On networking

FOR crying out loud, can someone outlaw networking business operations that promise huge returns of investments? I have no problem with sellers who want their products sold in the market, I don’t even care if they can cure aids as they want recruits to believe but when they sell with the promise of millions of pesos, that’s where fraud is committed.

It’s no different than pyramiding schemes other than the fact that it hides under an overpriced miraculous product or products which always have “no approved therapeutic claim” from BFAR because these are still on experimental stage. I mean common sense would dictate that we are way more sure with paracetamol tablets to work because at least we can always sue them if they don’t.

Just like pyramid schemes, networks are bound to saturate. Statistics say it always collapses after it captures 10% of the market. And when it collapses, that’s when tears of nameless and voiceless poor investors pour like rain after being left with loans because they invested two to four heads with the hope of being the next millionaire.

Then networking leaders would just reinvent their company with a new name and a new overpriced magical product and again take advantage of hopeful innocent students and young professionals who just wants some extra money while they (the owners) harvest the hard earned money of the people.

What is bad about it is that, they don’t even have to do the hard work, they let their best recruits do the sales talk for them. And these innocent patrons are so convinced about their product they would talk from the heart after seeing huge checks from their uplines thinking they will have their shares of millions too… soon! A very effective marketing strategy.

Here’s a perfect test to check whether you just got in a networking scam: if you will earn more from recruiting rather than from selling the product then that’s a red flag. I mean if your product really works as you claim they do, then they should be found in pharmacies with approved therapeutic claims. But as long as they are just food supplements then they are of equal footing with enervon c and centrum. So spare us the BS, and call a spade a spade––it’s an investment scheme.

What people hardly notice is that yes there will be few of them who will get huge checks, especially the pioneers, but the bigger majority at the bottom will be left with overpriced products when the market saturates. At least they are consoled with the thought that they had their money’s worth, thinking their products are priceless! When in reality they just got ripped off.

This brings me back to my cry––can anyone of our lawmakers push for a bill to outlaw this or at least have a hearing in aid of legislation? Or are they too busy creating their own networking companies too? The last time I checked, one of our solons own one of these networks which collapsed a few years back.

Networking is by far the most effective marketing strategy, they are simply tools in business. But the ones we have here, those that promises huge checks, are simply fraudulent.