Beware of the Snake Oil Salesman, guys!!!

Julien wrote:

I didn't read the whole thread (Calling All Dual Citizenship Viet Kieu), but we, at Expat.com, don't like MLM.

This discussion is closed. Jeffone642, one more post about MLM and I'll close your account

Jeffone642 .... Snake Oil in action?

Most web sites for VN have the same policy. AVON doesn't have a full catalog available in VN. Herbalife ... who lnows. They are employing Singaporeans as sales agents in TP HCM, two weeks here and a Tiger trip back to SP then return the same day.

Jaitch wrote:

Julien wrote:

I didn't read the whole thread (Calling All Dual Citizenship Viet Kieu), but we, at Expat.com, don't like MLM.

This discussion is closed. Jeffone642, one more post about MLM and I'll close your account

Jeffone642 .... Snake Oil in action?

Most web sites for VN have the same policy. AVON doesn't have a full catalog available in VN. Herbalife ... who lnows. They are employing Singaporeans as sales agents in TP HCM, two weeks here and a Tiger trip back to SP then return the same day.

Wow, too bad Julien closed that thread. It was getting interesting towards the end. First time I've seen Wild1 get really upset. Wild1 can really get wild when he wants to

Kidding aside, I support Wild1's cause. He is bringing awareness to the people that may become easy prey and at the same time he has the guts to confront these predators and call them out. Cheers to you!

Without intending offence to Vietnamese, they are quite naive as far as the advanced sales techniques are concerned - how can this country support so may shopping channels? Not even the US or Canada can and they have much more disposable income.

I've attended some of these MLM meetings out of curiosity and you can see just how gullible they are.

VietNam has such a weak legal structure and few applicable laws.

I've attended some of these MLM meetings out of curiosity

Sure, Jaitch!  Teacher Mark and Laidbackfreak already have the moon up for sale, what do you have in store for us?

In all earnesty, though, the current Vietnamese educational and political system are not prepared to handle such onslaughts.  As a result, there are a lot of people who think and act as though their businesses are legitimate.  That is what gets to me:  cons that believe they are running a Fortune 500 company.

My hat goes off to Julien for his stand on MLM, though.  I think that these clowns didn't omit themselves from this forum; but it was the admins, like Julien, who deleted their threads.  You go, Julien!

When it comes to these profit-driven fools, I have no problem in exiling them to...  Siberia, for all that I care.

VN needs decent rental and condominium law. The whole thing is unregulated.

There was a stockbroking company a couple  of years back who were tossed out of their offices by the landlord who found he could get more rent from another outfit.

Doesn't sound so bad but that move cost a fortune. I and two friends helped him with his telecom's and networking but there was nothing he could do, easily, about the broken lease.

The LL unfortunately met up with some nasty guys later.

There are cases all over where LL rip tenants of deposit money, alleged damages, etc.

Consumers are protected to a degree by legislation but what's the used if their money has disappeared.

Developers are the same. Deposit money is unsafe until you transfer title. At least the HCM Development company has brought some stability to the market.

There was the case of the Korean developer who built buildings, sold the condo's and then the purchasers were stiffed with User Cert fees. When a similar building was developed by a VN company, the User Cert fees were included.

At least in HCM we have a proactive government, out in the provinces they have nothing.

Our snake oil friend who who was cut-off had all the hallmarrks of a con. On sites I moderate / admin they don't even get a warning - just locked out.

If you live in a VN area in TP HCM the door bell never stops ringing with all these marketing types.

This forum is pretty quick when it comes to giving our snake oil salesman the hook, too. 

This morning, one of them came on, Budman1 and I gave him a couple of jabs.  Shortly thereafter, I think Julien and his crew gave him the hook.  I don't see him here now. 

That is good.  You go, Julien! 

Anatta,

Julien and friends are really quick at giving the SOS the hook.  Kudos, you go, Julien!!!

But man, I looked it up and Stanford did, and is still, lend a hand to them with that ageLOC thing.  What is going on in Palo Alto, huh?  Are you Cardinals that desperate for cash? 

Wild_1 wrote:

Anatta,

Julien and friends are really quick at giving the SOS the hook.  Kudos, you go, Julien!!!

But man, I looked it up and Stanford did, and is still, lend a hand to them with that ageLOC thing.  What is going on in Palo Alto, huh?  Are you Cardinals that desperate for cash? 

Tell me about all those friendly contribution reminders I get from my beloved alma mater

Anyway, tobacco, gun companies pay big bucks to universities to do fundamental research all the time. In principle, it should not affect the independence of the researchers. In addition, to be fair, Nu Skin is a relative big, NYSE listed company. Their products are at least FDA approved.

Having said so, the conflict of interest is not easy to resolve. Just watch the movie "The Inside Job" about the payment of the finance industry to their 'advisers', with prominent Harvard, Columbia researchers among them.

Anatta,

It is Nu Scam, man!!!    I think you Cardinals have done enough in this shananigan already...   

Yes, I looked them up and it does appear that, at the very top, they do have some knowledgeable folks running the show.  But regardless, this is still MLM and Snake Oil.  They just got a little more sophisticated, that is all.

With such guys at the helm and the amount of cash that they have at their disposal (Thank you to the globalization of developing economies!  ), if their products were any good, they would have been right up there, with the likes of Pfizer and Johnson&Johnson.  But, the facts that they are not and are resorting to these low-ball tactics, speak volumes about their products.

I really hope that the people at the top here will have the necessary knowledge and the proper sense of social responsiblity to keep these guys in their place.

I am really sick of their antics.  Perhaps, we should start referring them to Teacher_Mark for their English and "El Nina" for communication protocols.

There is nothing wrong with direct sales, per se. Mary Kay with its famous pink cadillacs is, as far as I know, respectable business. Their practice is the basis of a well-known business case from the Harvard Business School about how to do marketing channels. The case is a required reading for MBA students worldwide.

There is also often nothing wrong with the products. Amway products are, as far as I know, reliable (Don't know much about Amway here to comment about their tactics). Know nothing about Nu Skin products to comment.

However, there is a difference between honest marketing and misleading/fraud schemes/claims we have seen here, even though they may be based on real products otherwise.

Avon and Tupperware are also respectable.

Men,

I went on craigslist and saw so many of these unscrupulous folks on there that I almost gagged.  They were far worst than the ones that appeared on here.

Got to ask the question Wild_1, what were you really looking for on Craigslist?

Budman1,

Of course, not what you were thinking, man!  I was looking at my car thingy.

Sure, it is like I subscribe Playboy just for the articles .