Is Rodan and Fields a Pyramid Scheme? Or a Legit Opportunity?

 I came across a post on Facebook advertising the Rodan and Fields compensation plan, so I asked myself, is Rodan and Fields a pyramid scheme? Or a legitimate opportunity? 

After thoroughly researching the company, and talking with a few ex-members, I wrote this Rodan and Fields review to share my findings with you. Let's take a closer look at how this company works and if you can make good money with them. 

What is Rodan + Fields? 

Founded in 2007 with headquarters in San Francisco, United States, Rodan and Fields (Rodan + Fields or R+F) is a multi-level marketing company in the skin care industry.  The company offers a wide range of skin care products, such as rejuvenation masks, restorative creams, lip balms & serums, tablets, toners, and many others.

Like most multi-level marketing companies, Rodan and Fields also offer the opportunity to become a consultant to earn money through their compensation plan, touting it as a "Life-changing" opportunity. But is Rodan + Fields another pyramid scheme? What are the chances of earning a decent income with Rodan and Fields? 

Continue reading to learn more...

Do Rodan and Fields Products Work? 

For the most part, the products seem safe, and the main concern people have is not the quality but rather the price, they're unusually expensive. While there are ways to receive product discounts, even with the discounts, the price is much more than the skin care products you can find in any department store, and the quality is not much better. 

My advice? You're free to try out Rodan and Fields products, but I don't think they're much better than any other company. To make more sales, Rodan and Fields consultants usually pretend to be skin care experts, when the opposite is usually true. Skin care is important, and the wrong products can really mess up your skin, so it's important to visit an actual dermatologist for skin care recommendations. 

Let's move on to the income opportunity: 

Making Money with Rodan and Fields:  

Chances are you're researching Rodan and Fields  for unbiased information about the income opportunity, and I'll do my best to share that information with you.

You're probably tired of all the consultants who say the income opportunity is a life-changer and you can make thousands of dollars from home. Unfortunately, the reality is the opposite. 

Before we get into that, remember you need to buy a business kit to participate: 

• Business Portfolio - $49
• Personal Results Kit - $395
• Core Kit - $695
• Ultimate Kit - $995

Compensation Plan: 

The Rodan and Fields compensation plan offers a few ways to earn, which I'll briefly discuss below. Bear in mind, these ways to earn are not all unlocked as soon as you become an active consultant. You have to reach specific levels to unlock the bonuses, and each new level has new account requirements. 

Note: If you're familiar with MLMs, you can probably already guess what their compensation is like!

1 - Retail Profit 

One way to earn with Rodan + Fields is to buy products at a discount and sell them for a markup, pocketing the profit. There are also "Preferred Customers" who enroll in auto-shipping for products under you.

The way it works is whenever someone buys from you, they're added to your customer list, and whenever they buy something from the store, you earn a commission. 

Since you can make money simply selling the products, Rodan and Fields claim their business is not a pyramid scheme. While that may be true, it doesn't mean it's a life-changing opportunity, either. In fact, like most mlms, the retail profits are usually very low, and you'll have to work very hard to make a sustainable income with retail profits alone. 

2 - Consultant Commissions

And here is where the compensation plan kicks in. Active Consultants can earn Consultant Commissions, which is 10% of the Commissionable Volume (CV) generated under you. 

3 - Team Commissions

To unlock this income option, you need to have an Executive Consultant title. You can earn up to 5% commission on the CV generated by customers, preferred customers, and other team members under you. 

4 - Generation Commissions

Generation commissions are self-explanatory, it's a small commission sent up the teams your team creates. There are a total of five generations, and you can earn 5% bonus from each one. Bear in mind, unlocking the first generation bonus is a challenge, and most members drop out before they reach that option. 

Here's where the pyramid really starts to take shape...

Look at the picture below and tell me how that does not look like a pyramid scheme: 

Requirements:

Every new rank adds a set of new requirements, and sometimes, it's a struggle to simply meet the minimum requirements. 

To become an Active Consultant, you simply need to earn a total of 100 Sales Volume. To move on to Executive Consultant, you need 100 SV, and 600 Personal Qualifying Volume (PSQV). From there, you need to start building Qualified EC Legs, also known as teams, and it goes on like that. The simple version? To move up in the ranks you need the people under you to move up too. 

The Income Potential: 

As of 2019, 362,300 people paid to become consultants. Out of those people, 200,322 (55%) were paid something (it doesn't specify how much) from the plan.  The majority (67%) of  members who earned a commission (Paid Consultants) earned between $0 to $306 a year.

Yes. That's annual income! Divide that by 12 and we have a grand total of $26 a month. To summarize, 67% of paid Consultants earn between $0 to $26 a month. Bear in mind, that's not profit, it's simply earnings. I'm willing to bet good money that these members are not making any profit or even a return on their investment. 

In the second bracket, we have 24.6% of members who have an average annual income of $2,315, which is still not good, and is still lower than minimum wage. The next bracket (5% of members) shows an average annual income of $6,881. Finally, the the last bracket has 2.30% of members who earn an average annual income of $14,920. 

The Takeaway?

 Based on the amount of time, effort, and money required to grow within the compensation plan, I do not think Rodan and Fields is worth it at all. Not to mention marketing a MLM in general is challenging because of saturation and, once you start spamming social media, you will probably isolate yourself from all your friends.

From my experience, it's not a good idea. But you maybe if you have incredible marketing skills and lots of contacts, you can earn some cash. It's your decision, after all. However, the average person, as we can see from the income disclosure above, won't make good money with this plan. 

Rodan and Fields Alternative?

To summarize, Rodan and Fields is not a pyramid scheme, but their income opportunity is not recommended. What do you think? Have you tried promoting an MLM before? Did you get results? Leave a comment below.