Actual Letter from a MonaVie Distributor

Wow, I think the writer may have set a record for the most lies, half-truths, and illegal statements by a MonaVie distributor!

Agreed, it would take day’s, if not weeks to pick this drival apart, sounds like another R3Global cult member’s rantings to me.

They are doing so well due to the sheer volume of new people, roughly 90,000 referenced on the IDS and ID numbers around 2,000,000 horrendous attrition rate………

There is no room for religion in the discussion of the value of MonaVie, just like there is no room for religion in the discussion of the value of my kitchen table. It’s simply not relevant one way or the other.

If a drug dealer was selling crack on your street corner wouldn’t you be justified in talking bad about him and his business? Yes, you would. Why? Because not all people in the world are good (even if they try) and not all business are health for consumers. In fact, your comment was a little hypocritical since you are talking bad about me and my business (being a consumer advocate).

I never could grasp why so many MLM’s, MV included always seem to push the religious overtones on everyone within an earshot, only thing I can come up with is since the real world product benifits are arguable, overdoseing it with religion and hype sells.

The old line of a song comes to mind, “Would Jesus wear a Rolex on his television show?”. Religion and Mona Vie have no commonality other than people believe in what they choose and it’s impossible to sway preception with facts.

Well said, Skeptic Searcher.
I’m with you on this one.

Drinkin MonaVie,

Keep in mind that as a distributor you are allowed by MonaVie to say that you believe it helped you with back and knee pain. See this link on MonaVie’s website.

I’ll let FoodTech talk about the illegal statements. I don’t think I saw anything illegal. However, when I read it, it didn’t make any logical sense and there very few correct facts that actually related to the value of MonaVie. Oprah’s religious views have nothing to do with the juice.

I went to a big Monavie meeting in Orlando @Disney last night. I was happy to see that there was not a lot of religious talk, but it was 99.9% about the products and opportunity. When Brig Hart spoke at the end he did mention God and talk a tiny bit about religion, but it wasn’t too much, even for me. Every business owner I have ever known that was religious, talked about there religion and how they have been blessed with there business. Just like he shares the juice, he shares his beliefs. I think that’s a good thing even though I myself am not 100% sure of what I believe (religion). I know I believe there is something out there, I just don’t put myself in any specific religious category because if one is right, then are all the rest wrong? I guess I’m more of a “Karma” person than anything. Brig was actually quite funny and seems to be a great guy. Everyone that wanted to, got to personally meet the top dogs and i had a good time. I’ve been in sales since i was 17 and this is the first company i have been involved with that doesn’t implement hard sale tactics. Drink it, feel it, share it! That’s whats on the website and that’s all they told us distributors to do.

To the guy who’s wife bought the juice and emailed in this letter;

I didn’t notice anywhere in the email that said “lie to your husband” If your wife didn’t tell you ahead of time she probably knows you well and figured you would tell her no. Is it really that bad that she wants the two of you to eat healthier and hopefully live a longer and happier life together?

If you want to talk about it more, feel free to call me at [phone number removed by editor]. I have no problem listening to your opinions!

Of course I think Inc 500 is real. What the person who gave his presentation said, however, was Fortune 500. Even the font and lettering of the flyer looked very similar to fortune 500′s. He also said they were among the “top fortune 500 companies to work for.” That is what confused me, because as best to my knowledge that is not what Monavie is.

I have listened to Brig Hart’s Cds- very powerful speaker! If you listen intently, however, things seem to twist around. In the presentation I heard him say monavie is not a company built in getting to the top or selling juice, but focused on improving health. He then went on to mention the black cars (sorry, forgot what kind) he would like to see in each and every state- how do you do that? By selling juice and climbing to the top. There is a motive behind selling the “health” that is concerning.

My brother in law is thinking of joining Monavie. He said the start up is $325. You mentioned that you did not pay anything to start with Monavie- was that because of your team, or a sale, which is it? My brother in law said that pays for 2 bottles of each kind and a case of the energy drink. That is some expensive juice! Especially if that is at cost! I am also concerned with my friends in the business who have not made a profit. They have twenty something people under them and still make VERY little, hardly enough to cover the juice! I should also mention that the monavie distributer first told us it was “100 something” to start up. Is that without the juice? Again, things are very fuzzy.

I am also curious about the amounts of each fruit in there. Any doctor will tell you that if you have too high a doseage of different vitamins that it can have a bad effect on your health and body. Mr. Hart said in his speech that any time he goes past the fridge he drinks a little monavie. Now, if the vitamins in monavie are so potent and powerful, wouldnt you think that if you consumed that much monavie each day you would see health problems? My friend also said he drinks about a bottle every other day. That is much more than the recommended dosage. I’m confused…

To me, if something is healthy, all health studies will show that it is healthy. Men’s Journal said grape juice was better off for you! As my friend Alton Brown says- “to health!”

As for the energy drink… I drank it at 8 pm and went to bed at 10. Didnt feel a bit different. If I drink a diet coke at 3pm I cant sleep all night. I expected some sign of energy… not keep me up all night energy, but some kind. I am also curious about the green tea in it… where does it come from? What is the quality.

Skeptic; up until January 4th there was no fee to join for almost the last year. The day (M)mun was released (2days ago) they started the $39 enrollment fee again. So I paid no enrollment fee when I started. I stated that I did buy a case of juice so it cost me less than $150 to start my business. If I don’t have juice, I can’t share it or drink it! Your brother in law is wrong about the $325. He doesn’t have to order anything, however, like I just said, If you don’t have it you can’t share it or drink it. So if he orders a variety of product he has more to share and the right type for different people. ie, someones back hurts like mine, let them try active, if they have a family history of heart disease, give them pulse. If there hooked on Red Bull, give them Emv. If there Jewish, give them Kosher. If they have children over 4, give them (M0mun. The more juice you have the faster you can build your biz by sharing.

As far as your friends that aren’t making money, it sounds like most of the 20 something under them are not ordering juice to drink or to share. Like any MLM there is a high drop out rate because some reps sell the making money end and the people aren’t sold on the product. People expect to make a lot of money right away and then get discouraged quick when success isn’t instantaneous.

I would agree that too much may be harmful, that’s why the suggested serving is just 2-4 ozs a day. I would think you would need a whole lot for it to be toxic though, but not sure since I’m not a nutritionist. Can you drink too much Grape or Apple juice?

As for Emv, after two hours I would hope you could sleep, it’s not cocaine, it’s 80% Juice!

The closest Chick-Fil-A in Silicon Valley (Northern, CA) is 60 miles away. Sorry, not close. My family is located in MA, so I fly to Boston to visit them occasionally. There are two restaurants in that whole state. That is three major cities (SF, San Jose, Boston) with almost no presence at all. So while I would like to eat there (I hear it’s good), I haven’t.

Chick-Fil-A doesn’t use their religious beliefs to get you buy their product. There’s a huge difference there between that. They don’t talk down about people who believe in other religions as this person did with her Oprah comment. There’s a world of difference here. And do say, it’s one bad apple, because this person is a Gold-level distributor saying these things.

I don’t think our government’s money is trying to sell a product. Don’t make this into a theological discussion. It’s not. It’s someone trying to use religion as a way of saying, “See we are the same, so you can trust me. That’s justification for buying my juice that costs 10-20x over the juice you currently buy.” If Chick-fil-a starts charging 10-20x what El Pollo Loco does, then I’ll start a blog on their scam as well. Until then, they sell a reasonable product at a reasonable price and I don’t see them trying to trick or sweet talk anyone.

What got me back on the letter is that this is the thread with that conversation and we were talking about religion. It’s relevant to the discussion that this person doesn’t just believe in God, but believes that no one else should have beliefs that differ from her own. That’s part of what makes the letter amazing coming from someone so high up in MonaVie.

If you want 19 fruits, you can get them all from different varieties of V8 Fusion. Buy 6 bottles and mix up a little of each. It’ll cost you about $25, but you’ll get more juice than 10 bottles of MonaVie… and more variety since you’ll get vegetables as well.

The price difference is $1500 a year or more. It’s not like a paying 10% more to use another gas station. It’s like paying 1000% more. And that’s not counting the convenience of shipping (i.e. more cost).

I couldn’t find any details on how much glucosamine is in MonaVie Active. Can you locate that information on their website? At least this way I can do a comparison to how much glucosamine I can buy in another form. Similarly, I couldn’t find data on the Omega 3′s. However, when I buy a carton of Eggs-land’s Best it says that it is 100mg of Omega 3′s. Finally, what are the Resveratrol numbers?

We need to know the numbers behind these or it could be one drop of each per 1000 barrels. We simply can’t make an informed buying decision on that.

I’d be careful about quoting directly from MonaVie’s website with regard to the seven clinical trials. They are also the ones who lie about the ORAC score of MonaVie in their materials (they’ve since cleaned up the website to remove the claim it seems. Notice how they only reference one trial… and a very short 4-week one at that? The other 6 must have been really poor in supporting the product.

Last time I checked Emv is twice the price of Red Bull. Using Amazon.com Red Bull Energy Drink, 8.4-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24) is $51. That’s actually quite a bit more than I’ve seen it locally… and it comes with free shipping. (You can find it for $32 online here). The distributor cost (not even the retail cost – since I don’t want to be a distributor) for eMV is $68… same size drink and same quantity in a case.

It’s odd that MonaVie points out the use of artificial preservatives in other energy drinks when MonaVie uses preservatives in their main products (the Original and the Active I believe). So obviously MonaVie isn’t saying that it’s bad for others to use it in their energy drink, right? That would be hypocritical.

Independent tests proved that people preferred Pepsi over Coke as well. Yet Coke still outsells Pepsi. You might want to read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink (or just the Coke-Pepsi story here)

I think energy drinks are already overpriced and can’t really figure out why people like them. Probably the same people who buy bottled water. A cheap eMV substitute? Take the V8 Fusion juice that I explained above and crush a caffeine pill into it. What’s going to be the difference? It’s the 80-20 rule that we hear about, except that you are getting possibly 100% of the effectiveness for 10% of the cost.

Drinking MonaVie, you have posted here quite a bit and you’ve announced that you are distributor, but you haven’t been following MonaVie’s rules for distributors when posting online in blogs. You are required by MonaVie to include your name and ID number. This may sound nitpicky, but it speaks to how MonaVie lacks communication with it’s distributors. These communication gaps lead to distributors making all sorts of crazy untrue claims (though I realize there are minimal if any in our conversation).

I don’t think you can really drink too much MonaVie to be that harmful. If you look at the label, there are very little vitamins in MonaVie. I’ve seen daily vitamins with hundreds more percentages than what’s in MonaVie. I’m not a nutritionist, but just saying that it doesn’t sound like you’d do much damage. There are only three vitamins and minerals listed on the label (vit C, vit K, and Iron). People take tons of vitamin and I just read that there’s no real toxicity fear with vit K. The iron is only 2% of the recommended amount, so you’d have to drink a whole bottle in a day to get half of the iron you need. I think too much iron can be a problem for males, but think it’s a drop in the bucket from the amount of iron in steak and such. In short, I don’t think there’s much harm in drinking too much MonaVie… but that’s directly related to there not being a lot of nutrition in it.

You know, the only reason I even posted in here is because you guys were stating that there were so many lies and illegal statements in the writers letter. I was googleing everything I could about the company to learn the good, the bad and the ugly so that I would be informed of every aspect. I found the ugly on this site. You talk about the Gold Exec being so high up, did you know there are over 8 Distributor levels higher and the average Gold works 14 hours a week for an average annual income of just over $50,000 a year. The friend that got me involved has been in for just at 1 year and is Silver, only one step below and doesn’t even invest a full 5 hours a week. It doesn’t matter what I say or what you say, we can all go back and forth forever to try to prove each other wrong. This is your site and obviously you have nothing better to do than sit around all day, every day and bash a juice product. I’ve said what I wanted to say and really don’t have the time to keep going back and forth about it. You ask me a question, I answer it. Yea, we can crush up a caffeine pill and put it in V8. Maybe I prefer to just grab a can and drink it. Yea, I can buy a bunch of different V8 drinks and mix them together. Sounds like fun. I own two businesses, One (a traditional Business model) I have had for 2 years and are just now getting to the point of profit after recovering my start up cost, overhead, etc… and my MonaVie biz that has done that in about a month. I really don’t have the time to sit here day after day and keep this going for no reason since it won’t benefit me financially. So you guys can go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. I’m done, I don’t really care if you like the product or the business model, I know that it’s working for me both physically and financially and that’s all that matters. I really don’t understand why someone would even start a website like this unless they had some other motive like being a distributor for some other competing product. What do you have to gain? I don’t see advertisements that would pay you for traffic. Why not spend your time blogging about more important things than people and there juice, really pathetic if you ask me.

PS- we are not sitting around bashing a juice product, we are trying to disect the sales model of a product that may not be what monavie claims it is… to protect families dear to us for the sake of someone’s pocket and livelihood.

A friend of mine sells Monavie. He is at the Silver level. He quit his job as a teacher to get in full time with this business. I allowed him to give a presentation at my house this week. The speech went in so many different circles I’m not even sure where to begin.

My first thought is how is this good for you? The label does not really prove that it is healthy or better than any other juice. He said that Monavie has a CD that talks about Organic labels and how they work. He said you can only list the minimum amount of daily value because it is an all organic product. My wife buys almost everything organic in our household and I have never heard that before. I am thinking of taking a trip to Whole foods to find out. Has anyone heard of this?

While he is at the silver level, he is in foreclosure as well and painting as a side job. That doesnt sound like good money to me. Sure he might have debt, but it sounds suspicious. He then said the nice thing about the business is you can write off your expenses (ie travel, materials etc…) He said in a proud voice “Well according to the IRS I’m in the hole 7,000 but they have it wrong” Either this guy is really bad with money or he has been lied to by Monavie.

When I asked about the Dr behind monavie, the one who confirms the research- or has done the research for 11 years, he said it is important to note that this guy works WITH monavie, not FOR monavie. Is there a difference? When I work with other companies I consider them part of my team. And do they mean that the dr just GAVE him all of his years of research for FREE? To a company that sells millions of bottles of this stuff? That would be rediculous and I am not too naieve to believe it.

I have been in the business world as part of a large corporate company for about 10 years now. While I dont know everything about busines, I do know that this seems like a crock. A lot of hype over something that might be snake oil.

I am wondering if anyone can explain the label to me. Looking for information to give back to my friend before he loses everything.

Thanks.

I agree it would be foolish for the dr to give away his research for free.

I found this on the FDA website, displaying that Monavie violated Acts in 2007. During my meeting with a distributer, he said they were the only acai berry drink out there backed by the FDA. Interesting.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/CyberLetters/ucm056937.pdf

Ok, so I told myself I would not post on such blogs, but enough is enough. It seems that it is easier to get your blog recognized on the internet if you put “SCAM” in the title and spend your time knocking companies that are trying to better people’s lives, in one way or another, than it is to write positive information.

I will admit that I am a MonaVie distributor. I have been involved with MonaVie for a little over 4 months. I have only reach the Star 500 level, but for the amount of time, effort and investment I have devoted to this enterprise, I am satisfied with my results.

I have a few questions for you.

1. Does the makers of V8 Support a charity that is helping impoverished people in a 3rd world company like MonaVie does with THE MORE PROJECT? http://www.themoreproject.org/

2. The 13 servings of fruit and vegetables mentioned above, is in relation to the Anti-Oxidant power of MonaVie, not it’s nutritional/vitamin content.

3. Do sales reps from other companies ever make distortions to make a sale? I will tell you it does happen in MonaVie, and I am totally against this practice. I know MonaVie is as diligent as possible to make sure that false information is not being told by its distributors, but it simply is not possible.

4. What is the percentage of people in the US that is making more than $100,000 dollars a year? If the “chances” of making $100K a year in MonaVie are low, I would argue the fact that this is the case in the overall population.

5. If everyone is so concerned about “pyramids”, how many CEO’s are in most businesses? Usually only 1. Isn’t a traditional corporation the ultimate pyramid?

6. How many businesses are available for a $39 fee (waived if you purchase two cases of juice) and have the possibility, based on effort and knowledge, to turn that into a million dollar business? I know I was looking at franchises, which have no guarantees either, and there aren’t any I know of for $39 with that possibility. There aren’t that many for $300-$400, so not sure where buying $325 worth of juice is a “scam”. If you have a flower shop, you need to buy flowers to promote your business, same in the juice business; you have to have juice to promote the product/business.

7. You say $29,000 is not good income in certain parts of the country. Is that not great secondary part-time income anywhere? No one is saying that you up and quit your job while building the business. In fact, I have been told, that you shouldn’t even consider quitting your full time job until you are making 3x your yearly income in MonaVie.

8. How many people, percentage wise, open new businesses every year, and don’t make it? Were those businesses scams too?

9. Why is it bad that someone would pay $140 a month for something is making them feel better? Placebo effect or not, why is this bad and why does this make MonaVie a “scam”? Is it bad to spend $60 dollars a month on sodas, that have been shown to contribute to obesity, or, because it is cheaper than MonaVie, it is a better bargain?

10. Why the huge concern to have to warn people about the “MonaVie Scam”? Scam is so easily thrown around, that I am not even sure, after reading your site, where the “scam” is. Is it that it doesn’t cure cancer, which the company will tell you that themselves? Or is the scam that most people will not take the time and effort to build a business, thus they have been scammed? Or is it because, most people believe that, although the possibility of making some great money in MonaVie is possible, most want it instantaneously, and aren’t willing to put in the time and effort required, and quit? Even though they did not do what was taught to get to the higher income levels in the business, is that why MonaVie is a “scam”?

11. Is it a “scam” because someone bought 12 cases of juice, and just let it sit in their garage and did nothing to promote their business? If there are people that dumb, and if they lose money in MonaVie, it is not because Monavie is a “scam”, it’s because these people don’t know the first thing about business. (Plus, they now have that 12 cases of juice to consume for themselves)

I could go on and on, but it just makes me cringe, when a website/blog like this may dash the hopes and promise of someone that legitimately was looking to start a business, and the first thing they found on the internet was a website about a “scam”, thus not getting the whole picture.

Many people, like myself, believe in the MonaVie products, believe in the MonaVie opportunity, and believe in the MonaVie cause. If I don’t make any money, it will be because of me, not because MonaVie is a “scam” It is very easy to slam a respected company, behind the anonymity of a website, and not put any burden of one’s failure on the individuals that have half heartily started a MonaVie business and quit when they weren’t making thousands of dollars almost instantaneously.

That’s all I have to say, and will make no more comments.

I have a business to build.

Take care.
Kevin Sullivan, Distributor ID # 2399877

1. Does the makers of V8 Support a charity that is helping impoverished people in a 3rd world company like MonaVie does with THE MORE PROJECT? http://www.themoreproject.org/

Answer: V8 Fusion is run by Campbell’s (probably best known for their soup). You can see from their public website (this for example) that they are active in charities. Meanwhile the MORE Project seems to be misusing it’s donating funds (i.e. putting them to causes other than the ones the donators’ wished.

2. The 13 servings of fruit and vegetables mentioned above, is in relation to the Anti-Oxidant power of MonaVie, not it’s nutritional/vitamin content

Answer: That may be true, but the phrase of “13 servigs of fruit and vegetables” is misleading people into thinking it nutritional/viatmin content. A small amount of cinnamon has a lot more “antioxidant power” (measure by ORAC score) for a lot cheaper cost, so can we agree that it’s a worthless measure?

3. Do sales reps from other companies ever make distortions to make a sale? I will tell you it does happen in MonaVie, and I am totally against this practice. I know MonaVie is as diligent as possible to make sure that false information is not being told by its distributors, but it simply is not possible.

Answer: Perhaps, but usually the product they are within the range of their peers. They don’t price their product at 10x-20x more than fill the Internet with misleading information (see #2) and allow a distribution system that lends itself to these distortions. When was the last time you read a store juice can help with autism? There are quite a few resources out there claiming that MonaVie helps

4. What is the percentage of people in the US that is making more than $100,000 dollars a year? If the “chances” of making $100K a year in MonaVie are low, I would argue the fact that this is the case in the overall population.

Answer: I’ve been told there are nearly 2 million distributors in MonaVie (all distributors not the ones that are listed in the IDS). I haven’t been able to get a hard number. It looks like around 350-400 make $100,000 a year (using average annualized numbers). That seems a lot less proportional to the US, but I’m not going to go looking through census data to prove the point. I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

5. If everyone is so concerned about “pyramids”, how many CEO’s are in most businesses? Usually only 1. Isn’t a traditional corporation the ultimate pyramid?

Answer: Did that CEO have to start out as a janitor for the company or did he go to school, earn a good degree and likely start out pretty high in the company. There are more chefs (higher paying jobs) than dishwashers (lower paying jobs) at most restaurants that I go to.

6. How many businesses are available for a $39 fee (waived if you purchase two cases of juice) and have the possibility, based on effort and knowledge, to turn that into a million dollar business? I know I was looking at franchises, which have no guarantees either, and there aren’t any I know of for $39 with that possibility. There aren’t that many for $300-$400, so not sure where buying $325 worth of juice is a “scam”. If you have a flower shop, you need to buy flowers to promote your business, same in the juice business; you have to have juice to promote the product/business.

Answer: Hmmm, blogging was even cheaper than $39 for me when I got started. I’m not saying it’s likely to make a million, (odds are probably just as long as MonaVie), but it’s something. At least you aren’t selling someone a product that is 10x-20x more expensive than similar products. What price do you put on going to sleep each night with a clear conscious? If MonaVie wants to price it’s juice at $4-5, I have no problem with it and it makes sense to buy product to promote the business. However, unlike the flowers, it seems that MonaVie’s business is getting other people open up MonaVie businesses. When I walked into a Subway franchise they didn’t try to get me to buy a store with my sandwich. In fact, I don’t even think buying a store was an option.

7. You say $29,000 is not good income in certain parts of the country. Is that not great secondary part-time income anywhere? No one is saying that you up and quit your job while building the business. In fact, I have been told, that you shouldn’t even consider quitting your full time job until you are making 3x your yearly income in MonaVie.

Answer: If you look at the IDS, some 85% of the people are working for less than minimum wage when you look at the hours they put in. So no, I’d say that MonaVie isn’t a great source of part-time income. And yes, you shouldn’t even consider quitting your full-time job until that… especially if MonaVie goes the way of Royal Tongan Limu juice and you lose your business overnight. That said, the person mentioned above seems to be thinking about it as a full-time job at $29,000, so I guess he’s making $10K at his current job (or perhaps someone needs to talk to him).

8. How many people, percentage wise, open new businesses every year, and don’t make it? Were those businesses scams too?

Answer: Did they take a product that’s already out there and sell it for 10x-20x? If I open up a 8-12 (not to be confused with 7-11) and sell a Slurpees at $20 each claiming that they are really, really good for you (and not providing any real proof that it’s better than 7-11′s version)… then yes, it’s a scam. You are focusing on the business aspect, not the product.

9. Why is it bad that someone would pay $140 a month for something is making them feel better? Placebo effect or not, why is this bad and why does this make MonaVie a “scam”? Is it bad to spend $60 dollars a month on sodas, that have been shown to contribute to obesity, or, because it is cheaper than MonaVie, it is a better bargain?

Answer: Because placebos can be had for pennies. If it’s is a placebo effect, then it should sell for less than $10 and people should be able to put more of their hard earned money into securing their financial future in these times. People shouldn’t be thinking that they can drink MonaVie INSTEAD of eating fruit as distributors are claiming. People should not go off their medication as I’ve read. That’s simply dangerous.

With soda, you know what you are getting which is the big diffence. It doesn’t pretend to be something it is not. It is also part of that is a thirty quenching experience. You don’t get any kind of thirst quenching from 1 ounce of MonaVie.

10. Why the huge concern to have to warn people about the “MonaVie Scam”? Scam is so easily thrown around, that I am not even sure, after reading your site, where the “scam” is. Is it that it doesn’t cure cancer, which the company will tell you that themselves? Or is the scam that most people will not take the time and effort to build a business, thus they have been scammed? Or is it because, most people believe that, although the possibility of making some great money in MonaVie is possible, most want it instantaneously, and aren’t willing to put in the time and effort required, and quit? Even though they did not do what was taught to get to the higher income levels in the business, is that why MonaVie is a “scam”?

Answer: I said it before, but you have distributors with the misinformation that’s trying to make what seems to be a $4 product sell for $45. If I sell you a $50,000 used Yugo, wouldn’t your friends just say you got scammed? More than likely, I imagine they would.

You are focusing too much on the building the business aspect of it than the value of the product to the consumer with the later parts of the question. I’m not sure that building the business aspect is a “scam” or just a poor business opportunity between the minimum wage salaries for a vast majority, the reliance on one company whose CEO was part of a juice company that was fined millions for the same practices we see from MonaVie distributors.

11. Is it a “scam” because someone bought 12 cases of juice, and just let it sit in their garage and did nothing to promote their business? If there are people that dumb, and if they lose money in MonaVie, it is not because Monavie is a “scam”, it’s because these people don’t know the first thing about business. (Plus, they now have that 12 cases of juice to consume for themselves)

Answer: This seems like #10 just rephrased.

I have no problem with people getting involved in a business. I just think that the product has to either be priced in line with other products or it has to justify the margins. If it’s that good of product, put it on the store shelf and see how it sells at $45 a bottle next to other juices.

I don’t know if you think I was ever involved in MonaVie, because it sounds like you think I was. I wasn’t ever involved with MonaVie. I’m simply someone who doesn’t like to see a family of 4 spend $5000-6000 a year on juice in this economy with little saved for retirement. Unless you are already making much more $100,000 a year (which brings us back to question #4 right?) it’s simply an incredibly curious decision to spend that much on juice without there being clear medical benefits.

Hi.

I know that I said I would not comment any further, but as far as the numbering of the distributors goes, customers get the next number in line, so many of those 2.2 million you refer to are customers and are simply buying the product and not building a business. I have several customers that have an ID # that goes right in line with distributor #s. They are simply preferred customers and are not distributors.

One other thing, if someone buys a Yugo for $50,000, they didn’t get scammed, they made a poor decision. If people think MonaVie is overpriced, then simply don’t buy it. My father always told me that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I personally believe that for $120 or so a month, I have have gotten benefit, so I have not been scammed. People have to make their own informed decisions, and again, if they feel it is too expensive and get better results with another product, then that is what they should do.

And one last thing. Your examples under #5 do not hold water. Either a CEO did start as a janitor and worked his way up to CEO or went to college, invested years of his time and money to get educated and then started at a higher rung in the corporate ladder. Thus, he/she bought their way into a higher ranking.

As far as restaurants, is it true there would only be one owner of the restaurant that hires all the chefs and dishwashers? If that is the case, then the one guy on top makes more than the others, thus my example that a “traditional” business is more a pyramid.

I still don’t see where MonaVie is a “scam”, but to each their own.

Take care

I believe it is possible that the vast majority of people who purchase MonaVie are buying it because it tastes good and there might be some health benefits. But Kevin, let’s be honest, we know that’s not true. Let’s look at some things that we know for sure. Not necessarily MonaVie, but something that might fit. MonaVie may not be a pyramid scheme, BUT.
The concept behind the pyramid scheme is simple and should be easy to identify; however, it is often presented to potential investors in a disguised or slightly altered form. It could be a once in a lifetime chance to become filthy rich while curing cancer or helping your dog with arthritis pain.
The Scheme
As its name indicates, the pyramid scheme is structured like a pyramid. It starts with one person – the initial recruiter – who is on top. This person recruits a second person, who is required to “invest” money or purchase a product. That money is then paid to the initial recruiter. In order to make his or her money back, the new recruit must recruit more people under him or her, each of whom will also have to invest money or purchase a product. If the recruit gets 10 more people to invest, this person will make nine times their initial investment back.
The 10 new people become recruiters and each one is in turn required to enlist an additional 10 people, resulting in a total of 100 more people. Each of those 100 new recruits is also obligated to invest or purchase product. Recruiters get a profit of all of the money received minus the initial investment paid to the person who recruited them. The process continues until the base of the pyramid is no longer strong enough to support the upper structure (meaning there are no more recruits).
The problem is that the scheme cannot go on forever because there are a limited number of people who can join the scheme (even if all the people in the world join). People are deceived into believing that by giving money or buying product they will make more money. But no wealth has been created. The fraud lies in the fact that it is impossible for the cycle to sustain itself, so people will lose their money somewhere down the line. Those who are most vulnerable are those towards the bottom of the pyramid, where it becomes impossible to recruit the number of people required to pay off the previous layer of recruiters. It is estimated that 90% of people who get involved in a pyramid scheme will lose their money.
Now we come to Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Legal multi-level marketing (MLM) involves being recruited in order to sell a product or service that actually has some inherent value. As a recruit, you can make a profit from the sales of the product or service, so you don’t necessarily have to recruit more salespeople below you. And while you may be encouraged to recruit other salespeople whose sales would give you more profit, you can stick to just selling the product directly to the consumer if you choose.
A pyramid scheme MLM, however, will most likely sell a product with no independent or provable value. The product could take the form of reports of some kind or health and nutritional products or juice. In this kind of pyramid scheme, you would be required to recruit new members into the MLM in order to make a profit and keep the MLM alive. Joining the MLM is the only reason anyone would buy the products sold by this pyramid scheme.
It is easy to see how a pyramid scheme can work, but participating in it (regardless of the form in which it is presented) involves deception and fraud because not everyone will receive the money or benefits that are promised in return. We can come up with as many analogies as you want about Yugos, V8 juice, CEOs, restaurants, etc. But it’s a moot point. MonaVie continues to make false claims (lies) about potential wealth and health, either directly or through their distributors. The product has no proven health benefits. It is obscenely over priced and by the companies own figures, 99 percent of participants will make no money.
Your father may have said that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. But when it comes to MonaVie a more appropriate phrase would be one that was credited to P.T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute”.

I don’t get on this one very often, probably should, back to the 2,000,000 plus I asked about, other than some speculatulitve hype that they are all really non distributor preferred or wholesale customers perfectly happy on auto ship and not bitching on blogs.

How many are inactive non renuals (did not pay the yearly fee), cancelled by request, terminated for cause by Mona Vie, or simply non responsive, again asking for real numbers from acredible source, if there are any.

It’s worth noting that there’s nothing in MonaVie that would make one think it could make anyone lose weight. You mention “in between runs” which makes it sound like you are doing exercise and not drinking MonaVie in a vacuum.

Agreed. You ever notice how the testimonials for the latest excercise gadgets say something along the lines of “Betty used the AB-Ominator”, along with diet and excercise, and lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks”. It’s obvious that the diet and excercise caused the weight loss; not the AB-Ominator. Same with Monavie. It does zero for weight loss.

You want to talk about Pyramid Schemes! LOL! Hahahaha! How about the one where you go to work for XYZ corp. with the vision of a 25 to 35 year career. You climb the so called corporate ladder and just before you take over the corporation, they let you go! LOL! Working at a job is the biggest pyramid scheme there is! You get promised all kinds of blue sky and you never ever had a chance at making it to the top! LOL. They never intend on letting you! Get real! Pyramid Scheme! Pfffff!LOL

Mike that sounds like good loyalty 25 years and let your ass loose?

How about this scenario since anyone can just make up stuff.

However I personally know people who have been screwed by corporate America

Your an airline pilot with a mortgage and a family. Because of the economy they let you go. No severance pay and your not gonna sit on your butt and collect unemployment the rest of your life so you become a car salesmen and that makes you work 10-8 everyday and now you are never seeing your kids and wife and not making the money you were before. Sounds great………After 4 years of college, pilot school 10 years as a pilot know you are bouncing around from job to job trying to support your family.

Here we have an opportunity you can build for $140 bucks a month and build into something big all while maintaining your original job. Your control your own hours and your effort. You can now create residual based income meaning if you aren’t around or wanna go away and spend time with the family you can and still earn money. That’s sounds great, sounds healthy for you and your lifestyle and for your family. If you want to make it happen you can people just like to settle and give up on their dreams.

Was never intentional obviously Dallin’s last company did something that didn’t comply with a FTC or FDA rule.

I am sure alot of the people who built solid networks moved on to other solid network marketing companies and some are probably with Monavie.

John,
The point is. While you were working as an airline pilot, car salesman or dishwasher, you were getting paid, normally an agreed upon wage. With MonaVie you will make no money, unless of course you are at the very tip-top of this pyramid scheme. That’s not my scenario, that’s from MonaVie’s own Income Disclosure Statement. And to add insult to injury, you will pay dearly for the privilege of trying to sell their fruit juice. You state that, “for $140 bucks a month and build into something big all while maintaining your original job”. Anybody that knows anything at all about MLM’s will probably dispute that claim. It will take countless hours and a full time commitment to have a chance at breaking even, let alone be successful. And it’s been proven time after time, with this unsustainable business model, IT WONT WORK. The need to recruit constantly will eat up your life (and most of your relationships). You also said, “People just like to settle and give up on their dreams”. That’s the sad part of the MonaVie scam. People loose sight of their goals and dreams while attempting to perpetrate this scheme. They loose a chunk of their lives, statistically from 1-3 years. Many times they have also lost MUCH more. You said “Monavie is not making false claims about rather the distributors probably are”. Can you imagine (seriously) any company allowing their associates to make these claims and not doing something to stop it? Just a thought.

And the lord looked down on the poor of brazil, saw their suffering and thought to himselves “sure I could just poof away this misery, but rather I will create a product based pyramid scheme where by almost all involved will lose so that an undisclosed contribution might be made”

and the lord smiled.

Larson was doing the royal Tongan limu gig until 2002. Mona vie launched 2005. Hard to believe Larson was researching acai when he had the limu product which was reportedly curing people of all sorts of medical conditions (sound familiar?). I believe the reports of 20 years of research may just be an exageration. Perhaps to make the product seem more impressive. It would be quite the under acheivement to spend that much time researching and still come up with such a nutritionally lacking product.

I love that recording. It’s on my iPod. ;)

Speaking from the heart and speaking the truth are two different things.

Clint, did you read the rest of the articles on this website? The facts are straight.

Before I begin I will say that I have been a Monavie Distributor for well over a year now, and even I have not seen anything like this. I recently came to reality and and found out that Monavie is all smoke and mirrors. Needless to say, I am no longer involved in the business anymore, nor would I encourage anyone to get involved. When I first started in the business I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, jobless with a 2 year old daughter, and my girlfriend and I were living at here parents house. My friend approached me and told me about the opportunity which I immediately got excited about it and wanted to learn more. I went to check out an open meeting and before I knew it I was sucking down juice(don’t worry they did’t tie me down, it was voluntary) buying cd’s books, going to monthly seminars and major functions. Here I am a year and a half later, invested well over hundreds of dollars, countless driving hours, and pure frustration. Though I have learned some things through the books I have read which are priceless, I have made less that $300 dollars in over a year, FIRED UP right, wrong. Monavie’s compensation plan is so flawed it’s unreal, 10% of the lesser leg, really wow that’s awesome I’m really going to get out of my job in 2 years doing that. They say that Monavie is a 2-5 year plan, no it’s not show me some stats on that.Show 4 plans a week, 15 a month and go go-getter, that will lead to power player and that’s when you’ll really start to see results! No I’ve done that, and no power player all I got was frustrated. Get people to the opens every week! Nope did that too, and all I did was push people away from me. It’s funny how when I started to ask my upline mentor some questions that I didn’t get a strait answer all I got was “You are doing all the right things, keep it up your a stud!” Sorry but motivational speaking and comments do not pay bills. My girlfriend and I would argue so much about me spending hours talking to people, and no one was getting involved. I would ask my mentor about it and he would say “Just wait till the money starts coming in, she won’t question you when that starts to happen.” Great advice, for someone who doesn’t care about their significant others opinions and feelings. I should have seen this from the beginning, but was so excited for something different in hopes for a better financial future and more time with my family. I am not here looking for sympathy, or empathy, I am simply here to put in my few cents and hopefully help someone who is thinking of joining this company. There are great MLM’s out there, but this is not one. The more and more I dug up info on Dallin and Monavie, the more that I was disgusted at what was going on, and the things that were happening that no one seems to know about, how? Smoke and mirrors.

No, thank you MonavieScam. This website is very informational and filled with non-biased opinions, and information (some biased as well) from former distributors like myself, and other people. I will continue to comment on posts and support you about informing people on what they are getting themselves into if they aren’t already.

DEM. My heart goes out to you. I hope that you have managed to salvage your relationship and are back on track with a job etc.. I know this economy is tough and we a wish we didn’t have to worry about money. As you have correctly pointed out, Monavie is not the answer to this problem.

Can I ask what finally brought you to reality? It may help someone else come to their senses if they read about your “aha” moment.

Are the smoke and mirrors you speak of, the ones that are revealed on this site, or are there others that you know of personally?

Welcome to the discussion. Let the healing begin!

I am a MonaVie distributor and I must say I am grateful for my involvement with the company. I will not make any medical claims about the product but I will say the knowledge I’ve gained thru my association with MonaVie literally saved my family from much agony when my little girl feel seriously ill in February 2010. It was thru my association with MonaVie that we became aware of the importance of eating the “right” foods for maximized nutritional benefits, especially for those facing terminal illnesses. MonaVie is not a cure for anything but a powerful combination of nutrition in a bottle that is convenient and it fits into the busy lives of most people today. BUT IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE AND THERE ARE OTHER PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET THAT ARE VERY GOOD AS WELL.

In response to criticisms on MonaVie’s compensation plan, I would have to say that YES most distributors do NOT make money in the system. BUT this is also true for many reasons. First of all, there is not a business in the whole wide world where nobody fails. Same with Monavie.

There are winners in Monavie and there are losers. The key is, when I want to be successful in anything, I speak with the winners and learn from them, not the losers.

One mistake I’ve made when I first got involved with my MonaVie business was the placement strategy–placing all personals on the outer legs and seek out (or pray for) business builders. When the economy tanked last September, my team started to collapse because whoever wasn’t making money simply quit drinking.

After studying the compensation plan in detail by myself afterwards, I came to this conclusion which is now helping my team tremendously–help everyone to make money and nobody will quit. How? Build a close knit team of people who helps others.

In any MLM business successful leaders are the servant leaders. If you examine MonaVie’s compensation plan, one does NOT need more than 7 personals enrollees to reach Black Diamond. SO WHY WAS I BEING TAUGHT TO SIGN IN ALL PERSONALS INTO MY TEAM WHEN I SHOULD BE HELPING OUT THE WEAKER MEMBERS IN MY GROUP?

MonaVie distributors failed because everyone was taught to build two giant wings when we should’ve been building perfect rock solid pyramids!!!

Get the idea yet???

WOW! You obviously got lots of beef with MonaVie and I almost feel bad you are the way you are. Yes you are right in that I knew very little about nutrition before I came to be associated with MonaVie and the fact is, I am like most Americans–brainwashed by McDonald’s ads, pharmaceutical commercials etc. But now I know better.

Regardless of the position you take, your writing came across very vindictive and I can only hope that such emotions don’t turn into acidity in your body.

More love to you my friend and thanks for allowing me to post on your site :-)

BTW I am curious… how much money did you spend on MonaVie that made you so vindictive?

I got friends who lost 6 figures in the stock market yet they said nothing about Wall Street being a scam.

[Editor's Note: I haven't spent a cent. No one in my family has spent a cent on MonaVie. I'm a consumer advocate trying to help people take control of their finances in this difficult economy. Spending $5000 a year for a family of four to drink MonaVie is not fiscally responsible for most folks. It is even less fiscally responsible when the product lacks nutrition and is a horrible business opportunity as I pointed out above.

You are a salesman and you're trying to make a case that your product and business is solid opportunity. You've been failing pretty miserably thus far. Why are you focused on my feelings towards MonaVie instead of the objective articles and information that I presented? My feelings aren't the issue here. It seems like you admit that you can't argue with the objective information that I make available, so your change your focus on me.]

Wil said

“WOW! You obviously got lots of beef with MonaVie and I almost feel bad you are the way you are.”

Replace “MonaVie” with “bank robbers” or “terrorists”, and you can see the silliness of your statement. I’m not saying that MonaVie robs banks or commits acts of terror, but they commit fraud on scale that hurts hundreds of thousands of people financially, so that’s pretty bad.

“Yes you are right in that I knew very little about nutrition before I came to be associated with MonaVie and the fact is, I am like most Americans–brainwashed by McDonald’s ads, pharmaceutical commercials etc. But now I know better.”

I haven’t seen McDonalds’ make any claims about their food being particularly healthy… well except for things that are healthy like salads and maybe grilled chicken. Before you go too far against pharmaceutical companies, please note that MonaVie products contain products from them such as Wellmune and Fibersol-2. Also as Skeptoid pointed out at the end of his article, claims against pharmaceutical companies are logically irrelevant. You’ve traded one brainwashing for another.

“Regardless of the position you take, your writing came across very vindictive and I can only hope that such emotions don’t turn into acidity in your body.”

Yes, I write vindictively when people openly look to hurt others through their illegal actions and their ignorance of those illegal actions.

“BTW there is nothing wrong with PYRAMIDS but it is ponzis that are illegal. I am sure you’ve heard examples of a pyramid on the dollar bill, the structure of most organizations etc. so I will not get deeper into that.”

From Wikipedia on Pyramid schemes (and please note the article is well cited and reviewed by thousands of people for accuracy),

“A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment, services or ideals, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme or training them to take part, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud.[1][2]

Pyramid schemes are illegal in many countries including Albania, Denmark, Australia,[3] Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China,[4] Colombia,[5] Estonia,[6] France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,[citation needed] Iran,[7] Italy,[8] Japan,[9] Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal,[citation needed] The Netherlands,[10] New Zealand,[11] Norway,[12] the Philippines,[13] Poland, Portugal, Romania,[14] South Africa,[15] Sri Lanka,[16] Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,[17] Turkey,[18] the United Kingdom, and the United States.[19]“

I’m not sure what the pyramid on the dollar bill has to do with anything. The ones in Egypt aren’t relevant to the discussion. As far as the structure of most organizations, we’ve had that conversation many times: see MonaVie Distributor: Your Job is a Pyramid Too!. If you want to discuss that further, please go there and leave a comment after understanding how sustainable business models work.

Wil said,

“MLM is simply a way companies choose to distribute their products out of multiple methods.”

The methods that MonaVie currently uses are illegal. Again I direct you to the FTC article that I reference above that said that “Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. Some are pyramid schemes.” You don’t need to argue with me on this topic. This is an organization whose principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection.

Wil said,

“MonaVie may be expensive to some but so is a Mercedes. The fact is some people are happy with their Hyundais while others love Mercedes. All got four wheels and take you from point A to point B. But a Mercedes costs multiple times more than a Hyundai. I rarely hear people attacking Mercedes as a high price item that rips people off.”

I’ve had to address such silly logic like the above so many times that I happen to have an article for that as well: see MonaVie and the Car Analogy. Essentially, MonaVie prices itself as if its a Mercedes. However, there’s no quality behind the product. You can’t look under the hood and see what is inside. However we know that MonaVie isn’t organic and that it lack nutrition. I’m not sure what else you are looking for out of your juice. Maybe you want to claim that it has some fashion factor like Mercedes or a designer handbag, but its a stretch to say you care about the fashion inside your fridge.

So what you really have is a 1985 Yugo that is being marketed as a new Mercedes – but people can’t tell the difference because it is juice. In the end, all that matters is that like all 100% juices, 4 Ounces of MonaVie is 1 Serving of Fruit. If you want to buy your servings of fruit for over $16 (retail price), I’ve got a lot of fruit to sell you. My guess is that you’d find my fruit a rip off. If you were a good person, you’d spread the word to others to not buy my rip off fruit.

So please enlighten me here… why haven’t some of the countries you’ve listed above such as US, France, Brazil shut down MonaVie if it is illegal?

Editor’s Note: Actually I wrote about that today, because someone had a similar question. I suppose I’m going to have to make that an article too, although I do have it at the bottom of the home page of this site.

I should add that MonaVie did get smacked down in Germany. The two relevant points there are: August 25, 2010 at 4:14 pm and August 25, 2010 at 8:46 pm]

And Mr. Skeptic, please be reminded that I NEVER SAID MONAVIE HEALED MY DAUGHTER OF ANYTHING!!! WHAT ARE YOU??? A REPORTER WHO LIKES TO TWIST WORDS??? I am sorry to hear about your friend’s loss as the economy is really difficult for everyone. I would recommend you spend some time reading Kiyosaki’s free online book http://www.conspiracyoftherich.com for some insights :-)

[Editor's Note: I only clarified what you said, I didn't twist it at all. If you thought my clarification was erroneous, you should re-read what you wrote again. You should also make yourself of aware of MonaVie's own rules here. I think that the FTC would agree that mentioning of having a financial interest in the product, promoting its nutrition, and a role it played in your daughter's terminal illness is misleading consumers.

Do you mean I should read about this Robert Kiyosaki? Distributors would be wise to read his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and learn about assets and liabilities. Hint: Drinking MonaVie is a liability. Clearly Kiyosaki's teachings can not be applied to MonaVie.]

I responded respectfully to you and said (if you would read) “I know you did not outright say it but it seemed implied.”

Well… You seem to fit the mold. Respond arrogantly and disrespectful. Great reputation to send out!

Thanks for the link- I have enough money of my own thanks. I don’t need to look up whatever link you took the time to post. I earn my money by working hard and honestly.

Mr. Editor I applaud your thorough research on this topic. However the link about what Germany supposedly ruled on MonaVie was nothing but a blog which anyone can fabricate. Nothing was substantiated.

[Editor's Note: I recommend you go back and look at the information in the two links. Pay attention to the legit news sources and MonaVie's response - both of which can not be fabricated.]

As with any business that faces challenges, MonaVie has its share and I am sure MonaVie will overcome whatever hurdles Germany may pose. Time will tell. There is no need for a discussion here about it. MonaVie has already expanded to 20 countries and I give corporate thumbs up for that.

[Editor's Note: Time told the tale about Dallin Larsen's last miracle juice company, Royal Tongan Limu, Ring a bell? Remember that the DoJ and FTC shut that miracle juice down too. Do you think Dallin's illegal medical claims like this one could have been the cause? How many miracle juices do you think Dallin Larsen comes across? He's not even a scientist. Anyway, those distributors saw their business vanish overnight. Those people are quite sorry they waited for time to tell.]

BTW what is your name? I don’t want to converse with a friend I have to call Mr. Editor :)

[Editor's Note: I've got a hundred. For the purposes here, my last name is "Scam"... First name is "MonaVie."]

I am a coffee drinker and every morning I spend $1 buying it from the deli around the corner. But occasionally I would pamper myself and spend $2.59 for a cup of Starbucks luxurious coffee. I must admit I don’t like the taste of Starbucks any better than the deli coffee and I often wondered to myself, how in the world can Starbucks exist in every corner of the world selling this horrible tasting stuff? But you know what? It doesn’t matter what I feel about Starbucks because apparently there is a market segment who can’t live without it.

[Editor's Note: Are you really going to use the MonaVie vs. Starbucks argument. I mean I already wrote about that exact topic. People are going to start claiming that I invented your comments so that I could tout other articles of mine... especially when make all the same logical mistakes that other distributors made in the past. Just read that article and save yourself some time.]

Since we’ve reached the agreement that we are not arguing with one anther but merely having a fun and loving conversation here, the bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what you and I think about MonaVie. MonaVie is a success that that is why so many people are talking about it.

[Editor's Note: I don't know if it is really a fun and loving conversation here. The conversation here is kind of important because it making people realize that MonaVie is a failure. You can claim it is a success, but that doesn't make it true. MonaVie is already fading fast as I shown above. It won't be long until they implode like other non-sustainable pyramid schemes. It would be nice if MonaVie did publish an income disclosure statement though. They had been doing them every six months until middle of 2009. By my count they've missed two statements and are less than a month away from missing a third. Of course, we fun and loving can agree to conclude that MonaVie is fading. (See it's easy to put fun and loving agree on things even if they aren't true.)]

Not everyone is in love with Microsoft but Bill Gates is who he is. Not everyone is fond of Mark Zuckerberg but it now has over 500 million users. People can criticize all they want but at the end of the day, history is written by winners.

[Editor's Note: People dislike Bernie Madoff and Hitler and they had a bunch of followers as well. Last I noticed, history was written by them too. I think we can agree that many would prefer not to have that history written just as they would prefer not to have all the loss of homes that Skeptic Searcher mentioned attributed to Dallin Larsen.]

Mr. Possible,

You’ve posted a lot, but I don’t think any of it was either new or convincing. There are some pretty standard, yet empty, notions put forward by many a MV distributor:

1. a powerful combination of nutrition in a bottle that is convenient;
2. there is not a business in the whole wide world where nobody fails;
3. speak with the winners and learn from them, not the losers
4. Starbucks, McDonald’s ads, pharmaceutical commercials etc.
5. Kiyosaki
6. feel sorry for you….how much money did you spend on MonaVie, etc.
7. MonaVie may be expensive to some but so is a Mercedes
8. MonaVie is a success that that is why so many people are talking about it

I think MV Scam addressed most of them well, so I guess you may just need time to actually deal with those particulars. I would personally like to hear how MonaVie juice can be considered the Mercedes of fruit juices. I’d also like to know why you think many people are talking about it – I perceive the opposite. The only ones talking about it are those trying to sell it and those warning others to avoid the scam.

One final observation – your overly ingratiating tone and professions of love come across as insincere and unctuous, like a stereotypical used car salesman.

CGC have you tried drinking MonaVie? if yes, how many bottles did you drink?

Wil, I think you missed CGC’s point. Your question is not relevant.

There are things in life you don’t need to try. You don’t need to try McDonald’s french fries for an entire year. You don’t need to give people who claim to be Nigerian royalty money to know that it is a scam. You don’t need to jump off a skyscraper to know that it is dangerous.

Please continue the discussion of this at: The Problem with the “Try MonaVie” Argument.

ahhhh… Now I am feeling a little love from you :)

We are making good progress in our relationship here.

So you are saying it is OK to be a MonaVie Preferred Customer and NOT OK as a distributor?

… and from the deepest bottom part of my heart, I really do believe that you want to do good for the public

[Editor's note: rest of comment deleted for not being relevant]

I am more comfortable with it yes. Again, that MonaVie Preferred Customer should NOT be the customer of another distributor though. We don’t know what misconceptions that distributor told the potential Preferred Customer. We’ve seen a lot of lies and misleading information about the nutrition benefits and illegal medical health claims, for me to feel comfortable that the Preferred Customer wasn’t scammed into it.

This is why I say that the best thing to do is put the product on the shelf for its retail price and see how it sells. This is a win-win for everyone. MonaVie gets to dodge the claims that they aren’t keeping their distributors in compliance and avoids the messy details of an illegal pyramid scheme. People get to drink their MonaVie. Let’s move forward and make this happen, my friend. We can do this!

Also did you respond to CGC’s comment here: 2010/12/10 at 5:28pm? If not, please do.

Putting MonaVie on shelves will require upfront marketing costs which may work well for a different business distribution model. Imagine the cost of advertising that MonaVie would incur for trying to introduce to product to the public. I believe MonaVie has done extremely well in working with the distribution and marketing model it chose to be engaged in.

[Editor's Note: MonaVie already has tons of customer's right? They don't need to do too much marketing. Oh, and MonaVie is already doing the marketing anyway with NASCARs and showing up at awards shows. Plus distributors like to claim MonaVie is the fastest company to a billion dollars. Surely they can afford the marketing costs. This is just a smoke screen.]

BJ sells a MonaVie knockoff on their shelves for $20+. Nobody cares for them.

[Editor's Note: Exactly! This is because the product isn't wrapped around a hyped-up business plan and illegal health claims. This is why we need to put MonaVie on the store shelf. We need to proof that people care for the product instead of doing what you suggest in spending $1500-$2700 a year as an entry fee into a poor business.]

When there is something of significance and of value, there will be knockoffs.

[Editor's Note: Where there is a perceived high-margin product, there will be competition at a lower margin. These products are often as good (generic Tylenol vs. regular Tylenol for example).]

Little league or not, time will tell. I believe MonaVie has done well in building its BRAND and that is what really matters in the long run.

Welch has its brand. Coca Cola has its brand. McDonald’s has its brand. And MonaVie is coming up strong. Remember it is only 5 years old. This brand will grow into a widely recognized name. So we may have to continue this conversation 5 to 10 years from now.

I do believe, Wil Possible would have a great future in politics. He has taken the art of double speak and babbling to a new level. He will have to be careful though. Making a statement in a public forum and then claiming he never said or meant it has undone many a public figure. He has done a pretty good job on most of the BS.

Implying but covering his butt in case he’s called on it.
“I will not make any medical claims about the product but I will say the knowledge I’ve gained thru my association with MonaVie literally saved my family from much agony when my little girl feel seriously ill in February 2010.”

Admitting you will fail but not if you know the secret reason.
“I would have to say that YES most distributors do NOT make money in the system. BUT this is also true for many reasons. First of all, there is not a business in the whole wide world where nobody fails.” Is there a business in the whole wide world where everybody fails?

You are obviously bitter but I love you and I feel sorry for you.
“WOW! You obviously got lots of beef with MonaVie and I almost feel bad you are the way you are. Yes you are right in that I knew very little about nutrition before I came to be associated with MonaVie and the fact is, I am like most Americans–brainwashed by McDonald’s ads, pharmaceutical commercials etc. But now I know better“.

A little problem here.
“BTW there is nothing wrong with PYRAMIDS (except they are illegal) but it is ponzis that are illegal. I am sure you’ve heard examples of a pyramid on the dollar bill, the structure of most organizations etc. so I will not get deeper into that“. (WTF)

Beautiful Babble and Doublespeak.
“MonaVie may be expensive to some but so is a Mercedes. The fact is some people are happy with their Hyundais while others love Mercedes. All got four wheels and take you from point A to point B. But a Mercedes costs multiple times more than a Hyundai. I rarely hear people attacking Mercedes as a high price item that rips people off. I got friends who lost 6 figures in the stock market yet they said nothing about Wall Street being a scam. I once bought GE stocks and it tripled in price so I sold my shares. Later the price came crashing down so whoever bought the stocks at its peak lost the shirts off of their backs. I don’t believe they paid the true value of the stock price. In fact, they probably got “ripped off” but the strangest thing was, nobody complained about GE“.

You have made me the victim but I love you and forgive you.
“You would have a very hard time trying to prove I did anything wrong or misleading here my friend. If anything this will only show how you are taking advantage of an average person thru your ability to twist words. But I still love and appreciate you because there must’ve been some deep rooted hurt inside of you that made you to want to do this“.

A mistake but you have to read between the lines.
“I am a coffee drinker and every morning I spend $1 buying it from the deli around the corner.
But occasionally I would pamper myself and spend $2.59 for a cup of Starbucks luxurious coffee. I must
admit I don’t like the taste of Starbucks any better than the deli coffee and I often wondered to myself,
How in the world can Starbucks exist in every corner of the world selling this horrible tasting stuff“?
He hates it and it costs 2 ½ times more than it should and there are no benefits (MonaVie?). .

I don’t think Wil Possible is for real, nobody could be this goofy. I think this is a joke. Collusion, Lattimore Where are you?

Are you kidding me? Why would MonaVie waste its time trying to sell in little grocery stores in one region of the country when it has the opportunity to go into 20 countries in less than 5 years? I am beginning to question your business acumens my friend?

[Editor's Note: You say that MonaVie doesn't have the market recognition to get on store shelves and that it's too small and doesn't have the money. So I suggest they start small. Now you say that it a colossal organization in 20 countries. You can't argue both sides. If it's big enough to expand in new countries, it is big enough to get on store shelves as a legit juice instead of as an illegal pyramid in the US.]

Whatever happened to Purple Horror, I don’t know. Even if MonaVie bought it off, awesome. MonaVie made enough money to do that and that’s more power to its success.

[Editor's Note: Hmm, what a backwards way of looking at things? They are able to make enough scamming people that they buy off people who are trying to expose the scam. This is the company you are supporting? Where are your ethics my friend?]

Hey how much would you be willing to sell this blog to MonaVie for? ;)

On jaywalking I was referring the fact that if it a law that isn’t enforced, it might as well not be a law at all. In this case, if MonaVie is illegal, let Uncle Sam shut it down. Not you or I.

[Editor's Note: Again, this is irrelevant, but Jaywalking is still enforced in some states. Due to the economy, the FTC is a little backed up and can't devote the resources to stopping the pile of juices. If the police aren't able to get to the bank in time to stop a bank robber and it is reasonable safe for me to do so, I'm going to do my part to stop the thief. Again, there is no question that MonaVie is illegal, you already admitted it when you said it was a pyramid. It is just a matter of getting the law enforced.]

Consumers have to right to spend their money on whatever they want and however much they want if they see the value in the products/services.

[Editor's Note: So then buying nuclear warheads, crack, and prostitutes are completely illegal? Wow! You must live in a different United States than me.]

Now one must not jump to the conclusion that the juice business is defrauding the public of anything, let the courts decide that if it is true. You are certainly not the judge or the final word. What if one day the Supreme Court said everything is OK? What would you do then? Look at Amyway, after its battle with DOJ it is still billion dollar business.

[Editor's Note: There's a reason why Amway is still in business. It has 70% retail customers and a few other things that make it not a pyramid. MonaVie doesn't follow these guidelines. Again, I refer you to this test.]

Whenever you are ready, we can work on the other projects together. I can see this team happening :)

MLM is not for everyone just as entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint hearted. To be successful in any industry one must understand the insides of the business. DEM I am sorry you bought into what your uplines sold you. My tried to do the same but I didn’t spend money on the extras. Perhaps MLM isn’t for you? Only your heart can tell you.

[Editor's Note: You just apologize for the uplines. I realize that you don't ask for names and petition MonaVie to get those distributor's banned. They are making your business look bad. Take a little pride in your company and your product and get this scum removed from company. You can make the world better!

MLM's that are illegal pyramids are for no one. Anyone with a reason head can realize that. ]

Actually Mr. Editor, it was fun while it lasted. No party lasts forever. This can be an endless debate so I will take a bow here. Unless I continue to hear attacks on me which means my friends here still wants my participation.

[Editor's Response: You admit that you are part of an illegal pyramid scheme... you should probably expect to be attacked on here. If you take it to mean that want your participation, that is just bad logic. Of course it can be an endless debate when you bring up endless topics not related to the debate itself.]

But in any case, what’s the point? I wish you luck and perhaps MonaVie will offer you a handsome deal for this piece of property. No hard feelings.

[Editor's Response: If they do, that would be awesome. The information in this website has already been sent off to others. I'm sure it would pop up elsewhere pretty quickly.]

I understand your position but you should also know that everyone has a story. Before you go harsh on something like this, it might benefit you to hear some heartfelt stories related.
‘

[Editor's Response: Bernie Madoff has a story. Charles Ponzi has a story. Now Wil Possible has a story. It may benefit you to read up on the law and the people who are suffering from this company.]

Wil Possible states “MLM is not for everyone just as entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint hearted. To be successful in any industry one must understand the insides of the business.”

Oh dear…

That’s quite a statement to make in a venture which is promoted as being possible for anyone to achieve in – and in the case of Monavie, this is apparently done by simply “sharing” when the reality is that 99.64% of the ENTIRE sales force are unable to succeed in the venture. Is it not then fraudulent to make such a claim without disclosing the 99.64% failure rate? And with little to no retailing selling occurring and profits/revenue being derived as a result of the investments and purchases of the sales force, does it not occur to Wil that in order to be successful in the business one must also understand that the successes occur as a direct result of and off the backs of those who are losing.

It makes me livid to no end to hear people such as Wil justifying their participation in pyramid scams such as Monavie by suggesting Social Security, which may be a social burden in terms of additional taxes paid and can upset people who perceive themselves as financing benefits for those who aren’t as well off financially, is a pyramid or ponzi scheme when the reality is that there’s no element of fraud or intention to mislead – unlike what Wil is attempting to do, knowingly or not, through his participation in Monavie.

Is this fool for real or what – illegal and fraudulent testimonial (which is no doubt the sales pitch), acknowledgement of building a pyramid instead of a business (clearly this enlightenment came after he realised his “business” couldn’t be built based on the sales of the grossly over-priced juice), acknowledgement that the compensation plan is failing virtually every unsuspecting person who signs up, a complete lack of insight into the legalities of the scheme and the implications of such a scheme on participants (both financially and otherwise). And seriously in amongst all of the other irrelevant topics, WTF have autism or cancer got to do with Monavie – a refined and processed food which is preserved with a chemical preservative suggested as causing cancer itself when combined with vitamin C???

The lack of reasoning and logic is truly astounding, Wil certainly has taken idiocy to a new level. Ahhh…only in Monavie.

p.s I don’t know if this happens to anyone else but for some reason I always mis-type Monavie as “Monaive”. How appropriate.

I should mention that I’ve put Wil’s posts in the “on hold” bin. He was just going in so many different directions a million miles a minute. I had a good email thread with him and he believes that this site should expand to address general health concerns (hence the vaccination thing). I think that’s the role of other more general sites, and this site should retain its focus.

Thanks for your comment Helena. I find your rant is a little misguided in some areas…

You said, “The only reason people fail in anything is if they quit.”

Why don’t you trying out for L.A. Lakers then? Surely you wouldn’t fail if you didn’t quit, right? Perhaps you will concede the point that some things are not practically possible, and it is best to focus our efforts on those with potential. In this case, you’d probably conclude that starting for the L.A. is one of those things that you don’t want to spend your entire life failing at.

Now that we’ve recognized that, we can put MonaVie in the same boat as making the LA Lakers. We know that 99.64% of people lose money in MonaVie. We also know that far fewer make any significant money in it.

I’m not against creating residual income. I have been writing a website about it for five years now. Go visit it: Lazy Man and Money. I have created that income. One of the best parts is that I do it by helping people and not asking for any of their money. As we know with MonaVie, for one person to make money 19 people have to lose it. I don’t want to live my life hurting 19 other people financial. It doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. It’s even worse in this economy as you point out.

If you are looking for more ideas I suggest you look at Get Rich Slowly as well as Smart Passive Income.

Jim, this sounds like something written straight out of the “MonaVie Handbook…the snake oil Hustlers Guide to False Enlightenment” by Dallin Larsen.

Here is what I have to offer. I went to university, got a degree and landed myself a decent job that pays me well. I go on vacations and set money aside for a rainy day. I have friends and family that love me for being me, not because I can help pad their bank account by being in their downline.

I don’t have to go to work every day and con people into buying into a pyramid scheme so that I can provide my children “a residual income”. I don’t have to lie about a product’s nutritional content & rely on “scientific studies” that are marketing ploys, not bona fide studies/science.

What if you didn’t accept what MonaVie puts on their website or tells you at the functions? What if you dug a little deeper into the “science” they claim to have in support of their products. What if you looked around and saw MANY other MLM companies that are making the exact same claims as MonaVie, in terms of alleged health benefits and compensation plans, with similar juices or nutritional supplements? What if you discovered that all of these are also based on junk science and that only a very few people at the top (like less then 1%) make any sustained profit?

Is it ok with you to lie and be involved with something that IS a pyramid scheme in order to provide your children with residual income? If it is then read no further.

I was involved with MonaVie and I know what you are being told and how effective it is if that is ALL you are hearing. Any bona fide business would not try to dissuade you from doing this research, as MonaVie does. This is not about keeping you motivated (I can hear it when you say people who fail are those who quit etc.), this is about keeping you brainwashed so you don’t question MonaVie Corporate and their spoon fed information.

You don’t have to listen to me/us but it is your responsibility to protect your family’s future by really researching what you are involved in, and not by talking to others involved or by reading the MV website. I went to a nutritionist and several other reliable sources to confirm what this web site had already told me and that I had been completely conned.

Good luck and I hope that you find your way out of this scam.

Monavie Indian Leaders Mr. Shamsudeen Beaten up in public for Cheating Business

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3iZDdez_t78

Can anyone share the back story on this for someone not up to date (and who doesn’t really follow Indian politics)?

That’s kind of what I gathered, but I wasn’t sure if I had it right. I explained it to my wife as too rival mobs going at it over who gets control of the city’s organized crime.

This goes to further show that the product isn’t relevant, the fight is for the distributors who pay the autoship every month.

I figured this out quite awhile ago, when a distributor approached me about his awesome coin collection MLM (Numis) and two weeks later sent me an email that he’s found this great fountain of youth pill MLM (LifeVantage Protandim) instead. Suddenly all the arguments he made about collecting coins and them being assets were bad ideas that should be abandoned?

Logically, there’s no reason why you can’t sell juice, pills, coins, and laundry soap. Walmart sells three of the four – collecting coins is a big of a niche market for them.

These MLMs are in competition with each other, because the war is over distributors, not products. Distributors are too brainwashed by the false hope of financial freedom to see that they are the pawns in the game.