Arbonne Letters

Who would have thought that my post about Arbonne would have generated so much discussion? Admittedly, it does get heated from time to time. But I have allowed the post to be a forum for free speech as long as people keep it clean and don\’t abuse each other. If you try to read it, expect to spend at least an hour… it just keeps going and going…

A few months ago, I put up a site at AskJoelComm.com, where people could ask me questions about making money online. Little did I know that people would also be submitting questions about Arbonne.

So, without further ado, here are some of the comments and questions people have been submitting. Please note that I do not comment on Arbonne apart from those made in my initial post…

\”Hi Joel, I signed up as an Arbonne consultant several months ago and it is not working out at all. I found my way here to your website and am desperately seeking some way to make a little extra income from home. I have tried several over the years and have had many problems and lost a lot of money. I am wondering if I should give up or try one more time to see if there is indeed a legitimate opportunity for me. Data entry sounds interesting to me but the ads I have seen don\’t go into a lot of detail and I really want to know what I will be doing before I sign up for something else. Can you please help steer me in the right direction.\”

\”Are you familiar with Shaklee? What\’s your take on their comp plan and using your own Shaklee website to make money on the internet? It\’s an mlm company. (I\’ve been told the comp plan is much better than Arbonne. I have read your comments about Arbonne.)\”

\”It sounds like you should have done a little research before jumping the gun with Arbonne. The products do sell themselves, but the buisness is designed for one on one sales, not let me try and get rich from total strangers. \”

\”WOW…WHY is this even an ongoing discussion? The long-running nature of this thread has only revealed that there are passionate (misguided or not) arguments from both sides of the fence. HOWEVER, this thread was titled \”to Arbonne or not to Arbonne\” so I just want to suggest: If you WANT to debate whether the entire MLM or Network Marketing industry is (a) ethical, (b) viable, (c) a bona fide and acceptable means of doing business, then debate the principles of it. If you want to debate whether Arbonne is better than or worse than any other MLM/Network Marketing company out there, then do a valid comparison of (a) compensation plans, (b) company philosophies and integrity (putting their money where their mouths are), (c) training methodologies across the board, (d) support or expectations of individual consultants, etc. If you want to debate if Arbonne products are as good as or better than or worse than OTHER cosmetic/beauty products, then do that with either factual information, comparisons, scientific studies, whatever. Frankly, the Mary Kay comments sound like they\’re coming from Mary Kay reps who are trying to slam the competition. Frankly, I\’ve used Mary Kay and it caused severe reactions and some of my friends absolutely hate the stuff, while other people I know are LOYAL to MK and that\’s their choice. I personally use Christian Dior, Lancome or Chanel. Worth the money if the quality of materials doesn\’t create skin problems. Please respect everyone has a right to choose. If you don\’t like one line of ARBONNE, does that mean that it wasn\’t the right line for you or does it mean that ALL their stuff is crap? I don\’t think that\’s intelligent reasoning, but hey, what do I know? Like I said, choice. I came here looking for honest, rational discussion about whether Arbonne is a VIABLE opportunity. Frankly, if anyone else who stumbles upon this rat\’s nest had already decided that network marketing is something they want/can do but just wanted to know if Arbonne is a good choice, that is not going to get answered fairly here. If someone is trying to point out the difference between Arbonne\’s management/business-building philosophy and that of other MLMs, the opposing views seem to turn into anti-MLM disguised as Arbonne bashing. I didn\’t come here to read endless reams of venomous, slanderous attacks on opposing viewpoints nor to see corporate \”double-speak\” that is cut-and-pasted from the corporate website. I think most people who had come across this forum to gain insight and make their own educated choices, want to hear personal p.o.v. based on personal real experiences with the company itself or its representatives and then make an EDUCATED decision as to whether they will go for it or not. The thread should be re-titled \”To MLM or NOT to MLM but most of us here think MLM is for stupid people\” … I\’m amused at how the tactics of the detractors of MLM (i.e., Arbonne) DO tend to revert to rather generalized biased statements that sweep a broad and dirty brush. I\’m going to do my research at an UNBIASED place – business publications and the like. This whole discussion is nauseating. NOTE TO JOEL: Freedom of speech is one thing. I hoped you were providing an unbiased forum to allow honest discussion but that is evidently not the case.\”

\”What do you know about Arbonne as an MLM?\”

\”I was reading your story and I thought your response of the Arbonne products being too expensive is funny. They have other brands in the mall that costs alot mire and worj less effectively. I spents hundreds of dollars on Lancome, Shiseido, Clientele, just to name a few and they do not compare to how inexpensive the Re9 set is. What are you and your friends use to Sav-on drug store brands?\”

\”Thank you for your write up regarding Arbonne…I am trying to think of a way to help my 2 daughters get through College and this came along and sounded tempting or now too good to be true\”

\”Great article on Arbonne Joel. So much for my idea like yours.\”

\”Joel, My friend and I are considering Arbonne. Has it been successful for you? What are the upfront costs? The good/bad/ugly about the business that you haven\’t already wrote about. Thanks for the candid info, I too thought to use the internet to sell as I don\’t want to lose family or friends.\”

As you can tell, people are very passionate about MLM and Arbonne!