Like with any company, you’ve likely heard about QNET rumours circulating online and on social media. However, QNET rumours are just that — rumours!
We take pride in being as transparent as possible with our customers and IRs. Read on to learn about these QNET rumours and common QNET complaints raised in various online forums and our responses to them. We hope to put all your doubts to rest.
Many QNET rumours surround the legitimacy of the business.
To answer this question and dispel these QNET rumours, it is important to first understand the difference between a legitimate direct selling company and a pyramid scheme. The key difference is that, in an illegal pyramid scheme, one gets commission for recruiting more people under them; whereas in a genuine direct selling company, commissions are paid only based on the sale of products. Even if a person has a large network of people under them, but they have neither retailed nor purchased any product, they don’t earn any commissions.
Pyramid schemes are illegal and the vast majority of their participants lose money. They rely on recruiting new representatives instead of product sales to profit, charge members large upfront fees, and convince them to buy large amounts of inventory that is not returnable. Their products generally have little or no actual value.
Lack of understanding is usually to blame for people mistaking legitimate direct selling companies for scams. Often, when people complain about a direct selling company, it is either due to them not realising how much work is actually involved in building a successful business or because someone else misled them. As a result, companies like QNET are often victims of endless media accusations, speculations, and baseless complaints.
QNET operates in countries with the most sophisticated and stringent laws and regulations governing this industry, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Germany, where our operations are completely legal and compliant with local laws.
We know that some people in network marketing may engage in unethical practices, making the industry an easy target for slurs like this. QNET has always complied with local regulations in any country it has operated in, paid taxes, contributed to numerous philanthropic activities, and reinvested in the country. We also instill a strict code of professional conduct in our distributors and penalise those who violate our Policies and Procedures.
To help combat this issue, it is important for various emerging economies to recognise that direct selling is a thriving industry creating microentrepreneurs who contribute to their communities, and institute the necessary legislation to govern the industry, to clearly distinguish the scams from the genuine direct selling companies.
Due to the nature of the direct selling business model, almost every single company in this industry has faced challenges in new and emerging markets. Direct selling is not very well understood in many countries, and a lack of regulation creates confusion and misunderstanding. However, QNET is not banned in any country.
In 2009, Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance issued a notice banning QNET because our operations were not localised at the time. We opened a dialogue with the government and addressed their concerns, and in 2012, we set up a local company in Rwanda, following which the Ministry of Finance revoked the ban. This company now serves as our East African hub.
In Saudi Arabia, the government issued a ban on direct selling and the entire network marketing industry. QNET was not singled out. However, we were one of the fastest-growing direct selling companies in Saudi at one point and had gained significant prominence; this is why media reports had often mentioned QNET when they covered the country’s overall ban on the industry.
Companies change their names frequently for reasons such as branding, variations in lines of business, and marketing. In our case, this was done for strategic business purposes. When QNET was founded in 1998 it offered only one product: commemorative gold coins. As the company added more products to its portfolio and the e-commerce platform evolved, the name GoldQuest was no longer suitable and it was changed to QuestNet, and then shortened to QNET for brevity. Hundreds of companies all over the world have done the same sort of thing. Watch this video to help you understand this better.
