Network marketing, also called direct selling, is a $100 billion global industry that involves over 50 million distributors worldwide selling products directly to consumers. It works by companies relying on independent representatives to sell products and services without retail stores, and by allowing representatives to build a network of their own distributors to earn commissions from their sales and the sales of those they recruit. While some criticize network marketing as a pyramid scheme, proponents argue that unlike illegal pyramids, network marketing provides real products and the opportunity for financial success is available to all representatives regardless of background.