! 

ajsanders-2

@jsnakehole - I am laughing so hard at that GIF!!  

Back to work with so little motivation, I need to find it.

jsnakehole

I finally saw 'Moana' this weekend and while I was so psyched to see a Disney character with hair like my natural hair- I kind of wish it was a princess instead of Maui.

icecubeinthedesert

Omg, I almost just pulled my used OPK pee stick in the wrapper out of my wallet in front of a co-worker instead of my bus pass. And yes, it's one of the ones I mentioned in the "does that make me crazy" thread last week. I think that's the last straw with my used pee stick hoarding.

icecubeinthedesert

@doxiemoxie212, I didn't watch the bachelorette, but did catch up on the WI question from last week.

My instinct was right: it was bleeding hearts! 

doxiemoxie212

YESSSSSS I FORGOT TO FOLLOW UP! That's what I left on my bracket sheet

jsnakehole

I think I've worn down DH enough to get another kitten when he comes home. If it's a girl cat, we'll name her Jolene (in honor of my true love, Dolly Parton), but I don't know what we'd name a boy cat. 

zamoraspin

Made a new friend a couple months ago who I have been becoming closer with. She is a really smart and thoughtful person, and very calming to be around. Anyway, just learned that she has started doing sales for one of those pyramid scheme companies (think Lula Roe/Stella and Dot/Plexus if you're not familiar). Now my fb feed is blowing up with her demo videos and pics. She has a good job and is well educated, I really don't get it. 

doxiemoxie212

@zamora_spin oh god, that sucks. I briefly had to do corporate PR for one of those MLM companies, and it was TERRIBLE! One of the girls I worked with at the time is a really genuine, somewhat sheltered person, and she was new, and was still in the mindset of "we gotta drink the coolade of our clients." I still laugh when I think about the day we were doing a ton of landscape analysis research, and she turned to me and just with the most horrified eyes said, "Wait, is this company a pyramid scheme???" And I was like yes, 100% yes. I was so effing happy to get rid of that account. 

doxiemoxie212

Chris Cillizza is getting torn the eff down on reddit right now in his AMA, and I. am. here. for. it. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/6o1ea5/im_chris_cillizza_editor_at_large_for_cnn/?sort=qa&sh=4df678a9&st=j59qr5uy#bottom-comments 

The best part, though, is honestly the Twitter responses: 

https://twitter.com/CillizzaCNN/status/887334853561253888 

stillcozy

I'm struggling I really want to start trying now but husband wants me to lose another 15-20
lbs so it will be a healthier pregnancy since I had a lot of awful sciatic pain most of my first pregnancy. I wish I could explain that yes technically im
in the obese category but I'm only 5'4'' I know it's better to wait I just don't want to... 

kmalls

zamora_spin said:

Made a new friend a couple months ago who I have been becoming closer with. She is a really smart and thoughtful person, and very calming to be around. Anyway, just learned that she has started doing sales for one of those pyramid scheme companies (think Lula Roe/Stella and Dot/Plexus if you're not familiar). Now my fb feed is blowing up with her demo videos and pics. She has a good job and is well educated, I really don't get it. 

@zamora_spin - I think MLM's are suuuuper annoying with the constant, in-your-face product pushing -- and it's certainly turned me off from acquaintances that bombard me with PMs pushing me to join/buy whatever it is they're into -- but I'm curious as to why you think well-educated people wouldn't get into that?

Many people with great jobs and education still need or want some extra income at the end of the month and decide to give it a shot. Hell, I've even given it a passing consideration because as a SAHM, I'd love to contribute something to our family financially, and I certainly have a good education. Ultimately MLM's aren't for me, but I think those who go into it thoughtfully and with a good game plan ought to be applauded for their hustle. 

justkeepswimming8

I hope I'm not the only one who stalks the March BMB... https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12713013/reprieve-from-ms#latest

kmalls

justkeepswimming8 said:

I hope I'm not the only one who stalks the March BMB... https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12713013/reprieve-from-ms#latest

@justkeepswimming8 OMG YES!!! I've been waiting for someone to point that out! 

doxiemoxie212

@kmalls yes to everything you've said, except that MLMs by and large do not make individuals any money unless you get more people to join your "team". That's how a pyramid scheme works. I'm not saying that every version of this is terrible (Avon, for instance, is notably not like this), but the vast majority work only by getting more people to sign up to sell (and then buy merchandise that they'll sell). There have been so many lawsuits about this it's insane (most prominently, Herbalife), and from seeing the inner workings of these companies, they know it's happening; it's intentional. It's criminal, tbh. Now do I think well-educated people are necessarily informed enough to know the difference? No, but the companies literally setup strategies to go after uneducated, poor individuals because they know they're better prey. That isht ruins lives, no joke. 

justkeepswimming8

@kmalls - me too! Did she seriously think that no one would recognize her? I knew the second I saw her new intro. 

doxiemoxie212

@justkeepswimming8 @kmalls was wondering how long it would take for that to come to head! 

kmalls

@doxiemoxie212  100% agree, MLMs absolutely go after individuals who are in less-than-desirable financial circumstances and prey on those who may not know better. The whole system is set up to benefit those at the top, and very few people are actually at that top. I'm mildly obsessed with researching MLMs because of the way they suck people in and steal their money. It's nuts that it's still happening. 

That being said -- I've got many well-educated friends who are selling the shit out of LLR and R + F and are doing it mindfully, fully recognizing that they need to dedicate an inordinate amount of time in order to reap any financial benefit. I respect the hell out of them because they're hustling hard to provide a little extra $$ for their families. I just bristle a bit (obviously) when blanket assumptions are made about MLMs when it's not always what it seems. 

doxiemoxie212

@kmalls I think that's fair. It sort of takes me down a rabbit hole of the problems, overall, with the gig economy we're marching toward as a society, but that's a rant for another day.  

zamoraspin

@kmalls I'm sorry, I was not trying to belittle side-hustle or part-time work. I think having the motivation to take on a side-hustle/work from home is awesome, but I have quite a rant on this. Edit: @doxiemoxie212 said it better than I did in my long rant below. Basically, I have seen a lot of women I like taken advantage of by this stuff. 

Sure, it's super annoying to be invited to a "party" and learn that actually it is an incredibly awkward sales pitch from a friend, but my issue is with the companies that run this type of pyramid scheme, not the people they recruit. These companies prey on people, almost universally women. In order to get involved as a brand ambassador (or whatever they want to call you) you have to buy a certain amount of the product. Usually people get sucked in by some acquaintance or friend who claims they are making so much $$$ and hardly doing any work (the company tells them to say this, btw). The new person is downstream of the recruiter and the recruiter gets a piece of what you are selling. This is why it is a pyramid scheme - being upstream of a lot of other sellers is the only way to really make money on this endeavor. The new person then throws parties, makes little fb advertisements, etc, to try to force their friends to buy this product (leggings, makeup, weird energy drinks, jewelry).

I have seen a lot of friends/acquaintances get involved in MLM schemes and never seen an single one of them net significant money. Sure, they get a discount on the goods - but you also spend a tremendous amount on those goods - I have one friend who spent over $5k on Stella & Dot during her time as a brand ambassador. In other words, most of the sellers are actually hardly earning any money net of what they are spending, and they are definitely not earning a decent wage if you break it down per hour. There are exceptions - some people are able to do ok at it, but only if they are really gifted sellers who do it full time, and even then, I think they'd make much better money as drug reps or in other sales jobs that actually would give them benefits and pay them hourly plus commission. I have never seen anyone stick with this stuff for more than a year, because at some point they realize they are spending nearly as much to buy the product as they are "earning". 

If you just love buying makeup/jewelry/wu wu health drinks/leggings and all you really want is a discount, fine, but if you actually want to earn money MLM is not the way. 

kmalls

@zamora_spin I'm totally with you, for most people it's absolutely the wrong financial move to make. I've just also seen the other side of it (people who do make pretty good money) and I feel like I need to defend those who work hard 

doxiemoxie212

@kmalls, just building off what @zamora_spin outlined (sorry, I know I said I was done but I just can't stay away), I think my main issue with the folks who do make money from these is that aside from the few companies that do not require you to buy all your merchandise upfront, the people who are making money from these MLM companies are doing it because they don't have an issue preying on their friends/family/acquaintances to get them on their "team." Again, this is not always the case, and certainly not for all companies, but personally, if I got myself into a company, and it became clear it's not actually possible to sell the product except to other people who want to become sellers, I would feel like a really bad person asking more people to get in on that (but there is a TON of brainwashing, no joke, that happens within these companies to make people think it's fine to do this). And I know LLR and R+F (R+F especially) might not fall into those categories, but in those cases, my issue is with the companies themselves because they could go through the process of getting their products into stores, setting up an online shop, going on QVC, etc., but they'd prefer to put the burden of risk on the individual sellers. Ultimately it's a predatory marketing technique. 

zamoraspin

@kmalls I'm glad to hear some people are able to exploit it and do well with it. None of the people I know have been successful at it. I do also agree with @doxiemoxie212 that there are some that are better (and some that are worse) than others. The one my friend got involved with is Younique. I hope it ends up going well for her the way it has for some of the folks you know. 

kmalls

I'm really not disagreeing with you, @zamora_spin and @doxiemoxie212. They are for sure predatory and I, too, am uncomfortable selling anything MLM. My issue was with the line of thought that anyone well-educated would stay away. That's what I disagree with. There are some who work the system, however rigged it may be, to their benefit and the benefit of their families. I respect those people.

zamoraspin

@kmalls Again, I'm not trying to insult people who try it, and I'm sorry if it came off that way.  IRL I don't tell these brand ambassadors what I really think, I just try to avoid their parties. I think no matter how smart and educated, if you are brought in under the auspices of trust from someone you know and are not familiar with MLM, you may not think to do your own research - and the reason that is sad to me is that a simple google search will usually tell you what these brands really are. My friend is drinking the kool-aid and posting multiple videos per day, believing that she is going to get a bunch of free travel out of it. 

SkilledSailor

I do know someone who does INSANELY well with an MLM. Like wins all those free trips over seas, some for her entire family, earns a pretty decent amount, and gets to do it all on her own time (i.e. she's a stay at home mom finishing school). Seeing her success does make me consider an MLM every now and then but she also got into it years ago and I think that's a big key in how successful you'll be. Getting in at the right time. Also, truly loving what you sell. Me, I'm a horrible sales person. I'd lose my money in a heart beat and waste lots of time doing it. 

That BMB drama was something. I won't lie, I like reading dramatic posts. However, I'm glad that for the most part this board is pretty drama free amongst regulars.  

jsnakehole

@justkeepswimming8 I actually stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk to read that! I have so much love for those ladies. This is how I imagine all of them: 

Cricket648

@justkeepswimming8 Did they delete the thread?? I was literally in the middle of reading it, and it wouldn't let me go to the next page. Gah!

becausescience

*lurking*

@Cricket648 I um... may have taken a few screenshots of the whole thread. My spidey-senses sensed a deletion. Not sure how to share though as I thought I read something in the TOU about screenshots...

Cricket648

@becausescience OMG yasss! As much as I'd love to see those screenshots, I'd hate for you to get in trouble over it (I'm not 100% sure of the rules on this topic). Does anyone know if it's okay to send them in a PM?

kmalls

Yeah. I got the screen shots, too 

glitzandglitter

@cricket648 - That happened to me too! I tried to click on page too and it's gone

fishsticks-n-custard

Man, I missed the drama! What is with she-who-shall-not-be-named?

lulu1180

@fishsticks-n-custard That name is already taken by another that was probably worse than her lol

becausescience

@Cricket648 I skimmed the TOU and guidelines and I think it is just that you can't share PMs.  So... YGPM  

zamoraspin

Idk what is up with that girl. She said she apologized - I do not remember that apology.

icecubeinthedesert

I missed it too, but I'd love to get caught up. Wanna send me a PM too, @becausescience?

glitzandglitter

@zamora_spin - I don't remember an apology either. I think she was just saying that to try to pull people to her side who didn't see her infamous post.

zamoraspin

@glitzandglitter You are probably right. And some posters who don't understand what happened are going to side with her because of that and also because she seems "outnumbered". Unfortunate.

KariAnn323

@becausescience and/or @kmalls Can someone send me a PM? When I get to the BMB it was there and when I clicked on it it was gone.

doxiemoxie212

@becausescience @kmalls I go to dinner and they take down the thread?? Me too me too