Shaklee...who are they...or...are they still around? [My Review]

Is Shaklee a scam?

Product Name: Shaklee

Website URL: Shaklee.com

Founder: Forrest C. Shaklee

Price: $49.95 to join as a Distributor +100 PV/month

Worth It Rating (1-10): 6

Oh my, another day, and now maybe you have heard of Shaklee or maybe you haven’t.

Either way, you could be here because someone approached you to try their products, or maybe not.

Or…maybe…you have seen their name somewhere and are just thinking…Shaklee?…who are they…or…are they still around?

Who Are They?

They are a multi-level marketing company that has been around since 1956 (heck, that’s 3 years before Amway). They were founded by Forrest C. Shaklee and originally sold nutritional supplements or health and wellness products.

Shaklee operated in 7 countries besides the USA. But, in November 2018 they suspended operations in Mexico. So, now they operate in Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Today, they still sell health and wellness but have added household and weight-management products to their offerings. They now offer over 200 products they sell.

Are they a scam? I would say they definitely are not. Are they a pyramid scheme? Nope, not that either.

Although their distributors may border on it, depending on how they approach you. They are very legit, as they do sell a very good product…it’s just pricey. You may are approached by one of their distributors and all they want to do is push you to join them as a distributor, then run, run away very quickly…lol…just kidding. You still want to listen, but be very wary of them.

If they approach you with how their products can better your life and not sell you on joining as a distributor…then think about it and you may want to take them up on it and give it a try for 30 days.

You never know, if you are into MLMs, you may do well with them. You may be like me and fail miserably in MLMs, then become a member-only and continue using their products as they are quite worthy of their name.

I personally have never been a Shaklee distributor, but I do have experience with another MLM from 1996 through 2014. Yeah, that’s a long time, but I wasn’t active in the last 15 years of that time.

There are actual active steps that must be done to leave an MLM, at least the one I was involved with. I just let the credit card charges occur once a year, unintentionally. It wasn’t until I changed my debit card and they couldn’t charge it, that I lost my distributorship.

It was no big loss by me not being an Independent Business Owner (IBO) anymore. I shouldn’t have let it go that long, but at least I do not do it anymore. I’m not totally against MLMs, I just realized that they are not for me.

I’m not built that way and am happy to say that I have found something that works for me. Affiliate marketing is a great way to build a business to make a side income. You may want to learn more about it, Check out my Wealthy Affiliates review.

The Biggest reason is that I do not have to be a pain in the butt to my friends or family. Trying to convince them to join in something that would end up taking their money in the long run anyway…I’m not comfortable doing that. Then once I run out of friends or family to try, I would have to go to “cold contacts”.

Not, my idea of fun. I am not an introvert, I was just lacking the skills and/or the drive to ask total strangers to join in as a distributor or IBO.

The biggest reason is it doesn’t make sense to ask someone to join for the sole reason to make money off their hard work. They would be buying a product and spending $200/month to get 100 PV (Personal Volume) and 200 BV (Business Volume) to make money off them. You had to do that to be an active IBO, that’s the way most MLMs are. Shaklee isn’t much different.

Oh well, enough about me and my reasons for not doing MLMs. Let’s briefly get into why Shaklee is a success.

What Makes Their Success/Failure?

Shaklee is successful because they have a great product. They have won and hold certifications for their products that are environmentally friendly. I guess I cannot forget that they developed (with NASA’s help) Astroaid, a rehydration product for use by astronauts.

Did I mention they’ve been in business for a very long time? They have been a business since 1956 to be exact. The products are a 100% money-back guarantee, so you can’t go wrong buying them. If for any reason, you don’t like them…you get your money back.

Have you read my Paparazzi review and seen their BBB rating? Well, Shaklee isn’t like them. Shaklee’s rating with the BBB is A+, and they have held this since 1965. That puts them in a much better category for me.

BBBrating

Because they have great products, they want their distributors to focus on that aspect of the business. They don’t focus so much of their time trying to get new distributors to sign up. It’s more about the products and getting more people to try the products, and they hope you will become a distributor because you believe in the product so much.

The Details…

There are different ways to join Shaklee:

1. As a customer– cost is free, buy Shaklee products at the suggested retail price (SRP), not able to promote their products to make money

2. As a Preferred Member (and there are 3 different ways to do this): first let me explain what you can get as a Preferred Member – 15% savings on all products, free and flat rate shipping, access to Loyalty Rewards by setting up a monthly drop shipment of $100+, never run out of products using easy repeat orders, and receive a little something extra for a birthday gift.

Method #1: Take the Prove It challenge by purchasing the Prove It Challenge pack for SRP of $248.15 or a promo price of $159 (1st month only)

Method #2: Spend $150 and get a free membership

Method #3: Just pay $19.95 for your membership

3. Join as a Distributor– this allows you to share and sponsor others and actually make money off the products you promote and sell. The benefits: earn extra income, set your own schedule, be your own boss, work with people you know & trust, help others, and create a career-level income.

Now, you have to understand there are different levels of the type of distributor that you may choose to be. You may join by paying only $49.95. There is one thing you need to maintain a 100 PV to remain an active distributor. This is a lot like Amway, which I will do a review at a later date. Be watching for that one.

Now there are also two more levels of distributor you may decide to pay for, but you still have to pay the $49.95 before you can do these two levels.

The first is the Gold Premier Package and the second is the Gold Ambassador Package. They are $299 and $599 respectively.

Both packages have benefits, the Gold Premier Package will earn you 250 PV, and you receive a back-office system, products, marketing material, personal website system, training system, and more. The Gold Ambassador Package will earn you 500 PV if your recruited member purchases this package along with the same benefits provided with the Gold Premier Package.

Now, you can also earn bonuses and or commissions based on whether you take your business to a higher level. The way you do that is up to you. Most of the time it will be by sponsoring new distributors or even building your customer base.

Here is an example of the tiered rank structure with averages for Annual Income:

So, does this sound like something you may want to do? Give it some serious thought.

Even looking at this chart you are averaging at the Director level, $10,217 annually…by putting in the work, you might be able to see yourself at the Senior Director level…wow that’s a whopping $3455 additional annual income. Now, you see why this to me is not my favorite way to earn money. It takes too long to get to a level that is bringing a decent amount of income.

This now brings me to my next point…

How Long Will It Take to be Profitable?

This part is the toughest to answer…mainly because it will depend solely on how much product you sell along with how many people you also sponsor with your business. Let’s not forget how many people get sponsored beneath the person you sponsored. So, every level under your line of sponsorship is called your down line, and the further under you and the person you sponsor is called your depth.

It’s sort of like looking at your favorite football team. You have your starters then you go down to your backups. Then it goes down to the 3rd and 4th strings. Now, the biggest difference is in football the deeper you go down, the less the pay is for that member on the team.

In MLM the deeper you go in-depth, the more money you actually make. The reason is that you are promoting them to do the same thing you did. Sell or buy for themselves 100 PV of product and sponsor others to do the same. You make money off the sales volume from your downline.

My favorite way to earn money online is through my own website. You actually make money of your own work. If it takes a while to do. It still is an honest wage or earning from your own work. Not someone else’s.

Who Can Do It?

Anyone who feels comfortable asking family and friends to buy the products and then join if they like using the products and then decide to be a distributor. But, sooner or later you will run out of friends or family members to try to sponsor. Then as mentioned earlier in this post…you will then have to rely on “cold contacts”. That means you have to walk up to total strangers and present the business to them as viable customers first. You may approach them to try to sponsor them right off the bat. You will scare them off.

You will come across as someone only trying to sell an idea and most people don’t like that. That’s then when you will come across as pushing a pyramid scheme. Heck, do you blame them? You wouldn’t want them doing the same thing to you if someone approached you that way. You would be making them RUN as fast they could to get away from you.

I’m almost certain you don’t want that. I for one, could not do an MLM ever again. That’s just one of those things I will never do again. I’m not totally against them…there are those who can do MLMs very well and are very successful at it. I’m not one of them. So, if you think you can do it, have at it. You never know, you might be able to do it.

Worth the Time and Money?

Now, my million-dollar question…is it worth the time and money?

OK, if you have seen my other posts, you know what’s coming next. Here is where I give a rating on the two and average it out to my overall rating. I’m still torn on this one. I’m stumped with what to actually give it. On one hand, I’m saying their products are very good and they are at the top for product quality. If it is pricey.

On the other hand, I’m not sure what to give it for time…it may take a long time, but it is based on how much work you put into it.

Oh well, here goes… Is it worth the money? I guess it is in some cases. You’ll want to try not to give in to the upsell and stick with the basic distributor price and work through the process. So, for me, I will say the “Worth the money” aspect is “7”.

The time factor involved may be a little less only because I’m not a fan of MLMs because of the aspect of running out of family and friends to promote the business. Then try to find cold contacts to promote your business and be successful. So my time rating is a “5”.

Average the two and you have a “6”. There you have it.

In Conclusion:

Well, as you see the products are good they have a great rating from the Better Business Bureau, they follow the same basic principles of MLMs, and they are not all that bad when it comes to pricing to start a distributorship.

Now, you know who Shaklee is and can no longer ask yourself my original question: Shaklee?…who are they…or…are they still around? Yeah, it’s the same question mentioned earlier and yep, it’s also the title of this blog post or review.

Well, that is it for now… You may decide to go with them, I wish you luck and I still try to be unbiased as possible.

I wish you the best and I hope I was helpful. Leave any comments or questions and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Regards,

Bob