Welcome to my Arbonne review 2021!
Arbonne claims that you can use their health and beauty products that are unparalleled in quality, safety, value, benefits, and results. Their experts integrate the most valuable botanical ingredients from nature with the principles of green chemistry.
No matter what the Arbonne management claims, the best way to corroborate their claim is to read the trusted reviews on Google.
This is where I must applaud you for taking your time to do your own research about Arbonne.
Let me be fully transparent with you; I’m not connected with Arbonne in any form. Instead, I’m here to disclose the reality behind Arbonne and what it can really offer for you.
Is it really that simple for Arbonne to fulfill its promises? Is it worth your time? And most importantly, is Arbonne a legit or a scam business?
That’s all I will be covering in this review.
So let’s start;
Product Name: Arbonne International
Founder: Petter Mørck
Product Type: MLM
Price: $79 registration fee + $30/year
Best For: People who are health cautious and love MLM business
Summary: Arbonne is an MLM company that sells health and beauty related products and offers its members an earning opportunity when they become independent consultants after paying $79. It only deals in herbal products. However, their products are pricey. They have a complex success plan and poor success rate.
Rating: 50/100
Verdict: No
What is Arbonne International?
Arbonne is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that was founded by Petter Mørck in 1975. The Company started its core products in 1980 from the United States, and now it is operating in seven countries across the world including USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.
Petter had years of experience for working in a major role in Norwegian skincare company, but even at that time, he had a mission of creating his own skin care products that offered better quality and natural ingredients that actually benefit the skin.
Arbonne claims that their products are created after thorough research and using only botanical components that are Safe, Pure and Beneficial.
That’s why they have created an ingredient policy and banned nearly 2000 ingredients.
I know such claims are very appealing to everyone, but the truth is their product lines are pretty common in MLM companies, and it is difficult for us to decide whether the product is good or bad.
Let’s look at a few of the popular companies that are also dealing in healthcare products;
- Amway
- Isagenix
- Nikken
- Forever Living
- Melaleuca
- Shaklee
- And many more…..
When you read my reviews on those sites, there is nothing special in them regardless of the claims they are making.
Arbonne Product Lines
Arbonne deals in following types of product lines;
- Skincare – Facial cleanser, Instant lift gel, sunscreen, shave soothing lotion, toner, etc.
- Bath & Body – Essential oils, hand lotions, moisturizing creams, body wash, etc.
- Makeup – Sunscreens, Eyeliner, facial cleansing, mascara, lipstick, etc.
- Nutrition – Shakes, boosters, snack bars, antioxidants, etc.
- Hair – Shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, revitalizing masque, hair serum, etc.
The products are pretty common, but they are very expensive as well. You could get much better brands from the market at the lower price.
Overall, this market is saturated, and there are millions of products out there. So, why waste your time on products whom you don’t know whether it will work for you or not.
How to Make Money from Arbonne?
There are different ways you can use Arbonne;
1. Become a customer
It means you are simply a customer and purchasing their products at retail price. You cannot be part of their success plan.
2. Become an Independent consultant
The cost is $79 for Independent Consultant (IC), but here you can get a 35% discount on products retail price. Plus, you now can join their compensation plan (They called it a Success Plan) as well.
This is the level you must get if you want to build this business.
The more you support others on your team to improve their sales volume, the more you will be compensated as you advance to management levels in their compensation plan.
Arbonne Independent Consultants can earn in four ways through their success plan;
- Client Commissions: If you made direct sales to your clients you will earn 35% of Suggested Retail Price (SRP), and you will earn 15% of SRP if you made sales to preferred Clients (PC).
- Overrides: This is the commissions paid to you on the product sales volume (PSV) of your team.
- Mercedes-Benz Cash Bonus: It is only available to Vice Presidents based on their team’s PSV.
- Other Cash Bonuses: It is available at each level based on your personal sales or team product sales
One thing I want to make it clear if you are an independent consultant you can only earn 6% overrides from your direct sponsors only. However, at this level, you wouldn’t earn anything from the second tier.
After independent consultant, there are few more advanced stages you can move up and earn more commission. The advanced stages are;
- District Manager
- Area Manager
- Regional Vice President
- National Vice President
To achieve those level, there are certain criteria, and I recommend you to see their 20 pages compensation plan here to get the detailed idea.
Don’t waste you time in MLM companies, Click here to see my #1 recommend program to earn a full-time income from home!
Pros & Cons:
The Good
1. Trusted Name
Arbonne is very popular in small segments of the USA, Canada, and the UK. This is because it is operating since 1975 and deals in products that are most demanding.
We all have heard MLM scams in the past and organizations shut down by FTC because of using pyramid business model.
But Arbonne is still going strong after 43 years. The site has over 300,000 consultants all over the world and growing.
2. BBB Accredited and Member of DSA
Better Business Bureau usually deals with customer complaints and categorizes companies based on the same. The Arbonne has the A+ rating with the BBB that shows it is receiving fewer complaints or their customer support service is excellent.
Also, the company is a member of the Direct Sales Association (DSA), which is formed to protect the interests of MLM companies. However, it is considered to be a reliable sign for a company if it becomes a member of DSA.
3. You Can Make Money
That’s true. If you see their income disclosure statement, they have nearly 3% of people who are earning a sustainable income from Arbonne.
It means if you also put effort into this business, you get good rewards as well. But I believe these 3% people have spent more than 15 to 20 years with this company.
That’s too much.
I am working on a trusted business model that is far better than MLM. If you give your effort for one year in this business, I assure you can earn far better than this MLM system.
The Bad
1. Only Recruiting
To make money in Arbonne, all you need to do is to recruit as many people as possible. The first step you are directed after becoming an independent consultant is to create a list of 100 people in your circles and then pitch them about Arbonne.
Believe me, if you are new in this business, the people won’t listen to you at all, and they will change their path if they see you. That’s happened to me in the past.
I know if you have marketing skills, you can earn money, but those people are very rare.
You need a lot of motivation and self-development to be successful. Your up lines will also play a major role to take you as a team or left you to do your own.
2. Expensive Products but Ordinary Quality
I have been part of many renowned MLM sites in the past, and it was tough for me to convince people to join those sites. You should expect this case with Arbonne as well.
Simply, on one side the products are pricey as compared to its rivals’ and on another side, they don’t offer value.
This problem doesn’t lie only with Arbonne, but if you look at other popular MLM businesses like Zurvita, Traffic Authority, Rodan & Fields, and Kyani, they all are facing this issue as well.
They charged extra margin from members which enables them to make a cut from this margin and offer well-paid compensation plan to its members.
That’s for sure; people don’t join them due to their products, rather their solitary purpose is to earn money by enrolling other people.
Products are ordinary, thus makes hard for their members to convince other people to buy them.
3. Lose Your Friendships & Relationships
The management will guide you to arrange home parties and invite people in your circles. The most commons are your family, relatives, and friends.
But if you ask them, again and again,n, it will not only reach your cost to a high level but also risking yourself that family and friends will stop talking to you since they think you are just gonna ask them to have a party.
4. Limited Earning Potential
Regardless of the time and effort, you put in Arbonne, at the end you only have few bucks in your hand.
That’s right….
Though Arbonne is a legitimate MLM site in this industry, still this issue is with it.
You can get a paycheck of $40 to $50 month. Even for that $40 to $50, you need to spend 3-4 hours daily. That’s a lot of work.
It is famous that less than 0.5% of people are successful in the MLM businesses. Additionally, some studies have shown that approximately 1% of people can get their initial investment back.
If you visit Arbonne site disclosure statement, it becomes evident that;
- 62% members who are independent consultants had earned $788 in 2017, and
- 28% of the members had earned only $3,450 in 2017. This is their full-year earnings, and if we get their monthly earnings, then it becomes $3,450/12 = $287.5.
It means 90% of its members are not earning sustainable income using this business.
If you think Arbonne can replace your 9 to 5 jobs and earn you a stable income, believe me, that’s not going to be happening.
Honestly speaking, I am not going to waste my time on such places for earning like this and I don’t like to waste your time too.
These are not my claims and if you think otherwise then just give me one example from sites like Perfectly Posh, It Works, Wakya Perfection, Digital Altitude and many more that has a success rate greater than this
Is Arbonne a Scam?
Arbonne is not a scam because it is a legitimate site and has been operating since 1975. If its business model is not legitimate, it has been shut down by FTC. Like most MLM enterprises, they have their own upsides and downsides.
The Company deals in some good products that are also in demand for people who are health conscious.
Arbonne also allows them to take part in its success plan and earn a commission for promoting its products to other people.
Nevertheless, the site is legitimate; I don’t suggest you take this as an income opportunity.
You cannot expect much from an MLM platform; I have already analyzed their income disclosure platform above.
Can Arbonne become your cash cow and provide you with the lifestyle that it promises? I wouldn’t think so, but that’s just my view.
There are cheaper options out there when it comes to making money online.
Want to Earn a Full-time Income From Home?
Is Arbonne a Pyramid Scheme?
Before looking at whether Arbonne is a Pyramid Scheme or not, let’s first understand what a pyramid scheme is.
Everyone has a different perspective but what I believe is that the company must have the following characteristics to be called a pyramid scheme;
- The pyramid scheme doesn’t offer real products to sell. However, they may purport to sell a product, but they often simply use the product to hide their pyramid structure.
- If the money you earn is based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, it’s probably not. It could be a pyramid scam.
Concerning Arbonne, I believe that it is not a pyramid scheme as it has real products along with its focus is on making money based on your sales to the public.
However, they were accused in the past for operating a pyramid scheme and still the case is pending in the court.
Final Verdict:
Though Arbonne is a legit MLM company, I recommend you to put your attention on your own online business rather than acting for someone else behalf. Including Arbonne, MLM sites have very expensive items, and it gets challenging to sell to other people.
That’s where I recommend my favorite business model, Affiliate marketing, which is the only method I suggest to make money online.
Let’s look at the reasons why I prefer affiliate marketing over MLM;
- Unlike Arbonne, you don’t have to recruit anyone to make money
- It gives you control and ownership that Arbonne doesn’t
- You don’t need to be involved in face to face marketing
- You have the liberty to market any products you like and not being restricted only to promote the products from one MLM company
- It’s Free to get started
Don’t put so much effort on Arbonne and other similar MLM businesses as if the Arbonne gets shut, all of your efforts will get wasted, and you need to commence again from scratch.
If you are in affiliate marketing, you don’t face this issue at all because if a Company gets closed, you can choose other to replace the older one.
If you want to learn affiliate marketing and be part of a platform that has over one million members and provides training step by step, I recommend seeing Wealthy Affiliate.
Click below to sign up as a free member and start your journey.
Related Posts:
What’s your thoughts on my Arbonne review 2021 and if there is any issues in your mind, please say me in the comment section.
