Hi there! Welcome to BOTTLESOUP. If you’re a returning reader, thank you! If this is your first time here, a little disclaimer: the authors of BOTTLESOUP have never sold or participated in an MLM/direct sales company.
We write objective analysis of MLM and direct sales companies. This post is about Monat opportunity. We are not affiliated with Monat and all materials sourced in this article are hyperlinked. Our posts and opinions should not be taken in lieu of professional legal or professional financial advice.
You may have seen Monat advertised on social media. Perhaps a good friend or family member is selling Monat products. And you’re curious about a Monat opportunity. What’s Monat? How much does it cost? Can I sell Monat products and have financial freedom? These are all great questions, and we’ll try to answer them for you.
What’s Monat?
Monat is a direct sales hair care company. Unlike traditional retail products, which can be found in stores, Monat recruits Market Partners to sell their products.
The Monat opportunity is pitched as something that is empowering. Their website describes the Monat opportunity as, “a path to freedom, personal growth and fulfillment.” But is it really?
about the monat opportunity pitch
You may be thinking, “Well, I haven’t heard a lot of bad things about Monat.” But do your own research. Monat’s lawyers have been very active in trying to prevent people from sharing any negative information about the company.
So is this a life changing financial opportunity? Look at what other people have said and what the FTC recommends when dealing with direct sales companies.
Here are a few recommendations when evaluating any direct sales/MLM company, including the Monat opportunity:
1. Do a Google search for reviews, and dig deep into the results.
Lots of companies, whether they’re traditional corporations or direct sales/MLMs, will hire public relations firms to manage their online reputation. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but you need to understand whether a review is legitimate or paid for/sponsored.
Too many five star reviews is usually a red flag. (For example, Disney World has 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor. So, if Mickey Mouse isn’t even at 5 stars, it’s a good indicator that other reputable companies likely won’t be, either.)
2. Look for the federally required income disclosure statement.
For Monat, we cannot find one. Does that mean one does not exist? I hope not. But you’ll want to find out exactly how much money people who are already invested in the Monat opportunity are actually taking home. (Have a copy of the IDS for Monat? Please link it in the comments below!)
3. Trust your gut
If you feel pressured, walk away. Legitimate businesses and opportunities understand that you need time to make an informed decision. High-pressured sales pitches are usually designed to make you feel a sense of urgency.
And that sense of urgency is used to pressure you into making a quick decision. Read the fine print. Do the research. Calculate your costs, future expenses, and know what it will cost to leave.
How can I sell monat?
“Ok, ok, I know you’re anti-MLM and anti-Direct Sales,” you may be thinking. “But just tell me what to do if I wanted to join Monat.”
To become a Market Partner, you must purchase a Monat Starter Kit.
So, in a way, you must become a customer of Monat in order to have the privilege of selling the product. This is very typical of direct sales and MLM companies, which sometimes share traits.
How much does Monat cost?
There are two types of Monat costs: Market Partner expenses and customer costs. As a customer who’s only interested in buying the products, you can check out the retail costs on Monat Market Partner websites.
For Market Partners, the answer is more complex.
how much does it cost to begin selling monat?
Monat advertises four options to become a Monat Market Partner:
- Overachiever Product Pack ($649, includes starter kit)
- Success Product Pack ($399, includes starter kit)
- Business Product Pack ($299, includes starter kit)
- Starter Kit ($99)
However, according to their Policies and Procedures, having a Starter Kit is the only requirement. In our opinion, this is a red flag. Your potential Monat opportunity to earn income is lessened by a higher initial investment. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that spending more money than you need to – especially when you haven’t made any money from the “business” yet – is a financially questionable decision.
How much money can I make with Monat?
This is a complicated question. You can read the full Monat Compensation Plan on their website. For the purposes of this analysis, let’s assume you’re a Market Partner level. What does that mean?
To earn money from Monat, you need to sell 200 PV (personal volume) of product monthly to be considered Active.
Let’s assume you achieve 200PV. You’ll earn 30% commission, according to the Monat Compensation Plan document.
200 PV * 30% = $60.
This means if you achieve 200PV, you will earn a 30% commission of $60.
potential monat opportunity for income
It’s safe to say that most people do not sign up to sell Monat with a goal of earning $14/month or $168 a year. So what’s the opportunity for growth like with Monat? Well, to earn more commission, you need to recruit more people under you.
For simplicity’s sake, we will not go into adding levels of people under you. (And for what it’s worth, our opinion is that you’d just be adding competition for yourself, so really, why?)
Using our Direct Sales Calculator, we estimated the potential sales necessary to earn $1,200 a month, before taxes.
Assuming:
- $1,200 monthly income goal
- Straight commission, no VIP customer subscriptions or levels of other partners added
- Start up costs of $99
- Average product sale of $99 retail value (the cost of the popular Monat Volume System)
- 30% commission, as per the Monat Compensation Plan
You’d need to sell 53 Monat Volume Systems at retail price to earn $1,200 before taxes as a Monat Market Partner.
Ok, but maybe you only want to make a couple hundred dollars a month. That should be much more achievable, considering the Monat opportunity is ripe for the taking, right?
Well, if you want to make $200 profit before taxes in your first month, you’ll still need to sell 10 Monat Volume System products to customers.
This way, you’ll recoup your Starter Kit costs. If you spend more than $99 on the Starter Kit, then this number dramatically increases. Use the Direct Sales Calculator | MLM Calculator we developed to test out earning potential.
The bottom line
In our opinion, direct sales and MLM companies are not a wise choice. Ever. And our objective analysis proves that. Please share your opinion in the comments below. We love hearing the pros and cons.
And, if you found this content helpful, share it with your friends!
Katie says
Actually not true. Your example doesn’t include bonuses, group volume, or the potential commission of 25%. Way off.
Mrs. Bottlesoup says
Actually, Katie, I address that in the article. For the sake of simplicity, we assume the base rate of commission for the first level only. Do you have an income disclosure statement from Monat that you could share?
An says
When do you address it…
Bottlesoup says
Address what, An?
Mary says
No offense, but you sound like an absolute pretentious, cocky-mouthed, uninformed dick. Actually, take offense. Your mannerisms are disgusting. And we’re supposed to find this article “trustworthy” when you bad mouth everyone who disagrees. I’m rude. I’ll admit it. But, so should you. Hope your blog gets better this this bullshit.
Bottlesoup says
Thanks for the laugh, Mary. I always welcome facts and am happy to post a retraction if we ever receive facts that support an opposing claim. Let us know if you have something for us to use. Until then, have a good one!
Ellie says
Can’t reply further, but thanks to all for that thread, it was hilarious.
Also I would have loved it if there was ONE direct sales/MLM company that wasn’t a pyramid of some sorts. Just one. But apparently it’s just impossible to happen.
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, Ellie! I agree. It would be nice to find that.
Alyssa says
So the calculations to earn $1200 as a beginning market partner is all incorrect. The commission on personal sales is not 7%. You’re looking at the chart that shows monthly commission bonuses for each level of team members enrolled under you. So level one is anyone you personally enroll on your team, and the level on commission bonus for market partner is 7% of whatever your teammates sold for that month.
If we are going to ignore bonuses, signing people up under you, etc. when calculating what it takes to make $1200 per month.. you should use the personal sales commission rate for retail customer purchases (ignoring VIPs like you said). The chart for personal sales commission rates tells you that it is 30%. So for your minimum of 200PV “required” (only required for bonus payments- like the 7% bonus I mentioned above).. you would make $60, not $14. There actually is no required PV amount to get paid your weekly personal sales commission of 30%. If someone buys a volume system for $99, you get paid $30 commission that same week (every Friday personal commissions are paid). And no matter what amount you sell for the week or month, you make that 30% on retail customer purchases.
I’m not trying to be rude or anything, I just wanted to let you know the right numbers if you’re gonna try to explain how someone can make money in the company by strictly selling product and ignoring VIP customer enrollment or adding market partners to your team with any of the related monthly bonuses. After selling 3 of the volume systems in your above example at $99 retail price you will have $90 of your original $99 investment back. To make $1200 personal sales commission per month you would have to sell 40 of those systems monthly. However once you sell over $1000 in a month, you start earning personal sales bonuses. They range from 3-10%. So if you sell 40 systems in a month , that’s about $3,960 PV. The added personal sales bonus is 10% for any sales above 3500 PV. This ends up giving you an extra $396 for the month. All strictly from personal sales and nothing else. You would end up actually making around $1596 that month from selling the 40 systems.
Bottlesoup says
Hi Alyssa,
Could you provide a link to the compensation plan that shows 30% as the profit from retail sales?
And, if 30% is true, you’d need to sell 10+ $99 products to earn back your investment and make $200 profit. For $1,200, you’d need to sell 43+.
The most recent statement of typical earnings that we can track down from Monat is from a 2015 Monat compensation plan. It states, “A Typical Participant in the Plan earns between Cdn $22 and $1,188 annualized.” This translates to the average earnings for a Monat Market Parter being between $1.83 and $99 per month – in Canadian dollars.
If you have more up-to-date information, we’re all ears.
Matt says
Burn.
Laurie Thiboutot says
Hi, I try to send you the compensation plan from monat to explain it, but we can´t share a photo or a doc in the comments.
But, the real commission is 30% for personnal sales.
Bottlesoup says
We’ve updated it to 30%.
Alyssa says
This is entirely false and you do not understand the compensation plan of this company. Monat market partners make 15-30% commissions off the products they personally sell. That “7%” refers to their earnings of commissions off people they have brought into the company. For example, if I introduce “Lauren” to the company, and she has a customer make a retail purchase of $60, Lauren makes 30% off of that $60 and I make the 7%. In addition, when you first join this company, you are given a map of opportunities to complete within a 2-3 month period. Meeting each of these goals within that time period, earns you about $2,000. So yea, definitely worth the $200 investment. Not to mention, that investment your making, is a $200 box of products that you probably need considering your goal is to sell Monat products. I don’t know how how east it would be to sell a product you didn’t have any experience with. And to top it all off, purchasing your product pack is a business expensive…. you can write it off when you complete your taxes. So becoming a partner in this award winning and fastest growing haircare company, is free.
Bottlesoup says
Hi Alyssa, if we misinterpreted the commission plan, we’re happy to update. If 30% is true, you’d need to sell 10+ $99 products to earn back your investment and make $200 profit. For $1,200, you’d need to sell 43+. If 15% is true, you’d need to sell 20+ to recoup the $99 and earn a profit of $200, or 87+ $99 products to earn $1,200. To earn $2,000 with 30% commission, you need to sell 70.67 $99 products. As far as Monat being the “fastest growing haircare company,” we’d love to know how that’s defined. Cosmetic giants dwarf Monat. Example: Aveda, owned by Estee Lauder, has a revenue of $14.9 billion. Monat’s revenue is reported at $314 million. So just 2.1% of Aveda in size – and that is just the top haircare brand in digital. Thanks for stopping by.
xoJenny says
Go Bottlesoup Go!
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, xoJenny! 🙂
305839067 says
this was a FANTASIC reply.
Iris says
Alyssa, you are COMPLETELY RIGHT! Bottle soup just “wants to be right” so she’s trying to throw irrelevant low blows for the sake of a win (Aveda). She has her numbers way off and using OLD 2015 numbers when we are (now) in 2020.
MONAT is the leading MLM hair care- no one ever said MONAT was leading the charts in ALL of hair care. Anyway, your numbers are all off, Bottlesoup.
30% off retail commission. Don’t even count the 15% commission from VIP because “for the sake of simplicity” that would mean you have signed up a VIP customer. So basic 30% commission off of $100 average is $30 per customer. However, the average customer spends about $150 per order. So it’s really $45.
So you would need to sell to about 26-27 customers to make $1200. Not including bonuses, or vip commissions, and any other incentives (as there are plenty!) if you’re selling to 27 customers you’re rocking it in commission and you have most likely have signed up MPs and VIPs and have taken advantage of your smart start (more incentives), and depending on when you joined- an opportunity to earn shares of the company.
Also, the “buy In” of $200 for the package includes products well over $200 in retail pricing- so it’s not a questionable financial decision if you’re getting a ton of products and your own website to start your own business with a full customer service, chat, etc.
My husband and I have our degrees in business, as well as own our own companies. I have never believed in MLMs before, but if you truly take the time to research MONAT and understand the truth of their compensation plans (not from the blog- obviously), then you will simply see the benefits and how different MONAT really is compared to other MLMs.
There are no minimums to meet, no obligation to sell, no obligation to make 200 pv points to make commission. You make commission from anyone buying from your link regardless if you’re “inactive”. MPs get 30% discount for life.
It’s direct SALES, it’s not a 9-5 desk job that will pay you for sitting there and picking your nose. You have to sell if you want to make money. The point is, that you don’t “have” to sell if you don’t want to. The choice is yours. You also don’t have to buy more products after your initial package.
Bottlesoup says
By your math, you’d still need to sell to someone almost daily. It’s not a reasonable expectation. Facts aren’t low blows. But thanks for stopping by.
ChristineP says
Sounds like someone joined this MLM and is using their pamphlet.
Britt says
I no longer sell monat because, well, it’s an MLM and get plays out eventually. Nothing against the products or the company but bad press absolutely killed my business in a small town. So it is what it is. I made a consistent $3,000+ paycheck for a full year. It was great since I am a stay at home mom and literally put about 15hrs in a week. I was annoying, I was having fun though.
My last check from monat was $150 and I didn’t do anything, not even check the website to see who was purchasing from me still. Free money is great but I couldn’t justify renewing my membership this year for $50 since I would receive a 1099 and need to itemize.
To me, it was fun while it lasted, my hair grew like crazy and I made great friends. But… it’s an MLM so don’t expect to retire from it.
Bottlesoup says
Hi Britt, I’m sorry – I’m a little confused. You were making $3,000 per paycheck, which I assume is biweekly at least, and $50 is too much to renew? Somehow that’s not making much sense. Even if you stopped selling and were getting $150 for not doing anything.
Captain Cassidy says
I can’t speak for Britt, but I just did my taxes. As a blogger, I get a 1099 from my parent site and yeah, it makes things more painful that way. Whatever a 1099 did to her taxes her last year, it was enough for her to hesitate to repeat the performance. I’m guessing her paychecks weren’t anywhere close to 6k/mo, because if they were she wouldn’t mind the 1099. I was NOWHERE near that, a fraction even, and even so it was worth it to me to file with the 1099. It wasn’t hard to itemize either.
By hard, I mean I paid an extra $100 or so to the H&R Block people to deal with everything, that’s all. It wasn’t a big deal. Someone rolling in nearly 75k/year from an MLM can deffo afford that. I’m also confused by these conflicting statements. It sounds like Britt took a vow of silence as well, which is good because there’s no way to reconcile “almost 75k/year” with “OMG that 1099 dread.”
Incidentally, almost-75k/yr probably puts this ex-hun near the tippy-top of her pyramid. Monat doesn’t even offer a full income disclosure statement, IIRC. That’s how dismal their stats are. The Canadian branch of Monat only offers an official statement about “typical participants” in Canada, who earn between CDN$22 and $1188 annually. It’s amazing that Britt walked away from that kind of scratch, assuming she was really making it, and especially over dread of filing taxes with a 1099. That just doesn’t sound right.
Bottlesoup says
Agree. Paying taxes is not a reason to quit earning money.
Dalilah says
This is such useful information. I was contacted via IG to be part of monation, and i refused because this offer reminded me too much of what companies such as avon and jafra and all those type of companies do. Thank you!
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, Dalilah!
Kelli says
You are so wrong though? Think about the benefits it also does for you!? I mean I like to be able to work anywhere, wherever. Idk about you but sitting in an office working under a “boss” minds you who makes
It’s money than you lol why would you not do it?
Bottlesoup says
Because the odds of making a life-sustaining income by selling a direct sales or MLM product are less than winning big on roulette in Vegas. People spend a lot to “invest” in their direct sales / MLM businesses and rarely break even. Consultants / direct sales people are often customers for the company. There’s no incentive for the company to make it profitable for their consultants – they’ve already made the sale when people sign up to sell.
Lauren says
When you have a product that’s worth its salt, it’s not difficult to share or sell. There are plenty of non-MLM companies/businesses where this is fact. This opportunity has actually been a life changing one for me, financially. I was able to make my initial investment back in a little over 1 month in and I went with the biggest pack two and a half years ago. Pack size didn’t and still doesn’t matter or change the way we’re paid. When someone has a drive to work or a “why” that moves them they just do it, like Nike. 😉 I respectfully disagree with a lot of what you wrote. It doesn’t seem very objective to point out “negativity” without knowing much about the product or business model. Hopefully by now, since this article is older, you will see the claims were simply not true. Timing is important to consider, as well. When you have a great product, which a lot of DS companies have, and the company is at the ground level, you have an even better chance of making great money. Take Mary Kay for instance. Try getting in now and making a buck. I’m sure it’s possible, but extremely difficult. They’ve been around since the Stone Age. Again on the “negativity”, who wouldn’t try to fight for their company’s reputation if they were experiencing slander? I hope you would. These are just a few issues I have with the article you’ve written. I hope no one has come across this one and missed out on a bangin’ opportunity.
Since you “have never sold or participated in an MLM/direct sales company”, perhaps you should expand your horizons, it’s totally worth it. It was for me!
Bottlesoup says
I’m sorry you feel this way, Lauren. Kudos to you if you’re making money. Would you mind sharing your income statements and giving our readers a peek behind the curtain? If so, contact us.
Christine says
Yes, Bottlesoup. Please keep asking for the income statements – it’s funny how no one will share it!
Bottlesoup says
Still asking. Still none!
Erica says
I had a friend that was sucked into an MLM company selling weight loss shakes so luckily I know what red flags to look for. This article was just confirmation that this is not something I want to be a part off. Thank you for being honest and straight to the point! Too many people dump money into businesses like this by hearing buzzwords such as “financial freedom” and “unlimited earning potential”. Such a shame.
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, Erica! I appreciate you stopping by. 🙂 I think people want to be hopeful and optimistic, and I don’t blame them for that. I feel bad that good people become victims, and wind up feeling like they’ve failed when the odds were against them the whole time.
Amy Campos says
I’d be more than happy to tell anyone what I make. Joining MONAT (in the US Prelaunch) was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. And the Company’s values, second to none. The people we help Every single day is worth even more to me than the income. Every company that disrupts the market is going to have negativity thrown at them. Seems to be the American way.
Bottlesoup says
Amy, we’d love to see your data. Please contact us to send it on over.
Captain Cassidy says
I’m guessing that this one, like the others, took a vow of silence?
Bottlesoup says
You betcha.
claire alvarado says
I agree with Katie. Women are making 5 figures a month just by applying themselves. Do more research on actual employees
Bottlesoup says
Hi Claire, we’re happy to share that info if it’s true. Unfortunately, lots of people make these comments and never back it up with any evidence. Vague things like “just by applying themselves” and “5 figures” seem like smoke and mirrors when people refuse to provide verifiable facts. If you’d like to share your info, please contact us.
Rachel says
It seems like those who commented how great this opportunity is are those who have invested in it and rely on people “joining in”. Back it up! I can’t believe not one person provided any proof. That’s sooooo shady.
Bottlesoup says
The shadiest part is that it’s written into every direct sales company’s policies. Fun fact: Pay secrecy is actually illegal.
Lauren says
I’m not sorry 😊, the proof is in the pudding. I’d be happy to tell you what my paychecks have been, but sharing an income statement (since that’s the solid proof you want) does not sit well with me. Last year, in 2018, I made a cumulative 6 figures. That is the first time in my life that has happened. I went from making about $36,000 a year in my full time job, to over $100k. Did I sit around after signing up and hope it would happen? No. I worked my butt off. That’s the thing, MLM’s are not bad for people who work them. It seems like those with little to no experience in them are the ones who are negative about them.
I will say, if we worked out a way to connect other than on this comments thread, I’d be happy to share a statement. It can not be published because of our policies and procedures and because I don’t give permission.
Let me know what you think!
-Lauren 🤗
Bottlesoup says
Hi Lauren,
We can’t verify “what [your] paychecks have been” without seeing your income statement(s). We deal with facts here, and we need evidence to back things up. If you’re interested in privately sharing your income statements so they can be verified by our team, please contact us. Thank you.
Dalia says
I bought the VIP membership with Monat and I had to cancel it the following morning. The person that sold me the package did not tell me that I will get involved in something call flex ship so Monat will automatically discount money from my credit card and send the shampoos every 30 days… I was like what.. I contacted her and she said I can push the purchase to up to 60 days or when ready. I didn’t like this part. It is like I am obligated it to buy Monat shampoos for a year. I called the company to cancel first thing in the morning and they said they won’t ship any products and will reimburse the money I pay, but the vip amount 24.99 not (honestly I am ok with this as long as they don’t automatically charge my credit card).
I joint the vip on Friday night (dec 20,2019) text the business partner at 2:30 am to cancel the vip thing. Call Monat Saturday morning 10:00 am and I really hope they don’t send any of their products or automatically discount money from my credit card. All these is a night mare. I never had a chance to try the products and I know they could be good but after the lady that sold me the vip told me I will be a flex ship (that was a big red flag and a no no) … I will keep you posted with the cancellation process. If need prove I had the fb text from the lady that sold me the products. Please people stay away from all this kind of things ….
Bottlesoup says
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I hope all is well.
Dalia says
That’s not true, your flex ship can be sent out over any period of time. So you can push it out as long as you want, say you order it today and don’t need more products for a year, you push that out in 60 day increments for AS LONG as you want. Understand before you post lies.
Bottlesoup says
I’m confused, Dalia. It’s mentioned that it can be pushed out, but not being able to fully deactivate it is concerning.
Ellie says
That’s crazy. I’m a customer and recently I checked, the span between my orders of two Monat shampoos (black and revive) was 10 months, and my current shampoos aren’t even finished yet. If they want you to buy a shampoo each month, that’s definitely a scammy behavior.
Captain Cassidy says
Unfortunately, too many ex-huns have revealed that they’re taught to lie about their income. You’re trying to recruit people, and the pay is part of the illusion you spin to entice people to join up. A hun bragging about her success is as trustworthy as a fundagelical giving a testimony, and for the exact same reasons.
Truth is, if you ARE one of the less-than-1% of huns who are earning a living wage, then you’re doing it by scamming many thousands of other women and bleeding them dry financially. That’s not something I’d be bragging about, personally. But you probably aren’t preying upon that many women. MLMs fail for almost 100% of the people involved, so statistically, you’re actually part of that almost-100% number who are failing.
Wanna know how I know?
It’s because you’re here fighting like a Crusader Paladin-ette for your golden calf idol against the infidels. If you were really successful at your scam, you’d have a truly massive downline. And thus, you’d be in one of these two situations:
* You’d be directly related to the scam’s founders, or one of their besties, or you’d be signed in from another MLM and sittin’ pretty on a sweetheart deal. You wouldn’t be here because you’d be busy living the life of a .01%. It wouldn’t matter to you what people think of your scam.
* You’d be working your tail end off on 3-4 hours of sleep to maintain your massive downline without those sweetheart deals and extra props given to relatives/BFFs of the scam’s founders. And you wouldn’t be here because you’d just have no time. Your downline would be collapsing around your ears at any given moment, so you’d always be scrambling to find new victims.
Those are the only two kinds of people who do well at MLMs. If you’re here, then you aren’t one of those two.
On the other hand, I’ve seen countless ex-huns confess that they were taught by upline to “fake it till they make it” by lying about their income. Many don’t even realize how to calculate their income and assume that sales = income. It’s sad to see all the time how uneducated huns are about money.
So if you’re not ponying up hard evidence of your claims, then I automatically will assume that you’re flat-out lying about your income. Keep trying to be coy if it pleases you; you’re the one who looks like a liar, not me.
Nico says
Lol they shook. Can’t back anything up smh
Bottlesoup says
It seems that way, unfortunately! Thanks for reading, Nico 🙂
Joe says
Pyramid scheme. If you’re in at the top of the pyramid, you can make money.
Bottlesoup says
The distinction direct sales companies are about “selling products.”
But…most operate like pyramid schemes, encouraging their “consultants” to recruit others, even if their legalese keeps them out of pyramid scheme trouble.
meg says
Agreed. A common refrain from people involved in MLMs is that they are not in a pyramid scheme because pyramid schemes do not sell products. In actual fact, most jurisdictions around the world define pyramid schemes as businesses where the focus is on recruiting rather than selling the products, even if the scheme includes the selling of a product. Frankly, I am stunned by the number of obvious pyramid schemes out there that have not been shut down. If you check out these companies’ compensation plans online, the majority of the text is devoted to explaining upline/downline percentages, which to me straight away proves the focus is on recruiting. In many of these companies, you cannot even ‘level up’ until you have recruited a certain amount of people, once again showing the focus is on recruiting. If the products are so in demand, why not just direct sell it to end customers? Why even have uplines/downlines? It is completely counterproductive to selling product. For every person you recruit, you reduce the amount of end customers you can sell to. No product seller would ever want to do that.
Looking at Monat Global compensation plan Feb 2019 online, it says: “You’ll receive a bonus for each new Market Partner you sponsor” detailing cash bonuses from $50-$230. This is about as blatant pyramid scheme as you can get, and is certainly illegal in Australia (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, defined as “recruitment payment”). Unsure if there is a law on this in the US.
One piece of information I would love to see from these companies, which would settle the pyramid scheme debate once and for all, is the breakdown of the income of the top earners in these companies. Monat does not even provide an income disclosure statement, (at least not one I could find). However, If you look at for example, Arbonne’s 2018 income disclosure statement, the top 50 earners made, on average, $580743 each (before expenses). What we really need to see is how much of this is downline sales, and how much is personal sales direct to end customer to determine if these companies meet the definition of a recruitment focused scheme. This would be such an easy and simple way for law enforcement agencies to root out pyramid schemes.
Bottlesoup says
They’re legally supposed to provide an income disclosure statement, but they’re impossible to find. Of the companies I’ve seen provide an IDS, without fail, over 90% of people are earning nothing or less than $1,000 annually.
Lindz says
Yeah and their defense of them is so intense and emotional…almost cultish 😮
Let me know if they ever show their income statement
Bottlesoup says
Still no income statement even though I welcome one any time!
Captain Cassidy says
Barely. I hear rumors from the podcast “The Dream” that the FTC’s starting to take more of an interest in these scams.
There’s not one single MLM that would escape that interest, either. They ALL reward recruitment more than sales, and I know of only one or two MLMs whose huns seem not at all interested in recruitment. Those huns don’t pretend to be making bank, either, though their MLM still rewards recruitment more.
I keep waiting to see the direct-marketing company that doesn’t operate at all like a pyramid scheme. Haven’t seen one yet. They all depend on bleeding dry 99% of their participants so the top huns and scam operators can live large.
When a hun approaches someone on a cold-message-call, she comes with a recruitment pitch, not a product-sales pitch, 99% of the time. That trend speaks volumes to me.
Bottlesoup says
Isn’t it amazing that these companies continue to get away with this? It’s mostly due to their powerful lobbyists. Those who see it for what it is don’t organize and lobby. Maybe we should.
Erin says
Ugh, just another “legal” pyramid scheme preying on people who have a few extra hours of downtime and a hope and promise of great beauty and living your dreams. I have no doubt that some of these people are making the money they claim because if no one was making a good income off of it then no one would be doing it. However, telling everyone that they can make 6 figures just because they do is simply a recruiting tactic. It’s disgusting and I wish we didn’t have these types of companies that rely on confusing income tables and fine print rules. The fact that it can’t be straight forward is very off putting. Thanks for exposing this one.
Bottlesoup says
Not a single MLM or direct sales person has provided their income statement. I’ve been doing this for almost seven years now, and there’s a lot of crazy comments with big claims but never any facts to back them up.
Data Junkie says
Great work as always, Bottlesoup. Note that for reps working in the US, this question works quite well, “What was the amount of your last quarterly tax prepayment to the IRS?”
If they don’t understand the question, they are not turning a profit sufficient to face penalties for underpaying. More likely, they are not turning a profit at all.
They can talk about 1099 all they want. What matters is the “net” profit, which goes on line 31 of their Schedule C, from which they must subtract personal product purchases, which are not tax deductible. Every rep that gets a commission check gets a 1099…even if 99% of them are losing money. Take out money spent on product, and you get to the industry average failure rate of 99.6%.
And that 0.4% includes folks NOT LOSING MONEY. Of that 0.4%, the number of folks making more than minimum wage is still a tiny sliver of the total.
Now Imagine the insult of spending $1000 on product for the year, getting $300 in “commissions”, and then having to pay taxes on that $300. Let’s use a 30% combined (state+fed) tax rate, which means another $90 out of your pocket in taxes. It’s all funny money at this point, but you are paying taxes on your cash back! The rep spent $1000 on product and $90 in taxes on 1099 revenue (which is really just a kickback from her own purchases). She ended up paying $790 for $1000 worth of product. This just might be the tax “hassle” mentioned above.
Some Monat reps might think this is a deal. The rest of the world realizes we can buy a year’s worth of quality shampoo from our local retailer for under $100, putting us $690 ahead without pissing off our F+F with our endless peddling and without filling our houses with more Monat product than we can hope to use.
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, Data Junkie! And great explanation.
Curlygirl says
As a consumer, why would I want to pay $100 for a product when I know nearly 40% of the price is going right back to the people selling it to me?? I’d rather pay $60 for the product at a store. Seems to me that my hard earned money is just going right into your pocket.
Bottlesoup says
Exactly. Also, instead of shilling a company’s product, it’s never been easier to make your own product and setup an online store. You don’t even need to invest in the digital infrastructure. Etsy is always an option.
Js says
I know I think that’s weird too I wonder if this company will last but for me the products worked and I can afford to buy them. I think if you decide to sell you should be upfront and tell your customers the truth there are people willing to try these products and aren’t really bothered by the cost. That should be your target. I do wonder about those who claim to make tons of money I guess there might be some sort of strategy I just know for me I’m ethical and actually giving them out for free so people can try them first before they buy. Not everyone can do that I’m just in a different place to do that.
Me says
Yeah uh… I’m extremely antiMLM so I’m not here in support of Monat but… your information is extremely wrong. The comp plan clearly says you earn 30% commission on retail sales, up to 40% if you sell a substantial amount in PV. The 7% part is what you make on your downline level 1.
If you’re gonna call this an analysis, maybe don’t skip over some of the most important parts of the document lol damn.
Bottlesoup says
We’ve updated the post to reflect the 30% commission. It’s still not a good money maker.
Christina Dejean says
Hey bottlesoup,
I signed up to become a MP on November 1st 2019.
I have made back my initial investment of $216.51 ($199.99 plus tax) in 1.5 month and that was during the holiday season. I was smart to start enough to start during that time. Why? Because people are always looking for holiday gifts for their loved ones. How is that possible you ask? Let me break it down to you:
1. Starter pack $ 216
2. The average system (shampoo, conditioner, hair oil is $160 with tax and free shipping). The MP makes 15% of off that sale if the client is VIP. So that $24.00
3. If the client is not a VIP, the MP makes 30% of $160 which is $40.00
4. Between thanksgiving and Christmas, I had 12 customers (my children’s teachers, parents in the PTA, neighbors, etc…) who were a mixture of VIP and retail which each sale averaging around $175 for a total of $ 2,100.00.
So when you take $2,100 * 15% = $315 and $2100 * 30% = $630. This was achieved by December 31st 2019.
I didn’t get into Monat to build a team. I got into Monat to make some extra money on the side.
One other thing that people seem to forget: You have 30 days to return your starter pack to be refunded so technically it’s a calculated risk. If you try and you don’t like it, you can return it. Boom.
And let’s say you were to miss the 30 day window to return the starter pack, you have a complete hair car system that you can use for the next 5 months on your own hair instead of buying hair care products every 6 weeks at the grocery store. So basically u don’t lose your investment at all.
Please try to be a little more objective in your articles instead of « bashing » the company.
Bottlesoup says
Thanks, Christina. So which is it? You made $315 or $630? And are you sustaining this income now?
Aimee says
Very bias and inaccurate article. That “7% commissions” you called out is not the initial commission. That is your earnings or “overrides” off your first (personally sponsored level 1 Market Partners) in your downline. Commissions are 30-40% of your personal sales plus bonuses, incentives and team overrides. Each persons results are a direct reflection of the level of commitment and work/effort they invest into their business. There is a income disclosure statement available for market partners in the MP resources provided by the company. Their compensation plan is THE most competitive and generous that I have seen. And with VERY minimal requirements. Seriously! At the least to be considered a Market Partner you only have to renew your account 1 time per year on your anniversary date/month. That cost is $49.99. Beyond that there are 0 expectations for you to sell or pressure to sell. You do not pay for training materials, period! All training materials are digital. So you really don’t have to order paper copies unless you choose to add that expense. The only out other of pocket expenses you have are on additional products when you run out for personal use. You are NOT required to carry inventory. Everything ships directly from the company. And you DON’T have to pay for a website! It is a option to upgrade to the pro version if you want to but not necessary to run a successful business. I’m my personal opinion, with over 10 years experience at failing in other direct sales companies. Monat is where it is at, it is the first direct sales company that I have seen success from, true success, genuinely happy customers, and consistent monthly sales. It is a smart choice because the products give CLINICALLY PROVEN RESULTS. There is a demand for these products in the industry and their exponential annual sales prove that each year. These products are consumable, which brings repeat sales. As a company Monat has over 1 Million happy VIPs and a .06% return rate. My advice here is do your research, reach out to someone who IS a MP with Monat and get real facts not exaggerated puffery from a bias uninformed source.
Bottlesoup says
Right, because a MP with Monat would not be bias at all. Could you please provide your income statement as verification? Or will you just do a bunch of blowhard comments and insist we take you at your word?
Kay says
I recently just joined Monat as a market partner and I don’t know what I’m doing
Bottlesoup says
How’s it going, Kay? Please don’t blame yourself if it’s not working out.
Js says
Do you have a team leader I think you need to ask more questions and be realistic about your income goal. Like I said these products worked for me I believe they have amazing ingredients that have changed my scalp and hair over the past 6 months. Can I afford them yes can everyone affford them no that’s were we have to be ethically and fiscally responsible with other people.
Kim says
So happy i found this thread. I was on the fence about joining Monat, since i actually liked the products but i wasn’t sure about the finance aspect. I feel like girls are always recruiting , so what is it really about? Thank you for explaining this !!!
Bottlesoup says
Thanks for reading, Kim! Happy to help!
Amelia says
I was about to join Monat, a friend is telling me all the prizes i can get including a car, she is sending me pictures of a girl that got a brand new car in less that 12 months selling and recruiting people for Monat, i dont know if its actually true. i was told that i would get a Cheque if i get one person as PM and one VP.
Bottlesoup says
To date, not a single Monat person has provided an income statement to us. We’ve welcomed it many, many times and would love to share real opportunities with our readers. However, all the evidence and income disclosure statements have pointed to there being no likelihood of earning a life-sustaining income with a direct sales company or MLM.