Melaleuca is an MLM company that sells green home and personal care products. The products are not bad, and I’ve used them before! However, the company and its advocates have a weird obsession about not wanting to be called an MLM.
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In my opinion, it definitely is a multi-level marketing company, but before you fire up your keyboard for the comment section please read my whole Melaleuca review to see why I’m saying, “Yeah, it’s actually MLM guys.”
The main reason people say it’s not an MLM is because you “don’t sell products”. What they don’t understand, is that the membership you sell is the product.
Melaleuca Review
Melaleuca is a very secretive organization. Product prices not listed on the website, a full compensation plan is not linked, and they deny being an MLM company. Their independent business representatives attitudes give the company a bad name.
There are many green product companies out there which have much more transparent policies, and are not associated with the negativity stereotypes of direct sales and MLM. That’s why I prefer to promote affiliate products instead.
What Are Melaleuca Products?
Melaleuca sells natural and eco-friendly cleaning, skincare, and health products. They have a wide range of products, including:
- shower cleaner
- tooth paste
- furniture polish
- laundry stain remover
- tea tree oil
- shampoo
- lip balm
- vitamins
- fiber
- tub & tile cleaner
- …many more!
You can purchase Melaleuca products on Amazon (not affiliate link) from their Amazon store. I’d love to show you some of these products, but Melaleuca has attempted to take down this page multiple times with copyright claims, so I won’t be able to show you their products.
According to their website, they have over 400 products, but you can’t actually read about the products on their website.
Join The Melaleuca Shopping Club Instead!
What is featured very prominently on their website is that you should become a member of the shopping club. The only problem is, you can only become a member if someone refers you to the company.
Thank you for your interest in Melaleuca. Every Melaleuca Member is referred by another member. To learn how you can become a Melaleuca Preferred Member, contact the person who referred you to this site.
In other words, you cannot join unless you have a sponsor, referrer, team leader, whatever you want to call it.
I find it strange that they claim to focus on the products (not recruiting), yet at the same time, they seem to be paying much more attention to the team building aspect, just like MLM companies! As a potential customer, I’d like to know whats inside the products and how much they cost! How can I compare them with other brands?
How Does Melaleuca Work?
Since you can just purchase Melaleuca products on Amazon or Ebay, if you’re wondering how Melaleuca works, you’re probably wondering about the business building aspect. In other words, how do you make money with Melaleuca?
There are some details about how to earn money with Melaleuca on their income statistics disclosure. However, the stats haven’t been updated since 2018, so it’s unclear if they are still accurate.
Typical of multi-level marketing companies, there are many “levels” of selling Melaleuca products.
- Product Advocates
- Business Builder (Director 1-2)
- Director 3-9
- Senior Director
- Executive Director
- National Director
- Corporate Director
As a product advocate, you are simply selling a couple products to people you know. As a business builder, you are still just selling products, but doing it more seriously.
Once you get into Director level 3+, the multi-level aspect kicks in. You will be required to recruit team leaders who will then have their own teams which operate under your team.
Those who have reached these leadership statuses have not only invested enough time to refer several customers, but they have also helped some of those customers start a business and become Marketing Executives. Those Marketing Executives have, in turn, referred additional customers who purchase Melaleuca products each month.
How Much Money Can You Make With Melaleuca?
According to their income disclosure from 2018, Directors level 1-2 earn an average of about $2,000 per year with 8 customers. As far as I understand it, that means, to add $160 to your monthly household income, you’d need to be selling Melaleuca products to eight people.
However, the average earnings of a company might not give you the entire picture of what’s going on. Median income is much more revealing, but they don’t tell us that.
Why use median income instead of average income?
The classic example is that there are ten people in a room who each earn $1 per day. Bill Gates walks in, and he earns $1,000,000 per day. The average income of the group jumps to $91,000. The median is still $1.
Regardless, it does appear that you can make up to $39,987 (according to their report) as a Director level 1 or 2, without any recruiting at all. They do not say how many customers you’d need to achieve that kind of income, but they do say it’s done with 8-16 Personal Customers, and 8-75 Active Customers. They don’t tell us the difference between Active and Personal customers, so there may be some kind of auto-ship involved there, but that’s just a guess.
Is Melaleuca An MLM?
There seems to be some controversy as to whether or not Melaleuca is an MLM. Honestly, I don’t really understand how it could not be considered one. There are so many similarities, it’s indistinguishable.
You get paid commissions based on recruiting people who want to build their teams, and so on. You market products, and get paid on multiple levels.
Multi. Level. Marketing.
There are also many other similarities as explained in this video from an actual ATTORNEY that has tons of experience and knowledge about MLMs.
Note: They are also part of the DSA (along with Amway and other network marketing companies)! The DSA is an organization that many network marketing companies rely on to (often unsuccessfully) distance themselves from pyramid schemes.
Though people use different terms, and like to be pedantic about the differences, as far as I’m concerned, direct sales, network marketing, and multi-level marketing are all the same thing. Pyramid schemes are a little different, in that they are strictly defined as “having no product”, but there are plenty of similarities, which is why MLM companies often get accused of being pyramids schemes.
Even big, well-know MLMs like herbalife and Mary Kay are regularly accused of this.
The idea that Melaleuca is not an MLM seems to be rooted in how the products are sold. Apparently, you pay to join the Shopping Club, but do not purchase products from the person who invited you. You purchase from the manufacturer. In other words, you are paying to be part of a club, like Costco. This was the same pitch from Wake Up Now, which is a now defunct MLM company.
My response to this is:
- I can go to Costco and become a member any time I want without a referral.
- Nobody is paid to recruit for Costco memberships
- If I think Costco is a scam, there’s no army of Costco advocates who get pissed off at me
I’m not even kidding with number 3. It was shocking to see the level of rudeness and from Melaleuca members on ANY blog post or video that say anything negative about the company. Full post from The MLM Attorney, with comments included!
- Product doesn’t work? You’re using it wrong.
- Company is MLM? You are an idiot.
- Didn’t make money? Don’t blame us for your failure
- Products not green enough? You have wrong information
A sure sign that Melaleuca is an MLM is that the members are rabid advocates, and have almost a cult-like mentality, where they just can’t let it go.
Melaleuca published a little PDF called Here’s Where We Draw The Line. In my opinion, they conflate. a few different concepts. They emphasize that customers are not required to “invest” (With Melaleuca there is no “investment.” ), but what they fail to distinguish is that buying the products is not part of the money making aspect of the company. The folks who make the money are the ones selling the membership.
Sure, you can purchase products without being a distributor yourself. That part I completely understand. But the top sellers and income earners of the company are managing teams of people who are also selling memberships. The MLM aspect isn’t about the products, it’s about the memberships they’re selling and the downline building you must do to be successful.
Melaleuca Reviews
Melaleuca reviews are all over the place. Some are amazing, some are terrible. They currently have an A+ rating with the BBB, but they also have a lot list of complaints.
Some people love it, some people hate it. Whether or not you choose to join the company will depend on your goals. If you would like to be able to purchase green cleaning and health products as part of a membership club, then this could be a good company to join.
If you would like to earn money, then this is not a company that I would personally recommend.
How To Turn Green Living Into An Online Business
Melaleuca Review
Products
Business Opportunity
Final Review
If you love green products and want to live an eco-friendly, healthy lifestyle, that’s awesome. If you want to share that passion with other people and make money doing it, you can definitely do that.
Personally, I think you'd be better off starting an online business so that you can reach millions of people, instead of just your local friends and family.
By starting an independent website and linking to products, you can get paid for each one sold. Publish reviews of the products you love, and get paid to help people live green and healthy! You can recommend products from Target, Walmart, and many small companies that have affiliate programs. In fact, you could even recommend Melaleuca products which are sold on Amazon.com.
This strategy makes much more sense long term because you'll have full control over your website, instead of being locked in as a member of a single company, and limiting yourself to what type of products or services you can promote.
MLM Critic & Author: Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. I have to be honest though. I'm not a big fan of MLM. Tried it. Hated it.
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Landon
‘Consumer direct marketing’ is actually a term trademarked by Melaleuca. A trademarked term is NOT a business model, it’s a brand which is why people are so adamant about establishing consumer direct marketing in people’s minds. First they called them Pyramid Schemes, then they called it Multi Level Marketing, then Network Marketing. Consumer direct marketing is no different. A rose by any other name still smells like a Pyramid Scheme.
Melamom5
Thanks for your comical review of Melaleuca to have so many opinions without actually shopping their yourself. I guess you can just call me part of the “cult”. I am a single mom of four that shops with Melaleuca because it makes my life easier. I have been shopping with them for a little over 4 years now. Funny because I go into my account, shop for what I need, and oh my gosh, my order is delivered within 3-4 days…..hmmm okay so Amazon Prime has them beat with shipping, yet you have to pay for an Amazon Prime membership of $99 to get that free shipping huh? Oh and as for the prices of Melaleuca products on Amazon, I have seen them and people are getting ripped off big time. What some people charge on Amazon for one of their products, I can place an entire months order of what my family needs. So the real scam is on that one, or the real rip off is those who think they are beating Melaleuca by going on Amazon to get their products instead of trying a Melaleuca Membership. Oh and the not making money thing, um like with anything….there is no magic button to success, you actually have to work. Many of their customers are only customers and do not build a business with Melaleuca, but that is also the beauty of it. It’s a shopping club with a business opportunity to shop. I don’t see Sam’s Club or Costco doing that do you? Do you see Sam’s Club saying okay pay us our membership fee and if you aren’t satisfied in 4 months you can have your astronomical membership fee back? Did you ever stop to think that maybe us “cult” people really love the products and that is why we continue to shop there? No one forces me to shop where I do, if I wanted to I could cancel at any time, but nope that isn’t going to happen any time soon. And another thing, I guess the improved blood work that people get back from their doctors from taking their nutritional supplements is such a scam also…gee that scientific proof yup can’t trust that! Geez who knew switching a store was such a scam!!
Nathaniell
My girlfriend has used their products, and actually love some of them. But she quit buying them because there was too much pressure to be on autoship. That’s the difference between Sams’s Club and Melaleuca.
Also, I don’t see people going to negative Costco reviews and crying their eyeballs out because some people don’t like Costco. It’s just the people like you that find it “disgusting” that someone could criticize their beloved company. I never said the products were bad…I simply posted some different reviews posted online!
Amy
Also agree stay @ home moms comment about us having more time is bullshit. I have an 18mth old & I have ZERO time for an hour lunch break, etc. like a business person would as u called it…u need 2 have a baby & see how u feel @ the end of the day JACKASS!
Nathaniell
Such a lovely lady!
It was only a comparison to business people who are AWAY FROM HOME versus moms which are AT HOME. Sure, a mom with a brand new baby isn’t going to have time. Someone with a kid who’s in school from 8AM to 3PM does have the time. You can make phone calls at home, at least while the kid is sleeping versus being at a job when you are not allowed personal time. I honestly don’t understand how that point is not clear. Calm down – I’m not saying that “being a mom is easy”. Yikes. Chill out.
Lisa
Amy, I agree. That comment about moms having more time pissed me off, too. We don’t. I agree with everything else though. Melaleuca is a horrible company. The amount of lies I was told when I signed on is ridiculous.
Nathaniell
Ugh. You don’t get the point. I know I know. Mom’s jobs are hard too. But there’s a difference between being at an office from 8-5, plus commuting, and being at home with the kids, even if you count stuff like laundry, shopping, picking kids up, etc.
Yes moms are busy. But they have more flexibility in their schedule. When you’re at an office job you can’t just call up your friend and start selling MLM or arrange for your neighbors to come around the office at lunch so you can pitch to them.
Kelly
You’re getting s lot of buzz and interesting feed back on your post. The word MLM has gotten such a bad rap. Amy way, Mary Kay, Unicity, Nerium, Optemeria, Pampered Chef, Epicure etc. Who cares what the business structure is called or labelled if a person can make money and sell great products. I had a staff of 2 in my Tanning Studio “that will raise some eye brows” they both got an hourly wage and commision on products they sold…..see the similarity? The more they sold the more they made, there was nothing stopping them from finding a friend to sell lotions and giving them a cut of the commission…right or right? That didn’t happen by the way… Bottom line, MLM, direct sales what ever you want to call it, it’s people out trying to make a living selling products. As for what’s in the bottle, FDA would not allow it to be sold if it wasn’t properly labelled. Great article though, thank you for the read.
Nathaniell
The issue with MLM is when the recruitment is more profitable than selling products. Or, equally an issue, is if they show you awesome success stories, but forget to tell you that all of those people are rich because they recruited sellers, not because they themselves were selling volume. When you advertise a chance to make a living, but very few people are making a living doing it in the way you describe, that’s the issue!
James Hoekstra
Nathaniell, I tell you what, some of what you say makes sense. But I need to challenge you on this specific point. You claim that Melaleuca is a MLM, and as such, the people who are rich in it are only rich because they have recruited sellers, not actually creating volume from consumer-driven sales right? I would 100% agree with you that that is exactly how MLM operates. However, I came from an extensive background in MLM, and I know Melaleuca to be different because the business balance sheets I personally saw. And I know for a fact that the guys who showed me their business, the raw data of their business, will be more than willing to show you as well.
From what I personally saw, over 70% of their total volume was by people who were strictly consumers. They had never personally enrolled another person in the business. So, by what I saw, and what they are more than willing to show you, this is not, in fact, and MLM. And it is not really direct sales as I am not even allowed to resell according to Melaleuca’s policies. This is a true consumer-driven business. And the only thing we do as affiliates is refer other people to the membership. And yes, you can actually see the pricing if you know where to look.
https://cdnus.melaleuca.com/PDF/Footer/Catalogs/MCC17U.pdf
I challenge you to look at their businesses and judge for yourself!
Yvonne Hyde
I don’t know why they don’t want to be known as an MLM. It seems to be a pretty good one. I’m not part of it, but I do use some of their products.
James Hoekstra
Because Melaleuca is not a traditional MLM. They are actually what is known as a Direct Sales Orginazation according to the FTC. And the FTC would know. They just hit Herbalife with a $200 Million fine due to the standard MLM tactics that Herbalife employed. And the FTC shut another company completely down after fining them $230 Million.
See a MLM doesn’t have a real consumer base. It’s long-term consumers are affiliates that are trying to stay qualified month in and month out for their commissions and overrides. It’s called fictitious buying according to the FTC. Plus, most MLMs product lines do not compete in the real marketplace. They are generally well overpriced to pay the commissions and overrides.
In a true MLM, only about 10%-20% of all the people who joined during the life of it remain in the end. And they are the only ones making money in it. All the other 80%-90% have quit as they never made much, if anything.
Melaleuca is different in the sense that our business is driven by folks like you who simply buy and never actually refer another customer to the company. Over 60% of Melaleuca’s business is simply by preferred members who do not build the business at all.