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Thread: New business opportunity for me, looking for input - gold grams BUT...MLM :(

  1. #1

    New business opportunity for me, looking for input - gold grams BUT...MLM :(

    I have been approached to get in near the start of a company who is marketing encapsulated gold grams in what looks like a credit card, at around $8 over spot. The idea being a gram of gold worth around $55 (sold for $62-$63 at the moment) is much easier to transact in barter or 'gold-is-money' type of transaction than loose bullion, and I agree with that, and have been looking into that sort of thing for years.

    Now, the problem for me is that it's a MLM business, and I have always been deeply suspicious of MLM things.

    The gold is physical delivery, NOT ETF. After so much in commission, participants get a debit card denominated in physical gold, to load up and spend anywhere in the world using physical gold to back electronic debits into whatever currency you are purchasing in. WHich thing I REALLY like.

    I really like everything about the opportunity except for the singular fact that it's MLM, and the whole business model is propagated on the spreading of the business model to other people.

    If I weren't already struggling like hell, I'd turn it down flat just because it's MLM. Nevermind that this is at the beginning and I could make a mint off of it, eventually somewhere down the road, my profits will be at the expense of someone else. Because it's MLM, and that seems to be to me the very nature of MLM. I, in particular, am familiar with a ton of sound money people, so were I to do this, I could indeed generate a serious current and residual profit and actually survive to do liberty activism 24/7. BUT, the people at the end of the MLM chain who inevitably get taken, will they not be the people in our own movement who get hurt?

    So anyway, if you have a business opportunity that is excellent and profitable in every possible way...except that the business model happens to rely on MLM for propagation, how do you react? What is your take? Because if some of you know a lot more about MLM than I do, and it's not as evil as I seem to think it is, then this could solve pretty much all of my money problems and leave me to fighting for liberty instead of trying to put food on the table and make the mortgage note...
    Last edited by GunnyFreedom; 01-04-2013 at 01:30 PM. Reason: typop



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  3. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    I have been approached to get in near the start of a company who is marketing encapsulated gold grams in what looks like a credit card, at around $8 over spot. The idea being a gram of gold worth around $55 (sold for $62-$63 at the moment) is much easier to transact in barter or 'gold-is-money' type of transaction than loose bullion, and I agree with that, and have been looking into that sort of thing for years.

    Now, the problem for me is that it's a MLM business, and I have always been deeply suspicious of MLM things.

    The gold is physical delivery, NOT ETF. After so much in commission, participants get a debit card denominated in physical gold, to load up and spend anywhere in the world using physical gold to back electronic debits into whatever currency you are purchasing in. WHich thing I REALLY like.

    I really like everything about the opportunity except for the singular fact that it's MLM, and the whole business model is propagated on the spreading of the business model to other people.

    If I weren't already struggling like hell, I'd turn it down flat just because it's MLM. Nevermind that this is at the beginning and I could make a mint off of it, eventually somewhere down the road, my profits will be at the expense of someone else. Because it's MLM, and that seems to be to me the very nature of MLM. I, in particular, am familiar with a ton of sound money people, so were I to do this, I could indeed generate a serious current and residual profit and actually survive to do liberty activism 24/7. BUT, the people at the end of the MLM chain who inevitably get taken, will they not be the people in our own movement who get hurt?

    So anyway, if you have a business opportunity that is excellent and profitable in every possible way...except that the business model happens to rely on MLM for propagation, how do you react? What is your take? Because if some of you know a lot more about MLM than I do, and it's not as evil as I seem to think it is, then this could solve pretty much all of my money problems and leave me to fighting for liberty instead of trying to put food on the table and make the mortgage note...
    Nobody gets "taken" if there is no force and no fraud. If the day comes when it stops being a good deal for someone, well, people make bad deals all the time. If you are smart enough to get in on the ground floor and it works for you, it will only be because somebody somewhere along the line is getting value from what you are doing.

    And if something starts to smell fishy, you will smell it and do the right thing. People will be better off having the likes of you up the chain above them.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  4. #3
    Thanks, it's the first time in my life I've been genuinely interested in a MLM type business, and that's only because I really like the product. I'm a bit hesitant over the $8 overspot for gold grams, because it doesn't take but about 50 cents to make the plastic card, and maybe maybe another dollar to encapsulate the gold, leaving the balance of the overspot for profits up and down the MLM chain. However, $8 overspot is less than the big bullion makers are charging for a similar products (CreditSuisse makes one for I recall $12 over)

  5. #4
    I recall seeing something like embedding gold into credit card like size items a long time ago. It could have been years ago I read about it. It might have been an alternative currency idea and just used paper. Don't know where I saw it.

    EDIT: From below, the product I recall is shiresilver, which as been around awhile.
    Last edited by specialkornflake; 01-04-2013 at 02:50 PM.

  6. #5
    Gunny, I wonder which company you're referring to. I haven't been keeping up on developments lately. But what I really wonder about is your description. You keep saying "encapsulated", as if there is actual physical gold physically embedded in the card. Like this:

    http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/...EdNo=001&From=

    or this:

    http://shiresilver.com/

    But then you talk about "debiting" into currencies of your choice. I don't get it. If the metal is physically in the card, then you cannot use it as you would a credit or debit card -- swiping a magnetic strip, or entering in your card number. Because you would still maintain possession of the metal which you're supposed to be spending to the other party. The only way to spend is to physically give the card to the spendee.

    Anyway, I'm just interested as to what this is.

    As for MLM, aka network marketing, there's actually nothing wrong with it whatsoever. Amazon.com is network marketing. Amazon pays people who refer buyers to their site a percentage of the sale. What's wrong with that? What the problem is with so many MLM things is that they have no product. The network is the product, which is to say the whole thing is just a ridiculous pyramid of vapor. If there are actual real products being sold, as there are with Amazon, Avon, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and many others, then there's no scam. It's all on the up-and-up. Some dislike the hard-selling techniques of some of these companies, like Avon, but that is actually a separate issue. Kirby Vacuum hard-sells in a similar way and is not MLM, while Amazon does not hard-sell and is MLM (well, maybe not multi-level, but single-level affiliate marketing).

    Liberty Dollar, of course, was a network-marketed hard currency, and e-gold had a network-marketing (referral) element, so there are precedents in the sound money world.

    In short, if the company seems to have a good product you can believe in, and if you will be able to sell it without resorting to any tactics you'd find either unethical or just distasteful, then I'd say this should be an option that's open for you.

  7. #6
    Doesn't seem like there would be enough profit margin to support a MLM. Is there another side to this business... like selling training, seminars, books, and seller kits?

  8. #7
    OK, I think I have found who you're talking about, and it is indeed physically embedding tiny bars of gold in the card, like the currencies I linked to. The gold-backed debit card is a completely separate thing, a perk for affiliates once they reach a certain level.

    Their program seems pretty complex. I would probably recommend just doing the simple, free program and seeing if you can actually make sales and generate income. If you are doing well at that, you can always switch over to the complex, higher-percentage program. Further, I personally feel suspicious as to how developed and how much of an actual legitimate business these guys are. In fact, it may be just "guy", not "guys". So I would definitely do more research and checking around before sinking large amounts of time or money into this.

  9. #8
    Hi, are you all talking about Karatbars International? I have been in it as a free member since last year but have not purchased any of the products. Also I think Regal Gold is better place to purchase gold.
    42



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  11. #9
    As a rule of thumb, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Like Helmuth said, do plenty of research.
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by heavenlyboy34 View Post
    As a rule of thumb, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Like Helmuth said, do plenty of research.
    Never trust a Helmuth

    Last edited by John F Kennedy III; 01-05-2013 at 12:44 AM.
    I am the spoon.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Endthefednow View Post
    Hi, are you all talking about Karatbars International? I have been in it as a free member since last year but have not purchased any of the products. Also I think Regal Gold is better place to purchase gold.
    Yes, it's Karatbars International. IIRC they really only have one actual product, gold grams embedded in a plastic card. They have cards with different designs, of course. You probably know more about them than I do however.

  14. #12
    Well @ $8 over spot that is cheaper than the Canadian mint small gold coins or what I have seen from Suisse.

  15. #13
    I can buy from my local guy though , for spot , he pays bid, sells @ ask.

  16. #14
    It sounds interesting, but $8 over spot is about $240 over spot/oz, which is very expensive. I think something like Peter Schiff's gold debit card will easily wipe this card out sooner or later.

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by cubical View Post
    It sounds interesting, but $8 over spot is about $240 over spot/oz, which is very expensive. I think something like Peter Schiff's gold debit card will easily wipe this card out sooner or later.
    They are very small units. Tiny bars of half a gram, one gram, etc. It costs money to mint, and then to encapsulate them in the card. $8 seems pretty reasonable.

    A gold-backed debit card is a completely different product. Those have been around for a long while, and there are lots of them. Peter Schiff is not the only one to have one. They are an exciting offering with a lot of possibilities, I agree.

  18. #16
    whether it is legit or not, you will be looked at as one of those people who promotes products through MLM. that can have very negative connotations especially if you plan to run for office again at some point. it sounds on the side and would have to be so that sufficient money is generated to pay the upline. pass.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by helmuth_hubener View Post
    They are very small units. Tiny bars of half a gram, one gram, etc. It costs money to mint, and then to encapsulate them in the card. $8 seems pretty reasonable.

    A gold-backed debit card is a completely different product. Those have been around for a long while, and there are lots of them. Peter Schiff is not the only one to have one. They are an exciting offering with a lot of possibilities, I agree.
    I am not saying the $8 is all profit for someone. The reasons you mentioned are why I would much rather stick with 1oz or close to 1oz denominations. Much easier to make so its much cheaper to buy.

    What other legit sources offer a gold backed debit card? I am very interested in using one.

  21. #18
    I would rather have the smaller denominations, in case I ever find a need to use them.I am an old guy, I need nothing that would ever be worth an ounce .

  22. #19
    I know a guy that does this type of thing selling gold in .5 grams up to ....cant remember the max size, but he used a vending machine to do this. I have his info somewhere and can find it again. I know he is from Korea and had a demo machine at a trade show in Las Vegas two years ago at the Jewelry show. He even gave me a free .5gr card with the gold sealed and a serial number on it....nice guy. The machine stays connected with pricing and automatically adjust prices to reflect current prices. Nice looking machine and was built like a ATM
    "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."
    James Madison

    "It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams



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  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    I have been approached to get in near the start of a company who is marketing encapsulated gold grams in what looks like a credit card, at around $8 over spot. The idea being a gram of gold worth around $55 (sold for $62-$63 at the moment) is much easier to transact in barter or 'gold-is-money' type of transaction than loose bullion, and I agree with that, and have been looking into that sort of thing for years.

    Now, the problem for me is that it's a MLM business, and I have always been deeply suspicious of MLM things.
    MLM usually is a bad idea, but more numbers and details would be helpful.

    So you're saying the gold gram is worth about $55 and sold for $65? That's not on its own bad. When you buy silver, you typically pay 10% above spot when all is said and done (shipping and taxes).

    MLM only becomes a problem when the items are overpriced and the program stresses recruitment rather than product (and if they don't, I wonder how they make money).

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by helmuth_hubener View Post
    Liberty Dollar, of course, was a network-marketed hard currency, and e-gold had a network-marketing (referral) element, so there are precedents in the sound money world.

    In short, if the company seems to have a good product you can believe in, and if you will be able to sell it without resorting to any tactics you'd find either unethical or just distasteful, then I'd say this should be an option that's open for you.
    Liberty Dollar, even though they had a RCO system, they still sold their products themselves, one thing MLMs typically don't do. But they did have a high markup, which is characteristic of a MLM. AOCS seems to too. Ironically, when the Fed busted NORFED, they didn't seem to care about the pyramid aspect of it, they were too interested in the 'counterfeit' element. Gotta give Liberty Dollar credit, the best way to mask a MLM business is to make sure it's referred to as something else, most will say it's a "business opportunity" (so that the buyers feel empowered, like a seller).

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by puppetmaster View Post
    I know a guy that does this type of thing selling gold in .5 grams up to ....cant remember the max size, but he used a vending machine to do this. I have his info somewhere and can find it again. I know he is from Korea and had a demo machine at a trade show in Las Vegas two years ago at the Jewelry show. He even gave me a free .5gr card with the gold sealed and a serial number on it....nice guy. The machine stays connected with pricing and automatically adjust prices to reflect current prices. Nice looking machine and was built like a ATM
    That would be sweet , I could just stop on the way home from work and buy a gram out of the vending machine

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by helmuth_hubener View Post
    Amazon.com is network marketing. Amazon pays people who refer buyers to their site a percentage of the sale. What's wrong with that?
    No no no, there's a big difference between referral/affiliate/commission and network/MLM. MLM/network REQUIRES giving commission, as do all sales jobs, but the former "referral/affiliate/commission" is usually 1 level, that means there's a warehouse, there's seller, and there's a buyer. The roles NEVER MIX, buyers do not become wholesalers, resellers don't become customers...Amazon pays ONE PERSON for referral, THAT'S IT. The person paid either cannot, or would not be profitable if he tried to "refer another person to do the same". Furthermore, Amazon's prices are extremely competitive whether you are talking about media or electronics, this is hardly ever seen in MLM, since MLM typically has to create new products, avoid selling products to wholesale outlets, charge high markup to split commissions on every level...etc

  27. #24
    Hi, Karatbars sell at time of posting for 0.02 grams of gold (karatbar Card) $58.44 Add $ for shipping
    and Karatbars will buy back the 0.02 grams of gold for $42.93 yes, we have to pay for shipping unless
    we can find an exchange center near.

    Or the Gold can be stored for free at SecurLog storage vaults in Neu-Isenburg.
    Office hours: 9.00am - 17.00pm CET
    Last edited by Endthefednow; 01-05-2013 at 06:21 PM.
    42



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  29. #25
    I’m resurrecting this thread for the simple fact that about a week ago I had this opportunity come my way and one of the first places I searched to see if there was any unbiased info was this forum. And lo and behold, this thread came up. I even PM’d Gunny Freedom who started the thread to see if he jumped in this and what he thought.

    With that said, I ended up registering anyway. I, of course did as much due diligence as possible to find something that really looked shady or smelled fishy before I joined.

    Now before I go any further some full disclosure is in order. First off, I am more of a lurker on this forum than an active member. I’m not here to “pitch” you to “join my team” or any of that crap. I just figured I could actually add something to a thread I had questions about just a week ago and shed some light on it for a few others if anyone even reads this.

    Secondly, I went into this opportunity as an internet marketer. Yes, I am one of those people who actually do “make money online with only 2 hours of work a day”. What those catchy headlines don’t tell you is that you only reach that goal after years of getting scammed and dropping $1000’s in things that don’t work. The more failures I had the more prepared I was when I started to build an online business successfully. (I am also a fiber optics engineer – sitting in front of computer all day allows me to operate these other businesses – and have no intention of leaving the job until they kick me out. I’ll take the healthcare from them for me and my family but if I am forced to leave it won’t phase me from a financial standpoint right now).

    With that out of the way, Karatbars International is a network marketing company. Plain and simple. Some could argue it is similar to any of those dopey energy drink businesses, or face creams, or seaweed belly wraps that make you lose weight. And at first glance it does look that way.

    But in a nutshell what Karatbars does is give people the opportunity to exchange in their paper dollars for grams of gold. They will store it and you can take delivery whenever you want. What you get is a small 1 gram, 1.5 gram, or 5 gram, bar of gold embedded on a plastic card, just like a credit card. There is a spot on the card that states the value/weight of the gold embedded, a signature from the assayer, and an LBMA certification (London Bullion Market Association). If that LBMA certification is supposed to put people’s minds at ease I guess it does its job.

    That is the investment part of it and I am guessing this is where Karatbars makes their recurring income. What your sponsors tell you to do is go on the automatic payment of 1 gram a week and take delivery once a month. You can set all this on automatic. So you get 4 1gram cards a month if you want. Rinse and repeat the next month. For people who need some discipline and just want to dabble in gold this is not such a bad deal. Yes, it is a bit on the high side as far as over spot price and such. I think it is somewhere between $65-$70 a gram. But they are storing it, embedding it, and packaging it and delivering it to your door. (I went with a 5gram card a month just because it is cheaper than 4 1gram cards but there is no auto delivery and stuff for the 5gram). So, if millions of people (so they claim) are doing this they are definitely making a few bucks just off of the constant exchange of paper into gold.

    That can all be done on a FREE plan. As can any direct referral you bring in. You would get a commission on any gold they exchange as well as any upgrade to their membership.

    And this is where the network marketing part comes in. There are 5 packages. Free, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and VIP. All of these packages are a 1 time fee, which is nice since you are not under some contract to purchase 4 cases of energy drinks a month regardless of if you sell them or not. At Free you get placed in your sponsors downline and anyone he or you refer in goes below you. Again, this makes things a little different than the regular network marketing nonsense. So even if you didn’t refer someone but they are below you you can make some money if they take some sort of action.

    But you need to be on a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or VIP plan. Once you take one of those plans, you are now on the team and every move made from someone below you whether you placed them there or not you get the commish. Every person has 2 legs also to build and you can place your referrals on either leg. Bronze is a one time fee of around $135, Silver - $350, Gold $800+, VIP - $2K. The bigger the plan the more perks, higher commissions, blah, blah, blah.

    But what their big marketing campaign is, and the one I am using on my internet marketing leads is, You can easily get to $4500 a week in 12 weeks if you just follow the 12 week plan.

    Briefly the 12 week plan is, you make a 1 time purchase of a package(Bronze,Silver, etc)…and you exchange your paper dollars for 1 gram of gold a week and you get 2 people to do the same thing, and so on and so on after week 6 (if you took the bronze package) your weekly gold is free and by week 12 you are bringing in $4500 a week. Easier said than done but even if it takes a year if someone sticks with it, it can be done. Its either volume until you have the right people in place or you find the right 2 people who will do what you do and they find the right 2 people etc…

    I went in for a silver package and because of my marketing tools, resources, and online experience I was already in a good position to market this immediately. So from just 1 week of doing this and targeting the “make money online” niche, I grabbed about 200 leads (these people opted in to my offer – my squeeze page opened with “I will Force You To Make $4500 A Week in 12 Weeks” or something like that.) Of those 200, I’d say 50 registered onto to my downline. Of those 50, 6 have converted into active team members aka payed for a package and buying gold.

    I didn’t do any cold calling whatsoever but I am told by my upline that people convert like crazy that way. I just didn’t have the time to call these people. But what I did in my follow up emails to these leads is go into the value of gold, the history of the dollar, pointed them to a webpage I set up that explains the Karatbars business as well videos on gold, the dollar, etc...and I always left my contact info in my emails as well as on the webpages. People were skyping me and calling me like crazy. “this is fascinating stuff, I never knew this”, “this is something I could get behind”, or even stuff like, “I can’t believe you answered the phone and took the time to explain all this stuff to me”.

    And for once in all my marketing years, I didn’t feel like I was “selling” something. It was finally something I believe in. (I already purchase gold and silver locally so this is actually just another strategy) I was just talking to them about how F’d up everything is and how we’ve been hoodwinked for the last 100 years, etc. It was coming out so genuine that I didn’t need to sell. The people who “got it” jumped right in.

    Is it Network Marketing? Yes. I won’t shy away from that question. There is no point dancing around that. Lots of leads try and go on the attack and ask that or “is it a Pyramid scheme?” I just say Yes. (Even though I will take a marketing program where you exchange small denominations of paper into gold that is actually tangible and MINE as opposed to having a closet full of Amway products I don’t know what to do with).

    My next campaign will be targeting the libertarian/gold crowd although I definitely won’t be approaching it from a “Make $4500 a week” angle. More like a “Finally, an online business with no, energy drinks, lotions, or diet pills…just Common Sense.”

    I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want people from sites like this one on my team but this is not the time or place for that, so if you see an ad on your Facebook sidebar talking about gold and an online business – it might be me.

    I hope this helps someone who was on the fence either way.
    Last edited by Yukon Cornelius; 03-16-2014 at 11:16 AM.

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by John F Kennedy III View Post
    Never trust a Helmuth

    It all started to go downhill for Helmuth in 1935 when the Nazis banned the Boy Scouts....

  31. #27
    Peter Schiff tried selling grams of gold but seems to have dropped it. Must not have done very well for him.

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    I have been approached...

    That alone clinches a no for me.

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Peter Schiff tried selling grams of gold but seems to have dropped it. Must not have done very well for him.
    Sounds like a fairly sound idea to me . More affordable for people .

  34. #30
    Now, the problem for me is that it's a MLM business, and I have always been deeply suspicious of MLM things.
    BOUT FACE!

    RUN!!!

    Seriously Gunny, stick with the computer biz...

    -t

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