Is Scentsy the real deal, or a ripoff?

If you are into aromatherapy, diffusers, and essential oils, Scentsy is the multilevel marketing company for you.  

The business model is based around selling fragrances and fragrance-related products to spice up the aroma of your life.

They sell everything: oils, diffusers, waxes, wax warmers, and even “car bars” to keep your automobile smelling good.

So did I get on board? This explains everything:

Based in Idaho, Scentsy has experienced a great deal of growth in the last several years.  It was originally operated by just two people; today, it directly employs over 1,000 people, brings in annual revenue north of $400 million, and has over 200,000 independent distributors.

The rising popularity of Scentsy is reflected in internet traffic, too.  Search engine data shows a strong surge in public interest in the company after 2008, and search traffic has remained high since then.  

Web search data also reveals an interesting trend, which shouldn’t be too surprising given the company’s business model.  Traffic spikes every year in November and especially December, then drops off after the new year.  

Why? Scentsy’s party-based model, combined with the relatively low cost and high personizability of its products make it a great option for Christmas gifts.

Products

Planning out a business model for success with Scentsy has more to do with logistics and less to do with ingredients and specific product information.  

The party-based business model, where you host social events in where people can order products, requires a different style of planning.  Especially considering that your sales volume is going to be seasonal!  Of course, you’ll have to know how to use all the different kinds of products, so you might as well start familiarizing yourself.

Scentsy products come in several different vehicles for scent delivery.  The most basic are the car bars and scent circles.  These are scented products that can be hung in your car, tied to your purse, or tacked to the wall in your office.  

They don’t need to be combined with any device to start delivering scent; they smell great from the get-go.  If you are just starting out, or want a simple and cheap gift, they are a great choice.

Next up on the complexity scale are the room sprays.  These come in two ounce spray bottles, and are sized such that a few sprays is the appropriate amount to spritz up a room.  

These are slightly more expensive and require more intervention from you, but still dirt cheap in the grand scheme of things.

If you really want to get into the scenting experience, you have two options: oils and diffusers, or waxes and warmers. 

To take advantage of Scentsy’s wide selection of essential oils (both pure ingredients like eucalyptus and themed blends like “Calm” and “Boost”), you’ll need a diffuser.  This is a device that plugs into the wall and warms the essential oil, so it can slowly diffuse into the air and spread throughout your house.  

Waxes work similarly with wax warmers.  The wax contains aromatic compounds, but doesn’t fully release them until it is melted in a wax melter.  Again, this is a device that plugs into the wall and heats up.

The main difference between going with diffusers and oil versus wax and has to do with cost versus purity.  Waxes are cheaper than oils, and wax warmers are also cheaper than diffusers.  

But since wax scent bars from Scentsy need to use wax to bind up the aromatic compounds, the scents diffusing into the air aren’t as pure or potent as an essential oil.  

Especially if you are using their products for specific aromatherapy, you’ll probably want to opt for the diffuser and oil.  But if you just want to spruce up a room with a fresh, pleasant smell, wax is a great way to go.

Compensation plan

Like with most MLMs, to join up as a distributor for Scentsy, you need to purchase a starter kit.  This will cost you $99, which is on the high end.  Since Scentsy products are so cheap, though, you get a ton of demonstration products for your initial investment.

From here, you can start hosting events and earning income.  From the start, you get 20% commission (i.e. a retail discount) on all personal orders.  

After your lifetime sales reach 1,000 product volume, you get bumped up to 25%, but to start actually earning commissions, you need to add at least one distributor below you.  Then you can start earning 2% commissions on downline sales.

Though there are a few assorted bonuses and incentives at higher ranks, these are pretty unremarkable compared to what’s available at other MLMs.  Companies like Scentsy that sell inexpensive products do tend to have relatively unattractive compensation plans, which makes it hard to make good money selling their products.

This difficulty is borne out in Scentsy’s income disclosure statement.  Of the company’s distributors, only half of them are active during a given year.  Of these, the vast majority make less than $1,000 per year.  Only a small fraction (less than one percent) make anything close to a livable income.

Recap

Scentsy has a great variety of products, from inexpensive giftable items to larger price tag items for the aromatherapy enthusiast.  

Additionally, its public profile is growing, and its products are a very popular Christmas time gift option.  Unfortunately, these advantages are offset by a compensation plan and pricing scheme that makes it very hard for the individual distributor to make any real money.

Get involved with Scentsy if you want a fun, low-stress way to make a little pocket change, but don’t expect to be able to turn it into a major operation.

If you’re set on MLM, Scentsy isn’t a bad one, but there are better ways to kill your day job.

You might like this coaching because it shows you how to build a business and live the good life without peddling products to your family and friends.

http://bodynutrition.org/scentsy-review/