Well, not always. First, let s get the c.y.a. out of the way. Now we talk practicalities.
Oral contracts are legal.
The issue is not usually legality, but enforceability. Let s examine the lack of a signed contract from two perspectives, that of the company and that of the distributor. The company wants distributors who order their products and services and bring them more distributors. Nothing in the signed or unsigned distributor contract makes the distributor do those things. Numerous orders create a course of dealings of the parties bringing payments or obligations to pay to the company.