Team Scam

Team is a Pyramid Scheme (According to Forbes)

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Many of the people researching for information about MLMs look for reputable sources to guide them. I’ve heard numerous times that I’m not a reputable source because I don’t put my name out there. It is pretty easy to refer those people to this article about MLM distributors asking for credentials. They get quiet real quickly when they see their debating point has no merit.

That said, the point about reputable sources isn’t an all-together poor one. In fact, many MonaVie distributors pointed to Oprah and Dr. Oz before they sued MonaVie. MonaVie was quick to settle that case, which incidentally proves that MonaVie is responsible for the actions of its users.

Today’s reputable source comes courtesy of Forbes Magazine. In August of 2008, it did quite an enlightening article about Orrin Woodward and Team. There are a few eye-opening quotes, but here is the biggest bomb the authors drop:

“Team is one step ahead of all these juice selling schemes. It is a pyramid atop a pyramid. It is selling motivational aids to help MonaVie vendors move the juice. But wait. If you can’t earn back the $258 you’ve spent on the motivational lectures by selling $39 juice bottles, you could earn it back in another way — getting people to buy $258 motivational lectures. If you’re good, you flog the lectures to other people, who sell them to yet others. Everybody gets rich. Everybody, that is, except the last round of buyers. That’s the theory, anyway. The reality is that a mere 1% of Team members make any money from involvement with the firm.“

(The bolding is my emphasis.) That quote quite openly call Orrin Woodward’s Team a pyramid scheme. For those who aren’t aware pyramid schemes are illegal in the United States. I also wanted to call your attention to the last line – where only 1% of people make any money by being involved. Ouch, those are terrible odds. The odds are worse than many raffles… but the prize is that you make some money not a lot of money… and you have to work for that money… and good luck sleeping at night knowing that you broke the law by participating in an illegal pyramid scheme.

The question about breaking the law always come in discussions. Distributors will ask, “If it’s against the law, why hasn’t it been shut down.” There are a lot of answers for that. One is that the FTC isn’t funded well enough to take on the 1,000+ pyramid schemes out there. Another answer is that Bernie Madoff’s pyramid scheme went on for 17 years and no one would listen to those that exposed him either. Anyway, that’s a larger article for another day, let’s get back to the Forbes article…

The Forbes article goes on into the detail of what Team is actually selling. They even got Orrin Woodward to admit that he’s not actually selling tools. Well, not the tools that actually teach you how to be successful. In Orrin Woodward’s own words:

“What I try to give most of all is hope and encouragement.”

The Forbes authors brilliantly explain the cost of this hope, saying, “Hope is an expensive commodity.” The financial details are incredible. The authors give an example of how someone rung up $20,000 in debt buying Team tools, Amway products, and MonaVie juice.

Another great quote from the Forbes authors is:

“Woodward quickly realized how important sales tools are to multilevel marketers. Tools encourage recruits to reject doubters and, if money fails to materialize, to blame themselves and keep trying.”

This is exactly what I found when I wrote about Orrin Woodward and Scams in the past. That’s a worthwhile article to read… Orrin Woodward makes Charlie Sheen seem sane.

Of course this is all part of the Team scam. It is well-known that in MLM’s failure is not a matter of effort, it’s a mathematical certainty. This is what makes Team such a dangerous scam. Team is like the guy in the white van with no windows your mother warned you about. His candy may look good, but its a trap. It’s best to not go talking to strangers.

Other good analysis of this article comes from Amthrax’s Team Scam website. He takes a look at the financial aspects of Team as reported in the Forbes article.

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