Question About Arbonne

If I remember correctly, if you wanted to earn a paycheck of your commissions for the month, you personally had to purchase $100 retail. But just to retain consultant status earning the discount, there is no monthly minimum. The $79 is payment for the year. Instead of buying little stuff here and there, there's lots of ways to combine your products into one big order every couple of months, earning free products and specials. Get the inside scoop from your lady to maximize your $.

I signed up to sell Arbonne a few years ago just for the discounts. No one ever told me to sell the products, and the woman who signed me up sometimes dropped off free samples at my house.

I recently let my membership lapse because my favorite products are no longer offered. But it really was nice to get the discounts. I only ordered products once or twice a year, and I loved receiving the bonus items. I think to continue your membership it is only $15 each year. Definitely worth it if you like their products.

I used to have an Arbonne membership. I loved their products until I decided I no longer wanted to use products with certain kinds of ingredients.

You could also find discounted Arbonne products on Ebay. Just an FYI.

No one will pressure you to sell which was my experience. I eventually just let it lapse and never looked back.

It's just another MLM. As long as you are aware of that and into the selling, parties, recruiting people, etc and ok with all the requirements go for it.

Personally, I hate MLM's as most people do in my area and we loathe the parties, etc. I'd rather just give someone money and avoid the sales pitches.

I would just advise you not to paint all MLMs with the same brush. A lot of people dislike them because they have been pursued by pushy salespeople or trapped by unscrupulous companies. But there is nothing inherently wrong with multilevel marketing - there are far fewer layers than in a typical corporation store (WalMart, Macy's, your chain supermarket, you name it) and having a relationship with a salesperson is far better than what you have in every other shopping experience you have. Network marketing is how business used to be conducted before the big corporations got involved, isolating the customer from the people who actually make decisions within the company.

If you feel hustled by a direct selling company, be honest about how often you are hustled by a corporate retail giant. Your TV shows and movies are peppered with ads, and the price of your products goes way up to cover the costs of commercials, celebrity endorsers, executive salaries, fancy packaging, and so on. That's why generic or store brand cereals, breads etc. are cheaper than the big brand names - they're still made in the same plant! And remember all the fees the companies pay to the supermarkets to get prime shelf placement. The products at eye level (lower down for kids' products) are there because the company paid a huge fee for that - and that cost is folded into the price you pay at the register. And the coupons you get in the newspaper are designed to sell you processed, convenience food that is already overpriced.

A good MLM company will not have monthly minimums or pressure to sell, will have a low sign-up fee (e.g. $25 a year - no different than a BJs or Costco type membership). If there is a bulk order to get a big discount, that order shouldn't have to be repeated every month, it shouldn't have certain products required (maybe a dollar value, but with a wide range of choices to make that total), and there should be a one-year buy back of something like 90% (a 10% restocking fee is fine). So what sort of guarantee are they giving you?

Look at how the compensation plan is structured - is the person sponsoring you making money from every single person who signs up, or is it based on dollars from all the people she sponsors? Can she sponsor as many people as she wants on her first level (good) or does she have to build down evenly, getting 2 people to sponsor 2 people who sponsor 2 more people (bad). Is the company a member in good standing of the Direct Selling Association? That's a watchdog group and membership is by invitation only after a year of scrutiny as well as interviews with distributors to make sure they aren't being roped into anything without full disclosure. If you want more info, let me know.

If this woman is trying to get you to sign up, but she's not on her computer much or calling you back, then my guess is that she has not been well-trained or she is trying to get too many people without giving them enough information. That doesn't mean it's a bad company - it might mean she's not good at it or doesn't have a well-trained upline sponsor herself.

So I think there are some questions to ask, and I think it makes a difference whether you are looking for skin care or nutrition. Be careful what you put in your body - that's even more important than what you put ON your body. You should be looking at patented nutrition (very rare especially on the whole formula, not just an ingredient), clinical studies (not done by them but by independent labs, university researchers, medical facilities, etc.), and nothing in pill form. If you want clarification, let me know.

But I absolutely believe you should not discount a company simply because they are in direct sales. In many ways, it's more honorable than retail establishments.