Tiff’s Scentsy Shenanigans – My MLM Experience

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Elle Beau
[Elle:] In a series of messages via my Facebook page, UK-based follower Tiff* has asked for her Scentsy experience to be shared with you all.

*All names and identifying features have been changed at the author’s request, to protect the individuals concerned.

Before reading Tiff’s story, please remind yourself that all views presented in this blog are as told to us by the authors, and simply reflect their own opinions. Your own personal experiences with MLM companies may differ, negatively or positively.

Take it away, Tiff.

[Tiff:] Thanks, Elle. Yes, I was part of an MLM and it had such a detrimental effect on my friendships and marriage. It even ruined a bit of my wedding day, to be honest.

Well, I’ll start from the beginning. It was the month of June 2015, and Scentsy was still quite new to the UK. It was picking up in America, mostly thanks to Twitter and the girls from MTV’s Teen Mom. I got in contact with a consultant, Debra, via Twitter and asked her to tell me all about this Scentsy.

She told me about what they were (“wickless candles and scented fragrance wax for electric candle warmers“), the prices, and offered to send me some ‘free samples’. When they arrived they were just scrapings of wax in tiny little bags, but undeterred, I flicked through the catalogue and actually liked the products, so I decided to put together an order.

Debra encouraged me to show my friends the products, which I did, and when I got the order together it came to over £200. At the time, I didn’t know much about the minimum party orders etc, but in similar fashion to Younique, if Debra sold over £150 she would put it through as a ‘party’ and earn free products and half price items. With my order being over £200, I should have been given a half price item and £25 product credit…but Debra generously sent me a free bar instead (£5 worth!!).

Of course, at the time I was none the wiser, and took the ‘gift’ happily. Debra then told me I would make an “awesome” consultant (but still took my large order for herself). The start up costs really put me off, and you had to pay about £6 postage on top, so I said I’d think about it.

[Source] Scentsy.com
The products eventually arrived, and I absolutely loved them – so, I decided to join as a consultant. However, Debra strangely encouraged me to wait – she said I should join in August when I’d get a “double starter kit” (which actually was the new season and old season stuff). Nothing exciting, and certainly not “double” anything. Either way, I took her advice, and waited.


July came around – I was contacted by another Scentsy consultant, named Topaz. She had seen my Twitter conversations with Debra, and told me I’d “been ripped off“. Topaz was in USA but told me I could “join her team” and “run the UK market” for her.

In August, I paid a total of £94 on my credit card to join Scentsy under Topaz, and was told I would “totally easily make that back“. (Knowing what I know now, I should’ve kept that large order for myself, and put it through on my own account to earn commission and party rewards from it, instead of Debra…)

At the time, I was living in a rented house with my boyfriend and baby. My boyfriend worked 60-hour weeks doing two jobs, and we were on some benefits to tide us over. My American upline messaged me and FaceTimed me a lot (at midnight because of time differences 😴). She told me “it would be best for me to invest in stock for my first few parties so that I had lots to show off“.

[Source] Scentsy.com
We didn’t have much money to spare in reality, but I put through an order of £150 in order to have lots of products for my first ‘party’. When this day came and went, I actually thought “wow, I’ve sold quite a lot!

In reality, without keeping proper records, I think I was already down £244.

It was also drummed into me that the only way I’d be successful is to “recruit, recruit, recruit!”

They described it as “paying it forward” – we’d be introducing people to a wonderful product, and making their lives better. They should be “grateful” for me and for Scentsy! I truly believed it was a good product, so I never felt guilty presenting it.

I went crazy on Twitter trying to find people to recruit. I was told to search for people who had suffered with house fires caused by candles, and to “reel them in using our electrical wax warmers.” It felt wrong, but I wanted my “business” to be successful. I hardly slept, I was online all day and night trying to find customers and promoting the goods.

By the end of August, I had signed up five people – all who paid £94 for their kit. The pressure intensified because now I had to try and help these recruits make some money, and sell some products. They were relying on me because in my recruitment pitch I promised “big things“, just as they had been promised to me.


When September came, I managed to recruit another two people to my ‘team’, and I held parties every damn weekend to sell products. The customers who had bought from me in August were furious, because Scentsy had increased prices and they felt like they were “tricked into buying cheaper” as they now had to pay more for wax etc.

To appease these customers, I ended up taking the hit on a few sales by letting them purchase at the cheaper prices and covering the rest on my credit card.

I was selling, which felt great, and I didn’t really consider the impact on my finances because I thought I would be making my money back in commission.

September was also the launch of the new catalogue, so I had to replenish my stock with current catalogue items. This was another £150 order. I was also expected by Topaz, my upline, to provide training materials and items for my team members. I bought 7 t-shirts and had them printed with our team name, I posted wax samples and lots of other materials to help them. This all came out of my own pocket, but I was told it would be the only way to succeed.

There is also a huge amount of pressure from Scentsy HQ to “be a good team leader” – if it was reported that you were not performing well, you would be banned from Scentsy and lose your team. In saying this, they actually gave no examples of how to be good leader, or what was expected.

[Source] YouTube
By October, I was holding 2 parties every week at my customers’ houses, in the frantic pursuit of sales. I also dragged myself out to craft sales, school fetes etc. They weren’t easy; people were unkind about prices, and managing stalls was very stressful. I tried to remain positive because I really believed in the product.

I couldn’t tell my team that I was struggling, because I wanted them to believe it was easy to succeed. I couldn’t tell Topaz that I was struggling, because she’d scold me for being “negative” and “closed-minded“. My family life was taking a hit, because I wasn’t sleeping much while I scoured the internet for customers.

I argued with my boyfriend for “not supporting my business” when he showed concerns about our outgoings.

In fact, I just want to show you something – take a look at this.

This is a consultant doing a stall at some random event. They’ve put a ridiculous amount of money into that. I couldn’t even begin to think about how much, but I’ll give it a go.

  • The blue circled items are Scentsy bars. These are £5 each.
  • The aqua lines show “consultant items” that the consultant will have bought for around £20. Plus, note that there’s a recruiting banner – they would have had this made privately, as Scentsy don’t sell them.
  • The red line points to Scentsy warmers. They’re anything from £20 to £80, and it looks like there’s a minimum of 8 there.
  • Yellow points to Scentsy Buddies. They’re about £20-30 each, and look how many boxes there are!!

[Source] Scentsy.com
This is consultants who do stuff like this tend to buy on their credit card, because “they’ll earn it back” and they are “investing”. It’s insane! This is not good business.

Honestly though, my hard work was paying off because I did sell a lot of products, and I qualified for the big incentive, which was a trip on an all expenses paid Mediterranean cruise the following year. My commission, however, was nothing to write home about. Considering the hours that I was putting in and the expenses that running the ‘business’ was costing me, I was working for pennies.

I joined a Facebook group ran by some Scentsy ‘Directors’ (aka consultants who had large downlines and reached certain sale levels). It was horrible – they pretended to be supportive, but there was an awful amount of backstabbing and customer poaching. Group members would scroll through other peoples friends lists, and start offering products at lower prices. They also created fake email addresses, messaging consultants pretending to be prospective customers asking for wax samples and information!

Why?

The idea was that if they pretended to make a big order and never pay for it, then the rival consultants would lose heart and leave.

I must stress, I never took part in this and nor did anyone in my downline. However, I know that my uplines were heavily involved in this malpractice, and many of the ‘Directors’ who are still with Scentsy are only successful because of their nasty behaviour).

By November, I had a solid customer base, they were all referring their friends to me, and my team was growing. I’d recruited a total of 15 people into my downline, and was encouraging them to persuade friends/family to spend £94 on wax recruit, so that could promote me within the company. I was well and truly sick with Hun-disease.

The Christmas rush was also BOOMING. EEEEEK. But actually looking back over my numbers, I only made around £150 in commission after expenses etc – the hours I was putting in means I was on less than minimum wage. Yes, £150 was nice at the time, but some of my team weren’t finding it so easy. In an attempt to help them, I started making training videos – this ate into my family time even more. My relationship got so strained.

As mentioned, I had qualified for the incentive holiday by this point, and was trying to earn another spot so that I could bring my boyfriend with me. I really wanted my team mates to be successful, and while I do feel guilty that I ever recruited them into this scam, I do also feel like I did my very best to try and help them make money. I just didn’t realise it was all in vain.

[Source] Cruise Critic
And so, I do want my story to serve as a warning for the huns who are currently doing well in their MLM – It. Won’t. Last.

During December, I was full steam ahead trying to get orders in time for Christmas, but the Scentsy warehouse were understaffed and unorganised. Parcels were delayed, badly packaged or damaged, and Scentsy were rapidly running out of stock. Customers were getting angry, but on social media Consultants were acting like everything was fine, and using it to promote their bizniz: “look how busy and great we are!”

Reality was, everyone found the whole thing infuriating. I lost some large orders because they weren’t delivered, and I had to items back AT MY OWN COST, plus losing the commission from sales and potential reorders from customers. In response, Scentsy HQ simply sent threatening emails to those of us who dared to complain.


Christmas came and went, and January arrived, but brought me no sales. Not one. I pretended this was my “month off” but seriously, who wants to buy overpriced scented wax during the tightest month of the year? My regular customers had all stocked up too.

[Source] Scentsy.com
See, the problem with the Scentsy business model is that you need people to buy high priced items such as the Warmers, but once your customer base has bought their warmers, they only need the wax melts going forward. At £5 a pop and lasting “longer than Yankee Candle“, they actually only needed to buy wax every couple of months. It was fab for them because they genuinely got something for their money (!!!), but for the consultant it made it harder to meet Scentsy’s minimum sales targets. Sales for my team started to fizzle out, but we knew the new catalogue would be coming in February and it was “going to be totes amaze.

Hello February. By now my team was a nice size, about 25 of us, and my recruits had started bringing in their own recruits. I had a constant pressure to perform as a “leader” for these people. They needed guidance and training, ideas and confidence boosts. I genuinely wanted them to do well, I always felt guilty about the start up costs and wanted to see my team at least make their money back. I spent a lot of time on our Facebook group chatting to them and making my own sales.

People will probably raise an eyebrow at me – yes I was promoting up the ranks and earning commission from their sales, but it was about 5% and I really just wanted them to do well for themselves. I dedicated myself to my team (more on that to come).

We got the amaaaaaazing new catalogue release, and lo and behold – prices had been increased AGAIN. Very disheartening when a product you truly believed in starts to actually be vastly overpriced – how are we expected to sell something for £50 that we sold for £20 a few months ago?

[Source] Scentsy.com
There were lots of discussions about it on the weekly conference calls, but nothing we said mattered – the bigwigs at Scentsy HQ wanted to make money, and we had to sell it. At the same time, HQ decided to increase the minimum sales targets. We now had to sell a minimum of £150 in 3 months to stay “active” (aka not be kicked out of Scentsy). Apparently this would make things easier and “get rid of the dead wood from the team“. This “dead wood”, I’ll remind you, who had spent almost £100 apiece on their starter kit. A member of my team had a very poorly daughter so often had to focus on her rather than sales (obviously!). Now, the added pressure of minimum sales targets was extra stressful for her.

My team was big though. I was promoting. They were recruiting and promoting. Everything seemed to be going well, regardless.

I’d (shamefully!!) invite people round for coffee – namely the lonely mums from my children’s playgroups.

This coffee was a cunning set up – I’d have my Scentsy warmers going so my house smelt lovely. People would always say how nice it smelt and I’d say “oh, that’s just my Scentsy…” and then casually get into the discussion about the product and my business selling it.

9 out of 10 times of using this tactic, I’d have my new friends pull out their debit cards and make an order. Yes, the products were good. I’ve said before, I truly believed in them at the start… but now I’d begun down this slippery slope of duping people into buying it. Inviting people to my home under the guise of wanting new friends, when actually all I wanted was a sale – it pains me so much to even admit that I did this, BUT I’m saying it because I know people still do it now. It’s preying on people’s good nature. You’re hooking them in with the idea of company and coffee (or nowadays it seems to be more about Prosecco 🙄)… when actually all you want is these people’s money.

I can’t see how anything about that is right. It’s so unfair to the people you’re using and it’s also unfair to yourself.

You’re duping yourself out of genuine friendships because you’ve become more about the MLM sales than about being a nice person.

If you read this and you’re guilty of doing it then STOP. Now is your chance to sit back and assess your actions.

[Source] Cruise Critic
Back to my story, though. I was doing well, so well in fact that myself and 3 of my team members had finally earned enough to go on the Scentsy incentive trip! As mentioned earlier, this was an all inclusive Mediterranean cruise. When you read about these incentives you must think “what’s the catch?!” But there really wasn’t one. Scentsy paid for our flights to Barcelona, they paid for our rooms on the cruise (we had a double room with en-suite and balcony). They paid for excursions when the ship arrived at various locations. They paid for our food packages… It really was all inclusive.

I did take spending money so that I could buy souvenirs for my children, but it honestly was a fantastic experience. There were no training days or Scentsy-anything..it was literally about celebrating our sales. It was great.

The next incentive I earned was to Mexico, and Scentsy paid for everything, including allocating an amount of spending money too. Yep, it seems too good to be true. Is it? No, on the surface it’s not. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see people practically selling their soul to earn spaces on these trips. Maxing out credit cards to reach sales targets, or buying huge amounts of stock to sell (illegally) in other countries.

[Source] Scentsy.com
There were even people running “Scentsy shops” from their garages. Buying-in huge amounts of stock and then (again, illegally!!!) setting up a shop with a cashier till and opening hours. Risking everything for a plane ticket. I wish I was exaggerating or I wish that this was untrue but it’s not. It is really what happens when you see your upline doing well, reaching ‘Director’ or ‘Black Status’ or whatever your particular MLM call the top rung.


Summer came, and I’d been doing Scentsy for a year. I’d recruited an awful amount of people – when I look back, it was around 40 people, so that’s 40 x £100 starter kits, plus all the subsequent orders over time.

Scentsy were making a killing out of me and my team, but we weren’t really making much money at all.

Hey, £50 commission at the end of the month is a nice day out for you and the kids but with less hours you’d make more money at a real job. Just FYI, a couple of months I’d hit the £2000 sales target, so I got a nice £400 chunk of commission. So, I’m not telling my story because I’m a mood-hoovering negferret who isn’t right for direct sales – I did really well, I pushed for targets, and I sold, sold, sold.

But it’s not good. It’s so, so, so bad. My time, energy, friendships, family life, everything took a beating because I had this “business” to run. I wish I could go back in time and give them back their money and reclaim those wasted hours.


I married my partner in the August (a year after joining Scentsy). Sadly for me and my husband, the Scentsy business was so consuming I decided that instead of inviting close friends and family to our small wedding, it was actually super important for me to invite my Scentsy team. And their partners. And their children.

So my wedding memories are ruined, because I met these people once and now we’ve all drifted apart because we’ve stopped doing Scentsy. As if I let that happen!!! But at the time I was trying so hard to be a good ‘Director’ that I felt like I couldn’t not invite them. My husband and I are actually planning a vow renewal now, so that we can have people there that truly should be.

Time carried on and nothing really changed. The odd person in the team drifted away, didn’t make sales or quit. We got new members. There was a revolving door of newbies. The market was becoming saturated with Scentsy consultants and those who didn’t already have a good core customer base were struggling to get a foot in the door. Lots of people were selling on eBay or Amazon at reduced prices.

I did everything a good Scentsy consultant should do: I went to conventions, I earned incentive trips, I booked events, I supported my team.  Saying that, it’s time to talk about the “Scentsy sisterhood”. I made lots of (what I thought were) really good friends through Scentsy. We spoke every day and often we met up for coffee. Lots of us earned the incentive trips together, so it was super fun to have all inclusive girly trips. We supported each other through the highs and lows of selling Scentsy, and also of general life itself. We’d stuck together through one friend suffering a stillbirth, another had a marriage breakdown, another was diagnosed with cancer.

[Source] WeHeartIt.com

This support network was something that I decided to utilise, because I was having my own problems. Even though my business was “thriving” (🙄) we were still really struggling for money. As I’ve said, my husband was working 2 jobs to keep us going and I spent a lot of time alone with our children while he was out earning. Even with the income, we still relied on some government benefits to keep us afloat.I posted in our private friendship group on Facebook about how upset I was about still being on benefits and that I’d hoped my Scentsy business would have been supporting us more by now. I’d been grafting at it for 2.5 years at this point and felt like I was doing everything but not getting anywhere. Various messages came in about this being “my WHY” and how I should take my upset and use it to catapult me into the dizzy heights of earning through Scentsy. Okay, thanks everyone.. and we carried on.

However, a month later I was contacted by our local Council because I’d been anonymously reported for benefit fraud.

They said I had “undisclosed income” and wanted me to send across all my paperwork and earning information about my Scentsy business.

Right back at the beginning of Scentsy, I had registered myself as self employed and had been paying national insurance contributions etc. Everything was above board and I had not defrauded anyone. But someone I thought was a friend had used my post and reported me. I had to drag out 2.5 years worth of paperwork and receipts. And in a bizarre twist, this was my light-bulb moment.

Staring at all my calculations, I realised that most months I was in the negative. £300 income, £350 outgoing. £90 income, £110 outgoing. What I thought was a “thriving business” was actually slowly eating away at any spare cash we had in the account. There were a few months that I made £100 profit but I remember sitting on my carpet, surrounded by paperwork and realising that I’d really been losing money the whole time. I had also just found out I was pregnant. And I cried.


I think I cried for hours. I was so devastated that I’d been living a lie for all this time. My business wasn’t booming, it was skewed against me. Scentsy HQ forced us to buy new catalogues, new testers, new business supplies. I’d paid out for bottles of wine or chocolates for home parties. I’d spent hundreds in petrol running back and forth to various events that I’d paid to attend, all over the country. This was not healthy income vs expenditure. I sent all my paperwork off and thankfully the council saw that I had been honest with my yearly self-assessments and closed the case.

However, my eyes had been opened. I posted a long thread on my team page, I sent messages to my customers and the same day I sent an email to Scentsy HQ asking them to shut my account. I quit. I encouraged my team to quit.

You know what, I never spoke to or heard from any of my “Scentsy Sisters” again.

And so, I started my new journey to the Anti-MLM movement.


Elle Beau[Elle:] We’re glad to have you on board, Tiff. Thank you for sharing your Scentsy experience.


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24 comments

  1. I too sold scentsy. I look back at some of the issues and think….gosh I was stupid. By the end I stopped recruiting. I stopped buying new supplies and stuff but I’m embarrassed about how I thought I was changing lives with this amazing experience. I had one last season change in me and when the prices went up again and they raised the price for what a qualifying party was, I was out. I still didn’t realize about money lost and the crazy practices of MLM until I started seeing this movement. When I read other stories like this it makes me say, omg I did that too and that’s wrong. I’ve been out for 2 years now but only recently have i really begun seeing the poison that these companies really are. Thank you for your story

  2. Thanks for sharing your story Tiff. So many times I get people in MLMs saying they don’t understand how people lose money in these schemes. Yet you did everything you were encouraged to do and performed really well. The MLM model only works if most people lose money. Unfortunately most people don’t keep a record of their income and expenditures. I wish more did. Then they could see what is happening to themselves.

  3. I wonder if it was someone close to you, who knew that you’d done everything above board and knew you’d be found innocent, that reported you to the council for benefit fraud. Maybe they knew you’d have to look at all your expenses and they hoped this would make you realise Scentsy wasn’t worth it?

  4. A little info from a customer perspective. My childhood best friend, whom I have known for over 40 years, sells Scentsy. Well, I think she still does. I haven’t seen her post about it lately, and it’s probably for all the reasons above. I was in a good financial position to buy it when she first started (about five years ago, I think), and I wanted to support her. In honesty, I really do love the Scentsy bars. They do last as long as they say, and the scents are amazing. I even bought five warmers from her as I love to change it up for seasons, etc. She asked me to do a Facebook party, which I was hesitant to do, but I wanted to help her. After posting for about two weeks, I didn’t get a single order. I told her I was sorry, but I thought my friends were just overwhelmed by all the selling everyone does. She understood, and thank GOD, her “hunbot” moment did not affect our friendship.
    Then I began to realize a couple of years later that I could go on eBay or Amazon and get bars for FAR less than I was paying her for them. Yes, I felt guilty, but I I just couldn’t justify paying her double what I could get them for elsewhere. I did NOT tell her. Also, out of the five warmers I bought form her, only two were still working (as of today, they still are, but I’m not holding out hope when I pull them out for Halloween and Christmas next year). On two of them, the little dial that turns them on and off fell off the cord. I was really devastated about the one with the fall leaves because it WAS really pretty, and I had paid a LOT for it. I was still married at the time (now divorced and NOT in a good financial position), and my husband was able to fix them both by rewiring the cords. Within another year (and after my divorce), they both stopped working all together. Mind you, these were seasonal warmers I only used for maybe two months total, so the value was BAD for the $40-60 a piece I had paid when I could get a regular warmer almost anywhere for around $10 (I have a couple of those that have been working for 8+ years, one of them FULL TIME). I do still have a love for some of the fragrances, and I will search them out for $5-6 – and I can always find them at that price. I hated doing that to my friend, but why pay more when you don’t have to?

    1. Did you know scentsy warmers have a lifetime warranty? Contact them, they will send you a shipping label and replace your warmers as long as it’s not a BROKEN warmer and just a manufacturer or electrical defect. It’s the plug, you should be ok.

  5. To Rene … you should have gone to a consultant or straight to Scentsy regarding your warmers that quit working. Our warmers are lifetime warranty. Scentsy stands behind their products. As for bars on eBay or Amazon … unfortunately those sales hurt the regular consultant and are posted by consultants who don’t realize they are hurting their own business. They use up all of their commission to be able to sell at those prices. For what? To gain a few sales. They should be developing relationships with their own customers providing awesome customer service so they will keep coming back. If you get good customer service at a retail establishment will you keep going back there? Would you spend a couple dollars more to get good quality wax that lasts and to help a local businessperson (the consultant) be able to provide for her son’s hockey or help pay that mortgage bill ?
    To Tiff: That’s a very tainted story you posted. I’m truly sorry that your upline misled you. IMO you should have reported that consultant as soon as you discovered you did not receive your hostess rewards. Scentsy would have taken care of you (snd her).
    Heidi and Orville (Scentsy owners) are very clear when they say you don’t have to carry inventory. There whole reason for starting the Party Plan was because they didn’t want people to go into debt. (They were over $700,000 in debt before they started Scentsy and were on the verge of declaring bankrupcy). They wanted to be able to provide a way for others to realize their potential and their dreams. There are many successful consultants in Scentsy.
    With the number of parties you were having you definitely should have been making some good money … as a director you would definitely be making more than enough to cover your expenses… which are also a business write off at tax time. But any business has expenses. And yes you have to work at it. It’s not FREE $$$.
    I AM PROUD TO BE A SCENTSY CONSULTANT. I am retiring from my govt job so that I can spend more time on my Scentsy business as well as enjoy my free time.

    1. The warmers are only guaranteed if only Scentsy wax has been used in them, as if scented wax from another company is going to destroy them.

      1. The only time using other wax would void the warranty is if you were trying to claim a warranty issue regarding the finish. Using other wax will not void the warranty if your warmer stops working … this discussion took place recently with Head of Operations …

    2. I’m sure your retirement from your government job is totally because of your scentsy income and nothing to do with you having reached actual retirement. I’m also sure your government job isn’t at all providing you with a solid pension from years of (actual) work that you did.

  6. Jane your sarcasm does not go unnoticed.
    I never said my retirement was TOTALLY because of my Scentsy income nor did I say anything about lack of a pension. Nor do I like the inference that working a Scentsy business is not ACTUAL work. It most definitely is ACTUAL work.
    I was merely stating a fact that one of my reasons for retiring is so that I can put more time into my Scentsy business. I don’t have to retire, it’s a choice I am making. Rather than just working my Scentsy evenings and weekends I will be able to work it like a full time job without my other employment restricting me. As in anything you get out of it what you put into it. Part time hours = part time pay. Full time hours = full time pay.

    1. Good luck with that, Wendy. I truly mean that. But please be careful. If you are even close to retirement age, you don’t have the luxury of time to make up for bad financial choices. Be meticulous in tracking every penny of expense against “profits”. Seriously – are you actively, in real time, keeping records and reviewing them at least monthly? There is not a single successful business owner who does not do this. If this is going to be a serious business for you, then run it like a serious business.
      And if it turns out that full time hours don’t lead to anything near full time pay, don’t let embarrassment or shame keep you in a sinking boat for a single day. This system is rigged and you’d have some very good company in realizing you were a target/victim. Again, best of luck -someone’s got to be in that successful 1%. If you are not…we’ll be here to offer support.

      1. I have a finance background so yes I keep all my financial records … the people that sink are those who expect it to come freely without having to work at it and who don’t keep track of their receipts for writeoffs etc. It is a business and needs to be treated as such. No one is a target/victim. If you don’t want to work it like a business don’t join. If you’re not taking advantage of the bonus’ by recruiting people and building a business you won’t see that good income. If you aren’t keeping receipts/records of your write off items of course you’ll feel like you’re “losing” money. It would be no different if you opened a retail establishment or any business. You have to work at it. Direct sales is not free easy money like some think it is. There is a Direct sales Association that has very strict guidelines. Scentsy is one company that sticks to those standards. Active consultants selling on Ebay and buy and sell groups are actually having their Scentsy accounts shut down because it is against Scentsy standards and what the consultant agrees to when they join. Scentsy is a party plan company not a retail establishment (neither physical nor online).
        I am loving it and have no plans to quit any time soon.

    2. The difference is that you had a full time job and salary coming in at the same time as doing Scentsy part time. And after retiring from a government job, you will continue to have a lifetime pension as a safety net if the Scentsy business was to fail.

      Many MLM companies specifially target SAHMs and other lower income earners with the idea of making a ton of money with their “home based business” and how “easy” it is if they follow the “simple” playbook.

      These women already come in at a financial disadvantage and then sink what little they have into this, only to lose more.

      I see plenty of “consultants”, be it for Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Pure Romance, whatever, busting their tails and doing everything they are told will lead to success…and losing money. Because the market is now oversaturated and people are tired of being badgered in person, online, via email, Twitter, FB etc to hold a party…sometimes by people they haven’t heard from in years. They lose friends and family while “working the biz” like they’re told to do.

      Sure, SOME people do very well. Those who got in on the ground floor, and those who have sufficent other household income as a safety net. It’s hard to devote full time hours to this while you need to work full time at a regular job to keep your bills paid.

      Every single MLM that someone has approached me to join their downline all promise how easy it is to be successful, when the simple facts say otherwise.

      So, if you don’t want others to bash MLMs as being predatory scams, maybe don’t judge that the only reason someone wasn’t successful was because they didn’t work it hard enough or long enough….especially if the didn’t already have other stable income sources propping them up..

  7. I really enjoyed reading this story and found it well-written and interesting, even though I am sorry that you had to go through all of this hardship. Thank you for being brave and letting other people know what the reality behind these scams is. I feel like they prey on mothers, especially. One of my friends sold Scentsy, she had 4 children at the time. I thought about buying from her but everything was so expensive! She no longer sells it. I am saddened that the company turned out to be just another MLM scam like all the others and wonder how many other people out there share your experience.

  8. Okay it’s obvious y’all didn’t work your business in a smart way or you would not be out money. It takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight. But don’t blame a company bc you couldn’t budget your own money. Sounds like MLM was not good for you but it is for others. I enjoy it. Why not be positive with all the negative in the world. TBH this post was long and boring. Maybe ranting should be used in self reflection and not to discourage others from positive experiences.

    1. “Long and boring” but jarred YOU to stick around and comment didn’t it? Talking about ” being positive in a negative world” but felt compelled to stop and nastily judge the poster when you couldnt possibly have an actual clue!! Just a snarky,judgemental insult fueled by your unhealthy dedication to a vast cult following!! How bout’ we can the hypocrisy and be off with ya MLM scheming self!!

  9. When I was 24 (33 years ago!) or so I dipped my toes in the MLM world with a go at Amway. I was not naive so I could see through all the hype. The person who was the “director” (don’t remember the actual title) was actually kind and informative. I bought the basic kit, but found that sales were absolutely not for me. He was pretty clear that relying on friends and family was a bad plan for a lot of reasons. Years later my brother-in-law, who owned and sold over a dozen successful ChemDry carpet cleaning franchises, started up an Amway business which had transformed into an online portal. He was just biding time while the business he bought got up to being profitable. My point is is that MLM could be far easier, and fair, if it was not MLM but a sales job, which in reality is what it really is. I read this article because a lady at work has gotten involved in Scentsy, under the influence of a former employee who is on her fifth MLM scheme since leaving me six years ago. She can do math, so I am not to worried.

  10. “Long and boring” but jarred YOU to stick around and comment didn’t it? Talking about ” being positive in a negative world” but felt compelled to stop and nastily judge the poster when you couldnt possibly have an actual clue!! Just a snarky,judgemental insult fueled by your unhealthy dedication to a vast cult following!! How bout’ we can the hypocrisy and be off with ya MLM scheming self!!

  11. I was a consultant and found Scentsy to be every bit the scam discussed above. My uplines were cheating and breaking all of the same rules as above. I live down the street from the Head Quarters and they only positive things people around here have to say about Scentsy is how nice the light show is at Christmas on their campus. Scentsy Bullies consultants, and customers. I have come to despise the company. The warmers are poor quality and get really hot. If you buy a warmer and then try to sell it when your done with it the company threatens to sue you for Intellectual Property infringement or some other made up reason. I lost a ton of money as a consultant and I still have dozens of warmers in my garage because they threaten to sue every time I post one on facebook or any other buy sell page. I leave a negative review and tell EVERYONE about my experience as a customer and a consultant every time I am asked. My goal is to talk every new person out of joining or buying from them.

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