Is "United Online Business" real or a scam?

[Jasper2011]

United Online Business. Has anyone heard of these? Are they scammers?? Work from home 'kit' for $50?? Was on a link from a reputable site - so not really sure. Please advise - many thanks.

[Bubbles]

Welcome to ScamWarners Jasper2011. They are not typical Advanced Fee Fraud / 419 scams, but most of them are scams. They are exposed here by the US Federal Trade Commission Clicky link

Work-at-Home Schemes

Be part of one of America’s Fastest Growing Industries.
Be the Boss!
Earn thousands of dollars a month from home!

Ads like this are everywhere — from the telephone pole on the corner to your newspaper, email and favorite websites. The jobs might be different, but the message is the same — start earning a great living today working from home, even in your spare time.

When money’s tight, work-at-home opportunities can sound like just the thing to make ends meet. Some even promise a refund if you don’t succeed. But the reality is many of these jobs are scams. The con artists peddling them may get you to pay for starter kits or certifications that are useless, and may even charge your credit card without permission.

Others just don’t deliver on their promises. The ads don’t tell you that you may have to work a lot of hours without pay, or they don’t disclose all the costs you might incur — say, for placing newspaper ads, making photocopies, or buying the envelopes, paper, stamps and other supplies you need to do the job. People tricked by these ads have lost thousands of dollars, not to mention time and energy.

The FTC encourages avoiding these schemes.

[eljay1964]

Hi,

I am new to this site - but looking forward to using it.

I've received marketing material from what looks like a reasonably legitimate Online Business system, but some of the claims of earning potential seem quite high (not completely unrealistic I admit, but still....). Has anyone had any experience with this organisation?

They purport to be in the health and wellness arena, yet don't say exactly what it is they will be getting you to sell - with all sales, marketing, leads, etc conducted online (no selling to family and friends, etc). I'm worried that it's just another pyramid type scheme, where they recruit people like me, to further recruit people like me, who then are expected to recruit other people like me (or them), etc - and each one gets a percentage as it goes up the "food chain" per se. Any information about this particular organisation "United Online Business" would be greatly appreciated.

I tried using the search and advanced search options, but all 3 words are too common (tried several ways of grouping the words too, all without effect).

PS - I am in Australia by the way.

Regards,
Leigh

[Dotti]

The topic has come up before, and is really outside of the scope of what we deal with here.

United Online Business is a multi-level-marketing operation, selling Herbalife. There is no evidence to suggest that their operation is illegal, but MLM operations can be very risky businesses, and often the income claims are based on the early participants who are at levels new members cannot realistically hope to get near. Typically only a small percentage of participants have high profits. The rest end up with much lower incomes or even losses.

You can find more information on MLM's on the FTC's website--just google FTC and MLM and you should find it. I would post the link but the FTC website is not loading for me right now.

Every time someone mentions an MLM in this forum, inevitably someone will come along to sing its praises. This is because the income of existing members is directly impacted by new members joining--so their testimonials are often not motivated by a wish to provide impartial information, but by personal financial gain.

[Justin]

As Dotti said its not illegal what they do but you really need to do your own research before considering selling Herbalife. The material you recieved may all be true but it is a sugar coated truth giving you the best possible outcome instead of a realistic outcome. There is a ton of material on the Internet regarding this company so doing your own research will not be a challenge.

You will have to hit up all your freinds, family and everyone you know to sell the product and that's more than likely only going to return your investment in the product. The problem is this product and company have been around a long time and from what I understand the marketplace is pretty saturated. When I search "buy Herbalife and my city" I get pages of results from distributors I can buy the product from. You also have to be a salesperson this is not "easy money" it's not done by passive selling but aggressive selling.

[spiderweb62]

I have to say that if it is a scam, it is well done. I am actually talking to a coach in a few days, and have prepared a list of questions, based on the site you suggest below. I will post my comments, once I have spoken to my coach.

[eljay1964]

Thanks all for the info so far - and yes Justin, there is a heap of information on the web, but unfortunately most of what I could find was from those spruiking its wonderful possibilities - and when I see nothing but "positivie comments" it concerns me (as most say, trust your first or gut instinct)... I am due to talk to a coach tomorrow evening and if it is all about selling Herbalife, I'm pretty certain to decline as well.

Will keep checking back in here and will also provide updates on my own findings....

An easier "search" function on the site may have helped me avoid repeating the question - sorry....

[eljay1964]

YEP!! Asked her the question in the first minute of the phone call about Herbalife - the answer was YES. I then told her that due to market saturation and that it was an obvious MLM scheme that relied on further recruitment, that I was therefore NOT INTERESTED. She said OK and hung up - the fact she didn't even try to convince me otherwise speaks for itself...

Thanks all - especially Justin - this will be one of my favourite sites from hereon.

[spiderweb62]

I also read some interesting things about MLM, see http://www.vandruff.com/mlm.html
Also yesterday, Herbalife lost 20% on NYSE over the few days, based on an analyst question on their distribution model....I think this says it all, and I won't join this scheme either

[Dotti]

Glad you were both able to make an informed decision.

re: searching--when searching unique names, etc, the forum search works fine. Odd as it may seem, though, when using common terms, it is more effective to use google to search for things here.
Just type your search term, and then add +scamwarners.com

So for this one, you would use

"United Online Business" +scamwarners.com

[Ryanloop]

One can't help but wish that the "neighborhood" could be like it once was. But an MLM storm has blown through, ruining valuable relationships with no regret or conscience. And brace yourself, another one is coming. Perhaps it is in that smiling face approaching you, or in that nice letter you just received from a "friend"?

Regards

[mickey303]

Hi, unfortunatly for me (like an idiot) i did not do much research before singing up to become an independent distributer for herbalife using the united online business system. About all i have mannaged to do is spend about $AU500 on advertising, marketing and other promotinal tools, After three weeks of nothing i sent out one work from home desisition pack, with a grand income of $AU9.95. I have not sold a flamin thing to anyone, So in responce to whether or not it is a scam all i can say is be carful and DONT do it. Save yourself a lot of time and money a get a job.

[mickey303]

Im out now, not too soon but.

[harley62]

I sent off for the information pack....$9.95 for a 15 day trial.
I received a pamphlet and a dvd that was basically worthless. I straight away sent an email to Patrick (who had sent the info pack) telling him I wasn't at all interested in selling Herbalife. The next day I placed the info pack into an envelope and sent it back.
Fifteen days later I was charged another $39.95. When I questioned this I was told that it was because I had kept the info pack. When I explained that I had returned it the day after receiving it I was told that they hadn't got it and basically unless I could prove they had......I was out of luck!

That's what I call a SCAM

[Dotti]

Welcome harley62,

I'm sorry that you lost money in this way. It won't help you now, but for future reference, the safest thing to do when returning something from a "free trial" or anything like that is to use a delivery method that requires a signature on receipt. It costs a bit more, but you then have the signature as evidence if they try to claim they never got it.