I am quite sure that it is every woman’s dream to live the beauty-filled life of Snow White. Just imagine yourself waking up in the early morning with the soft sunlight streaming into your windows, caressing your soft, delicate, and pristine skin. The birds sing of your legendary beauty and the flowers bloom in celebration of your youthful face. The world rejoices in your beauty. Every morning when you wake up, you always feel like a newly-restored soul with that beauty. I know that is the exact moment you want to have a grip on and that is what Rodan + Fields promises: a life-changing skincare. But is it really the opportunity you have been waiting for or a red flag silently whispering “Rodan + Fields Scam Alert”?
Sitting inside Starbucks, sipping a hot cup of latte, the Rodan + Fields consultants would promise you the beauty that every woman envies and a way to earn money. You, being a fanatic of Aphrodite and a business-minded woman, would surely grasp it right away. We don’t despise your dream. We all want to be beautiful and rich! Yet, you might want to step on the brake, drop some actions of scrutiny and have your own Rodan-Fields-Scam-Alert investigation before diving in.
Despite the reputation that Rodan + Fields being a legit multi-level marketing (MLM) opportunity, there are still doubts everywhere asking whether this company is actually legit or not. Is it worth it to spend hundreds of dollars for its beauty products? Is it a legit job opportunity? Or is it another scam alert hiding under the alias MLM? What should we believe in? Before biting that red apple, let us first unravel the details hiding under the cloak of Rodan+ Fields, our dear princess.
Rodan + Fields: The Basics
- Company: Rodan + Fields
- Type: MLM Skincare Company
- Website: rodanandfields.com
- Cost to Join: $45
For starters, Rodan + Fields is an American MLM company and manufacturer of skincare products. It was started by two American dermatologists, Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields. The two met at Stanford University School of Medicine and developed the Proactiv Solution as a preventative skincare for acne in 1995. This gave birth to the production of various skincare products of Rodan + Fields.
According to Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, Rodan + Fields is currently considered as one of the most popular skincare brands because of tons of its celebrity endorsements and infomercials (Well, thanks Katy Perry!).
Despite the fame and recognition, the company has always been a center of talks due to its business model. This led the community of many consumer advocates to criticize the company highlighting that the business model of Rodan + Fields is a close image of the pyramid scheme. Hmm… if that is true, Katy Cat should consider screening the advertisements she would have next time!
The R+F Luxurious Products
You might be wondering why Rodan + Fields products cost quite a lot. Well, if there is one reason that a consultant would slap our faces with, it would be the “efficacy” of their products. Let me highlight that… the E-F-F-I-C-A-C-Y. Sure, of course, a kit that could cost hundreds of dollars should at least give you a favorable result. They should.
The company produces various products ranging from moisturizers to body washes to hair products. Nevertheless, Rodan + Fields gained its popularity through its primary product: the three-step anti-acne kit consisting of a cleanser, toner and lotion.
Due to various famous personalities endorsing the brand, the Rodan + Fields products were welcomed by the public in full craze. However, despite its established reputation polished by various celebrity supporters, there are also numbers of product users who complain about the safety of the Rodan + Field products. Most reports stated that users who complained suffered from skin reactions caused by the benzoyl peroxide, which is one of the ingredients in some of the Rodan + Fields products. After that, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that products containing benzoyl peroxide and/or salicylic acid can start a severe irritation to an individual or, worse, rare but life-threatening allergic reactions.
With this, Consumer Reports had a review in 2011 where it conducted a test measuring the efficacy (*coughs) of Rodan + Fields Proactiv products. It was tested alongside two other cheaper products using benzoyl peroxide: AcneFree and OXY Maximum. At the end of a two-month test (You guessed that right!), the study found out that the three products worked equally effective. Erm… well, what can we say but sorry for the hundreds of bucks you lost, Honey.
Compensation Plan: How Does Rodan+Fields Work?
Well, it is given that anyone aspires for smooth, celebrity-like skin and no one can deny that. However, given the fact that Proactiv products of Rodan + Fields contain benzoyl peroxide which can be harmful for some people, you might want to think again before putting the R+F products at the top of your beauty product list. But of course, who cares if it could be harmful to others, right? We are here to earn dollar$, Baby! So, let us have a peek of the company’s five proposed ways to earn in their compensation plan.
- Retail Profit – Obviously, since Rodan + Field is an MLM, expect that you would be selling a lot of their products. This is the profit you would earn from selling products to your retail customers and preferred customers. So, you need to sell cream to your neighbor, Susan; sell lotion to your awkward cousin, Sally; sell toner to your chatty Aunt, Aunt Gertrude. So it’s all about your personal sale! Sale! Sale! Sale!
- Consultant Commission – To be considered as an active consultant, you need to have a minimum of 100 sales volume for your consultant account for each commission period. This quota is divided by 20-80. Consultants need to pay $24.95 to run their R+F website monthly. That represents the 20 percent. While the other 80 percent or $80 should be in form of R+F products sold to customers. Sorry about your twenty, though. Anyway, the “good news” is you have 10 percent level commission on all commissionable volumes including volumes from your customers and consultants on your Level 1. Well, that’s if you are good enough to lure people and make them consultants under your team. You better wear an unfading smile to please and lure possible consultants in this part. Say cheese!
- Personal Team Commissions – In this, you’d get a 5 percent commission on the commissionable volume generated by all the consultants and customers on your personal team. Nevertheless, you would just be eligible for this commission if, and only if, you would be able to reach the executive consultant position which requires a minimum of 600 Personally Sponsored Qualifying Volumes. What’s this “PSVQ”? PSVQ is the qualifying volume generated by the preferred customers you personally enroll in the program and consultants you personally sponsor, including qualifying volume from retail customers.
- Generation Commissions – You become eligible for this commission when you support consultants in advancing as executive consultants. When this happens, those consultants would break off of your “team” and form their own “team”. These teams would be your “generation”. Thus, “generations” are teams formed within your own “team”. You would earn commission from those generations, depending on the numbers of consultants that you support to move into executive consultant status. If you would be able to aid one or two of your consultants to become executive assistant/s, you would benefit from Generation I to Generation II volumes. But promote eight consultants to executive consultant rank, you’d have commissions from Generation I to Generation V volumes. Yey! More generations to earn from! But can you do it? How much time would it take you to do it?
- Performance Bonuses - This is awarded for the consultant’s performance achievements. R+F consultants are eligible to participate in award programs that are offered from time to time. It even includes RFx Car Incentive Program and other programs promising consultants an early return of their efforts.
Also, here is the progression of status in Rodan + Fields. As we know in a lot of MLM opportunities, the higher the position, the bigger the compensation.
- Consultant
- Active Consultant
- Executive consultant
- Level I Executive
- Level II Executive
- Level III Executive
- Level IV Executive
- Premier Executive
- Elite Executive
- RFx Executive
Upon reaching the RFx Executive status, an individual can compensate down to the Generation VI commission. Sounds tempting, isn’t it? But, really, how many of the previous Rodan + Fields consultants made that far? We will see that.
Rodan+Fields: RED FLAGS!
We know that the above information could appear as a crunchy red apple that is truly enticing for you to bite. But how about slicing it open and, perhaps, look for some parasitic worms that could be crawling inside it? Let’s see.
According to the 2016 Income Disclosure agreement of Rodan + Fields, 90 percent of the company’s members earned less than $200 a month and 96 percent earned less that $500 a month. On the other hand, only two percent of active sellers make the annual minimum wage or higher.
On the other hand, according to its 2019 Income Disclosure Statement, the Rodan + Fields stated that of its 362, 300 enrolled consultants, only 55 percent or 200, 322 of them were considered paid consultants. From those consultants, top 50 percent was paid more than $466, top 10 percent was paid more than $4,327 and top one percent was paid $26,096 for that year. I know! And now you know! Who could live a life with those figures for an entire year? Well, unless you’re one of the top one percent earning five figures a year. Unfortunately, joining an MLM opportunity always takes newbies like you at the bottom of the system. What does it mean? Is it bad?
Is Rodan+Fields Legit?
Rodan + Fields has always been accused of a pyramid scheme. So, is Rodan + Fields a pyramid scheme? The answer is no. It has been in the business for quite some time now. If it is an illegal pyramid scheme, it would be closed by now. Rodan + Fields is an MLM company that has a system somehow resembling the system of a pyramid scheme. What? An MLM opportunity with a system of a pyramid scheme? Aren’t they the same? MLMs and pyramid schemes are two different things.
Pyramid scheme relies completely on the money coming from streams of recruits unwittingly believing with investments that are non-existent. This system runs by recruiting victims and letting them recruit their own victims and so on. Once the numbers of recruits deplete, the stream of income for the entire system would fall causing its entire doom.
On the other hand, MLM companies strive by selling products and recruiting workers using the pyramid system. From recruiting other individuals to be a part of his team, the recruiter can benefit from the earnings of his recruits by taking some commissions from them. This could be an utter downside for those at the bottom of the system as those at the top feast on the commissions that are rightfully for those who work for it.
Not just that, there are also MLM companies that tend to focus on recruitment instead on the promotion of their products and force them to purchase the products on a monthly basis. Well, it isn’t a pyramid scheme since there are obviously concrete products being sold, right? Well, yes, but the fact that those products are being forced down the throats of those individuals is another thing!
We hate to break it to you but this is the reality about MLM opportunities. You cannot earn by just making sales on your own but by recruiting other consultants to be a part of your team. Well, again, that would be a good thing for YOU if you would benefit from earning commissions from their sweat. But the sad news is that starting a journey on the field of MLM would always bring you to the bottom of the pyramid. You would also be a prey under the system with your rightful profits being sucked away from you by those above you. Yeah, we know, it sucks. This world is full of suckers.
Should I Dive in?
Well, that’s a question that leaves you with visible points to consider. We know that Rodan + Fields is one of the most well-established MLM companies of all times. It got numerous famous celebrities on its back gracing the products with flattery and influence. If purchasing Rodan + Fields products is your reason for the membership, well, that’s up to you. But having it as a form of source of profit by selling them, you should also consider the risk of endangering other’s health as stated earlier. Dealing with customers who might experience such skin reactions could put you in a great problem. Nevertheless, that would be the least of your concerns as there are other proven products that are effective as Rodan + Fields skincare products but are a lot affordable.
Finding recruits could also pose a challenge for you. In these times where a lot of MLM opportunities are lurking around, it would be quite hard to find interested individuals to be your recruit. It takes great enthusiasm, time, effort and devotion to grow a team in any MLM opportunities. Despite the promising future being shared by a lot of consultants, charging your way to the top could take quite some time and a great deal of effort, and investment. Thus, if you are looking for an opportunity that would help you to make ends meet, you might want to think again before biting the bait any MLM companies are offering.
Now should you dive in? You know what the answer is.
Weighing Things: Pros and Cons
Now that we have mentioned all the important facts that you should know about Rodan + Fields, let us have a review of the important points before making your decision whether to take the risk of being an R+F consultant or scoot and skedaddle and perhaps find a better way to earn.
Pros:
- It is a known brand and has been endorsed by a lot of celebrities. Of course, you want some brand that is being trusted by your favorite artists! Britney, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry use the products themselves. At least that’s what they say.
- There are lots of products to choose from; from hair to skin to face. Rodan + Fields provide a lot of product options for you.
- There is a possibility of earning commissions down to the Generation VI if you would be able to reach the RFx Executive status. If.
Cons:
- There are other cheaper products using the same ingredients but show the same efficacy. It is like buying the brand instead of looking for practicality of the product… unless you have a handful of cash on your hands you’re willing to dispose.
- The Rodan + Fields Proactiv contains benzoyl peroxide which can be harmful for some individuals. This could impose problems not just to you but so as to your possible buyers who you have no clue of medical history.
- This is not a good shot as a full-time job opportunity. As the figures of Rodan + Fields 2019 Income Disclosure Statement say, of 200, 322 paid consultants, only the top 50 percent was paid more than $466 for that year. You don’t want to be like that.
- Rodan + Fields is an MLM company. To earn more and make more sales, you need to build your own team and recruit people. Inviting some to be a part of your team can be quite difficult given the fact that there are lots of other MLM opportunities prowling everywhere trying to recruit people as well.
- It has a pyramid system. To join this, you need to brave the fact that you would be placed at the bottom of the system. No matter how hard you try making some sales, those above you would take some commissions from the earnings you personally make.
Is it Worth the Risk?
You need to know that jobs are no picnic. No job is easy BUT there are jobs that can compensate you well. That’s what you always need to find.
Rodan + Fields is one of the MLM opportunities out there promising anyone good compensation but let us admit that it is a company that aims to earn as well. The compensation plan that is being presented by Rodan + Fields promises various bonuses and compensations for you but attaining them requires you a heck lot of effort and time. A HECK LOT OF TIME. No one can wait years just to earn well. We all have our daily expenses that we need to address.
Most of all, Rodan + Fields is an MLM company. So? What seems to be the problem? Again, it is an MLM company. MLMs have a great chance of failure. According to a 2017 report by the Consumer Awareness Institute, 99 percent of MLM sellers lose money instead of gaining profits. It is quite the total opposite of the things being shown by various MLM companies to attract recruits. We hate to say it but it is the reality. No sugarcoating.
If you still want to take the risk, you are more than free to do so. Just make sure to use all means to be on top because staying at the bottom of the system for a long time means wasting time, effort and resources. Good luck!
Conclusion: The Final Verdict
Well, it is not our verdict that should be highlighted here. It is yours. You know what’s worthy of your time and what’s not. At the end of the day, we all just want the finest of things; be it a beautiful face, smooth skin, a fat bank account, or a stable job. Attaining these things depends on your decision. So, would you risk taking the path of the MLM industry? It is a decision for you to personally make. Nevertheless, then again, consider your time, effort, and resources. Make sure that your decision would take you somewhere greener, somewhere better.
We do hope that this article helped you to be enlightened about MLMs. Are you still looking for a better way to earn from home? Fed up with the hassle and embarrassing moments of recruiting a friend and family members or sharing your hard-earned commissions? Check out what we recommend here!