Welcome to our MonaVie Review!
You’re probably here as someone has approached you about an “amazing” opportunity for you to work from home and make some money from promoting MonaVie products. But you’ve seen some interesting posts about the integrity of this MLM. Is MonaVie a Scam?
Well, in a sense, yes. It was closed down as a pyramid scheme a while back, but as they still sell their products through another MLM called Jeunesse, they haven’t entirely disappeared as you would expect.
First off, it’s great to see that you’re doing your research before buying into any “seemingly good” product.
That is how you avoid scams and find only legitimate ways to make money online!
To be completely transparent with you, we’re not associated with MonaVie (or Jeunesse) in any form. We’re not here to pitch or sell you anything.
Instead, our in-depth review will give you the full details about MonaVie, so that you can make an informed decision about this business opportunity.
MonaVie Review Summary
Product Name: MonaVie
Founder: Dallin A. Larsen, Randy Larsen, Henry Marsh
Product Type: Health & Wellness MLM company (Closed as a Pyramid Scheme)
Price: $40 + $100/monthly for products
Best For: No One
Pros
- None
Cons
- Closed Down
- Hidden Monthly Expenses
- Pyramid Scheme
- Really Low Success Rate
Summary: MonaVie is a health and wellness MLM company that sells a range of nutritionally blended fruit juices. It also offered a business opportunity to sell these products.
But they were deemed to be operating as a pyramid scheme in 2014, and were subsequently closed down. But they are still searches for it, as they sell their remaining products through another MLM called Jeunesse.
Bottom line, their business opportunity was not great, and if people are still talking to you about it, they are not particularly helping you…
Rating: 10/100
Recommended? No
Table of Contents
What is MonaVie?
MonaVie is a health and wellness MLM or Multi-Level Marketing company, that produces health supplements. The supplements are in the form of fruit powders and concentrate.
Despite all of their claims, there are no scientific or medical studies to back up their claims about the effects of their products. They aren’t even approved by any regulatory authority.
This is lead to numerous problems as to the legitimacy of their products, and the legitimacy of their business model.
In fact, due these issues escalating, the company has actually been shut down since 2014! We’ll discuss this a little more in a moment.
For now, feel free to watch this 3-minute video about MonaVie:
MonaVie Foreclosure & Jeunesse
The company got itself into trouble, as their business model was shut down to the number of lawsuits stating their MLM program was actually a pyramid scheme. The company was deemed to have heavily focused on recruitment, over everything else.
Then there were so many complaints from members who said there were no real health benefits to the products.
So, in 2014, MonaVie had to shut down its MLM program and the company has ceased operation indefinitely.
Although, you will still find MonaVie products online, as they are now sold by another health and wellness MLM company, called Jeunesse.
Is MonaVie a Pyramid Scheme
Yes, MonaVie was deemed to be operating as a pyramid scheme.
Their members were not able to make money unless they were recruiting new members into the company. They did have real products, but their focus was on you recruiting more people, rather than selling products that helped people be healthy.
What’s A Pyramid Scheme?
A pyramid scheme is a company that promises payment in return for recruiting members, instead of for selling products or services.
They’ve been made illegal in most countries in the world due to the fact that it’s impossible for everyone to make money in a model like this.
They are unsustainable as this diagram from Wikipedia shows…
The select few who were making decent money were those that were able to go out and “sell the dream” of the business opportunity, instead of being openly honest about the company.
A reason why MonaVie was closed down, as they were actively pushing their members to recruit rather than selling these products they produced.
Here’s a useful 5-minute video that will help you spot these pyramid schemes in disguise…
Success is Rare at MonaVie
Success is rare at any MLM opportunity, and this was the same for MonaVie.
Did you know that between 73% and 99% of MLM members are losing money?
The main reason for this is the combination of expensive products and a monthly sales quota that MLMs put their members through. If you aren’t able to sell enough products each month, you will have to buy the products yourself to remain active.
You have to be active to earn commissions, that is how they trap you into this endless cycle. The only way to escape it is to start recruiting and pass that burden on to them. Not particularly ethical, either.
How Does MonaVie Work?
MonaVie produces a range of nutritional blended fruit juices that come in the form of powders and concentrate forms.
They also offer the chance for everyday people to work from home and sell these products or recruit their family and friends.
It seems like a win-win for both the company and its members, but MonaVie is just saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in supposed marketing campaigns because it’s their members who do all the promotion and advertising.
MonaVie Product Line
Before considering any MLM, you should get to know their products really well. You’re going to be promoting them, after all.
Whilst MonaVie is no longer operation, they still produce a single product and it is sold via another MLM company called Jeunesse.
The product is MonaVie Active ($129.95). A fruit juice that contains a natural blend of 19 fruits that include acai berry and glucosamine. It strengthens the immune system, gives you the needed energy to carry on with daily tasks, and makes you generally healthier.
It might seem like a good product, but you should know that there are hundreds of other health and wellness MLM companies all offering very similar products. Examples include:
That is their last remaining product, which you can find in Jeunesse, so let’s now move onto their business opportunity…
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
Can You Make Money with MonaVie?
As of writing this, no. It’s already been shutdown as operating as a pyramid scheme.
But even before they were closed down, their income disclosure statement proved that only a few people were able to earn a commission from their business model.
How To Make Money with MonaVie?
Before they were shut down, MonaVie followed the typical MLM model, which gives you two ways to make money:
- Sell their products
- Recruit people into your downline
They tried to avoid the speculation of being a pyramid scheme, by only rewarding you for sales made by your downline team, instead of for recruiting people. But we all know how that ended up …
Before we get into their compensation plan, let’s look at the cost of getting started with MonaVie…
Getting Started with MonaVie
Getting started with MonaVie would cost you $40. Which makes it sound like a great deal, but there were other costs to consider…
MonaVie Monthly Costs
To remain an active member, and therefore eligible for commissions, you had to achieve a monthly 100 PV.
If you were unable to sell this amount, you had to pick up the costs yourself, making you have to buy $100 worth of product each month.
So, the costs for your first year looked like this:
- $40
- $100 x 12
Minimum Costs for Year 1 = $1,240
This was before you factored in any other costs, like training, marketing, travel, food, gas, etc.
P.S. This program enabled us to Create a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream. It’s Free to get started and costs only $49/month to go full-time!
MonaVie Compensation Plan
MLMs love to make thier compensation plans as difficult as possible to decipher, it makes it look like there are tons of ways to make money with them.
But don’t worry, we’ll try to keep our explanation as simple as possible.
MonaVie offers you 5 different ways to make money as a member:
- Direct Sales– Earn 20% to 30% commission from each of your sales
- Top Retailers– Receive $2,000 bonus once you reach 250 PV
- Bulk Order– Earn $30 to $75 for bulk orders
- First Order– Earn 20% bonus once you reach your first 200 PV
- Executive Check Match Bonus– Earn $2,500 once you maintain star rank
I know, that probably didn’t clear it up at all. But regardless of what is detailed in their compensation plan, there are only two ways for you to make money, and they are:
- Sell their products
- Recruit people into the company
You can check out this 6-minute video if you want to learn more about their compensation plan:
Or if you’d want to see the actual list, then here’s their full compensation plan for you.
Is MonaVie a Scam?
In our opinion, they are very close to being classed as a scam. The company was shut down in 2014 and no longer have an affiliate program.
They even received a lawsuit claiming that they are a pyramid scheme, and which they lost.
The remainder of our MonaVie review will help uncover all of the other details you need to know about this MLM opportunity…
Not to mention that they’ve got numerous complaints from members saying that their products didn’t have any positive effects on their health.
Just to be completely transparent with you, I’m not a distributor of MonaVie, nor do I endorse MonaVie in any way. I have researched the website, testimonials, and information available on the internet to get the details about what this program genuinely does. I do this, as I have been caught out by a scam in the past, and am trying to help others avoid a similar fate…
Tired of MLMs? Check How We Make Money Online Here!
What We Liked About MonaVie
I usually try to remain objective in our reviews, but with the company no longer operating due to legal issues and being outed as a pyramid scheme. Add to that, they are relying on another “controversial” MLM called Jeunesse to sell their remaining products, there is nothing positive we could find about MonaVie.
What We Didn't Like About MonaVie
Here’s what we didn’t like about MonaVie:
#1 It Was Closed Down
MonaVie was closed down over a number of legal issues in 2014. So, at present there is no way to join the company or make money from it. But their products doe still exist, but sold by a different MLM – Jeunesse.
Which gives it the option of trying to reopen at some point but still if that were to happen, we wouldn’t recommend it.
#2 Hidden Monthly Expenses
You had to sell $100 worth of product each month just to remain active and eligible for commissions. Many MLMs stipulate this, but what it really does is make you have to spend $100 worth of product each month, as that is the only way of staying active if you don’t sell any products.
What many MLMS don’t want you to know is that by becoming one of their members, you become an obligated customer.
The only way of escaping buying $100 worth of stock each month is to start recruiting, and that is part of the reason why MonaVie got into some trouble…
#3 MonaVie is a Pyramid Scheme!
Knowing that you need to spend $100 monthly to stay active means that there’s only one way for you to avoid this hassle, and that’s by recruiting someone to become your downline.
But very soon the structure in that company starts to look like this…
I would say many MLMs end up pushing recruitment more than selling their own products, and I’m surprised that many other MLMs don’t get caught out and labelled as a pyramid scheme, as many of them operate like a pyramid scheme in disguise.
But MonaVie was clearly pushing recruitment too much, and along with lots of complaints about the quality of the products, the authorities had no choice but to investigate and ultimately order them to close.
#4 Really Low Success Rate
Even when they were operational, the success rate was still really low. Take another look at the income disclosure statement and it showed that 95.5% of their members were earning just $1,681 annually!
Meanwhile, 98.5% of them are earning an average of $2,314 every year. The final deal breaker? Their members average an expense totalling to $1,724 per year!
So, only 1 in 667 members were earning more than $30,000 a year. But they were doing loads of recruitment to do this. Passing the burden of having to buy $100 worth of product each month onto them.
Not exactly an ethical business model, if you ask me…
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
My MonaVie Review - Final Conclusion
The MonaVie MLM has been closed down, and has been for a while, but their products are still available online.
So, there is no opportunity here, but that is a good thing. As the legal stuff has proved that it was operating as a pyramid scheme. It also acts like a warning to all the others that are parading as an MLM, but are really operating like a pyramid scheme in disguise.
But the good thing is that there are legitimate opportunities to make money, with health and wellness, without all of the expensive running costs of an MLM. Keep reading to learn more…
How We Make Money Online
I’m not a fan of MLM, not because it’s illegal or not profitable, but because of all the restrictions and expensive costs involved.
Instead, Affiliate Marketing is our top recommended business model for anyone looking to make money online
The reasons are simple…
- You can promote anything you want and aren’t restricted to only promote products from one MLM company
- You don’t have to recruit anyone to make money
- You never need to sell to your friends and family
- It’s free to get started
In fact, with affiliate marketing we’ve been able to Create a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream. If you want to learn more, click here.
Thanks for checking out our MonaVie Review! If you have any questions or comments to add, then please write them in the comments section below. 😉
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MonaVie
$40 + $100/monthly
Pros
- None
Cons
- Closed Down
- Hidden Monthly Expenses
- Pyramid Scheme
- Really Low Success Rate
