I have not talked about Agloco for awhile (haha). While, I was reading this post at Cash Quests, I came across some excellent points made by another person that finds Agloco to be sketchy.
The blogger behind Cash Quests (who used to be known as Kumiko but now appears to not affiliate with that name) had an interview with Babak from Traders Narrative. Here is one question and answer from the interview:
Cash Quests: Perhaps your most popular post is one you wrote about AGLOCO which hit the front page of Digg. With AGLOCO claiming that it will gives shares in the company to their members, do think that it is a wise investment?
Babak: Here’s the thing that most people don’t realize about AGLOCO or any other MLM really. The structure they’re using must have a lowest rung. That is the people who have no one under them but are themselves part of a group because they signed up using someone’s “code”. These lowest rung people only make money from their own surfing. They will only be compensated for 5 hours a MONTH. And the rate is up for debate but most would say a reasonable estimate is $0.10-$0.15 an hour. So they will make a princely sum of $0.50-$0.75 for each month. Or about $6 a year.
Now, obviously no one would bother participating in a program that will pay them that amount. But here’s the thing, as these lowest rung people figure out they will never be paid any significant money, they will start to leave AGLOCO. And as they leave, it will be devastating for everyone else still in AGLOCO. Imagine a cascade of lowest rung people leaving and causing a domino effect. This is because as the lowest rung leaves, it then transforms the next level up into the lowest rung. That is the people who thought, well at least I have 2 or 3 or 5 people under me, will find they have 0 under them and they are only making money from 5 hours a MONTH.
They will in turn come to the same conclusion and leave AGLOCO, again causing the cascade to continue to the next level up. This domino effect may start out slowly, but as it continues up demolishing levels, it will pick up speed because more and more people will realize what is going on.
Other MLM schemes out there, like Amway (ugh, pure garbage), have survived this cascade effect because they go on a recruiting rampage for ‘fresh meat’.
Why won’t AGLOCO be able to do the same and grow like Amway? Because it has chosen the internet as its channel. The internet is egalitarian and information flows instantly. Take for example the article I wrote about AGLOCO. It has been read by thousands and thousands of people. You don’t know how many times I’ve seen it that someone on a forum or messageboard suggests AGLOCO and tries to spam/recruit when someone else links to “What everyone ought to know about AGLOCO“.
We are so close to seeing this happen. Once payouts begin to be distributed, and everyone learns the rates are small, your down line will collapse.
Here are two posts that bring out more points, both written by Babak. I believe I have covered the surface of most of the points in my earlier posts.
I think the point he makes of “the lowest rung” going away is really a problem of MLMs in general, and not just this one. And whether you’re talking about Amway, Quixtar or whatever, most people go to the internet and do research anyway. So whether the business begins or ends on the net, rest assured there’s an article on the net about it.
Sure, there’s a lowest rung and AGLOCO uses an MLM structure, but it’s free. What’s the debate? If the guy at the bottom of the ladder isn’t making money, who cares? I’m signed up with AGLOCO and, while I haven’t even downloaded the toolbar yet, I don’t really care if I make money…it’d be nice, but I didn’t lose anything if I don’t.
I still use it because it IS indeed free, and there is really no loss, only the few minutes to sign up and write about it. Why don’t you care about making money though? That’s the reason why everyone else signed up, surely. The problem is that when the bottom line of people quit because they are just pulling out pennies each month, the people, like me, who only have a few downlines will not be able to make much money either. And with a high payout set, it could take years to make it!
It sounds like the program has potential, but whether or not its able to cash in on that remains to be seen.
MLM’s will never work out in the long run, some of them may be succesful, but still in the long run when the fresh meat is out, it will collapse. Very much like the Ponzi Scheme.
I think we need to be open-minded in assessing Agloco’s viability, although some of u may like to compare it with her predecessor, Alladvantage, which had proved to be a short-lived company.
I’ve recently found on the internet a blog entry, the author of which has done an extensive study on the internet ad market and Agloco. Although it may not be among the best analysis on Agloco, at least she has made a sincere and insightful attempt to approach this topic at a Macro-level. I think it worths reading. Here is the link:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=228997623&blogID=298506296