Sorry for all the questions I'm still looking for a MLM to join but I've had this question for months and have been trying to look up can't find anything I have a slight learning disability so a lot of this stuff can confuse me. Anyway I was trying to figure out what wholesale and retail meant in network marketing. And if someone can please explain it. I was in Beachbody last year and if you were a Coach in there MLM business you would get a discount on all there products. For an example the shake they required which is called shakeology as a Coach I got it for $89.89 each month. But would have to sell it on my team beachbody website for the regular price of $129 So was I already doing wholesale and retail when I was with beachbody? Is what I just explained is that what it means? I know the next MLM I join will probably have a wholesale and retail. I'm just confused on what wholesale means and what retail means. And if anyone can explain it? Thank you
Wholesale usually means getting a product directly from the manufacturer - Like if you were to buy Maxwell coffee from Maxwell instead of Wal-Mart - you would be buying it wholesale. Most of the time, you're getting it cheaper that way. That is also one of the benefits in being involved in a network marketing company/direct sales business. You are probably buying your own products wholesale (though not all companies sell at any discounted rate that way. Retail means getting a product from a third party, such as Wal-Mart in the above example. Wal-Mart didn't make it, they are just reselling it, and they buy it from Maxwell significantly cheaper than they sell it to us. Does that make sense? If you're still looking for a direct sales business, my link below will take you to the one I choose.
Most MLM'S do not not have a retailable product. So the difference between wholesale and retail really has no impact. Most mlm products are sold primarily to people who become distributors and buy into the income opportunity. That is why some MLM'S are reffered to as pryamid schemes. That is, as soon as the people buying into the income opp. dry up the pryamid falls apart. That is why the late commers into the deal lose money. I wish there was a product that is fairly priced that would people would buy solely for the product. But the reason that the typical mlm product is overpriced is because of the income opp. Confusing, right? So they have to come up with special ingredients that confuses the income seekers as to why ther product is special, therefore justifying the high price. Just like overpriced coffee is laced with rare mushrooms, roots, vitamins and other unproven mixes and what not. They couldn't just sell regular coffee at the pricepoint they demand. They wouldn't sell any. So when people wise up to that, they start selling systems, or lead generating tools, that you can become an affiliate of to make money. Same principals apply. They have no product somebody would but without the income opportunity. At least that is my opinion and mine alone it seems. Thank you Skydancer
Skydancer, I have heard that same argument against MLM several times - that the customers are only customers for the business opportunity, and I suppose there certainly ARE people that join a business just for the business opportunity, and there probably are companies that don't really have a worthwhile product. However, you are missing one of the fundamental principles behind MLM - and that is people get paid for being customers and doing what they already do anyway - talk about products they use and recommend. Not all MLMers actually build their business that way - there are even some that think you can build a successful MLM business without actually building relationships with people. Word of mouth advertising is still the most powerful form of advertising there is. Perhaps they are spending more on the products than they would if they hadn't made a commitment to that company in the form of a business.... but that is mute. If you make a commitment to a company, your ideas of value are a little different, and your interest in the company being successful as a whole add to that. So, I don't know about you, but I like getting a small bit back from what my friends spend on products I recommend. As for those people that join JUST for the business opportunity, those are likely the ones that will dry up.... whether the product is great or not, it's very hard to be successful at MLM if you're not actually working with a product that people want to buy - and that you can recommend with some credibility.
