Maybe you’ve been introduced to Globallee and are thinking of joining the business opportunity. You’ve probably been told this is a “ground floor” opportunity because the company is so new.
But is it going to be as good as they say? Or is Globallee a pyramid scheme dressed up as a legitimate multi-level marketing (MLM) company?
Let’s take a look at Globallee and see what it’s all about.
What is Globallee?
Globallee is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that came on the scene in early 2019. It’s a health and wellness company and has Mark McKnight and Lamia Bettaieb on their website as “Industry Experts”, which I assume means they run this place.
Apparently there was another person in the mix who helped start Globallee named Nauder Khazan, but he’s nowhere to be found on the site now and it seems he’s the CEO of his own MLM called AliveMax.
There are a total of 11 products on the Globallee website at the time of this writing. There are three categories of products:
- TAKA
- BeneTRIM
- ETERNO
Let’s see what each of these is and how much they cost.
1. TAKA
From the Globallee website, “TAKA Hibiscus Healthy Energy delivers a healthy feeling of energy, vigor, and mental clarity. Feel great all day drinking TAKA Hibiscus Healthy Energy.”
Here are the Taka drink options and their prices:
- TAKA Hibiscus (15 stick pack) = $45
- TAKA Hibiscus (30 stick pack) = $75
- TAKA Blueberry Lemonade (15 stick pack) = $45
- TAKA Blueberry Lemonade (30 stick pack) = $75
2. BeneTRIM
There is no description of Benetrim on the website as far as I can see. We will just have to assume this is a weight loss product. There is a choice of either coffee and capsules. There are also 2 bundles. Let’s take a look at the prices for these.
- BeneTRIM Capsules (60 per bottle) – $85
- BeneTRIMP Coffee (24 sachets) – $72.50
- BeneTRIM Capsules and BeneTRIM Coffee Bundle – $157.50
- BeneTRIM Capsules and BeneTRIM Coffee Bundle (2 each) – $315
3. ETERNO
Once again, there isn’t any explanation on the website of what exactly ETERNO is. From the BehindMLM website, they say it’s a “bio-identical progesterone cream”. Whatever that means!
There are two products to choose from here:
- Eternity Progesterone Cream (2.1 fl oz) = $79.95
- Eterno Pack (1 bottle of capsules and 2 tubes of cream) = $156.25
I found this image on someone’s Globallee Facebook page:
This product sure seems to be able to do a lot! I’m not sure it’s backed up by any science though. That’s why they can only say “improved” and “enhanced”. Be careful of any medical claims you see regarding this product or any MLM product.
In any case, Sterno would have to perform miracles in order to be worth the cost. This is some pricey stuff!
In fact, you can get some comparable progesterone cream (2 oz) here for just $23.80.
But we all know why these MLM products are always much higher, right? It’s so they can pay top distributors via the compensation plan.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Globallee?
There is a $49.99 annual fee to be an affiliate for Globallee. After that, you can choose to purchase one of the product packs. (This is optional, but will be highly encouraged so that you have products to work with.)
- TAKA 250 – $299.94
- TAKA 500 – $549.94
- Combo 500 – $549.94
- BeneTrim Builder Pack 500 – $549.94
- BeneTrim Builder Pack 1000 – $1049.94
There are two ways you can qualify for MLM commissions via the compensation plan:
- Purchase one of these product packs
- Generate 100 PV (personal volume) in a month and personally enroll three preferred customers with a 50 PV autoship order each
Also, keep in mind that there will be additional expenses. Things will pop up like:
- Travel expenses
- Going to company events
- Additional product orders for samples or just to use yourself
- Brochures
- Business cards
Being in an MLM ends up being quite costly…
Globallee Compensation Plan
I don’t really do compensation plans. That’s because:
- They’re confusing as hell
- I don’t recommend you join an MLM, so I don’t feel a need to understand it
However, I always like to have at least a small idea of what’s going on in a plan and give you the resources to help you make up your own mind.
With that said, here’ the Globallee compensation plan from their website. If you want to know how to break it down, I recommend BehindMLM for that. Whoever runs that site does a great job of understanding and explaining compensation plans.
The Globallee compensation plan is particularly confusing because besides being able to get retail commissions, there’s also a dual binary/unlilevel hybrid for MLM commissions.
Say what?!
I know.
Here’s a short video from Globallee to kind of explain what that’s all about:
Related content: Here’s a full list of MLM’s I’ve reviewed.
Globallee Income Disclosure
Globallee doesn’t currently have an income disclosure. They are a fairly new company, but they have been operating for over a year, so I would expect to see one soon. (Although, not every company puts them out.)
Honestly, it doesn’t really matter if Globallee has an income disclosure or not because they all say the same thing – it’s almost impossible to make money.
In fact, this report on the FTC’s website shows that over 99% of people lose money.
“Failure and loss rates for MLMs are not comparable with legitimate small businesses, which have been found to be profitable for 39% over the lifetime of the business; whereas less than 1% of MLM participants profit. MLM makes even gambling look like a safe bet in comparison.”
Seriously, think twice about joining an MLM.
Unless you’re the owner or at the very tippy-top to begin with, you’re going to struggle.
Globallee Complaints and Positive Reviews
Globallee is fairly new and not the most popular health and wellness MLM, but I did find some interesting comments about the products and company – good and bad.
I did find a lot of positive reviews on the Globallee Facebook page, but keep in mind these are likely all distributors. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing since I would hope you would be positive about what you’re selling. But it also means those reviews are biased.
The positive reviews said things like:
- Great product and great people!
- All the products are so great
- I always feel YOUNG with Globallee
- TAKA is great for sustained, non overwhelming energy
One woman on their Facebook complained and said Globallee “auto fills orders without the buyer’s knowledge.” She also called this a multilevel marketing scam.
I didn’t find any other complaints as of now, but it’s still early for Globallee.
I thought it would be fun to take a look at some Instagram posts promoting Globallee, so let’s do that now.
Globallee on Instagram
Instagram is a fun place to look for MLM promotional posts. Let’s take a look at a few I found for Globallee. (Keep in mind, if you did decide to join Globallee, or any other MLM, this is what you’ll be encouraged to do too.)
I’m not sure that you can make the claim that Taka will reduce the inflammation in your body within minutes. There is zero proof of that.
I just like this post because of All. The. Damn. Emojis. This is a typical MLM marketing post. If you see something like this on Instagram or Facebook, I advise you to run for the hills.
Or don’t.
It’s your choice. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Finally, here’s another post that implies these products help your mood and help you lose weight.
They throw the word “proven” in there. They might be able to get away with it because they say the plant-derived ingredients are proven to do these things, not the product itself.
But it’s still a little sneaky.
Nothing has been proven with these products, and you need to be mindful when you see such claims.
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Is Globallee a Pyramid Scheme or a Scam?
Globallee isn’t technically a pyramid scheme or a scam. That’s for the FTC to determine officially. The problem with Globallee and just about every MLM company is that they’re always right on the border of being a pyramid scheme.
Why?
Because the only way to “really” make money in an MLM is through recruiting. And if you’re making most of your money through recruiting and not retail sales, then it’s not a legitimate MLM.
And keep in mind, just because Globallee (or another MLM) is operating legitimately now, doesn’t mean that will always be the case. Look at AdvoCare, Neora and Success by Health. They were all operating as legit MLMs too. Until they weren’t. It’s always a risk with these kinds of companies.
Pros
- Inexpensive start up cost (especially without purchasing a product pack)
- You could potentially make money by getting in early
Cons
- It’s extremely hard to make money in an MLM
- Most people lose money in an MLM
- This is a new company which likely means they’ll have product and customer service issues. This happens with a lot of new MLMs
- The products are very expensive
- The products haven’t been proven to do anything useful
- While you’re told you can work “in your spare time” and you’ll “have more time for your kids”, you’ll actually have to work non-stop to get anywhere
Work In Your Spare Time, Or 24/7?
I want to talk about that last con.
One of the selling points that people use to bring other people into MLMs is that you can work your business in your spare time. They especially try to target us moms by telling us how we’ll be able to spend more time with our kids.
Yet, from my experience, the people who are all the way at the top (the ones making a decent income) are working almost non-stop.
Once you hit a rank, it only lasts for that month. Then it starts all over again. And if people start dropping off, you can lose your rank.
Considering that people are continuously leaving, you have to continuously recruit and train new people.
This was proven to me by John who left this comment on my Color Street post:
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like working 24/7.
Retail Sales Are Necessary to Be a Legit MLM
In order to be a legitimate MLM, you need to have retail sales. There is some focus on retail sales with Globallee, which is great. However, the products are so expensive that it’s going to be hard to sell them to regular retail customers.
Who wants to pay 3x the price of a product just because?
The only people willing to do that are people inside the pyramid, er, company. That’s why the majority of MLMs are closed-market systems with independent consultants just selling to other independent consultants.
With all the said, I’ll just leave you with this picture from the Globallee compensation plan. Is Globallee a pyramid scheme? Maybe not technically, but this picture sure does look pyramid-shaped, doesn’t it?
An Alternative to Globallee
If you like the idea of:
- Promoting products for commissions
- Working in your spare time (truly)
- Promoting things you’re passionate about
- Actually running your own business
But you don’t like the idea of:
- Buying a starter kit
- Recruiting
- Having an upline
- Having to buy inventory
- Having a monthly quota or personal monthly order you have to purchase
- Uplines
- Downlines
- Training people how to duplicate
Then affiliate marketing/blogging might be a great option for you. Through running your own blog (or YouTube channel or both), you can promote pretty much anything you like and make commissions from that promotion.
I’d love to tell you more about it. You can check out my free guide to affiliate marketing here.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve answered the question about whether Globallee is a pyramid scheme or not. Again, it’s not technically, but if they get enough complaints into the FTC eventually, they can be shut down without warning.
Can you imagine actually being one of the very few people who worked your way up to the top, only to be shut down? You would lose your entire stream of income. I would never wish that on anyone, but it’s something you have to be thinking about with MLMs.
Even Mary Kay decided to close down in Australia and New Zealand. I hope those distributors had a Plan B! (And this also goes to show you that being a distributor in an MLM is not being a boss babe and running your own business.) I would definitely think twice about signing up with Globallee.
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