It honestly sounds like a bit of a blessing in disguise for Ariel (setting aside her being manipulated into selling her car to join an MLM in the first place) that she wasn’t approved for a car loan. If she and her husband were already struggling with money, getting a luxury car would have been an absolutely awful financial decision.
If I recall the math, her lowest contribution towards a car in that type program is around $30,000, not the mlm contribution, her own cash. You can spend more!, If you are struggling that is the last commitment you need
This!!! Think about if they got approved for the loan and then found out. Luxury car payments are insane already but bad credit, no income will make that already insanely high monthly car payment even higher and that wouldn’t even include a most likely needed down payment AND full coverage car insurance because in America while your paying off a car you have to have full coverage until the car is paid off. Due to the car type and depending on Ariel’s driving record the insurance would also most likely be insanely high monthly payment. Between the car payment and insurance at a minimum Ariel would have been looking at least $1,000 and that’s at a minimum it would most likely be more than that.
Yes!! I went to a craft show at the local church near my bf’s house. Half of the booths were Mary Kay! One is too many, but nearly HALF of 25??? Ridiculous
Yes!! I went to a craft show at the local church near my bf’s house. Half of the booths were Mary Kay! One is too many, but nearly HALF of 25??? Ridiculous
Yes! I’m in the uk and it’s the same here. There’s always scentsy , Avon, body shop and many more that get booths at fayres and they could be filled by home crafting like crosstitch or knitting crochet or candle or soap making I’d much perfer that then mlm people
I had a staph infection on my ears when I was 13 and instantly knew that’s what that poor girl had. This is not only neglect but borderline abusive. Wtf.
And if a parent is willing to neglect and abuse her child in that way I’m sure there was other ways they would abuse. Such a sad story and I hope the person is doing better (I know how it feels to be abused and I know the trauma it creates, it’s all crazy common, we try to act like it’s uncommon but even things like sexual abuse are 1/4 kids)
That story made me so sad. Sucks that she wasn't able to consent to treatment herself when she was capable to make the decision. I would've also hoped that the school maybe did a little bit more than just mention the option of the school clinic when it was clear that the parents weren't allowing her to access the needed and available care.
I'm a market vendor, it's my whole job. I make sure to attend events that don't allow MLMs. Lately I've noticed when applying for markets, I see a "NO MLMS" clause on applications. 😂
I'm a local card maker and lots of the fairs I do let mlms in. But only one rep per company. And then some are not even letting them in now. Which j appreciate as a crafter who makes all their own stuff hah
I’m thankful a lot of our local craft and business sale events are not allowing mlms. We have one huge craft show locally 2/3 times per year and we still are seeing pampered chef and others at that one and more and more are boycotting it for this reason. I wish none of them allowed mlms. It truly takes away from people who actually have real small businesses.
@@mylittlesuperhero581 I could not imagine going out for a nice Craft fair and being accosted by a sales rep from one of these shady multi-billion-dollar MLM companies. Organizers allowing this should get their head screwed on straight!
Many MLM people don't seem to self refer that way. I've met a few women who call themselves 'ambassadors' of a brand or 'owners' of their own 'business' who are just bulk-breaking these branded products. I just say, but do you make passive income when you recruit? That's it. That seals the deal.
Microbiologist here- I can’t believe those parents let their child have an ear infection that long! Do they not understand bacteria are living organisms & will absolutely leave irreversible damage to human cells & even lead to death untreated! Immunocompromised patients wouldn’t be so lucky. Im glad she got treatment! Gosh.
@the_Sarahnator this comment is soooo real!! I just turned 38, and my hubby of 14yrs thinks all he has to do is go to work, and sometimes I literally look around like “wait.. am IIIIII really the adult here..” lmao😂
I’m turning 37 next month. I have a household, husband and our kid. I often have a tag along group of kids who are off/on with me lol In the morning when I wake up I feel 83 years old because of my back problems BUT outside of that I’ve been hunting for “real” adult for decades now and honestly it’s trap anyways lol 😅😂😂 Sincerely another Sara who is a adult but but barely lol I’m also short too and so I blend in as some of my nephews are taller than me and the 9 year old nieces and nephews are fast approaching lol 😅
Funny story: My husband bought his car used from a local dealership. It was summertime, and we soon saw dust settling on the rear window, where a HUGE Pure Romance banner magically appeared. I guess the woman who had owned the car before us had had a big decal on the back windshield that left some kind of residue behind. We looked up the company and my husband definitely did not want to be driving around with people thinking he sold for Pure Romance! We tried so many different cleaners and solvents and could not get the residue to come off so we finally had to take it back to the dealership, where they worked very hard to finally get all traces of the Pure Romance logo off the window! They were mortified. On another note, I've never been to one of their parties but they sound AWFUL. The idea of being taken into a back room to talk about their products.... And asserting that people "can't leave" without talking to the rep is insane. Who are they to tell me I have to talk to them before I leave? And yet I bet everybody does it because they don't want to hurt the host's feelings. Yikes.
I’ve had severe eczema off and on for almost 40 years. My heart breaks for this child living with eczema without the benefit of medical intervention. 😢 I suspect she may not have had the staph infection the whole time. Severe eczema can cause weeping sores, which then become a breeding ground for staph infections to set in. The irony is that essential oils are a common cause of eczema, so her mother’s “remedies” were probably making her sick the whole time. 😡
THIS!!! I still have severe flare-ups... but as a child, my main spot was behind my ears, and they were weepy and gross. No staph.. because my mother actually took me to a doctor to get diagnosed and prescribed medicated ointments and creams. I can't even imagine how painful the essential oils would have been!
@@_.WildMoonChild definitely! Sounds like actual torture. I’ve had it on my ears, but my main spot is my hands. When I was a teenager, I would get weeping sores on my hands, which then turned into scabs. I hid them from everyone.
God yes, and because it's open and weeping, if you don't treat it it can get infected SO easily. i had eczema around my mouth in highschool that got infected with staph. There was basically a year where i couldn't smile without cracking and bleeding ans pain. My heart went out to this poor girl
This Herbalife story is so familiar! I live in Australia and about 6 years ago I had a herbalife neighbour who approached me with the weight loss comment…the thing is I was already very fit and thin and had no weight to lose, I worked full time in a gym and had recently graduated with my bachelor of science degree majoring in nutrition…..whether she thought I had weight to lose or not, commenting on someone else’s body in anyway is not okay with me. I still see her to this day driving around in her car with Herbalife stickers all over it and saw her two separate times last week wearing Herbalife t shirts 🙃
I grew up in the South and good manners and politeness were drilled into me. But, I swear, if I was ever shanghaied into a Pure Romance party, I'd quickly disappear; just smile, wave and walk back out, lol. Pure Romance - bless their hearts.
I've hosted pure romance parties for a friend before and they absolutely require a private area for sales! They make you have a quiet, private, clean area with a door. The rep sits in there and each person gets sent in there, one after another. Was so crazy and awkward.
I got invited to a "Christmas party" by my old boss, at her house. Long story short, I didn't want to go to a party the day before Christmas as I had stuff to do, and I had plans with my then boyfriend and teenage daughter. She suggested that I bring them, it's a Christmas party! You can see where this is going... She did put on the printed invite that it was Mary Kay. Mind you, my bf and daughter would rather watch grass grow than go to a makeup party. I didn't want to tell the owner no, so doo doo brains here showed up, thankfully without bf and teenager in tow. Yep, Pure Romance party. 😂 I couldn't look my 65 year old plus boss in the face for years after that.
I've been to 1! Only 1! After the awkward room encounter, I didn't receive my full order which I definitely paid for and when I reached out to the hun(who was high ranking) she never actually acknowledged the mistake and kind of said she would fix it. But to this day I haven't received the item she conveniently left out of my order. Now me and hubby are well educated on the MLM business and avoid any and every invite to all the parties with absolutely NO fomo!
@@michelleprieur1wait she said it was Mary Kay but it was actually Pure Romance?! This is so creepy. Ugh! You should send Hannah your story so we can get all the details! 😂
@@michelleprieur1 yikes! That's so inappropriate! And to ask you to bring your teenage daughter as well? 😖 There's certain boundaries when it comes to colleagues, and this crosses at least a few.
Modern medicine is against my families religious beliefs. hearing the story of medical neglect it sounded so much like how it was for me growing up with eczema, TERRIBLE period cramps, injuries, panic attacks, self harm, sickness, etc and how I’m still mentally healing from it. I really feel for the person who sent in their story. I really hope the best for them.
As a fellow child raised in a religion that forbid treatment aside from prayer, I see you. We didn't get a choice, and now we have to manage the results of other's choices for us. It's a hard road to have to walk down, you survived your childhood, and now as an adult, we can be the adult we deserved to have as a parent growing up. Be well
Everytime i hear a doterra story i unlock a new memory of my mother in law peddling this stuff. My husband was under this for years and she was treating him with only oils and started taking him to a doctor that believes in using the oils so she felt like she was doing the right thing.
I was coming here to say the “walking advertisement” thing is 100% a Herbalife thing, then you said it for me 😂 “Lose all your money while annoying all your friends, ask me how!”
Oh my gosh, I had a similar experience with an adult toy MLM it might have even been the same company. In my situation I was 16 at the time and taken to this strange women's house by a new friend I didn't really know and was stuck there for hours with all these 20-30 year olds trying out these toys in front on me at 16.....so uncomfortable.
With the Herbalife hun, I’d have been like, “well, first you fat-shamed me, and now you’re telling me that you don’t even have $10 to your name… sign me up, obviously!” 🤣🙄
For real, I'd let her know I am recovering from ovarian cancer AND used to be anorexic before the giant basketball sized tumor. I would not even allow them to purchase ANYTHING, they can just leave immediately
Definitely animal ab*se. I wouldn’t be surprised if the diffused oils were the cause of the cats’ lung infections. The majority of essential oils are toxic to pets when diffused in the air (learnt this the hard way after already buying a diffuser 😅).
Tell me about it. I'm not usually into scented candles but happened to buy a couple a few months ago. Haven't used them yet because more recently I got a cat and still haven't gotten around to checking whether those candles might be harmful to my fluff ball.
Australian here: Young living and DoTerra are RAMPANT in Australia, and frequent craft markets! The person in the story is lucky never having experienced this before 😂
This is super random - but sometimes I wish your horror stories were posted as podcasts on spotify 😆 because your voice is so soothing that it helps me sleep, but the TH-cam ads always wake up back up. Anyways, love your vids !
I lost my best friend to family health conspiracies. It got really bad around Covid-19, as you can imagine. It’s disturbing knowing what she was told growing up and how it plays into who she is now. I hope she finds a way out 😢
Hi Hannah, I don’t know about any other company’s car programs, but I do know MARY KAY‘s in depth. I worked for the corporate office for 21 years. Before everyone hates me, I did not understand the damage that I was helping to propagate until about a year or two after I stopped working for them. I truly felt in my soul that I was helping people. Anyway, the car program is not a purchase… At least not with MARY KAY. When you “win“ a car, you are earning the use of that car. MARY KAY leases it and insures it as long as you keep your numbers. If you drop your numbers one month, you have to pay for certain things like the lease and insurance which MARY KAY is still paying but they’re taking it out of your commission and then if you continue to not hit your numbers… You lose the car entirely. You are then offered two choices: turn the car back in or you can buy it from MARY KAY. I hope this helps in someway.
Omgoodness a staph infection can travel to your heart and cause damage long term. This mom did medically abuse her and it’s so sad no one intervened soon. I pray you have recovered with no long term damage. I’m so very sorry for your pain and anxiety you endured❤️ may peace be upon your heart❤️
Essential oils can literally be lethal to cats. It amazes me that living in the information highway how many people have no idea how to play devils advocate and do their own research to make sure there isn’t a bad side to what they are so obsessed with. There is good and bad to everything. There is no “one answer” solution. How awful for that teenage girl. High school is hard enough for that age group.
English is not my first language, so listening to someone so well spoken is just music to my ears! I know it’s not the point of your videos but thank you for that extra cherry on the top of good content 🤗
It is genuinely terrifying to me how many parents get away with medically neglecting (abusing) their children. And how often its completely legal because as a society we view children as their parent's possessions/objects rather than full people who deserve to have their needs met no matter what their parents think about it.
I’m in school to be a vet, and while I agree that some things in people can be helped with herbal treatments, please please please please please do not use those treatments on your pet without consulting a veterinarian first. Maybe even multiple veterinarians. Animals do not react to things in the same way that people do. Humans are very VERY tolerant to many toxins found in nature that our pets are NOT tolerant to. Things like tea tree, eucalyptus, peppermint, pine, and so so much more can make your animals seriously sick if exposed to direct doses of them. Or even just small doses in some cases. Pets and people are not as close as some people think, and so many animals have suffered because of that mindset
Thank you. Nobody thinks about their pets when they diffuse oils, so it's really helpful seeing your comment. I think people forget essential oils are very concentrated, it's not like bring the garden indoors.
Story 5: had me laughing! Just a couple weekends ago, my husband and I decided to take our family to a little Christmas event in a nearby community. When we got there, we saw all the usual vendors. However, my 5yr old yells, hey mom! Look at that! You should get one. I look to the stall and to my shock, it was a Scentsy rep. The lady smiled at me but before she could talk, I moved my family away as I said that’s an MLM and I choose not to support them. My husband couldn’t help but stare at the lady who now stared at us. No pitch no issues = a wonderful day
I nannied for a family that, looking back, I should have reported. Similar situation with trying to cure ear or scalp problems with essential oils. One of the kids had a permanent bald spot from ring worm that went on too long. The other was having teeth issues bc the parents didn't have the kids brush unless the kids wanted to (they were like, 4 and 7). One got an ear infection and I was so relived when I finally got a text from the mom asking me about how I got my ear infections handled (I've had them a lot since I was little. Just always had ear problems.) When I tell you this woman was SO scared of medicine.. I told her the antibiotic ear drops the kid would be prescribed for the infection, that it has no side effects, and he should feel relief in a couple days. She finally did it (and the kid healed so fast!), but the mom guilt she felt...man. It was a messed up situation all around. I felt horrible for the kids and low-key for the mom too, who had been exposed to so much whack disinformation over the years.
My nannying redemption story is that I later worked for a family whose mom was a doctor. It was healing to my soul to see kids take allergy and cold meds 😅
This exactly happened to me! Pure Romance, early 2000s. I had no idea what was going on, but the friend I came with and I went to the private room together. We were told we couldn’t leave before we talked to the rep. So we went in there and she tersely asked what we were buying. We said nothing thanks, we’re heading out. She pretty much shouted us out of the room. We left, got outside, and started laughing hysterically. Like, what just happened? Its was bizarre.
It reminds me of the scene in Jane Eyre where Mr Rochester dresses up as a fortune teller and sits in a room so he can sneakily have a personal talk with Jane. Creepy!
The one I was tricked into going had that private room thing too. It made me really uncomfortable. I didn’t end up going in. I had no money!!! My friend who invited me told me it was just a get together. Why would I have money like that? Or if I did, what makes them think I wanted to spend it on that?! It’s my money. Then the rep gave us papers to write down friends we know. I had none 😂. She tried to convince me how great I’d be at hosting a party 😂. No way. I know myself. Thank goodness. And I ran out of there.
My sister had a PR party for her bachelorette, eeeeeh. Talk about weird, buying that sort of stuff in front of my sister and her rather unsavory friends was just awful. I had to travel two hours round trip to drop my daughter with her grandma, then again the next day to pick her up. No way in hell wouldit have been ok to have my second grade child present at one of those!
I just adopted two littermate kittens to keep me company while I work from home. I partially blame your videos, making me miss having multiple cats in the house. Thank you for your content, I appreciate your efforts to expose what these companies do to people!
Omg, I've suffered with eczema my entire life and not having access to steroids is HELL. No otc or herbal remedy will fix a flare up and the worse it gets, the worse it itches. It gets to where you absolutley cannot focus on ANYTHING because you're just so uncomfortable in your own skin. I cant imagine having to navigate that diacomfort as a child. And having that school clinic RIGHT there and being unable to use it.
Sadly, I can relate to the stinking as a teenager one. My mom always made me wear Avon deodorant because she sold it. I thought I just sweat unlike anyone else. But I stopped stinking when I switched to Secret (which totally makes sense since it has more of the active ingredient.) It really sucks that I just smelled awful and had sweat marks on all my shirts for years. I wonder if I’d have had more friends if I had been using a deodorant that actually worked all along.
In the 80s & 90s MaryKay was super popular& none of us realized it was an MLM or even what an MLM was. A friend of mine became a rep & I hosted a party for her & no one made a single order.
I grew up exactly the same way as Story 3 and now have Illness Anxiety OCD and can not eat ANYTHING without crippling fear of food contamination. I can’t function without medication, but I’m scared of medication because I was told all my developmental years that medicine was evil. I am waiting for studies and literature about the long term impacts of this specific type of childhood trauma, it is extremely common in my age group specifically (right alongside/after the vaccine autism scare, funny that). Parent’s being told that medicine is evil and their children touching plastic will give them cancer. It’s ALL for profit on the part of the companies that preyed on them, and MLMs played a massive part in it. The parties responsible will never be held accountable, and it’s all on our shoulder’s to bear the consequences of that type of childhood.
I have a heart condition and the amount of MLM Huns that have told me,”you cardiologist would love this product!” or,”I can call your cardiologist and speak to her!” is unreal. Yes, my Harvard educated, Mayo Clinic cardiologist would love to hear your uneducated sales pitch. 🤦🏼♀️
18:18 Weird, my younger sister had something extremely similar happen when she got her ears pierced (very bad eczema, oozing and all, she had to give up on keeping her ears pierced in the end). At the time, our parents were in an MLM (not DoTerra) and were doing the usual mlmy thing of only buying their products, soap and everything. Same as in this story, no doctors and all that for a while... Why do people do that to their kids :/
Animals are allergic to a lot of essential oils so you definitely need to research it before even diffusing in the air. Our hedgehog passed away because i gave him a bath in a tub that my children used a tea tree bubble bath in. I even cleaned it in between but they're deathly allergic. I have to live with that.
That one with the daughter with the medical issues is so frustrating. I really hope she's doing well now, and healing her heart. It's so difficult to hear about parents like that, because all I want to do is shake some sense into them.
as someone who has had weeping eczema on the back of my legs for several years as a kid and now again as an adult i feel incredibly bad for the writer of story 3, the discomfort and burning must have been unbearable. and to put oils,salt, and honey on it!!??? awful
Completely unrelated but you remind me so much of my 11th grade English teacher. You're both so sweet and caring and obsessed with your pets, lol. My teacher had a little weiner dog named Truman and sometimes she'd put up her pet camera thing on the projector so we could watch Truman sleeping on his armchair while we did our work lol
I joined a BNI group last year, and there was an Optavia rep that had a bag that said “ I changed my life, ask me how” which she used to tote around all her flyers and processed food substances
I've seen people get random texts from someone they barely know or knew a long time ago pitching some weight loss product from an MLM. The sad thing is that they end up texting people who have ED or are struggling with ED recovery and trying to gain weight. This is a new form of how people would stuff an advertisement about a weight loss product into a stranger's mailbox with some like "I thought you would be interested in this" written on it, making someone think that someone you know put it there. Like someone you know is thinking that your so huge that you need a weight loss product. It's so gross.
Wild to hear an Australian say they’ve not seen MLMs in the wild, it’s definitely not as widespread here as in the States, but my mum spent most of the 90’s being invited to MLM parties, and I’ve had a couple of brushes with them myself. Maybe I should send in a horror story…
I remember my mom gave me a diet pill once, claiming it will help my weight and that it's secret ingredients was a newly discovered fruit from something like the amazon... but I only ever took one pill, and never had to again. I don't know what happened there.
Mary Kay encouraged reps to NEVER leave the house without being in full MK mode. They also had a tote bag with rows of clear pockets so you could fill it with sample products to get people to stare and ask about it.
There's quite a few essential oils that are harmful to animals. If you use an oil diffuser in the house, make sure they're oils that are safe for pets. A lot of those diffusers are sitting at levels close to their heads so they may get a bigger dose of those oils than you do.
23:44 honest thought with the staff. The tea tree may have been keeping it “stable” and not spreading further. But still not how you should treat staff and the constant diet changes and stress and pressure ugh. Could have saved years of pain if she’d just gotten a diagnosis
Ugh..the pure romance story reminded me of a nearly identical situation I was in..this was 2007 when it still went by the name “slumber parties”. I was invited as part of a bachelorette party, with the plan being to head out to bars and clubs after the slumber parties event. I don’t remember being pressured to join but we sat through a lengthy sales pitch, cringy games, then meeting the rep one on one in the host’s bedroom to order. This was way before I knew about MLM’s and WAY before content like yours. I actually remember having a good time but the sales pitch took SO LONG that we never made it to the bar. The girl would NOT SHUT UP! I remember thinking if this were my bachelorette party, I would’ve been annoyed that we didn’t get to actually go out.
It's not necessarily a horror story, but my lil' guy went Christmas shopping with his dad a few weeks back. He came home and told me that there was a vendor's show at the mall, and how they both liked the laser engravers boot. I asked if there were any other cool things he saw, and he gives me a b*tch face and says, "no; just a bunch of fluffing MLMs!" So proud of him! 🥰
I hate it when MLM reps try to make their display look like a local small business when they buy space at a craft fair or farmers market. People who aren't familiar with MLMs don't realize what they are supporting if they buy from them.
Skipped over the pure romance section as that sort of stuff is against my moral code and gives me the ick - I had no idea what that company was before you explained what it was and didn't know there were mlms for selling such things! Big yikes lol. BTW, DoTerra's "Slim and Sassy" got renamed "Smart and Sassy" a long time ago when I was a rep.
My go-to answer when mlm-ers try to sell me stuff is "I have no money, I'm poor. 😂 It makes them feel uncomfortable so they leave me alone. In reality, I am very particular about what I buy and use, and I'm not easily swayed by their pitches or pity stories.
I appreciate the one teacher out of 6 years sending her to the nurse….. but why none of her teachers contacted DCF for neglect is heartbreaking to me. I’ve often wondered the same about my teachers in the 90s, but I expect better in the last 10 years.
As someone who likes the remedy approach and against fluoride. A serious skin infection requires medical attention. It's so wrong that she didn't get medical attention for her staphylococcus infection 💔 I love home remedies, but we definitely don't believe in avoiding antibiotics etc when it's extremely serious.
Here in San Antonio, we're over populated with herbalife reps and nutrition shops and they all wear the gear and buttons everywhere. Funny story: My old office, which I did functional medicine in, using a particular company for the products I use with my clients, was taken over by one of these nutrition shops. The company I use accidentally sent my inventory to the old office. I could tell the manager of the shop was annoyed as I am sure they looked up the company, realizing what I do. This happened twice and both times, there were absolutely no one ordering and these people looked so miserable being there. Especially knowing they're not being paid an hourly wage.
Not from San Antonio, but I work for a closed captioning company that covers live events. For a while, we had the San Antonio local news, and one of the channels would feature local restaurants. One day they covered an Herbalife front and I recognized it immediately from the name and what the drinks looked like. I thought it was irresponsible for a news station to promote a shady "business" like that, but I kind of doubt they looked that far into it.
Not me totally doing a double take when you casually called the 'gum trick' that my mom taught me as a kid 'disordered.' I love not even realizing that that of all things was something that I just believed and never questioned. It wasn't even special gum, it was a 'scientific' trick to get me through to the next meal. Don't have snacks, just have some gum🙃 This is fine. A lovely video as always! Thank you for your insight and compassionate view on mlms and their reps.
I lived in the Midwest for 5 years (I’m not from this part of the country). However, it surprised me to see SO MANY MLM’s. I had coworkers selling all sorts of things from 31 bags, Origami Owl, Clever Container, HerbalLife, Tupperware, Young Living and Pampered Chef which PC is the only one I truly liked. I was in shocked to see every other coworker selling products and if one coworker bought something from the Pampered Chef rep and the Pampered Chef didn’t purchase anything back there was bad talk. I once mentioned to them that I just go to the store and purchase what I needed, their response was “it’s best you support small”. 🤦♀️ It truly is vicious with these MLMs. And every other person I met was a 31 consultant 😱 How many bags or lunch bags can you buy from so many reps coming up to you asking if you would like to host a catalog party or house party? 🤦♀️
Herbalife is also operating in Poland where I'm from and the story about Herbalife rep reminded me that they do have the pins about weight loss or eating healthier or something similar. It also reminded me that Herbalife had temporary stand at a mall I worked some time ago. And Herbalife was for a time one of the official sponsors for the Polish Volleyball League (the male one and the most prestige one). Volleyball is pretty big in Poland, so imagine like NBA being sponsored by Herbalife. Oh, wait, Christiano Ronaldo, one of the best football (the proper one 😅) players is sponsored by Herbalife. Ugh.
On the young living story, not all MLM reps are young! My grandparents have been in Tupperware, a vitamin mlm, kangen water and are currently in Amway. In fact, they have been in Amway since 2018 and my grandpa will be celebrating his 80th birthday in 2024. I think older people do fall prey to MLM’s because of the entrepreneurial mindset they were raised with. The idea that they can have the American dream through how hard they work. In addition, being so close to retirement and possibly not having the funds to do so, while the mlm promises you can get there fast probably contributes to falling for the scam.
I've definitely seen plenty of MLM products in Australia. I've seen Doterra diffusers, Scentsy...somethings, there's a probably Herbalife shop near me, I've been gifted Amway toothpaste before, and I've had a hey hun message from a complete stranger trying to recruit me to Lularoe. I think the main difference I've seen is that there's less of a girl boss hustle culture attached and it's far less aggressive. I've never met anyone who treats it as more than a casual side hustle. Even the lady who approached me in a public swimming pool changeroom to pitch me a "business opportunity" gave up and wished me a good day when I said I wasn't interested.
It makes me sick the abuse people go to with oils. And I am a huge lovers of animals. And there are a LONG list of oils that are SO dangerous for pets. And it makes me so sad that people don’t take care of the helpless babies. 😢
I have psoriasis on my ears that is similar to the lady in the third story. My parents would be horrified at letting it go for YEARS. Depending on how bad it is, it can endanger your hearing.
I am so mad for the kids and the dog in the medical negligence story (and abuse in my opinion) I think that we cannot only blame the company in such situation, the parents were to blame first.
The Young Living one from Australia reminded me of what happened to me recently. My sister and I went to a monthly market near Toowoomba QLD. Doterra rep had a stall at a local marketplace. I steered my sister away from that stall thanks to your videos. She didn’t have much product on display but my guess was she was looking to start up a conversation with someone.
I was invited to an Ann Summers party when I was younger, around 15/16 years old. I went along with my mum and older sister. I was told to try one of their vibrating products, over my underwear, so I could tell the group how good it felt. I declined but was pressured with comments such as "we're all women," "you don't need to be shy about it" and "you can go in the bathroom". I did go into the bathroom, pretended to use it and then came out, feeling embarassed and confused. Awful experience.
On Netflix, there's a mini series called "How to get rich." The whole premise of the show is about a guy who helps with personal finance. Episode 6 has a couple where the wife is a Monet rep who has the Cadillac. She shares some insight into the finance side of the MLM and how she is now on the downpeak of the graph. She had 500 in her downline, and now she has around 100... very interesting insight!
Was literally browsing TH-cam for something to watch, and a Hannah Alonzo notification pops up! Thanks so much for your content. Now I can do the dishes while listening to your lovely voice. Hope you and the family and cats! had an amazing holiday season. And I will have to send you some of my MLM horror stories from Nigeria, the UK and Canada where I’ve lived. Will prolly take you forever to reach them with the amount of emails you get sent, but it would be a nice surprise to listen in one day and hear my submission. I know I’ll still be following your progress for years to come. Stay blessed!❤ And the same to fellow subscribers 🥰
I used to use slim and sassy from 7th to 11th grade for tea. Five drops in your cup stir it up and chug it down and repeat. My stomach is messed up now
As someone who had severe eczema as a child and in the exact same spot... (I still have it, though different areas and different severities) I could not imagine putting essential oils directly onto my flare-ups 😭😭😭🤧 I had medicated eczema creams. I also spread it from my ears to my nose folds because I was a child and it can spread by touching it and then touching other areas of your body. ☹️ My heart hurts for this person. My mom and I were educated on it, and I still suffered.
Wow. I was very prone to ear infections as a toddler. The doctors were worried I would go deaf. And my mother took me to the doctors to get it treated each flare up.
Story 3: i have eczema since childhood. at some point as a young adult I got sucked into young living. What a horror. My skin completely gave up. I got seriously allergic. My eczema got worse than ever, and my entire immune system collapsed. There’s no better way to describe it. It was like the chick in the Netflix documentary (un)well. It took me 4 years without oils before I got my health back. But I still can’t be around oils for to long because I’m still highly sensitive and exposure (even airborne) triggers my eczema and headaches. The worst part is that the reps kept telling me to the very end that the oils were safe and I was probably using other oils that weren’t ”clean” and my skin and health would be better if I’d just detox, use yl oils more etc. I didn’t use any other oils at the time and as a matter of fact, there are some other oils (cheaper ones too) that aren’t as triggering to me as the to ones.
When I was in YL, my spline bought so much but they own a small pet boutique and sold it there for a profit. A small profit but still and then recruited that way. That's how I joined YL but got out shortly after when I realized I couldn't justify spending so much on product I didn't need.
It honestly sounds like a bit of a blessing in disguise for Ariel (setting aside her being manipulated into selling her car to join an MLM in the first place) that she wasn’t approved for a car loan. If she and her husband were already struggling with money, getting a luxury car would have been an absolutely awful financial decision.
I was thinking the same thing.
If I recall the math, her lowest contribution towards a car in that type program is around $30,000, not the mlm contribution, her own cash. You can spend more!, If you are struggling that is the last commitment you need
This!!! Think about if they got approved for the loan and then found out. Luxury car payments are insane already but bad credit, no income will make that already insanely high monthly car payment even higher and that wouldn’t even include a most likely needed down payment AND full coverage car insurance because in America while your paying off a car you have to have full coverage until the car is paid off. Due to the car type and depending on Ariel’s driving record the insurance would also most likely be insanely high monthly payment. Between the car payment and insurance at a minimum Ariel would have been looking at least $1,000 and that’s at a minimum it would most likely be more than that.
I'm SO SICK of festivals, craft fairs, and markets letting MLMs take up booth space that actual artisans could use.
Yes!! I went to a craft show at the local church near my bf’s house. Half of the booths were Mary Kay! One is too many, but nearly HALF of 25??? Ridiculous
Yes!! I went to a craft show at the local church near my bf’s house. Half of the booths were Mary Kay! One is too many, but nearly HALF of 25??? Ridiculous
Yes! I’m in the uk and it’s the same here. There’s always scentsy , Avon, body shop and many more that get booths at fayres and they could be filled by home crafting like crosstitch or knitting crochet or candle or soap making I’d much perfer that then mlm people
Miami sucks in many ways but I am grateful we don't have this problem.
You know the craft fairs often don’t have enough artisans taking tables, hence the mlms fill the space.
I had a staph infection on my ears when I was 13 and instantly knew that’s what that poor girl had. This is not only neglect but borderline abusive. Wtf.
Neglect is a subset of abuse. 😢
Not borderline
medical neglect IS abuse.
And if a parent is willing to neglect and abuse her child in that way I’m sure there was other ways they would abuse. Such a sad story and I hope the person is doing better (I know how it feels to be abused and I know the trauma it creates, it’s all crazy common, we try to act like it’s uncommon but even things like sexual abuse are 1/4 kids)
This isn't borderline abuse, it is abuse. it is medical neglect which is abuse
The mom that let her daughter suffer for six years is absolutely abuse. I’m sorry but that’s just horrible
That story made me so sad. Sucks that she wasn't able to consent to treatment herself when she was capable to make the decision.
I would've also hoped that the school maybe did a little bit more than just mention the option of the school clinic when it was clear that the parents weren't allowing her to access the needed and available care.
Joanna that's what I thought!! That is crazy and messed up!!
@@TyDee_babesThat honestly makes me so mad. Kids have rights and aren’t the properties of their parents. They should’ve called CPS.
The "professionals" did not even agree on the diagnosis.
It was so hard to listen to. I feel so bad for her
I'm a market vendor, it's my whole job. I make sure to attend events that don't allow MLMs. Lately I've noticed when applying for markets, I see a "NO MLMS" clause on applications. 😂
I'm a local card maker and lots of the fairs I do let mlms in. But only one rep per company. And then some are not even letting them in now. Which j appreciate as a crafter who makes all their own stuff hah
I’m thankful a lot of our local craft and business sale events are not allowing mlms. We have one huge craft show locally 2/3 times per year and we still are seeing pampered chef and others at that one and more and more are boycotting it for this reason. I wish none of them allowed mlms. It truly takes away from people who actually have real small businesses.
@@mylittlesuperhero581 I could not imagine going out for a nice Craft fair and being accosted by a sales rep from one of these shady multi-billion-dollar MLM companies. Organizers allowing this should get their head screwed on straight!
Many MLM people don't seem to self refer that way. I've met a few women who call themselves 'ambassadors' of a brand or 'owners' of their own 'business' who are just bulk-breaking these branded products. I just say, but do you make passive income when you recruit? That's it. That seals the deal.
@@pineapplepapercraftsp
Microbiologist here- I can’t believe those parents let their child have an ear infection that long! Do they not understand bacteria are living organisms & will absolutely leave irreversible damage to human cells & even lead to death untreated! Immunocompromised patients wouldn’t be so lucky. Im glad she got treatment! Gosh.
So they could've killed her.
This is why "parental consent" shouldn't exist.
For the record, I will be 34 next month and sometimes I still feel like I need a "real adult" even though I am, by definition, a real adult. 😂😂😂
Me too. Sometimes it really sucks being a real adult lol.
@the_Sarahnator this comment is soooo real!!
I just turned 38, and my hubby of 14yrs thinks all he has to do is go to work, and sometimes I literally look around like “wait.. am IIIIII really the adult here..” lmao😂
I'm 35 and only got to the real adult phase a few years ago.
I’m almost 22, and I’m absolutely not a real adult
I’m turning 37 next month. I have a household, husband and our kid. I often have a tag along group of kids who are off/on with me lol
In the morning when I wake up I feel 83 years old because of my back problems BUT outside of that I’ve been hunting for “real” adult for decades now and honestly it’s trap anyways lol 😅😂😂
Sincerely another Sara who is a adult but but barely lol
I’m also short too and so I blend in as some of my nephews are taller than me and the 9 year old nieces and nephews are fast approaching lol 😅
Another point for the cat is not just neglect but many essential oils that are ok for humans in small amounts are toxic to cats.
Not to mention that the FDA doesn't approve the consumption of essential oils.
Funny story: My husband bought his car used from a local dealership. It was summertime, and we soon saw dust settling on the rear window, where a HUGE Pure Romance banner magically appeared. I guess the woman who had owned the car before us had had a big decal on the back windshield that left some kind of residue behind. We looked up the company and my husband definitely did not want to be driving around with people thinking he sold for Pure Romance! We tried so many different cleaners and solvents and could not get the residue to come off so we finally had to take it back to the dealership, where they worked very hard to finally get all traces of the Pure Romance logo off the window! They were mortified. On another note, I've never been to one of their parties but they sound AWFUL. The idea of being taken into a back room to talk about their products.... And asserting that people "can't leave" without talking to the rep is insane. Who are they to tell me I have to talk to them before I leave? And yet I bet everybody does it because they don't want to hurt the host's feelings. Yikes.
I don't know about all states, but in my state, the staff in that clinic have an obligation to report her condition on suspicion of neglect.
The teachers should have too. We are mandatory reporters.
I’ve had severe eczema off and on for almost 40 years. My heart breaks for this child living with eczema without the benefit of medical intervention. 😢 I suspect she may not have had the staph infection the whole time. Severe eczema can cause weeping sores, which then become a breeding ground for staph infections to set in. The irony is that essential oils are a common cause of eczema, so her mother’s “remedies” were probably making her sick the whole time. 😡
THIS!!! I still have severe flare-ups... but as a child, my main spot was behind my ears, and they were weepy and gross.
No staph.. because my mother actually took me to a doctor to get diagnosed and prescribed medicated ointments and creams.
I can't even imagine how painful the essential oils would have been!
@@_.WildMoonChild definitely! Sounds like actual torture. I’ve had it on my ears, but my main spot is my hands. When I was a teenager, I would get weeping sores on my hands, which then turned into scabs. I hid them from everyone.
God yes, and because it's open and weeping, if you don't treat it it can get infected SO easily. i had eczema around my mouth in highschool that got infected with staph. There was basically a year where i couldn't smile without cracking and bleeding ans pain. My heart went out to this poor girl
This Herbalife story is so familiar! I live in Australia and about 6 years ago I had a herbalife neighbour who approached me with the weight loss comment…the thing is I was already very fit and thin and had no weight to lose, I worked full time in a gym and had recently graduated with my bachelor of science degree majoring in nutrition…..whether she thought I had weight to lose or not, commenting on someone else’s body in anyway is not okay with me. I still see her to this day driving around in her car with Herbalife stickers all over it and saw her two separate times last week wearing Herbalife t shirts 🙃
I grew up in the South and good manners and politeness were drilled into me. But, I swear, if I was ever shanghaied into a Pure Romance party, I'd quickly disappear; just smile, wave and walk back out, lol. Pure Romance - bless their hearts.
Oh darlin
r 😂z4÷2;÷" 16:19 "4x 8c
I've hosted pure romance parties for a friend before and they absolutely require a private area for sales! They make you have a quiet, private, clean area with a door. The rep sits in there and each person gets sent in there, one after another. Was so crazy and awkward.
I got invited to a "Christmas party" by my old boss, at her house. Long story short, I didn't want to go to a party the day before Christmas as I had stuff to do, and I had plans with my then boyfriend and teenage daughter. She suggested that I bring them, it's a Christmas party! You can see where this is going...
She did put on the printed invite that it was Mary Kay. Mind you, my bf and daughter would rather watch grass grow than go to a makeup party.
I didn't want to tell the owner no, so doo doo brains here showed up, thankfully without bf and teenager in tow. Yep, Pure Romance party. 😂 I couldn't look my 65 year old plus boss in the face for years after that.
I've been to 1! Only 1! After the awkward room encounter, I didn't receive my full order which I definitely paid for and when I reached out to the hun(who was high ranking) she never actually acknowledged the mistake and kind of said she would fix it. But to this day I haven't received the item she conveniently left out of my order.
Now me and hubby are well educated on the MLM business and avoid any and every invite to all the parties with absolutely NO fomo!
@@michelleprieur1 oh my God, your BOSS?! I'd be mortified if I had to pass around a sex toy with my boss. And a Christmas party, nonetheless!
@@michelleprieur1wait she said it was Mary Kay but it was actually Pure Romance?! This is so creepy. Ugh! You should send Hannah your story so we can get all the details! 😂
@@michelleprieur1 yikes! That's so inappropriate! And to ask you to bring your teenage daughter as well? 😖
There's certain boundaries when it comes to colleagues, and this crosses at least a few.
Modern medicine is against my families religious beliefs. hearing the story of medical neglect it sounded so much like how it was for me growing up with eczema, TERRIBLE period cramps, injuries, panic attacks, self harm, sickness, etc and how I’m still mentally healing from it. I really feel for the person who sent in their story. I really hope the best for them.
And for you, too. I hope you're in a better place now and able to access proper care. ❤️
Sending hugs and support
As a fellow child raised in a religion that forbid treatment aside from prayer, I see you. We didn't get a choice, and now we have to manage the results of other's choices for us. It's a hard road to have to walk down, you survived your childhood, and now as an adult, we can be the adult we deserved to have as a parent growing up. Be well
What religion was this?
Everytime i hear a doterra story i unlock a new memory of my mother in law peddling this stuff. My husband was under this for years and she was treating him with only oils and started taking him to a doctor that believes in using the oils so she felt like she was doing the right thing.
I was coming here to say the “walking advertisement” thing is 100% a Herbalife thing, then you said it for me 😂
“Lose all your money while annoying all your friends, ask me how!”
Oh my gosh, I had a similar experience with an adult toy MLM it might have even been the same company. In my situation I was 16 at the time and taken to this strange women's house by a new friend I didn't really know and was stuck there for hours with all these 20-30 year olds trying out these toys in front on me at 16.....so uncomfortable.
With the Herbalife hun, I’d have been like, “well, first you fat-shamed me, and now you’re telling me that you don’t even have $10 to your name… sign me up, obviously!” 🤣🙄
yeah I would say "are you calling me fat?!?! are you?!!!!" and cry in over acting like an soccer player 😂😂😂
For real, I'd let her know I am recovering from ovarian cancer AND used to be anorexic before the giant basketball sized tumor. I would not even allow them to purchase ANYTHING, they can just leave immediately
I'm not the one to do it, but I would love someone say 'I'm pregnant ' when people are commenting on their body.
"Whatever issues you have, Young Living will get rid of it"
Would it help getting rid of you?
Definitely animal ab*se. I wouldn’t be surprised if the diffused oils were the cause of the cats’ lung infections. The majority of essential oils are toxic to pets when diffused in the air (learnt this the hard way after already buying a diffuser 😅).
Tell me about it. I'm not usually into scented candles but happened to buy a couple a few months ago. Haven't used them yet because more recently I got a cat and still haven't gotten around to checking whether those candles might be harmful to my fluff ball.
That definitely is child medical abuse. How terrible. This poor child.
Australian here: Young living and DoTerra are RAMPANT in Australia, and frequent craft markets! The person in the story is lucky never having experienced this before 😂
This is super random - but sometimes I wish your horror stories were posted as podcasts on spotify 😆 because your voice is so soothing that it helps me sleep, but the TH-cam ads always wake up back up. Anyways, love your vids !
I lost my best friend to family health conspiracies. It got really bad around Covid-19, as you can imagine. It’s disturbing knowing what she was told growing up and how it plays into who she is now. I hope she finds a way out 😢
Hi Hannah, I don’t know about any other company’s car programs, but I do know MARY KAY‘s in depth. I worked for the corporate office for 21 years. Before everyone hates me, I did not understand the damage that I was helping to propagate until about a year or two after I stopped working for them. I truly felt in my soul that I was helping people. Anyway, the car program is not a purchase… At least not with MARY KAY. When you “win“ a car, you are earning the use of that car. MARY KAY leases it and insures it as long as you keep your numbers. If you drop your numbers one month, you have to pay for certain things like the lease and insurance which MARY KAY is still paying but they’re taking it out of your commission and then if you continue to not hit your numbers… You lose the car entirely. You are then offered two choices: turn the car back in or you can buy it from MARY KAY. I hope this helps in someway.
Omgoodness a staph infection can travel to your heart and cause damage long term. This mom did medically abuse her and it’s so sad no one intervened soon. I pray you have recovered with no long term damage. I’m so very sorry for your pain and anxiety you endured❤️ may peace be upon your heart❤️
Essential oils can literally be lethal to cats. It amazes me that living in the information highway how many people have no idea how to play devils advocate and do their own research to make sure there isn’t a bad side to what they are so obsessed with. There is good and bad to everything. There is no “one answer” solution.
How awful for that teenage girl. High school is hard enough for that age group.
Also appetite suppressants can seriously worsen anxiety
English is not my first language, so listening to someone so well spoken is just music to my ears! I know it’s not the point of your videos but thank you for that extra cherry on the top of good content 🤗
It is genuinely terrifying to me how many parents get away with medically neglecting (abusing) their children. And how often its completely legal because as a society we view children as their parent's possessions/objects rather than full people who deserve to have their needs met no matter what their parents think about it.
I’m in school to be a vet, and while I agree that some things in people can be helped with herbal treatments, please please please please please do not use those treatments on your pet without consulting a veterinarian first. Maybe even multiple veterinarians. Animals do not react to things in the same way that people do. Humans are very VERY tolerant to many toxins found in nature that our pets are NOT tolerant to. Things like tea tree, eucalyptus, peppermint, pine, and so so much more can make your animals seriously sick if exposed to direct doses of them. Or even just small doses in some cases. Pets and people are not as close as some people think, and so many animals have suffered because of that mindset
Thank you.
Nobody thinks about their pets when they diffuse oils, so it's really helpful seeing your comment.
I think people forget essential oils are very concentrated, it's not like bring the garden indoors.
What's despicable about this, is that people get screwed in these scams and STILL try to recruit friends and family.
Story 5: had me laughing! Just a couple weekends ago, my husband and I decided to take our family to a little Christmas event in a nearby community. When we got there, we saw all the usual vendors. However, my 5yr old yells, hey mom! Look at that! You should get one. I look to the stall and to my shock, it was a Scentsy rep. The lady smiled at me but before she could talk, I moved my family away as I said that’s an MLM and I choose not to support them. My husband couldn’t help but stare at the lady who now stared at us. No pitch no issues = a wonderful day
I nannied for a family that, looking back, I should have reported. Similar situation with trying to cure ear or scalp problems with essential oils. One of the kids had a permanent bald spot from ring worm that went on too long. The other was having teeth issues bc the parents didn't have the kids brush unless the kids wanted to (they were like, 4 and 7). One got an ear infection and I was so relived when I finally got a text from the mom asking me about how I got my ear infections handled (I've had them a lot since I was little. Just always had ear problems.) When I tell you this woman was SO scared of medicine.. I told her the antibiotic ear drops the kid would be prescribed for the infection, that it has no side effects, and he should feel relief in a couple days. She finally did it (and the kid healed so fast!), but the mom guilt she felt...man. It was a messed up situation all around. I felt horrible for the kids and low-key for the mom too, who had been exposed to so much whack disinformation over the years.
My nannying redemption story is that I later worked for a family whose mom was a doctor. It was healing to my soul to see kids take allergy and cold meds 😅
This exactly happened to me! Pure Romance, early 2000s. I had no idea what was going on, but the friend I came with and I went to the private room together. We were told we couldn’t leave before we talked to the rep. So we went in there and she tersely asked what we were buying. We said nothing thanks, we’re heading out. She pretty much shouted us out of the room. We left, got outside, and started laughing hysterically. Like, what just happened? Its was bizarre.
It reminds me of the scene in Jane Eyre where Mr Rochester dresses up as a fortune teller and sits in a room so he can sneakily have a personal talk with Jane. Creepy!
The one I was tricked into going had that private room thing too. It made me really uncomfortable. I didn’t end up going in. I had no money!!! My friend who invited me told me it was just a get together. Why would I have money like that? Or if I did, what makes them think I wanted to spend it on that?! It’s my money.
Then the rep gave us papers to write down friends we know. I had none 😂. She tried to convince me how great I’d be at hosting a party 😂. No way. I know myself. Thank goodness. And I ran out of there.
My sister had a PR party for her bachelorette, eeeeeh. Talk about weird, buying that sort of stuff in front of my sister and her rather unsavory friends was just awful. I had to travel two hours round trip to drop my daughter with her grandma, then again the next day to pick her up. No way in hell wouldit have been ok to have my second grade child present at one of those!
Lots of people buy into MLM’s when they get their retirement money. I’ve encountered plenty of people in their 60’s and 70’s doing MLM’s
I just adopted two littermate kittens to keep me company while I work from home. I partially blame your videos, making me miss having multiple cats in the house. Thank you for your content, I appreciate your efforts to expose what these companies do to people!
My dumb butt read it as "two illegitimate kittens"
Just thought I'd share because it's funny
Yay! Congrats on your illegitimate kittens! LOL
Yikes. The behavior of that mother has me actually crying. It's so horrifying that a parent could be so unwilling to get treatment.
Omg, I've suffered with eczema my entire life and not having access to steroids is HELL. No otc or herbal remedy will fix a flare up and the worse it gets, the worse it itches. It gets to where you absolutley cannot focus on ANYTHING because you're just so uncomfortable in your own skin.
I cant imagine having to navigate that diacomfort as a child. And having that school clinic RIGHT there and being unable to use it.
Poor person with eczema and staff infection 💔 my heart breaks for them. Hope you are doing great today.
Sadly, I can relate to the stinking as a teenager one. My mom always made me wear Avon deodorant because she sold it. I thought I just sweat unlike anyone else. But I stopped stinking when I switched to Secret (which totally makes sense since it has more of the active ingredient.) It really sucks that I just smelled awful and had sweat marks on all my shirts for years. I wonder if I’d have had more friends if I had been using a deodorant that actually worked all along.
In the 80s & 90s MaryKay was super popular& none of us realized it was an MLM or even what an MLM was. A friend of mine became a rep & I hosted a party for her & no one made a single order.
I grew up exactly the same way as Story 3 and now have Illness Anxiety OCD and can not eat ANYTHING without crippling fear of food contamination. I can’t function without medication, but I’m scared of medication because I was told all my developmental years that medicine was evil.
I am waiting for studies and literature about the long term impacts of this specific type of childhood trauma, it is extremely common in my age group specifically (right alongside/after the vaccine autism scare, funny that). Parent’s being told that medicine is evil and their children touching plastic will give them cancer. It’s ALL for profit on the part of the companies that preyed on them, and MLMs played a massive part in it. The parties responsible will never be held accountable, and it’s all on our shoulder’s to bear the consequences of that type of childhood.
That’s not neglect, it’s abuse. I hope this person finds peace.
I have a heart condition and the amount of MLM Huns that have told me,”you cardiologist would love this product!” or,”I can call your cardiologist and speak to her!” is unreal. Yes, my Harvard educated, Mayo Clinic cardiologist would love to hear your uneducated sales pitch. 🤦🏼♀️
I needed an anti mlm break, but I'm back and ready to snark 😂
18:18 Weird, my younger sister had something extremely similar happen when she got her ears pierced (very bad eczema, oozing and all, she had to give up on keeping her ears pierced in the end). At the time, our parents were in an MLM (not DoTerra) and were doing the usual mlmy thing of only buying their products, soap and everything. Same as in this story, no doctors and all that for a while... Why do people do that to their kids :/
Animals are allergic to a lot of essential oils so you definitely need to research it before even diffusing in the air. Our hedgehog passed away because i gave him a bath in a tub that my children used a tea tree bubble bath in. I even cleaned it in between but they're deathly allergic. I have to live with that.
I’m so sorry. Tea tree is SO potent!
That one with the daughter with the medical issues is so frustrating. I really hope she's doing well now, and healing her heart. It's so difficult to hear about parents like that, because all I want to do is shake some sense into them.
I’m binge watching MLM horror stories today 😂😂😂
The writer of that first story gets an A+ from me! Well done!
as someone who has had weeping eczema on the back of my legs for several years as a kid and now again as an adult i feel incredibly bad for the writer of story 3, the discomfort and burning must have been unbearable. and to put oils,salt, and honey on it!!??? awful
Completely unrelated but you remind me so much of my 11th grade English teacher. You're both so sweet and caring and obsessed with your pets, lol. My teacher had a little weiner dog named Truman and sometimes she'd put up her pet camera thing on the projector so we could watch Truman sleeping on his armchair while we did our work lol
I joined a BNI group last year, and there was an Optavia rep that had a bag that said “ I changed my life, ask me how” which she used to tote around all her flyers and processed food substances
I've seen people get random texts from someone they barely know or knew a long time ago pitching some weight loss product from an MLM. The sad thing is that they end up texting people who have ED or are struggling with ED recovery and trying to gain weight. This is a new form of how people would stuff an advertisement about a weight loss product into a stranger's mailbox with some like "I thought you would be interested in this" written on it, making someone think that someone you know put it there. Like someone you know is thinking that your so huge that you need a weight loss product. It's so gross.
Having anxiety and poor mental health when your parents do not take care of you properly makes a lot of sense. Hope she is doing better today!
Wild to hear an Australian say they’ve not seen MLMs in the wild, it’s definitely not as widespread here as in the States, but my mum spent most of the 90’s being invited to MLM parties, and I’ve had a couple of brushes with them myself. Maybe I should send in a horror story…
I think a lot of Australians don't know companies that actually are MLMs - Tupperware for example, we all know it, but many might not know its an MLM
I remember my mom gave me a diet pill once, claiming it will help my weight and that it's secret ingredients was a newly discovered fruit from something like the amazon... but I only ever took one pill, and never had to again. I don't know what happened there.
Mary Kay encouraged reps to NEVER leave the house without being in full MK mode. They also had a tote bag with rows of clear pockets so you could fill it with sample products to get people to stare and ask about it.
Doterra encourages similar products and always carrying samples
There's quite a few essential oils that are harmful to animals. If you use an oil diffuser in the house, make sure they're oils that are safe for pets. A lot of those diffusers are sitting at levels close to their heads so they may get a bigger dose of those oils than you do.
23:44 honest thought with the staff. The tea tree may have been keeping it “stable” and not spreading further. But still not how you should treat staff and the constant diet changes and stress and pressure ugh. Could have saved years of pain if she’d just gotten a diagnosis
I have been to two MLM parties where the Hun met in a separate room for “ordering”. So I believe it is a tactic suggested by some MLMs.
Ugh..the pure romance story reminded me of a nearly identical situation I was in..this was 2007 when it still went by the name “slumber parties”. I was invited as part of a bachelorette party, with the plan being to head out to bars and clubs after the slumber parties event. I don’t remember being pressured to join but we sat through a lengthy sales pitch, cringy games, then meeting the rep one on one in the host’s bedroom to order. This was way before I knew about MLM’s and WAY before content like yours. I actually remember having a good time but the sales pitch took SO LONG that we never made it to the bar. The girl would NOT SHUT UP! I remember thinking if this were my bachelorette party, I would’ve been annoyed that we didn’t get to actually go out.
It's not necessarily a horror story, but my lil' guy went Christmas shopping with his dad a few weeks back. He came home and told me that there was a vendor's show at the mall, and how they both liked the laser engravers boot.
I asked if there were any other cool things he saw, and he gives me a b*tch face and says, "no; just a bunch of fluffing MLMs!"
So proud of him! 🥰
That's a proud parenting moment.
I hate it when MLM reps try to make their display look like a local small business when they buy space at a craft fair or farmers market. People who aren't familiar with MLMs don't realize what they are supporting if they buy from them.
Skipped over the pure romance section as that sort of stuff is against my moral code and gives me the ick - I had no idea what that company was before you explained what it was and didn't know there were mlms for selling such things! Big yikes lol.
BTW, DoTerra's "Slim and Sassy" got renamed "Smart and Sassy" a long time ago when I was a rep.
My go-to answer when mlm-ers try to sell me stuff is "I have no money, I'm poor. 😂 It makes them feel uncomfortable so they leave me alone. In reality, I am very particular about what I buy and use, and I'm not easily swayed by their pitches or pity stories.
The "pspspspsps" cracked me up 🤣👏🏻🥰
6 years with the same infection!?! Just NO! I give natural remedies 3-7 days, any longer than that and it's something serious.
I appreciate the one teacher out of 6 years sending her to the nurse….. but why none of her teachers contacted DCF for neglect is heartbreaking to me. I’ve often wondered the same about my teachers in the 90s, but I expect better in the last 10 years.
As someone who likes the remedy approach and against fluoride. A serious skin infection requires medical attention. It's so wrong that she didn't get medical attention for her staphylococcus infection 💔 I love home remedies, but we definitely don't believe in avoiding antibiotics etc when it's extremely serious.
Here in San Antonio, we're over populated with herbalife reps and nutrition shops and they all wear the gear and buttons everywhere. Funny story: My old office, which I did functional medicine in, using a particular company for the products I use with my clients, was taken over by one of these nutrition shops. The company I use accidentally sent my inventory to the old office. I could tell the manager of the shop was annoyed as I am sure they looked up the company, realizing what I do. This happened twice and both times, there were absolutely no one ordering and these people looked so miserable being there. Especially knowing they're not being paid an hourly wage.
Not from San Antonio, but I work for a closed captioning company that covers live events. For a while, we had the San Antonio local news, and one of the channels would feature local restaurants. One day they covered an Herbalife front and I recognized it immediately from the name and what the drinks looked like. I thought it was irresponsible for a news station to promote a shady "business" like that, but I kind of doubt they looked that far into it.
Not me totally doing a double take when you casually called the 'gum trick' that my mom taught me as a kid 'disordered.' I love not even realizing that that of all things was something that I just believed and never questioned. It wasn't even special gum, it was a 'scientific' trick to get me through to the next meal. Don't have snacks, just have some gum🙃 This is fine. A lovely video as always! Thank you for your insight and compassionate view on mlms and their reps.
I lived in the Midwest for 5 years (I’m not from this part of the country). However, it surprised me to see SO MANY MLM’s. I had coworkers selling all sorts of things from 31 bags, Origami Owl, Clever Container, HerbalLife, Tupperware, Young Living and Pampered Chef which PC is the only one I truly liked. I was in shocked to see every other coworker selling products and if one coworker bought something from the Pampered Chef rep and the Pampered Chef didn’t purchase anything back there was bad talk. I once mentioned to them that I just go to the store and purchase what I needed, their response was “it’s best you support small”. 🤦♀️ It truly is vicious with these MLMs. And every other person I met was a 31 consultant 😱 How many bags or lunch bags can you buy from so many reps coming up to you asking if you would like to host a catalog party or house party? 🤦♀️
Story 3: how did a staph infection for that long didn’t turn into sepsis! Yikes!
Soap! Washing daily can prevent it's spread.
Honestly the tea tree oil may have kept it in a minimal level but couldn’t cure it completely. Still not ok but that’s the only thing I could think of
"tell them i said psspsspsspss" 😂
Herbalife is also operating in Poland where I'm from and the story about Herbalife rep reminded me that they do have the pins about weight loss or eating healthier or something similar. It also reminded me that Herbalife had temporary stand at a mall I worked some time ago. And Herbalife was for a time one of the official sponsors for the Polish Volleyball League (the male one and the most prestige one). Volleyball is pretty big in Poland, so imagine like NBA being sponsored by Herbalife. Oh, wait, Christiano Ronaldo, one of the best football (the proper one 😅) players is sponsored by Herbalife. Ugh.
On the young living story, not all MLM reps are young! My grandparents have been in Tupperware, a vitamin mlm, kangen water and are currently in Amway. In fact, they have been in Amway since 2018 and my grandpa will be celebrating his 80th birthday in 2024. I think older people do fall prey to MLM’s because of the entrepreneurial mindset they were raised with. The idea that they can have the American dream through how hard they work. In addition, being so close to retirement and possibly not having the funds to do so, while the mlm promises you can get there fast probably contributes to falling for the scam.
I can personally attest that people in their 60s get panicky and become easy prey for scams.
Fucking criminal. This makes me so mad!! They really should be stopped.
I've definitely seen plenty of MLM products in Australia. I've seen Doterra diffusers, Scentsy...somethings, there's a probably Herbalife shop near me, I've been gifted Amway toothpaste before, and I've had a hey hun message from a complete stranger trying to recruit me to Lularoe.
I think the main difference I've seen is that there's less of a girl boss hustle culture attached and it's far less aggressive. I've never met anyone who treats it as more than a casual side hustle. Even the lady who approached me in a public swimming pool changeroom to pitch me a "business opportunity" gave up and wished me a good day when I said I wasn't interested.
It makes me sick the abuse people go to with oils. And I am a huge lovers of animals. And there are a LONG list of oils that are SO dangerous for pets. And it makes me so sad that people don’t take care of the helpless babies. 😢
I have psoriasis on my ears that is similar to the lady in the third story. My parents would be horrified at letting it go for YEARS. Depending on how bad it is, it can endanger your hearing.
Honestly, I would not be surprised if the constant use of essential oils directly on the skin triggered the eczema.
I am so mad for the kids and the dog in the medical negligence story (and abuse in my opinion) I think that we cannot only blame the company in such situation, the parents were to blame first.
The Young Living one from Australia reminded me of what happened to me recently. My sister and I went to a monthly market near Toowoomba QLD. Doterra rep had a stall at a local marketplace. I steered my sister away from that stall thanks to your videos. She didn’t have much product on display but my guess was she was looking to start up a conversation with someone.
Living with a staph infection for six years sounds like hell. That poor girl
Perfect timing. I was trying to figure out what to listen to while I did laundry.
I was invited to an Ann Summers party when I was younger, around 15/16 years old. I went along with my mum and older sister. I was told to try one of their vibrating products, over my underwear, so I could tell the group how good it felt. I declined but was pressured with comments such as "we're all women," "you don't need to be shy about it" and "you can go in the bathroom". I did go into the bathroom, pretended to use it and then came out, feeling embarassed and confused. Awful experience.
Wow that’s awful and embarrassing 😔
How wrong!
You were a minor? How was that not some kind of crime?😬
On Netflix, there's a mini series called "How to get rich." The whole premise of the show is about a guy who helps with personal finance. Episode 6 has a couple where the wife is a Monet rep who has the Cadillac. She shares some insight into the finance side of the MLM and how she is now on the downpeak of the graph. She had 500 in her downline, and now she has around 100... very interesting insight!
i had to chuckle at Zeke getting his voice in early😸
Was literally browsing TH-cam for something to watch, and a Hannah Alonzo notification pops up! Thanks so much for your content. Now I can do the dishes while listening to your lovely voice. Hope you and the family and cats! had an amazing holiday season. And I will have to send you some of my MLM horror stories from Nigeria, the UK and Canada where I’ve lived. Will prolly take you forever to reach them with the amount of emails you get sent, but it would be a nice surprise to listen in one day and hear my submission. I know I’ll still be following your progress for years to come. Stay blessed!❤ And the same to fellow subscribers 🥰
I used to use slim and sassy from 7th to 11th grade for tea. Five drops in your cup stir it up and chug it down and repeat. My stomach is messed up now
As someone who had severe eczema as a child and in the exact same spot... (I still have it, though different areas and different severities) I could not imagine putting essential oils directly onto my flare-ups 😭😭😭🤧
I had medicated eczema creams. I also spread it from my ears to my nose folds because I was a child and it can spread by touching it and then touching other areas of your body. ☹️
My heart hurts for this person. My mom and I were educated on it, and I still suffered.
Wow. I was very prone to ear infections as a toddler. The doctors were worried I would go deaf. And my mother took me to the doctors to get it treated each flare up.
RIP gallbladder, gone but not forgotten. I sympathize with that person, I had to have mine removed and my entire diet had to be changed.
Story 3: i have eczema since childhood. at some point as a young adult I got sucked into young living. What a horror. My skin completely gave up. I got seriously allergic. My eczema got worse than ever, and my entire immune system collapsed. There’s no better way to describe it. It was like the chick in the Netflix documentary (un)well. It took me 4 years without oils before I got my health back. But I still can’t be around oils for to long because I’m still highly sensitive and exposure (even airborne) triggers my eczema and headaches. The worst part is that the reps kept telling me to the very end that the oils were safe and I was probably using other oils that weren’t ”clean” and my skin and health would be better if I’d just detox, use yl oils more etc. I didn’t use any other oils at the time and as a matter of fact, there are some other oils (cheaper ones too) that aren’t as triggering to me as the to ones.
As someone with a nickel allergy that did that to my ears and it's horrific 😢
When I was in YL, my spline bought so much but they own a small pet boutique and sold it there for a profit. A small profit but still and then recruited that way. That's how I joined YL but got out shortly after when I realized I couldn't justify spending so much on product I didn't need.
I approve high interest vehicle loans for subprime. We don’t take mlm income period.
I'm so sorry for the girl in story 3... the parents should be charged with criminal neglect