Plantinum Choice Shut Down

Old information but some possible insight on my previous post.

Februrary 14th, 2006. The MLM scheme was called Platinum Choice Inc.

According to the allegations,

"While the offer of online games and puzzles is certainly tantalizing, PCI's primary action was a lottery ticket pool. PCI claimed that it purchased lottery tickets and then would assign them to "qualifying associates in the form of bonuses."

Associates also earned money recruiting new associates and enrolling magazine subscribers who did not participate in the lottery pool. Magazine subscribers paid a $24.95 subscription fee every fourth week, plus an annual registration fee of $25.

Associates also earned an override on subscribers recruited by "downline associates." As well, for every magazine subscriber enrolled, associates received "pooled mega million lottery tickets, as a bonus."
Further sweetening the pot, PCI claimed to utilize a "sophisticated system that ranks groups and number combinations - increasing the odds of winning substantially."

To get in on the action, associates paid nothing for the first year. After one year they were required to pay a $50 annual registration fee and $19.95 every fourth week."

Paradigm Shift?

Every so often in the business world, including the MLM world, a paradigm shift occurs in how companies generate and run business. One could argue, the initiation of network marketing, as a paradigm shift within the marketing community and us old guys have definitely seen a shift from the cleaning product days of AMWAY (I only had to have 200 active personally sponsored individuals, yea!) etc. Today I want to highlight a company mmoguls. I was recently solicated by this company as they are within their prelaunch stage. I found the concept intriguing, they essentially are trying to cash in on a current entertainment and socialization paradigm shift and by so doing could create a whole new paradigm shift in the MLM world.

MMOGULS is creating a MLM distribution network for online video games and social networking sites. Yes online video games. Sound crazy, well it may be but consider a few points.

• The one-day record holder for a movie premiere was Spiderman 3, which brought in $59 million in ticket sales on its opening day. MGM’s James Bond movie just surpassed it last week with $79 million. Grand Theft Auto IV, a video game, recorded sales of $310 million... on its first day.
• For the first time last year, the video game industry surpassed the movie industry in gross sales.
• 68% of households in the United States play computer or video games. Game software sales were $2.6 billion in 1996, and by 2006 they had reached $7.4 billion.
• Forty-seven percent of video game players are between the ages of 18 and 49. The fastest growing demographic is the 50-plus crowd.

This is not even including the massive Asian market. Lets take a look at one example, World of Warcraft. Chances are you have heard of it, or you are playing it right now on your dual monitor. If you haven't, I bet you would be surprised to know many of your friends probably do. Now i am sure you are thinking, "If I was 20 something or so maybe, but not my friends, not at my age". Well i know several partners in law firms (can't seem to get away from those attorneys) that are diehards, we are talking 40, 50+ year old extremely successful men battling it out day in and day out in the virtual world of AZEROTH. The game itself has 10 million subscribers which at $15.00 a month pop brings in about 150 MILLION dollars EVERY MONTH. No shipping, no bottling, no tied up in customs, no tied up in our eastern carrier hub, no physical product. Every month people pay for digital information and this information has created its own economy in the form of gold farmers.

Yes gold farmers. In the game the currency is well gold, but for those people who dont want to spent the time and hard work neccessary to get that gold you can pay real dollars and currency for digital gold. Numerous controvercies have stemmed from these "Chinese" gold farmers either from online gold business making chop shops to the occassionally self made digital gold farmer who passed up on school to make an equivalent $60,000 worth of income annually digitally gold farming. Not bad, especially if your only 9. In total 1.7 BILLION dollars are paid for digital products such as gold, weapons etc every year.

With this in mind, who wouldnt want to cash in on this emerging entertainment venue. MMOGULS also plans to include some sort of social network within its business strategy although how this will plan out with so many dominant free social networks currently available presents many questions. That being said, they have StarGate coming out this summer, and with strong reviews so far, it looks as if they will catch a market. Currently you can enroll and your monthly fee goes towards your virtual mall and social site but will include the games when they become available.

Unfortunately, the largest market of $15 dollar game subscribers are not paid in their binary compensation plan. Only individuals who purchase larger enrollment options that border on non-product based commissions brings into account a former company BurnLounge.

BurnLounge wanted to cash in on the digital media industry, specifically music. One of my friends was the lead architect of the software system for BurnLounge so i came into contact early on with the company. Despite there initial reports of paying only 37% commissions out with a whopping 17% on the third level of a unilevel system (worst compensation plan i have ever seen) I was alarmed to see that my monthly payment went towards granting access to only my burnlounge store. In other words, monthly charges with no music. Now even though the backend possible payout was horrible with the compensation plan you could make some money on the front end with fast starts if you enrolled new members at a huge price tag, but those people got, once again, no music with purchase. So you made money off of new subscribers and not products. Classic Pyramid Scheme definition. You can read more on the BurnLounge FTC rulings at mlmwatchdog.com.

In conclusion MMOGULS has a good idea coupled with a growing industry but the real question is how do you make money off of the $15 dollar subscriber. If that question can be solved they can relieve the potential FTC closings as well as make the opportunity more enticing for the big dogs.

Review MXI Corp (Xocai)

In continuing with my goal of reviewing various current MLM companies I begin with my first entry of Xocai or Mxicorp.

Brief Overview:

The founders of Xocai developed their collaboration first in a retail market in the form of the company Pure Delights Inc. Seeing apparent success there Jeanette Brooks, Andrew Brooks and Kurtis Nielson started Xocai roughly 5 years ago (I consider a MLM's start date when they START shipping products and paying commissions) when i was first approached to purchase an Executive Position at a $6000 dollar price tag. They have a binary compensation plan and their flagship product (as well as subsequent additions) consist of the combination chocolate (or as they call it, Xocolate) and the Acai Berry(get it Xo cai, cute huh).

Notable Events:

I would have to say the most notable event in the companies history had to deal with their flagship chocolate drink. In order to keep the product as "natural" as possible preservatives were avoided or limited to the point that the chocolate actually fermented and could explode before or upon opening (Chocolate fountain anyone). This led to the, at present, unconfirmed 2 million dollars worth of product replacement during which time they reformulated the drink.

Larry King has also spoken highly of the company and product. His wife is a distributor.

Rating:

Story: Healthy Chocolate, you have to admit its an enticing story. It may not have the mystery of new exotic foods or necessarily the science of clinically researched products but anything that can justify one of our guiltiest pleasures is bound to draw some attention.
Level: 9/10

Branding: Staying true to its origins of "Healthy Chocolate", Xocai has some of the best looking and original collateral material you will find including product labeling. I think the owners Retail experience definitely helped out in this regards. However, their experience in the consumer world has also shown a misunderstanding of the digital world with some ghastly designed and manageable web marketing materials and websites. They have definitely improved in this regard but with an industry already so focused on image their web design has more "proving" to do.
Level 6/10

Compensation: A binary matching compensation plan with some good global bonus pools make it a strong compensation plan (well, for those who like binaries)
Level 8/10

Product(s): Although a great story, they tout constantly their ORAC value as the highest in the industry. ORAC is the level of antioxidants in a substance and although they have a substantial amount, (dark chocolate + acai berry = HIGH ORAC) even brunswick labs (See Here) the ORAC measuring entity says that, "The ORAC assays are performed in vitro, in the test tube, and therefore do not determine the bioavailability within the body." In otherwords the higher ORAC levels do not necessarily mean MORE ORAC absorbed and used by the body.
Level 6/10

Technology: Xocai employs InfoTrax as there backend/replicating/commission technological piece. Although no MLM technology seems to be universally perfect it definately is a strong option attracting other companies such as Xango, Nouveau and Max International. They are definately known for their international capabilities and have some nice communication tools in their replicating service. Of course, products ship and commissions are paid right. All and all a strong platform but not customized for the company.
Level 8/10

Management: Upper Management definitely has a strong sales background but it doesnt quite translate as well as one would hope into the MLM world. They have not brought in house as many experienced MLM officers as I would like to see.
Level 6/10

Judgement: 43/60
A solid company that has stood the test of a few years and with a good enough story for some staying power. I would say at this point they are definitely above average but just below some of the larger opportunities making many good networkers pass on a solid company for even greener pastures.

Top Ten

There is no doubt that everyone loves a good comparison. Its human nature to compare ourselves with others and that extends over into relationships, jobs etc. To a certain degree everything is relative to each other so some degree of comparison is necessary. I've been thinking of researching and posting the results of the Top Ten products or opportunities or companies. I've already been collecting some information and hitting up old contacts for their weigh in but if there is anything specifically people would like me to research and report on feel free to drop a line and I will see what I can do. Stay tuned for more posts

Univera Acquires Matol Botanical

Univera, Inc. announced Jan. 9 that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire specific assets and the distributor network of Canada-based Matol Botanical International Ltd.

Matol, the oldest private MLM company in Canada, is a direct seller of health and diet nutritional supplements, with consumers in Canada, the United States and a number of overseas countries. Matol celebrates the 25th anniversary of its founding in 2009.

The acquisition brings significant advantages to both companies. For Matol, its base of strong distributors can take advantage of the deep and complex resources of Univera and the ECONET family of companies in bringing health to the world naturally and sustainably. Matol distributors are widely respected for their serious and committed approach to “Impacting World Health.” Both companies share similar visions in providing health and financial opportunities, as well as a sense of community, to its distributors and customers.

MLMIA Corporate Convention Scheduled

The Multi-Level Marketing International Association (MLMIA) will be holding its 2009 corporate convention and expo, titled “Starting Fast and Finishing Strong,” to be held March 26 to 28, 2009 in Del Mar, Calif.

Currently the group has a special room rate of $119 per night at the Del Mar Hilton Hotel. Early bird pricing is in effect until Feb. 1, 2009. Corporate members cost $495, corporate non-members $695. Exhibiting Support Members must pay $795; exhibiting Support Non-members will be charged $1,095. Distributors are only able to attend on Saturday and must pay $150 admittance.

The Multi-Level Marketing International Association (MLMIA) is “The Association for Network Marketing – Worldwide.” A professionally managed not-for-profit trade organization, it is strongly committed to the advancement of the rapidly growing network marketing industry. Visit www.mlmia.com for more information on the association and the convention and expo.

Million Dollar Lawsuit against Ty Tribble and Bo Short

Just found a Million Dollar Lawsuit against Ty Tribble, Bo Short and Chris Cucchiara amongst others.

Having grown up in a family primarily composed of attorneys I find the legal field genuinely interesting especially within the MLM industry. I often also find myself privy to recent and upcoming lawsuits within the industry as evidenced by the following example.

The Plaintiff Max International seems intent on flexing its legal muscles with a complaint for equitable relief in the amount of $1,000,000.00 to be paid by the defendants Bo Short, Ty Tribble, Chris Cucchiara, Gary Fink M.D., Dan Worley, Tom Wilson DC and CCPM Enterprises LLC (an apparent business identity of some of the individuals)

I will post the official court docket at the end of the thread but let me first summarize its contents.

The lawsuit is over cross-recruiting with $1,000,000.00 worth of damages.

Apparently Ty Tribble, Bo Short and Chris Cucchiara were determined to replace current Master Distributors of Max International Ken Dunn and Bill Andersen and when they were denied this position they tried to solicit illegally obtained contacts into a new company. The events are outlined below.

Apparently Ty Tribble, Bo Short and Chris Cucchiara secretly planned to take over the Master Distributor positions at Max International by pressure and by trying to gather support within its distributor base. Apparently the three used a "Momentum Tour" intended to generate momentum for the company to build their own momentum in taking over the top positions or cross-sponsoring distributors out of Max International. During the Momentum Tour (in which the three were apparently paid to participate in) they gathered and collected contact information of distributors and potential customers at the events they attended. Their list was also bolstered by the attempt and apparent success of collecting their downlines contact information through a public Max Team Website and their influence as Advisory Council Members. During the Momentum Tour the three called for an immediate removal of the current Master Distributors and the replacement of Ty Tribble, Bo Short and Chris Cucchiara at the top of the organization. Chris Cucchiara apparently requested that his position within the backoffice be greyed out to prevent the Master Distributors from seeing his activities. He also asked that his position be artificially promoted to a higher rank to validate the alleged claims of expertise within the MLM industry.

They apparently used their position on the advisory council to bolster their own image at Max's Convention and even flew principals of Eiro Research (a new MLM company) out to attend the convention and ultimately observe the three. After the convention the three demanded that they take over the position of Master Distributors and when Max International Management failed to comply a email blast was sent out to the contacts they had gathered from the "Momentum Tour" and convention break out sessions as well as posted on their team Max International website. The email is listed below (I have omitted contact information)

"(W)e were approached and asked if we were open to discussing an opportunity to serve as Founding Parners for a new company and build the team of field Associates. Following extensive
investigation and discussions the decision became very easy. The most important aspect of our decision-making process was the knowledge that our friends/teamates had an unprecedented
opportunity to win in an environment conducive to long-term growth. . . . We look forward to speaking with you about the futue. Please feel free to email any of us at boshort(__________
or ___________) tytribble (___________ or _____________)
chris.cucchiara(_____________ or ______________) , We appreciate each
and every one of you and value you tremendously. We look forward to speaking with you and sharing our enthusiasm about the future and how good decisions can positively impact many people very quickly."

The email of course was not restricted to their personally sponsored individuals but rather the contacts they had gathered through their position within Max International.

After reading the docket I stumbled upon this blog entry where apparently Bo Short (although Ty Tribble is mentioned as well) had been involved in similar activities at Quixtar.
You can read the thread here

http://qrush_quixtar_blog.blogspot.com/2004/09/quixtar-qrush-provides-bo-short.html

An additional instance outside of the quixtar incident of cross-sponsoring is inferred within the thread although the company name is not mentioned.

CONCLUSION:
Max International seems intent to use its large financial resources to fight Bo Short, Ty Tribble and Chris Cucchiara tooth and nail in the resolution of this matter (as most large network marketing companies seem to do). To a certain degree I must admit I give props to the three for instituting the "Quadruple Dip" as I am calling it. Being paid out by the compensation plan, cross-recruiting on a company paid tour (outside of their commissions), using a team site to collect downline contacts and soliciting various company boards. If nothing else you have to admire the ingenuity of the three, despite its deceptive illegal nature. Of course this type of behavior reflects poorly on the industry and is one of the many reasons MLM is given such a bad name.

I tried to find some more information on Eiro Research (the company they solicited membership in) but was disappointed to find such limited information and another "drink" product. Obviously a new company, I can't help but think that the number of lawsuits and possible payouts against their new Master Distributors to be difficult starting point in a already difficult industry. I will however completely support the trademark or even registration of the phrase, "Quadruple Dip" to Ty Tribble, Bo Short or Chris Cucchiara, ingenius. :) The complete court docket can be found here.

http://docs.google.com/gview?attid=0.1&thid=11e85efc3c67043b&a=v&pli=1