What is Market America?

I'd like to offer a third party review of the network marketing company Market America. I am in no way affiliated with Market America.I've actually known of the company for many years. Their site said they were founded in 1992. That is probably when I first heard of them. They launched the company with a huge marketing campaign that put their name on everyone's radar.Market America was responsible for the phrase "unfranchise". This was a term that referred to a business owner who had a business but not a franchise. It was a really clever phrase and introduction to what network marketing is all about.The company today is a bit different than it was back in 1992. Today, you join for free and get discounts on products you purchase for yourself. In addition, when you get others to join and become customers, you'll earn ½% on their qualified purchases.As I always do when I research a company, I looked up the company name followed by the word "scam." I want to see the negative that people are saying about the company.The first page I came to spoke of Market America's payout structure, so I decided to investigate and see what I could find. I began on the corporate site. The first thing I learned was that Market America is partnered with over 3000 retailers. This means you truly can buy just about anything through your own "unfranchise" store.I next read that you can earn 2%-35% on qualifying purchases. Nowhere did it say what constitutes a qualifying purchase. I searched everyone on the corporate site and then used a few different search engines to search for "Market America compensation plan." I walked away still not knowing how they pay their distributors.If you believe this is the right opportunity for you, I would ask to see in writing the compensation plan. I've read that there are videos, I would not accept a video, I would ask to see in writing what the compensation plan is.I ran into the same trouble looking for how team commissions are paid out or calculated. There is just no information available out there with simple web searches. What the corporate site says is "when they sign up as a customer and list you as the referral, we'll pay you ½% cash back on their qualified purchases!" But again, I can find no information on what the word "qualified" means.I personally am a bargain shopper. I want the highest quality product I can get for the lowest possible price. I did not comparison shop on the Market America site. If you are considering signing up, I would look at your most recent purchases and then see if those items are available through Market America and if they are, how they compare price-wise to the price you paid elsewhere.In all of my searching, I'm not sure I came across a distributor website. Based on all of this, I would ask the following questions if you are considering joining:1. What exactly is the compensation plan?2. How would I offer products to someone else?3. What is a qualifying purchase?I believe after you have these three questions answered, you'll know if this is the right company for you to join.