But this isn't like other network marketing companies -- the products are really good.

Some of the products are good. I personally love the skincare and hair care. But the haircare and water filters are more expensive than identical products on the commercial market and the nutritional products are classic network marketing fluff. They contain less than 1/10-1/100th of the active ingredients needed to achieve clinical results based on nationally recognized studies. All of the testimonials you read or hear are from Trek Alliance representatives who have a vested interest in pushing the products. There is a LOT of exaggeration as the stories are told and retold. There is also a lot of placebo syndrome in action -- people often get short term relief when someone they know and trust tells them it will work. That short-term relief becomes a testimonial documented to convince others that it really works.

The weight loss product works because it contains Ephedra. There is no substance to their claim that it's better quality, and the organ system cleansing claims are bogus because the amount of cleansing herbs is clinically insignificant (not enough to work). You'll regain the weight when you stop taking the product. All the "success stories" are people who take four or more capsules a day, (twice the FDA proposed limit) and they take it as a maintenance drug to maintain the weight. New research indicates that continuous use of stimulants can screw up your natural metabolism rate, dropping it below your normal levels. That's why the FDA wants to ban any product that recommended use for more than 9 days.

In fact, the majority of the scare stories you heard in the presentation are untrue. Go to any of the major hoax-buster sites online and you'll find the stories Trek tells in their briefings. Like: Tap water has dangerous levels of carcinogens. Antiperspirants cause breast cancer. A sip of windex will kill a 4 year old. None of these are true according to nationally recognized medical associations.

But it's really based on people ordering product, not recruiting.

They told you that the top guy has 2,000 customers, right? But they didn't tell you that they don't differentiate between reps and retail customers. Reps must have a monthly standing order of $100 in order to get paid on all of their sales. The vast majority of those standing orders are reps who don't need or want more product, but they have to have a standing order to get paid. Most real "customers" cancel their orders after a couple of months once they see how much they are paying for what they actually get. Try asking the company for data on attrition -- you'll never get it.

Also, the recognition clubs are based on the honor system. A lot of the claims of retail sales are bogus. The rep needs to belong to the "Trek Stars" club in order to be perceived as playing ball with the program, so he/she simply makes up the numbers. And faxes them in. The people you met make their money off of getting people like you to charge thousands of dollars on their credit cards. That's the bottom line.

But I want to set up accounts at hair salons and doctors offices.

Sounded good, didn't it? In reality, you have a good shot at opening these accounts only if your friends and relatives owning the establishments want to do you a favor. Salons are accustomed to paying 50% of retail price with no shipping. Trek products are way overpriced unless the rep waives commission and eats the shipping cost. All of the leaders who brag about salon accounts do this to build their volume numbers. But as a new person, you don't have a 50% margin to give away.

The lure of "medical sales" is false, too. Knowledgeable healthcare professionals look at the amount of the active ingredients in the herbal preparations and laugh. The ones who don’t know much about nutrition are aware that network marketing has a bad reputation. Their professional associations warn them that they endanger their credibility if they display and sell MLM products.

But the people are so great. If the billionaire guy who started Telecheck International is on board, it must make good business sense.

Check out every claim they made. Call Telecheck International. Pull the Dunn and Bradstreet report and ask why the "owners" are not listed anywhere, and why it's listed as a marketing research company. Verify the "Doctor's" credentials. Ask Oprah's business office if she really used the products.

If you want a real eye-opener, run police record checks on the real names of the leaders. Read the stories on this site and others. Remember, these are the same leaders and trainers that were the backbone of Equinox. Remember the saying, "leopards don't change their spots?"

But Trek Alliance is about to hit MOMENTUM, so I basically can't fail as long as I try.

They've been saying that since about 6 months after they started. So they've been "just about to start momentum" for three years. It's always 2-4 months in the future to string you along.

But I love the concept of residual income.

You only have walk-away income if you happen to recruit a lot of top producers who don't quit. The myth is that if you work hard enough and "never quit," you will be one of the lucky ones. For every one of the inner circle who actually is earning big checks, there are THOUSANDS of people who worked 40-60 hour weeks with negative net incomes for more than a year and have nothing to show for it other than huge credit card debt. Trek leaders say that only 10% of new reps last their first year, but Trek survivors put the estimate at more like 3%. Most of those 3% are taking home checks that barely cover expenses and they just can't let go of the fantasy of retiring at age 30 on other people's money. If you ask them, they will tell you that "everything is great -- my business is growing...things are really starting to click now!" The veil doesn't seem to lift until after people make the decision to leave. Only then are they free to talk about exactly how much money the failed venture has really cost.

You'll hear that "it only takes one" superstar to make you rich, but that's not true. In order to get paid at the higher levels, you have to have several people who have large sales teams AND are actively recruiting new people. If you aren't meeting a wide range of sales criteria (buried deep in the fine print), all or most of your check rolls past you to your sponsor of the highest level person who qualifies. Rule of thumb: EVERY single item of fine print that you don't understand now will cost you money later. Everything is designed to lead you to believe that your chances of earning great income are much higher than they really are. The system is designed to make the leaders rich, period.

But they all seemed to be having so much fun. I want to work where people have fun.

It's all a façade to get you in the door. The nice things they say about each other are all scripted and formulated to build your respect for the office leaders and get you to think it's such a supportive, positive team. They call it "edification." They are trained to "pass you off" to other people so that you have an opportunity to hear great things about your sponsor. Once you sat down, the laughing, smiles, and "on the edge of the seat" enthusiasm were all taught, all scripted. Even down to LOCATION in the audience. The people who are "in" know where they are supposed to sit, and their behavior is governed by whether they are in the back or front of the room. They are more vocal when seated in the back, more visual (head nodding, rapt attention, laughing at jokes) in the front. And the enthusiastic person who sat next to you? They are trained to turn and ask at the end "What part appealed to you most?" in order to find out which angle they should pursue to close the deal and get you to pull out a credit card.

Be smarter than I was. If it's not quite the truth, it's not something you want to do.