AmeriSciences is a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing company that Misrepresents Business Opportunity to Doctors and other Professionals Houston Texas
AmeriSciences is registered in Florida with its headquarters based in Houston, Texas. It is a manufacturer of nutritional supplements and weight loss products. AmeriSciences is a multi-level marketing (MLM), or network marketing company, and targets physicians and other medical professionals with the promise of "residual income." I and quite a few other doctors got involved in this so-called business opportunity in Ohio. The company is well practiced at exploiting physicians' frustration over declining medical reimbursements and rising practice costs. We thought we had come across a "golden opportunity" in which we would be selling high quality products which are good for our patients, while providing some financial relief for our future.
As presented by AmeriSciences, there are two ways to make money: (1) by retailing the products to patients in the office, and (2) by recruiting and signing others into your "down line," for which you receive production bonuses and commissions. In our experience, neither of these methods produced results. The products are too expensive for most average people to buy, and finding other doctors to sign on is extremely difficult.
Despite all of our best efforts, we soon realized that this form of multi-level network marketing was not a good business model. Our single distributorship cost us approximately $210,000, because we fell for the company line that we should get in at the highest level to maximize profit. When we asked AmeriSciences to help, they showed their true colors by placing the blame back on us, and said that we did not work hard enough to sell and to recruit. We were also repeatedly reminded that we were highly educated, intelligent and sophisticated individuals, who knew what we were signing. As a matter of fact, we did not! It was not until we realized that we had been deceived did I come across the excellent research on MLMs by Jon Taylor, President of Consumer Alert Institute. His website is called MLM-thetruth.com. On this site, Dr. Taylor lists "30 Typical MLM Misrepresentations."
I was astounded when I discovered that almost every tactic listed in this article was used by AmeriSciences in our recruitment. The financial damage has been tremendous. I took a second mortgage to cover the losses. Another physician lost her children's college funds. Another couple lost most of their savings, and the story continues. Had I seen Dr. Taylor's website and been educated about the true nature of MLMs like AmeriSciences, I would have never gotten involved is such an unfair and deceptive scheme.
Duped doctor
Key West, Florida
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Selectpm
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Suggestions for physicians considering AmeriSciences
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, June 09, 2009
As the spouse of a Family Practice physician, I am always dismayed to hear another story of physicians getting taken advantage of in business. I ran my wife's practice for six year as it grew from solo practitioner to a group of six providers. Money was always tight. Most people significantly over-estimate the profitability of practicing good medicine. Coupled with decreased, slow and no reimbursement and the overall economics of health care, this misperception leaves physicians searching for revenue streams to subsidize good care. Unfortunately, many physician forays into business ventures that are suppose to generate revenue result in the physician losing money.
In the last year of my wife's independent practice, I became an AmeriSciences distributor and we began to retail the product in the office. I do not consider AmeriSciences a rip-off or a scam, but I would suggest that physicians considering any business venture do their due diligence. After my experience with AmeriSciences in my wife's office, I would offer the following suggestions to physicians:
1. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. While the allure of the second and third earning engines make investing at the higher levels an attractive proposition, until you know your patient's interest and ability to support AmeriSciences in your office, you are taking a great risk for an unknownand perhaps unrealisticreward.
2. Do not sample staff on the products to build support. We did sample staff. They loved the products, but told patients they were too expensive. After three months, I quit sampling the staff and offered them the products at my cost. There was zero impact on the sales in our office.
3. Do include a trial period of offering AmeriSciences in your office as part of your due diligence to help determine an appropriate investment level. You may not make money during this period, but you could save yourself the heartache that the Ohio physicians experienced.
I empathize with all physicians, but especially those in solo to mid-sized group practice who are trying to generate revenue to stay independent. I do think there are unethical people in any business who will promise whatever it takes to make a sale without regard to the personal suffering that results. We chose to implement AmeriSciences hoping that it could both help patients and generate a revenue stream to stay independent. Other offices have had success with retail supplements. I think the key is to gather as much information as possible and make an informed decision.