• Hey Hun badge

People Are Sharing The Wildest MLM Pitches They've Seen, And My Jaw Is On The Floor

"My cancer diagnosis is not your 'in' for your MLM pitch."

Megan Liscomb
by Megan Liscomb

Personal Finance Editor

At one point or another, you've probably had a run-in with an MLM sales pitch. Maybe your cousin is selling essential oils, or a high school classmate you haven't talked to in years hit you up out of the blue to tell you about a ~business opportunity~.

NBC / Via giphy.com

Multi-level marketing companies, or MLMs, are businesses that recruit individuals to sell their products to the people in their networks. MLM salespeople also try to recruit more salespeople to add to their "downline" to increase their commissions. MLMs aren't *technically* considered to be pyramid schemes because they involve selling actual products, but they are pretty similar in terms of structure.

In an MLM, the salesperson typically has to buy their inventory from the company up front, and according to the FTC, about 99% of MLM participants ultimately lose money on the venture. 

In r/antiMLM, redditors share their personal experiences with these businesses — including the most bizarre and inappropriate ways that MLM distributors have tried to sell to and recruit them. Here are some of their most shocking stories:

1. This out-of-the-box approach:

2. This pitch that just isn't what coffee does:

3. This horrifyingly predatory strategy:

6. This eternal optimist:

8. The hundreds of messages that prompted this post:

10. This head-scratcher of an anti-vax take:

12. This therapist who really crossed the line:

14. This message that just didn't need to be sent: 

15. This person who needs to stop:

16. And finally, the most awkward sex toy sales pitch in history:

Have you been approached by an MLM seller in a way that made you feel really uncomfortable? Share your story in the comments.

And for more stories about life and money, check out the rest of our personal finance posts. 

Comments