Before you decide to sell Arbonne, it is vital to read a detailed Arbonne review. This is important to make sure that you understand all of the elements of this company before joining.
Knowing more about if there is an Arbonne scam or an Arbonne pyramid scheme ensures that you are informed. From here, you will have the knowledge you need to determine if the opportunity to sell Arbonne is a good choice for you.
What is Arbonne?
Arbonne is a company that sells botanically-based products for nutrition and personal care. They sell their products via independent consultants.
The company states that they provide a holistic approach to healthy living. The products are formulated using plant-powered ingredients. When you sell Arbonne, the products fall into the following categories:
- Skincare
- Nutrition
- Cosmetics
- Haircare
- Baby care
- Phytosport
The company states that all products receive independent third-party certification to ensure transparency and ingredient accuracy. The formulations do not contain gluten, soy or GMOs. All products are also vegan.
History of Arbonne
A comprehensive Arbonne review will provide details about the company’s history. It is important to see how the company began and how it has evolved over its lifetime.
In 1975, chemist Pierre Bottiglieri and Petter Morck founded Arbonne. In 1980, Morck headed to South Laguna to open the American headquarters for the country. Prior to this, Morck was the boss at a Norway company’s makeup and skincare division.
Both men had a desire to create a green line of wellness products. They had a goal to contribute nationally, internationally and locally to improve the world’s social, cultural and ecological environment.
The company started with 19 products and just a few independent consultants. The company quickly grew.
As of 2018, the company has independent consultants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Canada, Taiwan and New Zealand. The company states that there are over 200,000 independent consultants selling Arbonne products in these countries.
How Does Arbonne Work?
Knowing how the independent consultant opportunity works is an imperative part of any Arbonne review. This information helps you to see if there is an Arbonne scam or Arbonne pyramid scheme.
Those looking to become an independent consultant for Arbonne pay a fee to gain access to the company’s products. Those selling the products use the direct selling method, selling the products directly to consumers.
This is a multilevel marketing company, so independent consultants can sign up other people under them to sell the products. They can also sign up new Preferred Clients.
Once you pay the fee, you can order products online, by calling or via fax. The cost of the products varies.
Once you are an independent consultant, the company provides you with the Arbonne Boutique and business aids. The boutique includes items, such as business cards, logo merchandise and personalized labels. The aids include items, such as sample packs and product brochures.
There are business aids that independent consultants can purchase to enhance their selling efforts. They can use the Strong Start Program to learn more about being an independent consultant. This is provided with the username and password you receive after paying the independent consultant fee.
Those who become an independent consultant can work their way up the ranks in the company. The ranks include:
- Consultant
- Executive district manager
- Executive area manager
- Executive regional vice president
- Executive national vice president
- District manager
- Area manager
- Regional vice president
- National vice president
How Much Does Arbonne Cost?
How much it costs to be an independent consultant is the focus of this part of this Arbonne review. There are several fees and quotas necessary to become an independent consultant, and to remain active in this role.
The starter kit that aspiring independent consultants must purchase costs $79. This kit includes:
- Welcome CD
- Benefits and specials flyers
- Order forms and product catalog
- Achieving business success workbook
- Brochures and forms for recruiting new independent consultants
- Compensation and opportunity manual
- Some product samples
To remain active as an independent consultant, people are expected to pay $30 per year. This fee will be due every 12 months. The date the fee is due is based on the date when the consultant signed up. For example, if you sign up in March, every March the fee will be due.
To receive commissions, independent consultants must meet a monthly quota. Every month, you must sell at least $150 worth of products. If independent consultants cannot meet the quota, they are expected to buy products themselves to meet it.
How Much Money Can Be Made with Arbonne?
This part of this Arbonne review focuses on income potential for independent consultants. This information is crucial to see if there is an Arbonne scam or Arbonne pyramid scheme.
In 2017, the company states that they paid out more than $253 million in commissions to their independent consultants. In 2017, there were approximately 227,400 independent consultants in the United States. Of these consultants, about 27,300 were considered active. Active means they received earnings during 2017. You can read more here.
The following shows the average annual earnings for independent consultants in the United States in 2017:
- Independent consultants: $788 for the year
- District managers: $3,450 for the year
- Area managers: $17,129 for the year
- Regional vice presidents: $68,110 for the year
- National vice presidents: $254,101 for the year
The active consultants break down in the following way:
- 62 percent were independent consultants
- 28 percent were district managers
- Seven percent were area managers
- Two percent were regional vice presidents
- One percent were national vice presidents
Compensation Plan
An independent consultant can earn money from Arbonne in four ways via the company’s Success Plan:
- 35 percent commission on personal product sales or 15 percent commission on Preferred Client sales
- Overrides which are a type of commission earned based on the consultant’s team’s sales volume
- Mercedes-Benz cash bonus for vice presidents
- Cash bonuses based on team or personal product sales
The company states that they may also offer rewards, incentives and recognition plans in addition to the four primary ways to earn money. These offers are typically given for a specified amount of time. The guidelines vary based on the promotion.
As an independent consultant, the Override Volume is six percent. This is available once the sponsored independent consultants achieve at least 500 personal qualifying volume for a month.
When an independent consultant sponsors at least two new Preferred Clients or independent consultants, they may be eligible for a $100 cash bonus. To receive this, during the start month they must accumulate a minimum of 150 personal qualifying volume.
You can see more about how the compensation plan works here.
What Other People Are Saying in Arbonne Reviews
This is a critical element of any Arbonne review. Before you decide to sell Arbonne, it is essential to see what other independent consultants and consumers are saying about the company. These reviews come from:
- SiteJabber
- TrustPilot
- Better Business Bureau
- RipOffReport
- Indeed.com
- Glassdoor
Arbonne Review On SiteJabber
This company has an average of four stars based on eight reviews at the time of this writing. The consumers who simply bought and used the products appear mostly happy.
The former independent consultants who left reviews appear mostly unhappy with their experience. One said that the products were too expensive to sell enough to earn decent money. Others seem to agree with this.
TrustPilot
Arbonne has a four-star rating on this website based on 45,922 reviews at the time of this writing. The reviews are a mixture of consumers and independent consultants.
The majority of the consumers appear to agree that the products are high in quality. While there were a few negative remarks about the high prices, the consumers appear satisfied with what they purchased.
Those who are or were independent consultants have left mixed reviews. The majority appear happy, but some reviewers make mention of the company being unfair to independent consultants.
They state that it is almost impossible to make money with this company. There are several complaints about the required monthly sales quota.
Better Business Bureau
Arbonne is accredited with the Better Business Bureau. They currently have an A+ rating. They have two stars from 14 customer reviews at the time of this writing.
The reviews are a mixture of consumers, independent consultants and those who worked for the corporate office. Independent consultants appear to be largely unhappy with the opportunity.
RipOffReport
There are 18,006 reports about Arbonne on this website at the time of this writing. All of these reviews appear to be largely negative.
Several reviewers state that they are not getting a return on their investment. They say that they have invested a lot of money while receiving little to nothing in return for their efforts.
Multiple reviewers believe that Arbonne is a scam due to the low earning potential. They talked about how independent consultants must meet a quota that is very difficult to meet with sales due to the products not moving easily.
Some reviewers feel that the company cheated them. They believe that the effort needed to earn any money is impossible. They state that they quickly ended their relationship with the company after discovering this.
The Arbonne Facebook page does not have a review section. In the post section, it is mostly independent consultants dropping their links. There are no visitor posts listed on the Facebook page.
The company appears to promote different independent consultants on occasion on Facebook. It is not known if this is random or part of an earned incentive.
Indeed.com
There are multiple pages for Arbonne on Indeed. The page specifically for independent consultants has 4.2 stars based on 297 reviews at the time of this writing.
Many reviewers state that it is easy to learn the ropes. They say the products are not difficult to sell. Many remarked on the positive culture the company creates for independent consultants.
The most common negative comment was that it takes a lot of work to earn money and meet the monthly quota. Some also stated that it is expensive compared to similar direct selling opportunities.
Glassdoor
There is a page on Glassdoor specifically for independent consultants. This page has a 4.4-star rating based on 48 reviews at the time of this writing.
The positive reviews talk about the high commission percentage, the good marketing materials that the company provides and the ability to be your own boss.
One negative review stated that the products can be difficult to sell because they are costly and not unique. This same reviewer says that the sales goals are unattainable.
Some reviewers stated that their sponsor was dishonest about income potential. They felt that some independent consultants only want to sign people up, but not help them to grow their business.
Is Arbonne a Pyramid Scheme?
Arbonne does use a multi-level marketing approach, but there does not appear to be a blatant Arbonne pyramid scheme. This company does not meet the Federal Trade Commission’s definition of a pyramid scheme.
There are physical products that you are selling, and consumers receive what they pay for. You can earn money with this company. While you can also earn money via recruiting, the recruiting method does not use a pyramid incentive plan.
Is Arbonne a Scam?
There does not seem to be an Arbonne scam. This is an established company that does not make exaggerated or false promises to those seeking to become independent consultants.
While the majority of independent consultants will not get rich, or even make enough to support their livelihood, money can be earned. As long as consultants meet their monthly quota and other stated obligations, they do receive the compensation they have earned.
The company does produce information about earnings and they make this available to the public. They are relatively transparent about the fact that independent consultants usually make little money.
Our Verdict on Arbonne
Our verdict in this Arbonne review is that we recommend Arbonne with caution. This verdict is based on the information in this Arbonne review, and the fact that you can earn money, but it likely will not be enough to supplement a full-time job.
There does not appear to be an Arbonne scam or an Arbonne pyramid scheme. However, when you sell Arbonne, it will not make you rich quick. It is important to go into this opportunity with realistic expectations.
YELLOW BADGE
RECOMMENDED WITH CAUTION
(Learn more about our rating guidelines.)
