Half A Century Of MLM
          
          
               Although some people may think all MLM
          organizations are pyramid schemes, there are many
          genuine operations.  As far back as the 1940s,
          Nutrilite Systems and Stanley Home Products created
          companies in which salespeople received not only
          commissions on products they sold directly but also
          bonuses or overrides for sales made by people they
          recruited.  Eventually, this commission structure
          expanded to several layers of salespeople.
               Two of the largest MLM companies, Amway and
          Shaklee, started in the 1950s.  Today, each of these
          companies has around 1 million distributors.  Another
          1950's pioneer, Mary Kay Cosmetics, has built huge
          success with "party plans," at which demonstrations are
          given to several potential customers at one time. 
          Eventually, some of those customers may become
          distributors and sponsor their own parties.
               The birth of today's MLM business, though, can be
          traced to 1979, when a court upheld the legality of
          Amway's sales plan and, by inference, the entire MLM
          industry.  The key, according to the decision, is that
          the organization exist primarily to sell products or
          services, not just to line up distributors.
               Besides the companies named above, some other
          "household word" companies have used MLM, including
          Avon and Tupperware as well as subsidiaries of Gillette
          and Colgate-Palmolive.  Long-distance phone companies
          US Sprint and MCI have used MLM in their efforts to
          compete with AT&T.
               The market for home water-treatment and filtration
          systems has virtually been created by MLM companies,
          including National Safety Associates.  More than 50% of
          the water filters sold in the United States are sold
          via MLM.