"You Can Make 300,000 Dollars A Month Selling (Fill In the Blank) At Home!" THAT IS A LIE!

I loathe dishonest, under-handed, smarmy sales. Its always been around and shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. I have been desperate enough to attempt to get rich via "contests" through the old snail mail. Someone got some money from me, but I remained poor(er) and got cheap plastic 'gem stones' for my effort.

A true friend of mine, in a series he taught did an interesting experiment with his audience:

Presenter: "How would you like to make 120 dollars an hour?" The murmur from the audience was immediate and very audible.

Presenter: "How would you like to start out at 6 dollars an hour and work your way up to 120 dollars an hour over a period of twenty years?" The muted audience response said volumes about how we all want something for nothing.

I received an email from my 'only-if-you-buy-friend' which appeared to give me an introduction to her life and interests. She presented her business with a link. That is open, fair and honest. She then presented a link of biographical information. Oh yeah, there was a cursory biography. Her sex, some 'interests' and several other business-related links. But the actual goal of the site was to suck me into Gawd-knows-what, with the promise of untold riches. I began to realize, I've been had, again.

Oh, in AA, church and any gathering of more then three people. The pseudo-human sales people prey. Usually, the initial 'hook' is the offer of 'interest' or 'friendship'. These folks can spot their victims in very short order. Once their target believes they've really made a friend, the sales person gently introduces them to their product or service. If the contact balks, they make two to three other attempts and then drop the contact. There is no time for anything but making sales, mining prospects and spirituality is lost in a frenzy of greed.

This sales person, had a tactic I'd never encountered before. She presents herself as 'pathetic, old, disabled and discouraged'. The garnish of properly placed tears and illusions to suicide thrown in, for drama. I went for it. I've been there and foolishly believed this person was attempting to better their life. They are - by having me buy their stuff and then rope others into buying my stuff. Every sale I make is money in the bank for the higher level representative, thus the name Pyramid Scheme.

What really enraged me, however, was when I went to investigate the business, only to find, that the reviews are just more trick, smoke and mirrors ads for other Multi Level Marketing businesses!

If you have to hit up your friends to make 'sales' I say you are going to cease being my 'friend' very fast. When I say "NO", I mean it, and will make it stick, even if I have to block you on an IM client, or pursue legal action. I will take official legal action, when necessary because the line between selling and stalking can blur, as desperate people sink ever deeper into a culture of hype and greed. Hype which causes them to continue to get ripped-off, for the promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I am glad there is a hell, because these outfits that prey on the old, ill, disabled and desperate should definitely be relegated to "the smoking section".