Melaleuca Scam? Uncover The Truth Behind The Melaleuca Scam Rumor

• The Source Of The Scam Rumors
• The Cost Of Being A Melaleuca Rep
• Melaleuca And False Promises
• Melaleuca’s Training Program
• Melalecua Scam? Business Perspective
• Melaleuca Scam? Customer Perspectve
• Melaleuca Scam? Product Perspectve
• Melaleuca Scam? The Truth

Melaleuca specializes in the manufacturing of natural health and wellness products. Their products are designed to be safer for the home, more environmentally friendly and cheaper than their rivals. Although Melaleuca claim they are not a MLM company, but a Consumer Direct Marketing (CDM) company, their business model is still met with the same caution and skepticism as all MLMs are. Is Melaleuca just another scam company, or are they perfectly legitimate?
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The main reason MLMs are considered scams is because not everyone will be successful, in fact only about 3-5% of MLM distributors will make it. MLMs have also earned a reputation of being scams, as many reps are recruited on false information. Reps will glamorize MLMs and give the illusion that making large sums of money is quick and easy to do. When new reps realize that this isn’t the case, they of course feel scammed. Reps have often felt scammed by their up line, as they fail to provide them with adequate training, meaning the reps are clueless as to what to do. Reps don’t know how to grow their business, and so are unlikely to be successful.

When you combine these three characteristics of MLMs, it’s easy to see where the scam reputation comes from. But since Melaleuca is a CDM, do these questionable attributes still exist?
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In order to be able to gain commission from referrals, the rep must continue to purchase 35 product points per month (roughly $45-55) from Melaleuca. As long as you regularly purchase 35 product points worth of Melaleuca products, you will earn commission from your referred Preferred Customer’s purchases.

The costs associated with becoming a Melaleuca rep are relatively small. As with many companies, there is the initial investment to participate in the business development program, and as far as I am aware, this is below $200 with Melaleuca. Combined with the monthly repurchase of approximately $50, it works out as investing roughly $800 in year one. There is no annual renewal fee, just the regular monthly purchases- roughly $600 per year.

This figure does appear quite high, but you must remember that you are getting personal use of the Melaleuca products. Melaleuca products tend to be cheaper than grocery store brands, meaning you are actually making a saving by switching brands. The $600 you spend on Melaleuca products might cost you $800 if using rival brands.

So, as a Melaleuca rep, you are saving money by purchasing cheaper everyday use products, but can also make extra money by referring your friends. Looking at this business model, it seems like a logical business investment. As long as your referrals keep buying products, and you keep up your purchases, you can make money. If your referrals decide to stop being Melaleuca customers, you will lose their commission, but you will still benefit from the savings made on Melaleuca products.

It appears that the only way to lose money with Melaleuca is by ordering products, not using them, and not sending them back for a full refund. This structure doesn’t have anywhere near the same risks as MLMs, and seems quite a safe, secure way to earn revenue. In my opinion, if it were a scam company, the initial investment figure would be much higher, and you would not benefit from personal use of cheaper, more effective products. It does not scream scam.
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MLM reps have a reputation of using false information to recruit and grow their business team. For example, promising you will be earning $12,000 a month within 8 weeks, or that there is little to no work involved.

When reps sign up and realize this has been lies, they of course feel scammed. Certain MLMs let these reps continue to mislead recruits as the reps generate high levels of business and profits. Melaleuca takes a different stance. President Frank L. VanderSloot has a strict policy on misrepresentation- any exec caught misrepresenting Melaleuca will be thrown out of the company in a flash. VanderSloot will not risk the company’s reputation for anyone, no matter how much revenue you produce. This procedure is in place to ensure that you will receive honest, accurate information about Melaleuca before signing up, minimizing the risk of being signed up on false promises.

By making this strict procedure public knowledge also indicates that Melaleuca is not a scam company.
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In order to progress up the company, you not only have to spend the required product points and refer a certain number of customers, but you also have to dedicate a certain length of time to helping Marketing Executives build up their own Melaleuca business. Melaleuca state that is “essential that they (Marketing Executives) invest some time each month nurturing, training, and helping those in their marketing organization.” This is to ensure that execs are not left in the lurch, and they receive the necessary support and advice to succeed with Melaleuca.

Again, this indicates that Melaleuca is not a scam. A scam company would not offer you guidance and support- they would simply take your money.
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From a business point of view- no. The business model seems quite straighforward, and created to benefit the customer. To me, Melaleuca appears a low-risk business venture, and during the current economic climate, a low-risk business could be the right move to make.
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Perhaps the scam comes more from the consumer’s point of view. For the referrer to gain commission, the customer they refer has to be a Preferred Customer. Preferred Customers receive 30-40% discount on prices and can earn loyalty dollars. To remain as a Preferred Customer you have to commit to purchasing either 35 or 55 loyalty points per month. If you forget to re-order your cart manually, then Melaleuca will send out a back-up order, so that you still meet your monthly points quota and still benefit from the product discounts.

Whilst this may appear to be helpful, there are several hidden flaws. What if you don’t use up all of your Clear Power® Glass Cleaner in a month? Melaleuca will send you out one anyway. What if you didn’t forget, but chose not to re-order? Melaleuca will send out a back up order to you anyway. So although you may not want these products, you will be sent them, and charged for them.

Many customers seem to be unaware of the monthly commitment and charge, despite this being laid out in the agreement they signed. Consumers also seem to have difficulty in canceling their subscription, being led in circles from various people in Melaleuca.

Being charged for unwanted items, and making it difficult to opt out of monthly subscription? It screams “SCAM”.

After 2 minutes searching on the Melaleuca website, I was able to quickly find their cancellation policy clearly laid out and easy to understand.

The fact that this was so easy to find, and there is no mystery or ambiguity surrounding it immediately dismisses any thoughts of “scam” in my mind.

Several consumers have had a bad customer experience with Melaleuca, particularly when trying to end their subscription. However, this happens with a lot of customers. You are taking away a source of revenue from them, so it is only natural that they will try to keep you as long as possible. Perhaps their customer service could do with some improvement, but what business couldn’t do with better customer service?

Melaleuca is not without their flaws, however, the majority of their customers seem satisfied with their service, and it appears that only a small handful of customers feel scammed. Bad news travels faster than good news, so its understandable how this reputation has spread.
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Melaleuca prides themselves on having cheaper, safer, more environmentally friendly, and better performing products than their competitors. They have placed a lot of pressure on themselves to live up to this reputation.

There have been some cases where customers have been extremely dissatisfied with the effectiveness of their products, and with exactly how “natural” they are. It should be noted that Melaleuca don’t claim that all their products are 100% natural. There are complaints were consumers have taken ill from taking Melaleuca vitamins, claiming they caused kidney stones. However, the author admits that he has no proof that it was the Melaleuca products that caused this, and also fails to mention what else he had been consuming during this time period. This claim, along with many others, is unsubstantiated, and until there is proof that Melaleuca products are the cause of these serious illnesses, we must assume that they are not. Melaleuca products must remain innocent until proven guilty.

Furthermore, Melaleuca products comply with FDA standards. There has been several well documented cases where their products did not comply, and so Melaleuca altered them accordingly in order to meet FDA guidelines before launch. Melaleuca have also recalled products that used nuts that were suspected to be dodgy in order to avoid their customers falling ill.

The intense safety checks their products go through, and the hard work Melaleuca do to ensure that products are fit to consume strongly suggests that their products are not a scam. Each individual is different, and so one customer may find that they do acheive better results with a rival brand- it doesn’t mean they are a scam.  Many others buy their products month after month because they are better suited to their needs.

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The truth is that Melaleuca are not a scam in any way- not to their customers, not in a money making sense, and not in a product sense. Melaleuca is a legitimate, lawful company. While their products and customer service might not suit every single individual, the same can be said for any business. Melaleuca seem like a low risk business venture, which could prove to be profitable for you. Melaleuca are not a scam at all.