So you've probably been introduced to Seacret Direct as a great way to look after your skin and "be your own boss"! But you're probably wondering... is Seacret Direct a pyramid scheme scam?
First of all, I want to congratulate you on taking some time to research the company.
The main reason that 99% of MLM members lose money is because most people dive into them blindly.
This honest Seacret Direct review, with videos, will expose the true pros and cons of joining the company so that you can make an informed decision if it's right for you or not.
Seacret Direct Review
The overview and rankings
Name: Seacret Direct
Founder: Ben Shabat in 2001
Type: Personal care & wellness MLM
Products (Including Pricing): 30 out of 100
Success Stories: 1 out of 100
Price To Join MLM: $49 per year + $50 for product pack
35PV a month = ~$50 a month (30 out of 100)
What to look for in a MLM:
Summary: Seacret Direct is a MLM company that sells a range of expensive skincare and nutrition products. But many people do leave positive reviews about their "minerals from the dead sea" products.
However, hardly anyone makes money as a Seacret MLM member. In fact, only 1 out of 416 members earn more than $16k a year and I will prove it to you in this Seacret Direct review.
Make Time Online Rating: 20 out of 100
Recommended: No
What is Seacret Direct?
Seacret Direct is a personal care and wellness Multi-Level-Marketing company.
It was founded in 2001 by Ben Shabat and his brother with a focus on helping people "look and feel their best from head to toe". They provide a range of skincare and nutrition products.
Seacret products are Dead Sea minerals, mud and nutrients. The manufacturers claim that the products will rejuvenate the skin, make the fine lines and wrinkles disappear, and help you defy your age.
Seacret may have begun as a mall kiosk, which worked for them. They essentially started the Dead Sea fever in skincare and beauty care products in 2005 when they opened a Phoenix, AZ, branch.
Drawing inspiration from their homeland experience, they struck gold when they began selling their Dead Sea items in shopping center booths.
Seacret was worldwide in just five years, with many sources in 20 nations, and pushed over $500 million in deals since launching it. Some of their most outstanding business sectors are outside of the U.S. in spots like Australia and Korea.
Seacret is trusted for its commitment to healthy, high-quality, clean ingredients and the highest product manufacturing and service standards. However, the quality of Seacret's products is not what CEO Izhak Ben Shabat and his family consider Seacret's most significant achievement.
It's their community of excellent Agents who share their commitment to being of service, integrity, and positivity. The Seacret community is exceptional; they are supportive and caring of each other and strive to make life better for themselves and others as we grow worldwide.
Seacret also provides an opportunity for everyday people to work from home by selling their products and recruiting more people.
The 3 minute video below explains more about their story...
Most people will watch that video and start to get pretty excited. However, rare thinking people like you know that it's just a clever marketing video made by Seacret.
So you're probably still wondering...
Is Seacret Direct a pyramid scheme?
Technically no, Seacret Direct is not a pyramid scheme.
It's possible for their members to make money just by selling the products. However, a better question to ask would be, is Seacret Direct a "pyramid scheme in disguise"?...
What is a pyramid scheme?
A company that promises payment to members for recruiting people rather than selling a product or service.
The Wikipedia diagram below shows you why these are illegal in most countries and why it's impossible for everyone to make money inside a pyramid scheme...
Most MLMs, like Seacret, do offer legit products.
However, the only way distributors can realistically make good money in the company and avoid losing money each month is by recruiting people into their downline. This makes Seacret very similar to a pyramid scheme in disguise.
Just watch the 5 minute video below to see why...
Success is rare with Seacret Direct MLM
Truth be told, success is rare in any MLM company.
Did you know that between 73% and 99% of all MLM representatives lose money?
In fact, you can see that 98.9% of Seacret distributors made less than $2,000 for the entire year in Seacrets income disclosure.
And when you account for costs to join and run the "Seacret business" you can see that the majority of members will actually lose money. We'll dig into the income disclosure in more detail later in this Seacret Direct review, but for now let's figure out...
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How does Seacret Direct Work?
Seacret creates a range of health and personal care products to help people look and feel better.
But instead of spending loads of money on marketing and advertising their products, they get everyday people to help sell them. In return these "distributors" get a chance to make money from home.
In theory it's like a win-win!
It's difficult for a person to bring in cash with Seacret Direct, and we've just discovered that 99% of Seacret wholesalers generate under $2,000 yearly.
Nonetheless, there are a few wholesalers that do take in substantial income inside any MLM organization.
The best Seacret Direct merchants act more like "sales managers." Commonly, the best individuals will be very outgoing and quite adept at "selling the dream" by taking advantage of the influence of social media.
Seacret Direct products
Before you dive into the MLM company it's important to really understand more about their products.
Seacret offers dozens of products in 3 main categories:
- Skincare
- Bath and body
- Nutrition
There are too many to go into detail about them all here, but you can find all the Seacret products on offer here.
It's important to be aware that there are thousands of brands that offer a very similar range of products to Seacret. There are even hundreds of MLMs that offer a very similar product range such as some others that I have reviewed before:
So what makes Seacret stand out?...
Seacret Minerals from the Dead Sea- flagship product
Seacret's "Minerals from the Dead Sea" collection definitely give it a different approach to skincare.
They have a range of different skincare products with this feature such as:
- Body butter
- Salt and oil scrub
- Salt scrub
- Foot cream
- Body mud
- Hand cream
- Bath salt
Some of the benefits of these dead sea salt products are:
- Soft smooth skin
- Remove the top layer of dead skin
- Cleanse and exfoliate
- Good for blood circulation
- Cell renewal
- No added chemicals
I don't mean to sound like a spoil sport... but isn't that the point of most skin care products? In fact, there are other brands that use "minerals from the Dead Sea" in their products too.
Anyway the only way you can really tell if the products are any good or not is by trying them yourself... or checking out reviews on public places such as Amazon...
So there do seem to be pretty positive reviews about the products. We'll look into this and the pricing in more detail later.
But for now you can watch the 5 minute video below to learn more about Minerals from the Dead Sea...
Can you make money with Seacret Direct MLM?
It's hard to make money with Seacret Direct. We've already found out that 99% of Seacret distributors earn less than $2,000 a year.
However, there are some distributors that do make good money inside any MLM company.
So what do they do?
The most successful Seacret Direct distributors act more like a "sales manager" than being "their own boss". Typically the most successful members will be quite extroverted and very good at "selling the dream" to wannabe entrepreneurs using social media attraction.
They will then spend most of their time staying in contact with their "downline" to help and encourage them to sell more or recruit more people.
It is possible to make money at Seacret, but most people aren't aware of what they need to do.
Basically, if you were hoping to put in a few hours each week and make $500 a month, it won't happen. If you treat it like a "sales manager" full time job you could make good money eventually.
How to make money with Seacret Direct MLM
Like most MLMs there are 2 ways you can make money with Seacret Direct:
- Sell Seacret products for a commission
- Recruit people and earn bonuses from the sales they make
Do you notice that you don't get paid directly for recruiting people?
This is how Seacret avoids being shut down by the FTC for being a pyramid scheme. They only pay you "bonuses" for anything your downline sells, but this is where the real money lies.
How much does it cost to join Seacret Direct?
It costs $49 to start and then an annual $49 fee...
You can also get the "agent 5-in-5 kit" for an additional $50.
Here's what Seacret has to say about the kit...
Featuring a durable hard case, it will keep all of your WOW products and Business Materials neatly organized and protected.
(Yeah it actually says this on their website!)
But the costs do not stop there...
Seacret Direct monthly cost
Seacret also has a monthly sales quota that distributors have to hit to "remain active"...
There are different ways to do this but the most common way is to place a 35 BV (business volume) order every month. You will be encouraged to do this at the start is by setting a recurring "replenishment order" every 28 days.
In English that all means you need to set up a $50 standing order for Seacret products every month.
This means you need to allow the following expenses for your first year:
- $49
- $50
- $50 x 12
Minimum costs for 1 year = $699
This is before you account for any marketing, postage and packaging costs or any additional training.
Seacret Direct compensation plan
For some reason most MLMs make their compensation plan harder to understand than solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded. And Seacret is no different!
So I will do my best at keeping this simple...
There are 7 ways to get paid by Seacret:
- Retail commissions (retail- wholesale price)
- Prefered customers (customers that set up a monthly order)
- Recruitment commissions ($20 if they buy the 5 in 5 starter pack)
- Residual commissions (bonuses for your teams sales using a "binary" commission structure)
- Team commissions (10-15% of your "weaker legs" sales)
- Matching bonus (20% of your "Bronze Directors" in your down line if you are above a Bronze rank, see how to do that in the table below)
- Performance based bonus (general lifestyle bonuses such as car bonuses and trips if you sell a set amount each month)
If you are confused by any of that or the table above, then Seacret will feel like they have done their job! It DOESN'T MATTER about all these terms when you are starting.
All you need to know is what to do to make money:
- Sell Seacret products
- Recruit people into the MLM
It is worth noting this has a "binary" compensation plan, which means you need to try to "balance 2 legs". It's not the best MLM compensation model as it often leaves you with a very "weak leg" especially if you have some killer sales guy in your upline. But like I say, this doesn't matter at the start it's unnecessary jargon!
You can learn more about the compensation plan in the 11 minute video below. But be aware that this is quite an old compensation plan so it has been updated a bit since then (it's the best I could find though)...
Or you can find the full Seacret compensation plan here.
Is Seacret Direct a scam?
Technically no, Seacret Direct is not a scam.
They sell legit products and they pay their distributors exactly like they claim they will.
However, it may not be the great "work from home opportunity" that has been promised to you. You will need to put in a LOT of hard work and focus on recruiting people to avoid losing money.
People are not told this and therefore often accuse Seacret of being a scam, which is why you may see that online.
So the rest of this Seacret Direct review will help you to see the hidden truths to make an informed decision if it's for you or not...
Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse Seacret Direct 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
- "Seacret’s most popular products contain minerals from the Dead Sea, such as their M4 Mineral-Rich Magnetic Mud Mask and their Dead Sea Bath Salt."
- "Their products, while overpriced, are well-reviewed and established. Their commission rates are mediocre but they offer some really great bonuses."
Common negative reviews
- "They sell genuine items, and they pay their distributors precisely what they guarantee they will. It may not be that extraordinary “work from home” job that you expected as promised – especially when you need to do all the hard work of looking for ways to enlist prospective downlines so you can avoid losing recruitment commissions."
- "I've been in Seacret for the last 5 years and it works only if you work it consistently and I attribute my success to the leadership, the training tools, and my team. Like the gym or anything out there, if you are inconsistent you will not get the results."
Tired of MLMs? Check out how I make money online here!
What I like about Seacret Direct
There are a couple of things that I like about Seacret compared to some other MLMs out there...
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 Proven history
Did you know that only 1 in 3 MLMs survive past 10 years?
There are so many new ones being created all the time and it's very common to see distributors work hard in them only to have their whole income taken away when the MLM disappears.
But you can tell that Seacret Direct is not a scam as it has been around since 2001!
#2 Positive product reviews
There are real people that use the products...
When you can find unbiased reviews about MLM products it's a sign that there is actual demand for them. You do need to watch out for the reviews made by distributors to make it seem like the products are amazing.
But you can certainly find some legit positive Seacret Direct reviews online.
What I don't like about Seacret Direct
There are some hidden truths that everyone needs to be aware of before joining...
#1 Expensive products
If a MLM has overpriced products this is a huge red flag for me that the company may operate like a pyramid scheme in disguise...
- Seacret body butter = $3.88 per oz
- High rated Amazon body butter = $0.46-$0.58 per oz
The products found on Amazon are natural and "chemical free" and have hundreds or even thousands of positive reviews.
So just think about it...
Why would anyone pay 7 times more for a very similar product?
Hmm, maybe because of the...
#2 Hidden monthly expenses
Do you remember seeing that you will be encouraged to set up a monthly standing order when you become a distributor?...
Well here's the truth about a lot of MLM companies with overpriced products...
The distributors become the companies BEST CUSTOMERS.
Most people not associated with the company have no reason why they would buy products that are 2-10 times more expensive. So most people do not buy Seacret products.
The most common people that do buy Seacret products are the distributors.
And when you combine these 2 hidden truths together you can see why...
#3 Seacret is a pyramid scheme in disguise
The focus is not on selling these "truly amazing" products. The focus is on recruiting people to join the MLM to try and "be their own boss".
And whenever the focus is on recruiting you will always end up with a company that looks like this...
Most people will lose money.
And I am not a huge fan of promoting something that ends up in most people losing money, just to make money!
Maybe you're thinking... "nah, I reckon there are more people making money". Well check this out...
#4 Only 1 in 416 earn over $16k a year
Seacret Direct's income disclosure reveals the truth (after you do a bit of number crunching...)
Once you actually get your head around this VERY confusing table here's what you can work out...
0.247% of ALL distributors earnt over $15,446 in the year.
In English that means that only 1 out of 416 people earn more than $16 in a year! And this is before expenses!
Can you and your family even live off $16k a year? Let alone "be your own boss"!
#5 Downward trend
The final nail in the coffin is found on Google Trends...
It's much easier to sell and promote something that people are actually looking for. But fewer people search for Seacret each month since 2014.
When you compare this to other MLMs such as Farmasi, you can see it's going the wrong way!
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I've made a special video for you to explain exactly how I did this.
My opinion - Seacret Direct
So there clearly are some products made by Seacret that people do appear to like. However, they are too expensive compared to the competition.
But what do I think are your chances of being your own boss from Seacret Direct's MLM?...
It is possible for you to make money. But ONLY if you recruit a lot of people that will end up losing money.
And that's not my idea of an ethical or sustainable business model!
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.
But I went from a full time PE teacher to making a passive income online within one year...
If you want to discover how I did it then check out this special video I created which explains exactly how. You can also get your free 7-day bootcamp to get started.
Using skin care products, the first thing that comes into peoples mind is the resources used in making these products….so my question is that the products made by saecret are they from natural plants or mainly made from the mixture of various chemicals?? Because chemical products most time have a lot of con’s associated with them
Hi Evans, they do use natural ingredients but there are also chemicals involved. Here is the ingredient list for the facial cleansing milk:
WATER/AQUA, ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE, STEARIC ACID, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CETYL ALCOHOL, GLYCERYL STEARATE, TRIETHANOLAMINE, DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIACETATE, DIMETHICONE, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) SEED OIL, GLUCONOLACTONE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, SESAMUM INDICUM (SESAME) SEED OIL, SODIUM BENZOATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, FRAGRANCE/PARFUM, DEHYDROACETIC ACID, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) PEEL OIL, ROSA CANINA FRUIT OIL, SEA SALT/MARIS SAL (DEAD SEA MINERALS).
A great and in depth review. I have never really been a fan of MLMs and this review confirms my suspicion with them, I love how you’ve added the YouTube clips in this review because I’ve seen them around and I do get “sucked in” by their great marketing hype. I’m glad I stumbled across this review because it looks like I’ve saved myself the heartache of losing my investment.
They do often have great sales videos don’t they!
I hope it helps for people to see the wood for the trees anyway
Hi Mike!
You really did a great job with this review, all the details included are very helpful to get a clear view of what one can get with Seacret.
I think the low starting fee is a trap to get people signup, if you do not pay attention to the prices of the products, you will rush to join. Just to realize that the products are quite expensive and you can get the same quality of product from other brands.
Thanks
100%
I’m glad it could help
Hi Mike Beatty , thanks for sharing this article on seacret direct review . I haven’t heard of this and you talking about it on how will can make money online actually got my interest until I read to a certain point and realized that it wasn’t easily at all , because most of the seacret direct review hardly earn more $2000 a year as their income which makes me loses interest in it . But thanks for sharing the truth about the seacret direct review because it makes people to know about what they are going into.
Yeah, I hope it opens peoples eyes to the truth behind making good money with Seacret. It is possible, but it certainly isn’t easy and you will need to recruit other people that will lose money to be able to do it
this is a great and amazing article. i sincerely appreciate your effort creating time to write on such an informative article which has taught me a lot more on Seacret Direct Review. right now it is so difficult to know real or fake online platform. i have been involved in so many scams but I’m gonna involve myself with this and see how best seacret works for me. thanks for sharing this amazing article
Hey Perryline, I want to make sure you completely understand what it will take to be successful with Seacret before you join:
MLMs typically work for more extroverted people who treat it like a full-time job. They try to recruit as many people as possible into their team and then act more like a “sales manager” on day to day tasks and encourage their team to seel and recruit.
If that’s something you think you would be good at then it may work for you. If not you will probably fall into the 99% of those that lose money.