I was going over the GiveOpp ‘Earnings and Income Disclaimer’ and aside from the usual ‘you can’t take any of our member’s earning claims seriously as we haven’t verified them ourselves’ statements, there was one line that caught my eye.

Tucked away and saved right till the end is this mysterious statement:

This opportunity is not available to residents of South Dakota. Residents of South Dakota may not participate in or purchase this opportunity.

GiveOpp isn’t available to residents of South Dakota? That seemed a little bit too specific to be just random co-incidence.

There’s no further explanation given as to why residents of South Dakota can’t participate in the GiveOpp business opportunity so I took it upon myself to come up with some possible explanations.

Here’s some reasons why GiveOpp might not be able to operate in South Dakota. [Continue reading…]

Last week the the Australian Competitive and Consumer Commission (ACCC) went after TVI in an Australian federal court claiming the company was a pyramid scheme.

As a result of this action an injunction was awarded to the ACCC prohibiting Laulhati “Teddi” Jutsen, Tina Brownlee and David Scanlon from marketing or recruiting new members for TVI Express in Australia.

As a result the marketing blitz that was underway was halted.

Despite appearing to be the first country to put a stop to TVI Express operating it seems Australia is a bit late to the game. And by late I mean nearly a year.

Back in August 2009 it seems China of all places decided TVI Express was a pyramid scheme. Since then China have been vigorously prosecuting TVI Express members trying to market the business on Chinese soil. [Continue reading…]

Last week an Australian Federal court banned Travel Ventures International (TVI Express) from being promoted in Australia.

The plaintiff, the Australian Competitive and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed that TVI Express was a pyramid scheme and obtained injunctions preventing ‘Laulhati Jutsen (also known as Teddi Jutsen), Tina Aroha Brownlee and David Graeme Scanlon from promoting the alleged pyramid selling scheme‘.

From what I understand the trio were amidst a blitz Australian marketing campaign.

Unfamiliar with the TVI Express compensation plan I decided to have a look into it and see if there was any weight to the ACCC’s claims.

After going over the TVI Express compensation plan I was left with one and only one question:  Why the hell hadn’t TVI Express been declared a pyramid scheme earlier?! [Continue reading…]

Lifepath, 21st Century Academy in Port melbourne and a a couple of other organizations all use the same 2 up compensation plan. and guess what I dont see you after them. no just liberty league becaeu it works!!

People make afirtune!. you cna’t stand the fact that it works. It doesnt go ot he people at the top: that shows how litte youunderstna about this business and the comp plan. i ahve asoicates who joined after me and have earned heaps more than me ( and I have earned about $200k US in a year).

-Polaris Global Distributor “Susan Shaw“, 2nd September 2009.

If you ask most people how their Polaris Global business is going your likely to get a reply similar to Susan’s above.

That’s not to say that what Susan says is not true, but it does paint a vastly contrasting picture to that of Kaz Spence, once a Polaris Global distributor herself. [Continue reading…]

Update 30th May, 2010: Since writing this article LiveSmart 360 have updated their compensation plan. /end update

I’ve since taken another look at the Smartline System and attempted to dissect how much money LiveSmart members can expect to earn from the Smartline System.

From now until May 15th, you can join an exclusive, limited opportunity to profit from every person that joins our company after you, whether you referred them OR NOT!

That’s right. Earn money from product purchases of everyone who joins after you… FOREVER!

-LiveSmart 360 Pre-launch promotional video, 2010.

Without a doubt one of the most hyped aspects of LiveSmart 360 during pre-launch was the Smartline. Marketed as a truly passive income stream the idea is that you generate income based on the work of everyone who joins after you (hence the term ‘smartline‘).

Now obviously this was never intended to be a major income earner for LiveSmart 360 members. I mean if everyone just sat around waiting to generate the bulk of their income of the work of others, then nobody would be actually generating any income to share around.

With the prominence with which the Smartline system was marketed though, you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Today I’m going to take a look at the Smartline system and hopefully clear up how it actually works and exactly what kind of money you can expect to make from it. [Continue reading…]

Yesterday saw the pre-launch of Brent Payne’s new company Avant. At this pre-launch stage the products have been announced along with two compensation plan videos. One detailing the regular compensation plan and one the temporary pre-launch bonus compensation plan.

Upon initial inspection it’s plain to see that Payne hasn’t lost his roots. Anyone who’s remotely familiar with Brent Payne’s old company, Liberty League International, will instantly gain a sense of familiarity. This familiarity extends both into the Avant products as well as the compensation plan offered.

The big question this raises is will Avant have the same regulatory problems Liberty League International had? Let’s have a look at the similarities between the two companies. [Continue reading…]

I haven’t had the time yet to explore the TVI Express business opportunity but it seems that if the Australian Competitive and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have their way I won’t get a chance to.

Today a ruling by the Federal Court of Australia effectively banned TVI Express from being promoted in Australia. [Continue reading…]

One of the biggest touted features of SmartLine 360’s compensation plan is the Million Dollar Match.

The Million Dollar Match was one of the first components of the Smartline 360 compensation plan that was released by the company. You’ve probably seen it mentioned multiple times in the promotional material put out by Smartline. CEO and founder Mark McCool refers to it as ‘unheard of and unprecedented in the industry‘.

Put simply, the Million Dollar Match is $500,000 for you and $500,000 for anyone you sponsor who reaches the top level of the Smartline 360 compensation plan. All up this is a million dollar payout.

Now a million dollars isn’t chump change and Smartline aren’t just giving this away to anyone. So the obvious followup question then is just how hard is the Million Dollar Match to obtain? [Continue reading…]

One of the more indulgent components of LiveSmart 360’s compensation plan is the BMW Bonus.

In effect as you rise up LiveSmart 360’s compensation plan the company will help you to pay off a BMW you purchase on finance.

On paper the BMW Bonus looks good but there are some caveats to think about before running off to your nearest BMW dealer. [Continue reading…]

There’s a fine line in MLM between guaranteeing an income and stating potential earnings. Either way when you pair up a income dollar amount with a business opportunity, you’re implying that this is the ‘standard’ income of those involved in the opportunity.

Most MLM companies acknowledge this and have some sort of income disclaimer and guidelines set in place to stop their distributors making misleading wild income claims.

Polaris Global is no different, the company has a clear income disclaimer and independent distributor agreement addressing this issue.

For the most part Polaris Global distributors are compliant and whilst income potentials might be mentioned, explicit dollar amounts are not.

It appears if you’re the co-founder of Polaris Global however, that these company rules don’t apply to you. [Continue reading…]