Wondering if USANA is a good opportunity or a pyramid scheme scam? This USANA review gives you deep insight into the company.
An Overview of USANA
Let me start by saying that even though we mention a little bit about some of its products, this is an in-depth review of the opportunity USANA presents rather than a review of its individual products.
Here is a bullet form overview of some of the stuff you might want to know before we drill deep into USANA:
- Yes, it is possible to make money. However, it is not probable.
- USANA sells nutrition and personal care products
- You will first have to invest $29.95 on their Business Development System
- You do not have to buy the products in order to sell them
- It operates a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business model
- The business opportunity ticks all the boxes of a pyramid scheme
- Their compensation plan is somewhat complicated
- This is not a part-time or work from home opportunity.
- If you would love to make money from the comfort of your home, click on the link below.
Build Your Own Successful Online Business Now
What is USANA?
This is an MLM based company that offers nutrition, diet/energy, personal care and other health supplements as its products. The company was founded by Dr. Myron Wentz in 1992.
The Products
This is important because the difference between a completely legit MLM company and your typical scam opportunity is the strength of the products. Notice how I said “strength” and not “quality“? More on this to come later on in the review…
USANA produces over 50 products across various categories ranging from dietary and nutritional supplements to personal care products.
I have not tested any of their products personally but they appear to have mostly positive product reviews on Amazon.
If you are reading this because you want to use the products, this could pass as a strong indicator that the products are good quality. However, if you are reading this review because of the business opportunity, you might want to hold off that excitement a little longer (or forever).
There is nothing to show that USANA’s products are better than others. Even worse is that these products are way more expensive than similar products made by other more reputable brands that are composed of the same things and have the same function.
From the business side of things, this brings your potential market to almost zero. Why would someone buy this product from you when they can buy an equal or better product cheaper elsewhere? I saw a few of their products listed on eBay for less than their actual price. It’s fair to assume these are desperate USANA distributors who have been forced to settle for less.
The Business Opportunity (Juicy Part!)
I did not use the term “juicy” to get you excited about this opportunity. To be frank with you, there is hardly any reason to be excited about this opportunity. “Juicy” in this case means the part you have been waiting for: The Business Opportunity.
Like with most multi-level marketing companies, there are products the company offers. But if we want to cut the crap and be honest with ourselves, the only way to make any form of reasonable money from this is by recruiting people to join the company. In order to take part in this, you need to purchase their Business Development System for $29.95. This gives you the basic information needed to get your USANA business started.
To be honest, it is easier to sell the concept of the opportunity than to sell the products anyway. You will find more people more open to the idea of being able to make money than people who are willing to overspend on personal care products they could easily get elsewhere.
Remember our earlier talk about “strength” and “quality”? The products might be of decent quality, but are they strong enough to solely sustain USANA without recruitment? I doubt it.
Plus, I would rather purchase supplements from a trusted pharmacy or store than get it from a random person. Just me though 🙂
The Compensation Plan
I dread writing about the compensation plan for a lot of these MLM companies. It is very easy for most people to look at the compensation plan and see a huge earning potential without putting into perspective how difficult and unlikely it is to achieve it.
USANA’s compensation plan is even more complicated than most MLMs. The idea of the business is that you fill out your left arm and your right arm with people you recruit into the business. Afterward, your job is to make sure your downline keeps getting filled with new members.
You know what? Hear the compensation structure from the horse’s mouth…
Let’s move past the semantics in the video and look at some hard realities:
- To stand a chance of long-term success, you need at least two functioning people (one for each arm) who are successful in the business
- Being successful right now is not enough for long-term success. They need to forever continue to be successful
- You can see your own work ethic and commitment plays a very tiny part of your potential success
- There is a cap on the number of people that fill out your arms. Maximum of 2 for each arm
- I could not help but notice he started building out his arms with your co-worker and neighbour
- He goes on to say people in your downline will recruit friends from other countries
- It is evident that the recruiting system they suggest is for you to target your friends and family, then your friends will target their own friends and family and so on.
There is just so much wrong with this opportunity that I simply cannot begin to cover because my fingers won’t let me.
A Little Stats Talk
Maybe I wouldn’t be so hard on this business model if you had a high chance of actually making any money from this company. For most MLMs that require you to purchase the products first before you can sell, I have always thought (and still think) only 5% of members make any profits. The figure should be slightly higher with USANA, considering you do not have to purchase the products in order to promote the products.
Forget the compensation plan hype and let’s look at what USANA has given us about income expectations…
A few things to note are:
- Business builders are people that actively recruit other members
- To lessen the blow, the company regard everyone that purchased at least one of their products as an associate. This includes people that came in for the products, rather than the opportunity
- Remember these are average earnings. Most people in each tier will be earning less than the average annual income
- We can still see from this table that over 72% of business builders earn less than $1000 a year.
Is USANA a Pyramid Scheme?
Let me give you a short quiz: If USANA were to stop recruiting right now, do you think the company will be able to survive the next 2 years based on the sale of their products alone?
My answer is NO! If your answer is yes, then it’s fair for you to think USANA is not a pyramid scheme.
USANA does not operate a limited tier system where distributors can only earn commissions from a certain number of levels into their downline. The system used by this company is designed so that the owner and people near to the top of the pyramid still earn commissions from the work done by the distributors at the foot of the pyramid.
USANA ticks all the boxes of a pyramid scheme to me.
Closing Thoughts
The system at USANA is built to help the owner and his friends at the top make more money, and not to help you as a distributor make any money at all. The worst part is your success is largely dependent on a lot of people, most of whom you will not know personally.
If you want to make money, why not do it in a system where your success depends entirely on you?
Build your own successful online business and promote absolutely anything you want. No recruitment necessary, no downlines, no pyramid schemes. None of that BS.
USANA Review
PRODUCT NAME: USANA
Price: $29.95 for their Business Development System
Overall Ranking: 30/100
Owners: Dr. Myron Wentz
Website: www.usana.com
I hope you enjoyed this USANA review.
If you have any questions, thoughts or experiences with USANA, please leave them in the comments section below. I will love to hear and discuss with you. Thanks for reading 🙂
Hi! This was really informative. Just wondering but if you don’t need to purchase the products to sell it, does that mean you get to obtain the products for free to sell? Also, is there are time frame in which the products need to be sell? (E.g. a month you need to be able to sell ____). ,If there is a time frame, lets also say you don’t sell all the products in time, what happens then?
My friend has joined USANA and i’m pretty worried.
Thank you!
Hi Natalie,
What I said you don’t need to purchase products to sell, I meant the only requirement to join the USANA opportunity is the Business Development Kit. But that does not mean they obtain the products for free. Most people will find themselves having to purchase products in order to have something tangible to sell to people but it’s not an absolute requirement. A rep could send people to the USANA online store or even recruit people without needing to purchase the products.
In order to earn commissions, a USANA rep needs to earn at least 100PSV every 4 weeks. Depending on far along their downlines are, the required sales quota could be 100PSV every 4 weeks. It is important your friend sells (or purchases) at least 100PSV every 4 weeks. In a situation where they earn 98PSV, they get zero commissions and the points don’t roll over. What that means is your friend could work hard to sell 98PSV worth of products and not get compensated in any way for it.
Hope this answers your questions.
100PSV is just personal use. You are not required to sell them if you don’t want to, besides what is 3-4 products if you are going to have a business anyway. A grocery store have a lots of products displayed, what is 3-4 products if you are like a grocery store? Even you are entitled a top income earner, Usana wants to have fair with others down the line in which they must have 100-200PSV to ensure that they keep on sharing and use the products. There is a saying that “You must be the product of the product if you would like to sell it to others”. MLM industry is about helping down the line to have income in a way you will help him/her resell the products or find other people who you will help with. you cannot be on the top if you will not help other people unlike on the job, you are just working hard for those on the top.
true, people agrees to this blog are lazy people. lol
Hi! Why are you turning down Usana just to promote your business. That’s poor professionalism
“This is not a part-time or work from home opportunity.
If you would love to make money from the comfort of your home, click on the link below.” omfg.
FROM YOU: There is nothing to show that USANA’s products are better than others. Even worse is that these products are way more expensive than similar products made by other more reputable brands that are composed of the same things and have the same function.
Usana is not expensive. They just offer the same amount as other brands. Divide the number of tables. You’ll see that their cellcentials can last 4 months. And also please read NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. To see if they offer the same things and have the same function. Which some company’s hoard to avoid news about how poor their supplements are.
Regarding your question ” If USANA were to stop recruiting right now, do you think the company will be able to survive the next 2 years based on the sale of their products alone?”
Yes. There are tons of stores that gain profit with their product alone. This is a supplement based company. From the repeat order ALONE – you can make it happen. I mean, there are stores which sell shoes, bags and clothes. What more from a company listed in the pharmaceutical directory of a doctor? From what people actually need to live better. To feel better.
Please stop spreading news of things you haven’t tried and try to make it seem that you know better.
“I have not tested any of their products personally but they appear to have mostly positive product reviews on Amazon.”
I am still searching about Usana but I won’t ask guys like you.
If I wan’t know more about programming – I go to a developer
If I wan’t to know more about nursing – I go to a nurse
If I wan’t to know more about engineering – I won’t ask any baker for that, I’ll ask the nearest engineer I know.
USANA is over priced, and a shit product
Any comparisons as to why the product is overpriced? And why is it a shit product? Make use of facts if you have any. Prove your point
Thank you for putting this guy in his place
Usana actually is the most reputable food supplement brand out there. It’s the number one. It’s so top-of-the-tier that it DOES NOT have a “no approved therapeutic claim” on it. I am not a member of usana, im just an informed individual.
Show ur face so that they can sue u in misleading nonsence no basis black proganda. Theirs a commnet the picture are not real people.. pathetic
To become a distributor, is it true you have to buy a starting pack for 30$. But, to be eligible to the commission system, you have to buy the equivalent of 100 points of products if you have one business center and 200 points of products if you have 3 or more business every months.
The idea of pyramid scheme is that the products hasn’t got any matters and you get commissions every time you recruit some. That is not the case at Usana. You don’t get any commissions for the recruiting part.
And also as a pyramid shows it, the higher you are in the structure, the richer you get. This isn’t the case at Usana either. You can have a higher level and bigger income that people of your upline… because your commissions are depending only on the efforts you put on your work and matching your left and right side of business centers…
What the business compensation plan all over again to try to understand correctly how it works…
https://youtu.be/JEv84G1At44
Usana is really an MLM company and I am so grateful and here’s why. Because if USANA is not an MLM company then why be part of it? Dr. Myron Wentz has given opportunities to a lot of people like me to earn money from distributing their high end nutritionals. I have been part of this company for years now and you really need to work hard to earn your money. Just like any businesses or work. And you ask if USANA were to stop recruiting right now the company will never survive after two years. Like can’t you understand we distribute our products through network marketing. N-E-T-W-O-R-K. Did you get that? If Dr. Myron Wentz will distribute the products at the Pharmacy then it’s not MLM anymore. If you still dont get it let us define what Network Marketing is it is a business model where independent contractors buy into a company and earn a commission on the products they sell. Yes we may have a pyramid structure but not a pyramid scheme why? It is because everything our new associates will pay for has a return to them. (products and business development system). And if you can’t still get that I feel so sorry for you for being so insecure to a company so huge and continuously growing.
lol
First of all, im not a USANA distributor. Im just surveying around the internet to collect reviews regarding this company. After reading your this article, I found some interesting points that you mentioned. But, I also found that you doesnt truely understands how it works, or maybe you presented your knowledge wrongly. As what I read from another review, the distributors must sell products to earn points which in turns exchanged into income. So, obviously, solely depending on recruiting new members will not gain any profit. But, they need to recruit new members that consume or sell the products. Thus, what you stated here is wrong. And there are a few other statements you msde were not true too…
I hope that you could understand the facts in whole and know how it works in depth before sharing informations to the public. We know you are trying hard to create content and make a living. But posting misleading messages or information just make yourself look bad. Just a point of view from a reader.
It’s obvious that you are trying to downplay the opportunity of USANA because you want to sell your training. Check the science credentials and accolades of the founder who is a recognized scientist that invented the Epstein bar virus detection kit.
This product is a lot better than anything you find in your local pharmacy.
See the Nutritional Supplements Guide. You can buy it in Amazon and USANA is ranked #1 for a variety of criteria (bioavailability, quality of ingredients among others)
USANA A BIG SCAM… Yeah all scam sell the house sell the motor sell everything to joint USANA until now I didnot saw my money back…. So forcing people to earn money is awful…. Scammers… Poor people… Sell stuff to join this shit business…
Usana is not a scam. They are very stable in NY stock exchange. All you need to do is to have a right mind set. It helps a lot of people. It helped my health issues and the business part is a bonus. In order to start in any business, you need to have a capital. Same with this business, you just need to buy 200 sales volume points to open the business for personal use. I share the products because it helped my health issues. I’m very happy that i was introduced with this company.
The scientist founder we don’t know if still leaving how lNg his life is…. If it is true fake people Scammers…
Thank you for trying to get the word out about this company (and similar ones).
The income disclosure is already sad, and when you consider that a few high “earners” in each income bracket can drastically bring up the average, it becomes even sadder
It is so sad. Just because of this very biased post, many people are missing the golden opportunity of usana that can turn their life completely.
People like me who have been a user of Usana products, and an associate for years, know that the negative posts here are blatant lies. A pyramid scheme rewards people just for recruiting. A company like Usana that pays commission based on product sales is NOT a pyramid scheme. The simple fact is that people are not rewarded unless they bring others onto their team as product users – that is good and keeps the company afloat. Unlike the traditional corporate world, in a legitimate MLM you can’t get away with lack of productivity. But, that productivity is well rewarded.
Hi! If you want more information about USANA, talk to a USANA associate. You can ask questions and decide for yourself. I think that is the best way to get information. No one can force you to do anything that you don’t want to do.
If you think about it, all most business models are pyramids. You have a CEO at the top that make a bunch of money and employees at the bottom most of whom will never get promoted no matter how hard they work.
I was invited to be a distributor but I had no time to do so. If I sell products, I always make sure I use them first. My mom did and she was really feeling better. Honestly, she preferred USANA than other supplements although it seems a little pricey given our income bracket. Nonetheless? It is WORTH IT. Why? because the supplements are high quality.
If you are complaining about the company just because you didn’t gain much income while in the network, then that is a personal problem. if you are saying it’s a scam, ask yourself first if you tried enough to sell in order to get commission. If you think you did, ask yourself again, did you try harder? up to what extent? Don’t blame the company if you didn’t gain as much as you expected. Because your earnings are in your hands. We all work for the success we want to achieve. If others did it, why didn’t you?
I am not a distributor of USANA, but I am a mere customer. I have no plans of selling it because I am currently selling clothes and other stuff. but I am planning to use their products personally. Better use the products you purchased so you would feel better than ranting.
This is very informative. I personally have tried the USANA product but unfortunately it has given me no result at all as the people has promised. I don’t see signs of improvements nor do I feel a difference in my body. I would say it’s very disappointing and not worth the investment at all. In addition, those sales rep always tries to take advantage of pulling people in by feeding them ideas of how you can earn money and points at the same time while purchasing the products. Sound like a pyramid scheme tactic to me.
I came from a sales & marketing background. It’s true that sales & marketing have a lot of income potentials but I really don’t buy the USANA concepts. (At least not in current moment) because I don’t see how it can benefit anybody. The sales rep tries to let you know “this is an opportunity where you can do a side hustle to bring in extra income every month”. One aspect of it is true but on the other aspect is you will be investing tons of your time for a few pennies. (Not worth it). To build up the so called “business opportunity” take you at least 10-20 years or more, unless you are able to become a top rep that can generate a lot of sales & by pulling in tons of people that can pull in tons of people that are buying tons of products. (maybe by that time you can call it a little better).
The product they are selling on their website in my opinion is very over priced. Even with the discount, the amount and quality of the product isn’t worth the price. Usana tries to sell others that their product is based on scientific research and are developed by a team of well known scientist and doctors. Try to do the research one time and the result all linked to USANA. Couldn’t find any information of whether the doctors are associated with any well know hospital or from which college institutions that are backing up the studies. This shows there is a potentials that this maybe a scam and is only one of the selling tactics used to promote sales.
It’s best to explore other options as there are definitely other better product out there that can deliver the results and quality along with scientific backing that consumer wants. It is also very important to do your own research. One thing to keep in mind is that USANA products seems to have good reviews (but I’m thinking it may be either bias or someone faking the reviews as I know there are a lot of people doing that in order to compete online). One must be very careful before making any investments decision especially during the times when the economy isn’t good.
My taking of USANA concept is it’s not a good investment. Regardless if you invest time or cash, USANA may have potentials but I don’t see a good or great returns as of this moment based on my research. Please be careful and I wish you luck.