Does Visalus Scam People? Honest Review

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The Visalus scam question tends to pop up often and most likely you are doing your due diligence in researching for more info to be safe. Hey there, and welcome to my blog. I want to share with you and go over what exactly this company is and why some people immediately cry “scheme” or “scam”. Most likely you have heard about this business opportunity because you are looking for ways to make extra money, quit your job, or be your own boss. That’s fine. In fact, it is possible to do that, but it’s not going to be easy. Can I just be real with you? But let’s talk abut Visalus and what it’s really about.

[note note_color=”#ffffeb”]Thinking About MLM But Not Sure? If you’re thinking about joining Visalus, please make sure to read my new article where I breakdown what MLM is really about, and why I don’t necessarily recommend it. To learn more, click here…[/note]

Do The Products Really Work?

visalus_scamThe flagship product they promote and market is the Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge. It is a weight loss system which this business opportunity is built around. It mainly consists of the Visalus shake mix which you stir with water or milk and is a meal replacement. You are basically going to replace one regular meal with this drink instead and start shedding pounds. Also there are flavor packs to mix in as well and some vitamins. The 90 day challenge is also a set plan that you take part in and set a goal. You can log in to your back office and be a part of the community to help motivate you and connect with others on the challenge. Many people have lost weight with this challenge which I have to admit. Understand that this is where the money is made: through distribution of products. There aren’t a whole lot of selection of products within this company which is kind of a good thing. Keeping it simple.

Compensation Plan Is MLM 

There are quite a few ways you can make money. Obviously, you will want to become a distributor and there are 3 different levels you can join: Basic (not recommended) $49, ECS $499, ESS $999. To make money, you’re going to need to have at least $125 worth of products on autoship each month. This is to qualify you to actually get paid. So here are some of the bonuses or ways you can make money:

  • Fast Start Bonuses
  • Product Package Bonus
  • Weekly Enroller’s Pool 
  • “Rising Star”
  • BMW Program
  • Building Teams and Reaching Higher Levels

So the 1st big step is reaching “Director” in which you make anywhere from $500- $1000 per month by having 3 active legs in your network. The next milestone is reaching “Regional Director” which is basically having 3 or so Directors in your team and that amounts to about $1000- $3000 per month. This is not going to come easy though I must warn you. And of course it goes on and on and the levels go bigger and higher with more money. 

Will Visalus Scam You? No, But It’s MLM

visalus_compensation_planThis is kind of the problem. When people ever accuse Visalus of being a “scam” it’s because of the business model it revolves around rather than the actual company. Multi-level marketing has gained a negative perception in the eyes of the general public because on paper, it looks like a pyramid where all the people at the “top” reap all residual income and make the big money while the rest struggle to ever turn a profit or make sales. But that’s not really the case. I know it seems so, but it’s not. Understand that MLM is really tough and that’s why only a few people at the “top” are making the big bucks. They have simply been in longer or have recruited and built larger teams than everyone else. It’s not because they somehow make their way to the top and reap all the money under them. Yes, a lot of people do fail and your upline or team-leader will make it seem like it’s easy riches. It’s not. The reality is, you’re going to need to recruit a lot of people. And I mean a lot. It’s possible, but it’s going to be pretty difficult. Not only that, you’re going to need to keep them actively ordering product every month if you expect to receive a big paycheck. They have to buy products. 

To grow you income even bigger, you’re going to need to teach your recruits how to bring in more people. This is super tough and most people will wash out or not reach this level. Understand that to make it in MLM, you’ve got to be or become this dynamic leader who everyone wants to follow. You’re going to need to host Visalus “parties” and bring prospects to meetings and this and that. Get the picture? You could also build a business through the Internet as well but that’s a whole other story. My point is, you’re going to need to give 100% of your effort and pretty much life to make it BIG in this industry. 

My Final Thoughts About Visalus 

Okay, so if you know me, you know I’m not the biggest fan of MLM. But I’ll tell you this. I am a customer myself of Visalus. I’m not necessarily actively building a team or anything for income, but I do have the drink mix and energy drink mixes because a fellow affiliate marketer buddy of mine, signed me up. I do like the products to be honest. What I would do if you’re trying to make money with this system is go the customer route instead of trying to find business opportunity seekers. I think it’s a lot easier to get customers through friends and family or even launch a weight loss niche website, get traffic and sell these products through your website for profit.

Another reason why I recommend it is because of the compensation plan. It’s a little bit different than most MLM’s in the sense that every little thing you do, you make some kind of money. For an example “Refer 3 And It’s Free” is a good perk in where if you sign up 3 customers then you get your monthly products for FREE. This alone can get your customers off their butts and get them recruiting on their own, building a team for you. This company is fairly new. Hip. Modern. Young. More technical. Social. This generation. If I would do multi-level marketing, I would go with Visalus. 

P.S. Make sure you check out the #1 affiliate income opportunity if you're looking to make money the right way...

24 Comments

  1. I have had the worst experience ever with Vi customer service . At this point your company seems like it is not improving my life and robbing me of 330$

    After speaking with your customer service department for well over 30 minutes I was essentially told that I would not be able to receive my money back for products I did not receive. I did not receive any of my orders. Ebony in your customer service department was unwilling to help me, so she escalated it to her supervisor Bob. He was unwilling to help and essentially “schooled” me on how i should have bypassed my sales rep and called them directly.How since I did not respond to any emails (which i did not receive in may,june or july), Vi is keeping my money.When I told him I ddi not receive emails from back in june, he kept reading the same thing over and over again as if i was being dishonest. I do not like this behavior. .Bob was apathetic to what I was expressing . When i explained that my case did not fall under the guidelines of your return policy which is here. :

    “Body By Vi Product Return Policy
    Body By Vi stands behind all of its product offerings and will accept a return of products that are not to our customer’s satisfaction including products which the customer cannot utilize due to medical reasons using the following.
    Guidelines:
    1. Exchanges for the same product will be made for products that may have been damaged in transit.
    2. Products which have been purchased for the first time and don’t meet our customer’s satisfaction can be returned within 30 days of delivery for a full refund less shipping and handling.
    3. Returns of all other product must be made within 30 days of delivery of product orders in order to receive a refund for the value of the saleable product returned.
    4. Returns of all sellable products made more than 30 days from the delivery date will be eligible for product credit towards other Body By Vi products and are subject to a 10% restocking fee.
    5. Packages returned due to unsuccessful deliveries (i.e. 3 delivery attempts, customer moved, customer gave Incorrect or incomplete address) may be subject to additional shipping and handling charges to have the product resent.
    6. Commissions of any type that are paid to Promoters on products that are ultimately returned to Body By Vi for Refund will be deducted from future commission payments.”

    He said that my case fell under guideline number 3. However, guideline number 3 states that you have 30 days from it being delivered .It was never delivered. There were no notices left . I wanted the products because they work for my friends, but now I just want whats owed to me so that I can stop talking about vi and move on.

    After Bob , I spoke with Elena Bozinosk who said that what Bob said stands, as he is the supervisor. When questioned about which of the return guidelines my case fell under she threw in a new rule. She said that the emails stated that had 15 days to respond. I looked at the email i DID receive august 4th and it never said that. I asked Elena to forward the emails to me and magically it was there in bold letters. this is what was received in august: “Dear Valued Customer,
    We recently received your order # back at our office for a return. Orders that are returned back without a pre-authorization number will not be processed until you contact our office and provide further information as to why the package was returned. If you have an active monthly auto shipment, it will be canceled. The refund policy below provides further details. You may contact us at 1-877-847-2587.
    Thank you and have a wonderful day”

    This is what Elena says was sent :”Dear Valued Customer,
    We recently received your order # 21594716 back at our warehouse. Orders that are returned back without a pre-authorization number will not be refunded until you contact our office and provide further information as to why the package was returned. You must contact us within 15 business days from date of this email. If you have an active monthly auto shipment, it will be canceled. The refund policy has been provided below for your convenience.
    If you require further assistance, please contact our Support Center at your earliest convenience. The Vi Support Center is open Monday – Friday 9:00 A.M.- 10:00 P.M. EST. We can be reached via email info@vi.com or by phone 1-877-847-2587 USA, Canada, and Jamaica.”

    I have the email to prove that at this point the agent was being deceptive. Before I begin legal action I would like someone who cares about the customer to please respond and reach out to me. I am sure Vi has changed many peoples lives for the better and I do not want my experience to tarnish their. However, I cannot let this go and will be very vocal in all of my social media about this situation. my order number is 21594716 .

  2. Scam. If you have to recruit people to make money off of them, then it’s a scam. Derp

  3. Visalus products are AWESOME. Have a buddy who is a distributor and I love the new Neon Energy drink and of course the Body By Vi Shake. Thanks for the great article Vince!

  4. This is a TOTAL scam only ones making money are the founders. The one post about a BMW in 21 days is a SCAM written by one of the founders. You have to be a MORON to believe this or get involved with it….if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck then it is a duck = PYRAMID scheme…notice how they changed the name of the company every couple years and the products name? Visalus is one of the biggest scams going!!! Wake up people!!!

    • I earned my Bmw in 41 days

    • LOL, I got my BMW too Barry, well a payment towards it, based on volume. The company has never changed its name btw. You’re a pretty uninformed individual. I don’t think MLM is for everyone and there are definitely people out there that could potentially mislead someone, just like any other kind of sales…like a door to door vaccum cleaner salesman.

      People need to educate themselves on something, then make a decision. If a person gets themself into something without understanding the whole picture, that’s on them… I dont even know why I bothered to reply to this, guess I’m just having a day lol. All the best to you and yours.

      Happy new year.

  5. Funny thing is Vince, you state in your blog that you recent message that you Don’t do MLM…

    “I am a CUSTOMER of Visalus. I don’t do MLM. It’s too old-school and most people won’t make it.”

    But in your profile you talk about how you were in an MLM and introduced your family and friends… you contradict yourself…. weird, but who are you actually?

    • I don’t do MLM. I used to for a while. And yes, I was a customer of Visalus and I am currently not anymore. This review was written a couple years ago. Things have changed.

  6. I have been promoting and selling Visalus products for only about a week or so. I understand that this is not some “Get rich quick” model. And as long as the other people that try to promote this product understand that as well, then you will eventually rise and get paid for what amount of work you put forward. In fact, just last night, I met a guy that reached his BMW status and earned his BMW by reaching the Regional Director in only 21 days! is this a very likely event for everyone that decides to promote products in the MLM industry? Of course not. But is it possible? Absolutely! I am tired of MLM getting the bad rap just because of the Pyramid Schemes that used to go on in the 90’s. These companies have all been shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. Do you honestly believe that the FTC would allow Visalus to continue operating illegally after it had just reached its 2.1 billion dollar mark? If it was a scheme, it would have been shut down long before now. Visalus is the number one fastest growing health and nutrition company in America right now, and I can just say that we are Real People getting Real Results and earning a fair amount of money for the amount of work put in. Yes MLM can be hard. Yes people are going to compare it to pyramid schemes, yes you are going to get people that are not interested. But as long as you do not allow the rejection to get under your skin, and you keep at it and do not give up, you WILL start making money in MLM. Its just a matter of working hard to achieve your goals.

    • He may have achieved BMW status and they will pay for the monthly fee only if you maintain your level of sales, once you drop below your downline BMW profits as its in your name and you will find yourself shelling out the 600$/mo. Not only that but your better off just buying the ingredients of the powder seperate, the protein and fiber and mixing it into your own powder to use to make shakes, its cheaper this way as well.. Also i recommend the Kashi GO-LEAN! Crunch! Cereal, it has the same nutritional ingredients as the visalus crunch and you can get a box for 5.69$.

  7. For some knwoledge about the total scam that multivelelmarketing is read this: quackwatch(dot)org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mlm.html

    Talking from personal experience and hard life lessons: Safe yourself from wasting time, money and alianating friends/trainers/customers with this bullshit business model.

  8. Hallo friends.
    I like your blogg and what you wrote. IM from Sweden and im in this bussiness. Visalus has Come to Sweden now. And i fint it quite interesting with visalus. It seems fair and trustful. BUT … I have this question how to know The difference beetween mlm and pyramid games. As i told u im really new in this bussiness. 🙂 thanx for this website greetings from Sweden

  9. Ive had them tell me how it cures diabetes and heals fibromyalgia. If its really that great then why isn’t it on a store shelf in the retail segment? These distributor people as they are called just look like sick , greedy , scammers and all trying to lead folks to the kool aid partys , the big regional drunk fests, blah blah. Im just waiting for them to bring in Criss Angel to raise Jim Jones from the dead and levitate him with the final finale being Jim Jones getting all the sheeple to drink Vi rather than the kool aid. There are numerous stories of Vi drinkers developing kidney stones, the soy causing women to stop or start periods, thyroid patients becoming very ill, blurred vision, dizziness, enormous complaints on stomach issues due to the pile of fiber in the shakes and we all know the general consensus is that Splenda is bad for you and this shake is definitely loaded up with sucralose. One can opt to run from the MLM scammers and just eat celery, take vitamins and drink Gatorade instead. Probably be a hell of a lot healthy and it wont cost you 499.00 and you wont be hounded to promote and recruit and MAINLY sit on call after call listening to fake people tell about their big life change and fake cry about how their kids had no shoes or clothes until Vi came into their life. Its just pathetic to me. One last note…………Vi and many other MLMs have ruined marriages, relationships, families, friendships and people have quit their jobs after buying into the kool aid kingdom only to go under. hard to believe in 2014 there are that many naïve people. There is no such thing as quick money with the exception of inheritance, the lottery, a lawsuit or selling off your company………………like Fyan Blair (the owner) did. That is , after he left the gang he was in and was arrested for murder. I personally have no desire to line the pockets of Ryan Blair nor Nick Sarnicola. Who would??????????? Greed. Pure and simple.

    • If it’s anything like Amway, include me out. My husband and I were hounded mercilessly to sign up. No thanks. We thought they were friends, but they just saw us as prospects.

  10. It’s a scam and I don’t trust the ingredients, you can’t believe everything you read on the label, you can make your own healthier shakes for half the cost of one V shake. But, I guess if it gives people the Placebo effect, meaning if they believe it works it will even if they were drinking sugar water and was told it was nutritious and would lose weight, that’s a positive. I would want to make sure I knew what I was putting in my body, but that’s just me. I make my own and know exactly what goes in my shakes. People make losing weight complex, 40 years ago we didn’t have an obesity problem like we do now, because people actually moved. Just eat healthy and burn more calories than you eat. It starts at your mouth.

  11. ViSalus lost 57,000 distributors in the past year, the paid BMW is a scam….run!

    • I just want to tell everybody that the paid BMW is not a true statement……If you make it to Regional Director please do not go out and get you a BMW, because if you don’t keep your sales up which it is very hard to do…you will be hacking out that $600 or more payment a month……NOTE: If it is paid for then you will never have to come out of your pocket…..they harass you into immediately going to the BMW place as soon as you make that ranking…only to stick you….Once you get the BMW you try your best to keep that rank so that you will get that $600 every month…what happens you are working almost 24/7 trying to have party after party….I was neglecting my family and almost lost my husband…just be smart people. THE BMW IS NOT PAID FOR….DON’T GET SUCKED IN.

  12. all of these get rich and help people mlm’s play on peoples hopes and dreams and 95% of them get burned.

    why? the salespeople succeed well the non sales types wonder what the heck just happened.

    this company has a great effective marketing concept and spin…but when all is said and done non sales types die off and the cycle continues through new circles of people…its like the borg from star trek if anyone remembers that haha.

  13. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I
    to find this topic to be actually something that I feel I’d by no
    means understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me.
    I am taking a look ahead to your next post, I’ll attempt to get the
    grasp of it!

  14. Thanks for finally writing about > Does Visalus Scam People?
    Honest Review | < Loved it!

  15. Hey Kaj.

    Do you see any links to a Visalus signup page? Did you actually read the article? Or did you skim through?

    I am a CUSTOMER of Visalus. I don’t do MLM. It’s too old-school and most people won’t make it. However, if I ever decided to try MLM, I might just go with Visalus. The compensation plan is better than most, and I like the simplicity of products.

  16. How hilarious. What began as skepticism ended in an advertisement. I’m guessing you DO actually sell this garbage.

    • I was thinking the same thing. Despite what the Admin says this is just another Visalus propoganda site. They know some people will research before signing and that they will be skeptical. That’s why he starts off being skeptical then gradually changes his tune to yeah just buy the highly over priced protein that has no scientific backing to all the claims Visalus reps make to explain why it’s 10x more expensive then anything out there. Good try Admin Visalus will buy you a black BMW for the effort. Just make sure you read the fine print!

  17. incredible explanation

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