Money & math

The annual report US public companies file with the SEC, including risk factors and legal proceedings.

Why an average income figure overstates what most participants earn.

The point at which a participant's income equals their costs of participating.

DirectSellingStar's label on every figure: verified, reported or estimated.

Business costs a participant may subtract from income for tax; also the costs disclosures ignore.

What it costs to leave: unsold inventory, cancelled bonuses, lost relationships.

Payments from the company before costs, versus what the participant keeps after expenses.

A calculation of expected income from plan rules and assumed volume and team size; not a forecast.

The legal status of most participants: self-employed, not employees of the company.

The amount earned by the participant in the middle when everyone is ranked by earnings.

The legal seller in a transaction, responsible for payment, tax and refunds.

Figures from different companies' statements restated in a common definition so they can be compared.

What the hours and money spent on the business could have earned elsewhere.

The share of company revenue paid out as commissions and bonuses.

A company's total sales in a year; in direct selling, largely purchases by participants and customers.

Social security and income taxes a participant owes on net earnings, unlike an employee.

The proportion of all participants who received no payment from the company in a year.

The proportion of participants counted whose annual payments were below $500.

The initial purchase required or encouraged to join, from a small fee to a large product pack.

Money already spent that cannot be recovered and should not influence the decision to continue.

Judging an opportunity by the people who stayed, ignoring those who left.

The proportion of all payouts received by the highest-earning one percent of participants.

What a representative participant, not a top earner, actually receives.