- This video was an unexpected ride.
(upbeat music)
(tape rewinding)
I really, truly thought this was gonna be
a wholesome piece of content.
I thought we were gonna play around on TikTok,
put on a new hat, try on a new role, challenge myself
to start a cute little jewelry business.
But no, that's not how things worked out.
Hi everybody.
(chuckling)
For any of you who don't know me, my name's Alayna Joy.
I make videos on this channel,
mostly about the queer community,
sex, dating, relationships.
But sometimes I stumble into TikTok's largest MLM.
Which also, in a shocking turn of events,
might also be queer.
More on that later.
Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
Picture it.
(laughing)
Alayna, like six months ago,
scrolling on her TikTok innocently.
Full-time master's student,
while also working full-time, trying to have a life.
And what does she come upon?
A lady on TikTok dropping what appear
to be square bath bombs into water
and pulling out little secret packages of jewelry.
She then unwraps every piece of surprise jewelry
and reveals it to us, the audience.
And we all ooh and ah together
and it's so innocent and fun.
(dramatic music)
So we thought.
So I watch for a bit, then continue to scroll.
What comes up a few videos later?
Another person dropping in the fizz bomb,
fizz, fizz, fizz, revealing a ring.
How fun.
And the more I come across these videos,
the more intrigued I become.
Listen, I'm a collector at heart.
I love a good collection.
Growing up I was hardcore into Pokemon.
I had a Magic: The Gathering phase.
I've collected magic tricks, rocks,
tarot cards, typewriters.
(laughing)
If it's a collectible, I'm hooked.
I can't resist a good collectible.
And that's what these rings,
and these jewelry reveals at their core are,
it's like a collector item.
So even though the rings, oh, I'm sorry,
so many of them are ugly.
They are so ugly.
(laughing)
I'm wearing one, two, three, four, five,
six rings right now.
Which one do you think is from Bomb Party?
I'll give you one guess.
I couldn't stop watching.
And the more that I watched, I started thinking to myself,
what a fun video this would be.
Why don't I buy some of these raw fizz bomb bath bomb cubes
and make a video trying to become a TikTok fizz bomb
ring reveal girly?
Fun, wholesome, family friendly.
Daddy YouTube will love it.
No, I was wrong.
So I begin my journey.
I start to try and find where I can purchase these raw
unfizzed ring bombs.
And I come to find that it appears
the only way I can get my hands on these is by signing up
through one of the people who's
already revealing them on TikTok.
So I would have to sign up under someone
in order to access the product.
This is where the alarm bells
should have been going off already.
They weren't.
I didn't think it was that weird.
I was like, okay, they have an exclusive product.
It's like an exclusive little club.
Let me into your little club.
Let me in, I'll follow the rules.
So after I put in my personal information,
and by my personal information, I mean also a lot
of Ashley's personal information
because turns out they don't ship to Canada.
So I had to kind of sign up as if I lived with Ashley
so that they could ship to her
and then she could forward to me.
But that's beside the point.
And after inputting this information,
this is where everything started to go wrong.
This is where the curtains begin to part,
the veil begins to lift.
And I begin to think to myself, did I just join an MLM?
(dramatic music)
But before we get into the rest of this disaster,
investigative journalism.
I would like to take a second to thank Dossier
for partnering with me on this video.
Dossier is not an MLM, first of all.
This is a reputable company that makes excellent products.
They reproduce high-end luxury scents
for a fraction of the cost.
And also bonus, cruelty-free.
So they keep the same high quality as luxury perfumes,
luxury colognes, but they cut that brand tax.
So instead of paying hundreds of dollars
for designer scents, you're paying maximum 39,
even cheaper if you use my code MISSFENDERR10.
It's linked in the description.
So as is tradition around here,
when we do Dossier partnerships, they send me scents,
I give 'em a little sniff and tell you
what kind of gay it smells like.
First we have Floral Marshmallow.
Oh, hmm.
(laughing)
This is a scent that you smell on somebody
and you're like, is that perfume
or does their hair just smell really good?
So I don't know what kind of gay that is.
That's a self-care gay.
And maybe young.
We've got baby self-care gay, put together, baby gay.
Then we have Amber Cherry.
I did not expect this to smell like a pie,
a freshly baked pie in a dimly lit room.
Lady in the streets freak in the sheets.
Is that what this is giving me?
(laughing)
This is confusing to me.
This is mature.
It's kind of telling me lesbian CEO in a suit.
And it's kind of telling me older gay
who's been married for 40 years takes her wife
out to dinner at a nice restaurant.
See, and that's one of the things
that I love about these scents.
Each of their perfumes is a recreation of a luxury scent.
And on the website linked in my description,
you can search for your high-end scents
and they'll show you their replication.
You save up to 25% when you bundle scents together.
They also do free returns and exchanges forever.
So you can try it out risk free.
Thanks again, Dossier.
Okay, back to the story that I'm in here.
So I have just entered my personal information.
Ashley's personal information,
co-host of the Chosen Family podcast,
linked in the description
if you haven't checked it out already.
And I'm brought to this page.
(crickets chirping)
Choose a subscription in order to access their back office
and hostess site, 20 bucks a month.
I'm going, okay, I guess that seems like a fair price
to access their purchase system.
Great, then I don't have to set up my own storefront.
Let's do it.
Then it brings me to choose a starter kit.
I'm like, oh, okay.
So I can't just buy the ring bombs.
I have to buy.
I have to buy the whole starter kit.
$99, oof, okay.
But there's other options.
There's a Life of the Party starter kit for $198.
What about the Booster starter pack for $366?
Not satisfied there?
Let's go for the Launch starter pack for $599.
So you're telling me that I haven't even started this thing
and I'm now paying $20 a month, plus I could potentially
spend another $600 just to get started.
Don't see anything sketchy happening here.
Let's plug right along.
So I purchased one of the starter packs,
and this is where we have a months long waiting period
where I have to wait for the product to get to Ashley
and then have her forward it from the US to me up in Canada.
And this is all in US dollars too.
I'm in Canada.
So the exchange rate is, it's painful.
So by the end of this, I have spent just an inappropriate
amount of money on this product,
but I'm thinking, we've done it.
The product is on its way.
Good job, Alayna, you're a winner.
(dramatic music)
I have a problem.
(laughing)
I can't stop, I can't stop.
At this point, I have already realized that this is an MLM.
I have realized that it is likely a scam
and I can't stop watching.
It's gotta have something to do with the fact
that my brain is melting from school.
And that's about all that I have room for.
But look what came in the mail.
Look what has finally arrived.
And so here we are in our PJ's, we're gonna unbox this baby.
So I maybe perhaps maybe ordered
their big fancy beginner package.
I don't even know what's all in here,
but it's more than I need.
I can tell you that much.
(paper crinkling)
Oh my God, here they are.
Oh my God.
They're like, oh my God, it's real.
(laughing)
This is stupid how excited I am about this.
Is this literally an MLM?
Yes.
Is it bringing me genuine happiness?
Yes.
I am getting pleasure.
I am getting joy out of this.
And I haven't even started fizzing yet.
So these are the sleeves.
They come in these little squares with the size of the ring
on there, and this is what you drop into the water to fizz.
So I got five of each size, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.
And then I think a necklace and a pair of earrings.
And then there's this yet, which I guess this is the part
that I probably paid too much for.
(laughing)
It's a good day to join an MLM.
(bright music)
So I really don't know.
I really don't remember what is supposed to be in this.
Oh.
Oh my.
Everything you need is right here.
Let's party y'all.
A guide to getting started.
Fast start equals fast cash.
They are so clearly advertising this to moms, right?
They've got a lady holding her baby with her computer.
Have a baby, staying at home.
You can run this business with your baby on your lap.
Oh, we believe in family and everyone is invited
to our party in southern values like hospitality, kindness,
compassion, good manners, and respect.
Okay, is this an MLM or a cult?
A guide to compensation.
Wow, yeah.
So it's like, it's the literal MLM structure.
The more you sell, the more people you sign up under you,
the higher percentage bonus you get.
For anyone who's still possibly potentially on the fence
about whether or not this is an MLM,
they've laid the structure out.
That's supposed to be you.
And then here's all the people you've signed up under you.
MLM 101.
But here's the thing, I'm still,
I'm on the fence about it because it's fun.
People like it, like the jewelry.
If you like the jewelry, you like the jewelry.
So I'm like, what's the real harm?
Is it a scam or is it just a fun thing?
(laughing)
Ooh, oh my God, I got more.
Oh my God, I'm too excited.
I'm too excited about this.
But I got more rings.
(laughing)
Because that's what I need.
I need more rings.
Ah, this is everything I'm gonna need.
This is my starter kit for my live stream.
Ring bombs, the spoon thing they use to scoop it out,
ring display piece, the mobile phone lens
to zoom you in so you can see the rings
up close and personal.
A lens cleaner and a towel.
Worth it.
Definitely, absolutely worth it.
(dramatic music)
I then start receiving emails from Bomb Party University.
I'm curious, I click, and this is where I fully
realize that I have joined an MLM.
Because in this Bomb Party University, it's MLM 101.
There's videos and courses on
how to start your own business
and how to get people to sign up under you
to make you more money.
There's all these different tiers
and different amounts of commission that you make
depending on how many reps sign up underneath you.
There's an entire video on how
to pester the people in your life in order
to get them to sign up as a host.
They have scripts for you on what to say
for the first contact, the first time you reach out.
If she says yes, what to say.
If she doesn't respond,
here's what you can say on the second time around.
Oh, she's still not responding to your second message?
Seven days later we're gonna go for a third.
If reaching out three times
and not receiving interest in return isn't enough for you,
they've got a message for that too.
I'm feeling a little weird by this point.
And I'm thinking, what have I done?
So I know I have to delete, get out, right?
Unsubscribe.
And then I get a series of text messages
from an unknown number saying, hey girl,
congrats on joining.
Send me a picture of you so I can make an introduction post.
Then add me on Facebook, person's name.
I'll invite you to a couple messaging groups
and pages, love.
And she essentially tells me about their Facebook group,
some inspirational messaging,
and then sends me a list of other things
that I can buy for my launch.
And look, I'm not here to (beep) on the people
who are doing this, who are in it,
who are selling the rings.
That is not what I'm doing here.
It's fun.
I'm not gonna lie, it's fun.
I'm still actively involved even after all of this
because it's fun and I think it's harmless.
Don't freak out before you go to the comments.
Just stop.
I see you running to the comments right now.
Stop, let me finish.
The selling the rings, right?
You're selling kind of the experience,
the fun of watching somebody reveal them on camera with you
and a group of sometimes thousands of other people.
It's like any kind of surprise collection thing.
You don't know what you're getting when you buy it.
It's like Pokemon cards, could be crap, could be gold,
could be real diamonds.
That is not the issue to me.
The problem is when people get sucked into this idea
that they'll be able to start their own business,
find financial freedom for the low price of $19.95 a month,
and then they purchase all of this product
and realize that nobody wants to buy it,
aren't able to sell it, and then they've been scammed
out of their hard earned money.
That's the part that I have an issue with.
This messaging, like anybody can make thousands of dollars,
tens of thousands of dollars becoming a BP rep.
But first you have to give us hundreds
if not thousands of dollars.
And then maybe you'll make thousands of dollars too.
Or maybe you'll just make the money back
that you've already paid us,
or maybe you won't be able to sell the product at all.
And now you're stuck with all this inventory
that is useless to you and you're out
however much money you put in.
If you have to pay a company to work for them,
you are not an employee, you are a customer.
That's where my frustration kicks in.
So no, I never joined the Facebook group.
I never created a backend office party, whatever.
But I did end up selling the rings.
More on that in a second.
I had to really dig to find someone to reach out to,
to cancel my subscription.
But to their credit, as soon as I reached out,
they did cancel it with no issue.
The problem that lingers is the emails
'cause there's nowhere to unsubscribe from their emails.
The Bomb Party University emails.
Even though I have left the company, I'm no longer a rep.
I still get the emails and there's no unsubscribe button
and you can't reply to the incoming address.
So whatever, I still haven't figured that out.
But I sat on it for a while trying to figure out
what I was gonna do with all of this product
that I had just bought and if it would be possible
for me to sell it in an ethical way,
while not supporting the MLM itself.
And what I came to was that I was going
to auction them off on a live stream,
just like the real fizz bomb girlies,
and donate the proceeds to charity.
So that's what we did.
And it was one of the most fun live streams I've ever done.
I auctioned off basically all of the rings.
I kept a few to give away on my Patreon,
patreon.com/MissFenderr with two Rs.
Because I didn't just want people
who had the most money to be able to get the rings.
This is your size nine, rainbow kisses, gayest wishes.
(smooching)
We auctioned them all off and we raised $1,000
for a charity here in Vancouver,
which I thought was kind of cool and a way for me
to move this product without running the profits
up the chain, if you will.
And so now here we are.
Am I still watching ring reveal live streams?
Yeah, I love it.
I don't know what to say.
It's so fun.
Will I be purchasing further ring bombs myself?
No.
Unless, unless, I find somebody out there
who purchased a bunch of product with their own money
and now can't get rid of it and is just in the hole.
Then maybe I could buy the product off them,
auction that off for charity
and it's like, that's like doing good, right?
(chuckling)
It's just wild because these things are all over TikTok.
This is massive
and I don't think a lot of the people who are engaging
with it recognize that it's an MLM.
So that's why I decided to still make the video.
And in the biggest plot twist of all time,
one of the founders is a lesbian.
So it's like, are we supporting an MLM
or are we supporting WLW?
(laughing)
I can't take credit for that.
Somebody in the Patreon livestream said that.
So that's it, that's where we're at.
What do you think about all of this?
Please let me know in the comments down below.
A huge thank you as always to my VIP patrons,
my vitally important producers.
You all make my world go round.
You allow me the spending power to join an MLM if I want to.
And then I say thank you
by giving some of them to you for free.
Okay, okay?
Who's the real winner here?
No, but seriously, those of you
who support my content on Patreon, you are the reason
that I can continue to do this despite the fact
that most of the content that I make is queer
and Daddy YouTube doesn't like that.
And despite the fact that a full-time master's student
and I'm trying to juggle it all.
So thank you, thank you, thank you.
And another huge thank you to Dossier
for partnering with me on this video.
Remember, you can use my link in the description
to check out any of their scents risk free
plus with a discount.
That's it for this video.
Thank you so much for watching.
Let me know in the comments what you think about all of this
and I'll see you in the next one.
Bye.
What a ride this has been.
(smooching)
(water fizzing)