Scentsy MLM Review – Not A Scam But Is It Worth Your Time?

Who doesn’t love a sweet-smelling home when you walk in? I have 3 Scentsy warmers in my home so, when I am expecting company, I crank up all 3 and love the aroma they produce. But this is not about the product Scentsy sells; although we will talk about it, this article is a Scentsy MLM Review.

Can you make money working as a Scentsy MLM representative; moreover, will this MLM company be your big breakthrough and allow you to leave your 9-5 day job?

So let’s take a look at all of the inner and outer workings of the Scentsy MLM company to find out if it is a money-making opportunity.

Who Is Scentsy?

Scentsy was originally started in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Kara and her sister-in-law Colette in 2003 yet in 2004 they sold the wickless candle business to Orville Thompson and his wife, Heidi. That same year, the couple moved the Scentsy business to Meridian, Idaho, where they marketed it as an MLM model which shot the company up to #44 in direct selling businesses globally. By 2017 Scentsy was making $450 million in yearly sales.

What Products Does Scentsy Offer?

Scentsy is a wickless candle company; with this in mind, here is a brief list of their products.

• Fragrances-in the form of wax bars that melt, oils for diffusers, and more.
• Warmers-mini warmers, standard warmers, and element warmers in over 60 styles
• Diffusers-oils warmed by a diffuser that changes colors and has adjustable scent strength
• Unplugged-car fragrance, sprays, and more
• Laundry and cleaning scents
• Body creams and soaps, and more
• Kids scents
• Pet scents
• And so much more

How Can You Become A Scentsy Independent Consultant?

To become a Scentsy Independent Consultant, you can join through someone who invites you, or you can search it on the internet and join on a website promoting Scentsy.

Price To Join

• $99 for a kit which is a yearly fee.
• Website, free for 3 months, then it is $10 a month.
• You need to keep a personal volume of $1000 for a lifetime and $200 in one month out of a 4 month period.

In light of this information, your total to join for a year is $888.

Starter Kit-Contents May Vary

Scentsy Compensation Plan For An Independent Consultant

In order to clarify, I posted a screenshot of an outline of the company’s MLM compensation plan. I will break it down for you, but, at the same time, remember, MLM compensation plans are complicated.

As an independent consultant, the chart starts at the bottom with Escential Consultant and moves to the highest-ranking, the Super Star Director.

Purple Columns

First purple column – PRV- each point is equal to one dollar; first thing to remember, each rank has to sell a certain dollar amount of products to earn their commission percentage.

It appears according to this chart that each level has to sell $500 in products. But a consultant has to sell $200 in products in one month within a 4 month period to qualify for commission payout.

Before a new consultant can begin earning any commission, they have to sell $1000, which is considered a lifetime personal retail volume.

Not all products you sell will earn volume, there are some exclusions.

Second purple column – GWV: Group Wholesale Volume – The sum of all persons in your group’s volume sold; to put it differently, the GWV gets volume off of only 75% of wholesale. Once you qualify for lead consultant and above then, your group has to bring in a total amount of volume, or you will not qualify for a commission off of their sales. In other words, the entire lead consultant group has to sell $1000 in products, or you as a lead consultant will not make commission money percentage off of your downline.

These dollar amounts increase with rank; in reality, a super star director has to have a total team earning of $80,000.

Third purple column – TWV: Team Wholesale Volume; in this case, is the sum of the Personal Wholesale Volume (PWV) total for each person on your team.

Fourth purple column – Active Frontline consultant – Please note, this is a number of recruits you need under you to earn at least $200 in one month, within a 4 month period.

Fifth purple column – First Generation Director – Under the circumstances, when you reach this level, you have to have this number of directors as your downline.

Green Column

First green column – Commission From PRV – you will make 20 or 25% off of each qualifying dollar you sell.

Second Green Column – Bonus From Personal Wholesale Volume – when you reach the rank of Lead Consultant, you get a 2% – 9% increase on what you personally sell.

Yellow Column

All Yellow Columns – these are the percentages you will make from your downline sales, but; keep in mind, you can only make this percentage rate if you are a rank above the person in your downline. In other words, if one of your recruits rises on the ladder faster than you do, then you will not get a percentage from their sales.

Orange Column

All Orange Columns – Once you get to director level or above, you can start earning a percentage from the total wholesale volume of your downline. As I understand, there are exemptions and qualifications from this also.

So there you have it; as an illustration, all wrapped up into one. Here is a video that explains the compensation plan also.

Video Of The Compensation Plan

Site Jab Ratings

The Scentsy company reviews on Site Jabber are ranked 1.83 on an average of 50 reviews but on a positive note, there are 15.6% positive ratings.

Most of the rating concerns relate to slow shipping (months to get an order), poor customer service, products shipped do not work properly, and a few independent consultants say the company is very controlling and has a toxic environment.

Pros And Cons Of Scentsy MLM

So now that you have the most relevant information, let’s examine the Pros and Cons and determine what the potential truly is.

Scentsy Income Disclosure

I found some charts on income disclosures, however, I could not find a company income disclosure. I have done other reviews, and each one had a company income disclosure so, in view, of my findings I am not sure what to make of this.

In this chart, the Scentsy consultants are divided into 2 groups:

• First Group are active consultants for all of the 12 months.
• Second Group are the consultants who stayed less than 12 months and then quit.

My thoughts on this are: if they put all of the consultants together, it would make the overall payouts much lower. As a result, the split makes the incomes of consultants look better.

Even with these groups split, look at the average annual commissions for group one. If the high is a million dollars, but the average is 1700 dollars, then most Scentsy independent consultants make nothing or never break even.

Only 25% of MLM participants turn a profit. Please note that this says “turn a profit.” It does not say that 25% make money. As you can see, after you take out expenses, very few make money, keep in mind, your expenses at a minimum are $888 for one year.

Is The Scentsy MLM A Scam?

In summary, a scam is a fraudulent business where the company is dishonest in what they offer.

Although Scentsy is called a scam by some, generally speaking, I have to say No, it is not a scam. Scentsy does sell reputable products, although it does have some bad ratings, for the most part, I love the products and have never had any issues with shipping or customer service.

Is The Scentsy MLM Program A Pyramid Scheme?

Before I can answer this question, I need to help you better understand what a pyramid scheme is. In effect, a Pyramid scheme is a model where you get paid from people you recruit which means, no products are sold, and you pay money upfront with no guarantee of a return on your investment. Needless to say, a pyramid scheme is illegal in the US.

All things considered, Scentsy is not a pyramid scheme because you have products that you sell and promote.

Video Overview Of Scentsy MLM Review

The Problem With MLM Companies In General

According to an FTC Government file, an MLM operation does not have a clearly defined definition. It calls MLM’s a ”product-based pyramid scheme” and compares it to an illegal chain letter. You know the letters you receive in the mail, it says to put a dollar in an envelope with a copy of the letter and send one to 10 people. Then if you do this, you will make a ridiculous amount of money.

The FTC Government document also states that MLM “is inherently flawed, unfair, and deceptive.”

Please note that this says “turn a profit.” It does not say that 25% make money. After you take out expenses, very few make money. Only 0.05% made the big bucks that all MLM companies try to make us think everyone earns.

My Recommendations Regarding Scentsy MLM

I do not recommend Scentsy MLM as a way to make an income from home. The products are not the MLM company. What I mean is the MLM portion of Scentsy is not a good model. But the products are wonderful. The company is ranking high, and the income is in the billions, but that is not what 99% of the independent consultants are making.

If you want to make money from home, no MLM model will benefit you. All MLM models are set up to make the company money and not bust their rear to sell the products. You will most likely be the 86% who will lose money in a year. The statistics are against you earning a lucrative income.

The compensation plan is confusing and complicated to keep you guessing and see only high numbers. You then believe you can make this kind of money which is rarely the case.

It makes me sad that Scentsy is a business based on an MLM model, not to mention, I see some things that concern me. Why can’t I find any true income disclosures for Scentsy like how many top consultants there are or how much each person made in the fiscal year of 2020 or 2021, which runs from May to May? Maybe I am just missing them, but usually, they are very easy to find.

Other MLM reviews you may want to look at are:

Tupperware, Roden & Fields, and Matilda Jane