Kleeneze: Have you been MLM'ed?

For those of you that don't recognize Kleeneze or MLM in general, its works similar to a pyramid scheme, only its just inside the law so you have no come back.
The photo below with a typical Kleeneze advert will serve as a warning beacon for you and hopeful others: stay away from MLM.



Problems with MLM are numerous. It has all the hallmarks of a scam though. Promises of great wealth, pictures of fancy cars and constant questions like "how would YOU spend the money?" and statements of emotional blackmail about the family you do or don't have. Every brochure is overloaded with testimonials about how easy and relaxing collecting catalogues in the pouring rain is, from people who have just got up out of their nice comfy seat. Not.

MLM Explained.
Multi level marketing is where you have an upline (a person doing it already) advertising it, usually like the sign shown above. A person then calls up the number on the advert and then pays up to £180.00 to get a "starter pack" which consists of a manual and a load of catalogues. You buy your own catalogues £1 each, all the equipment is payed for by the distributor (you).
Money earned from it is uncertain and unprofitable. If no one chooses to buy the products (which are quite expensive and often poor quality) then you get no money. If you do get money, so does your upline, the person who introduced you-and so does the person who introduced them. Don Failla, a man made rich though MLM, says in a book of his adapted material

"the difference between a pyramid scheme and a MLM is that a pyramid scheme is illegal."

1
10
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1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
10,000,000
100,000,000
1,000,000,000
10,000,000,000

Above: the Kleeneze/Pyramid model.

An important thing to realize is that the wage you will earn will be significantly less than than the national average. Are there wealthy people in MLM? Yes. There the ones at the top doing no work, and even they only get a small per centage of what the company makes.

Ten Big Lies of Multilevel Marketing

Lie #1: MLM offers better opportunities than all other conventional
business and professional models for making large amounts of money.

Truth: For almost everyone who invests, MLM turns out to be a losing financial proposition. Fewer than 1% of all MLM distributors ever earn a profit and those earning a sustainable living at this business are a much smaller percentage still.

Extraordinary sales and marketing obstacles account for much of this failure, but even if the business were more feasible, sheer mathematics would severely limit the opportunity. The MLM business structure can support only a small number of financial winners. If a 1,000-person downline is needed to earn a sustainable income, those 1,000 will need one million more to duplicate the success. How many people can realistically be enrolled? Much of what appears as growth is in fact only the continuous churning of new enrollees. The money for the rare winners comes from the constant enrollment of armies of losers. With no limits on numbers of distributors in an area and no evaluation of market potential, the system is also inherently unstable.

Lie #2: Network marketing is the most popular and effective new way to bring products
to market. Consumers like to buy products on a one-to-one basis in the MLM model.

Truth: Personal retailing -- including nearly all forms of door-to-door selling -- is a thing of the past, not the wave of the future. Retailing directly to friends on a one-to-one basis requires people to drastically change their buying habits. They must restrict their choices, often pay more for goods, buy inconveniently, and engage in potentially awkward business relationships with close friends and relatives. In reality, MLM depends on reselling the opportunity to sign up more distributors.

Lie #3: Eventually all products will be sold by MLM. Retail stores, shopping malls,
catalogs and most forms of advertising will soon be rendered obsolete by MLM.

Truth: Fewer than 1% of all retail sales are made through MLM, and much of this is consists of purchases by hopeful new distributors who are actually paying the price of admission to a business they will soon abandon. MLM is not replacing existing forms of marketing. It does not legitimately compete with other marketing approaches at all. Rather, MLM represents a new investment scheme couched in the language of marketing. Its real products are distributorships that are sold through misrepresentation and exaggerated promises of income. People are buying products in order to secure positions on the sales pyramid. The possibility is always held out that you may become rich if not from your own efforts then from some unknown person ("the big fish") who might join your "downline."

MLM's growth does not reflect its value to the economy, customers, or distributors, but the high levels of economic fear, insecurity, wishes for quick and easy wealth. The market dynamics are similar to those of legalized gambling, but the percentage of winners is much smaller.

Lie #4: MLM is a new way of life that offers happiness and fulfillment.
It provides a way to attain all the good things in life.

Truth: The most prominent motivational themes of the MLM industry, as shown in industry literature and presented at recruitment meetings, constitute the crassest form of materialism. Fortune 100 companies would blush at the excess of promises of wealth, luxury, and personal fulfillment put forth by MLM solicitors. These appeals actually conflicts with most people's true desire for meaningful and fulfilling work at something in which they have special talent or interest.

Lie #5: MLM is a spiritual movement.

Truth: The use of spiritual concepts like prosperity consciousness and creative visualization to promote MLM enrollment, the use of words like "communion" to describe a sales organization, and claims that MLM fulfills Christian principles or Scriptural prophecies are great distortions of these spiritual practices. Those who focus their hopes and dreams upon wealth as the answer to their prayers lose sight of genuine spirituality as taught by religions. The misuse of these spiritual principles should be a signal that the investment opportunity is deceptive. When a product is wrapped in the flag or in religion, buyer beware! The "community" and "support" offered by MLM organizations to new recruits is based entirely upon their purchases. If the purchases and enrollment decline, so does the "communion.'"

Lie #6: Success in MLM is easy. Friends and relatives are the natural prospects.
Those who love and support you will become your life-time customers.

Truth: The commercialization of family and friendship and the use of"'warm leads" advocated in MLM marketing programs are a destructive element in the community and very unhealthy for individuals involved. People do not appreciate being pressured by friends and relatives to buy products. Trying to capitalizing upon personal relationships to build a business can destroy one's social foundation.

Lie #7: You can do MLM in your spare time. As a business, it offers the greatest flexibility
and personal freedom of time. A few hours a week can earn a significant supplemental income
and may grow to a very large income, making other work unnecessary.

Truth: Making money in MLM requires extraordinary time commitment as well as considerable personal skill and persistence. Beyond the sheer hard work and talent required, the business model inherently consumes more areas of one's life and greater segments of time than most occupations. In MLM, everyone is a prospect. Every waking moment is a potential time for marketing. There are no off-limit places, people, or times for selling. Consequently, there is no free space or free time once a person enrolls in MLM system. While claiming to offer independence, the system comes to dominate people's entire life and requires rigid conformity to the program. This is why so many people who become deeply involved end up needing and relying upon MLM desperately. They alienate or abandon other sustaining relationships.

Lie #8. MLM is a positive, supportive new business that
affirms the human spirit and personal freedom.

Truth: MLM is largely fear-driven. Solicitations inevitably include dire predictions about the impending collapse of other forms of distribution, the disintegration or insensitivity of corporate America, and the lack of opportunity in other occupations. Many occupations are routinely demeaned for not offering"unlimited income." Working for others is cast as enslavement for "losers." MLM is presented as the last best hope for many people. This approach, in addition to being deceptive, frequently discourages people who otherwise would pursue their own unique visions of success and happiness. A sound business opportunity does not have to base its worth on negative predictions and warnings.

Lie #9. MLM is the best option for owning your own
business and attaining real economic independence.

Truth: MLM is not true self-employment. "Owning" an MLM distributorship is an illusion. Some MLM companies forbid distributors to carry other companies' products. Most MLM contracts make termination of the distributorship easy and immediate for the company. Short of termination, downlines can be taken away arbitrarily. Participation requires rigid adherence to a "duplication" model, not independence and individuality. MLM distributors are not entrepreneurs but joiners in a complex hierarchical system over which they have little control.

Lie #10: MLM is not a pyramid scheme because products are sold.

Truth: The sale of products does not protect against anti-pyramid-scheme laws or unfair trade practices set forth in federal and state law. MLM is a legal form of business only under rigid conditions set forth by the FTC and state attorneys general. Many MLMs are violate these guidelines and operate only because they have not been prosecuted. Recent court rulings are using a 70% rule to determine an MLM's legality: At least 70% of all goods sold by the MLM company must be purchased by nondistributors. This standard would place most MLM companies outside the law. The largest MLM acknowledges that only 18% of its sales are made to nondistributors.


This article was take from www.mlmwatch.org and was written by

Robert L. Fitzpatrick


19 comments:

trevor thorne said...

The person who wrote this review of Kleeneze obvoiusly doesn't know what they are on about. Kleeneze is NOT a get rich scheme, it does require hard work and time!!!

Paul Flintoft said...

While I agree with some of the points, not all MLM comanies operate the same business model and not all distributors are as insensitive to personal relationships. For example Kleeneze - http://www.kleeneze-information.co.uk uses a catalogue distribution model rather than face to face selling. Also, my experience is that only a minority of distributors use pressure selling tactics.

SteveAndDebbie said...

Some MLM opportunities may not work - as a Kleeneze Distributor I can only vouch for Kleeneze. The person that wrote this article is either aKleeneze failure story or just ignorant of the facts. As Kleeneze has been operating the MLM business model for over 40 years I guess it must work. As someone that joined 30 years AFTER the the start of MLM it rather suggests that the "you have to be in at the start" argument is about as flawed as the rest of this article. Check out the facts at http://www.KleenezeOptions.com

shivkumar said...

Thanks for this insight. I would have been surprised if this weren?t your position. But the manner in which you described it was to the say the least, ambiguous.
MLM Leads
New MLM

joeloss1 said...

Absolutely spot-on in every respect.I gave Kleeneze 4 years and believed "the big picture".
Those grinning toadies with their
flashy cars and big cheques are for
real....these are the 0.01% who are
willing to constantly manipulate
people and sign up new recruits into the scam.Delivering catalogues
doesn't even pay £3 per hour.Most
make a loss.It's the constant turn-
over of agents that make up the figures.....STAY WELL CLEAR !!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this man is BITTER.

Interesting to see one mans' opinion even if it is wrong.

In the last four weeks I have worked
5 hours on Monday collecting catalogues
6-8 hours on Thursday delivering orders
4 hours on Friday delivering catalogues
You'll note it takes me longer to deliver my orders than my catalogues, must be because nobody buys from Kleeneze.

For my efforts I've earned £823.57

It's not mega bucks, but £200 a week for a 16 hour week is significantly more than your average unskilled labour job.
No pressure selling, no selling to friends (at least not counting the customers who have become friends - like you would find with any established retail outlet) and NO TEAM.
Granted the first few months were bloody hard work, but I'd say that £12.86 per hour is a reasonable payback.
Yes we have to buy tools, as would a butcher, a plumber, an electrician, an accountant, only thing is our 'tools' cost is all in one item (pretty much).
For what we do as retailers we replace our catalogues once every three months, 150 catalogues a time which costs us £96 a quarter. or if you'd prefer it costs us £7.38 per week. I used to spend more than that for parking at work in Manchester, EVERY DAY.
If you want to know the truth about Kleeneze and not one exceptionally bitter mans' view then take a look at http://www.moreleisuretime.co.uk/moreinfo.html
You can contact me if you like afterwards (I don't really care one way or the other) or you can pick up enough "leaders" details from the other comments.

One last point regarding pyramid schemes.
If Kleeneze was a pyramid as this author has claimed, then there would be no possibility to earn more than your upline. The Kleeneze structure is designed so that you are rewarded for your results. If you grow bigger than your upline is without you, then they stop being rewarded for your efforts.

JSUKNews said...

Thanks for exposing this. I have posted to tinyurl.com/jobseekersuk as this scam company poses as other companies on Universal jobmatch. The posts below are obviously by Kleeneze employees who seem to take up ost of the comments on articles I find on Google about the company being a scam! Pi** off you leeches!

JSUKNews said...

Thanks for exposing this. I have posted to tinyurl.com/jobseekersuk as this scam company poses as other companies on Universal jobmatch. The posts below are obviously by Kleeneze employees who seem to take up ost of the comments on articles I find on Google about the company being a scam! Pi** off you leeches!

deadsparrow said...

When houses on our isolated rural road start getting these catalogs you know the pressure on the working poor is getting extreme. Along with the gambling web sites and short-term loan shylocks, MLM 'businesses' sense people's desperation and step up their efforts to recruit new participants. The product that yields a profit in the Kleeneze game is the catalog itself. Be warned and stay away.

Anonymous said...

I got someone called Ian who called me up. He sounded a bit aggressive when he answered the phone. An irate northerner. He told me how 'easy' it all is. I'm always suspicious of anyone who claims things to be easy. Nothing is easy. Easy money is a myth. Even bank robbers have to dig tunnels.

Anonymous said...

But I bet you have no knee's left after walking down all those garden paths

Unknown said...

We got involved with Kleeneze to get my wife out of her 37 hours per week, minimum wage slog in a local factory. She now exceeds the income that she used to earn, in probably about 20 hours pw. In addition she chooses when and where she works, little or no travel expenses. In the main she delivers to existing customers now although in the early days she had to build up a customer base. really dont understand the negative comments i see about Kleeneze, all that is required is a little hard work in the first 12-18 months and then maintaining your customer base. Not really developed into team building yet, but that will come i am sure. trouble is these days that everyone wants "X Factor" success and won't put real effort into any new venture. I know from personal experience of building a sales team in Life Assurance in the 1980's that 95% of all of the people who said they wanted to join, left within 1 year, because they were either, dreamers, timewasters or gobshites (sometimes a combination of all 3). As the advert used to say "No guts no glory".

Unknown said...

The majority of people posting positive comments for Kleeneze on here, are the people out to recruit, its the same script they post everywhere, they are like a cult.

The truth is you will be working for less than minimum wage, sometimes nothing at all because selling from the catalogs is a gamble, there is a problem with distributor's over working areas due to no set routes or areas, which leads to people getting more than one catalog through the door sometimes more so they end up in the bin, so you have to buy more lining the pockets of the company.

Most of the time you are making a loss, those people showing off their best monthly cheque are getting that money from other distributors below them, and who really bases an investment on just one months turn over of a business ?.

If anybody would like to share their horror stories of being involved with a M.L.M company I have just started a facebook group where you can get advice or simply look at the facts before you commit to joining an M.L.M:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/825204320851970/

Unknown said...

I worked for kleeneze almost 4 years ago and in about 3 months I was making about £400 profit per month, delivering catalogues 3 times per week. I stopped due to getting a full time job (as my partner and I were unemployed at the time). But it can be done if you put the effort in. I am considering starting up again because my job is getting me too stressed (in a warehouse with people who have no common sense). I will look for somebody who has just started kleeneze to be part of their team to help them out.
When I started I didn't pay a penny. I got 10 catalogues for free, knocked on doors and asked people if they wanted a catalogue, if they said no, I moved on to the next house and when they were all delivered (about 2 hours) I went home, collected every single catalogue and once more that week and orders were enough to get free delivery. I won another 25 catalogues every single time (about 4 in total). I didn't deliver blindly until I had established a good customer base, I lost next to no catalogues within the first 2 months. It is not easy, but it can be easy with a solid customer base. Good customer service us the key, and do not smoke while delivering catalogues, if you do then the catalogues will stink of smoke and it is not a nice smell and you will lose customers. I do not currently work for kleeneze so am not here recruiting. Do not listen to just one persons opinion, have a mind of your own, if you are hard working then it can work, if you want a quick and easy money making scheme then catalogue distribution is not for you.

Raspy Twitcher said...

You can't say have a mind of your own. You could have said that before the internet, when you had to operate without reference. Now I know enough, the mind of my own tells me to steer well clear! Never ever will I work for someone AND PAY THEM too!!!

Nick said...

And not to mention no chance if getting rich lol. A mugs game

Merlina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Merlina said...


I have been active in Kleeneze on and off. Picked up around £150 worth of orders from my very first catalogue drop, and on a subsequent occasion when I was really focused and determined I achieved 'silver' distributor - where you get the first award and a bonus of around £50 on top of your commission, after you hit around £850 sales in a four-week period. That was all through my own efforts as an individual, with the support and encouragement of my upline, just through dropping off catalogues and picking them up in my local neighbourhood.

Sustaining that level of results was another matter - but it was made clear to me by my upline that in the initial stages the results from catalogue drops are quite a 'roller coaster'. I didn't have the focus and commitment to keep it up at that time, as I was pursuing other interests. But I know it can work, and also that the results will become more consistent, through the relationships and loyalty you build with those customers, such as in the case of my upline who has built a solid and loyal customer base and now picks up an average of around £5 in orders for every catalogue dropped off.

Kleeneze also often provides leads of people who want to see a catalogue, or have been customers in the past but no longer have anyone dropping off the catalogue at their house. So it's totally untrue to say people are not interested in buying the products, and there is clearly a shortfall in distributors to meet the demand.

Furthermore, customers are entitled to return the products if they are not satisfied and get a full refund, and the distributor is also reimbursed in full for what they have paid. So if their products were poor value for money the company would almost certainly no longer be in business by now. They have expanded into a new product range under the 'K Life' brand.

The internet is also opening up new opportunities for sales besides the traditional method of dropping off catalogues - as the Kleeneze catalogues are now available as a 'virtual' online catalogue, and 'drop shipping' methods are available, and also 'virtual party plan' now being launched.

And they have opened in Spain with plans to open in other countries in the future.

So I'd say this is a company that really is expanding, and I plan to get active with it again now, especially with the additional opportunities opening up via the internet.

Cautious-Mamma said...

It amazes me how ignorant people can be. I like Kleeneze catalogued products and don't mind a book through my door. Some say you can buy same products in the £1 shop - really? I don't believe in discouraging people for making an effort for themselves, by finding a company that can provide the tools to do just that. Direct selling will always be around for anyone who wants to excel in life, or just have additional monies. I see no criminal acts there. It works well for some same as it works least for some, but such is life. The only failure is never to have tried.