CompaniesParty plan companies have always generated a large percentage of their sales from purchases by retail customers. Retail customers, by definition, are non-participants in the income opportunity.
Network marketing companies, on the other hand, traditionally have sold their products mostly to distributors. In fact, some network marketing companies don’t have even have retail customer prices. Others publish retail prices or mention retail sales, but do little to promote, require or enforce them.
While for many years I have stressed the importance to network marketing companies of having retail customers — not just for risk aversion from the FTC and State Attorneys General, but more importantly to strengthen the business model for independent representatives and the companies they represent, many have pointed to the successes of network marketing companies without retail customers as evidence of “no worries here.”
