Plexus is a company that offers weight loss products which are sold often on social media with distributors called Plexus ambassadors. There are a lot of claims that the Plexus line of products improve gut health but these claims are not backed by science. In fact, at the bottom of the website Plexus mentions that none of their products have been tested by the FDA. The company was founded by former MLM veterans in 2006 and started with a DIY breast cancer check kit and skin cream but then rebranded themselves for weight loss and dietary supplements. The signature products come in powder form and are mixed with water.
The company claims to have a feasible buyback structure so if you decide that you want to quit or you’re unable to sell certain products, you can give them back to the company and they will buy them from you but the company makes this very difficult to achieve.
The Plexus Compensation Plan and payment structure is very difficult to understand. And they advertised it as being one of the fairest MLMs in the company. To join as an associate you have to pay an annual fee of $35 which gives you the option of buying the products but not selling them. If you want to sell the Plexus products and get commission on those sales, you have to reach the level of Ambassador and that requires that you meet a minimum monthly order of $100. This is also true of any downline members you recruit in order for you to earn commission on their product sales.
This type of structure encourages distributors to recruit new distributors instead of making sales. The minimum requirement of $100 per month worth of products means that if you are an ambassador for the company you have to spend at least $1,200 a year to purchase new products from the company. Typically, a reputable, legal MLM won’t encourage customers to focus on recruitment over sales for income potential, which Plexus allegedly does. It’s also considered a bad sign for an MLM to force their customers to spend a certain amount of money every year on products, which Plexus does.
The Plexus site states that the potential for income is quite high depending on your status but roughly 96% of ambassadors make less than $4,000 per year before expenses, the expenses being those minimum purchase amounts.
Here’s what differentiates Plexus from a pyramid scheme:
- It is a low-risk, low-cost start-up business.
- There is no minimum product order.
- An individual can become more successful than their sponsor.
- Plexus offers a 60-day money-back guarantee as well as a 100% satisfaction guarantee on products.
- Retail selling is required.
Although the fact that Plexus is a MLM should provide a pretty big clue. Even though MLMs are technically legal, they’re typically shady businesses. The FTC even warns that “most people who join legitimate MLMs make little or no money.” A study by AARP found that 47 percent of MLM participants lost money, while another 27 percent didn’t make any money.