There has been lot of talk about Organo Gold online as one of the great opportunities to build a legitimate home based business. Organo Gold is mainly coffee made with some ingredient called Ganoderma that come from some special mushrooms.
They also produce hot chocolate and herbal supplement products. But the coffee is what is used to grab your attention and pull you into the business. They have a slick sales line….. everyone drinks coffee right? (I don't! Yuk. lol) Their business model is an MLM. If you read my recent review of SkinnyBodyCare you already know my thoughts on MLMs. But it's probably worth mentioning some things again. For an MLM to work successful it has to be centered around a real product line people ACTUALLY want and desire. There isn't a huge demand for fancy tooth paste or vitamins made from some magic twig. But coffee is a whole other ball game. Coffee is literally a drug that a lot of people can't live without and is a billion dollar industry. So on paper a coffee product line makes ‘cents', literally! But let's dig deeper.
How does the Organo Gold business work?
You join under another member and they are your sponsor. There are all kinds of video to watch and training material to read, and even face to face meeting scheduled all over the place. Then you buy the product starter pack at wholesale pricing. By the way, if you recruit others (which is obviously encouraged) you can receive a $20 bonus when someone you sign up buys a starter pack.
In any event, once you have received your starter pack you can get out there and start selling the coffee at retails prices to companies and individuals. At the time of this review they do not allow you to mark up the prices higher than 50%. So if you paid $20 for a bag of coffee you can't sell it for more than $30. So that is your first step to profit the old fashioned way. You want to build a customer base and get these folks coming back to you again and again for their coffee needs. Then eventually you may try to sell them on the herbal supplements. That's probably a lot harder than the coffee but it could be another source of revenue if you can manage it.
Okay that portion of the compenation plan is pretty straight forward. But of course like most home based sales businesses using a MLM model there are other ways to make money that are a bit more convoluted to simple simons like myself. Bear with me as I try to explain it. First the basic MLM model has a binary structure, which is two teams under you, like having a right and a left leg. I am not sure how many people are on a team, but commissions are paid based on the % of the total volume of monthly sales from each team. Only thing is, they take the two totals of each team and pay you the LOWER %. So if you have a get up an go team and a lazy slow team, you lose out. You get referrals mostly on your own, but your supervisor can add people to your teams to help build their downline and it helps you out too.
Over all there are seven different ways to earn: Fast start commissions, retail profits, dual team bonuses (mentioned above), uni-level bonus's, uni-level matching bonus, generational bonus, and the companies global bonus pool. Of course they make it vague until you get on the band wagon, but you can read more about the seven levels here. I think the commissions from the down line would be the most common, but the others look more like bonus money for sales volume or signing new people up or when they order a started pack.
How much will it cost to get started?
At the time of this review, It is $49 to join and then you have three choices of starter packs to buy, $199 for Bronze, $499 for silver and Gold for $1,295. This may change by the time you read this or they may have specials.
How much can I earn with Organo Gold?
Most websites we found sell the main coffees for $25 for 30 packs. They do have brewed filter packs for about $50 where you get 10. So if it is 50% mark up your profit would be about $8. Herbal green teas are $32 for 25 packs ($11 profit) and Hot Chocolate is $29 for 15 packs ($9 profit). I'm not very strong at math so I could be off with my numbers. But just keep in mind the 50% mark up limit that is imposed so whatever you buy it for you can sell at mark up no greater than 50%.
When you recruit others into the business and depending on the package they choose, you obviously get a bonus. For the bronze package you earn $20, for the Silver you get $80 and for the Gold you receive $150.
Some would argue to make a living from this, there is more profit from bringing people in and getting them to buy those starter packs than selling the coffee which doesn't make you a lot of money initially. But people that drink coffee tend to do so for life, so if the coffee is really that good to your customers you have them for life which can amount to a lot of money especially if you have a lot of these customers. So it's feasible.
How do you get paid?
I honestly could not find anything, even in the forums that talked about that, but from previous experience with home based businesses, I can figure it will probably be a monthly check. If you're a member feel free to fill in the rest of the blanks like when, etc.
How do you join?
You have to join through a distributor, the main website does not have any links for Join Now. But before you do that, you really need to keep reading, as I have some serious reservations about this opportunity for the reasons I go into below.
Cons
I don't care what they say, it's COFFEE and coffee can be bought everywhere. The grocery store, Walmart will meet your daily caffeine need. And if you're fancy huh, walking by the local coffees shops can get you the gourmet flavors you just gotta have. So why the hell would anyone want to go to a coffee home party or listen to a spiel about ‘herbal' coffee that costs a whole lot more than what you can get with little or no effort on your own? Maybe their marketing and training addresses this but from my perspective this would be the biggest hurdle to over come!
$25 for 30 cups of INSTANT COFFEE with MUSHROOM herbs?????? The ground filters, you get 10 of them but they only make half a pot so it is really 5 pots of coffee. I did some quick math in my head. Ok let me stop fronting, I used the calculator on my computer. It looks like it would cost someone about $10 a DAY for this coffee. Now that might not make you bat an eye if you buy a lot of gourmet coffee from Starbucks on a daily basis. $10 may be a bargain. But for others they can buy a bag of coffee from their super market that can last them for weeks and gets the job done. So the math may not add up to the people you're trying to target.
During our research we discovered several complaints that the coffee had a weird odor and bad taste. Hopefully they were isolated issues and not the norm. But if they are real concern it's going to be rough getting repeat customers especially when you couple the whole higher price stuff.
The investment aspect is something that may give you pause. But that's not unique to this business. Any business there is an inherit risk that you'll lose money and time. It comes with the territory. If that scares you, you're not built for this business or any business for that matter. The problem with this opportunity is that you may have unsold product in your home that you better be okay consuming yourself especially at $200 at the lowest starter pack.
Why would you hook supplements to coffee as a marketing plan? Honestly how many people do you know that are religious about vitamins or actual take them? I would dare to say you probably don't know a lot of people. And again if you do, most of us buy our vitamins from places like your supermarket, Target, CVS, Amazon, etc. (I personally love my gummy Adult multivitamins from Target. Yes they have gummy ones for adults. Don't judge me! LOL) So this is basically the same argument that we have about people being able to readily buy coffee anywhere at lower prices. I applaud them for trying to have a diverse product line which is the hallmark of a good MLM. But herbal supplements? Really, Organo? Really?
Be brutally honest with yourself! To be successful at this or any business, training and your attitude will have be up to snuff. Without these two things you're dead in the water! Trying to start and run any business is extremely hard work! Initially there are many long hours with no guaranteed profits and you need to be comfortable with that. There is a level of delayed gratification that is required that most of us don't have because we have an employee mentality or quite frankly just have bills to pay right away. This means you need money sooner than later so you don't really have the luxury to invest the time and energy necessary to make your business successful. If that's you, then this business or any business isn't for you. You need to focus on a work at home job (We list them there daily.) or some of my other non-traditional sources of income at home.
Furthermore with this type of business you need to LIKE going out in public and interacting with folks so you can get a sale. And you need to be good at it. It's not like affiliate marketing where because of the Training I received, NOW I can literally write an article and make money in the comfort of my boxers without ever having to see anyone. Granted now I've learned how to reach thousands of people on my sites because of training. But with an MLM you really need to hit those streets to make this work for you. I know myself very well. I've been with me for 30+ years. I'm not really one for chit chatting with strangers in person. It's The Bronx in me. lol But I have no problems interacting with folks online via email, video or an article. Affiliate marketing isn't easy especially when you lack training but it's EASIER than being out on the streets convincing people to buy coffee or herbal supplements they could probably get locally.
With all that said, let's be clear. If you are an outgoing person and assuming they have very good training it might be a feasible business even with the other cons I mentioned above. But you just have to be honest with yourself and determine if you're the right fit for this type of business.
So is Organo Coffee a legit?
I don't think the company is a scam! But I read a lot about people expecting it to go belly up since the market is saturated and new people have a hard time getting customers while the originals reap in the benefits. I can't say one way or another but from what I know of coffee drinkers they tend to stick to the brands they know and love. I liken it to cola. I can drink a Pepsi or Coca Cola provided you add some Jack to it. lol But my wife is a die hard Pepsi person. You try to give her a Coke and she may spit it back in your face. (Just saying.) Some people are like that with their coffee. So you have to keep that in mind. Again I'm not saying it's impossible to convert people. It is and there seem to be reps that are doing it. However it's going to be tough but every business is. So what does that say?
Anyway, I know you Organo Gold folks might have something to add to this review, and may-be I missed something you can enlighten me about, so lets talk about it! I'm always willing to learn something new. But keep it professional. Sometimes reps of companies get in a hissy fit if you point out some cons as if doing so makes the company totally bad which it doesn't. So please keep that in mind before you decide to get all sensitive on me. Bad mouthing me isn't going to help your cause. Just state your own experience and facts. Thanks in advance. =)
In any event, if starting a business isn't really your cup of coffee (pun intended.) we list traditional jobs daily here If you want to know when new jobs are posted, interested in avoiding scams or just want to know when I review another company that may make you money, be sure to sign up as a subscriber It's totally free and I guarantee you'll either make money because of it or avoid losing it. Either way you're ‘Sheening', Winning!
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Hi Eddy,
I have been in Organo Gold for some time now, but as I was a Diamond in another mlm (that went belly up btw ) My wife and I decided to give this a shot. I see you don’t drink coffee. My wife enjoys tea, hence the name of our business Coffeeandteaguru. Organo Gold has some wonderful tea products as well, and they pay us with a debit card that gets loaded into our account as we sell products, or sponsor people this can be daily. As you said this is a business and it takes hard work to build a business, but thanks to online marketing I no longer have to draw circles at meetings to gain new prospects, I would say 95% of the people that buy coffee or enter into business with me is from my online marketing. After all I only have so many family and friends and who wants to be the person at the Holiday Dinner that everyone whispers stay away from Brent he will try to get you into that Coffee business of his. lol Coffee is the second largest traded commodity next to oil, Organo Gold is now in 37 different countries. Here is a little information about Ganoderma The herb that is added to Organo Gold coffee and tea products which I think is pretty ingenious since I Hate to take pills. So I can get my healthy dose with my coffee or tea fix.
For over 4000 years Ganoderma Lucidum has been recognized by Chinese medical professionals as the highest ranked of all herbs found in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The Chinese name for Ganoderma is Lingzhi, means “spiritual potency”.
The Japanese name for Ganoderma is Reishi and is regarded as the King of Herbs.
Do not get fooled by cheaper imitations or artificial Gannoderma.
OrGano Gold is the only Company in North America who has partnered with the largest 100% Certified OrGanic Ganoderma plantations in the world to bring this “Treasure of Life” to the people of the world. OrGano Gold and its partners celebrated the groundbreaking of their $240 million Gano Herb Industrial Park, making it the largest in the world.
So Thank You for letting me share my thoughts if you Google Ganoderma all the healthy benefits will pop up . And if you ever change your mind and want to try some of our Tea let me know
Thank You,
Brent
Hey Brent,
Thanks for chiming in. Sorry to hear about the other MLM. I can’t say I’m surprised though. But that’s another story. I definitely know Organo is a legit company. I have a close friend that is doing very well with it. I like it because you’re selling a product that people want and are damn near hooked on like crack. lol
So it totally makes sense because of the nature of the product. I’m very impressed that you’ve learned to use online marketing to thrive with your business. That’s the way I like doing business too. I don’t want to hunt down family and friends. I want people coming to me that want what I have. So great job adjusting your MLM business to function that way rather than the other nonsense I see people engaged in.
I wish you continued success with this. I’m happy with my business and what I promote. But I am curious to see how you’ve made this all work online. So I may hit you up just on that. By the way I’ve actually used the Organo toothpaste when I had some toothache and it worked like a charm. So I do believe there is some merit to the ingredients.
Keep up the good work.
You’re welcome! Thanks.
Thank Eddy,
Here’s the website
http://www.edwardsgold.organogold.com
Hey Big Phil,
Thanks for chiming in. I have to agree with most of what you said. Knowing yourself and comfort level is key to succeed in any business. You have to know what you’re comfortable doing and what you’re not. Then play on your strengths. Sometimes you’ll be put in uncomfortable situations but that’s how you grow. But in situations like this where you can pick the business, I say go with one that aligns with your comfort level.
But it’s good to hear the product is solid. That seems to be the consensus and that’s key to success! Believing and using the product helps a lot as well. Because it will help you approach so you don’t come off a salesperson. It’s more like having a discussion with people and folks are fine with that especially if the topic being discussed relates to them.
So ultimately I think if you approach it the right way you can be successful.
Thanks for chiming in buddy!
Thought I’d chime in on this topic since Brian Rooney has been going nuts with this coffee business for the last few months. I’ve known Brian for a few years now and I actually purchased some coffee from him a couple years ago. The coffee really isn’t all that bad. Although I didn’t drink it for the health benefit’s I think it really is a selling point to a society that often needs alternatives to their addictions. Much like smoking alternatives.
As a business. You really have to know your comfort level. I personally don’t feel comfortable calling people on the phone trying convince them to join any sort of business ( or buy the best product in the world ). I like this internet thingy. Although I don’t mind talking on the phone, I have not so fond memories of constant telemarketers and salespeople. I just don’t wanna be one of those people.
Honestly, I think that Organo Gold is a decent product for those looking for a “possible” healthier alternative to coffee. As far as the business aspect of it goes…. if you believe in the product and use the product, then go for it!
I’m going to pass, only because I know I’m not going to put the effort or time into this.
Phil ( is it Summer yet? ) Ames
Like Jedwards8999, I, too, am an Organo Gold rep. My anniversary was a few weeks ago. I thought Jedwards8999 did a great job of summarizing the opporttunity and its challenges. When I joined the business, I had a long term outlook and no illusions of immediate grandeur and $$, so my expectations are more long term. With that approach and a steady persistence, our organization is growing nicely. However, it has not been without challenges, which is to be expected in any business that one tries to grow and build. Eddy, the article is timely and very informative.
Thanks for chiming in! How long have you been with the company now? What are or were the major challenges you faced and how did you get pass them? Is this a major source of income for you now?
Man, I wish all reps for various companies were like you. Reps for other business please take notes. You did a great job of sharing a balanced experienced about this company. Makes me want to join! lol
But I love how you kept it real. I agree with a lot of your observations in terms of the mind set and approaches to succeed with this or any business for that matter. You’ve given some great advice. I don’t really allow this. But I think you’ve done such a great job in providing some real insight, that I would love for you to include your website address in your comment so folks can contact you for more details.
Reps like you need to be rewarded. Great job and thanks for the further insight!
Eddy,
I have to say that being a member of Organo-Gold for over a year now.I have been waiting for this moment when this subject came up and you offered a very fair and realistic view. I will say that a lot of people have been successful with this product, while others have not. There is a competitor called Serenigy which claims the same thing with the same result, different taste with the claim of a better product. I think it’s a personal preference for any person with what they want to do.
As regards to compensation they are a word of mouth company expanding pretty fast in other countries, they are Canada and Mexico. They have national events in different cities and they have quite the following especially members such as Danny Glover, Rod Smith and Terrell Davis from the Denver Broncos. They electrify people to join and will try their best to help you succeed especially Rod, which I got to work with personally. He’s very passionate about the product and how its helped him and his family and there is nothing that will sway him differently.
You may wonder why I have not continued gun hoe with all the support they provide. For me, it was finding the right people like me that really wanted to do with the same passion. Some people don’t see the bigger picture and want instant gratification or get rich quick but I am not like that it. Anything that worth having is worth working hard for. The compensation has a range from 20-over 100 when you sign up anyone.
I feel to that it’s about who you know that can make you successful. If you know a lot of people who are into coffee and spend a lot on Starbucks you can give them a healthier alternative. If you know someone into health and wellness you can get them hooked on that. Its all about belief in the products and if you’ve tried them all you are in a better position to say what its like when someone asks you, so you don’t have to lie. Its also a mindset thing. If you are a go getter and ask this question: ” Do you or someone you know drink or tea at least occasionally?” The hook is automatically a yes because everyone knows someone that drinks one of the 2 items.
There are some that say that may not like the idea of sitting down and drinking coffee at someones home which I think is strange because they will at a tupperware, jewelry, Mary Kay and ect party. The coffee is good plain but if you add you favorite creamer it’s even better in my opinion. Anyone that wants a sample Ill mail one to you.(that the hook, LOL) But overall is that you over think this there will be some frustration but if you follow the plan with the right leadership it could supplement an income and time be the job you least expect or it can be the worst thing you’ve ever done.(which is very unlikely but everyone is different)
My opinion is try a free sample and with the right amount of hot water if its instant if its filter that a different thing. If you like it and you think you could present the product to other people great, if you just want to drink it great. If you dont like it and see that there is nothing that can change you mind great, it’s not for everyone. I think that my take. If anyone has any question talk to a rep in the area or ask me because Ill tell it straight and not try to force it down your throat. It all about making informed decisions that will make you sink or swim.
But once again Eddy thanks for giving a good overall view and not classifying it as a scam because as far i can see it’s not. I respect your view and think the article is pretty much dead on with a only a few minor details not stated but doesnt make or break someone from at least trying the product. I have made pretty decent money but had other things in the fire that made me more money right then when I started. I wouldn’t give some a full endorsement until they tried the product and been to a meeting. If you see the vision and the compensation then it may be a good fit. Its all to the person. Hopefully I wasn’t to wordy but I need to throw my 3 cents.