Written By : Dr Ruby Shah (Last Updated on November 9, 2022)
Arbonne has been around as a company since 1975. It was founded in California by Petter Morck, an entrepreneur passionate about skin care.
Arbonne has become quite popular, and with its popularity has come a surge of questions – is it really the company that it claims to be?
What is Arbonne?
Arbonne is a company that mainly produces skin care products.
They also have a complete line of cosmetics – products that fight aging, improve health and general wellness, and keep people looking fresh.
Arbonne has also become the subject of a lot of skepticism.
Many people were introduced to Arbonne by being invited by a consultant to a ‘home party,’ or receiving an email or phone call that suggested that they could increase their income by becoming a part of Arbonne.
Despite that, Arbonne is a real company. They have been rated as one of the best MLM (multi-level marketing) companies in the world.
Let’s find out!
Arbonne: What Do They Sell?
Arbonne offers a wide range of different products, most of which are some sort of health or beauty product. These include:
- A variety of products that help improve the health of your skin and hair.
- General bath and body products like shampoos and soap
- Sunscreen
- Makeup and other cosmetics
- Health and nutrition supplements and other health food problems
I haven’t tried many of these products personally so I can’t attest to the quality of these products.
Many people rely on Arbonne exclusively for their products though, so there’s certainly some assurance that they are high-quality goods.
People wouldn’t be able to make money off them if they weren’t!
Arbonne Most Popular Products
There are some products that Arbonne and their consultants sell more often than others.
These are the highest-quality products or those that are currently in the highest demand throughout the first world.
Essentials Digestion Plus
These supplements are a combination of probiotics and digestive enzymes that help the digestive system flow smoothly.
While Arbonne mostly deals with beauty products and cosmetics, some of their supplements are actually top-notch.
Smoothing Facial Cleanser
It is a very rich, creamy facial cleanser that can be used to help get rid of makeup and exfoliate the gentle skin on your face.
It’s a gluten free product which is helpful for those with sensitivities.
Unwind Massage Oil
It is a great, rejuvenating body oil.
It’s purported to help promote healthy states of peace and relaxation.
This is a great oil for couples and for people who love giving massages.
Shea Butter Hand and Body Wash
Who doesn’t love Shea butter?
This body wash by Arbonne lathers up quite nicely and will leave your skin feeling healthy and fresh.
ABC Baby Care Diaper Rash Cream
Arbonne has a large line of baby products.
One of the best baby care products that they have is this ABC Diaper Rash Cream.
It helps to fight rashes and builds up a moisture barrier that prevents them from reoccurring.
Does Arbonne Work?
Making money through Arbonne is very dependent on how much you want to put in and what approach you take.
The training that the company provides makes it fairly clear that selling their products is not the best way to make a lot of money selling as an Arbonne consultant.
Arbonne is similar to most other MLM companies. The real money comes in by how many people you can recruit into the program, not how much stuff you can sell.
That means that you’re going to want to have a fairly large social network if you plan on making money with Arbonne.
Recruit your friends and family, send links to people on your Facebook feed.
You could even set up Instagram or Twitter accounts hoping to recruit new friends and acquaintances to Arbonne.
If you really want to get into it, you can throw events as an Arbonne consultant and try to recruit people into selling.
These can be done at local venues or at your own place.
You can teach a large group of people about Arbonne and add them into your circle.
The bottom line here is that Arbonne works, but it’s not an easy cop-out.
It’s still work, and you’ll have to put your time and effort into making sure that you make money, recruit people, and sell things.
Arbonne MLM Business Opportunity
The company has been rated one of the top MLM, or multi-level marketing, companies of all times.
Multi-level marketing companies work by hiring people to hire more people to work for them.
This is one of the reasons that it’s necessary to recruit people if you want to make money with Arbonne.
That’s simply how the company works.
As you recruit people, you gain more standing – or, increase in levels – in the business.
This is how a MLM business opportunity works.
Arbonne: The Compensation Plan
If you want to join Arbonne, you’ll have to pay a $79 registration fee.
This is quite reasonable considering the profit that you can make if you really dedicate some time to the company.
You only have to pay $30 a year to renew your membership.
To earn money, consultants will need to earn PQV.
Members need to earn at least 150 PQV a month to earn any compensation, and they must make sure that they earn at least 1200 PQV yearly to retain their status as a consultant.
Each consultant will get 35% off company products.
They’ll also get to keep the profit that’s made on any sales made in retail.
Consultants aren’t required to keep inventory of their products since they’re paid for upfront.
This may seem like a good deal, but the average yearly profit of a consultant for this company is only $788.
Arbonne’s own description of their compensation plan is a bit wordy and deals with a lot of semantics. That’s almost a red flag.
Here are some things that you should be aware of:
- The amount of money that you make is determined by your downline – the people you recruit – and how much they sell. These people will need to have a good attitude and be determined to sell things.
- You’ll need to recruit. However, recruiting on its own won’t be enough for you to make a killing. You’ll have to follow through with your recruits and make sure that they’re actively trying to sell things.
- If you don’t know your recruits personally it can be hard to follow up with them. This can negatively impact your sales.
- Most people aren’t aware of how they can recruit people on a large scale, and Arbonne doesn’t teach you. This means that many recruits basically end up buying things from Arbonne to support their membership, which screams of exploitation.
Is Arbonne A Pyramid Scheme?
There is some indication that Arbonne operates as a period scheme.
One of the reasons for this is because most of the representatives tend to try to make their money by recruiting other people.
This is indicative of a lack of proper training in retail and sales.
When a company’s consultants aim to make most of their money by recruiting new members, it suggests that it operates as a pyramid scheme.
Arbonne Reviews & Complaints
There have been a wide range of different reviews and complaints from customers.
Some people think that Arbonne’s great and swear by the quality of their products.
Others, not so much.
Many people enjoy buying from Arbonne because they don’t use animal byproducts.
Many of their products are gluten-free.
They don’t use parabens, benzene, mineral oil, or toluene in any of their products, and they refrain from using artificial colors and flavors.
Some customers praise Arbonne products for being effective and useful for helping to prevent aging.
One customer reviewed Arbonne’s RE9 Advanced anti-aging line, claiming that “my skin feels great.”
She also reported that she “received so many compliments on my skin that I started sharing it with others.”
Not everyone has such an optimistic outlook on Arbonne, though.
One customer tried a few of their products and said that she “regrets ever putting this garbage on my face.”
After going to an Arbonne party and trying several products, her skin became “puffy, red and blotchy” for several days afterwards.
Ultimately, it seems like you will have to do your own evaluation of Arbonne products!
Arbonne Prices & Where To Buy
There are many different places to buy Arbonne products.
Unfortunately for consultants, you can get some of the best deals from Arbonne’s site itself.
It’s not always easy to find a consultant unless you look hard or know someone in person, as a quick Google search will reveal mostly links to Arbonne’s site.
That said, Arbonne’s site offers pretty good deals.
Here are a quick outline of some of the best deals you can find for each of their product categories:
- Healthy Living: The Healthy Living Value pack is 40% off right now. This pack retails for $444 but with Arbonne’s special member deal you can get it for $235.
- Skincare: The RE9 Line of products offers a wide variety of skincare products that usually retails for about $450. Arbonne members can get it for about $250.
- Bath & Body: The Heritage Home Collection, which offers a variety of different shampoos and body washes, only costs about $50 from their website.
- Makeup: Arbonne makes a lot of great makeup removal products. Their “Dissolve the Day” makeup removal cloths are only about $19 whereas similar products are much pricier.
Arbonne Money Back Guarantee & Refund Policy
Arbonne offers a 45-day money back guarantee on most of its products.
However, there is some debate as to whether or not they actually honor this agreement.
Some people have reported that they tried to get their refund after a few weeks.
Even with all the receipts and proof of purchase, Arbonne would not return their money or give them credit.
Other people, however, have experienced nothing but great quality service.
It seems that people who are registered with Arbonne as preferred clients are much more likely to have their refunds honored.
This suggests a bit of inconsistency because only people who are known to spend a lot of money at Arbonne are really guaranteed to have their money-back policy honored.
That’s not to say that some people haven’t had their money returned.
Many have.
However it’s important to be cautious of any company that prefers to honor agreements with certain customers over others.
Arbonne Pros & Cons
It’s important to consider the positives as well as the negatives for any company you’re planning to be involved with, and Arbonne is no exception.
Here are some of the pros and cons of this companies that can help you decide whether or not you want to be a part of it.
Pros
- The company sells real products that some people are quite fond of.
- It gives you an opportunity to create your own web-based business and work your own hours.
- If you compare Arbonne to other similar MLMs, this one’s actually quite cheap to become a part of.
- You don’t actually have to buy any of their products yourself if you’re able to meet the PQV ratings.
Cons
- The products are so expensive that it can be difficult to rack of customers and this makes for a very difficult marketing experience
- Consumers don’t really need you as a consultant. They can just buy stuff straight from the company itself, and this can make it difficult to motivate them to buy from you.
- While it’s relatively cheap to join the company, it’ll cost more to actually sell stuff. You’ll probably need to pay for online ads, get some real marketing training, and things like this.
- If you don’t pay for these extra services, then unless you’re a stand-up marketer, you’ll probably have to buy some of their products yourself to make the PQV. Now you’re suddenly paying a ton of extra money and potentially losing products.
- They have a scanty disclosure document that can be difficult to read and easy to confuse you.
- The average annual earnings are absolutely terrible and it’s quite hard to make a living wage.
Arbonne Review: Final Verdict
Arbonne is a company that makes a lot of high-quality, ethically sourced products.
As far as buying their products go, you are likely to get a pretty good product – however, obviously not everyone has the same tastes.
As far as becoming a consultant, well, Arbonne operates a bit like a pyramid scheme.
This isn’t inherently a bad thing, and you can make money if you know what you’re signing up for.
Arbonne, just like any other company, should be considered by the individual.
Even after everything we’ve shared with you, you’ll still have to make your own decision.
Then you can let others know what your experience was like!
So, what do you think about our Arbonne review? Would you buy it or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
