Arbonne International is an MLM company which sells beauty, health, and wellbeing products.
Arbonne products are available through an extensive network of direct sellers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, as well as at Arbonne.com.
So let’s examine furthermore about the direct selling compensation plan and products of Arbonne International. And at the end, we will share our opinion on it.
| Founder | Petter Morck |
| When Started | 1975 |
| Head Office | Irvine, California |
| Opportunity Type | MLM |
| Products | Beauty, Health and Wellbeing |
| Website | arbonne.com |
| Joining Cost | $49 |
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What is Arbonne?
Arbonne was founded in 1975, in Switzerland by Petter Morck.
Morck died in 2008 and Kay Napier is the current CEO of Arbonne International. Arbonne’s head office is located in Irvine, California.
Arbonne creates personal care, wellness, and beauty products using innovative science and research.
Similarweb stats show that most of the traffic to www.arbonne.com is from the United States (82.54%), Canada (8.73%), and the United Kingdom (2.41%).
Arbonne claims that its mission is to empower people to flourish with sustainable healthy living.
According to the Income Disclosure statement (2020) of Arbonne US, an average Independent Consultant (entry rank distributors) earns $206 yearly from Arbonne.
In 2020, Arbonne’s annual sales were $847 million and ranked 22 among the top direct-selling companies by DSN.
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Arbonne Joining Process
To join Arbonne one needs to be an Independent Consultant or a Preferred Client.
Preferred Client
Normal customers are called Clients while Preferred Client needs to pay $29 as a startup fee. Preferred Client can receive a 20% to 40% discount on Arbonne products’ retail price.
Independent Consultant
Arbonne called its distributors Independent Consultants. The sign-up fee to become an Independent Consultant is $49 and the annual renewal fee is $29.
Consultants can sell products to clients and preferred clients to earn a retail commission. They can also recruit new consultants in their downline.
Arbonne Products
Arbonne markets different categories of products such as.
- Wellness Products: Protein shakes, snacks, clean & detox tea, de-stress powder, weight management (appetite control) supplements, sports nutrition, skin elixir collagen builder.
- Skincare Products: Age-well kits, moisturizers, creams, cleansers, oils, face & eye masks, serums, toners.
- Makeup: Concealer, sunscreen, serums, lipsticks, creams, powders, makeup accessories.
Arbonne claims that their products are formulated Vegan, Cruelty-Free and Gluten-free.
Arbonne also mentioned that they innovate products using premium plant-based ingredients grounded in science and clinical research with high standards for safety.
Customers’ reviews on the products seem average for product quality and negative when it comes to services. Arbonne products are on the expensive side which is a common trait of most MLM companies.
Arbonne has 90 days return policy on its products.
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Arbonne Distributor Ranks
Arbonne uses different units to calculate qualifications and incentives that are:
- QV (Qualifying Volume): Every Arbonne product carries a designated QV which is used to calculate different incomes and are given with every purchase.
- PQV (Personal Qualifying Volume): It is the QV achieved personal purchase by an Arbonne consultant.
- SLQV (SuccessLine Qualifying Volume): SLQV is the sum of consultant and their downline’s PQV.
- RV (Retail Volume): All Arbonne products carry a fixed RV value by which incentives are calculated.
- OV (Override volume): It is 65% of RV and it is used to calculate override commissions.
- Pick-Up Credit: It is the volume credit that is used to calculate qualification ranks. When 1st Generation member promotes to a higher rank then consultant can apply for a pick-up credit
Arbonne has certain ranks for distributors to achieve with different criteria.
1. Independent Consultant
The first rank of Arbonne is Consultant. To be an Arbonne Consultant, one needs to complete the distributor application process.
2. District Manager
New consultants can achieve District Manager rank in one, two, or three months by maintaining the required PQV and SQLV for consecutive months.
The below table shows the requirements that need to fulfill.
District Manager need 2,500 QV from central district every month to maintain the rank. Central includes QV from the purchase of self, clients, preferred clients and downline consultant.
3. Area Manager
Consultants can achieve the Area Manager rank in two or three months by maintaining the required PQV and SQLV for consecutive months.
The below table shows the requirements that need to fulfill.
If distributors have any 1st Generation District Managers who are already paid-as Area Manager or above, then the distributor can apply a 2,500 QV pick-up credit.
10,000 QV product purchases every month from central is this rank maintenance requirement.
4. Regional Vice President
Consultants can achieve District Manager rank in one, two or three months by maintaining required PQV, SQLV and QV from Central Area for consecutive months.
The below table shows the requirements that need to achieve.
Regional Vice President needs to achieve 40,000 QV from central every month to maintain rank.
5. National Vice President
Consultants can achieve the National Vice President rank in two or three months by maintaining the required PQV, SQLV and QV from Central for consecutive months.
The below table shows the requirements that need to achieve.
160,000 QV from central is required to maintain this rank.
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Arbonne Compensation Plan
Arbonne distributors earn incomes in 4 ways.
- Client Commission
- Overrides Commission
- Mercedes-Benz Cash Bonus
- Cash Bonuses
1. Client Commission
One can receive 35% commission from personal product sales to clients and 15% from the preferred clients on Arbonne fixed SRP (Suggested Retail Price).
2. Overrides Commission
Overrides give a bonus on the product sales volume of downline team.
Override commission is calculated on the fixed percentage of the QV of different downline levels.
| Overrides | District Manager | Area Manager | Regional Vice President | National Vice President |
| Central | 8% | 6% | 3% | 1% |
| 1st Generation | 8% | 6% | 3% | 1% |
| 2nd Generation | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| 3rd Generation | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| 4th Generation | – | – | – | 1% |
| 5th Generation | – | – | – | 1% |
| 6th Generation | – | – | – | 1% |
For Independent Consultant rank, they need to accumulate 500 PQV in a given month then only they will receive the 6% of Override bonus from first-generation (personally enrolled consultant).
3. Cash Bonuses
Cash bonuses are offered on the personal or team product sales based on each level.
Cash Bonus is given up to Regional Vice President rank.
| Ranks | QV from Central | Requirements | Cash Bonus |
| Independent Consultant | – | Enroll a minimum of 2 new members, who accumulate at least 150 PQV in their start month and you also accumulate 150 PQV and 2,500 SQLV in the same month | $100 |
| District Manager | 5,000 QV | Enroll a minimum of 5 new members who accumulate at least 150 PQV each in their start month | $200 |
| Area Manager | 20,000 QV | Enroll a minimum of 10 new members who accumulate at least 150 PQV each in their start month | $400 |
| Regional Vice Predident | 60,000 QV | Enroll a minimum of 30 new members who accumulate at least 150 PQV each in their start month | $600 |
New members denote newly registered preferred clients and consultants.
For Instance, if the consultant accumulates 5,000 QV in central and enrolls 6 new members who accumulate the 150 QV in the calendar month then the District Manager will receive a $200 cash bonus.
4. Mercedes-Benz Cash Bonus
Mercedes-Benz Bonus is only for Regional and National Vice President Consultants on their team’s product sales volume.
Consultant have to provide documation, if they purchased or leased a white Mercedes-Benz automobile. One has to fulfill the following requirements each month for Regional Mercedes-Benz Cash Bonus.
| Central Region QV + RVP Promotion Credits | Cash Bonus |
| 40,000 | $800 |
| 35.000 | $600 |
| 30,000 | $400 |
| 25,000 | $200 |
Moreover, to qualify for a National Mercedes-Benz Bonus one have to meet the following requirements.
| Central Region QV + NVP Promotion Credits | Cash Bonus |
| 160,000 | $1,000 |
| 140,000 | $800 |
| 120,000 | $600 |
| 100,000 | $400 |
You can understand this income better by following Arbonne’s official compensation plan PDF.
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To Be Concluded
Here we end with the compensation plan of Arbonne. Now let us answer the most frequently asked question related to Arbonne.
Is Arbonne MLM Scam?
No, Arbonne is not a scam. It is a legitimate direct selling company dealing and personal care and wellness products.
It is not a money circulation scheme like a pyramid or Ponzi scheme. Consultants get commissions based on their personal and downline product sales.
But Arbonne also has bad sides to understand and claims from Arbonne & its representative are not always true.
Arbonne Lawsuits
In May 2017, a lawsuit was filed by a couple Cynthia Dagnall and Michael Dagnall against Arbonne International and 5 linked individuals.
Dagnall accused Arbonne is an illegal pyramid scheme using health and beauty products to pretend as an MLM.
The couple added Arbonne misleads people with deceptive promotion activities.
Later this case was dismissed in March 2018.
Expensive Products
Like most MLM companies, Arbonne has expensive products compared to the retail market. Individual needs to pay annual membership fees to receive a discount on products. As a result, consultants need essential MLM skills to succeed.
Arbonne also offers a diet program named 30 Days to Leaving. HealthLine.com’s experts reviewed the diet program and rated it below average.
Arbonne emphasizes a healthy lifestyle which is a general wellness step. But bold product claims are not proven. Arbonne asks to replace 1 daily meal with their products, which puts a heavy burden on the pocket.
HealthLine adds,
Arbonne diet promotes many food restrictions and supplements that are unnecessary, not backed by science, and expensive.
Although the diet has some positive qualities, most of the benefits are results of adopting healthier lifestyle changes — not the diet itself or the products required. If you are looking to improve your health, you’re better off avoiding this program.
Overcomplicated Compensation
While writing this post, we found Arbonne’s compensation plan is over-complicated.
We have reviewed many MLMs, and companies make plans complicated to hide the actual commission rate on sales, but Arbonne had messed up their compensation plan.
They are using many types of QV, complicated ranking conditions and difficult commission calculations. Even the rank and commissions arranged oddly made things difficult for new consultants and hence many people fail in MLM.
Should I Join Arbonne?
The decision is completely on you to become an Arbonne Consultant or not.
Overall MLM has a bad reputation and you will need to sell expensive products to earn commissions, which is a challenging job.
MLM is not a quick rich scheme and it takes 2-3 years to get a stable and decent income from it.
As per Arbonne US income disclosure statement of 2020, 56% of consultants are at the first rank which is Independent Consultant and earned $206 annually.
8% at Area Manager, 2% at Regional Vice Presidents and 1% at National Vice Presidents rank, annually earned $13,785, $62,711 and $253,607 respectively.
As per our assumption at Arbonne top 5% of consultants are earning well, compared to most MLM companies where only less than 1% earn decently.
Hope this post will help you to make a wise decision.
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