NuSkin Review: Legitimate Business Opportunity or MLM Pyramid Scheme?


Links & ads you may click on this blog pay the bills & keep this site free for you. Thanks for supporting!

How-To-Make-Money-For-Helping-People-To-Improve-Their-Skin-With-NuSkinI'm blessed to have the “black don't crack” type of skin. It means that although I'm in my 40s I don't really look my age. Unfortunately not everyone's skin holds up well. So folks are always looking for ways to improve their skin. Apparently, there is no shortage of companies that claim they have the best products designed to improve your skin. But some take it to the next level and offer you a way to make money helping people improve their skin. NuSkin is one of these companies. If you've read all the NuSkin reviews and want to know what the truth is about this MLM, then you're on the right page. I'm warning you now, it's not pretty. But let's dive in!

What is NuSkin?

NuSkin is an international multi-level marketing company offering a comprehensive range of more than 200 anti-aging, personal care, and nutritional supplement products. NuSkin.com was started in 1984 by founders Blake Roney, Nedra Roney, Steve Lund, and Sandie, N. Tillotson. At the time of this review, they are accredited and highly rated with the Better Business Bureau.

How Do You Make Money with NuSkin?

Customers have the option to enroll as distributors to purchase products at wholesale cost and resell them to earn commissions. If you want to make money selling NuSkin, you can join by filling out an independent distributor application on their website and selecting an introductory package. These packages range from $150-$1,230.

The company may require you to spend over $100 every single month on product purchases. The company's website disclaimer states you don't have to purchase products to be a distributor but the application process asks you to select an introductory package. There may also be a $25 charge for the purchase of a business portfolio plus a $20 annual membership fee.

According to the company's compensation plan, distributors sell products and receive a 25% commission. There is also a 5% bonus that can be earned from consumers and distributors you personally enroll. You can qualify to become a Sales Network Executive by actively recruiting new distributors, which gives you access to additional bonuses and the ability to participate in the Leadership Bonus Pool. The compensation plan is quite lengthy and can be quite difficult to comprehend fully. Here is a basic breakdown of the active requirements for each NuSkin Distributor Level:

  • Distributor and Qualifying Executive Distributor: 5 Customers Sales each month and 200 L1 Product Sales Volume
  • Executive Distributor: 5 Monthly Customer Sales and 2,000 Group Sales Volume
  • Executive Leader: 200 L1 Product Sales Volume for 3 consecutive Months with 1,ooo GSV in Month 1, 1,500 GSV in Month 2, and 2,000 GSV in Month 3

The company also offers numerous other lifestyle and financial rewards as well. If you're like me and don't like deciphering complicated compensation plan, you might want to check out my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation as an alternative option. I promise you won't need to read a pdf to understand how much you make.

Other sites that make it easy to understand how much money you make with them are InBoxDollars.com, Swagbucks.com, and FusionCash.com or a survey company like SurveyJunkie.com.They are free to join and they will pay you to do what you already do online such as; reading emails, downloading apps and much more. How cool is that?

What I Like About NuSkin

Lots of Product Love: Customers online really seem to love the anti-aging products from NuSkin. People say the products help clear up and tighten their skin. The company also does an awesome job on their website explaining how their products work and what all the ingredients are.

Excellent BBB Rating: NuSkin has full accreditation plus an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. At the time of this review, there were only 7 complaints filed in the last three years.

Longevity: The company has been around for over 3 decades, which is reassuring and means they're in it for the long term.

What are the NuSkin Complaints?

Hard To Make A Full-Time Income!: Very few people (less than 3%) are making over $500 a month selling NuSkin. Plus, you may possibly have to order products that cost over $100 every month. Top it with business expenses and you can end up spending way more than you make. MLM are notoriously difficult to make money with. But the same can be said for most businesses. However, you can still make money by promoting well-known skin care or other types of products without an MLM. So you might want to check out my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation as an alternative.

Shady Business Dealings: NuSkin has been fined several times for deceptive business practices. They have been charged by the Federal Trade Commission with making multiple false product claims and running a pyramid scheme in China. The company is also not completely upfront about their distributor enrollment costs upfront on their website.

If that turned you off you may want to check out reputable sites such as InBoxDollars.com, Swagbucks.com, and FusionCash.com or SurveyJunkie.com which are free to join and have had more success stories over the past years.

Free Trial Shenanigan: According to certain online consumer complaints, people did not like the company's free trial offer promoted on Shark Tank. Customers say the company was not clear that they were supposed to cancel within 14 days for their “free” products. When the trial was complete, customers were unpleasantly charged $89. NuSkin will refund the charge if customers call to complain but it takes 4 days to actually get the money back.

So Is NuSkin a Scam or Not?

NuSkin doesn't seem to fully fit the bill to be called an MLM pyramid scheme or scam. The company does have products that its customers love, but its business opportunity will have you hard-pressed on making any real cash. It's more likely that you'll end up spending way more than you make because you have to purchase products every month and invest in sales and marketing materials.

In order to be successful, you will have to be incredibly passionate about the products and know how to sell them. Don't rely on the company showing you how to do that, however. Most MLM companies like NuSkin don't have a great system in place to teach you how to market your business. Their systems generally involve pestering the daylights out of your family and friends. You'll have to educate yourself on how to run a business and invest in courses to teach you these crucial skills.

If what you read wasn't intriguing you may want to check out InBoxDollars.com, Swagbucks.com, and FusionCash.com or a survey company like SurveyJunkie.com. The companies will pay you for performing simple tasks and giving your opinion on products and services that you already use. They have no commitment fees and definitely, you don't have to move around selling anything.

For a better chance at earning enough to truly pay your bills, you'll want to read my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation. Feel free to also check out My Work At Home Courses as well. Setting up multiple streams of income is truly the way to financial freedom.

But that's my two cents. I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment down below.

Until next time,

Eddy with a y

17 thoughts on “NuSkin Review: Legitimate Business Opportunity or MLM Pyramid Scheme?”

  1. I have joined NuSkin. It is great l. All you need is to buy one product. If you like the product you can tell everyone about it through social media and make money from that. So you do have a minimum spend. There’s no sign up costs either. Yes it’s technically MLM. But it’s not like most others. Every other one I know Nutrimetics, Arbonne etc, you have to buy all the products to do demos and to try make sales. With NuSkin, you just buy products you would use. And so what’s to lose? You get a product and you get it at wholesale price and it’s the same as buying from a shop. You don’t know if it’s any good. And the worst that happens is you bought some products and used them. A pyramid scheme is where you put money into it, in the hopes of getting money out and you don’t always get anything but you do always lose money. If you go to Myers and buy a lipstick and tell everyone how much you like it, 10 friends could go buy one too, except the only ones making money from it is the company. The sales girl makes the same hourly rate regardless of how many are sold. At least with NuSkin the person telling you how good the product is, is someone you know and trust and they get to make money off it. And people say if it was really good it would be in the shops. But that’s the brilliant thing about MLM’s like this one. They don’t sell in stores and they don’t advertise in magazines and on tv. So this is how they afford to pay their distributors a decent amount of money. And lastly if you’re someone who doesn’t have a lot of money, and you need a job. You can sign up no resume, no interview and all you have to do, is spend as little as $15 and 5 minutes a day online and you can start earning money.

    Reply
  2. This statement is out of date, the compensation plan has been changed since and there are no requirements as such to spend a fixed amount every month, distributors are paid weekly, and like any business, the more work you put in, the higher your commission. It’s not for everyone, but if one can see the bigger picture and understands what residual income means, then it is worth putting all your energy into it.

    Reply
    • I’m glad to hear they addressed that complaint. Hopefully they keep their noses clean and don’t engage in anymore shady business practices that got them in trouble with the FTC in the past.

  3. There’s actually more ways to make money with nuskin and you didn’t mention pharmanex along with their products. There is no cost to become a distributor and make money between retail and wholesale which you didn’t mention. You have to be on an add of at least 100 in order to receive a commission check from nuskin if you are working the mom side of it such as signing up other distributor’s so that’s really the only cost but is that so bad. Your getting a high quality product for yourself while doing business. You can’t sell a product to someone if you haven’t used it yourself. The products are top of the line. I had diabetes and reversed that by taking one of their products by pharmanex. Training is one’s own reaponsibility so I’d recommend a trip to Utah to actually see the busisness model and the science and money that goes into each product to ensure your safety and satisfaction. One of the best businesses out there period.

    Reply
  4. Thanks for the review. I hadn’t heard of Nuskin before today and now I feel like I have the in’s and out’s of what the company is about. It seems like a so- so way to make money but like you say there are better ways online. It is good to know that it is not an MLM scam, thanks for all the detail!

    Reply
  5. One of my aunts was in Newskin and made a little bit of money while she was in this business. I know from people in my family, that their products are really good. However, MLM is difficult, I must admit. I have been in a few MLM’s and never made much money. Perhaps I wasn’t patient enough. All I know is that I gave it my all. I would suggest to people who join MLM’s to make sure that, while they are building, that they have another source of income. Building a legit business takes time.

    Reply
    • Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree any business is hard which is why most people aren’t business owners. But the stats don’t really favor MLMs in terms of making money. When you read their income disclaimers and details, they even admit to this. But it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

  6. Hello
    I find it hard to believe that an established company such as NuSkin which already has a good reputation within the industry would consider tarnishing their name with these less than transparent dealings.
    With their experience it seems naive to endanger their business. I wonder why some established businesses feel they need to sink to the position of being considered scam when they have the expertise to have a successful and lucrative business.
    I suppose some people don’t know how to run a business without breaking some rules.
    Thanks for the review
    Jackie

    Reply
  7. Thanks for reviewing on NuSkin company and providing more insights about it. With what you have mentioned that they provide products to the consumers, so it’s not exactly a pyramid scheme, it’s just another direct selling company.
    My wife used to work for NuSkin company but not doing the MLM business. What she did was receiving calls and placing orders for those distributors at NuSkin Center. And she mentioned that some distributors did really get a high compensation in money value every month; but of course, those people put a lot of effort in promoting and selling the products plus getting new distributors to sign up for it.

    Reply
  8. Hi Eddy,

    I enjoyed your thorough review and I know some people personally who buy NuSkin products. My initial thought of the products (before reading your review) was that this company was definitely a MLM scam…

    But your review really shed some light on this. I agree with your point in how it’s not exactly a pyramid scheme because they do sell products that work although for a very high price.

    Reply
  9. Scam or not, these sorts of companies are basically selling snake oil to the desperate and scientifically illiterate.

    If these products worked as well as they claimed, they would be able to sell huge quantities through traditional retail outlets rather than using the MLM model.

    I’ll give this one a miss thanks!

    Reply
    • I hear what you’re saying Kristian. But even some of the products that are sold in traditional retail outlets aren’t all that great. So that doesn’t neccessarily mean that all those products are solid either.

    • Totally agree. If its a legitimate business why don’t they build the company through legal means and sell through retail? Very big red flag…. MLM is not a healthy for the society. Only desperate ones who need money or unrealistic young ppl would fall for it. Silly, imo

    • The MLM business model is legitimate as long as there is a real product that is being sold. So it’s not illegal. There are various ways to sell products. Just because it’s not in a big retail store doesn’t mean it’s illegal or doesn’t work. So I just wanted to make that distinction. I’m not a big fan of MLMs but it doesn’t mean its not a real business model that works for some people and companies.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.