Profits in Pyramid Schemes? December 1996 Think pyramids and multi-level marketing plans are the same? Think again. Multi-level marketing plans are a way to sell goods or services through distributors. These plans usually promise that if you sign up to be a distributor, you will receive commissions - not only on your sales of the plan's goods or services, but also on the sales of the people you recruit to join the distributors. Pyramid schemes have a similar structure, but a completely different focus. They concentrate on the commissions you could earn just for recruiting new distributors, and generally ignore the marketing and selling of products or services. Most states outlaw pyramiding. The reason: Plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors inevitably collapse when new distributors can't be recruited. When a plan collapses, most people - except perhaps those at the very top of the pyramid - lose their money. The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips to help you avoid losing money to an illegal pyramid scheme or a fraudulent multi-level marketing plan:
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