Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick

Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing Reviews

• 
  Paige

  This was an excellent history of MLM and really emphasizes how inherently insidious it is. I did not know the history of the first MLM-disguised-pyramid-schemes or how deeply ingrained resistance to cracking down on it is in our political system. What I disliked about this book was it was poorly organized. It talked in circles and rambled a lot. The whole beginning of Nutrilite and eventual emergence of Amway is never fully explained. We get a lot of history of Rehnborg and a repeated statement that Nutrilite sales recruiters eventually spun off the concept to Amway but the actual history of how that happened is never provided. Overall Ponzinomics is super informative but probably could have benefited from a few more rounds of editing.
• 
  Clay Robson

  Repetitive and not well-crafted in terms of writing style, Ponzinomics is still a valuable source for grounding in understanding the phenomenon of MLM. You could argue that the repetition of events or figures hammers home Fitzpatrick's main points. I need stats, figures or data to be sold on an authors arguments. Again, I'm willing to give Fitzpatrick a pass on this, as the industry is so understudied and legislation and corruption have made it easy for MLM companies to hide smoking-gun evidence from the public. If the prose would have been better crafted I'd have given this book 5 stars. I'll give it 4, if for no other reason than it giving me a rich index of books, documentaries and articles to follow up with.
• 
  Laurie

  Very informative history of MLM companies in America. Pretty awful stuff all around with complicity of the US government in permitting this deceptive crime against ordinary Americans. Please read before getting yourself involved in these gimmicks which will leave you poorer than when you started but only after a period of illusory gains.
• 
  Kate

  A very interesting study of the history and growth of Multi-Level Marketing companies and how they work, with no punches pulled. FitzPatrick’s prose is sometimes repetitive but the information is densely packed into 300 pages that leave you a bit breathless in awe that American politicians and agencies and culture are complicit in the power of companies and individuals who make their money on the backs of their “independent salespeople.” This is definitely a book that will make you feel feisty about the number of social media “friends” hosting virtual selling parties and your sense of obligation to support their iffy “small businesses.”
• 
  Indiana Brown

  I'm really interested in MLMs in general so I was hyped to get this book. It's definitely got all you need to know about MLMs and more. I ordered this and was ready to read it cover to cover in a few days and give it a glowing review. Unfortunately, I think it's more of a 3.5 for poor editing, meandering prose, and disorienting organization. But I'll give my guy a break for being The Man on anti-MLM truth-telling and activism and probably not having the money or time for better editing
  
  I'm going to note the most compelling sections here because if you're interested in MLMs too, you're gonna want to read this book. If you're only kind of interested or not sure what an MLM really is, please listen to The Dream(!!!)
  https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-dream and this bonus episode of Michael and Us where Luke Savage interviews the author of Ponzinomics himself
  https://pca.st/episode/e4719e99-23ad-...
  I would recommend that Lularoe show as well but I saw the first episode and wasn't feeling inspired to push onward due to the reality TV heavily cut up and narrativized docuseries style (like, if I see any more stock footage of suburban white children playing in the front lawn in a documentary I'm going to scream. Don't have five cuts throughout a single person's statement. Do something different.)
  
  Definitely read:
  pg. 54-62 on the game-changing sales tactics used to sell cemetery plots esp. at Forest Lawn, relates to the sales background of two of the MLM founding fathers and is really interesting anyway
  
  pg. 68 helpful graph showing the "double a penny for 30 days" trick and relates to the absurdity of the MLM down-line "you just need five recruits! surely you know five people who would like to make some extra money?"
  
  pg. 78-86 background on ponzi schemes, banking, Madoff, the Canada pigeon scheme
  
  pg. 104-115 definition of an MLM
  
  pg. 129-138 1979 FTC decision that Amway's rules make it non-deceptive (they're just selling hope!) and a legitimate business model.
  
  pg. 169-175 lying with statistics and how a common bogus stat is cited all over credible and popular news media, tacitly legitimizing the business model
  
  pg. 224-256 shows just how deep the MLM money runs in politicians pocket. Earlier content illuminates the direct complicity of Reagan and Amway and other Republicans, but come on, are you surprised? You probably could have already guessed that they're all running in the same sick circles and throwing money at each other. But don't think that the Dems are here to save you! They're fully complicit as well. I really said "WOW" aloud at the Kamala Harris bit
  
  pg. 283-292 cultism and MLM
• 
  JC

  This is a detailed view of the plague that are "MLMs".
  
  What they are, how they came about, why they haven't been regulated out of existence.
  The last chapter-ish is the key though and explains why it is so hard to fight against.
  
  A bit depressing in places but it's honest in it's assesment.
  
  Recommend? Yes.
  Reread? Yes.
• 
  Rogier

  This book is a bit of an analytical history of that very slithery scam, network marketing or multi-level marketing, where the only way you make money is because of the statistical certainty that 99.5% of people lose money. It is like the greasy pole at the carnival, nobody gets to the top, but the guy who collects the quarters makes out like a bandit.
  
  The sad part of the story is that the law has had such a difficult time of dealing with this phenomenon, and mostly has tied itself in knots, as most recently when Herbalife was found to be not not-a-pyramid scheme, because it was apparently judged to be too expensive to prosecute them as a pyramid scheme. Therefore, MLM continues to spread its message of false hope to millions and only increasing knowledge by the public and put an end to this. Fortunately there are increasing signs that a younger generation sees through the hype. This book can provide the in-depth historical insight into how things got so far out of hand.
  
  If it weren't so painful, it would be fun, but as it is, it is merely ridiculous.
  
• 
  Scott

  Excellent and disturbing about how awful MLMs are. How they are designed - on purpose - so that 99% of people never earn a penny, while the 1% at the very top rake in millions. It’s mathematically impossible for virtually everyone involved (except the 1%) to make a living doing MLM. It’s a complete scam. All of them.
  
  It’s also disgusting the corruption is in government to protect MLMs and let them keep scamming people, because MLM bosses are very generous campaign donors to some very influential people in congress and state houses.
  
  The FTC is basically asleep at the wheel, and basically nobody in the media or in power wants to deal with talking about these scams as scams, for fear of getting dragged through court.
  
  The last section on the parallels between MLMs and cults was pretty funny. I’d noticed how weird MLM people acted, but it finally clicked when the author compared them to cults like “oh of course, yeah, that’s why MLM recruiters always seem so fake and weird”
• 
  Siobhan

  3.5 rounded up. I would not recommend this book as an introductory text; if you're looking for an introduction to the hazards of multilevel marketing schemes, start with the segment on Last Week Tonight or the first season of The Dream podcast. I would also not recommend reading this straight through. This book was dry as dust and needed an editor to save FitzPatrick from his tangents. I am actively interested in the subject and I found this book dry. Even though it's very clear that FitzPatrick is an expert on the financial implications of multilevel marketing schemes running rampant, it's as equally clear that he doesn't necessarily understand the communication skills required to alert the public to the scammy nature of multilevel marketing schemes (he takes a couple seemingly uncalled for shots at journalists as a class, which comes off very badly because I heard about his work FROM JOURNALISM). tldr: at least 200 level, not casual reading
• 
  Sara (onourshelves)

  This is one of those books that is all at once incredibly interesting and wildly boring. This is a great resource for two specific aspects of multi-level marketing--the history (honestly further back than we probably need) and the systems in place in the United States that are either structured or manipulated through political leaders and appointees to be favorable to MLMs. Where I would have liked to see more of is the personal aspect--not success stories, or necessarily stories of people losing everything, but a story of why besides the American Dream.
  
  Overall, this is a really great resource, if dense and not wonderfully crafted.
• 
  Bill Ver Velde

  The good: A rare deep dive into MLMs. FitzPatrick exposes how MLMs obscure their true scam nature through cultic tactics. What should be obvious to everyone is cloaked through the redefinition of words, motivational catchphrases, and lifestyle envy. Though it’s pretty obvious where FitzPatrick stands politically, he does a good job of indicting both parties for their complicity in protecting MLM. I did the audiobook version and I liked how FitzPatrick himself reads the book.
  
  The bad: Way longer than it needs to be. I agree with the previous commenters who said the book craves editing.
• 
  Kaisu Koskelin

  A deep dive into the world of multilevel-marketing's roots: present, future and and the problemacy: ethical for sure but also political, cultural and social, surrounding the topic.
  
  I've been following the authors commentaries and articles for quite a while now and highly value his professionality and devotion in general.
  
  The book is a through look into the immoral but human world (I guess) of multilevel marketing. Mr. Fitzpatrick's research and devotion for the subject is admirable. Also, the approach isn't provocative in any means but due to the facts of the topic itself.
• 
  Aurora Meier

  This was extremely interesting.
  
  I appreciated how this topic was approached- compassion for victims in MLM’s and contempt for those that ensnare.
  
  I think most people blame victims, telling them they should have known better, but they are desperate people.
  
  It definitely reads like a textbook, and by the end I was more than ready to be finished.
• 
  Jeremy

  Important stuff.
  
  Where are the other works on MLMs? It's concerning that Fitzpatrick's works and John Oliver's segments on MLMs seem to be some of the few works we have unveiling how these "businesses" work.
  
  The history of MLMs and their impact on the U.S. (or really, the world) needs to be unpacked!
• 
  Jayasankar Peethambaran

  A detailed, if repetitive expose into the crazy cult of MLM ponzi schemes of Amyway, Nutrilite etc. Fitzpatrick is clearly an authority on the subject but not the best writer about it. He seems to be still shocked by the 'success' of this defrauding cults and seems to be jaded by the constant fights with them. A good read for anyone interested in the subject.
• 
  Kaitlyn

  I first heard about this book on the podcast, The Dream (highly recommend if you have not listened to it), and I was interested in learning more about the history of Multi-Level Marketing schemes (MLMs). This is a well-researched compendium on MLMs from the history, case law, and some of the tactics MLM-ers use to recruit, retain, and why very few people will ever be successful.
• 
  Sara Alexis

  As someone who is anti-mlm, it was fascinating to read a lot of what was outlined in this book. It was just a bit dry when going through the history of how MLMs came to be. Not really a page turner, but definitely interesting enough to keep me going.
• 
  Molly

  The author thinks very highly of himself and within the first few dozen pages manages to sound like a slavery apologist. Couldn’t actually finish it. Hopefully someone will write a more accessible and morally correct book on this topic soon as it’s a shame it is hard to find books on MLMs.
• 
  Christine Jolley

  Was in a very popular MLM/Direct Sales company for 8 years of my life. I wish I would have had this book before I wasted my time and damaged my self esteem and mental health and pocket book. Very intriguing and upsetting read about what these companies can get away with.
• 
  Phillip Mast

  It's a good and fairly unique resource for exposing the evils of the MLM industry. I'm just dropping one star because it's slightly boring. Also, although I'm unusually anti-mlm, I thought this book was slightly extreme.
• 
  Layla

  Do your research.
  
  I've recently fell down the anti-MLM rabbit hole and this book was suggested. It did not disappoint. Gave rationale, resources, and history. It helped bring understanding. I highly suggest for anyone who wants to know more about how MLMs came to be.
• 
  Ashleigh

  Extremely helpful research and detailed history about the multi-level marketing industry/ Ponzi schemes. A lot of information and a tad dry but a great read.
• 
  Brittany

  This book details the history of multi-level marketing and its deceptive path until now. A must-read!
• 
  Mallory

  Fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Everyone needs to read this.
• 
  Reborn

  Every single human on Earth needs to read this book. Period.
• 
  Cherrie

  Extremely well-researched and eye-opening. The book itself is more like 4* for me, but I'm bumping it up to 5* for all the amazing work the author has done. I, for one, had no idea that the so-called mutli-level marketing and pyramid scheme are one and the same. The illusion that they're different is created so that certain scammers who were able to influence the government get a pass while others don't. I believe that awareness from the public is the key in ensuring these people do not continue getting away with it.
• 
  Angel Li

  Overall a book that deserves more attention and is definitely worth reading if you have any interest in the American manifestation of capitalism. People who haven't heard of multi-level marketing, especially, should read this. The extent to which multi-level marketing schemes have torn apart people's lives in America as well as worldwide is astonishing, but I'm not at all surprised that they are still very much allowed to this day due to the level of political corruption in the US and elsewhere. The author tends to repeat the same point across multiple chapters, so I grew a little bored toward the end, but I appreciate the level of research that he put in for this book.