Sunrider MLM Review

Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to a visit a company that, like many others within the MLM market, offers a large range of products from a few niches with my Sunrider MLM Review. These sorts of MLM programs appear to be quite popular as they allow for the sale of products into a number of varying and popular markets such as cosmetics, supplements, beauty and health and well being. So, what is the Sunrider MLM 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 and supplements markets. In recent times, much of the sales and marketing process are now being managed online leading to MLMs experiencing a bit of a resurgence. This means that the network marketing model of having to personally recruit a down line has been reduced with the ability to connect with a greater audience via modern online marketing methods (MLM is often referred to as Network Marketing due to the fact that much of the sales are made within the personal networks of members).

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:

1. You join the program, either via referral from another person (known as your up line) or directly through their website.
2. You promote the products of the company via parties, workshops or online.
3. 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).
4. That new member is then placed ‘underneath' you in a hierarchical arrangement (known as your down line).
5. You, and a number of levels of your up line, then gain extra commissions for everything they sell as well.
6. 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 Sunrider?

Sunrider was founded in 1982 by Dr. Tei-Fu Chen, a world-renowned herbalist and his medical doctor wife, Dr. Oi-Lin Chen. With a belief that the sun is the source of all life and a symbol to assist people to live the life of their dreams, they offer “the finest herbal health and beauty products” which are distributed to nearly 50 countries and territories worldwide.

Sunrider is based in Los Angeles, California in the U.S. where they also research, formulate and manufacture their own products.

What do they Sell?

As mentioned above, Sunrider provide access to a good number of herb based products across some of the most popular and highest grossing niche markets sold online. These products include:

Herbal Food & Beverages

• Sunectar® – Yerba Dulce leaf extract
• SunnyDew® – Yerba Dulce leaf extract
• Sunrider VitaFruit® – Herbal Super Jiuce
• Fortune Delight® – Herbal Tea
• Calli® – Herbal Tea
• Smart Gummy™ – Mango
  Gummies
• VitaDophilus® – Live Culture Bacteria
• SunFit Protein Plus – Pea and Rice Protein
• NuPlus® – Concentrated Herbal Food
• VitaDelight™ – Whole Food Concentrate

Herbal Supplements

• VitaSpray® – Vitamin B12
• Beauty Pearl® – Concentrated Herbal Extract for the skin
• Quinary® – Concentrated Herbal Super Food
• Liqui-Five® – Concentrated Herbal Super Food
• Alpha 20C® – Concentrated Herbal Super Food
• SunBar® – Concentrated Herbal Energy Bar
• Action Caps Fit 100 Caps – Fat Burning Powder
• SportCaps® – Energiser Caps

Skin Care

• Kandesn® Cleansing Cream
• Kandesn® Cleansing Foam
• Kandesn® Balancing Splash
• Kandesn® Deep Moisture Lotion
• Oi-Lin® Skin Care Trial Set
• Dr. Chen® Youth Emulsion
• Dr. Chen® Youth Masque
• Oi-Lin® Cleansing Cream
• Oi-Lin® Revitalizing Cleanser

Personal and Home Care

• Kandesn Herbal Deodorant
• Kandesn® Hand Cleansing Gel
• Kandesn® Beauty Bar
• Oi-Lin® Liquid Soap
• Kandesn® Hand & Body Lotion
• Kandesn® Shampoo
• Kandesn® Conditioner
• Oi-Lin® Shampoo
• Oi-Lin® Conditioner
• Kandesn Hand Cleansing Gel with 70% alcohol
• SunSmile® Herbal Toothpaste
• SunSmile® Herbal Whitening Gel
• SunSmile® Fruit & Vegetable Rinse
• SunBright® SuperClean™ Laundry

Color Cosmetics

• Face
• Eyes
• Lips
• Nails
• Makeup Tools

Item costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $10 to $200 per product keeping it in line with others within these multi-offering niches such as Omnilife and Youngevity.

MLM Program outline

The Sunrider MLM program calls their members ‘Independent Business Owners' (IBOs) who are part of what appears to be a simple program with a common retail and downline commission structure and a good number of bonus options included. Their compensation plan is available on their website so here are the basics as I have found them…

Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total personal volume (PV) generated by the IBO and their down line within a calendar month with points assigned to each product. These point allocations can range from 50 to 100% of the retail price of each product (before tax and shipping) and vary from item to item and currency of sale.

From what I can tell with the Sunrider MLM program, PV is calculated at 100% of the USD retail sales price however downline commissions (non personal sales) are paid on Commissionsal Volume (CV) only. I could not find any information in regards to percentage calculations however as an example, if a product is sold for $100 with a CV of 70, then payments are calculated on $70 of the sale cost not the full $100. Hence, then if a downline commission rate is 5% then the payment to the stylist would total $3.50 (i.e. 5%of $70).

How can I get paid?

Ok, so from what I can garner from the Sunrider Infinity Compensation Plan, there are 9 ways in which IBOs can make money when they promote and sell Sunrider products. These are fairly straight forward and there are a few of the extra bonuses found in many other MLM arrangements. The 9 payment options for the Sunrider MLM program are outlined as follows:

1. Retail Sales Bonus

These are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that IBOs can generate via parties, popups or kiosks (where a 10% profit is made based in the difference between the IBO discount and the retail sales amount) or online via their personalized app (percentages range from 3 – 15% based on volume). There are 6 tiers of personal commissions based on sale volume as follows:

As above, to qualify for the Personal Sales Commissions, IBOs are required to meet a minimum sales target of 150PV or above. For the base 10% rate however, no minimum sales targets apply.

2. Fast Start Bonus

IBOs who are able to recruit and train new downline members within their first 3 months of operation will earn 5% on the sales of their new recruits during their first three months as well (i.e., their enrollment month + next 3 full months)

Fast Start Bonus is paid on CV.

3. Star Elite Advancement Bonus

The Star Elite Advancement Bonus is designed to entice new IBOs to generate sales and recruit new members as soon as possible via the payment of $100 if they can achieve the rank of Star Elite within their first three months of operations.

And in addition, should a member of the IBO's downline qualify for the Star Elite Advancement Bonus, then the sponsoring IBO will receive a $100 match as well.

4. Unilevel Bonuses

As the name suggests, Unilevel Bonuses are Sunriders's version of the traditional unilevel commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the Sunrider MLM program, commissions are paid to 5 levels based on the rank of the IBO as follows:

IBOs must be at rank of Star and above to qualify for Unilevel Bonuses.

5. Development Bonus

IBOs who are able to reach the rank of Ace Prime or higher qualify for the Development Bonus where they can earn up to 2% (capped) on:

1. Each leg in their personal group that has at least one qualified member at rank Ace and above. This bonus is paid on the highest Ace to Ace Elite in each leg up to the rank of the IBO.

and

2. Each leg in the IBO's down line has at least one 1st Generation IBO (i.e. personally sponsored) who is at rank of Ace Royal or higher in that month.

6. Ace Royal Advancement Bonus

In the similar fashion to the Star Elite Advancement Bonus above, the Ace Royal Advancement Bonus is paid in the amount of $400 to IBOs who achieve the rank of Ace Royal for the first time.

And in addition, should a member of the IBO's downline qualify for the Ace Royal Advancement Bonus, then the sponsoring IBO will receive a $400 match as well.

7. Check Match

The Check Match payment is a common reward for those reaching the higher ranks in the Sunrider program in that IBOs at rank of Hero and above receive a match on the Unilevel Bonus, Fast Start Bonus and Turbo Infinity Bonus earnings of the generations below them. These payments are outlined as follows:

8. Turbo Infinity Bonus

The Turbo Infinity Bonus is another high level rank bonus where IBOs at rank of Hero and above can receive a percentage on the sales beginning with their 6th down level to unlimited levels. The bonus is capped at 3% of company wide CV and paid as per below:

9. Icon Bonus

And finally, the Icon Bonus rewards those at the absolute top rank levels with a yearly payment per rank as:

• Icon: $8000
• Icon Elite: $16000
• Icon Royal: $40000

Payments are made over 12 months for every month that the IBO is able to maintain rank.

Ranking structure

Sunrider, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the Sunrider MLM program are as follows (note personal and team sales qualification targets as well):

Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within the IBO's down line, and the total sales made by those members per month. Ranks can rise and fall based on the ability (or dis-ability) to reach the required member and sales targets.

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.
• Program is simple and easy to follow.
• Base retail profits can be earned without the need to meet sales targets.

What is no so good about it?

There are also some things to be aware of including:

• Product qualifying point calculations are not clear.
• Minimum monthly sales targets are required for all downline commissions.

How much can you make?

Sunrider provides an income disclosure statement on its website as follows:

As per the table above, it can safely be assumed that as it is with most MLM arrangements, the number of members who earn enough from this program to make a living is very low (1% or less).

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. However, the program is pretty straight forward with common commission arrangements and the ability to make sales in person or online. So if you are passionate about these products with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via online processes, then the 10 – 25% base commission rates might just appeal here.

Once you have joined, there are not the usual financial pressures of needing to make minimum personal purchases in order to qualify for commissions as long as you can make them within your down line. Although from what I can see, I think if you are going to succeed within this MLM program, you will need to have a good array of demonstration stock on hand. You may also need to bump up your personal purchase quota if customer sales alone are not enough for you to qualify for commissions and/or discounts within a particular month.

I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment etc. although there were 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. Sunrider was taken to court in 2016 under claims it was operating as a pyramid scheme. These charges were dismissed.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Sunrider 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 online 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.