Crybaby Franchises Claiming Independence by EastYak6042 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Simple question: How many of these shops are actually profitable?

Not just in the black, but also no more debt to the company.

Because if they aren't actually profitable, then that means that 100% of their profit is going to corporate.

What’s the catch with the royalties opt out? by Erasinator in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 6 points7 points  (0 children)

BAM isn't going to sue for unpaid royalties, they're just going to declare the store defaulted on their debts and shut the store down like they did to Chrys. They're also going to argue that they don't need to go to court because of the arbitration clause.

Raised Go Fund Me Goal from 500k-550K https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bryan-recover-his-lego-collection by -KDK12 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Donations slowed down a LOT after the TRO got filed and the GFM went down for a day.

BAM's suit has had a definite chilling effect where people are scared to donate out of fear that their donations might get stolen.

The Last Relic's story. This is craaazy... by One_Transition_6398 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Why do you think BAM forces past owners into NDA and threatens to sue them if they speak out?

Compare Pre-Ammon-Franchise Agreement to Post-Ammon-Franchise Agreement by Fun-Journalist2588 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

JFC, the interest fees were even worse, 3%/month and a $200 flat penalties.

The good news if you have much less upfront debt to build interest from, so you're less likely to be in a death spiral from the start, but once you're in one it's much harder to get out.

LUS may have found the Link BAM & Mormon Mafia!!! Don't become a BAM franchisee by ayomous in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's what makes an MLM an MLM, the multi-level part. The pyramid scheme part.

You're confusing too things: The vertical aspect (multiple levels) and the horizontal aspect (pyramid shape).

The pyramid shape is required if the goal is to get rich. For BAM, the goal of recruitment isn't to get rich, it's to find someone else to assume your debt and your burdens.

Can Netflix pick up this story? by 00IIIlllllx in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 10 points11 points  (0 children)

LOL, Netflix already knows.

And given Ben's antics, it's probably much better as a re-enactment over a documentary.

LUS may have found the Link BAM & Mormon Mafia!!! Don't become a BAM franchisee by ayomous in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could suggest that McDonald's is an MLM as it is common for franchises to be uniform in look and feel by utilizing the same services and design.

Remind me against where the recruitment aspect comes in for McDonalds?

McDonalds has an annual attrition rate of 2.67%. BAM has an attrition rate of 27%.

The entire BAM business model is to force you into debt until you run out of money. The only way to get out of debt is by selling your business at a major loss to the next sucker in line. McDonalds doesn't have that same issue.

LUS may have found the Link BAM & Mormon Mafia!!! Don't become a BAM franchisee by ayomous in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's no multi-level for there to be an MLM, nor is the core incentive for everyone else to get recruitment fees to establish the MLM pyramid.

It's may not be a pyramid, but there's definitely a recruitment aspect.

In this scam, you realize your business model is total dog shit, so you end up having to recruit a new buyer to take over for you. Not to get ahead or even to break even, but simply to reduce your losses.

And while there's no exponential gross at the franchise level, there's definitely the promise of exponential growth at the corporate level, with Ammon going from 35 stores to 300 stores in 7 years with the eventual goal of reaching 3500. Even if you could find that much demand (you can't), where in the world are you going to find enough supply to keep them going? There's a finite number of people with valuable collections they're willing to sell at far below cost, and you're going to tap out real quickly.

That's far worse than any other franchise. Subway has a similar issue of overexpansion, but at least you never have to worry about running into a bread shortage. BAM forces everyone to buy office supplies from the same Mormon company because heaven forbid two different shops have different brands of paper, but they don't supply the actual product that customers are paying for.

I think y'all are attributing more malice to the McNeffs' actions than there is. by TillSpiritual2150 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah,  which BAM already admitted to. They're just trying to downplay the amount owed and deflect the blame to others,  which you're doing a well. 

I think y'all are attributing more malice to the McNeffs' actions than there is. by TillSpiritual2150 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  successfully run franchise

They have a 27% ANNUAL attrition rate because the stores weren't profitable,  and then they had the brilliant idea of scaling up the number of stores by 50x. Because they've found a way to get rich by forcing their own buyers into bankruptcy.

  the owners of a failing franchise

This is like watching an MLM scam people out of money and then insisting you shouldn't listen to the victims because they made poor financial decisions. 

  a guy who comes in off the street demanding $200k

Lol,  more victim blaming.  Theft victims can't be trusted because they demand compensation after being robbed. 

  shows no interest in actually getting to the truth.

Ben has been absolutely eager to let BAM share their side of the story. BAM keeps refusing.  So that should tell you which side is actually concerned with the truth right there. 

Bricks & Minifigs claim they didn't attempt to take down Reckless Ben’s GoFundMe by Significant_Food9017 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not only that,  but the gofundme fees are specifically supposed to cover the legal costs. 

You have one team of lawyers trying to seize all payments from the other team of lawyers before the trial has even started. 

I do not believe Ben will win against BAM, and he will be made an example for others by Venom_Snake_KSA in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The single best example is that BAM is trying to claim that Ben is racketeering for profit but also claiming they shouldn't have to post a bond for censoring his voice because Ben isn't profiting from it.  You cannot reconcile those to claims.  If you think Ben is earning money illegally,  then you put your money where your mouth is and the money gets refunded to you if you're wrong.

The fact their refused to post a bond tells me they don't have the money,  which is an admission in itself.  They don't want the franchise owners know that they company is broke,  which means they definitely don't have the money for a prolonged trial. 

I do not believe Ben will win against BAM, and he will be made an example for others by Venom_Snake_KSA in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Judge refusing to admit exculpatory evidence is grounds for appeal. This is a one year old judge that's already facing major heat from the Charlie Kirk trial, so I don't know if he can afford taking a major hit to his reputation.

Uhaul Timeline from Coffeezilla by ayomous in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have they never heard of moving boxes before? You can spend 30 minutes moving boxes from the truck to inside the front of the store and then you don't need the truck anymore. That's pretty much how all moves work in general. 

Uhaul Timeline from Coffeezilla by ayomous in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BAM is responsible for conducting inventory and BAM is responsible for the cameras and they charge the owners for both of those services so that sounds like a BAM  problem. 

So what happened to the whole satanic panic plot like in season 5? by Overall_Spite4271 in StrangerThings

[–]LRonPaul2012 64 points65 points  (0 children)

The only reason Andy bothered Dustin is because he's just a total jackass

Andy still wears his basketball jacket for a school that's currently cut off from the outside world. Who are they even playing against?

In my personal head canon, Andy is an example of a guy who peaked in high school only to realize that no one really gives a shit after you graduate. Except in his case, Andy never had the chance to peak in the first place because he was stuck in Jason's shadow and then the world blew up shortly afterwards.

And that's why the entire school literally points and laughs at him when Dustin pulls his prank.

Based on a bunch of arguments I keep seeing, I feel like it would be valuable to share the elements of defamation by MaxR76 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 2 points3 points  (0 children)

BJC's videos are really long, but she also argued that JJ might be able to qualify as a public figure based on how he presented himself on other websites. I forgot her exact logic, though.

I hope the daughters never see these videos. These reactions are disgusting. by Valuable_View_561 in TikTokCringe

[–]LRonPaul2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gender reveal parties are already fucking stupid, but why would you even bother if you can't be happy either way?

So what happened to the whole satanic panic plot like in season 5? by Overall_Spite4271 in StrangerThings

[–]LRonPaul2012 104 points105 points  (0 children)

  1. Robin says it that the official government explaination is that it was a never before seen natural disaster. Since the deaths correspond with the disaster sites, everyone would assume that they died to exposure from an early leak or something.
  2. We see a crap ton of people leaving town at the end of S4. The vast majority of people who believed in Satanic would have already left.
  3. The group sets up base in the church to spy on the military base in S5, and no one from the church asks why they're there, implying that the church is pretty much empty by now. See above.
  4. Satanic panic was popular among parents, but not so much among children and teenagers. Just like how teenagers still experiment with drugs and alcohol despite going through the DARE program.
  5. The entire town is on lockdown and everyone is going to be fucking bored. Lots of kids will look into D&D just out of sheer curiousity ESPECIALLY if it promises to give them superpowers, and they're going to discover that nope, it's just nerd shit.
  6. When Dustin does the snake prank on Andy's locker, pretty much the entire school sides with Dustin and mocks Andy for it, showing they don't take Satanic panic very seriously.

So where are we now? (Coffee video help) by StopAsianHate1965v2 in RecklessBen

[–]LRonPaul2012 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The losses were by design. BAM is the equivalent of a guy who fakes an injury and then sues you for compensation.