Yes, another MLM! Ok let me start by saying that MLM are not my thing because in my opinion the model is out of date especially with the affiliate marketing opportunities now available globally to anyone with an internet connection and a computer. Operating a MLM business can be expensive and time consuming especially for those on a budget.
Anyway, I always felt that mlm was a lot of hype and even cult like which I realised I am not into! Distributors, which we were called at that time, seemed to be always defending the mlm model with those who called it a pyramid scheme which has always been illegal.
The models are very similar but one has a product and the other does not. The recruiting has the same look and feel though and a lot of effort is placed on the recruiting side. The products, as with mlms, seem to be secondary to the recruiting and building of team networks although each network must move a certain amount of product each month to qualify for the bonuses. But, this is why they look and feel like a pyramid scheme.
What is Melaleuca MLM?
I had heard that Melaleuca is a very secretive organization so I decided to take note of this during my research. Melaleuca is a Wellness Company as stated on the company logo.
The interesting thing is that Melaleuca does not claim to be a mlm company. They are registered with Dynamic Marketing Systems however. On the Better Business Bureau, they are described as follows in this screenshot.
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What Does Melaleuca Promote?
They sell over 400 products from lotions to cleaning products but you cannot access the products from their website. There is no product tab on the melaleuca.com website. It wasn’t clear either as to where to browse the products including accessing a price list. It only led you to register first and only then would you be privy to that information.
It wasn’t until I googled for the products that I found on the Melaleuca Product Store website however, no product prices are available on either site. It turns out that you have to register and sign in to order any products or see product price details.
Can You Make Money With Melaleuca MLM
Just like all other mlm schemes, you earn commission on the sale of products as well as your recruiting efforts and the efforts of those you recruit. Typical of all mlms the Melaleuca Compensation Plan is no different.
I use to think that MLM was a great stay at home business opportunity about 31 years ago when I first looked into it. But not much has changed with the model since and therefore is really behind the times. Sure, people are still making money with it but the amount of time and effort that goes into your success and earning a decent living from it is not worth the time as far as I’m concerned.
About one in nine customers will actually take up the business offer and according to the income statistics, you would have to recruit a lot of customers to find the business minded ones to make it worth while as a Melaleuca business owner assuming these are the ones that will give the same time and effort into recruiting. MLMs are known to encourage you to approach anyone with a heartbeat including family and friends first, then acquaintances, the local dairy owner, butcher, your children’s friends parents, teacher and you get the picture.
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What Does it Cost to Join Melaleuca?
You have to be referred by a preferred customer which is like your sponsor and also known as an upline in the mlm world and you would be their downline. There is no joining fee to speak of but you would have to purchase products to qualify. As a Preferred Member, you receive a 30-50% discount on Melaleuca wellness products each time you purchase because you are buying directly from their manufacturer.
On the business side of Melaleuca there are a lot of costs related to running a successful MLM including buying products monthly to qualify for bonuses. Travelling expenses to show plans in peoples homes and other venues, babysitting costs if you have young children, cost of running your vehicle, admin costs etc, office space in your home etc.
My affiliate marketing business does not involve any of those costs! My office is literally the size of my computer as everything is online – that’s right, there is no paper or pens involved. I sell products without buying or holding any inventory. I am long past having to pay for babysitters but wouldn’t need to do that anyway because I don’t have to leave the house to try and recruit people. So, no travelling involved either! Yay!
The Good and the Bad of Melaleuca MLM
Pros:
#1 Consumable household products and therefore repeat customers likely.
#2 30-50% discount on the products – a pretty decent discount on the products.
#3 Supposedly environmental friendly ingredients although they only point out the ingredients they don’t use in the products rather than stating what they do use in the products.
Cons:
#1 Far too many complaints especially to do with the refunds – so many in fact that you have to wonder if they are being dishonest or their administration is a shambles or both. 119 last time I looked at Better Business Bureau.
#2 Recruiting – I consider this a negative because it really is an outdated, time consuming, spend money to make money exercise.
#3 Product choice is limited – you can only sell what Melaleuca lets you sell. Unlike affiliate marketing, you can promote any product in the world and not limited to a few.
#4 Must be referred to buy the products.
#5 No price list of the product anywhere on their website – you have to go to the trouble of signing up to find out.
#6 Secretive by not being upfront about product price and no disclosing product ingredients. Not sure you could call this a marketing strategy. So for what other reason would you use it? Does Melaleuca have something to hide?
Is Melaleuca MLM Legit?
Founded in 1985, Melaleuca was founded by Frank K VanderSloot from Billings, Montana USA. The company is legit although I wonder about why they are secretive and not up front but not a reason for me to declare it a scam.
Final Thoughts
If you decide that you want to go with Melaleuca, then you need to weigh all facts involved in establishing an independent business with them and be prepared to spend long hours recruiting if you do not possess selling skills.
The mlm model used by Melaleuca and others such as Advocare for example is outdated compared to other home-based and internet based opportunities. If you go with Melaleuca, you are stuck with selling a limited range of products compared to your choices as an online affiliate marketer for example. You don’t have to be limited by one range of products or one niche.
An Alternative to MLM?
You don’t have to be limited by Multi Level Marketing when it comes to making money choices, especially when you can literally work straight from your computer and without leaving the house. However, you do have to have the right tools and know-how to make it work.
So, here’s a comparison between Melaleuca MLM and Wealthy Affiliate, a purpose built platform for affiliate marketing. Both promote and sell products, one relies on recruiting, the other doesn’t, and they differ in the tools, support and training they each provide.
Escape the MLM Rat Race
Network marketers are shifting from MLM to Affiliate Marketing.
See the platform that they’re switching to.
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Hi Rina and thank you for the information on Melaleuca. I have a little experience in mlm and found it really disheartening. I am not by nature the kind of person to harass my family and friends into buying products (even though they were lovely), nor did I feel comfortable trying to recruit other people into a team of mlm sellers. Even though I heard all about the success stories of those few at the top, I didn’t stick with it for long. I do like the idea of internet marketing though, but do you know how long I would need to wait before making any money out of it? I know I shouldn’t expect overnight success, but are we talking months? A year or two? Any advice you could give would be great.
Hiya Teri!
Thank you for taking the time to read my Melaleuca MLM Review and for the comments and questions.
Let’s get straight to the questions! To be successful in affiliate marketing there are a few things you should have to ensure your success, that is to ensure you make money.
These things include choosing an interest, creating a profit generating website (which is shown to you step-by-step), attracting visitors to the website and then how to actually earn revenue. Now this all takes time but say you are prepared to put in at least 2 hours everyday working on it then you could expect to be earning anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.
So, affiliate marketing definately is not a get rich quick option as many think it is. It takes time and effort like any other business. But, of course it’s entirely possible to be earning $1000 or 10,000 or 100,000 dollars a month, absolutely.
Hi Rina, I really enjoyed reading through your review of Melaleuca. Especially because it has confirmed my belief that MLM schemes have had their heyday, and have been replaced by affiliate marketing. Almost everyone knows about affiliate marketing nowadays and everyone has a chance to try it, even for free, like with the W.A. platform. This would have been unheard of in the past. I was involved with a MLM company and it was a pretty humiliating experience to have to bother my friends and family. Needless to say, I stopped that within a few months. Thanks for your informative article, which, I’m sure, will help many people with making the right choice, stay away from MLM, and try affiliate marketing.
Hiya Lucie and thanks for your comments. Yes MLM is hard yacker with all that recruiting and in the end the money is not worth the time you put into it. You have to be super great at convincing people to become part of your network and most of them are going to find it very difficlult as well.
Like you, I am not a fan of the multi level marketing business model as it is very difficult to make money with them without recruiting constantly and having to build a team and a downline. Malaleuca sounds to me as if they are no different to the other MLM companies that I have come across.
I certainly do not like the secretive side that you have highlighted. Do you perhaps know what they are hiding that they are so secretive about their products and prices?
Hiya!
Thank you for taking the time to visit and for the comments. I can’t say for sure why the secrecy but perhaps it has to do with the mlm model itself although if the model includes recruiting and multi-level marketing and product being moved that way then of course it is mlm. But, minus the product then it would be classed as a pyramid scheme which is ilegal. Such is the fine line between the two models.
I have heard of Melaleuca before and I knew they have been around for years. I am however really dissapointed in the fact that they are still a secretive MLM. They appear very pyramidy (if that is a word). The products are good quality and I think because they do have physical product is the main reason they have never been shut down. I do not like the fact that you have to constantly recruit new members. I believe that I will stick with the affiliate marketing model as it has so much more potential. Besides not selling and giving people information to make an informed choice, is there a best way to promote in affiliate marketing that you have found? And if so, can it be done with little money upfront?
Hiya and great to have you call by the site and for your comments and questions aswell!
I find that providing product reviews to my niche readers is the most effective way to help them out and to also generate sales. This is because you are giving readers the opportunity to make an informed decision about a product that has peaked their interest before going ahead and making a purchase.
So, as an affiliate marketer you are providing information to your readers based on your own experiences and therefore helping them out with a potential purchase. You can have a business like this on a platform such as Wealthy Affiliate for around $50 bucks a month. They give you a website for free with all the tools, but then there is the ongoing affiliate training, hosting and technical support and much much more.
If this is not considered affordable then I don’t know what it. You could try to do it for no cost but then you would have to find all the ‘essential bits’ yourself but to me that would just be a total nightmare, and it would be really costly since those added bits don’t come for free. It will cost you more in the end.
I was involved with Melaleuca in the late 90’s. I find it very hard at the time to get someone under my downline. After months of trying, I quit. The hyped up sales that the promoted at the time was enticing to me. Now I know better. MLM is almost dead. I prefer to sell as an affiliate. You can definitely make more money with affiliate marketing. You get no pressure at all. It’s up to you on how much you want to make. I ‘m surprised to see that Melaleuca is still here in 2020. LOL!.
Hiya John! That;s unfortunate that you spend months trying to recruit sellers to Melaleuca. Thankfully you found affiliate marketing!