It bears mentioning that there is a very fine line between a law-breaking Ponzi/pyramid/MLM organization and a legitimate direct sales company (Mary Kay or Avon for example). Amway pretty much defined that line through a series of wins and losses against both former "entrepeneurs" and the Justice Department, leaving behind a sort of blueprint for how to implement the basic scheme without technically breaking the law. I'm certainly no lawyer but my understanding is that it has to do with how revenue is realized at each level of the organization; if revenue is tied directly (individual performance) or indirectly (commissions for higher level employees) to product sales it seems to be okay. But if an investment in the company itself (often masked as a membership or enrollment fee) is required of new associates and that money goes directly to higher level associates rather than being truly invested in the business' operations that can be a red flag. FWIW I have several family members who do Mary Kay, Longeberger (sp?) Baskets, and 34 (I think?) and although those are "legitimate" businesses in the courts eyes I still see them as something of a scheme. Not as bad as Amway certainly, but still with considerably less likelihood of success than recruiters have lead them to believe. I've watched some of my family members cycle through several of these companies without success, whereas if they'd just gotten a second actual job they probably would have made much more money by now. I just hate to see people get their hopes lifted just to have them crushed later.