Is Youngevity a scam or not? Some people have labelled this multi-product MLM company as one, but is that a fair assessment? And can you really make good money as a Youngevity distributor?
Let’s take a look and find out….
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Company Name: Youngevity
Founder: Dr Joel Wallach
Price To Join: $25 Minimum
My Rating: 5.5/10
~ Youngevity Reviews ~
What Is Youngevity?
Youngevity originally started off as a MLM company operating in the super popular and mega saturated health and wellness supplements niche. However these days their website boasts all manner of products, which I’ll talk about a bit more in the next section of this review.
Along with a diverse variety of products to buy and try, Youngevity also have a business opportunity attached, as that is the very nature of MLM and how these companies grow. This review will primarily be about the business side rather than the products, but we will briefly look at the products next.
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Youngevity Products
The original mission of the 20 year old company’s founder, Dr Joel Wallach, was to create products that help people live longer. While there is no actual evidence that any of the health supplements in the range can categorically be proven to extend one’s lifespan, there would be some definite health benefits for sure.
The company has so many products that there’s no way I’m going to even list them all here, let alone go into detail. If you want to check out the vast and diverse range of Youngevity products, just pay a visit to their website.
I’ll list the categories here at least, which are:
Health & Nutrition- Home & Family
- Food & Beverage
- Spa & Beauty
- Apparel
- Jewelry
- Essential Oils
- Photo
- Services
Under categories like Jewelry and Apparel, there are hundreds of products. It really is a huge selection of products for a MLM business. I’ve never seen a company operating under the multi level marketing umbrella selling so many different items in a variety of niches.
There are no bargain prices to be found among the many Youngevity products, but that’s typical of MLM. Everything is over-priced whether the company wants to charge high prices or not. The price hike is due to the very nature of the compensation plan with people from the bottom right up to the top of a downline getting a share of the commissions.
The Youngevity Compensation Plan
Essentially there are two main ways to get paid as a distributor for Youngevity:
- Sell products at a retail level (direct sales)
- Recruit new members into your downline
Direct sales will net you a profit of 30%, which ends up being a fair bit on products that are expensive. Alternatively, you can also purchase products for yourself at a 30% discount off the retail price.
The real money in MLM though, is in the recruiting. When you build a long and active downline, volume sales go way up, you earn bonuses, move up the ranks, and also earn residual commissions from those recruits selling beneath you. The whole idea of MLM is to recruit, expand the business and move up the ranks so you can earn bigger money.
Along with earning extra for achieving various bonuses, you’ll also earn more as you achieve higher ranks. There are a lot of ranks to aspire to in Youngevity’s scheme, and they are as follows:
Associate- Brand Associate
- Sales Associate
- Senior Associate
- 1 Star Executive
- 2 Star Executive
- 3 Star Executive
- 4 Star Executive
- 5 Star Executive
- Emerald Ambassador
- Ruby Ambassador
- Diamond Ambassador
- Black Diamond Ambassador
So as you can see there are 13 different ranks to go after.
To read the official compensation plan, click here.
There is also a video that explains it and I’ve embedded it below for convenient viewing.
The MLM Business Opportunity
The opportunity is your typical MLM setup. I personally don’t like the MLM way of doing things because I think the way things are structured, it really doesn’t favour the distributors at all, but rather those at the very top of the MLM pyramid.
MLM companies always sell the dream of an amazing life while running your own business. The thing is, you never own a business in MLM. You are just a distributor or a sales rep, and generally you have to pay a fee for the right to be one.
MLM also tends to force it’s members to buy the majority of the products. Distributors also do the promotion as well as expanding the business exponentially through the need to recruit in order to achieve higher ranks and earn bonuses.
All the main advantages go to the company while the distributors do the majority of the work and promotion for no wages or even a retainer.
Awesome for the company, but not so much for distributors.
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Is Youngevity An Illegal Pyramid Scheme?
Youngevity can’t be classified as an illegal pyramid scheme despite it’s pyramid compensation structure. To be considered outlawed, Youngevity would have to make all it’s money from recruitment and have no actual products of any value.
It’s not an illegal pyramid scheme, just not a very fair compensation plan.
What I Like
- They have a lot of products to either buy or sell
- The company has been around for 20 years and is a publicly listed company
- You get a website and email marketing system
- Youngevity give their distributors training on how to sell and recruit
What I Don’t Like
- The prices are typically very expensive and not worth the prices being charged
- There might actually be too many products to focus on as a distributor
- Youngevity doesn’t seem to deal in a particular niche anymore
- MLM is one of the hardest ways on Earth to make decent money
- Most people fall short when it comes to recruiting, and that’s really the only way to make decent money with MLM
- You’ll likely annoy the hell out of all your family and friends
- Nearly everyone fails at MLM
How Much Does Youngevity Cost?
To get started you need to buy at least one of their starter kits or business packs. The cheapest is $25. After that you’ll likely need to purchase more promotional materials, and there is also a monthly membership fee of $19.95. You do get a website, email marketing funnel and an email opt in landing page.
Is Youngevity a Scam?
No it’s not a scam. Youngevity is a respectable company that has been operating for 2 decades now. Their products are real and the range is vast, although everything is way over-priced.
Regarding the business opportunity, it’s the typical MLM rort where the company gets all the advantages while the mass army of distributors do all the buying, selling, promoting and recruiting for no pay; just the promise of commissions, bonuses and some awesome lifestyle that very few in MLM ever achieve.
As far as MLM opportunities go it’s as good as any other, but still not something I’d recommend if you want to make some decent money without sending yourself crazy in the process.
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Darren Burton
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