Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to stitch ourselves into the clothing/fashion industry with my Essential Bodywear MLM Review. The online sale of clothing is an extremely lucrative one with many making a good living selling new and used clothing via online stores and affiliate marketing. Added to this obviously is the ever growing array of clothing based multi level marketing programs that appear to be popping up more and more. So what is the Essential Bodywear MLM program all about? Let's have a look and find out…
What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing (MLM) programs are the traditional mainstay of the ‘party plan' world of products such as Tupperware, Mary Kay and Amway etc. and, of course within the beauty/cosmetics, supplements and essential oils markets. It is not as prevalent within the clothing industry but as MLMs have become more popular in recent times – mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing is now being managed online – companies in other niches are starting to get in on the action.
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The ‘multi level' aspects of MLM come from its hierarchical nature in which you make commissions based not only on those that you sell to, but also the sales of those whom you ‘sign' into membership arrangements as well.
In short, the process works as follows:
- You join the program, either via referral from another person (known as your up line) or directly through their website.
- You promote the products of the company via parties, workshops or online.
- As you make sales, you offer incentives to your customers to sign up as a member of the program (there are different names for this but they all mean the same thing).
- That new member is then placed ‘underneath' you in a hierarchical arrangement (known as your down line).
- You, and a number of levels of your up line, then gain extra commissions for everything they sell as well.
- If they manage to refer their customers into memberships, they also become a member of your down line allowing you to make up line commissions as well.
The number of levels of your up and down lines will vary depending on the program you have joined. Commission rates will also change as your down line grows or contracts and many will also offer other incentives such as total company sales percentages and/or access to membership prizes as your own business grows.
Who are Essential Bodywear?
Essential Bodywear (EBW) was founded in 2003 by Carrie Charlick and Marcia Negiro after it became apparent to them that bra shopping was a “major bummer” for women. From that day forward, they have utilised their direct selling party plan model “to help with one of life's biggest downers and make shopping for bras, panties, and shapewear fun and easy”
EBW is based in Michigan in the U.S.
What do they Sell?
Essential Bodywear, as the name may suggest, sells a complete range of undergarments that can be custom fitted to the needs of women of all sizes. Their product range includes:
- Bras
- Panties
- Workout wear
- Shape wear
- Maternity undergarments
- Accessories
Item costs appear to fall into the medium price range of around $50 to $100 per piece keeping it in line with competitors such as ZYIA and Ruby Ribbon.
MLM Program outline
The Essential Bodywear MLM program calls their members ‘EBW Representatives' who are part of an extremely simple and perhaps ‘old school' program with a basic retail structure only. It should be noted here that whilst I have seen ‘rumours' of a downline commission arrangement within my research, I have not been able to locate any figures and/or commission rates anywhere so for this post, I am assuming that there are none (would love for any comments below if they can be located somewhere). So on that note, here are the basics as I have found them…
Base Commission rate: 25 – 37% on commissionable products on retail sales
Down line commission rates: None
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
None.
Payment terms: Monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
New EBW Representatives are required to purchase a starter kit in order to become active. The initial outlay for this is $199 for the basic kit or $499 for the builders kit.
Although I cannot see it anywhere, I am assuming that (based on other clothing MLM programs), that ongoing seasonal collection purchases are required to be used for display and try-ons during in-home fittings/shows.
Marketing materials provided: Personalised website and training.
Note: As mentioned above I could not find the compensation plan in the general website structure or on any other external website. I have not been able to locate any information in regards to downline commissions, rankings or payment bonuses.
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How can I get paid?
Ok, from what I can see (hence I guess what anybody thinking of joining this program would see), it appears that the ONLY way that EBW products can be sold is via a home fitting party which is a display and presentation of the EBW collections in a private environment. Sales are recorded via the representative's personal website based on the sales made at the home fitting. This process is really a throw back to the good old party plan days in that the EBW Representative needs to convince someone to hold a showing and invite at all of their friends. The theory here is that ladies can try on bras etc. in a familiar and fun environment so it may work well for some.
As I have mentioned, there is no evidence of a compensation plan or downline commissions so until I am corrected or shown otherwise, there is really only 1 way in which EBW Representatives can make money when they promote and sell products via their home fitting shows. This is outlined as follows:
Retail Commissions
Retail Commissions are the base commissions earned by the EBW Representatives. The base rate is 25% and these are generated via the sales made at the home fitting.
Note: These commissions are not earned by ‘hostesses' who receive discounts based on sales as a separate process. I will outline those below.
I have also been unable to locate any minimum sales targets in order to qualify for commissions.
Ranking structure
Most MLM programs use ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rank progression is usually determined by both the number of members within down line legs, and the total sales made by those legs per month. Ranks can rise and fall based on the ability (or dis-ability) to reach the required member and sales targets.
I have been unable to locate any ranking structure information for the EBW MLM program.
Fitting Party Bonuses
I mentioned earlier that the role of the EBW Representative is to recruit others to host their shows. Hostesses do not earn commissions however can be awarded with discounts and free product for their hosting troubles. These are outlined as follows:
What is good about it?
So, after a good look around the site and looking at all the options I could find, I do like the following:
- Commission rates for sales are good.
- Joining and ongoing costs are not as high as others.
What is not so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- There are not the full array of commissions and bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- All sales can only be made via in home fittings with no online sales abilities.
How much can you make?
I was unable to locate projected income figures on the EBW website.
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in and if I am being honest, I am not entirely sure that Essential Bodywear could even be called an MLM as it is more like a simple retail sales program.
The main red flag for me is the fact that you can only make sales via the in home fittings shows when, if compared to others within this niche, really put EBW Representatives behind the 8 ball when it comes to selling opportunities. That said, if you are an absolute fashion nut with a large customer list at your disposal and willing to run a lot of old-fashioned MLM party plan style fitting sessions, then the 25% – 37% commissions rates on base sales might just appeal here.
I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment etc. however there was some negative comments about the quality price of the products – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs or products within this niche.
At the end of the day, many complain about the constant need within MLM for recruitment and maintenance of a downline structure. There are nowhere the near the array of commission and bonus earning options of many other programs so it appears that with EBW, representatives may just be able to sell products without all of those external influences. Although it is alluded to on both the EBW and other sites so I am just not sure how it all works here.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Essential Bodywear MLM program. I hope it has been of assistance but as usual, if you have any questions or experience with this program please do not hesitate to reach out by commenting below – especially if any of my information is inaccurate.
Are there any other programs you have been looking at but want to know more about? If so, please comment below and I will do my best to get some details for you.
Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own fashion based website?
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Until next time
Have fun
Paul
Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price.
Hi Paul,
I would like to correct your CON post as it is not accurate
We do have bonuses and incentives to earn more There are not the full array of commissions and bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
This is false: All sales can only be made via in home fittings with no online sales abilities.
We do in fact online sales and always have. Each Fit Stylist has their own replicated websites and they get paid full commission and bonuses on each shopping cart order.
Please feel free to contact me for more details.
Thanks for the update Carrie – much appreciated.
I will update the post as soon as I can
Paul