One of my loyal subscribers Jennifer Truppa has been asking me to review this home based business, Scentsy, and I have to be honest I am like a bull in a china shop talking about this kind of thing. I tend to leave all of that feel good, smell good side of my life to the ladies in my house. But when you look at the business side of things I am back in my comfort zone. So I thought I'd take a look, so lets get to it.
Before we get into the nitty gritty details, I need to remind you we are talking about a business, and that means you are not just stamping the time clock each day and taking home a paycheck. With a business, you're the boss, you determine when you work and ultimately how much money you make. That being said, there are costs involved to start a business and there is a strong likelihood that initially your ROI isn't all that great if at all. But for the business minded people that are willing to stick through and work their business until they succeed, it can pay off many times over. Any of my loyal subscribers that have been following me long enough know I'm living proof of this with my affiliate marketing career. In any event now that we have that disclaimer out the way, let's get into how you can make money with this BUSINESS.
What is Scentsy
As I stated above this is a home based business, where you as a Independent Consultant sell their product. In this case the product is a wick-less scented warmers. You get the benefit of the scented candle without the flames, soot, smoke or fire hazard. (My sister and mother are notoriously known in my family for almost burning down their homes because of candles. lol) So that type of feature makes Scentsy “somewhat” different from other products out in the market which is a good start.
The scented warmers use a low watt little light that melts the fragrance wax. They claim these decorative warmers can be placed anywhere. But the reality is they can only be placed anywhere close to an outlet. Lol As usual with these kinds of businesses there are some extras, travel packs, air fresheners, scent of the month. You know the drill. These are the things that are allegedly suppose to keep customers coming back. For those of you scent lovers, here are some of their scent themes Corner Caf?, Scentsy Man, Spa ,Romance, and Tropical and even warmers with College colors.
Now that you know what Scentsy is, lets take a look at the business income opportunity you can get from this company.
What is the Scentsy business model?
This is a home based business that deals in direct sales. Independent Consultants sell the Scentsy products in various which include home parties, at fairs, craft shows, fundraisers and over the Internet. Although 12% of the orders and reorders take place online or by phone, most direct sales happen at home shopping parties. Depending on your personality these home parties can be a fun night out of trying out and choosing products with friends and family. This is what Tupperware and Pampered Chef have been doing for years and it's a model we know works if you're a social bug.
What makes a home party model a success is first getting a solid group of people to the party, and second to get most of those people to buy stuff. You know if you accept the invitation you are expected to buy something, and the presentations should hit that impulse buying streak we all have. For me my impulse buying happens at the electronic gadget stores, so we all fall victim. Home parties count on that.
What kind of income can you make with Scentsy?
You will earn a commission on all sales. You start off earning 20% on your direct sales and it goes up from there with bonuses from the sales of anyone you sponsor, which is the same model most home bases direct selling businesses use. They have eight levels of commission structure that include bonuses for how large and deep your team goes.
Here is a sneaky thing I discovered. As with most of these things, your income improves greatly from sponsoring others which I'm not mad at! You will make your own commissions, but getting a solid team together can really make you the real money. But here is the kicker. For you to earn on your referrals your own personal sales must be $500 a month and your combined team sales must be at least $1000. With people coming and going, getting your team active and selling will be an important part of your time. I personally think that sucks. But I understand that the company wants all their reps to be active but why does the threshold have to be so high?
Well that's pretty much the spiel for the income aspect. There is nothing really super complicated to grasp here. It can be a decent money maker if you work hard and have a good team. But let me just say this again. This isn't a job and just because you put in a 100 hours doesn't mean your earnings will reflect that. I know this terrifies most people with the worker bee mindset and that's fine. But if that's not you, just understand that this business like any business will build over time and sometimes it is hit or miss. You will run into dud parties, with no-shows and people with empty pocketbooks. So if delayed gratification bothers you, then direct sales or any business for that matter isn't for you.
When and how do you get paid?
Commission checks are mailed out on the 10th of each month. You must have earned at least $30 to get a check, otherwise they hold it over until the next month or until you reach $30. My loyal subscriber Jennifer sent me a copy of her commission checks, so I know they do actually pay you.
To remain an active Scentsy Consultant you must generate have placed a minimum $150 order every quarter. What that means in my language is at least one good solid home party 15 people buying one $10 product. Note this does not mean commissions, it means an order you place from a home party or one Internet order will have to be $150. You can't just do this once and awhile for fun, or only during the holiday season. This may be a con to many of you.
Are there start up costs?
Since this is a business and not a work at home job, yes there is a start up fee. But it's no where near what you would pay to start an offline business. It is only $99 (plus shipping and handling) for a starter kit. This consists of basic tools and fragrances that include 80 party size scent testers, order forms, business cards, a warmer, and a scent bar. They also give you a website free for three months, then they will charge you $10 a month. This website will have all the products and ordering portals built in, so that is worth the $10 for not having to deal with that headache with a capital H.
Might as well mention here, before getting involved in any of these home based businesses, a conversation with your tax professional might be in order because you are an Independent consultant not an employee. That involves handling taxes differently which we've already detailed in our work at home taxes article.
Do they offer any training to help you build your business?
Yes there is training, you get DVDs, downloadable training materials, Webinars and a training website full of information as well as newsletters. Much of your training will come from the sponsoring consultant you signed up with, who for the most part will be local and will be your personal connection to answer all your questions. I'm not a consultant so I'm hoping that the training they provide also includes Internet marketing so you can actually get people to your website if home parties and fairs aren't your things. Because any trained marketer will tell you just having a website isn't enough to make sales. But if you plan to go more the face to face route then this isn't as important.
Any more questions?
Chances are you have more questions. If so click here to read their FAQs.
Cons
– We all know by now that there is no perfect home based business, so there will be problems to be aware of before you decide if this is what you want. As such I've detailed some things that may rub folks the wrong way but may not necessarily be deal breakers. It's just stuff you should be aware of so you can make the right decision for you and not for the person merely trying to just recruit you into their team.
– With home parties being their biggest income producer, that means evenings and weekend afternoons out of the house. It might only be once a week, or if your business takes of a couple nights a week and this can run havoc with family life. Stay at home moms want to be free when their kids are free, and with a direct sell business, you will often be busy when the kids are home. Many folks handle this well, they develop a routine, but it is the downside of this thing.
– There will be paperwork involved in processing the orders you collect from a party. The consultant calculates the orders totals, adds the tax, shipping cost, etc. and then will have to enter everything into the Scentsy workstation online. This requires a super detailed brain and obsessive compulsive double checking. Although I would think having the website handles some of this stuff for non-party ordering. Individuals can pay extra to get their order shipped directly to their home, but for the most part an order is shipped to the host or the consultant, which adds another layer of paperwork and dealing with getting the orders to the people. If it were me, I would only have stuff delivered to the party host and keep me out of the pick-up and delivery headaches.lol At least with email, you won't have to get on the phone to tell everyone the orders are in. Realistically, all of this is part of the job, it is just the less fun part and I don't know of any job that does not have those less fun tasks
– Another downside would be that in order to make a sustainable income, you have to sponsor quite a few people, and on top of that you will not do well if you live in an area where there already are quite a few Scentsy consultants or in an area that is isolated and far from hustle and bustle so your crowd to sell to is limited.
– This next one is turning into a big problem is some areas. They only let one consultant go to local fairs and craft shows, and it is first come first served. In the summer months lots of communities have weekly farmers markets or garden walks and such and these are just the place to set up a booth and either take orders or buy stock ahead of time to sell. If you live in an area with several other consultants, only one of them can be at these things at a time. I read quite a few moanings and groanings about this policy. But I honestly know quite a few people who set up booths as places like this and unless you are selling food, or it is a Christmas Bazaar the sales do not always match the cost of the booth. So take this for what it is worth.
– If you're anything like me when you first read about their product you thought to yourself, what's stopping folks from going to their local WalMart, Kmart, Target and finding similar products that are cheaper? Furthermore you have big brands like Yankee Candles to contend with, so what's your value add with this business?
– I am trying to figure out if this is a con or not, but any advertising you do and if you create a separate website to promote sales, it all must be approved by the home office. On one hand they are monitoring quality, but on the other I know in order to boost the ranking of a website quite a few blog posts, articles will need to be written and to me it will be a hassle to get them approved first before I submit them to Ezine or put it on my blog.
– It seems to me this is a business that will be seasonal in nature. I have a hunch most sales come in the fall as people use these for gifts. I'm not saying there aren't scent warmet parties in the spring (Mother's Day) and summer, but in general the fall will be your busy time. This is true of any retail business, but for those looking for sustainable income throughout the year, it might pose a problem.
I know at first glance there seems to be a lot of “cons” mentioned. But honestly there wasn't a lot of bite to any of the stuff I listed above. But it's always good to point out some things that may give you pause. This way you can make an informed decision that isn't just based on all the sweet stuff you might be reading out there. That being said it's not a knock on the company.
So Is Scentsy a scam?
Well let's look at the data about this company. They have a real product that is selling, not only in the United States but in Puerto Rico, Guam, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom as well. The Scentsy company was started in 2004 and has grown at a steady pace since then.They have distributions centers in several locations to help ship the goods. They are a member of DSA Direct Selling Association and as members you need to uphold certain business and marketing criteria. This also provides customers an avenue for complaint resolution. For those who care, their BBB rating is an “A ” which you can take or leave if you feel the BBB is the end all of determining the legitimacy of a company.
Something else I liked was the fact you can't just go to the main website and buy a Scentsy warmer, or air freshener. The company will refer you to one of their consultants in your area to place the order. This tells me the company supports their consultants by actively pushing sales to their consultants instead of taking them out of the equation. That is just good business and keeps your consultants happy campers!
So based on all these data points and the feedback I've gotten from some of my loyal subscribers I don't think this company is a scam. Like any company it has a few cons that may not sit well with certain people. But that's just life. You can't please everyone. I give away free information and I still have people bitching and moaning to me that I'm a scam, etc. etc. It's just how some people roll. At the end of the day you just have determine if what you've read about this company fits your goals and comfort levels. If so it seems safe to give it a shot. Either way I look forward to hearing your comments below.
By the way if running a home business isn't your cup of tea, you might be interested in some of our free traditional work from home job leads or my personal recommendations: Work from Home Jobs – My Work At Home recommendations.
Great review! Balanced and fair.
I`m a newish (since Dec, 2011) consultant with Scentsy, in a small province in Canada, and I`ve been pleasantly suprised at how fun it is.
I`m a professional nurse, by trade, but currently on Maternity leave with our second son, so I decided to start a small, part time business, after falling in love with the products.
One of the biggest selling points you have missed is the temperature of the wax. The lightbulb warms the wax to just above body temperature…you can actually stick your finger in it, and it will not burn!
Before finding Scentsy, I could not have candles in our home, as our 5 year old son has Autism, and would try to put his finger in the flame, and being non-verbal, we coulden`t tell him not to. Now, he will occasionally touch the wax, is not hurt, and his curiosity is satiated.
I agree with some of the writers, Scentsy does really sell itself, if you can get people to smell it and try it. My biggest challenge is getting people to try it. Because of bad publicity, and horrible images of high-pressure sales, trying to get people to book home parties is difficult.
So I`m excersizing patience, and building my customer base one at a time. Once people fall in love with Scentsy, then they trust you, and are willing to have those parties.
Scentsy is really great, and can absolutely work, if you`re willing to put in the time and effort to build a customer base.
Rachel L.
Hey Rachel,
Thanks for sharing more insight about the actual product. Maybe what you’ve listed is the unique selling proposition that will give reps an edge.
So thanks for pointing that out.
I have purchased Scentsy warmers and the only thing I can say I don’t like is the scent does not last. Meaning if you burn a candle shut-off the warmer and turn it back on the smell is gone. The number of candle squares you go through is not worth it. I will never purchase another.
I think that some people believe Scentsy sounds too good to be true and thats what I would think… Only Im a Superstar Director with Scentsy after only 23 months.Its the easiest thing I havent really tried to hard to sell So I happen to think its an amazing opportunity and I love blessing peoples lives by offering them the opportunity to change theirs
Sincerely,
Sonya Menefee
It’s wonderful that you’ve had such great success with it but I would never describe sales easy especially for a newbie. Sales becomes easier when you have a product that sells itself or you start treating it like customer service where you’re there to solve a person’s problem not sell something to make you money. That’s how the best salespeople thrive in sales. But it’ something that takes time and is not easy.
That’s one of the best things about Scentsy (I am a consultant), it does sell itself. Scentsy is not my primary income but I do, at most, one party a month (and an occasional “basket” AKA catalog party) and earned a nice supplemental income last year. Once people try it or see it somewhere else they find you to buy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts although I don’t necessarily agree with all your points.
A main problem is that people go into significant debt with frontloading new consultants. Second, when a consultant recruits a new team member, usually it’s one of their customers, so now they lose them as a buyer of product. Reality check…that new team member will quit within a year and won’t come back as your customer. Third, ebay has hundreds of Scentsy products at half of the retail and Craigslist has more. Why buy from a consultant when I can do it so easily online? It may not be a scam, but it’s not real business either.
yes, you can find the items on Ebay and Craigslist but often they are selling the items for more than you would pay a consultant (I found this out when I was a customer before becoming a consultant)
“To remain an active Scentsy Consultant you must generate have placed a minimum $150 order every quarter. What that means in my language is at least one good solid home party 15 people buying one $10 product. Note this does not mean commissions, it means an order you place from a home party or one Internet order will have to be $150. You can’t just do this once and awhile for fun, or only during the holiday season. This may be a con to many of you. ” You no longer have to place a 150$ order, or any amount by any set time. 🙂 Which means YOU can easily be a seasonal consultant or just do it for fun 🙂
Nice change to the policy. Thanks for the update!
I just came across ConsumerSay Panel. It’s not listed as one of your recommended sites, is it a scam?
S. Jenkins
It sounds familiar. Try following the steps in our scam video to determine what people are saying about this company:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams
I have my own Scentsy business. I do have to say that I am not a people person and I do not enjoy home parties. One thing I like about Scentsy is that I do not have to do home parties.
Much of my income comes from doing basket parties, in which I give my “host” a few catalogs and order forms along with a sample of each item. I have one each of the large warmer, medium warmer, plug in warmer, Scentsy Buddy, etc. I also give them a pouch full of the current scents so they can choose their scents. They are given a week to bring everything back to me.
The nice thing about a basket party is that there is no pressure to buy. The consultant is not standing there urging you to purchase anything in a given amount of time. What the people buy is based upon their own likes and dislikes.
Most of my basket parties end up doing $500.00. My commission is usually $120.00. That’s great income for handing out a basket full of stuff. Most clients come back to me when they need more scents because Scentsy guarantees their scents to last. And they do.
I like having all the orders shipped directly to me. This way I know if something is missing or needs to be replaced. I can also add my business card or a catalog to those orders to generate more business. If you have the order shipped to the host, you are giving them more work and risking a chance to lose them as customers, not to mention losing the ability to generate more income without the business card.
I have done other businesses like this in the past. Scentsy has been the best and easiest business for me so far.
Sincerely,
Kimberlee Bowlin
Kim,
Thanks for sharing your experience and how you make sales with the company. That approach sounds a lot more feasible for all of us!
how do the people pay?
You can’t be serious? Read the article above we talk about this. Wow!
Its helpful,, thanks for sharing..
You’re welcome.
Fusion Cash is real and why I promote it and we wrote a review for it here:
https://www.workathomenoscams.com/2007/08/27/is-fusion-cash-fusioncashcom-a-scam/
That being said I agree that most ads are shady and that’s anywhere not just clixsense. But that’s why it’s always important to do your research because sometimes there are some good things out there. But it’s better to assume the worst and then do your research to confirm your suspicions.
Hey I heard you do the voice for this ad for fusion cash. I saw if on clixsense. That kind of makes me wonder, if fusion cash is real because 98% if clixsene ads are scams….
Scentsy really does look like a reputable company. The only problem I would have with it, is there aren’t many people in my area who would be interested in purchasing the products from this company. For the people here, if you want perfume or a room freshener you just go to Target. Also, it looks like even Scentsy addicts would just buy online instead of waiting for a rep to pass through town. I wish more people were interested, because it looks like a good business.
Tara, that’s definitely a concern I had with this business as well. But that’s a concern with a lot of businesses and people still succeed.
Hi Tara! That is a definite concern for Scentsy consultants. However, the great thing about Scentsy is that it is a MUCH better product than the ones offered at Target or Walmart etc. There are also a lot more scents to choose from and styles of warmers than offered anywhere else. Another great thing is how long the Scentsy products last. You can buy a 6 pack of Scentsy Bars for $25 and it will last over 400 hours. A $25 jar candle lasts just 150 hours.
As for Scentsy addicts: they normally just order right from the consultants website. When customers are ready to order again and don’t have time for a “party” they just go straight there and place their orders. I have numerous customers who order from my site once a month to get the newest scents or to refill on their favorites. I hope that helps! 🙂
Great points Jennifer. I just think as a consultant you have to be able to do a great job of convincing people that the products are actually “better”. If they do last longer than most scent products out in target or walmart then that’s a great selling point.
Hi! I’ve been a scentsy consultant for only 6 months and the reason I started selling it to begin with is because of how well it really works. I decided to have a party last november just out of intrest from other people’s experience with it. I had been spending easily $30 a month on regular plug ins that didn’t work. So, within a month I had scentsy warmer in every room in my house and just about every person that walked into my house was telling me how amazing it smelled. within 2 months of having my first party, I decided that this product really proved itself. I was no longer spending the $30 a month, I was spending MAYBE $15 depending how often I decided to change scents. My friends and family were all raving about how awesome this product really is. I decided to sign up to be a consultant because there is no need to have to try and convince someone to buy this product. it fully sells itself. I would have never had any interest in becoming part of a direct selling company but this product was definentely worth it.
I now tell everyone I know about scentsy’s products. Not just because I’m hoping to make a sell, but because I know this amazing product that has worked so well for me and I know it will work for other people too. My fiance is even impressed with it. I’ve over heard him telling his friends about how well it works. The funniest part is, I have more males comment on how great it smells and works then anything.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I like this way of selling because it’s not selling. It’s helping people and folks are asking you about the stuff. So I applaud you!
I’ve gotten a lot of customers who tried the Wal-Mart knockoffs then came across Scentsy and liked it much more. They say the other brands don’t last long and sometimes smell scorched. You don’t really have to convince folks. They aren’t stupid and will judge for themselves through experience.
I have a few other tips for these type of work at home businesses that I have run into with friends that are consultants for other companies.You had mentioned about the issue of family life… For that problem, my one friend’s kids who were 6-10 yrs old, invited any other parent attending the party to bring along their kids as well, and they basically set up a kids party in the basement recreation room of the house while the parents had their Wildtree party upstairs. Also, in other articles you mention multiple streams of income, and the same holds true with some of these companies… If you know your major demographic for, say, Scentsy is women ages 20-70, you may think about other consultant businesses that also fit that demographic. You don’t want to interfere with your Scentsy sales, so don’t find some other candle / scents business, but rather branch out to another product type that women tend to purchase, like Mary Kay cosmetics. There is also the added benefit of creating a blog / website for your target demographic (write a women’s e-zine type of blog that discusses fashion, men, etc.) and then advertise your own items on that site (so have a banner for Scentsy and another for Mary Kay). Alternatively if your spouse /sig other also wants to get involved in the action, you can broaden your demographic range by having the women in one room doing the Scentsy party, and the guys in a different room doing a a party for grilling spices or travel clubs etc. Make sure if you do want to be a consultant for other companies as well that you make sure none have some type of non-compete clause that prevents you from being a consultant for more than one company.
Great advice Larry!!! Thanks for chiming in!
Another great review (and another I shared everyplace!) Keep it going!
Thanks Corissa!
Great review Eddy! Thanks for looking into it and posting on your site! 🙂
Thanks Jenn! It happened because of your persistence and help! So thank you. =)