Okay, so I've been looking forward to this craft fair that I go to each year. It's of a decent size, but crafters have been dwindling each year. It was this weekend, and I went yesterday. I found some unique and quality stuff - barely - because THIS is what has become of craft fairs:

Pampered Chef
Tupperware
Homemade Gourmet
Tastefully Simple
Creative Memories
Usborne Books
Arbonne (are you kidding???)
Discovery Toys

I think there were a few more, but I didn't venture anywhere near their tables lest I have to speak to one of the MLM-bots working it. Oddly enough, no MK table was present, which there always is. There are less and less legitimate crafters with unique and quality items, and more of this TOTAL CRAP, which I just can't get away from!

And it makes me mad all over that these companies are preying on all these women, and they just don't want to hear the truth. I was annoyed, so just wanted to vent that.

that is just sad.  Remember the good ole days when you didn't even know what MLM stood for???

My coworker is thinking of doing Silpada! I was shocked at their prices!! Who is buying it?! It's expensive!!!! faint

Oh yeah, Cookie Lee was there, which looked like such crap compared to the legit jewelry makers there.

I'm assuming Silpata is a jewelry MLM?

There is this Silpada lady that has been harassing me for almost 2 years. I barely know her but she calls and emails all the time. All I did was buy a pair of earrings from her at a networking event. Then she bought a grand of my "real" business services. Now she won't leave me alone.

That is what I HATE the most about mlms. When you are at a REAL business to business networking event and there are a bunch of mlmers! Granted, I get some of their business, but then they try to make me feel obligated to host a party. No, wait THAT is what I HATE the most about mlms.

And you know, nobody wants to hear how much they suck! We're just negative nellies who couldn't make it work. The job fair thing would REALLY burn my butt, but I know they do it. I used to work for my college's career office when I was in school, and after I was doing MK, one of the ladies there called and asked if I wanted a booth at the job fair, to which I said no. Though deep in the fog then, I didn't want to mess with barely out of college girls with no money, and friends with no money. But they called to ASK me if I wanted the booth!

I'd love to have a short informational brochure with facts about MLMs and how dangerous they are, with info directing people to all the places on the internet they can get info (which sadly aren't many).

Even when you go to Amazon, type in Multi-Level Marketing, and you'll get hundreds of PRO-MLM books pop up! It's sick and twisted. There are very few anti-MLM books out there, and all but two had to be self-published by the authors, I'm assuming because publishers didn't want to do it - back to no one wanted to read that these things don't work I guess. Sigh...

Oh this is awesome Free! I had forgotten about studying it, but it's very true that we like to believe that hard work and solid planning will be the path to ultimate success, when in reality that's not how it is. Some of the hardest workers I know are people who struggle to pay their bills. And we all know what happens to best laid plans. I think it's part of the American Dream, if you work hard and are a good person, you'll be rewarded, but that simply is not reality. It's very sad because the most deserving people are not always the ones who get the rewards. Mary Kay is absolutely based on this belief, but it, like the American Dream, is not going to happen to most of the population.

Thanks Free and Mlle for articulating that point...

So true, so very true.