"Traveling crews have been exploiting young workers and scamming customers for decades – and neither law enforcement nor Congress has been able to do anything about it." The Atlantic reports on the sad world of "mag crews."
[Former mag crew salesperson Stephanie Dobbs] says sellers get 50 percent of the first chunk—their “front-end sales”—plus points to work their way up the system. Junior managers get 100 percent of their “front-end sales,” 40 percent of the “mail-in percentage,” and a few dollars per subscription from the “shipping and handling” portion. The bosses and the owners collect the remainder, and Dobbs says it’s an impressive figure. She said on a really great sales day, Harvey, her ex-boyfriend, can bring in thousands as a manager of Young People Working LLC under Crystal and Kevin Davis.
Trapped into selling magazines door-to-door
