Product Name: Usborne Books Consultant
Website URL: usbornebooksandmore.com
Owner: Peter Usborne
Price: $75 mini consultant kit; $125 consultant kit
Worth It Rating: 7.5 out of 10
I am beginning to feel like a broken record, but I have to ask you one question. Is it safe to assume you have tried other money-making systems online? As I mention in my “about me” blog post – you know I have tried some myself. I had it in my head that there were ways out there to make money quick like you probably have as well. But, to be honest, there is no such thing…nothing…you may have come to that conclusion yourself.
I want to talk about one here that isn’t bad…it will require you to discover your own methods…sort of. This one isn’t a scam by any definition. I have another question for you…have you ever thought of becoming an Usborne Books consultant? I hope to shed light on Usborne books and extend the possibility for you. In the end, the choice is still yours to make.
Who Are They?
In a nutshell, Usborne Books was founded by Peter Usborne in the UK in 1973. Then in 1989 started direct selling in the United States as a Multi-Level Marketing venture. They are recognized by Forbes and Fortune magazines as part of the Educational Development Company (EDC), which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Today, there are approximately 35,000 Usborne consultants. They are not a scam as some may tend to believe. This came about as a result of a number of their consultants making claims of financial freedom on their own personal Facebook pages. Right now, I am unsure of the results of the lawsuit from Truth In Advertising in 2017. You can check it out by following the link.
There are only a couple of bad apples and that is the biggest reason I don’t call it a scam. Not all consultants are making false claims. My wife and I have a friend who is an Usborne Consultant and she never made any claims of financial freedom. It’s a way to make a little extra income and still be a stay-at-home mom caring for and homeschooling her daughter. So, that is where my view on Usborne comes from.
What Makes Their Success/Failure?
They are classified as a Multi-Level Marketing company but they focus more on direct selling rather than heavily promoting and recruiting more consultants as part of their business. The difference between some mediocre MLMs and Usborne Books is their product. They have a very good product and you may actually make more money selling to others rather than buying the product yourself.
Most MLMs push for “independent business owners” to buy from themselves, but with a certain percentage going to others. I know of a couple of MLMs that must sell to other people, but purchase a large amount for their own use. But, I won’t get into that today… I’ll save that for another topic.
The company has received some recognition from awards:
- UK Private Business of the Year Award, 2015
- Independent Publisher of the Year, 2014 (from The Independent Publisher Guild)
- Independent Children’s Publisher of the Year, 2014 (also from The Independent Publisher Guild)
Writers, editors, and designers with a love for books started Usborne – not former MLMers. Again, part of the reason they focus on direct selling. MLMers would have had their focus on the money-making process, rather than the quality of their products.
Usborne books have also been translated into 7 different languages and those are Spanish, Dutch, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, and French. I am almost certain that more languages will come as the years go on. Their reach would be wider if they did.
The Details…
OK, so here are the details on Usborne Books…
As I mentioned above, they have great products. Their books are educational and range in ages from babies to middle school.
To join you just ask a consultant and they will get you started.
You will pay $75 for the mini-consultant kit or $125 for the full kit.
The mini kit consists of the following:
- 10 books ($100 value)
- Start-up supplies, including a business website ($75 value)
- An Usborne branded box to hold everything
- Access to Sunshine Team training website
The full consultant kit includes 20 books ($200 value) along with the other three items in the above list. This one is upgradeable with an add-on Business supply set for $25 and 10 additional catalogs for $10.
The market value of what you get for joining is beneficial to you as you are not having to figure out what you need to get started and do not have to pay any additional costs or upsells.
There is an additional Educational Consultant Kit for $25. This kit allows/helps consultants sell books in local schools. With discounts for books that are bought in bulk for classroom use.
The additional add-ons are at the discretion of the consultant and they choose the direction of their business by deciding to purchase the add-ons. The add-ons are not pushed on them in any way like some questionable make-money-online systems out there. See some of my reviews on this topic in my “Reviews” tab above.
Consultant commissions:
Normally a consultant earns based on commissions from the sales of the books. They earn 25% to 30% of personal sales to private individuals. They earn other commissions based on the following criteria:
- Sell over $85 at a home party – 25%
- Sell over $85 with direct sales – 30%
- Sell below $85 – drops to 25%
- Sell to schools & libraries in the UK – only 20%
- Book fairs in the U.S. (requires a $500 minimum) – 17%
- Sell to schools & libraries in the U.S. – 17% to 25%
- this is usually in bulk sales so the larger order benefits the consultant even with the lower commission rates
Even though recruiting is not a primary focus – they do try to encourage party hosts to join their network. The party hosts will receive 10% of the total party sales in free books, a free gift, and 20% to 50% of occasion discounts.
How Long Will It Take to be Profitable?
On this one, I am not so sure. You can only sell so much to friends and family before you have to rely on social media advertising. Because direct selling is such a large focus for the consultants this makes it more difficult to actually earn a reasonable living with it. But, some consultants come up with creative ways to sell the products and are doing just that.
So, it is possible to make money as an Usborne consultant. Even if it is at a slow pace…but not to gain financial freedom as some consultants may claim.
Who Can Do It?
Well, I sort of touched on this already…anyone with a strong passion for books and helping early readers gain an interest in reading. The part that I touched on is if that person also has a very large pool of family and friends with children preferably for a customer base.
Worth the Time and Money?
With this review, I have to break up the time and money aspects…as they both weigh heavily and need to be considered for my rating.
Time: maybe not – if you are searching for something to eventually give you financial freedom. It isn’t really passive residual income. You must spend actual time actively engaging in the selling of the books you are promoting for you to continue earning. That is where a lot of time will be spent.
Residual income by definition means putting in the time and work in the beginning – but in the long run, it is possible to earn a very comfortable living with very little work at the back end of the process. Earning enough to even possibly quit your regular job to pursue and run your business full time. Or even part-time and still earning a sizable income.
Time Rating: 5
Money: definitely worth it since the cost is so low to get started and the materials provided are well worth their value. I cannot say it enough the quality of their products is also exceptional.
Money Rating: 10
So, now you have it, my overall rating on becoming an Usborne Books consultant is a 7.5! Really not a bad rating as compared to my other reviews on this website.
In Conclusion…
As you can see I am okay with the possibility of being an Usborne Books consultant. I know that there are a lot of them out there. As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I have a friend that is doing it and she seems to be very happy with them and I have seen her Facebook Live posts and she is good at promoting the products. I believe she will do quite well with it and generally speaking, Usborne Books is great for supplementing your income.
Now, obviously, I am not doing it and I probably won’t either. I am still biased toward affiliate marketing and see the great possibilities that are presented in this opportunity. In fact, my #1 recommendation is and always will be Wealthy Affiliates.
See my review of how WA has so much to offer as a great opportunity.
I wish you the very best,
Bob Margroff
Product Name: Usborne Books Consultant
Website URL: usbornebooksandmore.com
Owner: Peter Usborne
Price: $75 mini consultant kit; $125 consultant kit
Worth It Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Hi, Bob! I have heard of Usborne Books. I’m a mom with two young kids, so I’ve been invited to many Usborne parties. I’ve never gone, because I always felt like it wasn’t about the product, but promoting the company. I love books. We have hundreds in our home, but I didn’t feel like we needed more. Anyway, I digress. The company seems legit and for those who are extraverts (unlike myself), I could see this being a great pathway to make some income. However, it’s not for me. I’m happy that your research found the company to be reliable and that you have a friend who is finding success with their company! Thank you for researching this and writing about it! Cheers!
Hi and thanks for reading my post. They are a very reputable company. As my research found and contrary to what I thought at first, they ARE simply all about the books. They may suggest signing up as a consultant but the sales of the books are their first priority.
My wife and I also have a ton of books in our home as a result of my wife’s past as a teacher of 19 years. So, we do not purchase any more books either. As much as we both love to read.
It would be interesting to see them gain some higher grade level books for our daughter…she needs to start reading more chapter books and would enjoy the styles used in Usborne Books. You may want to give them another look…but I still love my #1 recommendation of Wealthy Affiliates by far, and never will give that up.
Again, thanks for stopping by.
Hello Bob. Nice post. I have seen some of Usborne Books. I tried them out myself and I must say they produce good ones. Didn’t know however that they were an MLM. It’s a very good idea that I can make some money while being a consultant for Usborne. I think I can also market their products using social media. The house parties sound pretty cool plus you spoke about selling the books in schools too. I’ll give this MLM a try out.
Thanks for your comments. I would give them a higher rating if they were better with the ability of consultants to become financially free. If you decide to give them a try…I wish you well.
This review is truly unbiased and I must say that I found it helpful with the details provided. Just like you, I have a friend who is doing quite well as an Usborne Books consultant. Though she never made any big claims neither does she complain about them. So, I was able to figure out that it seems the platform is legit and they truly pay. But then, I cannot join them due to my experience with the MLM business model. Thanks.
Hi Tracy, thanks for reading my article and I am glad you found it helpful to you. It’s great that you are familiar with their business model and I am not a fan of MLM’s either. As I was doing my research on them, I was surprised at the success of the company and its consultants.
I wish you success in whatever you decide for yourself. In fact, you may want to check out my #1 recommendation and if you like it try it out.
I like the fact that Usborne books consultants are more concentrated on personal selling of the books and provision of quality books rather than focusing on the recruitment process just like other MLM platforms. They are really convincing and I think I would be willing to take my chances with them. I know of like 5 people who work with me and they are all doing good. If I can take guidelines from them, maybe I’d be able to rake in a small income from this platform too. Thanks for clarifying the various misconceptions I have about them. Cheers
Hi Rodarrick, I appreciate you taking the time to read my post. What makes them a possibility for people is the direct-selling. The MLM process to me is too pushy and since they don’t really push it on you, it makes Usborne Books a viable option.
As I mentioned in my post…the fact that you won’t be able to gain financial freedom from Usborne Books makes other options out there better if you are looking for financial freedom.
I wish you well…and thanks again.