Think about it. Those pills cost about $15 a bottle (from Amazon). I don’t know how much you have to buy them for, but how many bottles can a single person sell to their network of aquaintances? How much effort do you need to put in cold calling and otherwise hustling to make the same amount at a regular job?
Interesting…there is a guy in my town (reputed to be crazy) who plugs this stuff. His junky old VW bus is plastered with signs for “Herbalife”-I shudder to think what would happen if you asked him about his “product”.
Anyway, what does Herbalife do? Is it like homeopathic medicine? No active ingredients-no effect-no nothing?
No, it’s not homeopathic. it’s weight loss and bodybuilding stuff. Shakes and powders and vitamins and stuff. http://products.herbalife.com/weight-management/daily-nutrition#.UJ_9FWf0az4 Very little in the way of herbs anymore, it appears.
They used to have a fantastic herbal extract blend that really did help me lose weight. I’m talking 15 years ago here. It was a terrible bitter drop that you put in a little water or juice. Contained lots of herbally derived caffeine and Ma Huang, and it was a wonderful little miracle worker. Then lawmakers got titchy about Ma Huang and temporarily banned it, and Herbalife changed their formula, and then eventually their product line strategy. Now it’s mostly shakes and pills.
Same stuff you can get by a bunch of different manufacturers at GNC (hey, remember when GNC was a health *food *store? I do).
Not to rain on your herb garden here, but wouldn’t NoDoz have done the same thing?
No, not in weight loss studies. Ma Huang is the herbal source of ephedrine, not caffeine. Ephedrine works in *conjunction *with caffeine to promote weight loss.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS_patient-ephedra/DSECTION=evidence
Now that I have no source for Ma Huang, however, I do use caffeine pills (not NoDoz brand, as they’re bloody expensive!), as well as cinnamon and gymnema for blood sugar stabilization and fiber for fullness. This combo is pretty good, but if I could get the old Herbalife blend again instead of the caffeine pills, I would.
You lured me down the primrose path right to the “gotcha.” Congratulations!
Have you ever heard of “Protandim”? I’m being pressured to sign up for this ‘all-natural’ wonder supplement for $40 a bottle! Is this like Herbalife?
My Bro worked for the IRS for 20 years. Never, during his career nor any other tax Auditors career was there ever a Sch C that showed a profit from selling any MLM product.
In addition to everything everyone else has mentioned, many MLM organizations (not sure about Herbalife in particular) also sell “how to sell” materials to lower-level people (books and tapes, seminars, etc.). So the people that don’t flame out early get fleeced even more as they purchase these things to help move up the chain.
It is sold through a multilevel marketing scheme like Herbalife, yes.
And as an herbalist, I wouldn’t give it the time of day. The only thing in it with a traditional weight loss use is Green Tea, which is dirt cheap if you buy it as Green Tea. The rest of the stuff is traditionally liver tonic or anti-cancer. No reason for it to be in a weight loss formula. Even if you set aside for a moment the question of whether herbs are effective for weight loss, these aren’t herbs that are recognized for weight loss.
Very interesting, but even here we see the limits of herbal ‘medicine’:
Inadequate studies, little quality control of the product people are actually taking. Wonderful.
Wanna make money on Herbalife?
Short the stock.
Bill Ackman gave a 350+ slide presentation today absolutely destroying the company’s business model, marketing claims, operations, etc. He is so sure that this company is a fraud that he has stated he will donate all profits to charity, and if the stock actually goes up and he is wrong, he will still donate $25 million dollars.
Here’s the presentation:
Is it just me, or does MLM have some strange striking resemblances to feudalism/the vassal system?
This reminds me of MIL’s periodic infatuation with Scamway, er, Amway. She really has caused family problems with the pushy sales and the evangelism, and I’m betting she’s alienated more than a few (now former) friends, neighbors, etc.
Here’s what weblebrity Rob Cockerham of cockeyed.com says about selling Herbalife.
Compared to Herbalife, you can make more money and keep some self-respect by working for an escort service.
Spam reported
What is your position in the company?
Also, what percentage of your profits come from sales of the product that you make(as opposed to profits that are passed up the line to you.)?
Given corporate personhood, **whatisherbalife **may well be the company.