Boycott Watch has written about several pyramid schemes
which trap people in deals too good to be true. Today we report on another,
this one is called Organo Gold, a company which sells coffee, well, sort of.
Once again, this is a company which wants to sell dealerships more than coffee.
Do they sell coffee? They apparently do. That, however, is not what interests
Boycott Watch.
One of our staff members saw a sale in progress, in a coffee
shop, in which the seller displayed a booklet that included a graphic of a
pyramid of people while the sales person was talking about the
multi-level-marketing "system" the offer. This was not an issue
except that the salesman spoke about making $10,000 a month doing nothing once
the target achieves 1,000 agents working for her. That's the scam part because
once again we see a company selling their agents based upon selling more
agents. In fact, the salesman was neither talking about selling coffee at all,
nor about how to sell their coffee; rather, the sales pitch was strictly about
recruiting more agents which is the definition of a pyramid scheme.
In no part of the sale were any specifics about the products
discussed. The only topic on hand was how to sell and recruit more agents. In
fact, the only time coffee was mentioned at all was when the salesman brought
out a single-serve packet of instant coffee to show his target, and he put that
coffee packet back in his pocket. He then told his target she had to pay him
$75 to get started working for the company. These are characteristic of every
typical pyramid scheme.
In an article about the
ACN phone
company pyramid scam, Boycott Watch wrote "If you have to pay for a
job, it's not a job." The same applies here where the victim was pressured
by a fast-talking salesman into paying money to sell the product for another
company, yet at no time was the seller even remotely interested in the sales or
communication skills of his target. He only wanted get money. That's hardly the
sign of a job.
The following are just a few signs of pyramid scheme sale:
- You meet with the person in a coffee shop and not an office.
- The business card does not have an actual company email address, rather has
gmail or another provider. Had the salesman been a legitimate company
representative, he would have had a real company email address.
- If there is an address on the card, it should go to a real office, not a
mail box service or a day-rental office. If the salesman has no real office
presence, they can vanish on you in an instant.
- The salesman's website is not the company website itself. This indicates he
is selling his product, not the actual company product.
- They want you to pay to start working for them or to sell their product. If
a company really wants you to sell for them, they will give you the training
and supplies you need plus plenty of samples, and not make you pay for it.
- Any sales opportunity where recruiting agents makes you more money than the
actual sales work itself is a scam.
- No federal tax withholding information was discussed or requested, not even
a 1099.
- There are laws pertaining to personnel recruitment, so asking new hires to
recruit new agents off the street can cause legal headaches. Beware of such
requests.
- Beware of the word 'system' and constant pushing of their 'system' which
beats all other 'systems'. This is a typical scam push. If the company had real
products and a real system, they would hire real sales people directly.
- Any time someone talks to you about getting rich part time.
- Beware of any company that will bring people on-board in any position
without a thorough background check. If they want your money more than you, you
are being sold. If they are asking for any money from you and not checking your
resume and references beyond a coffee shop, it's a scam.
Most importantly, do your own research. There are many more
ways to spot scams and the scam artists are always seeking new ways to trap
people, including by posting websites asking if their product is a scam or not.
One thing that raised alarm bells for Boycott Watch is an elaborate website
asks just that question, the same site then tries to sell you the product.
Every step of the way, the presentation raised scam alarm
bells. Frankly, we do not know this company at all, but considering their
product sales model demonstrated from the official sales book, Boycott Watch
must conclude Organo Gold operates as a pyramid scheme and we therefore advise
people not to get involved with this company. |
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