What Is ForeverGreen.org? A Legit MLM or Another Scam?

A big fan of my blog recently asked me if I know anything about ForeverGreen International and its Business Opportunity as distributor of their products.

Having my marching orders, I did a bit of research about the company and learned that it offers an extensive line of clean, organic and chemical-free whole foods, whole food beverages and personal care products, and a line of safe weight loss solutions.

Like many people, I am a big believer in the health benefits of ‘all natural‘ products', and the fact that ForeverGreen chose MLM to market their products is compelling enough to write a review.

You all know that I am not a big fan of MLM, but I am NOT one of the MLM BASHERS, although I never had any good experience with Network Marketing. However, I do have some legitimate concerns, which I like to explore and share with you, so you'll know what to expect if you should decide to give it a try. Lets move right along to my ForeverGreen International Review.

What Is ForeverGreen.org?

The company launched in 2004 and is based in Linden UT, with branch offices in Mexico, Columbia, Singapore, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. Ron Williams, founder, CEO and Chairman of ForeverGreen has 25 years experience in the industry, including a stint as Senior Executive with Young Living Essential Oils.

According to the latest financial report, ForeverGreen has approx. 50,000 independent distributors of their products.

What Are The ForeverGreen Products?

The company carries an extensive product line in the following categories:

• Primary Nutrition

• Supplementary Nutrition

• Weight Management

• FGXPRESS (pain relief patches)

All products are free of harmful chemicals and based on “Marine Phytoplankton“, which are photosynthesizing microscopic organisms that inhabit the upper sunlit layer of almost all oceans and bodies of fresh water.

Phytoplanktons are responsible for making up to 90% of Earth's oxygen. So this little known organism provides essential life support to us directly – as a source of valuable vitamins and minerals – and indirectly, as a source of our oxygen.

Health Benefits Of Phytoplankton!

Here are some of the many health benefits:

• For General Nutrition they contain ultra-potent lipids to enhance brain function.
• They support a healthy heart with their variety of minerals and vitamins.
• Clinical tests show that phytoplankton can reduce cholesterol.
• They are shown to stabilize blood sugar levels.

Many companies will tell you that their products are natural and have health benefits, but they lack scientific studies to back up their claims. However according to some people. ForeverGreen's product base, phytoplankton, seems to really provide health benefits.

How Much Do ForeverGreen Products Cost?

Unfortunately, there is no pricing information to be found on the ForeverGreen website, although they provide rather lengthy descriptions of their products. No problem though, I guessed that I can find some of their products on Amazon, and I was right.

Their stuff is kind of pricey, don't you think? But so are most comparable products, especially those that are sold through MLM.

What Is The ForeverGreen Business Opportunity?

Well, it is a typical MLM with all the bells & whistles you would expect. It's all there:

A complicated and convoluted compensation plan that requires a PHD to understand, multiple bonuses, a unilevel pyramid structure paying commissions to 5 levels, monthly auto-ship orders, an “All-In-Starter Pack” ($999.95), AND language that doesn't speak in Dollars and Cents but BV's, PV's, GV's and MVP Pools. In addition to all this ‘mombo-jumbo‘, they also maintain a Worldwide Infinity Pool that rewards the high rollers with shares of the company.

I am not even attempting to explain this mess; if you are interested, here is the link for you to download the ForeverGreen compensation plan (PDF format)

How You Become A ForeverGreen Distributor!

It's mighty strange that you are not able to place an order on their website, but it's even weirder that you cannot sign up as distributor either. So, my inquisitive mind told me to do a google search ‘how to become a distributor of forevergreen products‘.

I found out that ForeverGreen rebranded itself with the new name of FG Express, and my simple search produced many websites owned by distributors. You MUST use one of these sites to purchase the product and/or become a distributor.

Is ForeverGreen/FG Express A Good Business Opportunity?

Well, here is the scoop. To qualify for the bonus plans, you must purchase the “All-In-Pack” for $999.95 and place a standing monthly order of at least one Pack for $170 (other packs rang from $170 to $300). The person that recruited you receives 20% of your All-In purchase, while another 22% total are distributed upward to level 2 – 5. The remaining 58% go to the guy on top of the pyramid. See Image

And now the rat race starts. You are in with almost $1,200 and bought yourself a bunch of product which you can either use yourself, or sell at retail. The company does not suggest any retail price, so the mark-up is your decision to make, the difference between the price you paid and the price you sell, is your profit. This does not earn you any commissions or bonuses though.

But you also purchased ‘the privilege‘ to recruit new distributors into the organization, and building your own down line, which will move you from the ground level to level 2. And just like the devil chases after souls, you are now chasing after folks you can convince to join you in your new business. Of course, you try all your family members, your friends and their friends, even your enemies and the friends of your enemies.

You soon realize that it becomes darn difficult to talk other people into following your steps, after you were able to convince some of your friends to join you. This creates a big problem. It's hard to find new recruits, not only for you, but for a bunch of other folks as well. And if Level 1 dries out, the upward money flow comes to an abrupt halt.

You can easily see that the real ‘money maker‘ in MLM is not the sale of the products, but recruiting new members. Mary Kay, the Godmother of MLM worded it eloquently when she said:

“Keeping the tub full with the drain open!”

So, is it a good business opportunity? Like I said so many times, MLM is not my cup of tea, and I never had any great success with it. If you are an MLM expert, an ace in recruiting other folks, a great motivator AND able to train your recruits to become like clones of yourself, your chances of making a lot of money are pretty good. If you can stand, and afford, traveling to never ending meetings and motivational events, your chances of making a lot of money are pretty good.

If you do not have these talents I mentioned, this business opportunity with ForeverGreen may not be for you.

What Are The ForeverGreen Complaints?

First off, my team could not locate any real complaints about the quality of the products which is great. It is almost unreal to read over 100 reviews and there are only 3 or 4 from folks who did not like the ForeverGreen stuff. However there are some areas of concerns that I'd like to detail just in case you missed them because you skimmed through this article. It's okay I'm guilty of it as well. But here are some things that give me the willies

High Start Up Costs.

Although I already mentioned it briefly, I need to elaborate a bit about the requirement to purchase a Starter Pack to become a ForeverGreen distributor. There are several packs you can choose from, but in order to qualify for all the different level-commissions and bonuses, you need to aim high and buy the most expensive pack there is. $999.95 opens the door and gets you in, but it also puts a lot of products on your inventory shelf, even before you had a chance to find out if you really can sell an of them.

Forced Auto-shipments of products.

The 1,000 bucks for the Starter Pack opens the door and gets you in, but now you have to place a standing order of at least $170 for every month. This forced auto-shipment keeps your status at ‘active' which is required to build your down line and qualify for the different bonuses. You are forced to buy products every month. What happens if you can't sell them, and you and your family don't want to use them? The mountain of products on your shelf keeps growing and you'll lose money.

Lack of Training & Support

In order to be successful in any MLM, you need to recruit people; friends, family members and strangers alike. But that's not the end of it. You also must train and educate them how to recruit, train and educate their recruits. They do tell you in their compensation plan video that you need to recruit, and make it sound easy, but nowhere can I find any mention of training and support for the new arrivals. Yes, there are regular local meetings, and some big events where hundreds, or even thousands of distributors gather together, but these are not training occasions, rather than overly hyped motivational shows.

The Products Are Overpriced!

The first review in the image sums it up. Great product, but too expensive. True, you pay more for good quality, but there is another reason for the somewhat outrages prices. Remember the 42% commissions and bonuses that are being paid to the distributors and push upward to their uplines? That money has to come from somewhere, right? Of course it's worked into the sales price.

Is ForeverGreen A Scam?

I cannot call it a scam. They are selling a tangible and good product, and obviously, they are not breaking any laws. Having said that, I do have to mention my biggest concern about ForeverGreen International

Wrong Focus !

What concerns me here is the language of the ForeverGreen compensation plan. Let me highlight three significant points mentioned in their YouTube video:

1. They say: “In order to qualify as distributor, YOU have to buy a certain amount of product every month.”
2. They say: “While your enrollment tree continues growing…” Note: recruit and enroll are synonyms, and tree and pyramid are synonyms.
3. Nowhere in the video is mentioned “selling any product to anyone“!

In case you are contemplating to join ForeverGreen, you must be aware of the fact that your MAIN FOCUS will not be to sell great products to people that want to buy and use them, but to recruit new members into the company.

These things are troubling me and reasons enough to stay away from MLM.

What's The Alternative?

As I said I'm not big on MLMs. I don't like them as a business model because you're usually chasing after people and a lot of the time it's your family and friends. And typically you're selling over priced products that people don't really want or need. So that just makes succeeding in that business even more difficult. And let's face it starting and succeeding in business is difficult enough. Fortunately I've learned how to make a full time livening online without having to resort to harassing my friends. In fact with my business, people come to me looking for what I have to offer and say. The fact you're on this site reading this review proves that. So if you want to learn how I earn money helping people that come to me, then I suggest you check out my #1 Top Free Work At Home Recommendation. It one of the main ways I earn money but I don't put all my eggs in one basket. I have multiple streams of income which I teach in my Work At Home Courses. So you may want to check them out as well so you have other streams of income too. The more different sources you have, the better.

Well that's all the yapping I have to do today. Now it's my favorite part of the show where you chime in down below in the comment section. So let me hear what you think of this opportunity.

Until next time my friends,

Eddy with a y.