The most likely reason for you ending up here is someone pitched you about NuSkin. They told you about their products and the opportunities that you can get when you join them
First of all, it is great of you to take the time to research this company and let me say that you did the right first step. Any business that offers you opportunities should take some research in order for you to avoid scams.
NuSkin is an MLM company that sells skincare products. Multi-Level Marketing companies sell their products but they do not make enough money just by selling their products.
The real money in MLM companies comes from recruiting more people under them. NuSkin works just like that, they recruit people to work for them and they earn money from the people that they recruit.
It is not impossible that you can succeed in this business but you are more likely to fail. The investments that you put into these so-called opportunities are on the verge of getting lost.
If you are thinking about joining them and you are seeking help to decide, my short answer is don’t. But I will give you more details as to why I do not support NuSkin or any MLM company out there.
What is NuSkin?
A little background about NuSkin is that the company was founded by Blake Roney, Sandie Tillotson, and Steve Lund in 1984. They are based in Provo, Utah and operated 6 years after in Canada after establishing the company as US-based.
The company was built under the skincare product niche. They aim to sell products that contain all the beneficial contents and none of the harmful ones.
You might have heard that kind of pitch from several companies. They are convincing and they engage you in a very interesting topic.
They do sell legitimate products but they do not earn that much on selling. They pitch other stuff such as joining them will be a great opportunity for you.
Most MLM companies do this technique. They convince you that starting a business with them will be a source of easy money.
Well, that is not true, because starting anything would not give you easy money no matter what that is. Since you have taken your time to research NuSkin, I will give you some pointers on how to spot a scam.
MLM companies such as NuSkin are not pyramid schemes. Pyramid schemes usually get money from people and run away with it, they do not sell legit products so you are being scammed.
You will find it a little bit hard to differentiate MLM companies from Pyramid schemes because MLM companies have some features of a pyramid scheme. MLM companies recruit people in their business but they do have legit products to sell and they do not run away with your money.
However, I would still discourage you from joining such companies mainly because you will have more chances of losing your money than earning. NuSkin is no different.
NuSkin Product Line
NuSkin has several brands and products that they sell to customers. They sell body care, hair care, and cosmetics that claim different benefits.
Their most popular product line is the NuSkin ageLOC skincare line. This is a group of products from serums, skin creams, and facial spa equipment.
The ageLOC skincare line is NuSkin’s best product as it has garnered 43% of the total profit of the company in 2012. It is also promoted by 950,00 distributors out of a million.
There are some more products that NuSkin sells such as face targeted supplements, face rejuvenation, and weight management supplements that come in the form of tablets and shakes.
The products are expensive compared to some MLM companies. The spa set is sold at $400 while the weight loss supplement can go as high as $1500.
NuSkin justifies these high prices by saying that their products work miracles on the body. Some customers agree but most reviews say otherwise.
There were instances such as one customer claiming to have paid $1500 for the weight loss set and she only lost 5 pounds the entire time she was using it. One she stopped, her weight came right back up.
There was also one review that stuck with me. One customer bought a sample but little did he know that he was signed to a monthly subscription that continuously charged him for the next couple of months even after saying that he wanted to get out of that subscription.
Make sure to stir yourself away from buying samples and buy the legit products instead. Most MLM companies wight have this tactic of you buying products without enough information about it.
Make sure to know what comes along with it and ask what it will do to your body as well.
NuSkin Compensation Plan
MLM companies usually say that you can earn a steady income in selling their products. That may well be true but the money you get from selling will never be enough.
See, MLM company distributors earn more money from recruiting people in their downline. They earn commissions on the sales of the people under them and NuSkin uses this too.
NuSkin categorizes its compensation plan in three different ways. First is Share, then Build, and lastly Lead.
1. Share
- Share is where you directly sell the products to earn retail markup. Selling the products through their personal offer system gives you the qualification to earn retailing bonuses.
- Being a distributor gives you the benefit of buying the products with a discount. You earn money by selling these products to customers who will buy it at their full retail price.
- When a customer wants to order online to get a discount, they are called “registered customers” and you still get a 5% to 25% commission for every registered customer.
- You can earn bonuses in the Share category on a daily basis.
2. Build
- This is where you build a group of registered customers and your commission depends on your group’s sales.
- NuSkin has two blocks that they want you to understand under this commission.
- First is the building block which is made from every 500 points of Sales Volume from anywhere in your group.
- Second is the sharing block which is 500 points of Sales Volume from your registered customers.
- The blocks reset on a monthly basis. This way, you can keep track of your monthly performance in an easy way.
- You need to qualify to become a Brand Representative in order to earn this bonus.
- Being a Brand Representative requires you to build at least 12 blocks where you will earn 5% from the first and second block and up to 35% from the 12th block and up to 40% if you reach further than 15 blocks.
3. Lead
- You earn this bonus if you build a big team.
- If someone from your downline qualifies to be a brand representative, you rank up to a leader and earn leadership bonuses.
- You can earn 2.5% to 10% of the commissionable sales of your team depending on your level.
The compensation plan on NuSkin is complex and hard to understand, to be honest. I tried to explain it briefly and even I, still do not fully understand it so I would not recommend joining any business that you do not understand.
NuSkin makes claims that their company offers you businesses that will make you financially stable. This is a bad sign since it does not explain well how you earn money if you join them.
How to join NuSkin?
NuSkin requires you to purchase their starter packs in order to become the company’s distributor. MLM companies require this to earn money from the first step that you take with them.
The product package of NuSkin that they require you to buy costs from $475 to $1519. You have the freedom to choose which products you get depending on your budget.
Most MLM companies encourage you to buy more products and say that it is better because you have more products to sell and this will help boost the start of your business.
NuSkin also requires you to enroll in its monthly automatic delivery rewards (ADR) program. The packages from ADR costs $100 or higher so that means that you have to pay at least $100 monthly.
Then comes the odd requirement of NuSkin. They say that you have to have sold or consumed 80% of the products that you bought in the past month.
Why? We do not know for sure. They did not mention any reason on their website about this requirement. I find it odd because there is no reason to sell or consume 80% of the products that you bought as long as you purchase monthly.
Pros
1. It is an established MLM company
- NuSkin has been in the business since 1984 which means it has been succeeding in the business for quite a while.
- They also garnered over 1 million distributors throughout the time they are in the MLM business.
2. Recession-proof products
- What I mean by this is that no matter what happens to the economy, products that will make you more beautiful and healthy will always be in the business.
- Yes, skincare products are quite common niches in this business but they prove to be profitable and are never out of time.
Cons
1. Many lawsuits
- The company has been bombarded by legal complaints about their products and the founders as well.
- NuSkin has been accused by the Chinese government of being a pyramid scheme. They ended up paying $47.5 million in a Utah federal court because of this.
- NuSkin was also fined $750,000 after they bribed a Chinese official investigating the said case.
- One of the co-founders of the company was deleted from the website after NuSkin attempted to cover their company from several lawsuits involving the said co-founder.
2. It is an MLM company
- No matter the benefits you get from NuSkin, it is still an MLM company which means that more than 90% of their distributors lose money.
- MLM companies, including NuSkin, require you to recruit people in order to earn money.
Would I recommend NuSkin to you?
No. Definitely not!
Aside from the fact that NuSkin is an MLM company that requires you to bother your friends and family to earn money, it is a really sketchy company.
Their compensation plan is so complex that you will have a hard time understanding it. They also make requirements that do not even make sense.
The fact that they require you to consume or sell at least 80% of your products before purchasing another set does not make any sense at all.
If those reasons are not enough, they are a dishonest company. You see they try to cover their reputation by deleting information on their website in order to come clean.
The fact that they also bribed an official that was investigating their company is such a huge red flag.
Conclusion
I do not trust NuSkin in any way. If they are dishonest with their company, then it is likely that they are also not honest about their products.
You are also forced to bother the people closest to you which may cause unwanted harm in relationships.
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