It Works! does look like a pyramid scheme scam but is it, really? This third-party It Works! review walks you through the ins and outs of this company.
It Works! in a nutshell
I heard about this company a few months ago when some of our readers requested a review on “It Works!”. We had a lot on our plates with other programs at the time, so we pushed this down the pecking order.
For some reason, we did not come around to writing the review until recently when another reader asked about the same company. I looked into it and I can say, as far as pyramid schemes go, it hardly gets more obvious than It Works!
I understand that some people might not be able to sit through this long “It Works!” review. If you are one of such people, please hold on tight for a minute and read through a point-form roundup of some important things to know about the company:
- It Works! sells a few products, with The Ultimate Body Applicator (body wraps) being their biggest one
- The company operates a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business model
- For all they claim their body wraps can do, they offer zero scientific evidence or explanation to back up their claims
- To become a distributor, you will need to invest $99 on a business builder kit
- After purchasing the business builder kit, distributors need to either sign up for a monthly auto-ship of products worth at least 80 BV in order to earn commissions OR…
- Attain 150 PBV of products sales (this could include your auto-ship)
- The compensation plan of this company is geared towards recruiting
Personally, I don’t believe the product works. Distributors have to choose between making monthly sales unfailingly or paying auto-ship. This sort of pressure leads people to focus on recruiting instead of making sales. This makes It Works! a pyramid scheme in my opinion.
That was my opinion, so let’s talk facts. It Works! doesn’t offer in-depth marketing training on how to get leads to your business. This reason explains much of the failure rate among distributors.
Good news is you can follow the exact system I follow that teaches you how to get leads when promoting absolutely anything you want, including It Works! products. I don’t recommend this company at all but if you must join them, you could use some proper marketing training. It’s FREE to sign up for too 🙂
What is It Works?
It Works! is an MLM-based company that sells nutritional, skin care and some apparel products. The company was founded by Mark and Cindy Pentecost in 2001.
The Products
The first thing you should always analyze when looking into a business opportunity is the marketability of the product you will be selling. The product is usually what separates a good opportunity from a pyramid scheme.
If the company makes you continually pay for products that are extremely difficult to sell, there is a good chance they are a pyramid scheme. Make what you will of that statement.
On to the products…
It Works! sells a couple of products but their signature product is a body wrap called the Ultimate Body Applicator.
I will always have a problem with companies that claim their products will cause some sort of magical change in your body, without providing any form of scientific evidence.
No matter what anybody chooses to tell me, I will never believe that you can truly lose weight without exercising and altering your eating habits.
Read this clearly: Body wraps will NOT help you lose weight.
Now, you might feel thinner after using body wraps. Same way you might feel thinner after running for 5 minutes or after starving all day.
The body wraps are plastic and if you follow their advice and wrap your belly for 45 minutes, you will sweat obviously. This is the reason one might feel they are thinner.
This is a feeling that will disappear after the next glass of water or the next meal.
I understand that the company itself does not explicitly say the Ultimate Body Applicator will make you lose weight because that would be illegal but that is how the distributors promote the product and I needed to make this clear.
Needless to say, I think the product is fake.
The Ultimate Body Applicator costs $59. To remain a distributor, there is a minimum 80 BV auto-ship. The Ultimate Body Applicator is the equivalent of 54 BV. This means you might end up ordering 2 every month, making it $118.
Over the course of a year, that is $1400 in auto-ship costs to remain a distributor and this is modest. If you are unable to make sales, you will have to purchase 150 PBV of products and that would be much more expensive.
I don’t know about you but I think $1400 is a lot of money!
Don’t you think that’s enough to pay for a yearly gym membership and make proper adjustments that will lead to permanent changes in your body?
Even if you want to ignore the fact that I think the product is fake, it is still going to be a tough sell for you. Why?
Because customers can get a better deal for the products elsewhere!
The retail price of the Ultimate Body Applicator is $99. There are eBay listings of the exact same product for $50 or best offer, meaning they could even get it cheaper. The listing also gives free shipping!
Why on earth would any rational individual, other than your family and friends who would do it out of pity, purchase something for $99 when they could get the exact same thing for $50?
You could choose to bring your price down but remember you would have already paid It Works for the products, there are ongoing costs to remaining a distributor and you would want to make back that money as soon as possible.
From a marketing perspective, the product is terrible. Period.
The Business Opportunity
Now that we have established how unmarketable the products are, let’s get real and talk about the real business opportunity It Works offers.
The real business opportunity is recruiting. This is what the company is all about as we can see from the number of pages dedicated to recruiting on their compensation plan. A 22-page document and the products were only mentioned on one page.
Pyramid Scheme Alert!
Since distributors don’t have much luck selling the products and they are incurring costs to stay on as distributors, their next line of action is to sell false dreams to people in order to get them to become distributors as well.
The cycle is typical: Since you are not given any proper training on how to look for people, you start by recruiting your friends and family. Keep your fingers crossed and hope these people go out and recruit more people and so on.
This cycle is how the company pyramid grows, your downline/group grows, you advance in rank and consequently, your potential income might grow too.
It seems so easy to achieve when you read it but trust me, it’s not. That’s why 99% of the people in MLMs fail.
Let’s say you are able to recruit 5 people and those 5 people are each able to recruit another 5 people. Do you know that the maximum number of possible levels would be 13 before the entire population of earth is exhausted?
And there’s a very big assumption in this example that you and your downline are able to reach everyone in the world and everyone is willing to join the opportunity.
At this stage, I recommend you focus on building your own online business that does not require any form of recruiting.
Income Disclosure
Let’s have a look at the official It Works! Income Disclosure Statement for 2015…
Here are a few things to note:
- The figures in the above table are for only active It Works! distributors
- These are distributors that were qualified to earn downline commissions
- The average monthly income of all distributors was $189
- The average monthly income of active distributors was $227
- Remember that these average earnings are heavily skewed by the top earnings. Most distributors earn much less than the average
- 96.6% of active distributors earned an average of less than $500 per month
- These figures do not reflect any expenses incurred by distributors. Expenses like monthly auto-ship costs and start-up fees
- Most distributors actually spend more than they make from the company
What I liked
- They give you a replicated website as part of the business builder kit
What I didn’t like
- I hate the name of the company! What’s with the exclamation mark in their name??
- The product has no scientific backing
- It is an expensive opportunity to be a part of, especially with the monthly auto-ship
- The average earnings are pathetic
- There is far greater emphasis on recruiting than making sales
- This makes the opportunity a product-based pyramid scheme
- They do not teach you how to get leads to your business
Is It Works a Pyramid Scheme?
It Works! ticks all the boxes of a pyramid scheme.
Closing Thoughts
I am struggling to find anything going for this company, It Works! It is literally the definition of a pyramid scheme. Not one component, not two, but all of them.
If you are big on MLMs, there are much better and less expensive MLM companies for you to consider. However, I don’t recommend MLMs at all. There are so many factors involved in this business model, a lot of which cannot directly be controlled by you.
If, like me, you are interested in building your own business online without any recruiting, cold-calling or hard-selling, follow the exact system I use to make money online.
It Works! Review
Product Name: It Works!
Price: $25-$100 for a starter kit
Founder: Mark Pentecost
Overall Ranking: 20/100
I truly do not know where to begin to comment on the overwhelming number of false statements this review/article contains.
As listing and commenting on each misleading point you’ve put in writing in an attempt to discredit the practices and integrity of IT WORKS GLOBAL!, would be shorter than your falsified statements, it would still a bit long for the average reader, Instead, I’ll do a live video. After which, I give you my permission to post it here. Regarding the explanation point in the Company name, 99% of people with common sense would surmise why it’s part of the Co name., I’ll can explain that to you as well.
In the meantime I suggest you do more research on Pyramid Schemes in general so you can plainly see why It Works! is by no means meets the definition or criteria for an illegal business practice.
Okay Denise. I’ll try to defend this review when your video is ready. Keep me posted
As someone who used to be a distributor, everything he said in the article is true expect that the products do work for me. It’s totally a pyramid scheme though and I wouldn’t reccoment anyone sign up.
Haha fair enough, at least we agree it’s a pyramid scheme. Thanks for stopping by, Jess!
It is a pyramid scheme…people think they are running a business, blah,blah, blah, they are not usually moms staying at home collecting a welfare check are doing this.
People think that because someone made them think that and someone also made that person think that. It’s a really sad cycle.
I’ve signed up
To summarize a pyramid scheme: the recruitment of “sellers” or “distributors” to further recruit “sellers” or “distributors” resulting in monetary gain for earlier or “higher-up” members.
Lots of pyramid scheme are running, and just because It Works! hasn’t been busted doesn’t mean they don’t fall in the same category. There’s handfuls of big ones.
The key is to be informative. Bringing down every pyramid scheme would be nearly impossible, just as if every member found success in it. Furthermore, if every member was successful, it wouldn’t be a pyramid scheme because no one would benefit over anyone else.
It’s black and white. As black and white as diet and exercise are a better alternative to a healthy life style than body wraps and supplements.
I think it’s funny that everyone that works at it works! Says the same thing ” do you even know how a Pyramid scheme works”. Yes I do . It’s your it works! , company. Got invited to one of there company functions , the hole time not much was said about the products but boy or boy was there a lot to be said about how to sign people up and then get those people to sign more people up. I guess one of there highest earners was a former ibm computer sales person. She was speaking about how much money she makes ” saleing it works! Products and how great they are. So after she is done talking she answers questions, so I asked her how much she is getting paid for speaking right now and if it’s more then what she makes in a year saleing it works! products. She could not answer me. From what I saw people where spending more money buying products then there were making saleing the products. Also every other corner seemed like 40$ here 80$ there to ” keep your business running”. So if you spend 300$ a month but only make 100$ how are you making money? I think they target people looking for a dream of getting rich but have no idea or the education on how to do it
Clearly you were at a party that was thrown by the wrong individual.
The wrap isn’t plastic??? I don’t think you used the correct product. The wrap is an unwoven cloth with botanical lotion that tightens, tones, and firms in as little as 45 minutes can be worn from the neck down.
The Science behind the wraps
The ingredients in the wrap are botanically based, plant extracts and all natural… very healthy “food” for your skin and deeper tissues. One of the most effective ingredients in the wrap is the guarana seed extract, a shrub rich in caffeine; also a stimulant, that increases fat burning within cell tissue.
1. The ingredients promote Lipolysis. This literally means “fat-breaking”. The plant extracts and botanicals penetrate into the fat cell and break down the large fat molecules into smaller ones, which are now allowed to leave the cell. These molecules are burned as energy somewhere else in the body (one reason why we need to be well hydrated, to circulate the smaller fat molecules that have been released).
2. The ingredients also release toxins from the fat cell. A major function of fat cells is to store toxins, so if we can release toxins, then we get the fat cell to shrink.
3. The ingredients improve the microcirculation on the area where the body applicator was applied. This is what creates skin tightening, firming and toning. Fat tissue requires a great deal of blood vessels. If we can improve the microcirculation then we can improve the overall health of the area.
4. They have an anti-inflammatory effect. Fat tissue is terribly inflamed because of all the toxins. We once again see a tightening, firming and toning effect because we’ve increased the overall health of the area.
To summarize…the ingredients in The Ultimate Applicator promote lipolysis, detoxify the cell, improve microcirculation, and reduce inflammation.
A few of the ingredients I’d like to highlight are Seaweed (Bladderwrack), Jojoba oil, Eucalyptus oil and Ivy.
• Seaweed helps the detoxification process. It speeds up the elimination of toxins from cells and is a natural cellular renewal ingredient. It also helps to nourish and re-mineralize the skin.
• Jojoba Oil is closest to our own Sebum (Sebum is an oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands that helps prevent hair and skin from drying out.) so the body will absorb it more readily than any other oil or product.
• Eucalyptus oil is an anti-inflammatory, which regenerates the skin. It also stimulates our mind and bodies.
• Ivy is well known for its toning, tightening and skin refining properties. Ivy Extract has slimming and anti-cellulite properties, as it prevents water accumulation in skin tissues.
If I’m being honest, and I’m saying this respectfully too, I didn’t read every little detail in your comment. However, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to leave a long comment.
I find it interesting that you could attempt to explain the science behind how the wraps work, while the people at It Works! were playing hide and seek with this journalist that actually visited their building and wanted a real scientific explanation.
I’m usually quite open-minded but I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me to make me believe that Body Wraps will help you lose weight.
It Works does not claim the wrap helps you lose weight… because it doesn’t. Lol. It helps you tone and tighten skin. That’s all. For example… someone who has hanging skin around their midsection can lose inches around their waist while using the wrap… because it will tighten the skin in that area.
If you’re trying to say that is impossible… then how do you explain everyone’s results?? They are imagining it? The pictures are fabricated? Lol.
And at no point in time does a distributor have to buy 150 pbv worth of product to remain a distributor.
Ever.
But good luck in your future endeavors sir! Ignorance is bliss.
Like I said in the review, It Works! does not claim the wrap helps you lose weight. That would be illegal. They just let their distributors do it.
When you tighten the skin in that area, you feel leaner at that point in time…until your next meal. I would rather trust proven doctors that have dispelled this It Works! body wrap myth than believe some “Wrapreneur”, thank you.
As for the results, I wonder if diet and exercise have anything to do with it. Perhaps not. Are you one of those people who believe every commercial about pills and supplements that aid weight loss? Most of those transformations are real, only the stories are fake.
I never said you have to buy 150 PBV worth of products to remain a distributor. I said you might have to if you’re unable to make 150 PBV worth of sales monthly.
Good luck in your future endeavours too. Thanks.
Funny thing is, you can go to Walmart and get some Saran Wrap and some aloe vera gel and get the EXACT same results. lol I’ve done it and so have many of my other friends so i know the cheaper way works!!! ANd these poor sheeple, they’ll believe anything. I had a friend who’s a Pharmacist, bought into this It Works crap and never made a cent for 2 years.
They had a $10 promotion at one time to sign up new distributors, so instead of the $99 dollar fee to sign up it was only 10 bucks! She signed up 50 people!!!! And lost every single one of the people she signed up!!!!! Because they still had to buy all that product and couldn’t sell it.
I seriously think people need to do a lot of research on pyramid schemes …. it works is not one, the only ones that are, are the ones that aren’t making money!
I swear I have heard different explanations for why people think a company is not a pyramid scheme but this is certainly the first time I’m getting this one.
So if the company makes money, they’re not a pyramid scheme?
Hahahahaha that’s hilarious. Once someone has an introductory understanding of pyramid schemes, it’s becomes obvious to spot them out. Great article!
P.S,
I followed this women on IG and everyday she would post IT works products. That’s when I started doing some research on the company. One thing I can guarantee you is every person on the internet that defends them, works for them. More than half lost money and defend them because they’re embarrassed to admit they fell for it and are in to deep.
Yeah you are at Ruby level I bet….
It is quite clear you have NEVER used the It Works products. The reason the It Works products and Wraps sell so well, is because the Distributors do live parties, PROVING that the products work. Pyramid Scheme? No…When individuals such as yourself create reviews like this and then advertise other companies -YOU are the one making money to create poor reviews and promote other opportunities to make money. That’s sketchy, and you know it. If you have never tried the products, you should not be writing a review. The individuals who feel that this or any other opportunity is a scam, are individuals that aren’t motivated to put the hard work in in order to make money. So, since you have to purchase products in order to make money, that makes a business opportunity a scam? Is Wal-Mart a scam? Is Target a scam? Are restaurants a scam? Think about it. In order to start ANY business, you must invest. In order to sell a health product, you must become a product of the product. You can’t sell a weight loss, toning, firming or tightening product, when you are obese and over flowing fat…You become a product of the product you are using, everyone that wants a lifestyle change or wants to become healthier, or wants to lose some weight, WILL purchase the products. It Works does not sell fraudulent product that does not work. Hence the company name that you hate so much, exclamation point and all, IT WORKS. It Works needs NO Scientific proof that it works, because the products speak for themselves…within 45 minutes. You have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. I hope that everyone reading your money making review understands that you have no experience with the product, and what your review is based around as well as the purpose. The business opportunity is what each individual makes it. A majority of people that fail in this company or other similar opportunities are individuals in which the opportunity has been poorly presented, which it will happen in every company unfortunately, and people who think they can get rich quick and think it’s “easy”. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of hard work to climb to the top, just like ANY other business. If you expect to make easy money, it isn’t for you. If you are willing to work for your money, you will be capable of making a living. You are rubbish, and so is your review.
My goodness! Would this line of thought ever stop?
At It Works!, you purchase the products to be come a distributor, and this is fine. The problem is you have to keep ordering the products if you’re unable to meet your monthly sales quota and most people will not meet that quote, especially in the few months and if they’re new to sales. How this relates to Walmart and Target, I do not know.
I have never used the product. I never stated otherwise. You want to know why? Because I’m intelligent enough to know the product is crap. I actually have a friend who is an It Works! distributor. I have tried to talk her out of it but she believes this business is right for her and she strongly believes (or believed) the product has worked for her. For some reason, she didn’t use the product for a few weeks and surprisingly to her (and not at all to me), she added back the weight she believed she had lost. My question now is does she need to keep using the wraps forever to not add weight?
Your comment that It Works! needs no scientific proof that it works tells me everything about the company and its distributors. It’s hands-down the most ridiculous thing anyone in the health and personal care industry could say.
I said it in the review and I’ll say it here again, the effect of the wraps is temporary at best. You might feel lighter after shrinking yourself in the wrap but that goes away after the next meal. Then you shrink yourself again and feel lighter and so on. It’s just a pointless cycle where the only thing being lost is money spent on getting the wraps.
Finally, when it comes to health-related products, I’ll take the word of doctors and professional health experts over It Works! and its untrained distributors.
“It Works needs NO scientific proof that it works, because the products speak for themselves… within 45 minutes.”
Um. No. There is a lot of science behind the process of burning fat and calories and yea… you do need scientific proof. When It Works decides to perform clinical, double-blind studies, get back to me. I know, science is hard.
I must say that any weight ingredient supplement will cause weight gain up to 2 times the weight loss when you stop taking the supplement, there is no fucking pill or wrap
I don’t think you understand how business works. yes you tend to invest either through your own capital or through angel investors and the like, to start a business. This is not what makes it a pyramid scheme. what makes it a scheme is that you make more money recruiting others than selling the damn products. Even if the products DO work, which I don’t really trust, there are much better and cheaper alternatives. Someone just tried to sell me some super reds and super greens on insta for 70$. That’s fucking expensive when I could just go to my local organic food shop and probably get a lot more for a lot less or just simply eat more fresh, locally sourced veggies. That’s likely to be much healthier anyway.
And the income chart says it all.
Also, not everyone wants to lose weight. a lot of products that ItWorks sells are things I don’t need. I need to keep weight on not lose it. I can’t have caffeine. I don’t need another skincare regimen. If something really works well and isn’t a pyramid scheme, then the products SELL and the focus is on selling the product rather than selling the job.
Overpriced mediocre crap pushed by rude women.
That was the least scientific scientific explanation I’ve ever read. Trumped up incorrect bullshit. Maybe save all the money you make from it works and go take a basic physiology course. Or just get put down the kool aid and get a real job.
I don’t sell this because it would be a conflict of interest for me because I am an online fitness expert for a big brick and mortar health company. I sell supplements, an coaching as well. However anyone with in depth knowledge of how the internet works and basic knowledge about pyramid schemes would say this is not at all a pyramid scheme.
The more advanced would also see this page as click bait and a traffic funnel for your own business trying to bash a legitimate MLM business. Yeah makes me really want to checkout your products….not. Have some I integrity and don’t use false claims to help your own financial gain.
To be clear I don’t believe in the wraps. But the company sells very high quality supplements backed by science discredited a scheme. There help in the business model could be better, but still not a pyramid scheme.
Hey Trent,
Please enlighten us with some of the basic knowledge you have about pyramid schemes. Also curious to know why you’re looking up It Works! reviews if you’re not a distributor or interested in becoming one.
Amedu,
Thank You so much for this well-written article and the helpful video as well! I literally get about 3-5 Instagram dms a week in regards to this company. Now from people I don’t know!
It’s downright obnoxious, and every message receive is like the last!.
Clearly it does not infact work, or else I would know someone who is able to utilize it!
Even in the comments I see the same claims of integrity for this product (and others???) that I get from the ones via social media trying to get me to buy in. The type of defense mechanisms outlined in the video, the ones that even though this is “Science.” Yeah the science of being a dumb a**!!
I am going to copy this URL and send it to everyone who tries to recruit me!