The fifth-largest beauty company and the second largest direct selling company in the Universe. That’s called Avon. Their annual turnover has been around $10 billion during the last years. Still, people have been asking all over the Internet, “Is Avon a Pyramid Scheme?” or even “Is Avon a Scam?”
In this review, I’ll give you my opinion of Avon business opportunity and we’ll also take a look at their products. In my opinion, Avon is highly interesting company and they have a fascinating story but there are also things that I don’t like.
Spend the next 1-3 minutes with me and let’s discuss Avon. I am not affiliated with Avon and I am not earning any money by writing this review. My website has researched already around 300 make money online programs so we decided to research Avon as well.
Avon Review
Name: Avon
Founded: 1884
Price for Starting: $25 minimum
Type: Multi-Level Marketing. Beauty and Wellness.
Short Review: I prefer Avon over many similar MLM-programs. They have a good background of more than 130 years in the industry to back them up. Their products are not overpriced like many counterparts. You have also a possibility to great support from your upline.
However, success with Avon requires lots of selling and recruiting. Easy money doesn’t exist there. This step-by-step training will for sure help you to make more sales. I use it nowadays to make my living online.
What Is Avon About? – “The Company for Women”
“Avon – the company for women.” That’s their slogan.
Avon is a multi-level marketing company that sells beauty and wellness products all around the world. They fall in the same category like Mary Kay, Jeunesse, Younique and tens of others similar companies. However, there are things that separate Avon from all of the others.
Avon has been founded already back in 1884. Imagine! That’s more than 130 years in the business. It’s pretty impressive while most companies stop during the first 5 years. +130 years in the business tells that they are doing something right.
It’s interesting to see that during the last 5 years their popularity has been going down. There may be many reasons why this is happening. The competition in beauty business is tough and many people don’t like MLM-companies so much anymore.
Anyhow, it’s still a legitimate business opportunity and you can make a full-time income by selling their products. Before digging deeper into their business aspect, let’s take a quick look at Avon products.
What Kind of Products Does Avon Sell?
The list of Avon products is huge.
- Makeup
- Skin Care
- Jewelry
- Bath & Body
- Fragrance
- Kitchen products
- And much, much more. I could continue the list almost forever.
As you can see, the main focus is on women’s products. They have also added some men’s products like deodorants, grooming, fragrance, etc. but their focus group is clearly women.
In this picture you can have a look at their new products and best sellers in the makeup section:
Many MLM-products are highly overpriced because of the company structure. However, Avon products are much cheaper than many of their counterparts. It makes me glad because I have seen MLMs that sell their makeup products for a huge price.
On the other hand, when prices are cheaper people tend to think that the quality is lower. It may be true with some products but I have seen that the price really isn’t the only decisive factor in MLM-products.
I have heard many network marketers saying, “It’s much better to sell one product for $100 than 100 products for $1. That’s why we put our prices higher.” They don’t really care about providing the best price/value ratio for their customers because the biggest focus is on making a profit. I don’t like that attitude and that’s why I’m glad Avon isn’t selling highly overpriced products.
How to Make Money with Avon? – Selling Or Recruiting
Now we come to an interesting part. My website is dedicated to teaching how you can earn honest money online so it’s interesting to talk about Avon as a business opportunity.
There are basically two ways how you can make money with Avon: 1.selling their products and 2.recruiting new people.
You will earn commissions from all of your sales depending on your level. The more you sell, the bigger percentage you will be earning. When your sales are under $50, the commission percentage is 0% but when they go over $1,575 you will earn commissions up to 50%. In other words, you will gain momentum by selling more.
There are two ways to sell Avon products:
- Face-to-Face
- Online
If you sell their products face-to-face, you can show products on Avon catalog and explain the details. Next clients tell you what they want to order. You make an order on Avon platform and they ship products for you. Then you can take products to clients.
Selling Avon products is way easier online, in my opinion. You can leave their links on your personal beauty blog or on your Facebook page. Then people just go to Avon and order products to their home. You just get a notification that you made a sale. Simple, huh? Actually, that’s how I make money online. The last night I made around $200 in sales online while I was sleeping. Just click a picture below to learn more.
Avon Compensation Plan – Earn Commissions Up to 3rd Downline
You can make good money also just by recruiting people who will make sales. Then you’ll earn the commissions from all of their sales. The video below explains in detail Avon compensation plan for 2017.
NOTE: The video is created by Avon representative so it contains some promotional material.
Who is Avon for? – Skillful Salespeople Who Love Beauty Products
The truth is that if you want to succeed with any MLM-business, you need to become a great salesperson (and a recruiter). You need to sell lots of products to earn commissions and sell the system for new potential distributors. Things are a bit easier nowadays because you can do the selling online as well. If you have a large audience, you can immediately make a good income by promoting almost any product.
If you think Avon would be a great fit for you, their Quick Starter Kit costs $25. That’s the cheapest package to get started. Then they have also packages to get started with Advanced Starter Kit $50 or Premium Starter Kit $100. The more you pay, the more products and resources you will get.
Avon Reviews – Benefits and Challenges
There are hundreds and even thousands of Avon reviews on the Internet. Many people have tried their program all around the world. Many of them have quit after some time but some became successful and they are still continuing in the Avon system.
Many people naturally like the aspect that you can be your own boss. You can work whenever and wherever you want. However, that also gives you a great responsibility. Many people failed because they weren’t used to working for themselves. It can be easier to get things done when somebody is telling you what to do.
Some Avon representatives highly enjoyed support from their uplines. Your recruiter wants you to succeed because he will earn commissions from all of your sales. When you make a sale, he gets money. So, you have a good upline, it can help you a lot. Support is probably one of the biggest benefits of MLMs. On the other hand, I have also read many reviews where people said that the support wasn’t so good as they expected and it was one of the biggest reasons they quit.
Conclusion – Is Avon a Pyramid Scheme?
Avon is not a pyramid scheme because their only focus is not on recruiting new people. They also pay great attention to the products and sales.
Do I recommend joining Avon? I leave the choice to you but I’ll give you a few clues that help you to decide.
Here are some characteristics that can make a successful Avon representative:
- You like selling beauty products
- You have a large network
- You know how to promote their products online. (You can learn it here)
- You are persistent and don’t give up after some challenges
- You are a disciplined person and don’t need a boss to say what to do all the time
If you find (some of) those characteristics in yourself, you can expect some sort of success.
In the end, I would also show you a way how I make a living online. You can apply exactly same steps, tools and principles for your success.
=> Learn How to Make a Living Online! (With or Without Avon)
Have you considered joining Avon?
Would you like to learn also other ways to earn money online?
Let’s discuss in the comments below! 🙂
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them below and I’ll be more than happy to come back to you.
I’m not a member of AVON, some of my things I bought from Avon are good stuff and I liked it.
Why do people quit if they would earn good money there? I asked this question from a member and this what’ve she answered;
1. lack of hard work and perseverance.
2. items from Avon are not daily necessities
3. Because of debt. buyers will pay installment
Those are definitely valid reasons why people quit with Avon and other businesses as well. People lack perseverance. If you want to succeed, you need to persist also when the times get tough. Most people are not ready to feel the discomfort and keep on going if they don’t see immediate results.
I have some facebook friends who make just about $3000 per month selling Avon products. Avon is certainly a legit program and you can make good money if you are a good sales man/woman. However, for the people like me who cannot drive sales, Avon is not very attractive money making option.
Yeah, Avon has good products and an interesting system.
I think I should join Avon program as well because this page is attracting lots of traffic from Google. Could probably earn money just by adding a few links on this page. It’s not complicated Vinaya. I’m sure you could do it as well. Anyone can do it.
I really liked this website, 138 years in the online business and still going it’s not for weak sites. I definitely will take a look at this one, the only thing is that I¿m a man, and we don’tknow much about beauty products, so there will be some difficulties when it comes to become an experienced sales person in this market. But I will take a look Roope! Excellent article!
Hi Wizkha,
you are right that women have usually more experience on these beauty products. However, you can still be an expert on these things even though you’re a man 🙂
Avon’s products are very cool. I tell my friends to use Avon product. There are many different types of products in Avon. There is no need to use other products. Due to the information you give, I can tell more about my friends. Thanks a lot for this beauty enjoying article with me. I am appreciating it very much!
Hi Melissa,
yeah, Avon is a huge brand nowadays. One of the biggest leaders in the beauty industry. It’s interesting to imagine how someone created a company +130 years ago and it’s still going strong. It tells me a story that even a one man can make a huge positive difference in this world.
Avon counts with many years in the industry, but also with quite the accessible prices; both for the buyer and the salesperson. Which is why it’s such a successful brand amongst my acquaintances.
However, their products aren’t friendly to all of their users, as my boss (who has celiac disease) got a major allergic reaction to one of its eyeliners. What I’m aiming for is that you need to keep even the smallest details of your customers into mind.
This program is already tricky enough when it comes to the money you’ll make, no need to make the gain even smaller when dealing with these consequences.
Hi Cantarella,
you are right that for a cheap price you can’t get everything. If a buyer has some diseases, she needs to check details carefully.
Making money with MLM-programs isn’t easy. It requires lots of persistence and sales skills like any other business model. But of course, it’s possible to succeed like millions of people have proved.
However, I prefer affiliate marketing for several reasons that I have discussed in other posts.
-Roope
I loved Avon products. I used to be a retailer back then and I really earn much. Avon is one of the very known cosmetic brand here in our country, Philippines. It had already proven its quality among the users here.
Hi DanoCath,
interesting to hear that Avon is also popular in Philippines. Are you still selling Avon products? I’ve heard that many people used to sell them in the past but many of them aren’t selling them anymore. I am just thinking why do people quit if they would earn good money there?
-Roope
I remember Avon being talked about when I was a kid but I am only 26 right now. I do not think of it as a pyramid scheme but I do also think as you do that a person needs certain characteristics and definitely skills to succeed.
Hi Raeanna,
you are definitely right. Succeeding with Avon (or with any kind of business) requires lots of persistence and selling. In MLMs you also need to recruit lots of new people to become successful.
While building my online business I’ve learned that one of the most important characteristics of a successful entrepreneur is persistence. As one motivational speaker says, “Those who succeed don’t stop at one failure. They don’t stop at ten failures. One thousand. Or a million. They say, this is my goal and I will do whatever it takes to achieve it.”
That kind of attitude leads to success.
-Roope
Everyone in my family uses Avon, and not only that, they buy from one of my neighbors that gets us the monthly catalog and we deal directly with her. I never knew before how did the Avon enterprise worked, It’s been going for around 15 years so I don’ tthink it could be a pyramid scheme, but it’s still very interesting that you took the time to review it, thanks a lot Roope!
Hi Alexander,
interesting to hear that your whole family is using Avon products. It seems to me very popular in the U.S.
Yeah, some people are still asking if it’s a pyramid scheme even though they have been around for so long. But it clearly isn’t a pyramid scheme.
-Roope
Thanks for the article. It was interesting to read your perspective on Avon. I’m into beauty products and make up, especially with good old brands like Avon and I had some experience with it. I use to sell it “face to face” and I found it quite hard to build my own customer network. I guess it’s not for everyone.
Right now with the financial crisis in my country it’s hard to sell this kind of products even if you have your own wallet of customers but it was a profitable choice for some people back in the “good days”…
Hi Pink_Turtle,
yeah, becoming successful with any MLM requires lots of sales skills and persistence. You can try again Avon by selling their products online if you want. The whole world is your market.
This step-by-step training will help you to build a successful online business within any niche. You can use those principles selling makeup or any other products. It helped me to quit my 9 to 5 job and become a full-time online marketer.
-Roope
Unfortunately, I have no interest in makeup or beauty products so Avon as a money making scheme is probably not for me. I’m sure a lot of women and even some men enjoy it but it’s not for me to be honest. I remember that my mum got an information pack regarding Avon a while back but she didn’t really take it seriously.
I think more than online sales, face to face sales is what makes the difference. With online sales, there is way too much competition and the market is congested which makes it so difficult to get proper sales.
Hi Kingcool,
based on my own and other people’s experience online selling is much more effective than face-to-face. Competition means that there is lots of money to be made. There are a million ways how you can make money despite the competition. You can target different keywords on Google than your competitors and reach out on social medias.
Potential is huge. I think that people are just little by little starting to realize how much opportunities there are on the Internet.
-Roope
True, I understand where you are coming from. It is so much easier to target specific people online and especially with services like Google Adwords, anyone can start a business online easily and make sure that they market their product easily.
The problem is, there is so much competition online already, can a new Avon representative enter the market and successfully make a large enough sum? It just seems a lot harder now than it would have been before
Hi Kingcool,
competition means that people are making lots of money there. I see that as a positive thing. If there would be 0 competition, it wouldn’t probably be a very profitable niche or industry.
Sure, you can make a living (and even a fortune) in almost any profitable niche even though there’s lots of competition. On the Internet you can target new keywords on Google, reach out to people on social medias and do many other things as well.
h
I am in one of the most competitive niches (make money online) but still my business is growing every day. There are always new keywords that I can target and drive traffic from Google and from other sources. Wealthy Affiliate training can teach you the same skills as well.
-Roope
My aunt was doing the avon. But right now she stopped doing business because of lacked of capital.
Hi Gladsss,
yeah, most people end doing it when they don’t earn enough money from their business.
Avon has been around longer than four generations, and my grandmother used to sell the items in the old-fashioned way: Door by door and building a physical network with other women in the neighborhood.
Avon has an advantage over other products, and it’s the reputation it has: The brand has a certain status because of its history, the products are not overpriced and are recognized as having proper quality. Likewise, middle-aged and older women trust Avon much more than other newer brands precisely because they have been around for such a long time, therefore if you have an area of influence around that population it’d be quite easy to establish a proper network.
As I am particularly interested in the beauty product business, this article has made me reconsider the old classic Avon as a potential opportunity for myself, thank you!
Hi Rosette,
interesting to hear that. Door-to-door selling has been probably much more popular back in the days. Nowadays, we have much better opportunity to reach people through the Internet. If you go from door to door, you can only reach one family at a time but on the Internet you can reach hundreds of people at the same time (or even much more).
You are right that Avon brand would help you to sell them more easily. People recognize the name because it has been here already for so long. It’s very impressive how one company can make such an impact in the world.
Wow Avon has come a long way ,l don’t think if it was a pyramid scheme it would have lasted that long.My mom used to be one of the Avon agents ,it was quiet interesting to see her experience cause she was taken out of her comfort zone which l think was quite nice for her personally and business knowledge.
Hi Joseph,
great to hear that Avon was a good experience for your mother. I believe that building a business builds also a character. One needs to learn to manage himself and many times also other people. It requires discipline and many skills. It’s easier to go to work for someone else and do what they ask but building an own business offers much higher rewards.
-Roope
Avon is ome of the oldest companies around. I know many family members that have worked there. My grandmother said she worked there when she was my age.
Hi Jasmine,
interesting to hear that. Are some of your family members still continuing with Avon? It would be interesting to hear what kind of results they have achieved.
-Roope
I never realised that Avon was so old.
I have been aware of them for a number of years, I know a few people who used to do it back in the day. For them it was a great way to make money when they were on maternity leave etc.
For me I would prefer something a bit more relevant to my interests so it’s probably not for me.
Interesting review, well thought out and well researched.
Hi Craig,
it’s great to hear that your friends liked using Avon.
You have a good point that it’s better to concentrate on selling products that are close to your interests. Then your interest will help you keep on going forward if you face challenges and I think some challenges are inevitable in building a business.
-Roope