>They sell real stuff Whether or not they sell real stuff is a distraction from the real question. To figure out if it is a scam, you need to look at 1) where

>They sell real stuff Whether or not they sell real stuff is a distraction from the real question. To figure out if it is a scam, you need to look at 1) where profits come from (is it from "selling" the product, or is it from recruiting sellers and "selling startup kits".) If most of their money is from people buying "be your own boss and own a business kits" then that is the product. 2) The next question is if that product they are selling (the kit) is a scam or misrepresented pipe dream. Even if they sell a product, you need to ask if the product is the product. If all the money is from a pyramid of recruiting people to recruit people to buy startup kits, there should be some kind of action taken against them. The distinction becomes more obvious when you look at something like Cutco/Vector, where there is a product company and a marketing kit company. In essence you can have two identical companies with two identical business models, and one can be a scam and one can not be a scam based on execution. If the business derives profit primary from sales to end customers, then everything is above water. If millions of "own your own businesses" end up with garages full of unsellable product, its a scam. I recognize this interpretation takes away the agency and culpability from the person who joins a scheme, buys a bunch of stuff in hopefulness, and fails to execute as a salesperson. I also recognize that markets can dry up, and what was once above water can start to look like a scam. But these companies prey on those types of people. And if preying on vulnerable people is your business, its a scam.