MLM’s Most Hated Person: Raisinprune
Written by Raisinberry
Imagine my discomfort, seated among a number of friends and other invitees, complying with social distancing, to hear a “reformed” MLMer, telling his story about his direct selling experience. He sounded positive, like he was fishing for recruits, but I later found out that he just had pride in his effort. And then the bomb dropped.
Everything was going well in his business until Herbalife changed the agreement. Recruits had to sign and agree to never disparage the company after they left…. which immediately sent up red flags (hard objections, tough to overcome)…. “And you know why? There’s some anti-Mary Kay blog, Pink Something with some person named Raisinprune that has ruined multi-level marketing!”
Raisinprune? Prune. Berry. They’re both fruits, right?
I kept my mouth shut. I am not an idiot. And I wasn’t sure he was unarmed.
I inquired.
“Do you mean that when your new recruit would sign your agreement to join to sell products, they had to agree they would never talk about what they saw or what they knew?
He said,”Yes.”
“So of course, then, your recruits would wonder what they were getting into if this was an early requirement?”
“Yes. All because of that site.”
Then the aftershock. “Everybody in direct sales is talking about that Pink Site and how all those posters made direct dellers change their agreements, so nobody would talk badly after they left the sales force.”
Now you know I was bubbling up… but I had to ascertain who I was talking to.
“I know the site you are talking about…I was a Senior Director for Mary Kay.”
“Do you think now, that the site is inaccurate?”
“Oh no!” he said. “I was a Herbalife distributor and ran with the health bar avenue of income, by renting space to downline, to sell product… but over time all the claims that that site talked about became true.”
He spent the next ten minutes running his scripts, making everyone laugh, and also expressing remorse at his excited entry into an MLM cult, that pressed upon everyone attending this party. His grandma, turned to me and said, “I knew what it was… ya just have to let them learn.”
He shared how much money he lost… how much he did what they told him to do, how the first month’s sales are never repeated, how his retail location dissolved, and how none of the financial promises were ever realized.
I spent at least 20 minutes telling him, validating him, about the fact that all his experiences were typical of everyone in direct sales/multi-level marketing, and how important it is to look successful to basically scam your downline and whoever you are targeting as a new recruit. Then, of course, how you awaken and are stunned that your lost yourself in all this.
“Yeah, that’s it,” he said, “and I lost so much money.”
Well. I decided to jump off the cliff.
“I am very familiar with the predatory strategies of multi level, direct sales, and you are probably going to be shocked, with what I am going to tell you. I am so glad you saw the light and let it all go. Let me introduce myself, I am Raisinprune.”
And that, my friends, is how you really make a party interesting!
Visit the
Bless you Raisinprune!!!!!!!!
A ha ha…I think I’m gonna stick with that! Hey Tracey…can you edit my name?? LOLOL
“There’s some anti-Mary Kay blog, Pink Something with some person named Raisinprune that has ruined multi-level marketing!”
What an honor! I’m so jealous of your success.
Char, he said “pink something…like Pink Party”…and I thought of all of us!
All of us contributing…Pink Party! That’s about right!
If only it was true that we ruined MLM. 🙁
!!!!!! TRACY ~MIDDLE NAME~!!!!! ~LAST NAME[S]!!!!!!! YOU GO TO YOUR ROOM AND HOLD THAT RUBBER CHICKEN SKUNK THINGY UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU ARE [and I mean this with ALL ABSOLUTE DUE RESPECT, TRULY CAUSE I REVERE THE WOMAN]
Tracy et al you think about it till you can admit you are the veritable Rose Parks of STAMPING OUT MLM.
I mean it.
I have searched the internet from one end to the other for Mary Kay blogs, and
TRACY – YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS WITHSTOOD THE TEST OF A DECADE AND HALF
Please, Please, that frowny face is honestly heartbreaking cause I see the fruits of your labor, I see the fruits of the abuse and inanity that you MUST endure with a world aplenty of submissions.
I am so proud just to be a PART of your blog – just to know about it and to be able to post “pinktruth.com” all over everywhere whenever I can.
I am NOTHING to the success of Pink Truth, ALL YOU WONDERFUL SURVIVORS ARE – sorry for being so bossy and all lol, this is why I didn’t have kids, I am really rotten at …… correction lololol. XOXOXOXOXOXO
do you see how deranged your self-something or other got me, lololol???
ROSA
Rosa Parks.
I am so sorry I got too worked up to properly proofread.
xoxoxoxoxoo
You’re so sweet. Don’t worry. I am very proud of what we’ve done here. Lots of people contributed lots of time: Raisinberry, SuzyQ, Lazy Gardens, The Scribbler gave the most time and have been here since almost the beginning. Many others give and continue to give of their time as well.
My sad face is only because MLM still exists and likely will continue to exist for a long time to come. So many have done so much to try to get information in the hands of consumers, and still they keep signing up for these scams.
Who are you hanging around with I may ask? Glad he didn’t have a gun. Lol. Seriously
Oh, Raisinprune … you’ve been outed!
I LOVE that Pink Truth has made an impact! Well done, Tracy and Raisinprune!
Beloved RaisinPrune……..I have so many heroines/role models now from Pink Lemonade…..I can only hope that someday I could be influential enough on a path that directly leads to the release of people from cults that I could be blamed for ruining the whole doggone scam.
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE MEEEEEE HANGINGGGGG. AFTER THE GLORIOUS DISCLOSURE!!!!!! – What what what did his face look like??? What did he say????? What did the other people do in reaction???? What did his Grandma say???? YOU LEFT EVERYTHING ELSE OUT and can you tell, I get a little bit excited and cliffhangers take decades of my life lololol.
YOU ARE FABULOUS xoxoxoxoxo
If Raisinprune would have been around in the 90’s then the MK and mlm dragon would have been slain sooner.
Good job, Raisinprune! ????
Oh to be a fly on that wall!!!
This was amazing!
Lol Raisinprune (would be a great name for some MK Lip Oil (to be released in 2021 as cutting edge, hot new product!)
This inspires me to continue on my quest to get invited to an MK recruiting meeting here locally. I’ve seen a pink caddy twice in ten weeks, which is more than I’d seen in eight years, and I so want to brush elbows with her or her bots so that I can be invited to, and thoroughly troll, a recruitment meeting.
Thanks to all of you for the much needed laugh. And Rasinprune! Your post made my day.