Is ACN a Scam or Pyramid Scheme?

You may read in various blogs and opinions that ACN and other direct selling companies are a scam or illegal pyramid scheme. Those statements are completelyuntrue and inaccurate. The people posting this content on websites simply do not understand how network marketing works. It is time to debunk this myth and explain why ACN is not a scam and not a pyramid scheme.

First, ACN has been in business since 1993 and operates in 21 countries. The
company is endorsed for several years by Donald Trump (he speaks at ACN events)
and is a member of the Direct Selling Association. It has been profiled in 
Success magazine, Success From Home magazine, Fortune magazine, Direct Selling
News and many other publications. Trump? DSA? They must be in on the scam. ACN provides services in cooperation with companies such as DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T, Verizon, ADT, TELUS and others. Why would they all do business with an illegal pyramid? Bizarre, indeed.

I have found posts and replies on the web from many angry and opinionated people. Some of the opinions come from those who did not have a successful experience with ACN or other network marketing companies. But surprisingly, alarge percentage of the strong opinions are from those who were merely approached by a representative about joining the business, but have no further experience in the business.

Some of the prospects go to a home meeting to hear about the business
opportunity, hopefully from an expert who is successful with ACN. The purpose of
the meeting is to recruit more ACN representatives into their downline of the
business. The cost for a new person to start the independent distributorship is
$499. This is the next red flag for the guarded person who believes someone is
trying to take advantage of them. They ask themselves, “Why would I have to pay
to work???” The potential recruit becomes suspicious, searches for negative
content on Google and then miraculously is saved from the evil scam thanks to
their timely due diligence. Now this person, who has no experience whatsoever
with the company, deems himself an expert and sets out to save others from the
scam by posting their uninformed opinion on the web.

Why is there a start up fee?

It is clear that many people have no basic understanding of how a direct selling/network marketing company works. Do not be afraid of a start up fee. It is not like getting a job at a retail store in the mall. You are basically starting your own independent business. The start up fee helps cover the fact that ACN connects your
customers, provides them with 24/7 customer service, calculates and pays your
residual commissions and bonuses, takes care of monthly billing, develops new
products and services for you to market, develops all marketing materials and
tools, provides representative support, holds quarterly training events for you
and your new prospects, and the list goes on and on.

Is ACN a Pyramid?

No. That is the simple answer. But let’s explain why. A pyramid business scheme pays members to recruit more members and eventually everyone runs out of prospects and the whole thing crumbles as there is no more money to be made.

ACN is a very simple company to understand. It offers products and services,such as digital phone service with video phones, wireless phone service,internet, local/long distance, satellite TV and home security service. Therefore, ACN is interested in getting customers on those services in order to generate revenue. Sounds like any other company doesn’t it? It has products and services to offer and wants customers to pay for them.

Here is the tricky part that is not clear to everyone. The marketing method
used to acquire new customers is direct selling, also known as network
marketing. It is just an alternate way to get customers for the company instead
of paying for advertising, television commercials, direct mailings and other
familiar marketing approaches. An independent representative markets the ACN
products to their friends, family and business associates and they get paid a
percentage of the revenue made by the company on those customers. The
representative gets paid bonuses for bringing in recruits (customer getters)
onto their team ONLY if the new recruit acquires a certain number of customers
for the company. No one gets paid for just showing up and joining. That
generates no residual revenue for the company, the recruiting representative or
the new recruit. Only when customers are acquired for the company does any
representative get paid, and that is clearly not a pyramid.

Another complaint is that the people at the top of the “pyramid” make more money in network marketing. Who made more money in every job you ever had? CEOs,vice presidents, directors? Yes, the people at the top of the company make a lot more money. U.S. banks must all be illegal pyramids because I hear about these multi-million dollar bonuses for CEOs and the tellers are only making 40K a year. Therefore, by this logic Bank of America and Wells Fargo must be illegal pyramids.

When is Success Guaranteed?
Because you have not risen to the top levels of recognition and compensation at your job does not mean your company is a scam. Many people have probably been fired from your company. Others quit and move on to other opportunities that are more fitting for them. But in the network marketing industry when people fail to be successful, it is because the company is a scam?  

Huge success in network marketing, like most other ventures, is statisticallyunlikely. That does not make it a scam. According to the ncaa.org, thelikelihood of a high school football player getting drafted to the NFL is 0.008%(eight out of 10,000). The NFL must be a scam? One out of 100,000 aspiringsingers win American Idol each year. Scam? Not fair? Maybe they aren’t very good at singing.

No one makes money at ACN. It is a scam…. I have read that in posts from
complainers on the internet. Have they seen Success From Home Magazine? That
magazine profiles representatives who are making obscene amounts of money.
Saying it can’t be done is simply not logical when you can see the results of
those who have succeeded.  

Signing an application and plopping down $499 entitles you to exactly $0 in  earnings. Zero. Rising up through the ranks and building your own successful business takes a ton of work and sacrifice.

All of the complainers should visit the Direct  Selling Association website to learn more about the industry before posting uninformed comments on the web.

-- Hear from ACN Legal Advisor Bob Stephan on why ACN is not apyramid

-- Keep up with the latest news with the company ACN RSS News Feed

-- ACN's recent donation of $1.3 million has helped the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte with its goal of opening in the next year.

We can assure you that ACN is not a scam. The company would never want anyone to feel pressured into signing up. Please look into the company's background and speak with current Independent Representatives about their experience with ACN. Arrange a tour of the world headquarters in Concord, North Carolina or attend one of the company's international training events. The company has a proven track record of 18 years of success and operates in 21 countries.

Like any business opportunity, there is risk involved, so we encourage potential representatives to familiarize themselves with how the organization works. With regard to the meeting you attended, if you feel as though something unethical or illegal was going on, please contact us at 1-704-260-3000 to speak with a compliance officer. We pride ourselves on our integrity and want to know if anyone associated with the company is acting in a dishonorable manner.

Sorry I can not delete this. My minister ask me to delete it and I can't. I still beleive ACN is a greedy broker trying to lure people into selling overpriced services from communication companies. In reality consumers do not save money, they take money from others.