So, you’re wondering whether Isagenix is a scam.
This could mean one of two things.
Either it means that somebody has told you about the Isagenix ‘business opportunity’ and you’re wondering whether it is a legitimate way to make money or too good to be true, OR you’re considering trying the Isagenix diet products and you want to verify that they actually work before parting with your hard-earned cash.
I don’t blame you.
Isagenix is not cheap, and whether you’re considering joining the business and becoming an Isagenix Associate, or you have your eye on a few Isagenix products, you’re going to be spending a couple of hundred bucks (at least).
It’s natural to want to do your homework before jumping into something headfirst, and in this article we’ll look at Isagenix as a company and discover whether the business opportunity is legit or a scam, as well as whether the Isagenix products really work.
So, is Isagenix a scam?
Let’s find out.
Is Isagenix a Scam? Uncovering the Truth About Isagenix
The Basics
What is a Scam?
To avoid any confusion, it’s worth getting clear on the definition of a scam before we go any further.
A lot of Isagenix reviews say that Isagenix isn’t a scam without really explaining why, or even going into detail about what they consider to be a scam.
Dictionary.com defines a scam as being ‘a deceptive scheme or trick used to cheat someone out of something, especially money.’
Many people associate scams with outright trickery, such as a ‘Nigerian prince’ scam or a text claiming to be your bank phishing for your details, but a scam can be as simple as somebody lying or misrepresenting a product or opportunity in order to get you to part with your money.
There is a huge grey area when it comes to this type of scam, and while a whole business may not be considered to be a scam, oftentimes individual salespeople within the company will use practices and tactics that could result in somebody being scammed.
Think of those high-interest pension schemes that used to be popular in the UK.
People would be convinced to sign over their pensions to these companies, who promised insanely high returns. The companies would then use the money to invest in extremely high-risk assets, meaning that the money was nowhere near as safe as the victim believed it to be.
While not everyone would consider these to be outright scams (because the money isn’t being ‘stolen’) the promise of such high returns and a failure to disclose the risks by the salespeople result in such schemes being considered a scam by many people.
What is Isagenix and is Isagenix legit?
Isagenix is a multi-level marketing company with a focus on wellness in the form of dietary supplements, shakes, ‘elixirs’ and more. It was founded in 2002 by John Anderson and Jim and Cathy Coover
Before founding Isagenix, John spent decades within the supplement formulating industry, while Cathy and Jim have spent a combined total of 50 years in direct sales.
The MLM (multi-level marketing) business model that Isagenix uses is the same business model used by Avon, Monat, Beachbody and Color Street.
People in MLMs don’t receive a salary or hourly rate.
Instead, they earn money when they sell products to the people they know and recruiting others into the business.
When somebody that they recruit begins earning money, they will earn commission from the sales and recruits generated by that person.
This continues down in multiple levels (hence multi-level).
Imagine a triangle.
If the person at the very top of the triangle recruits 10 people, and every one of those 10 people recruit another 10 people, and each one of those people recruit another 10 people, they’ll be making commissions from EVERYBODY within the triangle.
All they had to do was recruit 10 people and they made money from 1100.
When it comes to the Isagenix products, most of them are weight loss focused such as meal replacement shakes.
Isagenix also have products for energy, hydration and other general ‘wellness’ products.
However, because of the huge focus on recruitment within the company, many people believe Isagenix to be a pyramid scheme, with others asserting that Isagenix is a scam and you can’t make any money as an Isagenix associate.
We already dived into whether or not Isagenix is a pyramid scheme here, so today we will be looking at whether you can really make money with Isagenix and if the tactics used by Isagenix Associates are similar to those shady pension scheme salespeople.
By the end of this article, we will have discovered whether their products and income opportunity can deliver on the promises they make.
Inside the Isagenix Business Opportunity
Can you make money with Isagenix?
To see how much money people are making with Isagenix, I took a look at their 2020 Income Disclosure Statement (IDS).
Before we get into the numbers, it is important to note that you can be an Isagenix Member in two ways: as a ‘Customer,’ where you will receive discounted products but do not sell products to others, or as an ‘Associate,’ where you continue receive discounts on products but also sell products to people.
Isagenix’s IDS states that approximately 85% of Isagenix Members opened Customer accounts only, and thus earned no compensation from Isagenix.
This shows that 85% of Isagenix Members never attempted to turn their love for the products into a business, and that of the 15% of Members who made any money with Isagenix, all of those people had, at one point, tried to turn their passion for Isagenix into a business.
What this suggests is that if we STILL see very high failure rates, then it’s likely due to the BUSINESS MODEL itself as opposed to the distributor just not making any effort.
When it comes to the actual numbers, unfortunately, the Isagenix Income Disclosure Statement lacks a lot of data.
The only information we have is the following:
The mean average earnings of all Isagenix Associates was $843
The top 50% earned a median average of $1021
The top 10% earned a median average of $7427
The top 1% earned an average of $94,578
When you take into account that the top 50% of the company only earnt $1000 in an entire year, we can see that most people in Isagenix are not earning anywhere near enough to replace a regular job.
We should also remember that these figures don’t take into consideration any EXPENSES that the Isagenix Associate racked up while building their business.
This means that the top 50% of Isagenix Associates didn’t actually walk away with $1000 at the end of 2020.
If you want your own Isagenix business, you will need to pay a $29 registration fee and a ‘Product Introduction Pack,’ which cost between $148 and $1098.
Other expenses include:
Phone/internet bills
Buying products for personal use
Buying products to sell on to customers (inventory loading)
Food, gas, travel and accommodation when travelling to Isagenix events and conferences
Costs of running your own blog or promotional channel such as YouTube
When we take all of these expenses into account (as well as time spent on the business), it becomes clear that most people in Isagenix are not even earning a minimum wage.
Now, when it comes to answering whether or not this makes Isagenix a scam, the answer is a little complicated.
Isagenix themselves include a disclaimer on their Income Disclosure, saying that Isagenix ‘does not offer quick riches or guarantees of success. Building any long-term business is challenging, and relatively few achieve significant long-term financial success.’
From this, we can see that Isagenix is being upfront about the low success rate rather than guaranteeing quick riches or success, and so Isagenix as a corporation cannot be considered a scam.
With that being said, a couple of lines on the Income Disclosure do not mean that people are not being deceived about the earning potential with Isagenix.
Most people who decide to sign up as an Isagenix Associate do so because they have been sold the opportunity by another Associate.
It is these people who often misrepresent the opportunity, and most new recruits will just take them at their word rather than reading the small print.
Although the vast majority of Isagenix Associates are not making any money, this doesn’t stop them from advertising the opportunity as a sure-fire path to ‘financial freedom’ and ‘making money in your sleep.’
Even though they are not technically permitted to make any guarantees about income, they still do, and so while the corporate side of Isagenix is making sure to cover itself with disclaimers, in practice, people are still being scammed by Isagenix Associates who know that they are misrepresenting the opportunity but do so anyway.
Is the Isagenix business opportunity a scam?
In a legal sense, no.
The company are being careful to put disclaimers in their small print to avoid any lawsuits.
In practice, yes, the Isagenix opportunity is a scam.
It is misrepresented by many of its Associates, and people are buying into a dream that just does not exist.
The Isagenix Products
If you’re not interested in the business opportunity but the Isagenix products themselves, you might still be wondering ‘Is Isagenix a scam?’
More to the point, does Isagenix work?!
As we said earlier, Isagenix products are not cheap.
You want to be sure that Isagenix is legit before you shell out a lot of money on a month’s supply of supplement shakes.
So, let’s take a closer look at the Isagenix weight loss products and see if they deliver on the promises they make.
Isagenix claims that their 30 day programme will help you lose weight and satisfy your food cravings through their products and a diet plan.
Isagenix programmes can get pretty complex, with Cleanse Days, Shake Days, intermittent fasting, tonnes of different products, and even the use of essential oils for weight loss.
Even though many reviews of Isagenix are positive, people on the programmes will also be sticking to a very low-calorie diet, so naturally, they are going to be losing weight!
There are also a lot of negative reviews suggesting that perhaps Isagenix simply works for some people and not others, and that it is not a guaranteed way to lose weight.
The only studies available when it comes to the quality of Isagenix products are funded by Isagenix (so likely suffer from bias), but they are also problematic in themselves.
Here’s why.
Firstly, all of the Isagenix studies involve calorie restriction and intermittent fasting in the group of people using Isagenix products, but no calorie restrictions or fasting in the control group.
This means that although the results of the study show that the people using Isagenix lost weight, we cannot compare their results with people who were on a totally different, non calorie-controlled diet!
Another compared people using high protein Isagenix products compared to low protein supermarket products.
Of course the people on the high protein products saw better results, but this has nothing to do with Isagenix as a brand compared to supermarket brands, and everything to do with the fact that the other group were consuming less protein!
For a fair result, both groups should consume the same amount of protein to see whether the Isagenix product still generates better results.
Isagenix claims that their supplements deliver immune support, promote brain health and protect against ageing.
However, determining the legitimacy of these claims would involve research trials, and Isagenix have not conducted any of these trials – they are just going off trials conducted by other companies with similar products.
While the ingredients used in Isagenix products are generally accepted as being beneficial, it is problematic for Isagenix to make such bold health claims when the studies have not actually been conducted on Isagenix products specifically, and they are not regulated or approved by the FDA.
Beware the Isagenix 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee
Isagenix offers a 30 day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with their products, making them seem like a relatively risk-free purchase.
However, if you’re planning on buying Isagenix for the first time, be sure to read the small print because this money-back guarantee comes with a lot of stipulations.
First off, if your return is accepted, you will get the money back that you paid for the product, but not any membership fees, admin fees, shipping fees, literature and sales aids etc.
There are also many products that don’t qualify, including seasonal, discounted or promotional items.
Another obstacle that may stand in the way of you and your money is the person who actually sold you the product.
You see, unless you purchase something directly from the main Isagenix website, you will have to go through the salesperson that you bought the product from if you want to initiate a refund.
This means that rather than dealing with a qualified customer service rep, you will likely be going through someone who isn’t trained or required to handle things with any degree of professionalism.
This means that you could be left for days waiting for a response (or ignored completely), or that the rep could pressure you into sticking with the programme for at least a month (‘because you won’t see results overnight!’), meaning that you will no longer be eligible for a refund as you have exceeded the 30 days.
In other words, you will have to jump through hoops and there is still no guarantee that you will get your money back.
Does Isagenix Work?
Overall, Isagenix does not seem to be a scam as far as the products are concerned.
This isn’t to say that the Isagenix products are any good – there have been no reliable studies to back up any of Isagenix’s claims, and the people seeing great results on Isagenix programmes are also reducing their calorie intake to such an extent that they would likely see those results anyway.
As far as Isagenix side effects go, Isagenix products have a few.
First, they are packed full of a simple sugar called fructose, which can lead to diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance in the long run.
Other common Isagenix side effects include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, constipation or diarrhoea, abdominal pain or cramping and irritability.
Isagenix products are also super expensive, and you can get comparable products for much cheaper.
If you desperately want to try Isagenix, then go for it.
However, know that they are expensive and there is no proof that they work.
Quick Recap FAQ
Isagenix is a multi-level marketing company in the health and wellness sphere. It sells dietary supplements, meal replacement shakes and more.
Most people do not make a liveable income with Isagenix. In 2020, the mean average earnings of all Isagenix Associates was $843, but this number is skewed because the top 1% of the company earned an average of $94,578 in the year 2020.
To sign up as an Isagenix Associate, you need to pay a $29 registration fee, as well as one of their ‘Product Introduction Packs,’ which cost between $148 and $1098.
Yes, Isagenix is a multi-level marketing company, also known as network marketing. Some compare MLM companies like Isagenix to pyramid schemes because there is a very low chance of making money and a focus on recruitment rather than selling products.
Isagenix as a whole could not be considered a scam, but many people have been scammed by misleading and unrealistic claims made by Isagenix Associates.
Is Isagenix a Scam? | Final Thoughts
Isagenix cannot be considered an outright scam.
The corporate side of the company make sure to include disclaimers on their Income Disclosure statement about the low success rate of participants, and the ingredients in Isagenix products are the same ingredients used in other weight loss supplements.
With that said, however, many Isagenix Associates make false claims about the ‘opportunity,’ leading people to believe that Isagenix is better than it actually is.
Bold claims are also made about the supplements with no evidence to back them up.
For this reason, Isagenix cannot be considered a scam in a legal sense, but many people still wind up losing money and feeling scammed when they put their trust in Isagenix, either as an Associate or as a retail customer.
Not Your Boss Babe definitely does not recommend becoming an Isagenix Associate!
An alternative to Isagenix
So then, how the hell do you make passive income online?!
Well, a much more viable alternative to network marketing is affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is very similar to network marketing, but unlike multi-level marketing, you actually stand a chance at making a substantial amount of money from the comfort of your own home!
Just like multi-level marketing, affiliate marketing involves promoting products you love and making a commission every time you make a sale.
However, unlike MLM, there are no monthly quotas, no sign-up fees, no recruitment involved, and most importantly, the money that YOU earn will be going straight into your pocket, NOT trickling up the pyramid.
Affordable affiliate marketing courses
Below are a few recommendations of courses and other tools that may be useful if you want to build a blog, grow your social media account and make money with affiliate marketing.
The best bit is that if you use our discount code to sign up, you can save as much as 70%, meaning that you getting all of the material at a fraction of the price!
Here are the best affiliate marketing courses:
Affiliate Marketing Diploma – This Centre of Excellence course will teach you all you need to know to get started with affiliate marketing and build your own successful affiliate marketing business. The usual price is £147, but if you use code TRAVELLINGJEZEBEL466 you will get 70% off! (The code is the name of NYBB’s travel blog!)
Blogging Business Diploma Course – This is another Centre of Excellence course that will help you turn your blog into a business. This course is usually £127 but you can get 70% off using the code TRAVELLINGJEZEBEL466.
Travel Blog Prosperity – This is a fantastic selection of blogging courses that you pay for monthly access to, with new material being added all the time. You can get your first month for only $9 (usual price $59.29) when you use code JEZEBEL.
Social Media Marketing Diploma Course – Want to create a successful affiliate marketing business using only the power of social media? Turn your socials into money with this course. It is usually priced at £127 but you can get 70% off with code TRAVELLINGJEZEBEL466.
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