Welcome to our Forever Living Review!
I bet, someone has just shared with you a business opportunity with Forever Living to make money selling “Aloe Vera products” that will help you make money, right?
First off, it’s great to see that you’re doing your research before buying into any “seemingly good” product.
That’s how you avoid scams and find only legitimate ways to make money online!
To be open with you, we are not associated with Forever Living in any way. I’m not here to sell it to you, but we want to give you an honest review of the Forever Living business opportunity and give you the facts so you can know if it is the right thing for you.
We will go through and answer whether Forever Living is an MLM, a Pyramid Scheme and if it is actually a good money-making opportunity for you too.
Let’s get started with a quick product overview…
Forever Living Review Summary
Product Name: Forever Living
Founder: Rex Maughan, in 1978
Product Type: Direct Selling/MLM Opportunity
Price: Free to Join, Monthly Cost of $140+
Best For: Great Salespeople/Great Recruiters
Summary: Forever Living is the biggest distributor of Aloe Vera products, and the business opportunity comes from selling their products on or by creating a downline of distributors, i.e. MLM.
The products get good reviews and it is actually free to join to become a distributor. However, MLM’s have such a low success rate and it is in a highly competitive sector that we think this is only really right for a great salesperson. The fact remains that the main focus will be on you recruiting and
But if you are looking into whether this is a good business opportunity for a newbie, then we would highly recommend you check out affiliate marketing instead. Most people lose money from MLM’s, whereas Affiliate Marketing has very little start-up costs and you can promote anything.
Rating: 45/100
Recommended? No
Table of Contents
What is Forever Living?
Forever Living is a Natural Health Company that offers a range of Products related to Aloe Vera, it is actually the largest distributor of Aloe Vera products in the world.
Forever Living sells lotions, drinks, honey, accessories amongst other products. They also sell essential oil products that are made from lavender and lemon.
The company itself is legit, their product lines are legit and the products themselves get good reviews.
But we are not looking at the company or the product itself, we are looking at whether it is worthwhile for you to become a distributor with Forever Living.
We have been checking out whether their business opportunity of becoming one of their distributors is actually worthwhile.
It is important to point out that their business model is an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). MLM’s are extremely hard to succeed at, most people end up not making any money and ultimately lose any money that they have invested.
Forever Living Product Line
To be able to make any money, you are going to need to know the products they offer. They have a huge focus on Aloe Vera products, but they do offer other products too.
Let’s go through the products they offer:
- Natural Honey Products
- Aloe Vera & Energy Drinks – these drinks are quite expensive, the 12-pack energy drink is $48 (ouch)
- A range of Essential Oils
- Accessories – drink containers, make-up brushes, diffusers, bags, etc.
- Nutrition Products & Supplements
- Personal Care Products – shampoo, bath gel, toothpaste, soap, lotion, etc.
- Skincare – Aloe vera cleanser, exfoliator, firming serum, mask, eye cream, etc.
- Weight Management Products – protein bars, protein powders, supplements, shakes, etc.
We are not health experts, so cannot talk for how effective these products are but what we do know is that these markets are extremely competitive and are really crowded. This makes it really hard for people to get into selling these natural health products.
Is Forever Living a Pyramid Scheme
Just because Forever Living is an MLM, it doesn’t mean that it is a Pyramid Schemes. There are plenty of MLM’s that are Pyramid Schemes in disguise…
However, to put your mind at rest Forever Living is not a Pyramid Scheme. Forever Living has products for you to sell to make commissions, however it does have elements of a Pyramid scheme and that comes in with the way you can make money by recruiting others into the system. If it was solely a pyramid scheme, it would only offer that as an option to make money. But because it has products for you to promote, then it legit.
The problem is most MLM’s offer the two ways of making money. Most people believe there is a bigger opportunity to make money by recruiting new distributors rather than selling the products, but does that always work?
Check out the diagram below:
This shows how MLM’s work. To have a realistic way of making any money from an MLM, you need to be able to climb the pyramid and sit towards the top to make money. By climbing up, you get to earn commissions from sales you make, and sales that your recruits make.
That is where most people focus on building up their downline and not actually selling the products. But unless you get in early and then recruit some good salespeople, you will struggle to actually climb up and make money.
The further down the pyramid you are, the harder it is going to be for you to make money. Commissions are always flowing up towards the top and most of the profit gets stuck at the top.
This is why MLM’s have such a low success rate…
Success is Rare With MLM...
Whenever you see the sales pitch for MLM’s you are always shown presentations where people are showing offer exotic cards and tropical beaches that are there to entice you into believing that could be you if you joined this business opportunity.
But for 99% of the people who get involved in an MLM, that will never happen. MLM’s are designed to make the people at the top money, only a small group of people will end up making money and the rest will LOSE any money they have put in.
The success rate with Affiliate Marketing is so much higher and that is the avenue we explored. Low start-up costs and you can work from anywhere or you can slog away at MLM and walk away with nothing to show for it?
Forever Living has some good products and you might be able to make a few bucks selling their products to your friends and family but realistically the odds of you making a real wage are practically ZERO.
Even if you join and you feel like you are a good salesperson you might not still make any money and it might not actually be your fault. It is just that there can only be so many people at the top of the pyramid.
Want more proof that MLM’s are hard to succeed in… the average annual salary of people in MLM’s like Forever Living is $2,400.
A part time job would be more worthwhile, and you wouldn’t need to put in as many hours as an MLM would need.
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
Getting Started with Forever Living...
This was something that we found to be very rare in the MLM world, but Forever Living is actually free to join to become a distributor. Most have an expensive activation fee to join and be able to buy products to sell.
There is going to be a cost to be a distributor, but it comes in the form of you buying products to sell.
Here are the different packages available for you to buy to sell:
- Clean 9 Pack, Vanilla Lite Ultra – $87.92
- Clean 9 Pack, Chocolate Lite Ultra – $97.92
- Start Your Journey Combo Pack – $253
- Touch of Forever – $364.65
Just keep in mind that to make money, you are going to need to be able to sell these on otherwise you are going to have lost your money.
Other things to consider with signing up to be a Forever Living Distributor is the following:
- Like we said, there is no initial investment to sign up other than buying the products
- There is a money-back guarantee for all of the products, your customer gets a refund and you get a replacement product
- Forever Living stops you having a large inventory of products (others will make you have to buy so much a month regardless of whether you are selling stuff or not).
- You can leave anytime and Forever Living will buy-back any products that you have bought in the last 6 months.
This does put Forever Living above many other MLM businesses we have reviewed.
Forever Living Compensation Plan Explained
One thing that is very common with MLM’s is the fact that their compensation plan is very difficult to understand and Forever Living is no different. Further down is a video explaining their compensation plan, but we are going to go through the main 2 ways for you to make money with Forever Living:
- You can earn commissions from selling Forever Livings products
- You can earn money by recruiting new distributors
Like most MLM’s the main focus they try and encourage you to spend your time on is the second one. If you are more interested in just selling their products, you can earn between 15%-43% commission on anything you are able to sell. The percentage depends on how much you can sell. The more you sell, the higher your commission rate. It is a good percentage rate compared to other MLMs, to be fair.
But, know that you need to be qualified as an active member to earn commissions.
To become an active member, you need to:
- Purchase 2 Case Credits worth of products (1 case credit = $140)
- Get 4 Personal Case Credits per month and 1 of those MUST be purchased by you
This means you will need to spend $140 a month to qualify for commission.
But the money is with the recruiting new distributors, as you can make money from their sales and any recruiting they can do to. (in a way, you build your own little pyramid).
If you want to know more, check out the video below which describes their compensation plan:
What We Liked About Forever Living
Here is what we liked:
#1 Free to Join
When I consider that there are MLM’s that want you to spend $100’s to just join their business model, it is a nice change to see one that lets you join for free. Bundled with the fact they don’t let you keep buying stock if you are not making any sales, this shows that they want to look after their distributors. There is also the fact they will buy-back any stock if you decide to walk away.
#2 The Products Have Good Reviews
Selling products that have good reviews is always a little easier than products that no one has heard of and there are no reviews on whether they are any good or not. So, to have products that are good is a good sign.
They also have a wide range of products for you to promote.
#3 They Have Their Own Farms
Forever Living has its own Ale Vera Farms. This means they don’t have to rely on any 3rd party vendors and helps keep the quality of their products up.
The farms are located in Teas & Dominican Republic.
#4 60-Day Money Back Guarantee
All Forever Living Products are back by a 60-day money back guarantee.
What We Didn't Like About Forever Living
Here is what we didn’t like about Forever Living:
#1 MLM’s Have a Low Success Rate
Our experience shows us that MLM’s only work for 1% of distributors, unless you are able to build up a network of marketers for you to make money from their sales the statistics show that you will not make any money.
The money is in creating a downline, but you need to convince others to sign up and start selling these products to others
#2 Saturated Market
But this is going to be hard to sell these products in a very saturated market. Forever Living might be the biggest Aloe Vera distributor, but they are competing in a very competitive natural health sector. How are you going to stand out from the crowd to make you money?
#3 The Products are Expensive
They might not be as expensive as others out there, but you need to convince people to buy products that are expensive because of the sector they are in. The products in this sector are targeted at a certain demographic, and those who can afford these products. You need to know who you are going to sell these products to, to make it work for you. But either way, these products are hard to sell.
#4 MLM’s Affect Your Friends & Family
One of the worst things to do with MLM’s is that it can really affect your relationships you have with your friends and family. That is because you naturally target this group to make your first few sales. They might buy something to help you out, but how far will that go? Are they buying something for the sake of it? The money comes from people signing up to recurring deals, and this group will potential turn around and say no.
It is a shame that most MLM’s will encourage you to target them to become distributors under you too, as they are not interested and might keep their distance from you because of it. It can and has ruined relationships!
#5 Inappropriate Marketing Tactics
This is a common thing when it comes to MLM, not just Forever Living. There will always be distributors who like to give out false health claims to try and sell more products.
They will put a quote like “these aloe vera products can treat many health issues and diseases, including…”
But the fact is that none of these claims are backed by the FDA, so no clinical trials that back up that claim.
Because of these distributors who follow shady tactics, Forever Living has faced heavy scrutiny and some legal actions due to unsubstantiated medical claims…
#6 No Income Disclosure
This should be really worrying, that they don’t actually publish an income disclosure. MLM companies must disclose the income potential of their existing members. It is often the thing we check out to see whether an MLM is worth it or not, and it proves our fact around most people losing money from MLMs. But we couldn’t source one for Forever Living…
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
My Forever Living Review - Final Conclusion
I wouldn’t say that Forever Living is a scam, and as to whether this will work it would depend on how good you are at selling natural health products. You need to learn how to target the right customer base for these products, be able to build up a downline and train them on how to sell these products and then you might say this is a good business model for you.
But if you are thinking of making some extra money, giving up your day job to build a business, or aren’t that good at sales, then this is not the right business opportunity for you.
MLM takes the right individual, hence why only 1% will make a proper wage from them.
When you check out the income disclosures of these schemes, you see straight away that most people have not make any real money with these, regardless of whether they are just a distributor or go down the recruitment side.
It is a sorry state that their marketing is so good that people get enticed in but have no realistic way of making money.
That is why when we were looking for a way to make money online, we steered clear of MLM and went for a much better option, which is Affiliate Marketing.
How We Make Money Online
Our problem is with MLM and not necessarily Forever Living. But Affiliate Marketing offers a much better option to make money online without having to sell expensive products to people and recruiting people into a business model that doesn’t work.
Affiliate Marketing is a great way of making money online, as you:
- No need to recruit anyone to make money
- Have the freedom to promote any products you want and not be tied down to one MLM company.
- It’s FREE to get started
If you want to learn more about a business model where you can make money from helping people, and you don’t need to go with a natural health product in a crowded sector. In fact, you can choose any niche you wanted. Base it on a hobby you have or a subject you love, and you can still make passive income online and with the right training you can be making money.
WE highly recommend you read up on our top recommended training program called Wealthy Affiliate. It is the best place to learn how to make money online, with all the training and tools you need to make it happen. It is where we learned how to make money online.
It is completely free to try too. If you want to learn more, click below:
Thanks for checking out our Forever Living MLM review. If you have any questions or have any experiences with MLM, we would love to hear from you. Just write them in the comments below and we will get back to you just as soon as we can. 😉
Affiliate Marketing Vs MLM – Which One Is Best Option For You?
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Forever Living MLM
Free to Join
Pros
- Free to Join
- Products Have Good Reviews
- They Have Their Own Farms
- 60-Day Money Back Guarantee
Cons
- MLM's Have a Low Success Rate
- Saturated Market/Products are Expensive
- MLM's Affect Your Friends & Family
- Inappropriate Marketing Tactics
- No Income Disclosure
I love this. You have a very honest review and I like that. I have never even heard of this, but I have also never been very interested in selling products like Aloe Vera. But this would definitely persuade me to keep looking if I was. Thank you for the information!
Hi Annie,
thanks for checking out our review! There are so many companies in the Aloe Vera or Skincare markets which compounds the problem when it comes to being able to make an MLM work.
MLM’s only work for the 1% of people at the top of the Pyramid. Affiliate Marketing is a much better option!!
All the best
John
I know a lot about forever living. I signed up with them about 10 years ago. I had to pay above £100 to join them, then I found it really hard to recruit anyone under me. Still I had to buy their goods, a certain amount every month either you need it or not. I agree with you Affiliate marketing is way better!
HI Juliet,
thanks for checking out our review and sharing your experience. It is not fair that you have to buy their products, even though you haven’t cleared what you have already bought. I think they have made a couple of changes since then, but I still don’t think it has become any easier to make it a profitable business.
Affiliate Marketing is definitely much better than MLM!!
All the best
John
I have been hearing about Forever Living for a very long time now, since I was a very little boy. I have also heard that one can make a living from it if he joins the company. From my research so far and even from this one, it is obvious that Forever Living is an MLM company. MLM companies are not for newbies. I have seen many loose money doing MLM business.
Hi,
thanks for checking out our review! Newbies will find this a very hard path to take. I have nothing against the company itself, but the way it markets itself saying you could live a life of luxury by selling their products – it is clear that is simply not the case.
MLM requires certain skills and a huge budget, with no guarantee of success. Most walk away losing their money. That is not a great advert for MLM and the fact they do not display an income disclosure is a worry.
All the best
John
Hello John!
Well, obviously there are more cons than pros when choosing multi-level marketing. The fact that only one percent of the people that apply for MLM will have any success is also not very encouraging us to go for it ): . Especially when members have even to pay a monthly subscription while risking to not earn any revenue at all.
So I am not going to try MLM either. I agree that affiliate marketing is more worthy of trying, and although MLM programs like Forever Living are not technically scams, one may consider that they are next to it.
Best regards,
Peter
Hey Peter,
thanks for checking out our review! They do steer close to what could be a scam. It all comes down to your ability to market the products to the right audience that are willing to pay the high prices.
But if you are just starting out, you are not going to find this easy in the slightest. That is why it has such a high failure rate. Selling isn’t actually that easy. Whereas with Affiliate Marketing, you are helping and that is much more simple.
All the best
John
Forever living is very good with their products. The products are really effective but the earning strategy is not effective. We’ve not been able to see the earnings of previous and present members.
Those that are into MLM are dying but they still continue, looking for someone to put in the line to suffer. Lol. MLM is suffering in disguise.
I prefer internet marketing.
Hi,
thanks for checking out our review! It is very suspect that they are not showing an income disclaimer, but based on what I have seen from others you can reasonably assume it is the same here. Most of their distributors will not be making anything that looks like a wage. The average across MLM’s is $2,800 a year. It is hardly worth it?
That is why Affiliate Marketing is 100x better than MLM
thanks
John
From this article, let me know that if you are an inexperienced promoter, it is best not to join Forever Living. Although its product is not bad, its sales model looks like a scam. I also agree with you that Affiliate Marketing is very suitable for newcomers who want to make money online. Thank you for writing this review.
Hey Jax,
thanks for checking out our review! I wouldn’t say it was a scam, but due to it having such a focus on the recruiting side it does resemble a pyramid scheme. But, you are right. If you are inexperienced, this is not a great option for you.
Affiliate Marketing has a much easier learning curve, no need to buy stock and you can choose any subject you want. Offering help and advice in a subject you know and love means Affiliate Marketing is a much better option that MLM.
All the best
John
Hi, John.
Thanks for sharing your review on Forever Living MLM. Though it is free to join Forever Living, the average cost of products is very expensive.
As you suggested, I liked the idea of Affiliate Marketing as the success rate with any MLM company is very low, God forbid the Pyramid Schemes. Thanks for your article which helped me in taking a confident decision.
Warm Regards,
Gaurav Gaur
Hi Gaurav,
thanks for checking out our review! Oh to be at the top of the Pyramid, it is the only spot where you can make money… but there can only be a select few at the top. All the people below are working hard, but don’t make any money but they line the pockets of the people on the top. It is a shame, but MLM’s just do not work unless you are a great salesperson who can recruit a team.
Affiliate Marketing is a much better option for those looking for a way to make money online. You are not tied down to an expensive product range in a competitive niche. You don’t have to buy products to sell. In fact, the start-up costs of Affiliate Marketing are considerably lower and it has a much better success rate as long as you follow the right training.
That makes it a no-brainer, right?
I am hoping you are considering affiliate marketing as an option over MLM, it is the best option!
All the best
John
Forever Living has the same business plan as Amway, which I tried years ago. The companies both have great products, but when the emphasis is on building that “pyramid” by creating levels of recruits “beneath” you, there is a problem. Your post handles this very well, explaining the problem and why so few people will ever make money from the Forever Living program. I prefer a business where the emphasis is on selling products. If there is a way to be rewarded by getting others to sell, that is fine as long as it isn’t touted as the “real” way to make money. That is why I prefer affiliate marketing. Thanks for the analysis of this company!
Hey Jack,
thanks for checking out our review! The product do seem good quality and people do give them great reviews, but it always comes back to the way you are pressured into building up a team to make money. It doesn’t work out for the people who are willing to put the work in, but walk away penniless and distraught.
It is also a highly competitive market with tons of MLM’s in it, and quite frankly, the prices of the products would put them out of reach of most of the population. So, you end up targeting the same people who are already brand loyal. People are very careful on what they try on their skin and I just see this as an uphill battle that you will lose.
I much prefer Affiliate Marketing, you are not tied down to one product or product range. You don’t need to buy any stock to sell. You can concentrate on offering help. Affiliate Marketing has very little start-up costs and has a much higher chance of success. The only ingredient is you putting in some effort.
With the right training, affiliate marketing can be the way to build an online business that replaces your day job.
MLM’s tend to only work for about 1%, that is why we believe Affiliate Marketing is 100x better than MLM!
All the best Jack
John
The products that Forever Living sell, are good products,and they cover a wide range of goods, from honey, to essential oils,to lotions,and energy drinks,but the market that they are in, has a lot of competition,and many of their products are expensive.
The sales structure,is pyramidal in shape,and you have to build, a sizable down line, to make good commissions,as you get a percentage of what they sell.
Unless you are a very good sales person you won’t make enough commission on your own sales to live,also because of the heavy competition in the market sector,you will struggle to find recruits that will sell enough goods to make a profit.
From the above, I don’t believe that this line of business is one that I would want to get involved in,or one that I would recommend to family or friends.
However Wealthy Affiliate, to which I belong, is one of the best businesses around, as they give you training,lectures,videos and the owners, are available to give, advice and counselling,and they will also help you, to build your own website.
Hey Robert,
thanks for checking out our review and sharing your thoughts. it is a very competitive business model to join, and as they market themselves at newbies who will lack the relevant knowledge to make this work it makes it a sad affair.
We believe Affiliate Marketing is a much better option for people looking to make money online. It has less risk associated with it and coupled with the training and support at Wealthy Affiliate, you are in the perfect place to get started.
Thanks again
John
Wow! I love your review on the forever living products company.
I am sorry to tell you that I love forever living products and I am a a proud business owner.
Although it may seem hard in MLM but it’s easy when just a group of people understand to make one time investment.
What make us different from other companies is the the higher you go in the marketing plan the less the products price.
I was once with Wealthy Affiliate but didn’t have money all the time to stay on premium plan.
Why I will prefer MLM than affiliate marketing is that in MLM you enjoy the gift of natural products while you make money on them. You share the products benefit to other
Hi Harmmah,
thanks for checking out our review. I fully appreciate that some will find MLM is right for them and that there is a way to make money. Having said that, there is also an element of MLM not being right for everyone. Many people do not fully research the business opportunities before jumping in with both feet, and we want to ensure people understand it is a hard slog.
Anything is a hard slog, to be honest, but there are costs associated with MLM that are much higher and can put people into debt if they do not join with the right team, which you yourself have done.
If you can join an MLM with a supportive coach, then I have no doubt someone can make a success with it. But I think MLM’s could do a better job at teaching their distributors about online marketing, as more and more people are going online to look and buy products. Home Parties and direct selling needs to keep up with how people shop.
Getting sales before the costs kick into high is important and most introverts just cannot get the sales. Thanks for sharing your experience with it.
Everyone is different and will have their own way to go. But, if you enjoy selling natural products I still feel for a newbie affiliate marketing is a better route as you don’t need to sign up with a company to get started. There is a point where you need to learn more and platforms like Wealthy Affiliate can help someone who is serious.
But when it comes to MLM, the right team and support is imperative, but when 73% of people joining an MLM lose money and 98% quit because they feel it is too focused on recruitment I still feel it is not right for everyone. It works for you, which is great but the numbers show this doesn’t work for everyone.
thanks again for sharing your experiences
All the best
John