Yeah some of them aren't full on pyramid schemes and instead are just companies that opened up to more "grass roots" style marketing/distribution (quite a few of these are companies that also do the normal retail manner, but realized they have some pretty fanatical people they can get to help them while not having to actually add them to the payroll).
In my experience guys aren't any less prone to it. I remember in college when Quixtar (that Amway offshoot that Amway created so people wouldn't know it was Amway). I almost thought I was giving off gay vibes with how many guys were asking me to attend "parties". And I had a friend (that I've known for 20+ years) send a mass email to his whole Facebook friend list pitching one of those diet/health food ones. The comments were pretty expected "WTF are you doing why would you mass e-mail this bullshit?" He even went to some of their conferences.
I wonder how much they make? Yes, it all depends on how much time you put it to it, but generally speaking for part-time stay-at-home moms.
$5-15K? Probably not bad for soliciting on your computer + seldom in-person meets between friends. That's not bad at all + socializing.
It all depends on how insufferable they are in pitching to people. Keep in mind, they're going to be soliciting to people that were likely already solicited to along with them, so I doubt they're getting that much easy pickup. I know some will buy a candle or something small but that's not where they make their money. Its more of a "I already bought something so stop pestering me you asshole" type of deal.
Too often the actual sellers don't really make anything, once they pay for the starter kit, etc. Once they burn all of their friends and family it get much harder to make a buck.
This. Lots of them never make shit and likely only lose money trying to get people to buy it. I think the savviest ones are ones that like the product and so would use it already, and then basically are advertising (and then get basically a finder's fee for getting others to use it). These are also the people that tend to find the products that aren't BS or require cult-like devotion.
The insufferable ones end up alienating themselves and losing money (likely after bringing in people who aren't insufferable assholes about it who then proceed to outsell them and bring in more people).
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