If you’re doing your “due diligence” and want to know more about Plexus, then you’re at the right place. Chances are, you have been approached about checking out Plexus’ gut health products or becoming an ambassador for this MLM company. So you want to make sure and check out Plexus reviews and learn more about this company, as well as the people in their leadership and possible income or business opportunity.
Hop on in and let’s learn more about Plexus before blindly joining the bandwagon or jumping the gun on this company.
What is Plexus Worldwide?
Let’s find out what Plexus Worldwide is all about.
Plexus Worldwide is an MLM company that is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It markets and sells nutritional ‘wellness’ supplements and other weight management products and personal care products. This MLM or multi-level marketing company recruits independent distributors or mostly made reference to by Plexus worldwide as “Ambassadors” to sell and push the products using the direct sales method or the MLM or multi-level marketing method.
The Beginnings of Plexus
Plexus Worldwide was established in 2006 by two MLM old-timers and aces, Tarl Robinson and Alfred Petterson. In the first instance, they began with a do-it-yourself breast cancer check kit along with a breast skin cream. After the 2008 economic decline, Tarl Robinson and Petterson resolved to take a different path in business. Petterson said,
“When it was a choice between dinner on the table or a cream for breasts, the breast cream quickly went out the window.”
Soon after, Tarl Robinson changed their corporate image — from breast cream to weight loss formulas and dietary and nutritional supplements. The Slim and Accelerator are Plexus’s flagship products, which come in powder form and can conveniently be consumed by mixing with water. That mixed drink becomes the famous and fascinating “pink drink.” Plexus has continued taking this path since then. And it turned out to be great — it got off with a bang and grew by leaps and bounds in the last half-decade.
Despite its good story, something questions inside you and you want to know and get settled with this — Is Plexus a scam?
That’s a very logical and justifiable question — especially because most MLMs are linked to a scam. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?
Review on Plexus: Scam or Just an MLM?
Plexus Worldwide exists in the disreputable and shadowy world of “weight loss products.” It’s no secret that this world is well known as swarming with trumped-up stories of fabrications, lies, and deceit. There is nearly zero regulation for the types of commodities that are sold in this classification owing to the fact that they have not been tested, tried out, and duly approved by the FDA. Therefore, Plexus Worldwide is not liable by law to disclose all of the ingredients and components of their nutritional supplements. This sounds fishy and one can predict future class-action lawsuits against Plexus Worldwide.
Now, if we do a speedy search on the media platforms for Plexus ambassadors, you’ll find a chockfull of claims and promises about making the “gut health” better. Naturally, when push comes to shove, these ambassadors cannot defend the veracity of these claims. Plexus, sad to say, does not have scientific backing or evidence regarding how their nutriments are apparently making gut health better. Worse, they can’t even explain what gut health is, to begin with. This sounds like the average pseudo-science false claims or worse, the usual big-time scam.
Pyramid Scheme Review: Does Plexus Have Red Flags?
This brings us back to the original question of whether Plexus is a pyramid scheme or just one of those profitable MLMs.
Technically, Plexus Worldwide is neither a scam nor a pyramid scheme. Why? People can actually earn an income by promoting and selling their commodities.
What is a Pyramid Scheme?
In this review, let’s evaluate if this company falls in this category. A pyramid scheme is when a business assures payment for people to recruit and sign up more people into joining the business. In principle, a pyramid scheme does not have products or services sold. Needless to say, pyramid schemes are illegal because it’s pretty obvious that it is not possible to make everyone involved in the company rake in oodles of money in a short span of time.
Are MLM Companies like Plexus Worldwide a Pyramid Scheme?
Bear in mind, however, that not all MLM companies are pyramid schemes. Most of these MLMs offer legitimate products and services and even provide their “ambassadors” or distributors with an income for selling and marketing their products.
As mentioned earlier, technically Plexus Worldwide is not a pyramid scheme in the real sense of the word. However, if you look into this company closely, you will begin to see that it could be just another pyramid scheme masquerading as an MLM.
Confusing? Let’s look deeper and don’t dare switch to another browser.
Achieving success is a lot like gold dust for most “ambassadors” and distributors in any MLM company. It’s rare. The same thing is true if you join Plexus. Various studies show that a large percentage of MLM representatives or MLM distributors actually lose money. The percentage could actually go as high as 99%!
When you take into some serious thought that the product prices are inflated as in the case of Plexus Worldwide product, you will begin to doubt its legitimacy. In addition to that, if you look into its requirement to sell a targeted amount of products on a monthly basis or purchase the products yourself, you will soon realize how a lot of people lose money in MLM programs.
They say, not all MLMs are the same, but regrettably, Plexus happens to be one of the worst MLMs you’ll find out there. You will find out as you read the Plexus reviews later.
How does Plexus Worldwide Work?
It’s actually straightforward and simple. Plexus Worldwide provides a range of health and wellness supplements mainly specializing in losing weight and weight management. The company also saves costs on advertising and marketing by giving payment to their “ambassadors” a commission for selling their products and signing up more people to join them. It works just like any typical MLM.
Now, how can one earn through Plexus Multi-Level Marketing?
There are two methods of earning money from Plexus. It’s pretty much the same with most MLM companies:
1. Sell products and earn a commission or a premium from the sales.
2.Recruit or sign up people to join the company and receive bonuses.
How much does it cost to join Plexus Worldwide?
In a year, it roughly costs $39.95 to become a Plexus “ambassador”.
You can also receive a reduced or marked down ”welcome pack” when you sign up. This ranges from $99 or $199. But the story doesn’t end there.
According to some Plexus reviews, many ambassadors complained about the hidden monthly expense of joining Plexus.
Plexus Worldwide hidden monthly costs
In order to stay “active” as an ambassador and be able to be awarded your commission for any purchases that you make, you are actually obliged to maintain 100PV per month. PV stands for Personal volume in Plexus jargon.
To put it simply and more straightforward, you have to sell $100 USD worth of Plexus products every single month in order to stay active.
If you don’t sell this amount, well, you can make a wise guess — who needs to come up with the extra expense? Yup, that’s right! You will.
If you don’t make that amount of money, you will get suspended and any sales you make will not count in the direction of your commissions. That’s the kind of business model it has. And it’s the usual and typical way of doing business in any MLM.
Do you want to earn in this company?
Here’s the deal. You need to use their products. That’s the way to go — you are looking at the right chance for you to earn. The best distributors are those who utilize their commodities daily and really believe in their efficacy.
Check this out:
Total expenses for a year:
• $39.95
• $99-$199
• $100 x 12
Total for one year = $1,338.95- $1,438.95
Make sure you need to know what needs to be done in order to get started. Here are the two methods on how you can make money through Plexus:
1. Sell and market Plexus nutriments
2.Recruit and sign up ambassadors into the company
And you receive bonuses for up to “7 levels deep” depending on your rank.
What are the products of Plexus Worldwide?
As mentioned, Plexus Worldwide is a network marketing company that specializes in health and wellness. Plexus majors in selling and marketing weight-loss commodities like — Plexus Slim. The company also provides a business opportunity for regular folks to earn money by promoting and selling their products and recruiting and signing up other people to join the company.
Here is the list of some Plexus products:
• Plexus Slim
• Plexus Accelerator
• Plexus Boost
• Bio Cleanse
• Plexus Chek Kit
There is a whole scale of categories and classifications at Plexus Worldwide. These are the following:
• Weight loss (as mentioned above)
• Skincare (anti-aging cream, serum, etc.)
• Personal care (breast check kit, body cream, etc.)
• Nutrition (vitamins, supplements, probiotics, etc.)
• Combos
There are actually a host of other multi-level marketing companies that promote wellness and wellness supplements. So you might ask what makes Plexus different from the rest of the MLM companies out there?
What is the flagship product of Plexus Worldwide?
The flagship product of Plexus Worldwide is “Slim”, which is basically an appetite suppressant. Its principal components and ingredients are the following:
• Chromium, which reduces blood sugar.
• Plexus Slim Blend, which has green coffee bean extract content, alpha lipoid acid, and garcinia Cambogia extract.
There are quite a few explicit hunger suppressant benefits of these ingredients — on a short-term basis. But if we’re talking about long-term weight loss benefits —there has not been any proven benefits for any of these ingredients.
You can see the studies explaining that for Chromium, the content of green coffee extract, gardenia Cambogia, alpha-lipoic acid is said to be essentially safe. However, studies also suggest that there are some possible side effects because of these components, like constipation, stomachache, nausea, gas, and bloating.
Because of these incidents, Plexus got a bad review and got itself in trouble in some countries.
Plexus Scam Review: Why is it banned in Canada?
Plexus products are in fact, put under “foreign product alert” on an official Canadian web page.
The site says that Plexus products are not authorized for sale in Canada and are in fact, not found in the Canadian marketplace. It is likely these may have been brought into Canada by travelers or purchased over the Internet.
The affected products are:
• Plexus Slim Accelerator capsules
• Plexus Slim Accelerator 3 Day Trial pack
These supplements were promoted and marketed for weight loss. However, certain hazards were identified.
The Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration cautioned the consumers not to use these products because they have 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA). This certain drug is not approved for sale in Canada.
Health Canada has received one report of a serious unfavorable reaction alleged as connected to a “Plexus Slim Accelerator” product.
The side effects that are linked to DMAA could be high blood pressure, shortness of breath, chest pain, stroke, and even psychiatric disorders.
Health Canada advised their citizens to contact the Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate should they find either of the products listed above in the Canadian marketplace.
Canadian citizens who have these products are strongly advised not to use them. They are advised to immediately consult with a health care professional if they have concerns about their health – in relation to the use of Plexus products.
Plexus Product Reviews: Are They Really Effective?
The company has done an exceptional job of “reputation management.” If you check out Facebook and other social media, Plexus ambassadors flood their social media accounts and famed review sites and blogs with positive reviews of the products. This sounds a lot like a scam.
However, the BBB or the Better Business Bureau has received more than a whopping 600 formal complaints against Plexus products. And a big chunk of the reviews is well, negative— that accounts for more than 60% of the reviews. The product that got a bad rap is the so-called “pink drink.”
Also, a Facebook ad has denied the fact that Plexus was banned in Canada. Presumably, a Plexus ambassador made that certain Facebook advertisement.
Apparently, another ad on Facebook caused the ire of the FTC. The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter to the company regarding their unproven health claims. The commission’s official letter can be found online.
Healthline’s Plexus Slim Review
The “pink drink” or the Plexus Slim, got into a lot of controversies – mainly because of its false claims. The article in Healthline provides a scientific explanation as it detailed each of the four ingredients separately.
What is Healthline’s conclusion? While chromium, the active ingredient or content found in the pink drink does reduce blood sugar and make insulin sensitivity better for some people, scientific trials have not found any effect on weight or body fat. Also, pieces of evidence regarding the efficacy of the other ingredients found on the pink drink are very weak.
Conclusion
Based on these incidents – the ban in Canada, the dubious contents of their nutritional supplements as well as the seemingly trumped-up reviews made by their ambassadors, and the FTC warning—one can conclude that Plexus appears to be a hard sell at this point in time. Although Plexus is practicing the usual business model of a typical and legitimate MLM and is definitely not a scam, the aforementioned reviews put all the company in a bad light. Perhaps, in the future, once their nutriments find sufficient scientific backing, time will tell if investing your time, money, and effort in this business is worth it.