iBuumerang Review: 2022 MLM Pyramid Scheme Scam or Easy Opportunity?

iBuumerang Review

The overview and rankings

Products (Including Pricing): 95 out of 100

Success Stories: 5 out of 100

Price To Join MLM: $250 to $1,000 one time fee (optional) + $49.95 to $99.95 per month (40 out of 100)

What to look for in a MLM:

What is iBuumerang?

iBuumerang is a Multi-Level-Marketing company that offers a discount to people booking holidays.

iBuumerang was originally known as "countdown4freedom" but was later renamed iBuumerang.

This company's main goal is to offer you a travel discount using their search engine...Like any other multilevel marketing company, there are two ways to make money with iBuumerang.

The first is to sell their services to individuals and earn retail commissions. The second step is to recruit others and earn recurring fees from them.

The second is a superior choice; it is the finest approach to generating more money through iBuumerang. It is more profitable.

Here's the recruiting process in this MLM. CEO of iBuumerang. He has been involved in the web economy for over ten years and is an expert in network marketing. Throughout these years, he has engaged in a variety of businesses.

The man's name is Holton Buggs. He has previously led other MLMs and served as the chief missionary officer of the well-known MLM enterprise Organo Gold.

He also pushed the IQ CHAIN Ponzi scheme.

Now, why did I say he had a horrible background?

This is because he was involved in several pyramid schemes before coming up with the idea for Ibuumerang.

If you don't know, pyramid schemes are unlawful in the United States, and fraudsters usually manage them. If someone works for a scam, I also consider him a scammer.

It also offers everyday people the chance to earn money by promoting their travel discounts and recruiting more people into the business.

This is what their website claims:

Here at iBuumerang, you throw out good will and savings and you get rewarded with a travel savings bonus in cash!

Basically, give something away that’s good and good things will come back to you.

Like a boomerang… or karma!

The 6 minute video below explains more about the opportunity available at iBuumerang...

So all of this exciting potential commission sounds great, right?

Well, you're smart enough to recognise that video as a sales presentation. So you're probably still wondering...

Is iBuumerang a pyramid scheme?

Technically no, iBuumerang is not a pyramid scheme. 

It's possible for members to make money just from selling these discounted travel tickets. 

But the real money comes from recruiting more people into the MLM company.

This makes iBuumerang similar to a "pyramid scheme in disguise". Let me explain what I mean by that...

What is a pyramid scheme?

A company that pays its members for recruiting more people rather than selling a product or service. 

Pyramid schemes are illegal in most countries because it's impossible for everyone to make money inside this type of business model. Just see the Wikipedia diagram below to see why...

Most MLMs, like iBuumerang, do offer a legit service or product or discounted tickets in this case. 

However, the only way members can guarantee to avoid losing money and earn residual income is by recruiting more people. That makes iBuumerange very similar to a pyramid scheme in disguise. 

Just watch the 5 minute video below to see why...

Success is rare with iBuumerang

In fact, success is hard to find inside any MLM.

Did you know that between 72.5% and 99.9% of all MLM representatives lose money?

iBuumerang is not a public company and hasn't released an income disclosure like most MLMs do. 

However, from some simple maths you can see that it will cost at least $850 a year to become a distributor. If you can sell a $2,000 holiday package to a friend you will receive around $150 from commissions. 

That means just to break even you need to sell 6 x $2,000 holiday packages.

And this is the reason why most people end up losing money from MLMs. That's not easy to do and they often make it sound like you'll be able to do this from part time work!

Who owns iBuumerang?

You can tell a lot about a business from the owner.

So it’s a good idea to have an idea of who the boss is of any company before diving in. Their morals and work ethic can help show the direction a company will go in.

Meet Holton Buggs…

You can check out his 10 minutes “motivational speech” to see more about the man himself…

There’s no denying the man clearly has charisma. But that’s certainly not everything to look for in a business owner!

Just so you know, here are the rest of the iBuumerang corporate team in case you want to check them out:

• David Manning — President and CEO of Xstream Travel
• Terrance Gray “T.Gray” — VP of Business Development
• Mark Kithcart — VP of Marketing
• Peter Hirsch — Chief Giving Officer of the Büüm Foundation
• Lori Speers — Director of Travel Services

For now, let’s just dig into Buggs’ background as he’s the man running the show.

Holton Buggs History:

• Born in Florida in 1972
• Aged 14, he began cutting hair and selling candy to make some pocket money
• He figured he could make a profit by buying candy in bulk and getting his friends to sell the candy… sometimes paying them with haircuts! (sounds like an MLM already!)
• Then he attended Texas Southern University with a football scholarship… but injured his leg
• Holton created a successful furniture business but found himself in $250k debt in 1999 due to the change in the economy
• Enter MLM’s… sketchy CyberWize to be exact
• That one was no good so enter… Your Travel Biz aka YTB International (a travel MLM… hmm sound familiar?)… it turned out to be an illegal pyramid scheme
• In 2010 he joined Orgao Gold and was making $1.3 million a month by 2013
• In 2018 Organo Gold partnered with a blockchain company Digital SkyNet… but they were linked to a scammy cryptocurrency MLM, IQ Chain… oh and Buggs was put in charge of the blockchain stuff!
• Buggs got out in late 2018, but his reputation took a hit (and a hefty fee in a lawsuit… keep reading this iBuumerang review to see more)
• He started iBuumerang in March 2019 and did $20 million in sales within the first 6 months.

If you read all of that, you probably agree he is one resilient man… surely a Buggs film will be released one day!

He’s had many setbacks and failures but he’s found a way to succeed!

You’re probably wondering how iBuumerang is any different to previous failures and pyramid schemes, like YTB.

So let’s dig in a bit more, shall we?…

How does iBuumerang Work?

These travel MLMs have existed for a very long time... Therefore, when you think about it, there is nothing novel here.

IBuumerang is a service that enables others to visit the IGo booking engine and benefit from its discounted vacation rates.

Remember Xstream Travel, the business we previously discussed? They are in charge of iGo... It is only accessible to those who have acquired subscriptions to iBuumerang.

Distributors of iBummerang can help their friends save money on travel by providing them with access to their iGo account.

The beautiful thing about iGo Boomerang is that your friends and clients may utilize it similarly to how they would use Kayak, TripAdvisor, or Expedia!

And, believe it or not, iGo provides discounts that can save you hundreds of dollars, particularly compared to the most famous travel websites!

They provide discounts on cheap flights, hotels, rental vehicles, luxury houses, cruises, and theme parks!

In addition, they offer a low-price guarantee and a full refund! However, it does not apply to flights... However, is a cheap hotel room not all that horrible?

The only way to obtain these fantastic bargains and savings is to get a boomerang from a TSA agent. A Travel Savings Ambassador is an independent iBuumerang distributor known as a TSA.

You receive a commission if someone uses your boomerang to book a vacation on the iGo website.

It's a circumstance in which both parties benefit; they save money, and you earn cash.

Isn't it easy?

However, there is a catch:

Depending on your membership level, you can only send a set number of boomerangs monthly.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The greater your membership level and the greater the amount you pay, the more boomerangs you will receive.

Suppose you have five per month... This indicates that you may have five clients per month, etc.

How can you obtain more boomerangs?

There are three main ways.

Increase your membership status.

Purchase supplemental items individually.

Recruit new members. Alright then.

It is, after all, an MLM.

The amazing thing about iBuumerang is that it includes iDecide Presentation, which simplifies recruiting.

So what is it exactly?

It is a little video produced by iBuumerang's corporate office.

But everyone despises knocking on doors, attending home parties, and being treated like a crazed salesperson as part of an MLM.

However, as a result of this brief talk, they evolved... You only need to attach it to a short SMS or email.

It is much simpler!

However, others may be skeptical and recognize it for what it is.

However, it is currently functioning for them! iBuumerang's popularity is soaring!

It’s as easy as 1,2,3…

The idea is nothing new.

You send your friends (or people) to iGo booking engine (which is run by Xstream Travel), they book their holiday (at a discount)… you get paid!

Simple right?

So what are the actual…

iBuumerang products

It’s again really simple.

You can send discounts for:

• Flights
• Hotels
• Rental Cars
• Homes
• Timeshares
• and more…

Some examples are below…

As you can see the price of the hotels and rental cars are pretty heavily discounted.

In fact, there is also the “lowest price guarantee” that iBuumerang offers!

That’s pretty good right?!

So you’re probably wondering…

Can you make money with iBuumerang?

It's no easy task to make money from iBuumerang. 

Here's something you won't hear on their website or from the person that introduced you to it...

Most people will lose money as a distributor. 

The few people that do make money treat this more like a full time "sales manager" position.

If you plan to make some pocket money from part time work, you will likely become one of the people that loses money (unless you know a ton of people that go on ready packaged holidays multiple times a year).

How to make money with iBuumerang

There are 3 main ways that you can get paid in iBuumerang which are:

• Referring Customers that Book Travel
• Current Team Members That Book Travel
• MLM Referral Commissions

The first one is the most obvious and I will let Denise walk you through how to do this in the 3-minute video below…

Basically you send a code to a friend and you get a commission if they book a holiday through it.

They save money. You make money.

Win-win.

Starting to sound quite exciting right? Now, I can almost hear your mind thinking…

How much does it cost to join iBuumerang?

You will have to pay at least $49.95 per month to become an affiliate member for iBuumerang.

That “standby” enrollment kit comes with 5 boomerangs and the iDecide Tool.

There are 3 global packages that you can also upgrade with

• Coach Class Package – This package will cost $250 and then $49.95 per month and get you 10 Boomerangs
• Business Class Package – This package will cost $500 and then $99.95 per month and get you 25 Boomerangs
• First-Class Package – This package will cost $1000 and then $99.95 per month and get you 50 Boomerangs

There are different bonuses to each package but the main one is you can receive more commission for each package you buy.

But, do you remember Denise explaining how you have a certain number of Boomerangs you can send?

Well, there are 3 ways you can get more Boomerangs:

1. Upgrade to a higher membership level (as above)
2. Buy more individual boomerangs (the cost isn’t listed yet)
3. Recruit other iBuumerang members

This leads us nicely onto the…

iBuumerang iDecide- Online marketing software

iDecide makes iBuumerang a bit different to most MLM programs because it helps you do a few things:

• Send out iBuumerang information to more people (about the MLM business and the discounted products)
• Track who is interested and who is not interested (including when someone is watching the video)
• Add contacts to automatically send emails to people interested in joining the MLM program or become a customer

The 4-minute video below, by Mike Healy (not me!), walks you through exactly what the iDecide software does…

Seeing this video may make you realise how powerful this software could be.

So let’s dive into…

iBuumerang compensation plan

First of all… every MLM compensation plan is confusing! So I’ll keep this as simple as possible.

Remember, your first job as an iBuumerang affiliate is to help people save money on travel!

Saying that, there are 6 ways you can make money from iBuumerang:

1. Referred Travel Bonus – The first way is to directly refer someone to Xstream Travel. You’ll receive 25% of the commission as a “referral bonus” if the customer buys something here.

2. Travel Savings Bonus (TSB) – You earn money when you send a Boomerang and direct someone to the iGo travel portal. This can be confusing so I’m just going to use an example of referring a friend to help:

• Normal trip price = $1,000
• iGo offer = $700
• Total savings = $300
• Your friend (customer) gets 50% of the saving, meaning the total cost of the trip is $700 + (50% of $300) = $850
• If you are coach class you receive 50% of their savings = $75
• If you are Business/ First Class you receive 100% of their savings = $150

Simple right?… sort of!

3. Fast Start Bonus (aka Direct Sales Bonus) – Commission for recruiting new iBuumerang distributors ($20, $40 or $80 for a coach, business or first class recruit)

4. Dual Team Bonus (aka Residual Commission) – You earn 10-20% bonus of your “weakest leg”.

iBuumerang uses a “binary” commission structure so the people you recruit can build “teams” under them.

I told you it can get confusing!

All you need to know is you get bonuses from your team’s efforts.

5. Unilevel Commissions – Paid monthly based on your personally enrolled recruits’ earnings. You can earn an extra 5-10% on 7 “levels deep”.

6. Leadership Development Bonus – If your personal recruits achieve a higher ranking you get another bonus…

Right, it’s getting confusing now isn’t it?

Well, here’s Mike again to explain the compensation visually with the old school whiteboard!

Or you can find the full iBuumerang compensation plan here. 

How to cancel iBuumerang

You can contact iBuumerang to cancel at any time.

You do need to watch out for the loopholes though…

 Terms and Conditions:

TERM: Notice of cancellation must be received ten business days before your Monthly Anniversary Date in order to avoid charges for that month.

But beware!!…

SUBSCRIPTION DATE: If your join date falls between the 26th and the 31st of the month, your Subscription date will automatically become the 25th of the month even though the system may show your Subscription date as the 26th, 27th, etc., it will run on the 25th.

If you need support directly from iBuumerang you can use their website or via email: support@ibuumerang.com.

Is iBuumerang a scam?

No, iBuumerang is not a scam…

There are two main ways an online course can be a scam:

1. Take your money and run off into the sunset, never to be heard from again
2. Provide some information but it doesn’t live up to their promises

Even though iBuumerang does provide legit products and is not a scam, it doesn’t mean the opportunity is right for everyone.

The rest of this iBuumerang review will show you the pros and cons of joining.

Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse iBuumerang in any way.

I have researched the website, testimonials and information on the Internet to get to the bottom of what this program genuinely does. This is because I have been burnt from programs just like this in the past and I want to prevent others from making the same mistakes. If you’d like to learn how to “Spot an Online Marketing Scam” then click the highlighted text.

Common positive reviews

Here are some of the positive reviews we had from Indeed about the job opportunity...

• "Love the team work. Positive people to work with. Different out look. Amazing attitude building each other everyday. CEO is a great leader. I love it."
• "Enjoy working with great and caring leaders, that care about others being successful. Love traveling, and throwing out buumerangs. Great company to work for."

Common negative reviews

And here are the common negative reviews...

• "At the end of the day, this company is no different than any other MLM company out there. To actually make the most money, you have to sell the most vacation packages. Which means at some point or another you’re going to have to beg for people to help you earn more. Because ultimately, Holton Buggs and the 1% of iBuumerang are the ones that make the lions share of the money."

What I like about iBuumerang

Here are some of the things I like about iBuumerang…

Key Terms:

• Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from referring others to the service rather than providing a product
• Affiliate Marketing- Connecting a customer to a product they are looking for and receiving a commission for doing so
• Red Flag - A warning sign

#1 Early momentum phase

iBuumerang is still in the “momentum phase” of the business. It only started in March 2019 so it won’t be oversaturated with recruiters… yet!

Here it is on Google trends compared to another MLM review I’ve done.

This means it’s still going to grow and there’s potential to find people interested in joining before everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

#2 Owner has MLM experience

This is a big reason why iBuumerang started so well.

Holton Buggs got the company kickstarted by using his contacts and MLM connections.

He certainly knows a thing or two about MLM companies so hopefully he has learnt from his mistakes!

#3 Travel Is Popular!

Who doesn’t want to go on holiday?

And who doesn’t wasnt to find a bargain?

You should be able to find loads of people that would love to see the discounts offered by iBuumerang.

It does after all offer the…

#4 Lowest travel price

This is a huge selling point!

If you know someone who wants to go on holiday or travel with business, then you can simply say…

“I can get you the lowest price guaranteed”

It’s a bold claim with all the travel companies that now exist.

But they offer a 110% refund on the difference between a cheaper deal you find compared to theirs.

(The bit I’m not sure on and can’t find out is whether this is the “iGo price” or the final price the customer pays… remember they only get 50% of the discounted price)

What I don't like about iBuumerang

Here are some of the bad parts of iBuumerang that you should be aware of before diving in…

#1 Expensive products

Travel is still a luxury.

People may only travel once a year or maybe 3 to 5 times max. It’s not something that people do every month!

Seriously just think about how many people you think you know that could benefit from this and you are comfortable enough telling them about.

• Let’s say it’s 100 people (I know my number is less).
• So let’s just say that 70 people decide to buy through your link.
• Imagine they all happened to book a holiday worth $3,000.

Even with these outrageously generous numbers, you would be looking at a commission of around $31,500.

You wouldn’t be paid regularly for that and you need to factor in your costs to join (this is working off the first-class commission)...

Expenses: $1,000 + $99.95 x 12 = $2,199.40

That leaves you with under $30,000 profit for a year. Is that enough for you and your family to live off and allow you to work from home?

#2 Shady history of the owner

I want to believe that Holton has gained a lot of experience and lessons.

But you know what they say… a leopard doesn’t change its spots.

Holton Buggs has been linked to previous MLM scams including CyberWize and Your Travel Biz International.

He’s also been found guilty in 2019 of stealing trade secrets and distributors from another MLM and ordered to pay over $3 million in damages.

Do you really think he’s just packed in his sneaky techniques for good?

#3 Is iBuumerang a pyramid scheme in disguise?

Here's the truth...

You will only make good money by recruiting more people into the MLM. And when there is a focus on recruiting it always ends up looking like this...

Still don't believe me? Just look at these then...

#4 Similar to previous failures

The CEO of Xstream (who iBuumerang is partnered with) has been linked to other travel-based MLMs in the past such as The Vacation Network, TraVerus Global, and Paycation.

They have all disappeared and failed!

Watch a bit of the clip below by David Manning…

Does Paycation seem familiar to you too?

Have these guys really learnt their lesson, or have they found a way to make a quick buck then duck out?

#5 Negative iBuumerang reviews

Online forums such as Reddit show what people who have tried the company think about it…

As you can see there is pressure added to people to put their friends on a list and try to get them to join.

I don’t know about you, but personally I’m not a fan of abusing my trust and relationships with friends and family to try and make some money.

There’s only one thing that you’ll become known for if you try this for too long.

My opinion - iBuumerang

There’s only one type of person that should even consider this as a business opportunity…

Travel bloggers.

If you get a lot of traffic to your website already then you may be able to offer the discount to “targeted and interested” people every day without having to try the “hard sell”.

Of course, you could make some commission by telling your mom and best mate about it before they book their next holiday.

But what are the chances they want to join the MLM program?

The only way to make consistent and good money from iBuumerang is to either have thousands of people every month see your discount… or to recruit many people into the MLM program.

The lowest price guarantee is great… but it’s not enough.

How I make passive income online

MLMs are not all scams or illegal. However, I'm not a fan of them because of the restrictions to the expensive products you have to promote.

Once I learnt about affiliate marketing, I realised it's a far superior business model because:

• You can promote anything you want and truly own the business
• You never need to sell to friends and family
• It's completely free to start

In 2018 I had no idea what affiliate marketing was.