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Dangerdog
June 18, 2007 11:04 PM
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I quit a job not that long ago, and sent a my resume to a few jobs from monster.com just for the hell of it. Looking back the descriptions were suspiciously similar, but I didn't know about this ds-max stuff so didn't really take notice. I figured it couldn't hurt. I even called one of them to get more details about the job (since the description was incredibly vague). The woman I spoke to said they were doing interviews the next day and I could come in. She said she hadn't yet recieved my resume but I should come in for an interview anyway! Yea. Ok. So that made me suspicious. Within about 3 hours I had a few more phone calls and some form emails congratulating me on being chosen to interview. Then I got a call from a recruiter in Denver (I'm in Atlanta) who saw my resume on monster and wanted to help me out. I knew something sketchy was going on at this point, so I told her great, send me more information about the kind of jobs they recruit for and their company, but that I'm looking for a real job, not some shady job like the other ones I'd applied for. The girl assured me that the companies they recruit for are great companies (that work with fortune 500 clients...thats another DEAD giveaway), and that they place candidates in great marketing positions and promote from within. Thats when I started looking into this. It horrified me! I took my resume off monster and never used that or any other site like it again. For a while I was wary of any employer that was interested in interviewing me, even for real legit companies.

Anyway, thanks for reporting on it. Word needs to get out. They can't get away with this manipulative shit.

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RebekahSue
June 19, 2007 12:32 AM
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It's like the \"Rock N Roll Atmosphere!\" Hiring For Five Positions! MANAGEMENT AVAILABLE!\" perfume ads in Connecticut in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Whether it was the exact chemical makeup as actual perfumes, or \"wholesale bottled\" (not what they said in the training class), it was 100% commission, and the trainer didn't say the same stuff as the class said, AND I didn't last four hours. (AND it was NOT a Rock N Roll Atmosphere.)

I can't remember the name of the company - it was 1991, after all - but they still seem to be around.

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RebekahSue
June 19, 2007 12:36 AM
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OOPS - sorry - that was the same ad but bringing paintings door-to-door: \"We just finished decorating down the\" gestures vaguely \"and have some extra artwork. My boss paid $90 for it, but we'd be willing to let it go for just [whatever the local market can barely afford]\" *I* wasted a morning with Scentura Creations. Wow, the boxes haven't changed in seventeen years. Or twenty, from the first time someone tried to sell it to me.

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Uriel
June 19, 2007 12:59 AM
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Oh Scheisen! Richard won't be happy about this one!

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quazzar
June 19, 2007 2:35 AM
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I actually worked for ds-max as one of these people in College and it was legit, we sold pagers. I sold a ton of them to friends, relatives and other customers. All my customers were happy with the service.

Would I recommend the company, I'm not sure, I don't think its for everyone. Like anything, just check out the position and if your in a position such as a college student and have little risk why not give it a shot. I made some pretty decent money for my first summer of college.

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Ben Popken
June 19, 2007 2:57 AM
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@RebekahSue: The correlation might be closer than you think. According to this comment on DS-MAX The Aftermath, Scentura Creations is a DS-MAX affiliate.

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ahwannabe
June 19, 2007 4:21 AM
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Here's another one:

[losangeles.craigslist.org]

I actually answered this ad a few years ago; it seems to be a staple on Craiglist. This is the company:

[www.partnersllc.com]

'nuff said.

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palaste
June 19, 2007 9:30 AM
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I was actually invited to a seminar by a guy I know. I did not know what kind of seminar it was but decided that it couldn't hurt, so I went there to see what it was about. The presentation had a very familirar-looking sales pitch at the beginning, talking about selling products in your free time all the time. Twenty minutes into the presentation, when they started talking about commissions, fees, and creating a network of loyal customers, I recognised that it was an MLM scam and left. Funnily enough, I was the first to leave.

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Echodork
June 19, 2007 2:07 PM
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I sat through a MLM seminar once. Something about this great new website that everyone would be using within two years to buy all of their products from home. Why, for just $150, I could purchase a commission code and get paid every time my referrals make a purchase. But the real money comes in recruiting more people who can piggyback onto my commission code.......

Thank you, good bye. I don't think the magic website even launched.

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Rahnee
June 19, 2007 2:40 PM
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I know I'm gonna get flamed for this comment. I AM a member of a MLM and have been for many years. I DON'T recrute and only sign up others if they ask about the products. My monthly income from them is less than what I am REQUIRED to buy a month from them. Yes, REQUIRED in order to stay a member. Why do I do this? Cheaper and better home products delivered to my door! DON'T sign up for an MLM for the money. Do it only if you want the products for less. I have a friend that is in Watkins MLM. She is in it for the same reason, the products. We shop for each other and swap product. Since I've named one MLM I might as well name the other. Melaleuca.

My point? Don't do it for the money.

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mermaidshoes
June 19, 2007 3:24 PM
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i really hate vague, overly enthusiastic job descriptions (legit or not) that never mention the company name or website. just give me your company info, and i'll take a look and see if i actually want to work for you. i always want to answer these ads with an email saying something like \"Marketing EXPERT with 7 years EXPERIENCE in several FIELDS including clerical, medical, marketing, and human resources, seeks VAGUE POSITION with UNIDENTIFIED COMPANY that doesn't actually require any KNOWLEDGE or pay any MONEY!! I have UNLIMITED GROWTH POTENTIAL, so contact ME at FakeEmail@Sucker.com!\" but i never have.

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flyover
June 19, 2007 4:56 PM
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Hey - don't insult highschoolers web design effort.

While in high school, my computer friend were are very talented and I expect Consumerist could have done much better to have hired a high schooler for initial site design to avoid the whole white on black debacle...

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Anonymous
June 5, 2009 5:12 PM
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Interesting,

Years ago I got hooked on an employment offer which turned out to be an MLM which I was already familiar with, so I played along once I saw that it was not really a job as it was advertised in local paper.

Long story short, it was a company called Equinox which was taken down by FTC several years ago for misleading advertising and all the other cookie cutter charges they could come up with.

Simply put, network marketing is not new, been used for 60 plus years, but the problem is, some companies front loaded new distributors and duped them into thinking that selling overpriced products was easy. Selling takes experienced people, not newbie dreamers, hence, why so many fail in MLM, most are based on hype and get rich quick nonsense.

I have done very well over the years in my own businesses, and some are MLM and others are affiliate programs, but all are online home based at this point and I would not have it any other way having owned traditional businesses as well over the years. The MLM bashers will have their fun, but given there are so many successful people in MLM, as well as great companies with great products, you cannot bash the whole industry for a few.

A perfect example is with the new Trump Network which is in pre-launch at the moment. When it is put on the Apprentice this fall, I predict this will become the largest MLM in history in less time than even Amway took to hit the top. Love him or hate him, everyone knows the name Trump, so if ever there was a time to prove MLM can and does work for most who work it, this is it.

MLM-TRUMP-NETWORK.com

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Jovan Vargas
July 28, 2009 12:18 AM
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@mermaidshoes Hilarous! It is so true though! I worked there before I knew it was a scam company. I want to take them down!

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