So what happened with your friend, did he drink the kool aid?
I was approached by one of these guys and I actually went to two of their meetings. Same tactics as you and the web described. However, I don't want to brush it off as a scam yet just because mlm and amway/quixtar have negative connotations.
I did some research on the web and I'm supposed to go to one of their "training sessions" where they show me how to call people and their pitch that you guys have all heard and that's available verbatim on the net.
I have not put any money into this thing yet, like others have said, Quixtar wants $200 + $100 for their training package.
I told my recruiter (sponsor is the term I think) that I first want to get a packet of all the details and requirements for each IBO level (IBO = guys who sign up). The major reason IBOs get burned seems to be the motivational materials, just watch the Dateline Expose on Quixtar. However, the people in those videos seem to be retarded. What kind of an M.D. dumps 30 grand on motivational tapes and then goes on national tv to tell about it, if anything I think it's proof of the failure of the med school she went to. Another guy quit his job and left in a limo, shot his alarm clock and went full time Quixtar then realized he couldn't make what his old job paid...another idiot. Why on earth would you quit your job for Quixtar if you didn't even see any significant profits? Needless to say, I don't think Dateline had the whole story.
Another thing I requested was a catalog of their products and their prices. Their products seem to be legit and I got to taste some of their stuff at the meeting, they were pretty good. I definitely see how this can be of value to the people I'd be selling it to. The biggest problem is the price, I need to see that the products can effectively replace the ones I currently buy (or the products my potential customers currently buy), obviously if this stuff costs too much I won't bother with this.
I'll also be requesting their refund policy for the money I invest and reasons why an IBO could get kicked out of the organization. After all, I don't want to spend time to build something I can lose because of fine print.
So anyway, I'm trying to approach this opportunity with an open mind, but objectively. I'm very surprised and disappointed with all the 2+2ers screaming "scam" without ever looking at the company closely. How did you guys get started in poker? Google "poker scam" and you'll find 1.2 million pages touting rigged sites and colluding players.
There is obviously an aspect to Quixtar that exploits people's greed. The meetings spoke of get-rich-quick, owning rolexes and lamgorghinis while putting in "10 to 15 hours a week". That's not what I want, and I know it will take a lot more work to get the results. I'm willing to put in 20-30 hours a week to slowly build a little bit of residual income if this opportunity is good.
If I review their policies and guidelines and don't see potential value, I'll politely tell my sponsor no thank you and move on. If the sponsor starts to change the subject and refuses to give me specific information I ask for, I'll just leave. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find an objective analysis on the web, since the critics are often as mindless and ignorant as the people losing their shirts to Quixtar.
PS, I thought this was funny:
the site bills posted:
www.hendricks-intl.com
my sponsor's "business":
www.ebusinesswaves.com
I guess it's because nobody actually goes to these sites, they're all part of Quixtar. You won't get any google info on them aside from their own links.