What Is the Usana Business Opportunity About? – Legit MLM or a Scam?
You might have heard of the Usana supplements and vitamins and perhaps their business opportunity. Not sure if your should invest your time and money on either or both of them? Is this MLM yet another scam, or is it a totally clear and legit business opportunity?
If you look around yourself, you will see people who are health conscious make the supplements or vitamins a daily part of their lives. These are the type of people who would find Usana products beneficial, and they will also be the perfect customer.
Of course, you might have some doubts about whether to use Usana products or not. But don’t worry; the following article will help you in your choice. In this article, the Usana MLM will be described in detail, the working and how it is a better choice than other MLMs.
Introducing The Usana Business Opportunity …
Dr. Myron Wentz, Ph.D., started the Usana. He is a microbiologist and has specialized in immunology. He worked and led the way in the development of human cell culture technology as well as infectious disease diagnoses.
This work made him realize the importance of antioxidants in the body and their effects on free radicals on our collection. That is why he formed Usana Health Services back in 1992.
Now the company’s products are available in the United States along with 25 other countries. The products are obtainable through associates. And this is how a traditional MLM (multi-level marketing) company is normally operating.
The products are manufactured and tested by Usana in their headquarters at Salt Lake City. They produce a range of products like vitamin supplements, weight management products, and body care products.
In 2015, Usana was able to secure the 24th position in multi-level marketing all over the world. Due to some mishaps, the company is under surveillance by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
For me, MLM (Multi Level Marketing) is a nightmare of the past. I have no interest in having anything to do with this sort of marketing model. Now, and for the past couple of years …
The Quality of Usana Products
If you are worrying about whether the products live up to their price or not, then don’t worry. Here you will know what their quality is and how they are worth their price.
As mentioned above, Usana produce several products. If you have come across their catalog, then you must have seen products for skin, managing body-weight, daily nutrients, protein, vitamin, and whatnot.
The most demanded product in the catalog you will find is CellSentials vitamins. You can buy these vitamins for $59.35 only. The loyal customers can purchase it even for $53.35. The course is for 28 days; at the rate of four tablets each day. The process is to take two at a time with food so twice a day.
CellSentials Vitamins Review
As per the information on container, CellSentials contain many vitamins that exceed the recommended daily allowance limit. Some of these vitamins are Vitamin D3 (250%), Vitamin K (340%), Vitamin A (120%), Vitamin B1 (1000%), and Vitamin C (330%).
These levels seem very off the chart. However, as most of the people do not have a proper diet, so it is excellent for them. There sure are much more affordable vitamins available in the market, but they don’t contain Vitamin levels as good as CellSentials Vitamins. That is why they are worth the price for people not having a proper diet.
The Business Opportunity With Usana MLM
Not only is Usana good with their products, but they also give you the opportunity of working with them. If you are thinking about how, then here is the answer …
Very much like the other MLMs, Usana also allows you to work on quite a flexible schedule. This means you can work in your free time, but if you are able to, you can work full time as well.
You sell the products by building your network. Usana even allows you to set the prices yourself, but they do recommend a suitable price.
Associates only sell Usana products. If you find Usana products on sites such as Amazon, then they have already been declared bogus. The consumer usually likes their products. That is why they may seem easy to sell. However, they are expensive so that they can come off as a challenge.
How to be an Associate in Usana?
The process is straightforward. You will only have to buy a welcome kit of 29.95 dollars, which is very affordable. The welcome package contains documents of guidance for an Associate.
The kit doesn’t come with any products. There are many documents, such as Online Resource Guide, Policies and Procedures, Guide on how to build a network, etc.
Does an Associate Make Money?
Yes, of course, they do. When you are an associate, you can have a commission on the Usana Products you sell.
Usana allows you to set the price of yourself, which means you can easily earn well. The preferred mark-up by Usana is 10% over their preferred amount.
The image you see below shows the yearly gains made by an associate starting from 2017.
Loyal Customers
Loyal customers or the more common term ‘preferred customers’ are those who buy a membership that gets them discounts. This term is ubiquitous in an MLM business.
Sometimes this discount applies to shipping fee as well, and they are shipped free. Usana’s preferred customers receive a 10% discount on all the products.
This is beneficial for associates as well. If they deal with several preferred customers, then they can have a decent monthly income.
Another way to make money is to create a team. If you can recruit people into your organization, then you can have a profit share in the products they sell.
Pros
Is it FDA approved? Well, somehow, yes …
If we talk about the products alone, then no, they are not FDA approved. However, Usana, as a company apart, is FDA approved. See the subtlety?Back in 2011, they were given the drug establishment registration.
There is really no need to worry whether their products are FDA approved or not. Usana maintains quite a high standard throughout its production process, which is sufficient to give confidence to the user.
Zero Customer Complaints
Despite being registered on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website, Usana has not received any Customer Complaints. Due to this, they currently have a rating of A+.
As per research, there were complaints but not any, which is worth mentioning here. On Amazon, there was a complaint saying that the product wasn’t working and was fake. Usana representative responded by saying that they do not sell their products through Amazon.
Customer’s Positive Reaction
Till now, there only have been happy customers of Usana who love their products. The most liked product by customers is their vitamins.
Cons
Not much success
There is a document appearing on the Usana website. According to that document, in the year 2017, 53% of associates of Usana from the USA didn’t earn any compensation.
Scrutiny Scandal
Due to Usana executives’ false statements about their qualifications, they have faced scrutiny in the past.
Misunderstanding
It was found that associates have been making false claims about Usana products, which are against the company’s policy. This was seen through hidden cameras. One associate even recommended Usana products as a cure to leukemia.
Lawsuit History
Usana has been suspected to be operating using a pyramid scheme. Instead, an expert witness testified this. In 2008 they said, “you can make a powerful argument that this could be a pyramid scheme.”
There was yet another lawsuit in 2008. Two Canadian distributors filed it for wrongful dismissal. They won and were rewarded 7$ million for damages and as compensation.
So, is Usana Business Opportunity a Scam?
Usana is for sure not a scam. They are much more credible than many other MLMs. You can know this through the fact that scientists produce their products.
Also, Usana is FDA approved. Usana’s products are basically more expensive than those of their competitors. Due to this, as you can see above, that by selling these products you might have a problem making a profit as a new distributor.
In general you will find the same problem with most MLMs, even with the best ones, like Usana. You need to invest a lot of your time and a minimum of your own cash before you can even think of making a profit.
You might also end up with a garage full of their products because in order to keep your level you will have to be your best customer. Trust me, been there, done that, ‘got the T shirt!
But let’s compare what you would have if you were to join an Affiliate program instead of an MLM opportunity. And to be as impartial as possible, I have created a comparison table which represents on the left, one of the Affiliate programs I am involved with, which is one that earns me by itself over $5,000 a month and growing month after month, and on the right, a list of what just about every MLM companies would be offering …
So, if you were to join one or the other, which would you go for?
Conclusion
One thing is without a doubt that Usana is a better MLM than many of the others that are operating worldwide. However, it is a fact that you start with no money as it has to go into buying the welcome kit. And you only make money once you sell products. So, choose wisely before making any choice.
This is the reason why I have given up on the MLM businesses I was associated with. Not only it is hard to get going but I was really unhappy to know that a good chunk of my income would go to feed the fat guys above who are just seating there waiting for me to make my sales.
Once I have discovered Affiliate Marketing, there was no doubt that it was my cup of tea …
So if you wish to know more about Affiliate Marketing, I will be happy to show you where and how to begin. In Affiliate Marketing, the complete beginner has exactly the same opportunity to succeed as anyone else who has already some experience with it.
There you will see that you too can succeed; and that there has never been a better time for you to get started.
Thanks for reading my review about the Usana business opportunity …
I hope that you enjoyed going through this review and that it has clarified you mind about the Usana business opportunity being a pyramid scheme or not. Hopefully, you will follow my advise and take this opportunity to learn more about Affiliate Marketing.
If you are looking for an honest way to make a living online, and to start for free, just like I have been doing for years, I recommend that you first learn more about Affiliate Marketing, it will cost you nothing.
You can even start at your own pace if you don’t have much time to spare. All you have to do is join my FREE Internet Marketing Training by clicking on the banner below …
I have a close friend in college who happened to be part of Usana, though I’m lucky because he wasn’t pushy in selling me their products (lol). To date, I never knew how he was doing and if he actually succeeded with the biz opp.
Like you, I’ve reviewed many opportunities especially MLMs, and I’m easily skeptical of them because I was afraid of recommending pyramid schemes to my readers. The compensation plan might differ with every company, but the key is whether the biz model is sustainable or not. Would you agree?
Thanks for sharing your experience Dominic. By the way, I like the T shirt you are wearing on your Gravatar picture, cool!
Well, if your friend is with Usana, it least he is with one of the best MLMs out there and as you have reviewed a number of MLM opportunities, you know what I mean. Perhaps you are in Affiliate Marketing yourself and know the difference and should introduce your friend to it.
As you say Dominic, each of these MLMs have their own compensation plan. Some are better than others for their members, but some are really borderline with the pyramid scheme, which is totally illegal.
It is proven that the MLM model is bound to crash one day or the other, once there are too many associates in it. This is something that can never happen with Affiliate Marketing. So, of anyone is involved in any MLM, no matter how good it is, I would suggest that they already investigate their way out and join a proven Affiliate program like the one I am reviewing in my #1 Recommendation!
Thanks for your comment Dominic and I wish you the very best for your online projects.
John
Unfortunately Usana numbers are not good, which happens to be way different from Jeunesse, for example. I’ve worked for another MLM company called Hinode (South America Only) that showed good numbers too. I’d say that out of personal experience is that for MLM business you need to know how to promote the products, if you don’t know how to expose the product to the market (people) you’ll stay with a lot o products in your wardrobe, because you need to buy the quota every month, and will sell a couple of items here and there. Something very different when it comes to online marketing and mainly affiliate marketing. I’ll leave the comparison board speak by itself! Awesome post!
Thanks for sharing your experience with MLM Daniel. Obviously you are happy with what you are doing because you know how to market the product. So it is good to know that it is possible to earn with the right MLM company if you know how to do it, and don’t want to buy loads of products that you will never use, just to fill your quota and make your sponsor and owners of the company happy, right?
But what about the beginner who knows nothing about marketing? It means that if he or she wants to follow “the dream” they just have to buy and buy the products over and over, till they go bankrupt?
This can never happen with Affiliate Marketing for the good reason that the affiliate does NOT have to buy any product. All they have to do is to find people who are interested and put them in contact with the company which take care of everything from there on, and that’s it.
I wish you the very best with your online projects Daniel, and I hope to see you again on this site in the very near future as I have loads more posts ready to be uploaded.
Cheers,
John
Hi John
I think Usana is not a good business opportunity because if the product are not FDA approves it will be a big challenge for a lot of people to trust in their effectiveness. They will be hesitant to put their life in danger like that.
And your review is a good warning when it comes to Usana’s way of doing business. They are under serious scrutiny because of lying about their qualifications, what can assure us that they are not lying about their products?
Thanks
You are quite right Adyns, a lot of people would not buy a skin product that is not FDA approved, which cripples greatly the distributor, especially the newbie who doesn’t know yet how to go about responding to such questions when brought about by their prospects.
The publicity of their qualifications are also rather misleading and what saves them (for now) is the quality and popularity of their products, but this may not last forever, and who will go down with the ship? … the distributors of course. So perhaps it is time to jump ship!
Wishing you the very best Adyns.
Take care, stay safe and healthy.
John
Wow, what an impressing thorough article you have here. Thanks a lot for sharing this with us today. After an amount of time researching opportunities to create an online income, I bumped into Wealthy Affiliate last December myself and I have never looked back. What an amazing training and what an awesome community full of helpful people who want you to succeed.
I came in wit 0 per cent experience, now 4 months along the track I have still so much to learn but I am so pleased with all this training I have gone through and all the knowledge I have gained and all the friends I have made.
I can recommend @wealthy affiliate to all people who enjoy working hard.
Thanks very much for reading my latest blog post Jude and for taking the time to share your experience with Wealthy Affiliate. I am glad that you are also a member of it as, as you say, it has the best training available anywhere online.
I wish the very best with your newly discovered online project and please let me know if you need any help at all with it, okay?
John
There are a lot of platforms on the internet that offer ways to make money but most of them are shady and it’s usually a monumental task finding a legit one. However, I must admit that I had no idea what The Usana Business Opportunity was until I came across it on this informative post. I’ve weighed the pros and cons but I’m not convinced enough to invest in it. I’d rather stick to affiliate marketing, which has proven quite lucrative for me.
I am glad that you have found my review on Usana business opportunity interesting Carol. As you have read in my article Affiliate Marketing is by far the best place to be if you want to create a proper income for yourself, and I am glad to read that it has proved to be beneficial for you.
I wish you an excellent, safe and healthy day working from home.
John
Hi John,
Thanks for another great review. You’ve provide a LOT of good information and value here for people looking to invest in their products. You’ve also provided a good summary of the benefits and drawbacks of the product so people will have good, balanced information with them before they make a decision or not.
Thanks very much for your comments Nile, I am glad that you find my reviews useful and I look forward to seeing you again soon on this website as I have loads more product reviews in the pipeline.
Have a great day and stay safe.
John
Hey nice article you have there. This is the perfect insight anyone can get about Usana business opportunity, before venturing into any MLM business, it is pertinent that you know how they operates in respect to their products, bonuses, minimal amount to catch out and how you can earn. The Usana business tends to motivate is clients to sell more product and earn more, that is they have no restriction of income earn in ad much you sell more, you will definitely earn more.
Thanks very much for reading my review on the Usana business opportunity and products Edah. I am glad that you found it informative and thanks also for sharing your views.
I wish you the very best on whatever online project that you might be involved with.
Take care and stay safe and healthy.
John