Qnet is a multilevel marketing company that sells a core product line of health and wellness supplements and accessories, accompanied by everything ranging from wristwatches to beauty products.
Founded in Hong Kong, the company operates in dozens of countries across the world.
Did I get on board? This explains everything:
The company is no stranger to controversy, with several complaints filed against it in a number of countries. The fact that it is hosted in Hong Kong, a company with very few regulations on the multilevel marketing and direct selling industry, enables it to skirt regulations that are in effect in other areas.
With its widely dispersed operations, it’s been the target of official probes and sanction in many countries, including India, Egypt, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka, among others.
Governmental agencies in these countries allege that Qnet is a pyramid scheme that exists primarily to enrich those at the top of the selling network, instead of to deliver actual products that consumers desire.
The company is also known for its sports partnerships, including its sponsorship deal with Manchester United FC, and it supports other sporting tournaments and events as well, so it does have some name recognition.
Qnet has also experienced a prolonged period of stable popularity, as measured by search engine traffic for the company’s name.
So, is Qnet worth your time, or is it just a scam? We’ll have to take a look at the products they offer and the compensation opportunities to get an idea.
Products
Like other heavyweight MLM companies, Qnet has expanded into dozens of different product categories.
It doesn’t focus on a specific niche of products; instead, it focuses on providing a lifestyle of convenience—products and increasingly services that are at your fingertips and are delivered to your door.
To be sure, the company has the standard vitamins and supplements. Its VitaNew line offers everything from CoQ10 to beta-carotene to more arcane and uncommon herbal supplements, like black sesame seed oil and a blend of artichoke milk thistle dandelion extracts.
Qnet has branched out from simple supplements to healthy living products, like air filters and water filters. Their HomePure alkaline water jug, for example, claims to hydrate the body with triple the effectiveness of regular tap water, which is a dubious claim to say the least.
Sloppy science has a tendency of pervading the rest of Qnet’s product marketing, too.
In addition to claims about ceramic balls creating an excess of negative ions (a scientific impossibility) in fresh water, their product information sheet for their AirPure air filter claims that it employs special technology to “energize and harmonize” the air, with no further explanation of what, precisely, this process is supposed to consist of.
The product also notably does not use a true HEPA filter; it uses a less effective filter with a deceptively similar name (HPP, a term not used with regards to air filters outside of Qnet).
Since Qnet is not headquartered in the United States and as such is not bound by United States Food and Drug Administration rules, it can make claims about its products that wouldn’t be allowed in the US.
For example, in the advertising literature for Pomelin, a pomelo fruit extract, the company explicitly calls the extract a natural way to protect yourself from bacterial or viral infections.
This is exactly the kind of medical claims that the FDA prohibits, and companies that do make these kind of claims usually see swift regulatory action and fines.
Beyond physical goods, Qnet also sells vacation packages and even technology: the company has a cloud-based computing system called BrilCloud, and a web conferencing software package called BrilNet.
The huge array of products makes it hard for any one person to become an expert on all of them; to succeed as a distributor, you’ll either need to focus on one particular area, or recruit a series of distributors underneath you each with an area of specialized expertise.
Compensation plan
Even for an MLM, Qnet has a pretty complicated compensation plan. The cost to join is fairly standard: you must purchase one of two starter kits ($30 or $90).
From here on out, though the process for becoming eligible for earning commissions is pretty challenging. You need to reach 500 business volume, either in personal orders or in customer orders through you, to become eligible for commission and bonuses.
While you can still sell at retail prices and make profits, the clear incentive is to strive for bonuses and commission.
Qnet is incredibly vague about exactly how the commission system breaks down. As a binary structure MLM,you have a “left” and a “right” team, and Qnet only gives you commissions on the weaker sales leg.
On top of that, since all the commissions are in points, not percentages, you have to do some serious number-crunching just to figure out if you’re going to make a reasonable amount of money or not. And remember, that’s time you have to spend not getting paid for your work.
Recap
With Qnet, there are a lot of red flags that indicate you should look elsewhere for MLM opportunities. First, the fact that it’s being investigated in several countries for potentially fraudulent practices should put you on alert.
Second, the unscientific and misleading claims about their health products should definitely make you think twice about it.
If that’s not enough, take a look at their incredibly complex and confusing compensation plan. If it was easy to make money with this MLM, do you think the plan would be so complicated? Even among lifestyle/convenience MLMs, there are better options for your time.
If you’re set on MLM, it’s not terrible, but probably not the best, either.
If you’re doing it for the money, there are better ways to kill your day job. You might like our coaching because it shows you the good life without peddling products to your family and friends.
http://bodynutrition.org/qnet-review/
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