Is Nature’s Sunshine a Scam? Healthy and Effective Products? Or Pyramid Scheme?

Nature's Sunshine Review

The overview and rankings

What to look for in a MLM:

What is Nature's Sunshine?

Nature’s Sunshine is a health and wellness Multi-Level-Marketing company founded by Gene Hughes and Kristine Hughes back in 1972. This makes it one of the first and pioneering MLM companies in the health industry.

They started out with a dream to help people live a healthier lifestyle. This resulted to them trying out herbs and encapsulating them into different capsules and tablets.

This then innovated the industry and led to their business booming. It then didn’t take long for their business to skyrocket in sales and popularity.

Now, Nature’s Sunshine is one of the most established and reputable health companies selling different kinds of health supplements, vitamins, and other related products.

They also have their own Hughes Center for Research and Innovation which comprises medical professionals, scientists, and state of the art biological research technology.

Here is a 7-minute video that introduces you to the company...

You might then ask...

Is Nature's Sunshine a pyramid scheme?

Nature’s Sunshine is not a pyramid scheme. The company is legit, legal, and has a very good reputation in the industry because of their decades of experience.

Their members can also make money by means of selling and not having to depend solely on recruitment.

But despite this, it’s still worth asking… Is Nature’s Sunshine a pyramid scheme in disguise?

What is a pyramid scheme?

A pyramid scheme takes the form of a company or organization that has members who are tasked with recruiting people just for them to earn money.

Because of this, many governments have already considered these as illegal. It’s just impossible for all of the members to make money from a company that is incentivizing recruitment.

Here is a diagram from Wikipedia that explains this clearly...

There might be some members who are making money, but they do nothing but just recruit all the time.

And check back on the diagram above and you can see that it’s impossible for all the members to make money from a system that survives on recruitment alone as they are going to run out of potential recruits sooner or later...

Feel free to watch this 5-minute video on how to spot a pyramid scheme in disguise...

Let us then move forward and learn why...

Success is rare with Nature's Sunshine

This is because of the sales quota these MLMs have where members must sell a certain amount of products for them to get the commissions they have earned.

Failure to do this means they have no other choice but to just buy the products for themselves.

This is why members are losing a lot of money from their own savings before they can get their first ever recruit…

How does Nature's Sunshine Work?

Nature’s Sunshine works by selling different kinds of health and wellness products that are organic and all-natural.

Aside from that, the company also has an affiliate program where anyone can become members.

Becoming one then means they sell their products and earn commissions out of it.

It sounds nice, but it’s actually just the company getting a lot of benefits from this as they save millions of dollars for the supposed marketing campaign as their members just do it for just small commissions...

Nature's Sunshine products

It is vital that you learn more about the products of the company before you join them. This way, you can know what you are getting yourself into. This will also make the hard process a bit easier for you.

Nature’s Sunshine is selling all-natural herbal health and wellness products. And their best-sellers are:

• Collatrim ($26) - A vitamin supplement that comes in the form of a capsule. This improves skin and joint health thanks to  its hydrolyzed collagen. It also supplies your body with small peptides, amino acids, and collagen that makes you feel younger and more alive.
• Rejuvenaid ($65) - A dietary supplement that comes with 30 stick packets per bottle. It boosts energy levels and improves cardiovascular health. This also lowers body fat and makes you more fit and healthier.
• CleanStart Cleanse ($53) - A dietary supplement that comes with 56 packets per bottle. This detoxifies your body and rid it of waste. It also improves your digestive system and maintains your body’s natural levels.

However, you should know that it isn’t just Nature’s Sunshine selling these kinds of products.

In fact, there are hundreds, if not thousands of other companies that sell supplements like theirs.

Here are some of them:

• Total Life Changes
• Zurvita
• Vemma
• Usana
• Anovite
• CorVive
• QuiAri
  
• Juice Plus
• Immunotec
• Juuva
• 4Life
• Carelumina

What is striking to me is that all of them say they sell a special kind of health product.

Well, there might be some differences, but they’re really just the same. They just have different names, packaging, and branding.

But despite that, we know that Nature’s Sunshine will still claim that they are special.

And if so, then what makes them special?

Nature's Sunshine flagship product

Solstic Revive ($38) - A vitamin supplement that comes with 30 packers in a bottle.

This contains glucosamine that improves joint, bone, and muscle health. It also improves hydration, nerve function, and muscular development, making you healthier, stronger, and more energetic.

Check out this 2-minute video to learn more about their products:

Ask yourself...

Can you make money with Nature's Sunshine?

Yes, of course. You can make money from Nature’s Sunshine. But it’s going to be hard.

There might be some who do make money. But the money they make is similar or lower than minimum wage. And they do this for more than 8 hours a day.

It’s far from the profitable part-time business opportunity you’re looking for… And also, there’s no income disclosure to prove members make money.

How to make money with Nature's Sunshine

Do these 2 things to make money:

• Sell Nature’s Sunshine products
• Recruit members into Nature’s Sunshine

Also note that you can get bonuses from the sales of your downline members.

It’s really not getting bonuses every time you recruit...

How much does it cost to join Nature's Sunshine?

Nature’s Sunshine’s subscription fee for members is $40.

But the nice thing with this is that you can waive the $40, or in simpler words, get it back, when you buy $40 worth of products.

Aside from that, you also have the freedom to subscribe to their programs:

• In.Form Coach ($550) -  Get a certificate for being an official health coach of Nature’s Sunshine
• Online Training ($400) -  Learn the basic and advanced tips and strategy to become a Nature’s Sunshine member and agent

These aren’t mandatory. But it’s best you go through any of them for you to have an easier time selling the products later...

Nature's Sunshine monthly cost

The nice thing about Nature’s Sunshine is that there is no sales quota.

So, the costs you are going to incur on the first year are…

• $40
• $400 to $550

Minimum costs for year 1 = $440 to $590

But note that this does not yet include the product bundles that you are going to buy and eventually sell.

The other expenses like marketing, training, and miscellaneous expenses are also not yet included here...

Nature's Sunshine compensation plan

MLM companies have complicated compensation plans. And Nature’s Sunshine is one of those. But there is no need to worry about this because I am going to simplify things for you…

Nature's Sunshine has 2 different kinds of compensation plan. These are:

• Classic Plan - Earn 12% commission from every product that you sell. You also have commission that ranges from 10% to 1% from your Level 1 to Level 5 downlines.
• Legacy Plan - Earn 10% commission from every product that you sell. You also have commission that ranges from 10% to 5% to 1% from your Level 1 to Level 7 downlines.

And here are the other more specific ways to make money from Nature’s Sunshine:

• Smart Start Bonus - Earn 10% to 30% commission on the first order of your newly recruited member. This depends on your current rank and level.
• Promotion Bonus - Earn $250 to $1,000 once you get promoted to Regional Manager all the way up to Elite Manager.

Here is their Classic compensation plan:

And here is their Legacy compensation plan...

Dig deeper into their compensation plan by watching these 2 minute videos. The first one is the Classic while the second video is for the Legacy compensation plan...

Confusing, for sure.

But that is normal for MLMs because they make complex compensation plans with weird terms and fancy acronyms.

And all the members have to do is just:

• Sell the products of Nature’s Sunshine
• Recruit members into Nature’s Sunshine

Or you can find the full compensation plan here.

Is Nature's Sunshine a scam?

Nature’s Sunshine is not a scam because they are a legal company, sells medically-proven and healthy products, and pays members correctly.

But some members are disgruntled when they know that it’s hard for them to sell the products and they spend more on the subscription fee and coaching seminars.

Hence, they label Nature’s Sunshine as a scam.

But is that really the case?

Let’s find it by knowing the pros and cons of this company so you can come up with the right and informed decision...

Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse it 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 common positive reviews about its job opportunity that we have found in Indeed...

• "If you have worked at a call center before, this is one of the better ones. Working from home is a huge benefit for me, but I do feel that it can limit you in moving up in the company. Particularly because the Canada team is so small, there is almost no room for growth on that particular team."
• "The people at the Company are always so pleasant, helpful and provide excellent customer service."
  
  

Common negative reviews

And here are the common negative reviews people are saying about its job opportunity, which we also found in Indeed...

• "Loved my job there for two-plus decades. Sadly, about 8 years ago they started doing layoffs every fall. I survived until last fall. It seemed to become a way of clearing out a few of the long-term employees every year."
• "It is a sinking ship. I was part of one of several lay-offs they've had recently. Maybe the new management will be able to turn things around, but don't count on it."

What I like about Nature's Sunshine

Key Terms:

• Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from recruiting others into the company 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 No sales quota 

But the best thing about Nature’s Sunshine is that it does not have any sales quota.

This is very rare for an MLM because most have one.

This means that you don’t have to reach a certain amount of products sold just to get and earn money...

#2 Positive product reviews

The first thing that I like about Nature’s Sunshine is that its products got loads of positive product reviews.

Just check this out…

As you can see, there are a lot of people who are satisfied with their products because it is effective.

This is a nice thing especially if you’re already selling the products because it’s surely salable.

#3 Established reputation

Most MLMs don’t last up to 5 years.

But Nature’s Sunshine is different because they’ve been operating already for more than 4 decades as they started operations back in 1972.

That’s a full continuous 48 years of business.

This shows you that this company will still be around for many years to come...

What I don't like about Nature's Sunshine

#1 Expensive products

Nature’s Sunshine sells nice products.

But they’re expensive.

In fact, there are a lot of other brands out there that sell the same stuff, have high ratings, and are way cheaper…

For sure, customers will prefer these over whatever it is that Nature’s Sunshine is selling.

#2 Lacks income disclosure

Nature’s Sunshine does not have an income disclosure to prove that their members are actually earning.

This is important even if we already know that the company is already established. Because of this, there’s no way we can gauge the amount of income we can get from being a member...

#3 Saturated market

The health and wellness niche is already very saturated.

There are a lot of other MLMs out there that sell the same stuff.

This means that you have to compete with all of the other companies when selling...

#4 Is Nature's Sunshine a pyramid scheme in disguise?

We can’t really prove this, but there’s a sign that it is. It’s because the more people you recruit into the company, the more money you make.

Here is how their system works...

This is because you can also gain commissions from all of your members.

So, although you can make money from selling the products by yourself, you can also gain money by means of recruitment...

#5 Downward trend

Here is what Google Trends showed me...

As you can see, there are fewer people who are interested in Nature’s Sunshine.

This means that you are going to find it difficult to sell the products later...

My opinion - Nature's Sunshine

Nature’s Sunshine is a legit company that has been around for decades. They are reputable and sell real and effective health products.

But the thing is… Is that they’re way too overpriced.

And what can I say about the business opportunity?...

The only way you can get a lot of money and good income is if you recruit as many members as you can.

And you are still doing this even if you already know that the members you are going to get will just lose money...

This does not seem right, knowing that you are just enticing people to join because of the promise of financial bliss.

There are a lot of other better business opportunities out there that are better...

How I make passive income online

MLMs are not 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.