Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to sew ourselves into the clothing/fashion industry with my Matilda Jane Clothing 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 Matilda Jane Clothing MLM program all about? Let's have a look and find out…
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 Matilda Jane Clothing?
“It's all about keeping a little girl… a little girl. Keeping her youthful. Keeping her spinning and twirling and carefree. And most importantly, bringing her happiness.”
Matilda Jane Clothing (MJC) was founded in 2006 by Denise Demarchis and is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the United States. The company promotes its “whimsical approach to texture, pattern, and colour results in designs that are youthful, playful, and expressive”.
What do they Sell?
Matilda Jane Clothing sells a complete range of apparel to suit all ages. Their product line is quite decent with ranges in the following categories:
- Girls
- Baby
- Tween
- Women
- Boys
- Swim
- Pajamas
- Play
Item costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $20 to $100 per piece. As an extra sales opportunity, MJC also offers a smaller range of accessories and homewares including:
- Shoes
- Towels
- Hats
- Bags
- Blankets
- Bedding
- Baby kits
MLM Program outline
Base Commission rate:
- 20% on commissionable products
- 5% on good luck trunk merchandise
- 5% on platinum merchandise
Down line commission rates: 1 – 9% to four levels (level 1 down line for initial rank is 4%)
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
Monthly sales thresholds are tiered dependent upon rank but start at $1500 up to $4000 in commissional sales volume (CSV) per month.
Payment terms: Monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
New Trunk Keepers are required to purchase a seasonal ‘trunk' in order to become active. The initial outlay for this is $1600 and includes girls clothing and accessories, promotional items and marketing materials, rack, and hangers.
Ongoing seasonal collection purchases are required to be used for display and try-ons during in-home trunk shows. These sample lines have a retail value ranging from $8000 -$10,000, but are offered to our Trunk Keepers at cost. Previous seasonal trunks cannot be used in the current season.
Marketing materials provided: Personalised website and training.
As with the most MLM programs, downline commissions are determined by the total commissional volume points (CSV) generated by the Trunk Keeper and their down line within a calendar month. Most MLM programs manage it this way in that commissions are paid on the points assigned to a product rather than the entire sales total. However, from what I can tell, Matilda Jane calculates its CSV points on the actual dollar amount of the sale meaning that if a product costs $20 then it is worth 20 CSV points.
Note: I could not find the compensation plan (which is located within the policies and procedures document) in the general website structure. It was however located via a web search and is the official MJC document.
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How can I get paid?
Ok, I think at this point it needs to be made clear that the ONLY way that MJC products can be sold is via a trunk show which is a display and presentation of the MJC Collections in a private or home environment for a group of at least three guests and one hostess (known as a ‘Jane'). Sales are recorded via the Trunk Keeper's personal website based on the sales made at the trunk show. This process is really a throw back to the good old party plan days in that a Trunk Keeper needs to convince someone to hold a showing and invite at least three of their friends. The advantage here is that mums will spend money on children's clothes so it may work well for some.
Their Policies and Procedures document is extremely specific on this point and clearly prohibits the buying, selling and/or trading of any MJC via marketplace platforms (eBay etc.), a personal website or social media. So, based on that knowledge, the compensation plan (located within the policies and procedures document) promotes 3 ways in which Trunk Keepers can make money when they promote and sell products via their trunks shows. These are fairly straight forward however there are none of the extra bonuses (fast start etc.) found in many other MLM arrangements. The 3 payment options for the Matilda Jane Clothing MLM program are outlined as follows:
Retail Commissions
Retail Commissions are the base commissions earned by the Trunk Keepers. The base rate is 20% and these are generated via the sales made at the Trunk Show.
Note: These commissions are not earned by ‘Janes' who receive discounts based on sales as a separate process. I will outline those below.
To qualify for the retail commissions, Trunk Keepers are required to maintain a CSV of between $1500 to $4000 within their previous month.
Retail Bonus Qualification
The Retail Bonus Qualification is paid at a rate of 5% on all commissionable personal sales if a CSV of $5,000 or above is reached within the current month. This bonus is available for all months and for all trunk keepers.
Level Bonuses
Level Bonuses are the basic unilevel commissions that are prevalent within most MLM programs. Within the MJC MLM program, commissions are paid to 3 levels based on the number of downline sales and CSV reached. Commission payments range from 1 – 9% based on rank – see graphic in next section for more information.
Ranking structure
MJC, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the MJC MLM program are as follows (note level bonus structure and CSV qualification targets as well):
Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is 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.
Trunk Party Bonuses
I mentioned earlier that the role of the Trunk Keeper is to recruit ‘Janes' to host their shows. Janes do not earn commissions however can be awarded with discounts and free product for their hosting troubles. These are outlined as follows:
Note: A Jane can only be a Jane once – for further interaction they will need to become a Trunk Keeper.
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 entry level sales are good.
- Good variety of product at a decent price.
- Children's clothing is a lucrative market.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- Sales targets are required to qualify for base commissions.
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Joining and ongoing costs are extremely high.
- All sales can only be made via Trunk Shows with no online sales abilities.
How much can you make?
I was unable to locate projected income figures on the MJC website however as with most MLM programs, the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is usually very low.
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in and there is not much that I have seen here to put this program above the many others I have seen.
The main red flag for me is the fact that you can only make sales via the Trunk shows when, if compared to others within this niche, really put Trunk Keepers behind the 8 ball when it comes to selling opportunities. There are nowhere the near the array of bonus earning options of many other programs and monthly CSV targets are fairly high when compared to the prices of the merchandise. 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 20% 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 of customer service and the MLM program itself – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs or products within this niche – apart from one lady who sued over her work within the program not being considered minimum wage – which would be true for most MLM programs I am sure…
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Matilda Jane Clothing 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. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.
Matilda Jane Clothing MLM
$1600Pros
- Commission rates for entry level sales are good.
- Good variety of product at a decent price.
- Children's clothing is a lucrative market.
Cons
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Joining and ongoing costs are extremely high.
- All sales can only be made via Trunk Shows with no online sales abilities.
Hello Paul,
Thanks so much for pointing out to the “Affiliate Master” that I flew ahead of him in the rankings! I’d have to say that was very satisfying!
Much appreciated,
Madison
Haha
My pleasure Madison
Love it when we can manage to get above him
Hope all is going well for you
Paul