You've probably seen Purium as an opportunity to make money from home and potentially lose some weight. But you're probably still thinking... is Purium a scam or a pyramid scheme?
First of all, I want to congratulate you for taking your time to research the company.
The main reason that up to 99% of MLM recruits lose money is because they dive into an MLM without spending a few minutes researching it.
This honest Purium review, with videos, will expose the true pros and cons of joining this MLM so that you can make an informed decision if it's right for you or not.
Purium Review
The overview and rankings
Name: Purium
Founders: David Sandoval and Amy Venner in 2004
Website URL: ishoppurium.com
Type: Health and Wellness MLM
Products (Including Pricing): 40 out of 100
Success Stories: 5 out of 100
Price To Join MLM: $299-$599 to start
50PV monthly sales quota = ~$50 a month (40 out of 100)
What To Look For In An MLM:
Summary: Purium sells a 10 day weight loss program within a health and wellness MLM company. Some people claim they program works but the prices of all of their products are very expensive when compared to similar items.
But it's hard to make a good income from the Purium MLM. Only 1 in 400 Purium members make over $15k a year as shown in their income disclosure.
Make Time Online Rating: 28 out of 100
Recommended: No
What is Purium?
Purium is a health and wellness Multi-Level-Marketing company that specialises in their weight loss programs.
It was founded in 2004 and it offers everyday people the opportunity to work from home and "be their own boss"!
They also have a slightly unique approach to attract other people into the company using "$50 gift cards".
The 3 minute video below explains a bit more about this opportunity and the business...
So Purium is starting to look pretty exciting, right? Maybe someone has already handed you a $50 gift card.
But you're smart enough to know this is just a clever marketing tactic and sales video.
You're probably still asking yourself...
Is Purium a pyramid scheme?
No Purium is not a pyramid scheme.
It's possible for their distributors to make money by selling Purium's products without recruiting other people into the MLM business.
This is pretty standard for most MLM companies so a better question would be...
Is Purium a "pyramid scheme in disguise"?
What is a pyramid scheme?
A company that promises payment to its members for recruiting more people into the company rather than selling any product or service.
These are illegal in most countries around the world because they are totally unsustainable.
Just check out the Wikipedia diagram below to see why...
So most MLM companies do provide legit products or services.
However, some MLMs use expensive products to hide the fact that the only way their members can avoid losing money is by recruiting more people. These are called "pyramid schemes in disguise".
This Purium review will investigate Purium closer later on.
But for now you can watch the 5 minute video below to see how to spot a pyramid scheme in disguise...
Success is rare with Purium
In fact, it's hard to find success at any MLM company.
Did you know that between 73% and 99% of all MLM representatives lose money?
Purium actually provided an income disclosure from 2015.
From this document you can see that 98% of all Purium affiliates lost money in 2015 when you account for annual expenses that their distributors have.
So it is possible to make money from Purium, but it certainly is not common!
Ready to make passive income online?
Hey, I'm Mike.
I created a passive income online within a year. I had no marketing skills or online experience when I started.
How does Purium Work?
Purium makes a range of health and wellness products.
Their main ones are their weight loss "transformation" programs.
But rather that spending loads of money each month on advertising and marketing, they allow everyday people to do this for them.
In return, these people have the opportunity to make money by selling these products and recruiting more people.
In theory it's a win-win!
Purium products
If you are serious about joining any MLM company then it's crucial that you understand their product line if you want to see any success.
Purium offers dozens of products under the following categories:
- Cleansing
- Family
- Weight Loss
- Restorative
- Performance
You can find all of their products at the Purium shop.
It's important to be aware that there are many other MLM companies that produce very similar products such as:
So it's vital to understand what makes Purium stand out from the crowd.
There are too many products to go into detail about here, but you can see some of the benefits of their "Amino supplement":
- Create lean muscle
- Burn fat
- Tighten skin
- Improve mental acuity
Just watch the 90 second sales video below to learn more about it...
But the flagship product is always a great place to see what makes any MLM company different...
Purium 10-day transformation plan - flagship product
The 10 day transformation plan is certainly what Purium promotes mainly and what helps to make it stand out.
They claim that:
- It's the fastest, healthiest and simplest weight loss program on the planet
- You can see results from Day 1
- You can lose 5 to 20 pounds of fat in just 10 days time
- You can even build muscle without exercising
Some people claim that it really works. But the most common concern is the price of the transformation plan.
Overall there are mixed reviews about this plan as you will learn later in this Purium review.
Just watch another over the top 90 second sales video below to learn more about it...
How to make money with Purium
You can make money from Purium in 2 ways:
- Sell their products for a commission
- Recruit more people and earn bonuses from sales they make
It's important to note that you don't make money from just recruiting people. This is how Purium avoids being an outright scam or pyramid scheme.
You only earn bonuses from their your "downlines" personal purchases or sales.
How much does it cost to join Purium?
It costs $49 for the basic starter pack to become a Purium distributor.
But you won't get any products with this pack. If you are serious about promoting Purium products then it's wise to actually try the products yourself.
So you are encouraged to purchase a starter pack, such as the ones you see below...
There are a range of starter packs that are suitable for different people such as "athletes" or the "transformation starter pack".
They include a wide range of products and features such as:
- Your "back office"
- Starter kit with basic marketing and training resources
- Copy of the Green Food Bible
- The $50 gift card for 12 months at Purium (remember this is a big sales point for a lot of distributors)
- A range of Purium products
But the costs do not stop there...
Purium monthly cost
You also need to hit a "monthly sales quota" to "remain active".
If you do not reach this quota then you won't be able to earn commission or bonuses for that month...
Purium requires you to hit 50PV (personal volume) every month.
50 PV is the equivalent of around $65 worth of Purium products. And if you can't sell this then you will need to purchase it yourself.
So the total expenses for 1 year at Purium would be at least:
- $49
- $299- $499
- $65 x 12
Total cost for year 1 = $1,128- $1,328
This is clearly much less that it would cost to start a normal bricks and mortar business such as a restaurant... but it's certainly more than $49!
Purium compensation plan
For some reason MLM companies like to make their compensation plan harder to understand than solving a rubik's cube blindfolded.
Purium is no different.
So I will do my best to keep this simple.
There are 9 ways you can get paid from Purium:
- Retail commissions (15-30%)
- Recruitment commissions (depends on what starter pack they buy)
- 1st order bonus (25% commission + 5% from downlines sales)
- Residual commissions (see below- 5% for downlines up to 8 levels deep)
- Matching bonus (when you hit a certain "rank")
- Infinity bonus (extra levels bonus when you achieve "green diamond" rank or above)
- Rank achievement bonus (when you get "promoted")
- Lifestyle bonus (monthly bonus when you achieve "diamond rank" or above)
- Diamond and Crown bonus pools (additional bonus)
If you're like me then just looking at those tables hurts your head.
However, you don't need to understand all of this to get started.
All you need to know is what you need to actually do to make money:
- Sell Purium products
- Recruit people
And do you notice that 8 out of 9 ways to get paid require you to recruit some people?
If you'd like to get your head around this a bit more then feel free to watch the 30 minute presentation below (but seriously don't worry!)...
Or you can find the full 8 page Purium compensation plan here.
Is Purium a scam?
No Purium is not a scam.
They sell legit products and pay their distributors just like they say they will.
However, is it the best opportunity for you to make money from home?
Only you can be the judge, but the rest of this Purium review will help you to make an informed decision...
Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse Purium 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 we have seen in Indeed about their job opportunity...
- "Great work environment. Fun team to work with."
- "Loved using the products. Was able to use products daily and lost about 10 pounds from using the products."
Common negative reviews
And here are the negative things people are saying about their job opportunity...
- "My field lead was no help at all."
- "Having a hard time selling their products as it is not very interesting."
Tired of MLMs? Check out how I make money online here!
What I like about Purium
There are some things that I genuinely like about Purium.
These make the company stand out compared to 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 MLM's survive more than 10 years?
Well, Purium has been going since 2004!
This fact alone is enough to see that Purium is not a scam!
#2 Positive product reviews
Yes, there are mixed reviews around the Purium products...
However, it's more alarming to me when you see only 1 and 5 star ratings.
That would suggest to me that most people hate the products and then you have some "die hard" Purium distributors trying to make it sound good so they can sell it.
But Purium products have plenty of 4 star reviews and you can tell that real people actually have used the products.
The review above shows that it genuinely did work for these coworkers even if they did think it was expensive!
#3 60-day money back guarantee
This is another great sign that Purium is not a scam...
Any company that offers this proves that they trust their products and are willing to let people try them with a money back guarantee.
What I don't like about Purium
There are some hidden truths to the company that most distributors don't realise until they have joined.
Once you are aware of these truths you can make a much more informed decision about whether Purium is a good opportunity for you to make money from home or not...
#1 Expensive products
This is always that first thing I check for any MLM company...
- Purium 30 day supply = $75
- Amazon highly rated product 30 day supply = $19.99
Now, I can almost hear your mind saying...
"But surely Purium offers a better quality product?"
Well I thought I'd check that out too...
The Amazon product has every ingredient that Purium has.
Unfortunately, this is one of the common red flags about a lot of MLM companies.
They seem to think they can charge a premium (200% or more) than other companies for the same thing!
How do they get away with it?
Who actually buys these crazy expensive products?
Well, I'm about to reveal who does...
#2 Hidden monthly expenses
The people who actually end up buying this expensive stuff are the "distributors" themselves...
Believe me, most people are very wary about buying a 200%+ more expensive product from an old school friend who messages them out of the blue on Facebook.
This stuff is hard to sell!
So when it gets to the end of the month the distributors don't want to "get suspended" in case next month they sell hundreds of this expensive crap.
So they buy the product themself and it is the big reason why so many MLM members lose money!
This is also a sign that...
#3 Is Purium a pyramid scheme in disguise?
In reality, the only way distributors can avoid racking up credit card debt and having hundreds of Purium products around their house is if they recruit people.
Then the pressure is off you and you shift it onto some other unsuspecting victim!
Even the compensation video has tons of diagrams like this...
Does this look familiar to you?...
Let's face the truth here, Purium is very similar to a pyramid scheme in disguise because:
- 8 out of 9 ways you can get paid require you to recruit people
- The only way you can avoid paying $65 each month without working your booty off trying to sell is by recruiting people
- The only way you can make any residual income is by recruiting people
The products are legit.
And you can get paid to sell these products... but you won't make any decent money until you recruit people.
And that, unfortunately, is very similar to a pyramid scheme.
#4 Really low earning potential
Now, remember Purium is not a scam as they do pay their distributors.
However, how many people actually make any decent money as a Purium distributor?
0.25% of all members make more than $15,000 a year.
Or put another way...
Only 1 in 400 Purium members make over $15k a year.
Can you and your family live off $15k a year?
Are you really going to be committed enough to work at selling these overpriced products long enough until you "build a team to do the work for you"? (that never really happens in most MLMs as most people you recruit won't make a penny!)
#5 Downward trend
The final nail in the coffin for Purium is found on Google Trends...
Most MLM companies tend to have this "early momentum phase" and then fizzle out.
The most successful distributors tend to get in before this phase and cash in from the increased interest in the MLM, through no skill on their own part.
However as you can see Purium has passed this phase and other new MLM companies such as Farmasi are still in it.
Ready to make passive income online?
I've created a growing passive income online with no previous marketing skills or online experience...
I've made a special video for you to explain exactly how I did this.
My opinion - Purium
What do I think your chances are of making good money as a Purium distributor?...
The only way people can make MLMs work for them is by using online marketing to help grow "their business" and attract potential customers.
Nobody wants to constantly sell to their friends and family and more and more people are becoming aware of the true nature of MLMs.
But there are ways to make money ethically by genuinely helping other people...
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.
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.
I have always wanted to make money online. Hearing people talk about it and getting scammed got me scared. Reading this article, i had a new perspective. Thanks, Amigo!
No problem Nia, I’m glad it could help!
I really appreciate this article. Thank you so much for sharing this great review with us. Your post is very informative for me. This is the first time I heard about Purium. Reading your post I learned about Purium clearly. Articles and videos answered my question. I will share this article among friends. I hope they benefit. Much obliged and thanks.
Thanks Sabrina, I’m glad it helped
Thank you Mike for putting so much detail and explanation into your article! I can honestly say that I have never heard of Purium MLM. I’m not looking to lose weight (because I honestly don’t have anymore I could lose. Lol), but I can see how these products would benefit many people, while providing a source of income. The start-up cost does seem a bit high however, and I can see that being a deterrent for many to sign up.
Thank you again for going into so much detail and breaking this platform down, so that someone who is interested, can understand exactly what they need (and what to expect) to achieve success!
Thanks Brandy, I hope it will help. The costs are certainly too high and the company has too many signs of being a pyramid scheme to be a legit opportunity for everyone to make money
I was not familiar with the Purium product line before reading your article. I liked that you approached Purium from a product offering model approach rather than evaluating the effectiveness of the products themselves. I read some reviews off the Internet and most of them were product effectiveness reviews. Your article offers a good analysis of the operational model of Purium for a purely analytical at-home money-making venture: a totally different aspect of Purium. I found your analysis thorough and convincing. I also agreed with your conclusion about the nature of the Purium model, that there are better models to use to make money. You backed that up by offering your use of an alternative approach: affili\ate marketing through Wealthy Affiliates. As an affiliate marketer, myself, I definitely agree with your conclusion. The fact that you use Purium as a back-drop to educating about pyramid schemes and MLM programs is a good educational approach rather than being an outright condemnation of Purium. Your article should prove valuable to anyone new to Internet marketing and searching for the right type of program to start with.
I appreciate that and I’m glad it was useful!
I was a GREEN DIAMOND in PURIUM and everything stated in this article is true and factual. I was one of many that took PURIUM to it's first MILLION DOLLAR numbers and most of us were treated very poorly with "Distributors" being placed or taken out of lines and changes in our pay mid-stream!
David Sandoval, PURIUM'S co-owner stole an invention from HOLLundefinedGARA and partners known as; the L.O.V. EXPRESS, now called The Juice Bar of the Future (JBOTF).
PURIUM, David Sandoval, Brian Der Garabedian and others have a current lawsuit against them in San Luis Obispo Superior Court for $40 Million.
Wow thanks for this Rick. Great to hear from people inside the Purium.
I’ve reviewed over 100 MLM companies now. The more I’ve learnt about nearly all MLM’s the more I realise they are all very close to tumbling down under the truth of the way they work. Thanks for sharing your insight, I hope it helps others.