9/25/2009 8:18 AM (PST)

According to the Federal Trade Commission, here are some tips: Know who you are dealing with. Do only business with companies that clearly provide their name, street address, and phone number. Protect your personal information. Take your time to investigate the offer thoroughly. Read the small print. Also, the BBB suggests that you should find out if you will be an actual employee or will have to buy mercandise and sell it back to the company. In one case this BBB purchased the "bead" kit and took it to a local bead company. They said not even an expert could assemble that and sell it back to the company for a profit. As always, investigate the company thoroughly, and know that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are many different type of these offers and they differ in many ways. Each one must be checked out separately.