This is a long overdue update of our Arbonne review.
There are 3 types of people that I expect to read this review: those looking to get an outside perspective on the Arbonne opportunity, those looking to get information on Arbonne products, and those who are already affiliated with Arbonne in some way.
If you’re looking to learn about to Arbonne business opportunity, you’re going to get a lot of value from this article. Unlike most other Arbonne reviews, we’re not going to tell you how Arbonne is the greatest thing since sliced bread or how they’re the worst thing since WW2. You will simply learn about the compensation plan, the cost to become an Arbonne independent consultant, the cost to remain an Arbonne independent consultant, how much Arbonne consultants earn on average, how you can be successful as an Arbonne consultant, and a lot more.
I would say this review is more an interpretation of the facts than me giving my opinion. The goal is to equip you with enough information to ask the right questions and, ultimately, make the right decision — whatever that might be.
If you’re looking to learn about the products, you’re still welcome to read this post but don’t expect to get much value out of it. Here are a few sites I found that do a decent job on the products: Makeupalley, Smart Skin Care and Influenster.
If you’re already an Arbonne consultant you’re likely not going to agree with many things in this review. But can I ask you to attempt to read this with an open mind and leave your thoughts in the comments… respectfully? Correcting wrong facts and politely articulating your opinion is more useful to readers than name-calling.
If you’re interested in a particular section, jump right ahead:
- What is Arbonne?
- How does the Arbonne business model work?
- Arbonne Compensation/Success Plan
- How much do Arbonne Consultants make? (as per Arbonne Income Disclosure Statement)
- How to make money as an Arbonne Consultant
- Cost to become an Arbonne Consultant
- Cost of being / to remain an Arbonne Consultant
- Arbonne Success Stories / Positive Reviews
- Arbonne Complaints / Negative Reviews
- How to become an Arbonne Consultant
- How to stop being an Arbonne Consultant
- Is Arbonne a Scam?
- Is Arbonne a Pyramid Scheme?
- So should you become an Arbonne Consultant?
- A word to active Arbonne Consultants reading this review
- My recommendation to you
- Alternatives
- Conclusion
What is Arbonne?
Founded by Petter Mørck in 1975, Arbonne is a direct sales company that sells beauty and nutritional products.
How does the Arbonne business model work?
The simple gist of the Arbonne opportunity is: you pay the fee to become an independent consultant, send traffic to Arbonne through your unique link and earn a 35% commission when they make a purchase.
Another way is to purchase products at a discount price and keep the profits when you make a sale. Note that Arbonne has no inventory requirements, so it’s not mandatory for consultants to keep inventory.
Read the above paragraph again and you’ll quickly realize that it’s actually not very different from a regular brick and mortar business. You buy products and sell products for a higher price than you bought them and you’ll make a profit.
You could also earn additional income from the sales achieved by personally sponsored Independent Consultants if you have any.
Now, this is an over-simplified model of how the Arbonne business model works. But the devil is in the details, so read the following section for the details.
Arbonne Compensation Plan (a.k.a. SuccessPlan)
Full information on the compensation plan can be found in the official Arbonne Success Plan document. Check out the following videos to listen to two successful Arbonne Independent Consultants talk about the criteria and process for promotion, as well as the rewards that come with each rank.
How much do Arbonne Consultants make?
The information in this section can be found in the official Arbonne Income Disclosure/Compensation Summary statement for 2017. Read the full document here.
There’s no straightforward answer to this question, but the average annual revenue of Arbonne independent consultants that received any earnings was $788 in 2017.
On the face of it, here’s what we can tell from the document:
- Arbonne had approximately 174,200 independent consultants in 2018
- Of all these consultants, only 30,100 (17%) received any earnings from the company during the year. These are considered active consultants.
- That would suggest 144,000 (83%) independent consultants didn’t receive any earnings
- The figures shown in the table only account for the 17% that received earnings
- Based on the figures on the above chart, 90% of all active consultants earn an average of less than $4,000 per year (less than $335 per month)
- It’s not until the rank of Regional Vice Presidents that we get to full-time annual earnings, but only 3% of active consultants make it to that level.
- This does not reflect any possible expenses incurred by the consultant
The truth is the vast majority of Arbonne consultants cannot be considered successful. In fact, according to the official summary report, only 3% of active consultants (0.4% of all consultants) make “own your life” money.
Next time you run into that neighbour or former coworker that is trying to sell you on this life-changing opportunity, ask them what their rank is. If they’re not yet at Regional Vice President level, chances are they’re still struggling to find their feet in the business.
Looks like it’s all doom and gloom. So you should forget about Arbonne and move on to something else, right?
Wrong.
Remember the numbers are averages and averages hardly ever tell the full story. For example, most people might only be using this opportunity as a side hustle. Yes, they are poor but I put that down to the fact that most of the people recruited to become independent consultants are not the right fit for the business in the first place.
If you’re looking to separate yourself from these average numbers, the next section is for you. It tells you where people fall short and what you could do differently in order to succeed. I’m currently working with Arbonne consultants that make over $3,500 per month, so I know for a fact that you can defy the averages. You just need to determine whether you’re a good fit for this opportunity and that’s what this review is supposed to help you achieve.
How to make money as an Arbonne Consultant
This is probably the most important section to you if you’re an aspiring Arbonne consultant or an already existing consultant looking to become successful.
As cliché as it sounds, the most successful business people are those who provide solutions to real problems and have the tenacity to see out their vision.
The reason most consultants fail is that they don’t know what problems they are providing solutions to. They are dragged into the whirlwind of having to make enough sales to meet their monthly quota — same whirlwind their recruiters were dragged into as well.
Educate people about the products
Know this: Nobody cares about your products. Nobody cares that you want to make money. People only care about finding solutions to their problems. Offer that to them and you have their attention.
Think about why you love Arbonne products. If you don’t love the products, I suggest you stop right now. There’s no way you can truly promote a product if you don’t believe in the value it provides.
What’s so special about the skin care products? How about the makeup? What problems did you have before and how have these products solved those problems?
If you already have a network of friends that use luxury personal care products, start with them. Tell them why the products you are offering are better than the ones they’re already using. What are the ingredients and how are they different? Are your products cheaper or more expensive? If they’re more expensive, you need to be able to give them a reason why they should pay more. There are more angles but the point is it’s easier to sell to folks that already understand the value in luxury personal care products than it is to sell to others.
Then there’s the other — and bigger — part of trying to educate people on why they should spend more on personal care products.
I first learned about Arbonne from my ex-neighbours who I would say were extremely passionate about the opportunity and the dream life they were both going to have together in future. Their biggest mistake, however, was jumping straight into telling me how this opportunity could change my life forever before even trying to educate me about the products. They didn’t know I was all too familiar with these conversations and that I ran this blog. The rest is history.
I looked into the company, studied the business model, wrote the old version of this review, and they’re now disgruntled ex-Arbonne consultants who do not have any good thing to say about Arbonne.
I shared this story to reiterate my point about educating people about your products. It is also a good example of how not to run your Arbonne business, i.e. don’t just go around trying to recruit people. Contrary to what many Arbonne consultants have chosen to believe, the vast majority of the people you will run into do not invest significantly in personal care products like body lotion. There’s a reason household brands like Vaseline continue to lead the way in number of sales.
This principle of educating your potential customers applies regardless of whether you choose to go the inbound or outbound sales route or both. Combining both is ideal for maximum results but mastering one should be sufficient enough to make money as an Arbonne consultant.
Outbound Method
I cannot really speak in-depth about outbound sales except that you’ll need to be able to approach people and try to educate them. Most people will not be receptive to you and that’s okay. It’s a natural reaction because, for the most part, you will have had no prior interaction with these people. How do you feel when complete strangers approach you to talk to you about products?
One thing all successful entrepreneurs have is the willingness to invest in their learning/development and this is one area you should consider investing your time or your money in if necessary. You can read books, blogs, find a mentor, etc. From the comments, I learned that some teams have weekly/monthly calls to support you. So look within your team if there’s someone you can learn from.
As is the case with most things, you will naturally get better as you talk to more and more people about your products.
Inbound Method
From an inbound sales perspective, you position yourself in a spot where customers come to you. If I had to choose between outbound and inbound, I’d choose the latter simply because of its convenience and potential reach.
Who is your target audience? Maybe it’s the lady in her late thirties, regularly shops online and already likes Arbonne on Facebook, or it could be the 25-year old guy across town who is using Google to search for a solution to his skin acne problems. They know what they want, you have what they want, so all you need to do is place yourself in a position to be found by these people.
This is probably oversimplifying the process and, yes, there is a learning curve, but it’s only a fragment of the possibilities that exist in inbound sales. Who do you think is more likely to convert into a paying customer: the gentleman on the street that has never met you or heard about your product or the lady that knows her problem and finds you with the solution?
Position yourself as an authority by educating your audience, both online and offline, and it will naturally need to trust and more sales.
Build a website and tackle all of the pain points of your audience, including the difficult topics bloggers in your niche and other consultants tend to shy away from. Learn how to write consistently and with intent — you don’t have to be an expert writer — and learn strategies to get your website found. Over time, you will become the go-to person when it comes to topics in your niche. That is how to build authority online.
There are thousands of sites with articles across the web you could read to learn how to create a website or write with intent or learn SEO. However, I highly recommend one that lines them all up in one place in sequential order and it’s free to sign up for. The same principles still apply offline. Address your prospects’ concerns before they even ask. This shows you know your stuff and you’ve got nothing to hide. Address the difficult topics like the challenges with sales, running costs, even the perception Arbonne might have due to some negative reviews online. Address everything and their trust in you will grow.
Build a team
Let’s be clear, this is NOT a standalone way to make money as an Arbonne consultant. You should only consider building a team once you have mastered the art of selling products.
Do NOT become an Arbonne consultant and immediately start trying to recruit people, regardless of what the person that got you to join told you. Building a team should happen naturally after product sales.
I’m emphasizing this so you don’t become part of the reason why Arbonne is considered — rightly or wrongly — shady by many. If my neighbours had tried to educate me about the Arbonne’s products, just maybe I would have had a better impression of the company and not written such a harsh review. Imagine how many people do the same thing across the world and take another look at the average numbers. It’s clear something isn’t right about the strategy most people use.
The process of building a team should be natural. If the people you sell the products to find them very impressive, some of them will want to promote the products as well. If someone is a repeat client of yours, maybe you should tell them about Arbonne’s Preferred Client program where they pay a $29 annual fee and get a 20% discount on products or if interested, they could become Independent Consultants to get a 35% discount on products and the opportunity to make some money by selling Arbonne products. This is the natural and legal way to start to start to build your team.
As time goes on and you manage to build a strong base in your team, your role will evolve from being an active salesperson to more of a mentor to the people on your team.
Learn how to make money in your MLM business
Cost to become an Arbonne Consultant
Source: https://www.arbonne.com/discover/opportunity/businesstools.shtml
The cost to become an Arbonne Consultant is $79. This is also an annual renewal cost if you choose to remain a consultant. The registration fee comes with your starter kit which includes a start guide and product samples.
At the time of writing this, there is an offer in which you can get register and get your starter kit for only $49, provided you purchase products worth 250 QV in the same order.
Cost of being an Arbonne Consultant
The cost to remain an active Arbonne consultant is 150 QV in monthly sales/purchases. That is, if you’re able to make 150 QV in sales every month you’re good. What this also means is if you are only able to make 120 QV in product sales, you will have to purchase 30 QV worth of products to receive any compensation that month.
The sooner you become a master at making sales, the sooner you wouldn’t have to worry about having to purchase products to remain active. People struggling with sales find themselves having to purchase products and this pressure to meet their quota forces them to switch their focus from product sales to recruiting. It was certainly the case with my neighbours and is probably the case with the person trying to recruit you right now.
Arbonne Success Stories / Positive Reviews
Here are some of the positive reviews I found on Glassdoor:
“Best way to create Asset wealth that I’ve ever discovered” – Independent Consultant, Toronto, Canada.
“Work 10 hours a week, work from home, great for making a little extra cash or as a full on career, lots of mentoring and career help from management, working for a company that stands behind their products.” – Independent Consultant, Calgary, Canada.
“35% commission with overrides and cash bonus incentives! You are essentially your own boss with the help of Corporate who provides excellent marketing materials. Travel incentives, growth opportunity and an amazing way to grow yourself personally.” – Regional Vice President, Saddle Brook, U.S.
“You get to make your own schedule and they provide amazing people to coach you along your journey to help you be successful.” – Independent Consultant, Honolulu, U.S.
I noticed a recurring piece of advice to aspiring consultants is to invest in their personal development and to be self-motivated. This is in line with some of the stuff you’ve read earlier on in this article.
If you’re interested in reading actual success stories where some successful consultants share their personal experiences and strategy, you can check out Arbonne’s official success page.
Arbonne Complaints / Negative Reviews
As you would expect from a company that has well over 200,000 independent consultants who also sell (or try to) products to lots of people, not all of the reviews can be positive.
Here are some of the negative reviews on Glassdoor:
“They claim you have a very flexible schedule but in order to move up, you need to work your butt off. The compensation plan is not as great as claimed. Lots of hidden costs (i.e. you are taxed on the retail value of what you buy and not on the discount price)” – Independent Consultant, Toronto, Canada.
“The goals are unreachable. The goal is to grow your team in order to make your paycheck higher. People don’t want to buy the products. Products are too expensive. At the meetings, you have to pay to get in and then you feel guilted into guilting friends and family to have a party. Family and friends will stop talking to you since they think your just going to ask them to have a party. Parties take like 4-6 hours but you’re told at the beginning that it’s 2 hours. You have to purchase an obscene amount each month.” – Independent Consultant
Other sites where you can read more negative reviews are the Better Business Bureau and Pissed Consumer.
How to become an Arbonne Consultant
First of all, you’ll need to either already know an Arbonne Consultant or search for one within close proximity using the company’s search tool. You must know your consultant’s full name or their Consultant ID.
Once you’ve chosen a consultant, you will go through six short steps asking you for details such as your name, email, address, confirming your consultant again, adding the registration package to your shopping bag and accepting the terms and conditions.
Check out and you’re all set. Your order should be mailed to you.
If you already know an Arbonne Consultant, you probably don’t need to go through this yourself. They should be able to walk you through it.
How to stop being an Arbonne Consultant
I’m including this section because I’ve been asked about this several times. The instructions are not easy to find on the company’s website and if you belong to a team that wants to be difficult, you could definitely find yourself in a situation.
On the same page where you will have to accept the terms and conditions in order to become a consultant, there is also a download link for the Notice of Cancellation agreement. Fill out the form and mail, fax or submit in person to the Customer Service team. If you meet all of the criteria listed in the agreement, your Independent Consultant status should be terminated within a few days.
Is Arbonne a Scam?
The simple answer is no. Look at it this way, Arbonne is a company that has been around for over 40 years, that sells real products and tries to expand their reach by using Independent Consultants.
As a company (not the opportunity), Arbonne is completely legit. I have researched many direct selling companies and I must mention that Arbonne is actually among the most transparent when it comes to disclosing costs involved and managing expectations.
Is Arbonne a Pyramid Scheme?
The answer to this question is a less-than-straightforward no. If we were to consider the definition of a pyramid scheme according to the FTC, there would be no real products being sold to the public — only smokescreen products going to other distributors. In Arbonne’s case, the products are real…but there is a grey area.
The reason there is even a debate as to whether Arbonne is a pyramid scheme is that many consultants have made the opportunity look like a pyramid scheme. Imagine Mr. X having a hard time selling products and then going out to recruit Mrs. Y. Mrs. Y struggles and goes on to recruit Miss Z. Don’t forget Mr. X hasn’t stopped — he’s still trying to recruit A, B, and C. Same with Mrs. Y, and potentially Miss Z.
One could argue that consultants don’t make commissions off the purchases of consultants under them and they would be right. But again there is a grey area. Consultants make commissions when prospects make the purchase just before they become consultants.
Granted, Arbonne isn’t directly telling these people to behave this way but the company doesn’t do anything to check this. I also sympathize with the fact that when you’re dealing with hundreds of thousands of consultants, it can be difficult to manage the behaviour of every single one of them. However, when thousands of consultants behave unethically, it ultimately affects the reputation of the company.
I’m willing to give Arbonne the benefit of the doubt, despite having no clear evidence to support this, that their products have enough clout to generate more revenue from public-facing sales than disguised consultant-consultant sales and consultant personal purchases combined. Based on this, I’d say Arbonne is NOT a pyramid scheme.
Should you become an Arbonne Consultant?
If you were expecting a Yes/No answer to this question, I have news for you: it’s a question you and you alone can answer.
There’s really only one thing you need to master: the art of making sales. Whether you choose to go the person-to-person route or you choose to promote Arbonne products using online methods, the only thing that stands between you and being a successful Arbonne consultant is making consistent sales.
Recruiting is another thing you could learn, only after you’ve learned how to promote and sell Arbonne products. Building a team is a method of scaling your business to increase your income potential, not building your business. If you’re confident you can learn how to make consistent sales and potentially build a team that can also make consistent sales, then you’re well on course to becoming one of the few successful Arbonne consultants one day.
Click here to learn how to build your Arbonne business online
If you have doubts about your chances of being successful with Arbonne, maybe you should consider building your own online business centred around something you’re more passionate about. What’s that thing you can start talking about from the moment you wake up? Build a business around it!
A word to active Arbonne consultants reading this review
I have received several hits from a number of Arbonne consultants who challenged the nature of the previous version of this Arbonne review. Some of the name-callings can be found here in the comments section, worse can be found in my emails.
I’ve even had a few consultants threaten me with legal action for “misrepresenting the facts” about a company that they neither own or are employed by. It’s interesting to note that not only were the facts accurate at the time I originally published the post, but the same facts are also still largely accurate today. I’ll be honest, I understand that the tone of the previous version might have come off as aggressive, but the facts and my overall view of the Arbonne opportunity have barely changed, if at all.
Here’s a screenshot of the summary I had at the beginning of the old review:
Since the facts haven’t changed, I’m starting to question why a lot of people were so eager for me to update the review. Did they want me to change my tone? Did they hope I would finesse the facts? Did they expect me to change my overall opinion? I’ve also always wondered why consultants would go on Google to search for Arbonne reviews. Is it because the people they are trying to recruit challenge them with info from these reviews?
While we’re on the topic of Google, a lot of consultants seem to have an issue with how prominent this website is on Google for search queries related to Arbonne. Ironically, my biggest criticism of the company was the extent of the online marketing training offered to give consultants the best chance of succeeding. Some agreed with me (like the ones that joined the free training platform I recommended), while most argued that Arbonne did, in fact, have extensive training for consultants. If that was the case, an article like this that has some not-all-positive things to say about Arbonne shouldn’t occupy a spot among the top 10 results in Google for any search term ahead of thousands of consultants.
While we’re on the topic of Google: If I were an Arbonne consultant, I could become successful from this page alone. Whenever someone tells me I’m intentionally trashing Arbonne in order to promote something else, I think to myself that if only they knew I could make so much more by telling lies about how much I love Arbonne and how it’s this perfect business opportunity that is meant for everybody instead of promoting a free training program that earns me zero commissions.
Keyword there is FREE. I never ask anyone to get the paid version of the training until they have juiced the value out of the free version first. I could go on and on about this because this harassment has been going on for years but I’ll stop here. If you want to have a civil conversation, devoid of name-calling, regardless of whether you agree with me or not, I’ll be more than happy to chat with you in the comments.
My Recommendation to you
As much as I have said many good things about Arbonne and how you can work to be successful as a consultant, I still cannot recommend Arbonne as a standalone opportunity. Yes, you can make money. No, it is not a scam. No, it is not a pyramid scheme. Yet, somehow, I still cannot say you should go ahead and join.
Why? Because the failure rate is alarming. I mentioned in the previous section that I have all the tools and traffic in my arsenal to be very successful with Arbonne but I feel it would be wrong for me to put monetary gain over my conscience. This is why I would rather promote the product — the training that taught me how to write with intent, gain traffic and earn income — instead of promoting Arbonne. The free version of this product can help you lay the groundwork for a successful Arbonne business.
Click to see how this program can be used specifically to grow your Arbonne business.
Even if you’re already with Arbonne and you’re looking to improve your results, this training can teach you some basic principles and skills to help you leverage the power of the internet to expand your business.
Fun Fact:
Using the techniques taught in this training, you can actually promote Arbonne products for free as an affiliate without having to join as a consultant first. Don’t believe me? This link is an affiliate link that takes you to Arbonne’s RE9 Advanced Restorative Day Cream on Amazon. If you purchase it or any other product on Amazon within the next 24 hours, I will earn a commission from all your purchases at no additional cost to you.
Basically, in this model, you don’t pay to promote and earn commissions from products. If you’re curious to read my personal story, you can check it out here.
Click here to learn how to build a business using this model.
Alternatives
If you’re not a big fan of my top recommendation, here are a few other authority sites that have helped me over the years. I still visit these sites frequently:
- HubSpot Blog (check out both the Marketing and Sales blogs)
- Digital Marketer
- Neil Patel
There are a few others but if you know what exactly you’re looking for I can almost guarantee that at least one of these 3 blogs will have an answer for you if it’s related to online marketing. They might not give you the tools and 1-on-1 support you need, but they will certainly point you in the right direction on where to find them.
Conclusion
I had one goal with this Arbonne review: To give you the facts straight up and to finesse some of the facts with my opinion.
We’ve talked about the compensation plan, consultant average earnings, what the earnings tell you and what they don’t and how you can break yourself apart from those averages by being successful. We also mentioned the costs involved with being an Arbonne consultant.
All the information you need to determine whether the Arbonne business opportunity is a good fit for you can be found in this review.
I also want to give credit to whom credit is due. Despite my reservations about the opportunity, I must acknowledge that Arbonne is among the most transparent companies that use the MLM business model. Take it from someone that has encountered and reviewed several MLM companies. Everything I needed to write this review was found on their website and that saved me a lot of time in having to seek out consultants to interview.
I really hope you got the information you were looking for in this review. It’s a lot of words. You might agree with some, you might disagree with others. You might agree/disagree with everything. In any case, feel free to make yourself heard in the comments.
Build your Arbonne business or any other business the online way today.
Originally published on Feb 10, 2017, updated on November 12, 2018.
Word at Arbonne is that the executives have been preparing for a possible selloff, bankruptcy, or closure, or a bit of all 3.. it will start with the closing of the Calgary branch. Arbonne is a pyramid level marketing scam, I work for them so I should know. Arbonne has some good products, most of which you can find under generic brand labels at 1/10th of the price. Believe me or not, they have become a sad joke of a company (and a worse employer) the past year or so.. ask any employee that you are truly friends with – no employee that works at Arbonne is currently happy, and many important people have already begun to jump ship.. its a facade they are continually perpetuating as they’ve become a totally mismanaged mess that is going downhill fast. The VP and most of the executives should be fired for using company funds for their own pleasure i.e. kickbacks, embezzling, designer clothes/shoes/dresses, this list goes on. I would never invest a dollar in such a ponzi and tell all my friends to stay far far away. I am totally ashamed to tell people that I work for them and have been sending out resumes the past few months in the hopes of leaving the company and its horrible management as soon as possible. Feel free to check out the definition of an MLM on wikipedia, its a glossy term to blind people with nice fancy wording, frankly they are a pyramid scam, in the truest sense of the word. They pray on good people who want to make extra income, but who aren’t smart or driven enough to go about creating their own business. God help those who think otherwise, sadly you will find out the hard way.
Thank you for sharing all this. I’m sure the readers will find this particularly enlightening.
Arbonne is being purchased by Groupe Rocher of France. GR is a very reputable company. I seriously doubt that GR would acquire Arbonne is Arbonne were a “ponzi scheme.” Additionally, Amedu there have been made changes at Arbonne since you wrote this review. Would you be willing to look at the facts and update your review? Arbonne has completely overhauled their Compensation Plan (aka SuccessPlan) particularly the Performance Account aspect. This makes it less likely that Arbonne upline can benefit off of their downline’s hard work. Arbonne has also improved their Preferred Client program and ASVPs Arbonne Special Value Packs. The prices are much more palatable now and PCs can enjoy flat rate and in some cases free shipping. There is more of a focus on signing up PCs that recruiting consultants than there was even a few years ago. I’m a District Manager. I receiving free weekly training calls from my National Vice President. We also have quarterly Zoom teleconferences and in person meetings. Arbonne has Impact Training in the late summer/early fall and Global Training Conference every year in April. Consultants can use The Source which is the resource page and includes training videos and material from print as well as social media. We now have a shopping app which is free for anyone to download. Consultants have an Office app which allows us to track sales. Arbonne is launching CRM software to help Consultants follow up on sales leads. This will be included in our annual $30 renewal fee. We also get a free Arbonne branded website.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for the update and I’m sorry for the late response. To answer your question, yes I would be willing to update this Arbonne review. It’s something that has been on my to-do list for a while actually. The challenge here is getting official confirmation from Arbonne of the facts. Having said that, an update is in order.
Thanks! Looking forward to it!
Here here, honestly they are all insane around here! We have about 6 of them talking about white Mercedes as the best thing ever as an incentive. Once you read between the lines….you have to take out a personal lease with Mercedes not them…so you are responsible for their incentive…..not much of an incentive is it…brainwashing pure and simple. As per a recent law suit that was settled out of (ie Arbonne paid off) claiming it’s a pyramid …a friend of mine runs a saloon in New Zealand and says in the last month alone she’s been approached about 5 times…and it’s just too expensive.
Hi,
Any updates on Arbonne since your post in December?? Went to a “party” last night, I did not know anything about MLM’s and Arbonne but people were very nice and very excited about it. I left with samples to try and an appointment on Monday night to receive infos to become a consultant. However I am the skeptical type, so I spend almost my whole day making research online (thanks to Amedu, you and others). So I think I will cancel the meeting and keep in touch with the friend that hosted the party to see how she will do.
Hi Dominique,
This comment was published in December 2017. This review was rewritten and republished in November 2018. This is an updated version of the Arbonne opportunity.
Dominique,
You should save your pennies and skip being a consultant. As someone who became a consultant because it all sounded so great, it really is hard to make the money. You have to annoy all your friends and get them to spend a crazy amount of money to actually get an income. You, yourself will need to invest money into the products as well. Why you ask? Because you cannot sell the product without using the product. If you aren’t someone who likes to be up peoples butts this isn’t for you…If you don’t mind annoying people and being pushy, it might work.
Sad to see so much negativity about a company so many people truly love and admire. Find better products cheaper? Not a chance. If you think so, it’s because you haven’t been educated enough about ingredients. So much of what has been said above is false or misleading. I won’t go into details as it would take too long, but just wanted to put some positivity up here. I love Arbonne. So do hundreds and hundreds of people I know. These products have changed peoples lives. The business has changed peoples lives. If neither of those are the case for you, then don’t do the business and don’t use the products. Don’t know why it has to be more complicated than that.
Hi Michelle, I’m looking to rejig this review in an attempt to articulate my point better.
There’s a target market that would be interested in Arbonne products but as a regular consultant without any proper training, you won’t be able to find the people in that market consistently enough to make a living out of it.
I haven’t tried the products, so I can’t/didn’t comment on the quality of the products. Arbonne might have changed people’s lives – probably in both positive and negative ways.
Amedu:
First, I am a consultant. Second, I love Arbonne and am proud to be a member and consultant. Third, I’d love to help you get a more rounded perspective of a company that has been around for 40 years because in your attempt to provide an unbiased review, I feel like you are missing out on some pretty relevant information that is available to you (and it’s unbiased information).
You talk about training. I was in corporate sales – I taught corporate sales training. I won’t deny that there are differences – the major difference that in corporate, trainings are mandatory and in MLM, a consultant must take the ownership himself in educating himself and training himself. The provided training is a booklet -yes, true – however, it would be grossly inaccurate to assume that is all there is. There are a multitude of various trainings available to all consultants in our internal vault of information. Yes, there are a lot of representatives that are not educated in sales training or how to get leads and it can certainly be a disservice, but it isn’t accurate to say that it isn’t available to them. Besides the internal vault of information, certain teams do wonderful things that you have NOT touched upon at all. There are teams that do weekly calls and meetings to educate about products, processes, and sales trainings, tips, and advice. There are different sheets, forms, and more that we arm our team with to HELP them learn how to most effectively prospect and get leads. This is WHY, as a consultant, I don’t “recruit” just anyone. I look for people who have the passion, the hunger and the drive to SELL. You’ll have to acknowledge that recruitment is different for each rep.
Next, you claim that the products are expensive. I would be curious to see what your comparisons have been. If you are comparing to drug store brands, then you are right. However, if you are comparing across the broad market and looking at everything from drugstore, to medium to high end, what you will find is that Arbonne prices are very comparable. Which leads me to my next point about getting what you pay for.
Arbonne has a very strong product (something that you did not comment on because you have not tried). Arbonne has 3rd party certifications and accreditation for being vegan, gluten free, cruelty free, and more. This is extremely important when considering skincare and makeup and part of the reason why it’s pricier than a drugstore brand. If you want crushed beetles, estrogen from pregnant horses and whale fat in your cosmetics, take a chance and buy non-vegan. If you want clean products (I have taken a lot of time to study the ingredients and do research), you’re better off buying vegan and clean, like Arbonne and other brands.
I could go on and on. The point is, if you’d like to have an open dialogue and get a more rounded perspective, I’m more than happy to spend the time doing so with you because it’s important to have a full picture of the company before throwing out a harsh review like this (public for people to see). NO company, corporate, small business or MLM is perfect. All have pros and cons. However, I do feel like you are doing the industry a disservice without the full picture.
Best regards,
Stell
Fair enough, Stella.
I mentioned to an earlier comment that I’m looking to update this review sooner rather than later. I just need to find the time and gather the information on what the current Arbonne compensation structure is now (since Arbonne doesn’t put it all in one place).
Honestly I think a few facts might change but I doubt if my overall opinion of the opportunity would. Even looking at your comment, you talk about recruiting. According to the FTC, when the emphasis is tilting more towards recruiting than regular product sales, it’s a red flag. Recruiting itself isn’t forbidden but the natural way is to sell the product and if the buyer is that impressed, they might want to join the opportunity and sell the product as well.
Amedu, actually, I think that because training is varied amongst the different teams some folks may get the idea to recruit recruit recruit. However, that is not the approach Arbonne as a company takes, as a matter of fact, Arbonne sponsored trainings have always taught me to share the product, expose the product, and then share the opportunity. In all of the trainings, as a consultant, I have learned that meeting a client where they are at is key. So if they aren’t interested in the business but love the product, so be it, however I will share with them about the business because there are many who don’t understand MLM. So I inform them not to persuade but to educate, so that they can make the best decision they see fit for them. Arbonne has only taught me to educate and never have I been told to solely focus on recruitment.
Hi Myka,
Thanks for sharing this. As a company, they would be walking into hot water if they took the position of explicitly asking consultants to recruit. No smart MLM company would ever do that – but they don’t discourage it – and that’s the grey area.
I’m interested in finding out if the training you received was official Arbonne training or was it your referrer that gave you this training? Also, do you know of an Arbonne page where I could get the most up-to-date information about the breakdown of the opportunity? I’d love to be able to find official information to update this review.
Still a shit storm of a business. Roll it in glitter, still a turd. 85 percent of the people involved don’t make a dime. Isn’t that enough to consider.?
I can find better, Vegan, all natural products WAY cheaper. It’s not that hard.
Ditto!!!
Thank you for this review; I had just joined but am definitely having second thoughts. The products are ok in my mind, or at least the skincare ones that I’ve tried, but I hate the idea of pushing product on people or hosting events with the intent to sell. It’s frustrating that so much of the focus of doing well is promoting and encouraging others to join as consultants too.
If it’s about selling the products, I’m cool with that. But when the products are pricey (even though they probably high quality) and consultants are not giving enough training to zero down on a market ready to spend that much, they switch their focus over the recruiting. It’s so much easier to sell an opportunity to become a “business owner” than it is to sell expensive skin products.
(Disclaimer: I do not work for this company so my comments are only based on things that I have personally seen with my own two eyes like the multiple deposits into our bank account because my wife has worked with Arbonne for 4 years and my sister for 6 years and I also know people at many levels in the company.) I haven’t read all the comments to know whether this is redundant or not but some of these comments are based on ignorance. Also, this may be all over the place because I have a lot to say but Arbonne is like any other business. My wife makes enough money with Arbonne that I was able to quit my full time job so that I could work part time from home. Anyone building a business, aka building clientele, has to work hard to gain momentum. No business runs itself in the beginning. This seems simple but you don’t make money if you don’t sell anything! I was a life insurance agent at one point and I had to pay $1000 a year to stay in business with insurance and licensing, not to mention buy work clothes, pay for lunches with potential clients and all kinds of stuff to build my business but if I didn’t sell any policies then I didn’t make any commission so no money. I don’t get what people don’t get. Not to mention, there are unethical people in all places of business, in life insurance, in retail, in schools (not sure if you saw that a middle aged white female superintendent of a school was arrested because she was running a dog fighting ring), in households, (i.e., parents), EVERYWHERE. We cannot hold a business accountable for the people that aren’t following the rules, otherwise there would be a lot less companies to buy things from. Arbonne’s business is in their well made, cruelty free products, their charitable foundation and their appreciation of all of their teams from all over the world (read more in the last paragraph).
My wife’s team has a training once a month for current and new consultants and a ton online available at your fingertips at any time of day or night, which my wife chooses to listen to so that she can be more successful plus it gives her hope in herself that this is attainable, it’s a never give up mentality with all the support you need. I went to Vegas for the convention one year and I was stunned that they actually appreciated every person at all levels. They took time to say everyone’s name and gave everyone a gift. My company never did that. I gave over and above customer service every day but the only people that got recognition were in “the club”. Arbonne actually appreciates you even though they are so big. The uplines give gifts to congratulate their team on doing well or getting a bonus. My wife has gained a lot of self esteem and this business has challenged her out of her comfort zone so that she is more confident in herself. How can that be wrong? She is growing as a person through Arbonne and her team and making new friends while standing behind products that change people’s lives. It’s not for everyone. Lots of corporations give more when you promote in their company, some give allowances for gas, food, a car so how is that different from a car allowance for a specific car that represents your company?
Another thing, they care about your ideas. They ask people for flavor suggestions on new products, they answer every email about ingredient questions, you can reach anyone at any level because they care about your success. I have worked in the natural skincare industry for over 20 years and their ingredients are legit. Most of the people that are mad might be under people who are not good at supporting their team, which has nothing to do with the Arbonne business, not everyone is a boss or self starter. Also, if people bought a bunch of stuff to make their numbers instead of sharing the products with people that love them and want to buy them, that’s also not Arbonne’s fault. That’s like the mom who buys all the candy bars from their kid in school so their kid can get the prize. That’s a poor choice made only by you. No one pressures anyone to recruit. These products have actually changed people’s lives and they are just sharing their stories or life changing stories of people they know so that someone else can have a life changing experience. Not to mention they are carbon neutral, they are green, even down to the shipping and product materials and ink that they use. All of their products are certified vegan, they have zero waste and on and on. Why would a company do all of that and not give back. That’s the other thing, they have a charitable foundation where they encourage people to give back and most teams have charities that they support. It’s absurd to think this is a pyramid scheme. If you don’t sell, what makes you think you’re going to make money. Don’t blame people’s poor choices on a reputable company. That’s shameful.
Thank you for this review. I joined a few months ago and am now feeling like i was blinded by the constant pressure from my sponsor (I work for her in my normal job) and have been feeling like she is pushing me to have all these parties and sign people up when that is not what I am interested in. I do love the product which was one of the reasons i signed up to begin with and found I was recommending them anyway so I figured what could be the harm but now I am finding it to be too much. My sponsor is acting like my boss and trying to force me to do all these things I don’t Want to do and it’s turning me off the business. I started to look into reviews today and am now feeling super stressed and unsure what to do. I like the review from the other arbonne IC about how she sells online and think that would be more my speed but i’m not sure how to go approach this with my sponsor. I look forward to reading the updated review.
I just joined Arbonne recently so I cannot really share my experience with it. But what I do have to say is that we are living in an era that is full of individuals who are tired of working the 9-5 and are starting to realize that they have the potential to live their dreams. I do not understand how starting this business or becoming a part of this type of business is any different than starting your own personal business? Does everyone that starts their own business have professional training? Don’t they also launch party/ celebrations/ networking parties in order to share with their friends and family the new journey they are embarking? I simply do not see how joining this company is a scam. No matter what business you join, it is up to YOU the entrepreneur to find your market, provide value to your market, sell your product, market your product, etc. People are just looking for someone to blame and they aren’t taking initiative that no matter where you end up working you will have to work 10x harder to reach your desired income. And people are purchasing other cosmetics and skincare products that have very similar price ranges. Women are buying less $5 products from their local drugstore and buying more $20+ products from cosmetic brands. And Arbonne’s products are vegan friendly, and they help support your friend or family member buy providing them with the opportunity to make some side money while being able to stay home. From my point of view all I see are opportunities. I think people need to be a little more empathetic and see the company from both sides and not just one.
I too just joined
Believe me when I say the support I have makes me feel like this is the first company that I ever worked for that My hand is being held and guided to be successful. My success is success for all of us.
I get all kinds of education, tips and encouragement along the way
It will take time to grow, yes, but I feel I have help to get there.
Arbonne does have the best products and I hope Groupe Rocher decides to sell it on their shelves.
Alot of Arbonne customers like me do not like consultants at all because they are con artists.
Let me explain how these consultants make money.
They encourage their customer to become a consultant and they ask you to put 2000 dollars as an investment.
Once you put 2000 dollars for the starter kit, the consultant makes a commission and the people on top of them make the comission.
Consultants hate selling because they will never sell that much so the only way they could sell a lot is asking customers to become a consultant and put a lot of money for the investment.
This is the only way consultants make money.
Hi Sara. I truly hope you didn’t mean 2000 dollars. I put 49.00 (instead of 79) because I made an addition purchase of $250 so I could get some product. But I could have signed on for $79. I am new so I won’t get into all the details. But it is no where near 2000. Thank you! Rachel
WOW!! I just recently joined the Arbonne team! Reading some of this is scaring the socks off of me!! I have been in the cosmetic retail sales business for over 40 years. I have worked with a lot of the top major cosmetic lines in some of the top department stores. So, I know you get what you pay for!! I saw women/people every day who would pay top dollar for products that they believed in and liked. Arbonne is a very good product line that is designed for the person that doesn’t mind paying the top price for it!! If you are someone who perfers a lower price point and product then a drug store or discount store might be a better fit for you! Not that there is anything wrong with that but, once again, you get what you pay for!! Also when you buy some of these products on ebay or other companies like that make sure you’re not getting old merchandise! I feel that when you see just one side of it (some I’m sure is just personal opinions) without ALL of the correct information… IT IS NOT FAIR to the consumer and company! This could be a way for a lot of families to reach some or all of their goals and dreams! Like for any business or venture that you are starting, there is going to be some investments, learning, time and building you will have to do. It all depends on if you want your own business or you just want a good product! Arbonne can do both for you! I know that I am new to this company but, I have to approach it like I have done with everything in my life. I pray about it 1st, decide what it is that I want and need from what I am wanting to do, educate myself as much as I can, surround my self with positive and supportive people and impower myself with all I can with my new venture! That has always worked for me! Just remember…..YOU are ALWAYS the one calling the shots and making the decisions for what is best for you! (Exspecially since this is YOUR business) I will give it a real good try for at least one year and see what happens! Who Knows…… Not looking to be rich by then but, I will have a better view point of the whole thing. We take chances in life every day and should not let negitivity, fear and wrong or incomplete information deter us from making our own decision! As I said from the beginning I admit I am nervous but, I’m sure every sucessful person with a business felt the same way!! So pray for me and I will pray for those of you that have or are considering joining the Arbonne family! I wish you ALL Peace, Joy and Prosperity!! God Speed!!
Great outlook! I too have just joined, and as you have said i’ll give it a go for a year or so and see what happens. It’s what effort you put in that matters, if you don’t put any in you won’t succeed, but if you do then you can!
You can definitely make money. Have a learning attitude, ask questions and work diligently, and you can make it work for you. All the best!
Hi Amedu! Congratulations on your success in business, esp with the fact that you found your own way and made an opportunity for yourself. This, I suspect was done with grit and determination. I read your review of Arbonne a few times over the past few months because it comes up high in the search (another congrats). However, there is a myriad of inaccuracies that paint an uneducated picture of the Arbonne business. More research needs to be done, esp with the claims that consultants are untrained and that you HAVE to recruit to grow. Many of the people who commented above me made mention of different discrepancies that you claimed you will change soon. For 6 months now. Are you keeping this because it is getting so many hits? Please contact some consultants who have been working in this business for a while to actually hear how this business is working for them. Personally, I have had more training in THIS business than I have in ANY OTHER BUSINESS I have been in! You need to get facts straight on the simple things such as how this business works. With good training, (possibly what you have to offer) and a willingness to take ownership of one’s business, a consultant can do very well with or without a sales team. But it takes grit and dedication, just the same. You state that you are transparent in your reviews. Please do more research across the board on this topic and immediately update this page stating that it needs more information to meet your high rating standards. Thank you
Please do not share or sell my email. Thank you so much!
Hi,
You want the truth? I have not updated this review because there isn’t an official page with any updated info and I haven’t had the time to go digging for more info. Look at the earlier comments and you will notice that there isn’t a consensus on what needs to be changed and what the new facts are. There are a few people here in the comments that are critical of Arbonne and this review was motivated by my ex-neighbours who are now disgruntled ex-Arbonne consultants. Unless there is an official sell sheet you can send my way, it’s always going to come down to opinion and interpretation.
Whether I update it or not will not bring me less hits. In fact, I would get way more hits if I took the time to update the review. One thing you don’t know is there is a number of consultants who have joined the program I recommend who are still actively promoting Arbonne products. They believe in the products but they needed proper training. I agree with your point and grit and dedication. Without those, you’re certainly going to fail. However, you could have those and still be very likely to fail if you don’t get proper training.
On some of the other things you mentioned, I’ve always wondered how/why Arbonne consultants find my review. You said you’ve been here a few times over the past few months, may I ask why? What made you google Arbonne reviews?
I don’t use emails for anything. You only fill it out because my website theme requires it. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
Thanks,
Amedu
I can’t thank you enough for this review. I have a family member who incessantly tries to recruit me to Arbonne. Her latest tack is commenting on my social media posts, telling me how inspiring and amazing I am. She also leaves voicemails telling me how I would make such a great asset to her team. It all comes across very false and desperate, so I had to once and for all take a look at the company. Your review told me everything I needed to know! Thanks again!
Here here, it’s awlful in our house. My wife joined, and lost money every year. She’s still convinced she will make big money now in year 4. So much so she is leaving her work for it. I keep telling her to review how and what she is doing but the smiles and the small amount of success stories blind side her. I feel that Arbonne people pedal a complete lie to win consultants …..training you pay for. Global conference, you have to pay all the way….they make about £2m just by putting a conference on. How do we get off this black hole ? Friends say to me, “she’s not still doing that pyramid scheme”
So much trolling here – have you noticed how the “different” people backing Arbonne’s products all have the same writing style?
Personally, I do not believe Arbonne’s products are better than others I have researched. the nutritional items are very overpriced compared to better products on the market. In some of them, the first ingredient was sugar. Therefore the prices requested are far too high. The skincare does not have clinically proven ingredients, that I have seen in other cheaper products at cheaper prices.
I think their business models stinks – in particular the needing to signed up, the high cost of shipping, and the recruitment angle being more lucrative than sales.
You talk about MLM companies and the scams but not once do you mention Nerium, Plexxus, Thrive, Advocare, Stella & Dot, etc… being a bad company to build only Arbonne and focus on the compensation plan. FYI, I have tried several of these companies products/business in my lifetime but the bottomline is …its about me not the company. What I put in I will get out of it!!! Why do you need an actual copy of something from the company to change your review? Talk to a consultant to be shown the compensation plan, training etc…There seems to be many consultants high up and newbies you can reach out to get info. Looks like you want to tear down a company that seems to be good for some and not for others all because of a disgruntled consultant? I find it interesting that this review came about because of the disgruntled ex-neighbor. Did you ask why was she so disgruntled I mean really dig to find out? Did she make the right attempts to build a business for herself or did she expect things to come to her like money and sent to training seminars? Not much training is needed in MLM just hard work, networking, talking about the business/products and doing activities to make it grow! Sounds like her expectations were not met because she lacked the activity! Isn’t there good and bad with everything? Not just MLM but all companies Walmart, Target, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Peets etc… all have good and bad! Not every one is the right fit for everything but to bash and tear down any company or person without the 100% facts is deceptive to all who read it. There are pushy people selling at every level of every company, so shame on them for being excited about the company they want to grow and see others enjoy the benefits too by wanting to build a team of great people or people that they see might have a need for a flexible biz?? I have tried Arbonne products, as well as high end stores products & the ingredients are much different with Arbonne products from the skincare line to the Nutrition items ( have noticed a huge positive difference with it all) and I love them and will let others know they have worked for me where others have not. The ingredients don’t compare with drugstore items hence the higher price (get what you pay for). Also if Arbonne is such a bad business model why are highly educated people leaving high paid jobs to do this business? Something to make you go …hmmmmm! Just my 2 cents. You don’t know what you don’t know!
Hi KJ,
Several things to talk about here…
My neighbours weren’t disgruntled when I wrote the review. They were consultants who, at the time, thought they could make a killing with Arbonne. I only found out they had become disgruntled when I ran into one of them recently.
Scroll through the comments and see the lack of consistency in the info given to me by current and ex Arbonne consultants. Only way the information can be accurate to everyone is if there’s something from the company. If you’re a consultant, feel free to send me an email with the official details of the comp plan or give me a link. I already asked someone in the comments for it and I’m yet to receive anything.
I disagree with your comment that not much training is needed in MLM. I agree that if you don’t work hard in any business, you’re already doomed. But people that work very hard without training are almost guaranteed to fail. I’m not speculating about this because I’m currently working with some Arbonne consultants to build their business. They like the company, they like the products. All they needed from me was proper training to promote the products. I took time to write this simple guide on how to make money with MLM.
FYI, we have an Advocare review.
Its pretty obvious to those who have any modicum of intelligence that there is a whole lot of people at the bottom of the Arbonne pyramid holding up/funding a very small number (less than 1%) who actually make any decent money out the arrangement. See the figures provided in the Direct selling report which Arbonne are signed up to for confirmation of the facts. Even these are optimistic as they dont include those that make nothing and costs (the cost price of the products etc) are not offset against the incomes stated!!
Conclusion : Unless you are sure you are going to be in that top 1% you really really shouldnt bother. Its also pretty clear, if you read the above reviews and others elsewhere on the internet, you are going to lose some good friends and family along the way trying to be “successful”. Not nice all in all
I love Arbonne products. I had a friend in Uni who’s mom was a RVP and would always talk about Arbonne, but I always said no. After graduation, I gained a lot of weight, and finally gave Arbonne a chance after seeing another friend who was raving about her success.
Honestly, I fell in love with it. I was SO skeptical, but I really LOVED the products, loved the way I felt and my results.
I became a Consultant primarily for the discount, but also because I loved the products so much and I wanted to help other people feel as good as I felt.
That being said, I’ve sold literally nothing. Because of the price of the product or the commitment level of the “30 Days to Healthy Living,” most people in my circle are initially interested and then I don’t hear from them again about it. I don’t really mind, as I honestly am not pressed for the income (though it would be nice).
I totally understand your viewpoint reading this, but I think you should try the product before making judgement calls about purchasing something “of equal quality” for $5. The products through Arbonne are honestly amazing and I truly swear by the nutritional products. As a former professional athlete, I haven’t tried much that makes me feel this great post retirement.
Hi Amber,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully, you don’t mind me asking a few questions.
Why did you choose to become a consultant instead of a Preferred Client? My understanding is by being a Preferred Client, you pay $29 annually and it gives you a 20% discount on product purchases without getting you to commit to frequent purchases. Sure, the discount is higher if you’re a Consultant but there are certain conditions you have to meet.
I wrote this review years ago and my tone has evolved since then. When I said “equal quality”, I didn’t mean cheap products are literally of the same quality as Arbonne products. I haven’t tried the products and so I can’t make such a pronouncement on the products. I meant that that’s the perception to those of us that are uninformed as to why we should purchase products that are so much more expensive.
I’m currently working an a completely rewritten Arbonne review. I know I said this before, but now we’re looking at a few days/weeks away. I’m sure more consultants will find the new one fairer and less aggressive but it still won’t make everyone happy.
I hear the catch frase
“Living your best life”
Over & Over & Over again !
From anyone involved with Arbonne
Bottom Line ..
Where your for or against it …
How on earth, can you “live your best life” on (average $300 a month) before expenses are taken out ?
Arbonne as a company is
But look at the figures, the majority is not …
Majority rules
I would also be interested in know more regarding there bankruptcy in 2009 having debts of 600 million
Can someone fill me in on that please
Are there any MLM companies that you prefer?
I’m not a huge fan of MLMs in general but I think Chloe & Isabel have done a good job trying to combat incessant recruiting. That’s not to say their consultants are super successful, but they’ve done enough to be on the ethical side of MLM and I admire that.
Thanks Amedu. This was the info I was looking for. A “friend” of mine is trying to lure me into the system all the time sending invotations to a meeting etc. But now I know that this isn’t worth my time/sweat. Thanks alot for creating this post.:).
Regards
Aleksander M
My pleasure, Alex. Love hearing these stories.
I had a facebook friend who could not stop inviting me to join Arbonne. She would literally comment on my posts just to make other people hear about Arbonne products on my page. I thought she was real and genuine at first but I miscalculated. She is fake, with a loss of identity and does not know who she is, she is never leaving Arbonne that is her inconsistent meal ticket. I know she is glad her husband has a real job. Oh, She also tries to use her beauty to attract folks to buy Arbonne products. Due to her fakeness, she makes herself look horrible. I had enough and deleted her from my page and anyone associated with her ugh!!!
so I am currently an Independent Consultant with Arbonne, I joined to be on a team with my bestfriend. I choose to become a consultant for a bigger discount and a way to make money by using the products I loved before I joined. I am never pressured to have parties or meet goals they encourage me and understand why I haven’t been working my business. You don’t need to order anything monthly or sell a certain amount each month to stay active. Every person I have met through Arbonne has been kind, I am not pushy or ask people to buy or have parties, I can’t stand when people do that to me on Facebook, which is why I will never do that. As far as commission goes, like any other business if you want to make commission you must sell the product. My best friend who is considered my “upline” only makes money if I make money, she is never down my throat about making sales. I know more then a hand full of women who have went from a full time job to part time because of Arbonne, they have bought houses paid off student loans. This is what I have experienced with Arbonne and I do love the company in what they stand for, a company that has band 1,400 ingredients they will never use in their products.
This has been an informative post from both sides, for and against, Arbonne. I think the general consensus is there are a lot of the products that are favorable and people enjoy using them, most important for any company’s success. The take away from all these comments is the kind of people selling Arbonne. Over and over again I hear / read, and not just from this site, words / phrases being used to describe those selling Arbonne, as pushy, predatory, insane, getting to drink the cool-aid, Arbonne speak, it’s a cult, the goal is the Mercedes, my family / friends try to rope me into Arbonne, on and on. There is a woman here selling Arbonne, and people refer to her a “crazy”, which makes wonder why her husband left her, so much pressure to sell and get the Mercedes, Arbonne reps takes over their lives. Plus social media can be deceptive, all the FB and Instagram posts, showing the perfect life through Arbonne, is controlled by the poster, so we never know what is truly under the surface.
Before I would rep Arbonne, I would want to see actual tax returns from those in the upline., get under the surface and see the hard numbers, sales and expenses. Also I do feel it is deceptive when Arbonne reps use the phrase, “I have my own business,” well not really…..What tangible assets are there exactly? If Arbonne went under tomorrow (and they almost went bankrupt a few years ago), “your business” would crumble and so would your down line. Bottom line, do your research, really take a very close look at how many hours / $$$$ reps put into the business to become a RVP, district manager, etc. Are they using any kind of red flags phrases to sell you on becoming a consultant. What kind of health insurance is offered, do you get a base salary, etc. If being a rep is not for you, but you love the products, then just become a preferred client and say that firmly up front to any Arbonne rep.
Arbonne do not sell on Amazon. That link you give takes you to “Arbonne” on Amazon, but it isn’t official. Whoever is first can sign up with a seller account on Amazon called Arbonne. Amazon has a trademark program and that would be the only way for the “real” Arbonne to take that down (which would be lots of bother probably).
Arbonne does have a list of websites that ARE NOT official sellers – Amazon is one. Here: https://www.arbonne.com/discover/customer-service/index.shtml
You might like to do better research before suggesting such things. One reason why Arbonne has this list is because the products resold on Amazon and other sites are not guaranteed to be authentic, or safe (they might be expired etc). To encourage linking to such product pages isn’t a good idea. It also undercuts any Arbonne consultants that are actually working to try sell products.
If you’re a website owner you’re better off linking to other products on Amazon – products that are sold by the official brand. This also supports an authentic market place, discouraging resellers who don’t care about the consumer, just about a few dollars from reselling an expired or overpriced product.
Hey Geena, thanks for your comment.
In the case of Amazon, I wasn’t saying what consultants should do. I was saying what they could do. If they started a website and believed in the quality of Arbonne products and they aren’t a consultant or looking to become one, they could use an affiliate link to send visitors to the product on Amazon. I don’t believe I said it is the official Arbonne Amazon page, and yes, purchasing these products on Amazon comes with a risk.
To your point that it undercuts consultants, I agree. Every individual will need to figure what they think is the best solution for them. For someone with a site about skin care and makeup, they will need to measure whether it’s more valuable to become an Arbonne consultant and promote Arbonne exclusively or they save the sign-up fee for Arbonne, promote the products as an affiliate and break away from the terms one must abide by to be compensated as a consultant, while still having the freedom to promote other brands like BeautyCounter, Mary Kay and so on.
To make real money it’s with property. With Arbonne you have a good chance of losing money, my friend invested 2500 and never made that money back. If you watch shark tanks the 1st thing mr wonderful will ask is how long will it take me to make that money back. The only real way to make money with Arbonne is to ask people to invest 2500 for their starter kit. You cannot make money with clients, Arbonne doesn’t pay enough and no client will spend over 1000 dollars so the solution is to ask someone to join your team and ask them to invest. This is where the real money is and the VP of Arbonne told my friend she makes money from people investment. Recruiting and teaching them to recruit from others is where the real money is. The VP of Arbonne have a huge downline so they always have a good chance of someone in their team recruiting and making money off their starter kit.
I am a independent consultant for Arbonne and I loved this review. For one I think that those nasty messages from other consultants is just their result of tunnel vision. I agree with all of your points completely and this a very honest review. I personally only joined a month ago and it’s because of the brand and products themselves that I previously already had tried. When I joined I was encouraged to keep reaching out to whomever I can find who seems like they would fit the business. To be honest I have barely done that. I always felt wrong about it, and not educated on the company itself to go promote it to others. I also personally hated the Monat dms I would receive. I have just been showing myself using the products I love and posting about the animal testing and cruelty that other companies still practice because that is something I care about and I know my peers do too. Thank you for the great references and links in this review.
Amen! the last thing i want to do is badger my friends and family into buying arbonne from me. I dont force them to shop anywhere, they are their own person. I use the products and tell other people what i like and dont like about them and how they could be benificial. if i have enough money at the time i will buy them samples. not because i think they will buy from me and i will benifit, but because i actually believe the product could help them.
very good comment – thanks for being a supportive arbonne babe haha. you do have to work for it, but in the end if you are loving what you do, it should come pretty elnatural!
As an active consultant with Arbonne I can actually comment with some authority.
1. All of the training is aimed at recruiting more consultants. Arbonne IC’s don’t use the word “recruit” but instead “sponsor”. I guess this is to escape the pyramid scheme language. Smart.
You are strongly encouraged to “Arbonnise” your home. So SWAP all your personal care products to Arbonne. All of the top leaders show disgust in those consultants who don’t have Arbonne branded hand soap in their bathroom/on their kitchen sinks ect. Don’t have the ENTIRE 400+ products to share with your network? Well then too bad – you’re setting yourself up for failure! You can’t run a business without being a PRODUCT OF THE PRODUCT. (Please note I do somewhat agree with this but it is pushed to a sickening degree of desperation.)
From reading the above I wonder why Arbonne gets away with not being a pyramid scheme, as your success 100% depends on your team. There’s no way you can sustain being at second level of management (let alone fourth) without others below you. (Another term you’re not allowed to use! Below, above ect)
Also, the white Mercedes. Once you achieve third level of management (RVP) you have to achieve 20,000QV more than maintenance (40,000QV) plus a certain amount of NEW PCs or ICs every month to receive your cash bonus that goes toward paying off your own financial debts that got you the shiny Merc in the first place. Once again, this is not realistic. (Possible, but not usual.)
Also, all of the training events MUST be attended. If you don’t attend your sponsor will pretty much write you off and make you feel guilty as all hell. Comments like “you’re not serious about your business”, or “your belief is wavering”, or “you can’t afford NOT to go”, or “this will explode your business”! (That’s my favourite.)
What else. Oh yes. The initial investment. They will try to explain why you need to INVEST. Invest ATLEAST $1000 as that will LAUNCH you into DM qualification (that’s very exciting – the first level of management!) seriously, it’s a little bit of a dodgy tactic this one. Spending $1000 on your own kit will launch you into DM qualification but that to me is a false sense of how “simple” the business is to promote through. Once you have reached DistrictManager, you just have to teach others how to do the same and that’s all an nvp does! So in other words – RECRUIT AND BUY HEAPS OF PRODUCT.
They pretty it up along the way with lavish gifts from your upline and doting on you like you’re something super special but they just want you for your QV. they talk about traditional businesses owning your life, and Arbonne being a business that you own and can run whilst sipping cocktails on the beach. Lol. It’s not that simple. And it will utterly consume you and your world forever.
Products are good.
Cheering ‘hear hear’ from my living room! Absolutely spot on, Naomi! Im a consultant too.
I have a friend who wouldn’t stop trying to get me to have a party. I don’t want to have a party and I don’t want to purchase the products. I have conveyed this kindly but firmly. But a few of her tactics bothered me: such as social media posts: “I won’t dare go to the gym this spring until I drop 20 pounds- I can help you do that.” What??! That’s basically body shaming. Not cool. Very hard for me to bite my tongue on that one. I am in the medical field plus have extensive formal training on healthy living – i’d like to know how well the arbonne consultants “are trained as experts.”
Spoke to a friend who uses this type of product all the time, and she says its OK not great. Goes out of date quickly. But what she ant stand is the four plus people that have a approached her to sell the products to her clients. She has to be short with them and say no, Im not interested. From what I have seen people have to be lucky in this to succeed. All the people I know involved in it havent made anything, in fact one has spent three years on it and has posted a loss every year. Dont get involved my advice. Cult practice id say.
Arbonne products are fine. I don’t have a problem with them. They are a luxury product that thousands of people enjoy.
What I do have a problem with is the terminology that tends to be used. I have heard consultants say that they are entrepreneurs, running a small business. When I look into Arbonne, I find it is a global corporation which brings in about $600,000 per year. Wouldn’t it be more truthful to say that you are a recruiter/salesperson/trainer working remotely and directly selling for a major health and beauty corporation? That your corporation partners with Mercedes for a company lease program?
I have a relative, for instance, who works for another major corporation. Some days he works from a home office. I wouldn’t say that on those days he is an entrepreneur of small business owner. He is still working for a major corporation with executives above him and people under him, adding to a multi-million dollar business, just like Arbonne consultants and VP’s are. When MLM’s sell themselves as something different than this to attract stay at home moms and others, I think it’s dishonest.
Sorry, correction…. $600,000,000 per year!! Forgot some important 0’s there!!
I believe there is some truth in this review. The simple fact is most people are not going to be successful in any MLM. You have to be educated in developing a business and be motivated to pursue it. I think the angle has to be the product. If you don’t love and believe in the product get out. You should not push this on people if you aren’t 100% loving the product. I’m a new consultant who did the 30 day healthy living cleanse and saw remarkable results. People come up to me and say you look great and what are you doing? I tell them about the product and if they want to try it thats great if not thats okay too. There is a 45 day money back guarantee if you don’t like the products-pretty generous. I don’t even talk about the business plan at first. I want them to try and like the product and if they love it they might want to to the business too. There will only be a few who will go on to make 6 figure incomes because it takes alot of work that many don’t want to do. You also have to be able to accept rejection and move on because most people won’t have an open mind about trying the product because it is a MLM even if the products are good. There’s too many people pushing and ramming the business down people’s throats. It ain’t going to work that way!! I am promoting the 30 day cleanse because it works for me and I think it can help others. I’m okay if they just want to buy product and not do the business. I believe maybe one out of ten people may be able to make some money in this business. The odds go way down for those who will reach 6 figure incomes but thats because of human nature and maybe poor training. Thats just how it is. You can have the best product in the world but that doesn’t mean everyone who becomes a consultant will be successful! Just sayin!
i really liked this review. I am an arbonne independent consultant and i agreed with majority of what was written. I love the products, i am passionate about my friends and family using beneficial products and i am so excited to push my self to become RVP. i know that it is not easy, and talking to people is hard.. but i have already grown so much as a person myself that if that is all i take away from arbonne (along with my fav mascara and hair serum) then i am still happy and have not been ripped off.
if anyone is determined and wants to join me send me a message on insta or just watch me blossom hehe up to you, IT IS POSSIBLE THOUGH, im excited to prove this.
Thanks again for this honest review, just made me want to get into that 10% of success even more so 😛
An acquaintance of mine is an Arbonne independent consultant. I recently had a baby and she kept messaging me about coming to meet her. This is my second baby and she never came to meet the first. On her way here, which is half hour away from her, she stopped to buy lunch for us to have together. We haven’t even taken a sit when she started trying to recruit me into becoming an Arbonne consultan lol… she said she saw huge potential in me hahaha. She gifted the baby lotion and shampoo from their line and gave me sample products then didn’t shut up about it for the entire time she was here and recently sent me a link for an information session online ? it’s $54 dollars for a toner y’all lmfao and I just learned that she had to pay for those products she gifted her baby plus the gas and the food she had to invest in order to get me to fall for this. Not thank you
Awwww…bless. Sophie is still in the “Super excited” stage! Look forward to seeing all your self purchased stuff discounted on eBay in a few months Sophie!
I know someone that used to be closed before joining Arbonne. She alienated herself from friends and family because that is what arbonne tell you to do. The reps get so blinded that each time someone try to help them see light, they think is jealousy and they isolate themselves. It is sad to see the amount of lies they put all over social media. They keep a normal job (beautician) where they can manage their own agenda and make people believe that they make money through arbonne. They pay their trips with their own money and tell people that is because they have their online business. She have used all her savings and I truly believe she will be bankrupt any time just because she is trying to live a life based on lies and fake success. I recommend to anyone considering this to stay as far as possible if they don’t want to ruin their life’s.
Arbonne is a scam that made me ill,, is brainwashing my best friend who has now cut me out of her life. She is losing money for months she’s bought products but is insanely dreaming she’s the 1%. I haven’t the heart to tell her this is a pyramid scheme.
Extremely well-crafted article and objective. I do not think you “slammed” Arbonne at all; those critics can’t have actually read the article. A friend came to me about it today, and I looked up more info about the company. I have to say the products sound great, but it is pricey. It is a sales position, If you’re not into sales, don’t do it, period. This is not the right time for me to do the level of work I would need to build a client base. I also have ZERO interest in owning a Mercedes, free or not. I hope they offer other incentives to people who get to that level.
My friend got the Mercedes. She also got a divorce and went bankrupt because apparently she was paying the fees for all the DMs under her so she would get to the top fast. That didn’t last long because all those “under her” weren’t doing a damn thing. The company ruined her life. Such a shame.
This is so very common… even with the spa parties that they do not have you put money up front but time… the problem is they give their profits away to book more parties to ask more people to listen to a Discover Arbonne Call and jump in to biz with you and book your first 8 spa parties. Well 70% do not book the 8 maybe 2 or 3 you find new blood through them and then they drop off and you have to repeat the process over and over and over until you find 3 or 4 people willing to get on the hamster wheel with you.. Then lets throw in some Jesus influencers, girlfriend time, mercedes, bs and your 100% xxxxx! Seriously, it is so very very sad. I then to top it off you can waste your time and money on the worst organized event ever in Vegas to stand in line and listen to wonderful sweet ladies from all over the country sharing that its there 6th-10th GTC and they are still District Managers or Areas, promising to come back next year as a Region so they can walk the stage and earn the mercedes. Well, Arbonne the ‘”new”‘ owners not only have continued the scheme but they now are copying everything BEAUTYCOUNTER does and have marketed in the last 9 months!!! Why? I thought Arbonne was Pure, Safe and Beneficial? IN 2009 they were still putting parabens in there holiday line and others. I am so confused, was it the road kill we were educating people on (you know that is what is in your products ladies you need to switch to ARBONNE)!!! I am disappointed, I hoped this change would make a difference, but unfortunately they did not learn from the past.
I lost my best friend to the brainwashing, cult that is Arbonne. She has cut me out of her life strictly because I expressed reservations about Arbonne.
I was an “Arbonner” 14 years ago…and lost over $5000!
My regional person lost her “Nation” less that 4 months after she got it and the White Mercedes.
I was a top salesperson in a different company for 7 years, so I know how to sell very well, but the business structure of this company and the cost of the products make true success very difficult, if not impossible to achieve and maintain.
Basically, you are relying on the efforts and personal drive of others…many of which never sold anything before…it’s a failing business model.
Save your money…you’d be better off doing almost anything else!
Thank you for this review. I joined a few months ago and am now feeling like i was blinded by the constant pressure from my sponsor (I work for her in my normal job) and have been feeling like she is pushing me to have all these parties and sign people up when that is not what I am interested in. I do love the product which was one of the reasons i signed up to begin with and found I was recommending them anyway so I figured what could be the harm but now I am finding it to be too much. My sponsor is acting like my boss and trying to force me to do all these things I don’t Want to do and it’s turning me off the business. I started to look into reviews today and am now feeling super stressed and unsure what to do. I like the review from the other arbonne IC about how she sells online and think that would be more my speed but i’m not sure how to go approach this with my sponsor. I look forward to reading the updated review.
People, you do not have to sell a damn thing! I joined as a consultant simply for the 35% discount and nothing more! Seriously thinking that one can earn an income with MLM companies is a total joke! I simply join for the product discounts. Nothing more, nothing less! Arbonne is overpriced I will agree. Reason for becoming a consultant.
Amedu,
Wow, Now this is a comprehensive write up. Nice. Without going through all the key points, just wanted to add when you point out the failure rate is alarming, and it’s nice you were upfront and put the actual success plan, as the company is very transparent, just like you said. So it’s appreciated you put this for your readers.
I would say to look at it from another perspective, success rate, people who are successful. As you know its not a get rich quick scheme, and does require work and effort, to build and grow a business, any business as a matter of fact. You get out of it what you put into it, is what I go by.
Thanks so much for this informative review about the Arbonne MLM opportunity. As you know, most people are not successful when joining an MLM. Actually, most lose money. I enjoyed looking at your reader’s comments. Sounds like there is a variety of topics discussed from all different viewpoints. I had issues with allergic reactions to their skincare line. I decided to discontinue using any of their products, even though I had much success with a few.
Much appreciated,
Madison