The article highlights instances where individuals discovered modern scams prevalent in today’s consumer culture. One Redditor shared their experience with overpriced designer rugs sold under different names, revealing a markup of up to five times the original cost. Another showcased the pushy tactics used by time-share salespeople during presentations, emphasizing how they exploit consumers. Additionally, encounters with multi-level marketing jobs portrayed them as relying more on recruitment tactics rather than genuine service. These revelations underscore the importance of consumer awareness in navigating various industries filled with potentially dishonest practices.
Once upon a time, I attended a time-share presentation because they offered money to go. Yes, they are all high-pressure salespeople and scammy by nature, but on this one, I spotted exactly how they would hose everyone involved. I read the contract carefully (since I was there anyway, and it made their salesperson shut up while I read).
Furniture. My wife is a huge fan of home design shows, especially one called Dream Home Makeover. That'll be important later. So, one day, she picked out a rug for our dining area. It's called 'The Janette' (yes, they name rugs), and we ordered it. It's something like $1500. The rug arrives with a label on the back that says, 'The Samuel.' I thought we ordered the wrong thing, so I Google the brand and 'The Samuel.' I find it on Wayfair for $300. This can't possibly be the same rug, can it? I take a chance and order it from Wayfair, and when I have both in my possession, I do a side-by-side. It's the EXACT same rug. Basically, these designer brands are buying stuff directly from vendors, changing the name, and charging 5x the price. Fast forward a few months. She finds a dining table on the Studio McGee website (the folks who have the Dream Makeover show). I do a Google reverse search on the picture of the table and find it on a random furniture store's website for 1/3 of the cost.
I had a 'job interview' with what you'd now call an MLM way before they entered the mainstream consciousness. The interviewer spent the whole time talking about all this hustle culture bullshit, talking about how hard you gotta work if you want to succeed, how it's all down to your network, and you need to be a go-getter; you better earn that commission and all that shit. Well, I'm a fiercely introverted person, and it was clear that the system relied more on recruitment than on actual sales.
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