MonaVie Scam? |
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[MonaVie has threatened legal action against me twice in an attempt to prevent you from reading this article below. Since I'm within my legal rights to criticize the company they've turned to gaming Google to push this article down the search results... in an attempt to prevent you from getting the information you need to make an informed decision. More important than the article itself is the 5500+ comments which follow this article are jam-packed with research. While the organization of the comments are not ideal, you can find a subset of that information in a more organized form at the MonaVie Scam website.]
Is MonaVie a Scam?
Is MonaVie a Scam?
Was my wife targeted to buy snake-oil? Hundreds of people weigh in.
My wife is an active member in a nation-wide, young adults group. I am a member as well, but I'm not nearly as active (lack of time, plus my Laziness kicks in). The groups' goals are very noble. They aim to help members with public speaking and event planning skills while raising money for charity through local businesses. Recently my wife went to a meeting and was gone longer than usual. I got a little concerned, so I called her to find out how the meeting was going. It turned out that it wasn't a typical meeting any more - one of the members had invited some business acquaintances of his. When she got back, she told me about the meeting. It turned into a presentation of an energy/antioxidant juice called MonaVie.
About MonaVie
This juice is a blend of 19 juices with the most referenced being the acai (a-sigh-eee) berry. The acai berry supposedly has many, many antioxidant properties. I like to be as healthy as I possible, so why wouldn't I incorporate MonaVie into my diet?
The Price of MonaVie
The business behind the juice detracts from its value. The juice itself is not cheap. It's $40 a bottle with a bottle lasting only around one week. That means you can expect to pay around $175 a month for this juice. For many people, that's a significant car payment. For this kind of money, one would expect some sort of guarantee, perhaps a popular, publicly-traded, pharmaceutical company standing behind it. The company also doesn't publish how much of the acai berry is each bottle.
MonaVie and Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Beyond MonaVie juice being expensive, it is sold by distributors who are compensated in based on a multi-level marketing structure. Some of you familiar with Amway or Quixtar might understand how this works. For those who are new to multi-level marketing, the goal of the organization is to recruit more sellers and "incentivize" them for recruiting them. I'm not a big fan of such systems, it seems like the founders of the company always make a fair amount, and the people who join later end up with few sales and no one else to recruit.
The people the other night were trying to coerce my wife to buy two bottles, at nearly $100, and potentially become a distributor. My wife balked at such a thing, largely because she knew that I would want to do some research before spending that kind of money. They ended up giving her two bottles of juice to try for free. I fear that my wife may notice a placebo effect and grow a taste for the expensive juice.
MonaVie: Perhaps not a Scam?
Is it possible that it could work? Well Wikipedia references that Red Sox players Jonathan Papelbon and J.D. Drew as fans. As Red Sox fans ourselves, this is high praise. I read an article from Fortune magazine that had high praise of MonaVie coming from Sumner Redstone. That's a very influential person and a very influential magazine. I did find one scientific piece of research, a PDF by AIBMR Life Sciences (update: it seems to have been removed from the site). The clinical research shows that it does indeed deliver more antioxidants than a placebo (update: in the comments it has come out that the researcher of the study was supplying MonaVie with its acai - sounds very biased to me). However, it doesn't compare to less costly solutions, like a multivitamin, V8 Fusion Acai Berry
Update: There have been thousands of comments here... I urge people interested in making a decision about whether to buy or sell MonaVie to read them.
Further Reading from MonaVie Scam:
- MonaVie Medical Testimonies are Pointless - A lot of visitors here leave a testimony about how MonaVie may have been responsible for helping them with some medical condition. These should not impact your decision whether or not to buy MonaVie. I explain why here.
- MonaVie Lies about the ORAC score of MonaVie? - Nothing like getting caught in a blatant lie.
- Oprah Sues MonaVie - If there's one woman in the world you don't want to piss off it is Oprah.
- Men's Journal Proves MonaVie Lacks Nutrition - An independent lab shows that MonaVie isn't the nutritious beverage it is billed to be.
- MonaVie vs. an Apple - The apple wins easily.
A reader sketched up some artwork below to show what I feel is a comparison to drug dealer. The sad part is that it isn't much of a stretch. Click the image for bigger version.
Related posts:
- MonaVie and FTC Guidelines
- MonaVie is Trying to Sue Me…
- Help, MonaVie Brainwashed My Friend!
- Jusuru Scam
- MonaVie Update: Mitch Biggs, Lou Niles, and Brain Injuries
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TipdRelated posts:
- MonaVie and FTC Guidelines
- MonaVie is Trying to Sue Me…
- Help, MonaVie Brainwashed My Friend!
- Jusuru Scam
- MonaVie Update: Mitch Biggs, Lou Niles, and Brain Injuries
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It seems that with over 4500 comments people are finding this page slow to load and difficult to leave additional comments on. You can find a nearly complete archive of comments here. and can click the "Older Comments" link above for the most recent ones. I highly recommend reading them before posting. There's a high chance your concern has been addressed already.
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I find it intersting how many people hate on MLM and how many of them are people that have “tried” it. By try I mean thought they could make a few phone calls and get rich. Posting on a site called lazymanandmoney seems fitting I suppose.
Virtually every organization operates in such a way that a large percentage of employees do most of the work and are paid the least while the people “at the top” get rich. A binary business allows the people on the bottom to not be stuck there indefinitely. If you sign up and don’t put in any real effort its your fault that you don’t succeed, not MLM.
MLM is solid. Just not for lazy people with pie in the sky dreams about “winning the lottery”, MLM is NOT a lottery.
Also, with regards to the product trash talking, it is never mentioned that the juice is “living nutrients”. By not being pasturized, the enzymes are intact and this allows you to actually digest and absorb properly.
Stay positive people. Negativity not only poisons your mind but the minds of those around you. ;)
Eswift,
Most of the people here are smart enough to know that no one is going buy a $45 bottle of juice without illegal health claims or the pyramid scheme of trying to get them to build a business recruiting other people.
Virtually every organization outside of MLM hires people at levels based on their skills, experience, and knowledge – not what the FTC claims is an illegal pyramid scheme of recruiting others.
MLM is pretty close to a lottery. The chances of success are similar. It’s worse than a lottery, because you actually have to work for that success. Consumers would be better off saving their time and effort and supporting their state’s school system by playing the lottery.
If MonaVie is “living nutrients”, then the consumer should look for dead ones. Independent analysis at Men’s Journal showed that there were almost no nutrients compared to other, much cheaper products.
If you are interested in nutrition, please note that 4 Ounces of MonaVie is a 1 Serving of Fruit and that you are better off just eating an apple.
Eswift, stop committing negative actions like trying to lie to people so that you can make money off them.
That’s funny, @Eswift
I was sure that MV undergoes a heating/cooling process (pasteurisation) plus it’s stuffed with preservatives, one having carcinogenic properties. What enzymes remain must be pretty tough old molecules.
MLM may be a valid business method for sure. Monavie’s interpretation of it stinks to high heaven though.
@Eswift, your last line says it all.
“Stay positive people. Negativity not only poisons your mind but the minds of those around you. ;)”. Though you were trying to end on a positive note, you only show the brainwashing mantra of the MV despots; Don’t question what we tell you, follow your dreams which we are selling at a price (que in butterflies, birds chirping, sweet violin music). What dream has a purchase price?
Employees trade a skill or time for an actual paycheck. It’s a tried and true contract in the world of Keynesian Economics. I am a business owner. I suffered, worked the long hours, schooling, etc., etc. Why should I not reap the rewards of hard work and make more than my employees? I suffered long for them to have stable work. All the days that I went through wondering how to pay bills. Employees, for the most part, only have that issue if they are living outside of their own means. As for your analogy of MLM’s being a pyramid and the traditional work place being a pyramid, you are partially right…the MLM is a pyramid…regardless of the ridiculousness you will spout off about how your downlines can make more than you. Trust me, I’ve been through it all and it still comes up lacking. Again, the employee employer contract is not a pyramid. It is “solid”. Those that work hard and create business should reap more rewards. Those making a paycheck off of the road created by others should make less. It is justification for hard work…and why Socialism does not work (different argument).
As for your science and understanding of the food industry and what is able to be sold, you are wrong. Again, you are just spouting off stupid, unverified, ludicrous, uneducated propaganda. Quickly, I’m coming from 13 years of food processing, large and small scale, experience. From the ground/pasture to the table. All of it in International experience. So I am well aware of the laws and requirements set forth by the United States as well as many countries around the world. So if your product is not pasteurized, then what are you using as a preservative. Fruit, since your wonder potion has so many and cures all kinds of diseases known to man, does not have a very long shelf life once processed (and yes, unless juice grows on trees, it is processed). Plus, I know well your product. Trust me, with my contacts overseas, I was a prime target for the MV henchmen. Your product does not require a cold chain in shipping (not refrigerated). That only shortens the shelf life. Not too mention, my understanding is a lot of this comes from outside the USA. If the FDA and USDA get enough wind of you guys, then they will take you out due to HACCP control issues from your suppliers. Of course, MV can get around this if they are following proper processing, bottling, and preservative steps put forth by the US government. Yet, if you do this, then you are in contradiction with your claims of non-pasteurization, non-preservative, all glory and full of health drink so different from apple juice. Coming from my background, it doesn’t add up.
I’m more of a lurker with Lazy Man, but I’ll give them this…these guys do their homework. They not only research MV’s claims, they follow outside research. They question who MV’s “experts” are as well as the outside researchers they utilize. They are unbiased in their approach and have taken a stand against the cult of personality that is MV that wants to state, “Just believe whatever we tell you…don’t question…here’s all the research you need.” Albeit those on this site get upset at times (which provides for entertainment due to their zeal), they are sound. The questions posed by this site have yet to be answered. I see that MV has even tried to sue to the proprietor of this site. Why? Why will it not stand in court? Because the MV retainers are happy to take your money, threaten people with no backing and collect on time billed. There is no case. MV would have to come to court proving all their ridiculous claims which LazyMan, and many others, have questioned and debunked.
I would sell your wonder potion if I could find one, just one, rep that has questioned outside the regime. They don’t…they can’t. To do so would cause doubt…doubt causes reason to question the cult…questioning the cult means to question one’s own beliefs. To do this would falsely make one to believe they are questioning their dreams and that their foundation, although truly built on sand, is shaky.
I agree with you Eswift. Lets not be negative. Instead, seek the truth and let it say it all. Do your research. Don’t give me (us) your regime’s rhetoric. Give us hard facts. Do you know what is in your wonder elixir…truly know the percentages of content, what exactly, from where and how processed? I’m amazed so many who support MV don’t know this intimately. Scary. It’s like me selling pills and saying that they will make you feel great, give you energy, help cure sickness, and oh, by the way, I don’t know what’s really in it. Just trust me.
Those on this site are upset not with the content of the juice as much as the lie that MV builds itself on. I have gone to the “rallys” and it is sad. They joke of how they have lost family members, friends and neighbors due to trying to pitch this cr8p. You don’t work hard at making money, you work hard at alienating those relationships in your life. What dream is worth that? I know friends, yes friends, that commit all their time this (funny that they call themselves entrepreneurs) and have lost homes, friends, family, and marriages. Yeah Mona Vie…it’s awesome. Just believe…let nothing stop you from your dreams. This is the issue, the reason LazyMan and others, bless you guys, are so adamant about this site and proving you guys wrong. They are stopping the pain MV has caused them and others. It is a lie. It is false. It is a cult of personality which will destroy families and individuals. Eswift, you do the research (outside of MV). Have you questioned why so many are against this? Why do all MLM followers have to keep switching schemes, er companies, er products, every so often? Why do they continue to join different and various social or religious groups and not stay with one? Got to increase that down line. If this product and scheme is so great, why do my investors all threaten to pull out of my business if I ever do anything like this? I asked them because I wanted successful businessman insight. Where are the Warren Buffets of the world sucking this up? Better yet, if it is so great, get back to me…I’ll show you how open a business processing this stuff, marketing it, selling it for less using traditional models and we’ll be richer than your current MV dreams. Again, comes up lacking and has not been approached by respectable businesses because they know the bs involved.
Sorry for the novel LazyMan…I don’t answer much and lurk…so I thought I would put my 2 cents in this time.
Eswift said: “I find it intersting how many people hate on MLM and how many of them are people that have “tried” it. By try I mean thought they could make a few phone calls and get rich. Posting on a site called lazymanandmoney seems fitting I suppose.”
No, you don’t find it interesting. You simply find it to be an insurmountable obstacle to selling the useless overpriced MLM $hit juice that you happen to be plugging. Get real. The very name MLM is like a scarlet letter. Please spare us the imbecilic “but everything is a pyramid” argument. It’s ridiculous.
As for the suggestion that Monavie isn’t pasteurized, that’s just a straight up lie. The company even acknowledges that they use pasteurization. If they didn’t, you’d probably be dead from food poisoning by now.
As for your claims about “intact enzymes” in Monavie, what might those be bonehead (FYI, you’d best not deviate from your script with me or I’ll eat you alive)?
With regard to your comment about negativity, what’s negative about sharing the truth and helping people to not be ripped off by charlatans and scumbags?
K2,
No need to apologize for the novel. Lurkers are always welcome, but I’d love it when the intelligent ones come out and leave a great comment like that.
Stellar post K2!
Vogel, Eswift would not dream of challenging you because only a completely ignorant moron would state this “if you sign up and don’t put in any real effort its your fault that you don’t succeed, not MLM”. Your statement is moronic on a couple of levels. First, it has been mathematically proven that over 99% of people that “sign up” will not succeed, and not for lack of effort. They try, they remortgage their homes, they take out bigger lines of credit…they lose everything. How dare you come on here and say they haven’t tried. They fail because it is the nature of the pyramid beast.
Second, you also fail to comprehend that you are accusing over 99% of your fellow distributors of laziness and/or incompetence. Sanctimonious much? Not very “community minded” of you.
But YOU are somehow better than all of those other distributors, right? YOU will succeed, right? No you won’t because you don’t even lie well. You clearly have not done any independant research on the product or you wouldn’t have barfed up those absurd “sound bytes” that MV feeds you. I find that ironic because that just reflects the very strong laziness trait that you accuse others (including our host) of possessing. The people that blog on here HAVE done the research and HAVE the facts on this product and this cult scam.
All of that said, there is nothing good on TV tonight so please come back and respond to K2 and Vogel’s questions. I need a giggle.
There are no ‘brakes’ to stop overstauration of any market with any kind of MLM ‘product’ no matter if its juice, energy shots, soap powder, vitamins, etc. Just go out and sell, recruit and promote until all the recruits have a garage full of crap they ca’t even give away, much less sell for a profit. MLM at its core is a dirty and dishonest business model guaranteed to create many losers so the early promoters can ‘have it all.’ Run as fast as you can it a ‘friend’ or family member tries to recruit you!
Personally, I never did any research on Monavie. In fact I heard about it through an amazing family owned Asian restaurant in Pittsburgh called Cambodican Kitchen who sold the Monavie Energy Drinks. It was expensive ($4 a can) but we didn’t drink it because we were trying to live a healthier lifestyle, the taste was amazing. In fact I’m ordering my brother some cans of it for Christmas since Cambodican no longer sells it. I’ve never tried the bottles and for $40, I can think of a couple other places I’d rather invest my money. I’m sure through that if it’s not already awesome enough, just add Vodka and serve ^.^
Junior Bonner says:
December 5, 2011 at 8:40 pm
There are no ‘brakes’ to stop overstauration of any market with any kind of MLM ‘product’ no matter if its juice, energy shots, soap powder, vitamins, etc. Just go out and sell, recruit and promote until all the recruits have a garage full of crap they ca’t even give away, much less sell for a profit. MLM at its core is a dirty and dishonest business model guaranteed to create many losers so the early promoters can ‘have it all.’ Run as fast as you can it a ‘friend’ or family member tries to recruit you!
Oh please where are you pulling all of this stuff from, are you some sort of expert and have the inside dope on MLM that nobody else knows about?? This is by far the silliest post I’ve read online. Opinion and hearsay, that should be the official catchphrase of the Lazy Man blog.
Junior Bonner’s post made a lot more sense than anyone defending MLM here in the last couple years.
If you didn’t notice “Seriously?”, you just contributed your own opinion. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge others especially when the facts support theirs and not your own.
It may make sense to you, but just because JB posted it doesn’t make it so. He is merely stating his opinion from his perspective and limited knowledge about the mlm industry.
What JB says would be similar to someone declaring that the earth is flat, because from where they are currently sitting looking out their window it looks flat to them. So therefore it must be flat because that’s all they know based on the current information they have.
So if I was reading the flat earth post and didn’t really know much about the earth then it would make sense and seem very logical that the earth IS flat because that opinion makes sense.
It’s going to take more than a plagiarized reference to Flatland to defend MLMs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland
Do you actually think you’re being clever posting such nonsense? Bonner’s point is reasonable; your rebuttal was nonexistent.
Good catch Vogel.
Seriously?,
The problem with your argument is that you simply claim that people are lacking information about MLM. It’s not true. It’s been meticulously analyzed many, many times and there’s abundant mathematical research that shows that 99% of people lose money. On the other hand there is no mathematical evidence of the opposite. To use your flatland example, we have circumnavigated the world of MLM for equivalent of hundreds of years, and we have the proof to show it, and you are essentially claiming that the world is flat without leaving your own hometown.
Do you really think you have something new to say about MLM that hasn’t been brought up in the previous nearly 6,000 comments here plus the other few thousand over at Juice Scam? Seriously? (Pun intended.)
Dallin Larceny and Monavie got hammered this week in the Salt Lake Tribune:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/53061545-79/monavie-company-distributors-percent.html.csp?page=1
Good find there. There’s lots of new information that not even I knew. I liked how they summed up the earnings, but I wish they’d have gone more into the 86% of people who don’t make any money. That’s what makes the 98.5% who average $129 a month look, well, much worse. They should explain that only 210 people in 100,000 (if you do the math) break out of that $129 month average… and then those who do end up having put more money in than they are getting out… as they illustrated with one example.
It’s also interesting to know that MonaVie Ink, Inc. is coming. Doesn’t anyone else think this is anything more than another way to bring the tool sales business in-house so that MonaVie makes all of that money too? Perhaps that’s why Orrin Woodward is doing the LIFE thing now (I have to admit that I haven’t followed up on that story as much).
[Editor's Note: This comment has been edited to censor potential personal information, some of which was incorrect. A detailed response has been published here: MonaVie Scammer Cyber-stalks Me – Says I’m Cheating the Government.]
Speaking of scammers, here is some info about the Massachusetts Homesteaders Exemption.
You must own, and reside on that property and you are required to be a permanent resident of Massachusetts to claim the exemption.
Hmmm, may be a problem [what he thinks my name is]. Have you not been a permanent resident of [where he thinks I live] for quite some time, all the while claiming the exemption in Mass as a permanent resident? tsk tsk.
You should publish some of these on your blog, readers may be quite interested. Maybe in the business section would be more suitable. Do you have a ‘How To Scam The Govt.’ section on LM?
Holy hell people, I got a novel idea. How about you just try the product and if it works and makes you feel better and more healthy, great, then keep taking it. $40 is not a big price tag to pay when it comes to your overall health and well being. On the other hand if it doesn’t work, then don’t blow the money on this “placebo juice”, your hard earned money could be put to use elsewhere. You like it, or you don’t. Not a big deal. END OF STORY!
Holy hell TMC101. Why don’t you just read this article to realize how dumb that idea is:
The Problem with the “Try MonaVie” Argument
It’s unfortunate that your “novel idea” was proven to be a failure years ago.
The “it’s not pasteurized!” argument is pretty hilarious, imo. Know what REALLY isn’t pasteurized? Fresh fruit. As a bonus, it costs a fraction of the superjuice price, comes in countless varieties, and can be purchased hassle-free from your local market!
Does the MLM give these guys a checklist of fallacious arguments to use online, or is that a “tool” that costs a couple hundred extra? Really, it’s always the same debunked crap over and over and over. Protip: those arguments are only effective with emotionally-driven suckers.
It’s a little bit of both. They give a lot of fallacious arguments in their marketing, but they also sell tools to distributors to instill the brainwashing that anyone who doesn’t agree with MonaVie is a “dream stealer” and doesn’t want you to succeed.
Good tip that that the arguments are only effective with emotionally-driven suckers. Unfortunately when you get someone hooked on spending $1500 a year for juice, plus the other tools, it doesn’t take a lot of suckers to make some significant money.
Let’s hope they aren’t too far gone with the brainwashing and scamming to get out and better not only their lives, but those around them.
It is interesting how the author can easily criticize a company simply because it does not fit their view of how things should be. There are good and bad companies everywhere, some of the top corporations are in court everyday of the year defending their position.
I have been ripped off by by high profile stockbrokers but very little is written about these guys, it is a scary area for critics because they actually bite back. The MLM companies, on the other hand just keep marching forward copping the dirt that people like the author can throw without any real comeback. Braveheart????
Russell Stewart,
Perhaps we shouldn’t criticize those who murder others because many people feel it doesn’t fit their view of how things should be. Murder is an extreme example, but it is to illustrate a point. Companies that scam others on all levels are to be criticized and we shouldn’t defend them on the basis of “there are good and bad companies everywhere.” Let’s not make the mistake that Son of Sam and Mother Teresa are the same because they are people.
Which high profile stockbrokers have you been ripped off by? How did it happen? If you send me an email that has merit, I’ll write an article for you. However, that is a topic for a different article. Let’s be intelligent to recognize that your stockbroker situation does not absolve MLM companies from ripping others off.
Russell, your email address is from the russ-stewart.com domain name which just happens to redirect to LifeVantage Protandim Australia site. A simple search shows that you are the same Russell Stewart that is this distributor: http://www.mylifevantage.com/russell/default.aspx. Odd that you’d leave this comment on my MonaVie post instead of the Protandim one.
I guess you don’t believe in other people criticizing you for scamming others because you don’t like to be exposed. Ouch.
Howdy Mr. Stewart. I and my associate barry have just began a new start up business. We plan on ripping everybody off in every conceivable way. From your comments ive discerned that you’ve been ripped off before. Let me extend to you the warm hand of our company so as we can be the ones to rip you off next. We are a customer based scam. We’ll custom tailor our assholery to your whim (i’d like to see some of these other scams give this level of service). If you prefer it we’ll take all the money from you we possibly can and then we’ll never acknowledge we’ve done anything wrong. That’s right, you’ve got our 200% triple awesome guarantee that we’ll never admit to any wrong doing. Just reply to this post with your full name, social security number, mothers maiden name, and at least 2 separate credit card numbers. Eagerly await your info so we can get the ball rolling.
Here’s a new article that might interest all those MLM distributors who think that Robert Kiyosaki supporting MLM justifies it as a good business opportunity:
Robert Kiyosaki and Multi-Level Marketing Exposed!
There’s a new juice scam, same as this juice scam:
Jusuru Scam
If people actually did real research, not just hunted for opinions that back up their own argument, they probably would find that Monavie does have a very lengthy cd that explains the whole scientific makeup of what is in each bottle. I do not remember the scientist’s name but he has been published so I’m sure if you tried just a little harder you could find him online. Oh yeah, that would be in scientific journals not just someone’s opinionated website. He studied the acai berry and its effects for 15 years. I am fairly certain that beats any research finding by someone who deams himself “lazy man.” And no, there is nothing that compares to it and yes it is pricey, most things are that are of any value. The fact that it was stated that MLM’s are bad because you have to “work” for them, unlike the lottery, to make a profit is about the most ignorant thing I have ever read. That is exactly what is wrong with this country now. A whole bunch of lazy people with nothing better to do and wanting everything while giving nothing to get it except their constant chatter. You all just keep being lazy while the rest of us work to make our lives better and on your deathbeds I’m sure you will all be very proud of all the contributions you made to society.. by doing nothing but yapping.
Monique,
Since you can’t remember the man, let me do it for you. It’s Dr. Alexander Schauss. He’s been well discussed in the 5,900 comments here. I suggest that you stop being lazy and go read them and find out that he’s the person who sold the acai berries to MonaVie and is one of their top paid employees. The studies in the scientific journals do not show that the product is better than fruit and other research has shown that it isn’t as good as just eating an apple.
The yapping here has likely saved people millions of dollars by avoiding being scammed. I’m sure you are enjoying making your life better by scamming others into supporting this juice.
Monique,
Have you done any other research besides that cd your talking about or are you just relying on MonaVie’s cd/marketing materials to give you your facts? I think we all know the answer to that one.
Maybe you should pull your head out of the sand and so some ACTUAL research like the people here have. Or better yet, just browse the over 5000 comments here and you’ll find links to a whole world of realiable, scientifically back, good info about monacrap and the schisters who run it.
“A whole bunch of lazy people with nothing better to do and wanting everything while giving nothing to get it…”
Seems like it describes Monavie distributors perfectly. I mean, the rest of us work honest jobs and make an honest day’s pay, while you folks saw what looked to you like an easy opportunity to get rich quick, and you greedily jumped at it with dollar-signs in your eyes so that you wouldn’t have to work for a living like the rest of us do. Worse, you have to lie to make any headway at all in a business model that’s pretty-much assured to leave you blowing in the wind when all is said and done.
Besides that, what are your grand contributions to society supposed to be? It’s certainly not selling overpriced fruit-juice to suckers, seeing as it’s been proven time and again on this blog that it’s not any better than the stuff you can get at the store for a fraction of the price, and that it doesn’t have any healing properties whatsoever. So what is it that you’ve done that makes the world better off than it was before you came along, Monique? What gives you the right to look down your snooty nose at us, eh? We’re doing a real service here. What have you done?
I recommend that you tack down the episode of the show “Bullshit” devoted to Multi-Level Marketing. It’s pretty illuminating stuff.
Cyberxion,
That was a great point. The MLM distributor essentially does the job of an inanimate shelf at Wal-Mart, and does it far, far worse.
Jeff McBride said: “Have you done any other research besides that cd your talking about or are you just relying on MonaVie’s cd/marketing materials to give you your facts? I think we all know the answer to that one.”
Good question, but in this case the CD and Monavie’s marketing materials are one in the same. The CD she’s talking about is “The Science of Acai”, which bears Schauss’ name and is sold by Monavie online and at their meetings. That’s basically how human flotsam like Schauss washes up on Monavie’s shores — Monavie gives him some or all of the revenue from the sale of his CD to distributors, and in return Schauss becomes a whore for the company, saying pretty much anything they want him to say.
Gotcha, Vogel. Didn’t realize that…
Thanks for all the discussion here. On Friday, I wrote about a MonaVie copycat, Jusuru. Today a representative from the company responded.
Some interesting discussion. See: Meet the New Juice Scam. Same as the Old Juice Scam.
New article: Dallin Larsen Jr. Refuses to Be a Scammer Like His Dad, Promises to Tell FBI about MonaVie Lies
Hysterical! Monavie just launched their new line of MX vitamins — $60 for a month’s supply of more MLM garbage.
http://www.monavie.com/news/1715/monavie-elements-monavie-mx-buy-today
I heard something like this a few days ago. I figured if I closed my eyes and willed it away, I would have to deal with it.
I’m sure all the Amway defectors recognize the Nutralite rebranding. It’s just another way for MonaVie to milk distributors for more money. I should spend some time adding up the juice, and the weight-loss supplements, and the vitamins. Even if you were the perfect weight and skipped that, MonaVie just found a way to add another $730 to the ~$1700 that distributors were already paying.
I just noticed that one of the new things that MonaVie is pushing is MonaVie Perks. It’s a clone of the Entertainment Book, even run by the Entertainment company with a subset of offers. It costs $4 for those on autoship to activate and the MonaVie pitch is, paraphrased, “Being part of MonaVie saves me money… it more than covers my autoship.” This is the pitch Marcy N. Diamond Executive uses.
Of course the scam here is that is that you could have gotten all the Entertainment.com deals, not the hand-picked ones, for $30 a year. If the $4 cost is a monthly-fee that makes it more expensive than the Entertainment subscription. If it is just a one-time cost, the $26 savings is decent throw-in for the person who is buying around $1700 a year in juice. From MonaVie’s perspective, this ability to help people save money elsewhere represents an excuse for them to continue to buy the juice.
Sadly, these coupons often convince people to spend money on things they wouldn’t have ordinary bought (extra dinners out for example), which means that they are really saving money, but spending more (though getting some value in return). It’s a mixed-blessing at best.
As for the prescription card, I haven’t been able to figure out what that is, but it could be this free card re-branded, meaning that it being part of MonaVie has no value.
Not sure if this has been covered already, but it seems Monavie is endorsed by Kevin Trudeau.
http://yourwishisyourcommandkevintrudeau.com/articles/?monavie-is-actually-monavie-the-leading-hype-of-the-whole-century-2060
A little info on Mr. Trudeau “Trudeau’s activities have been the subject of both criminal and civil action. He was convicted of larceny and credit card fraud in the early 1990s, and in 1998 paid a $500,000 fine for making false or misleading claims in his infomercials. In 2004, he consented to a lifetime ban on promoting products other than his books via infomercials.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Trudeau
I didn’t cover that. I hadn’t heard of Kevin Trudeau, though his crimes are well-documented. Seems like he’s promoting products other than his books.
Who sells a 28 day supply of vitamins? Seriously.
So, if you took their supplements *and* drank their snake oil juice *as directed*, for a family of 4, *if* the 26 oz bottle were priced at USD $30.00 per bottle, your monthly cost would be roughly $690.00. Frugal living, indeed.
Barry where are you, I need some more awesome pills!
I just came across this September 2011 post from MV corporate and one detail piqued my interest:
“Currently under development, MonaVie will soon offer a device that non-intrusively measures the antioxidant scores of MonaVie consumers”
http://www.monavieonthemove.com/india/news/monavies-5-core-initiatives
I can’t wait to see what kind of BS device they are talking about. There is no device in existence that can non-intrusively measure antioxidant status in a reliable/meaningful manner. My guess is that their device is something along the lines of Pharmanex’s biophotonic scanner, which is complete BS.
Turns out that Larsen has been talking about this new “device” since at least as far back as June 2011. I’m not sure what Dallin Larceny considers “soon”, but it’s been 7 months since the announcement about the device, and there has been no visible progress since then.
Vogel said
Turns out that Larsen has been talking about Turns out that Larsen has been talking about this new “device” since at least as far back as June 2011. I’m not sure what Dallin Larceny considers “soon”, but it’s been 7 months since the announcement about the device, and there has been no visible progress since then.
Ya, similarly to your version of SOON with your FDA campaign from a few thousand threats ago Vogel, I see nothing ever came of that saber rattle even though you allegedly contacted the FDA personally. It seems they deemed your self proclaimed expertise and factinions as insignificant, as should anyone else reading this stuff.
As I plow through 5900+ posts nothing has ever come of anything all of you guys and gals have posted here. What a complete waste of time, space and bandwidth.
Schmogel,
Why are you against you are against law enforcement? I don’t think you’ll find too many supporters in that group.
The FDA has acted upon MonaVie distributor’s false claims before: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/CyberLetters/ucm056937.pdf.
Nothing has come of the comments? You don’t you have access to my email account to see all the people who thank me. You don’t need to believe me though, you can read MonaVie Sends a Second Cease & Desist or MonaVie Gaming Google to “Combat Negativity” and “Manage what People See on the Internet”.
MonaVie themselves tacitly admit that it is greatly impacting their business.
Here’s what I got in the mail after commenting to my sister that a MLM friend of hers was spamming me —–Who ever got back to me from that scam wrote, “My name is not There.. Go f–k yourself and die!” Read the full excerpt below
Forwarded Message —–
From: MonaVie Singapore
To: russellffi@gmail.com; culligan@mail.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 6:22 PM
Subject: RE: EN is Huge
My name is not There.. Go f–k yourself and die!
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:42:47 +0700
Subject: EN is Huge
From: russellffi@gmail.com
To: culligan@mail.com
Hi There,
The training in Empower Network is second to none with top earners explaining how they do it by audio and by video too, It has 4 marketing packages. Remember: This is 100% commissions direct to you, So one sale and you have broken even.
http://www.AmazingBusiness.Info
Stay classy MonaVie Singapore!
Schmogel, I have a new scam for you! You won’t make a dime but I bet you’ll sign up because it’s proven to work and all the bad things people say about it are false. Not to mention those studies by reputable magazines and stuff. Heck they just make up shit to make us look bad. Come. Sign up! You really are stupid, aren’t you?
I like Schmogel. Just because he can’t see something happen must obviously means that it isn’t, or won’t. What a maroon.