Is ACN a Scam – Though Donald Trump Endorses It, STAY AWAY!
I have nothing against work at home businesses, I do this myself. But to answer the question is ACN a scam, I believe it is and here is why. When a company entices people with the potential of becoming financially free and hype up how they as a company will stand behind them so-to-speak, people can be taken in by that if they do not know of what red flags to look for.
The ACN Red Flags you need to know about
First off you need to do your due diligence and seek out scam reviews of the company you intend to join, especially if they are asking you for money to start. With the Concord, North Carolina based ACN, a telecommunication company, you do have to pay a few hundred dollars to start and pay hundreds more in other “needed” fees. The fees breakdown I will list down below.
But before I get to the fees there is something else you need to know about ACN that will help you to realize that they are not a company I would recommend if you are looking to make money from home. Though ACN has been in business since 1993 they have had their fair share of legal and regulatory problems in at least three countries.
In addition to these three countries, Australia, Canada and the United States, ACN also has many documented cases and reports by former members known as IBOs (Independent Business Owners), of losing thousands of dollars. This is a common problem with a majority of MLM companies because the pyramid structure is most times a hard system to succeed in.
ACN also does not even give you a clue to what their compensation plan is nor do they even hint at what you can “possibly” make. Think about that for a minute. If a company is asking you to invest a few hundred dollars just to start, wouldn’t you like an idea of how much Return on Investment is going to be? If not could you please send me $500? You will feel happy you did.
Yes that was a joke question. But as absurd as it was, it is no more as absurd as ACN asking you to send them hundreds of dollars without telling you how you can even attempt to make that back. Now if ACN were free to join and start, then I would feel less skeptical about not knowing how much I could make. But this seems too much like an ACN Scam than a real business opportunity.
Donald Trump endorses ACN – That does not make it good
One might think that if Donald Trump endorses ACN that it would be a good thing, but in reality when you read between the lines it is not. You might want to ask, if Donald Trump is endorsing this company then, why was his name and all mention of his multiple live appearances at conventions been removed from the ACN website? Is this company legit or is ACN a pyramid scheme and another MLM scam by the Trumps.
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that he was paid millions of dollars for speaking appearances and fully endorsed their company and products on his reality show not once but twice. Basically his endorsement has more to do with the money he made from them than it does about their business as a whole. Just Google “ACN and Donald Trump” and you will see what I mean.
The cost for joining ACN – Another Red Flag in my opinion
$499.00 to join and be an IBO in training
$149.00 for their annual renewal fee
$39.99 per month for the “Your Business Assistant” business growth package
$5.00 to $10.00 each week for live virtual business meetings
Up to $159.00 to attend ACN conventions + expenses for travel accommodations
That is a whole lot of money you have to invest into a company that doesn’t even allow you a few options to make that money back. From research done online I have found that you are not only encouraged to buy the products yourself, a system with many MLMs that is doomed for failure from the start, but you only get to sell to your warm market, family and friends.
That in and of itself is absolutely absurd! You are told to approach these acquaintances and ask them to sign up for services, products and/or to become an IBO like yourself as a “Favor” to you. What kind of legit business asks people to try something as a favor to you? Sounds more like you are begging someone to buy from you. If you offer quality for the price, it will sell itself.
$1,600.00 + a “Favor” does not sound promising to me
Being on the conservative side of my math, when you add up $499 + $39.99 for 12 months + $5 for 52 weeks + $159 for one convention + a little more than $200 for food and travel expenses, I came up with $1,600.00 for the first year that you would have to pay. That doesn’t even include cost of products. There is no way you will be able to make that back within your first year.
Below there is a video review of ACN by a former member IBO, explaining the good and the really bad part of the company. Remember earlier I said that one of the Red Flags of this company was their lack of clarity on their compensation plan? The following video will explain why their compensation plan is extremely difficult for you to make money in.
The 5 Lies of most “not all” MLMs
Lie 1: It is a Customer-Based Business (If you are required to buy the products yourself on an auto-ship plan, then the business model becomes more of an “internal consumption” and not much of a customer-based business. So in order to make money you have to recruit others which leads into lie number 2.)
Lie 2: It is about Residual Income (The only way to get residual income is to heavily recruit people to buy the products too and turn around and have them recruit people and so on and so on. Most people do not like recruiting and this is one of the main reasons why people in an MLM will fail.)
Lie 3: Plan B becomes Plan A (None of the top earners in an MLM got there doing part time work. This stems from the problems of lies 1 & 2 and their full-time commitment to massively recruit just to make any good amount of money. If they don’t then many leave for other newer MLM companies.)
Lie 4: Stay 10 years and YOU will be a Winner (The only way that will happen is if you heavily recruit and those that you recruit do the same. The only ones who always benefit from you staying in is the company whose products you buy each month on auto-ship whether you need it or not.)
Lie 5: Average Top Earners make $60 to $70K per year (The very top level earner may be making a five or six figure income but NOT the average. The “average” are more than likely busting their butts to just make enough to get by. Because if making the money was as easy and as good as it sounds, why do many top earners leave? Because of Lies 1 & 2.)
Is ACN a scam? Here is my opinion
Sorry about that little sidetrack into the five lies of most Multi-Level Marketing companies, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Not only was it mentioned in the ACN video review above, but it also helps support my answer to the above question. With all of the negative reports published online from various sources and news agencies, I would say the company business plan does scam its most newest IBOs in my opinion.
People are being heavily mislead and tricked into thinking that the company is legit because of its longevity, ACN started in 1993, and because they have people like Donald Trump endorsing it. Remember people! The Donald has been investigated and involved with another MLM called Ideal Health, which was allegedly reported to have been scamming their members.
HOW TO EASILY KNOW IF AN MLM IS AN ILLEGAL PYRAMID SCHEME
But it doesn’t really matter if you use the word scam or not because what is being promoted and implied is very much false. ACN will not make any of its newest members any real money and remember, all new members will spend at least $1,600 to even up to $2,000 within the first year. Below is a far easier and less expensive way to make money at home with no Red Flags.
Affiliate Marketing is far superior to Multi-Level Marketing
If you want to continue to believe in the myths of the majority of MLM and Network Marketing companies like ACN, My Online Business Empire and many others that are producing loads of complaints, then go ahead and waste your time and money. But if you want to invest less and have a greater return on your investment, read below.
What if you could make money from the sale of Coca-Cola Collectibles, Starbucks Coffee, Apple iPhones, Video Games and Consoles, WordPress website hosting, wedding supplies services, and other well-known and name brand products, would you be interested? What if I told you it wouldn’t cost you any more than $50 per month? Are you still interested?
This is what Affiliate Marketing is all about and unlike Multi-Level Marketing, people are actually becoming wealthy without losing a ton of money. No matter what you decide to make money on in affiliate marketing, becoming an affiliate of Apple, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Amazon and thousands of other companies are all FREE!
What is the $50.00 cost for? It is for all of the training, websites, and hosting you will ever need. The cost will not go any higher and there are no hidden fees, no conventions to attend, and you will not have to recruit anyone. In affiliate marketing you are your own boss and you have no upline or downline. You are truly an independent business owner.
To learn more about how you can become an affiliate marketer of the thousands of real name brand companies, check out my post of the #1 online training and business building platform in the world. With the exception of 7 countries, every person can join this online learning and building program for free! If you have any questions, please leave them below.
I was once invited for an MLM seminar. Of course, the speaker speaks nothing but on the good side of the MLM company.
As we all know most MLM companies enticing people in multiple ways by generating excitement on how to earn big income or profits.
The MLM company did not offer assurance on return of investment. Your earnings depend on your aggression in inviting and convincing power.
In my first days of trying to start a work from home business I was recruited into an MLM. Back then I didn’t know any better and knowing what I know now, I laugh at myself for getting caught up in the excitement.
But that is one of the classic recruitment tools of an MLM. Get pitched an exciting earning opportunity, go to a seminar which makes you more excited, and sign up. What comes next is investing money.
But in many cases you soon realize that no one wants the over-priced products you are promoting and the money you keep investing is not paying off in profits. So then your sponsor recommends that you grow a down line.
Now you start recruiting people with hopes that they will have a better chance of doing what you tried so hard to do. And with their successful efforts you will make back your investments. But what if that doesn’t work?
It can become a money losing vicious cycle and you eventually have to cut your losses because you unknowingly got involved in a pyramid scheme. The video on my post here explains the whole thing. Become an Affiliate Marketer, it is much easier.
Hi Robert,
Ergh! Reading this sends a shiver down my spine. It’s groundhog day again! I had lost money on these type of schemes long before the internet and websites took off.
Thankfully, now that we do have the world wide web, it is far easier to investigate, and as you say, with due diligence, check up on these charlatans. They come back year after year in different guises.
Thank you for bringing this one to my attention. Reading this article rings several alarm bells. One to definitely, avoid!
The Affiliate Marketing concept is the one for me. Building up a business over the long term is the way to go.
Thanks for another excellent article, Robert. I love reading them!
Many thanks,
Paul.
You are welcome Paul. Thank you for your comment. I am happy to always provide honest reviews to help people make an informed decision. Not all of my scam reviews point to a scam, but when they do, I make sure people know about them.
I see many of us who are making good money in Affiliate Marketing, were once or twice involved in some sort of MLM or Network Marketing scheme. It is much harder to earn with those forms of marketing. Affiliate Marketing is easier and more beginner friendly.
Interesting article. I for one have done very well in network marketing. I also enjoy affiliate marketing and internet marketing. There is actually a market to be able to do both and in conjunction with each other. I do have friends whoa re in ACN and from my experience I would not call it a scam. It is a business model that is not for everyone and it does take dedication and work to be successful. Just like affiliate marketing. Cheers.
Yes Robb, I agree that there is a way or a market for doing both. There was a time that I did affiliate marketing and would drive some of my traffic to my eBay internet marketing site. In the future I will do the same by driving relevant traffic to my future e-commerce website that I use drop shipping with wholesalers.
That is great that you have done well with Network Marketing. It is not as easy as Affiliate Marketing if you are a beginner in the make money from home niche. Every business model takes dedication and work to be successful. Making a lot of money will take years, just look at how long it took for Jeff Bezos.
But when a business model has a compensation plan that requires you to recruit people to make enough money to cover your investment, then that is when that model becomes borderline pyramid scheme. ACN skirts that fine-line gray area, yet still has had their fair share of legal problems.
When I joined ACN 2 years ago, the price for the IBO was $299. Back then, we were told that the reason that Trump was endorsing the company was because he saw the company model and wanted to buy it outright. The company declined the offer of purchase. For a guy who wants to buy out his competition or just become the President…that was troubling enough for me so that when my point of renewal came up, I was very much NOT interested. The part where the signup is now $499 is troubling enough for what it takes to start a business
I shall see you sometime this spring, Robert.
CC1
Yes, $499.00 is very troubling for starting a business with a company that has limited products in a narrow niche market.
When you are ready to start a real business of your own that doesn’t require you to sell any kind of products, only promote them for the companies that sell them, let me know.
It will cost you $0.00 to start the first 10 lessons and build up to 2 WordPress websites. Then your premium all-inclusive training will cost only $19.00 for the first month and $49.00 for each month afterwards.
I went to a ACN meeting to see what it was about I was asked to pay for the $500 on the spot when I said I couldn’t afford I was asked if I had a credit card or family member who can pay it it seemed it was all hype and people clapping also Mila Kunis was there as a speaker and ibo member saying how she needed the extra money well I didnt join seems too hard to sell to my friends that are in the same situation as I am barely getting by .
Anytime you have a supposed program to make money in an MLM, Multi-Level Marketing, opportunity that is expensive like what ACN asks for to be paid to them, you really need to watch out that they are not getting ready to scam you. You need to ask yourself, why do I have to pay so much just to join if there is no evidence that I will get a return on my investment? Most times there will not be an honest answer if at all to that question.
If ACN need big names to promote their products to get people to join instead of letting their product sales speak for themselves, then I would guess their products are not really worth the cost. ACN paid Donald Trump to endorse their products but now that he became president and ACN is involved in lawsuits, you never hear him endorse them again. It should make you wonder why. So now they are paying Mila Kunis to endorse them? Talk about desperation.
wow, I’ve been in one year . I have 150 customers, free cell phone service, free electric, free gas. and my residual income pays for one of my cars. I think its an awesome company. But you have to work at it. I’ve worked hard all my life, this is easy!
Congratulations Steve. Most people cannot say the same as you when it comes to ACN. But there are a very small percentage of people who are succeeding at it. I personally would rather get paid by companies like Amazon for promoting, not buying and selling, any products I desire that they sell on their website.
your broke, struggling and still holding on to the ACN dream,, you hang in there you lying twit
My husband joined ACN and made his money back and more to date in our first year we have made over 2,000 dollars. It is a great company and they do show the compensation plan and I don’t know where you saw the plan but we were not pressured. And no one is pressured at any of our meetings. Get your facts straight.
As with most MLM companies, not all people who recruit do so in the same way. Some are desperate for the referral and will use hard line tactics and some will take a softer approach. Just because you did not experience it does not mean Carl above, or the many others I have heard from, are not telling the truth.
If all you and your husband made was more than 2,000 dollars within a year, I would not call that a great company. I make close to 3,000 dollars every month in my online affiliate marketing endeavors and I get paid by companies that are more well known and make far more money than ACN. Plus I never have to pay more than 50 dollars per month.
but Robert, you play 50 per month and that’s 600 per year, and next year and next year… ACN give you fully functional online shop store for 500 one off. You do renew your membership but i do renew membership for some magazines with 12 issues per year for more bucks. WHo’s doing billing for you online shop, who’s updating product list, discounts, promotions…etc. ACN resells elec and gas from the same companies you will anyway buy it from but ACN has a power to negitiate better deals and you as a customer get better rates. So, what’s the problem with that?
Also, while you are doing your affiliate marketing, you do still pay your gas, elec, mobile and broadband to someone, don’t you?
The max payment for membership is $49.00 per month. I actually pay only $299.00 per year, which comes out to roughly $24.92 per month. I create my own WordPress websites without having to program them, get full website security, hosting, tech support and free SSL Certificates. I get training in SEO, SMM, keyword research, niche marketing, email marketing, content marketing, affiliate marketing, UX, and other related training for making money online from home. ALL OF THIS for the price mentioned above.
Though electric, gas and communications are commodities that many use on a daily basis, what ACN offers is limited to only those products. I can promote any product I want through my website and get paid by the companies that make and sell them. Companies like Apple, Nike, Sony, HP, Google, Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, and thousands more. Unlike members of ACN, I am not limited on what I can make money on and I DO NOT need to buy anything to get paid each month.
It is far easier and more lucrative to make money on products that the majority of people in the world will want or need than it is to be limited to a few different commodities that not as many people will be interested in. I bet I can make more sales promoting the Google Pixel 2 smartphone on my website than I could trying to sell an ACN product. This is because my target audience if far more broad than those willing to buy something from ACN.
VR – Please don’t lie and don’t tell rubbish. I know the guy who has 100+ members of his “team” and he is still getting only 10% off his bills. And that is for the HARD working for a few years. AND GUESS WHAT !!! He is still real estate broker, meaning he has thousands of clients there, his potential members, and the knowledge to convince and skills to speak publicly. So, before calculating this “stuff”, surely your calculation is not even close to reality, bring the facts, not the energy you got from ACN waves. I am very aggressive when somebody aggressively defends something without bringing the facts on the table or bringing facts selectively. If you defend something, be honest to tell everything.
So you never have to pay $50 12x a year? $600? If ACN IS a scam because you have to pay then why isn’t this one another scam? At ACN no one is obligated to pay for products to stay in the company nor to make money.
I never said that ACN was a scam because you have to pay. But if you make money from the sales of other people that you recruit, then that is a major problem and is considered a pyramid scheme, which is illegal. The ACN compensation plan makes it so difficult to make money with products that have a slim profit margins, because you need to qualify to get paid.
Why should you need to qualify? According to the video above by the ACN IBO, to qualify you need to purchase ACN services. When Amazon or Sony pay me every month, they do not require me to qualify in order to get paid. I do not need to buy or sell any of their products or recruit any people to get paid. And the money I make I get to keep 100 percent of it.
As for what I pay per month to get an education in all forms of online marketing, as well as the operating and hosting of up to 25 affiliate marketing website businesses, $49 per month is very reasonable. That is far cheaper than what you have to pay ACN. And I can and do save even more money by paying $299 per year, which comes out to only $24.92 per month.
It is easier to make money from well known corporations like Apple, Best Buy, Amazon and thousands of other well-known retailers than from ACN, and at a far less investment in time and money.
Sorry Robert you are wrong, at Acn we don’t make money from recruiting, we make money from services being sold. Making money from recruiting is illegal, also in Pyramid schemes you can’t make more than the person who came in first. At ACN you can.
Did ACN change how their compensation plan works? Because in order for IBOs to make any money they needed to qualify by purchasing a certain amount of services and then go out and recruit at least two other people to do the same thing.
Even though it is the selling of the services that will make you money, according to the ACN compensation plan, you still have to get other people into your downline to do what you are doing. And that by definition is what recruiting people looks like.
When I joined ACN, I was pressured tremendously by multiple people in the company. I joined because my boss (actual boss at the bar I worked for…and later the person I signed up under) said one of his other “legs” wouldn’t get his monthly qualifying bonus unless I signed up (the month was coming to an end).
Upon joining the business, you have 30 days to potentially make back your $500 investment through a bonus, but first you must qualify yourself by purchasing services you may or may not actually need, and then you must recruit and qualify two people under you who have to do the same.
Every time I went into work, I was constantly pressured to talk to people about joining “the business”. The services themselves were rarely spoken of…the focus was on recruiting and getting people to pay that $500 start-up fee. We actually began to lose customers at the bar because they started getting fed up of coming in for a cocktail after a long day at work, just to be pressured by the owner of the bar to join the ACN business.
At one point, my boyfriend attended one of their meetings, and said that when he asked questions that weren’t what you would consider general regarding the business, it’s compensation plans in more detail, etc he was shut down, or the team leader responded very vaguely without actually answering any of his questions. He ultimately decided ACN was not something he wanted to invest in.
Fast forward a few weeks…every time I showed up for work (to bartend mind you…not to sell ACN) I was asked why my boyfriend hadn’t joined yet. When I said he expressed negative views on the income potential of ACN, I was told I should find a better boyfriend and that surrounding myself with negativity was going to leave me broke forever.
Long story short, this company preys on getting people to sign up with that $500 fee and promises residual income but never actually discusses what the compensation actually is (just says it ranges from 1% of the service cost you sell up to 8% depending on how many people you sign up beneath you who get qualified—again focusing on that $500)recruiting new members, and less about the actual services.
There are hidden fees NEVER discussed at the meetings where you are asked to hand over $500, then asked to spend more money that you will spend monthly on services for yourself. I quit my job at the bar, and to date, very few people frequent it because of how much the owner STILL pressures people to sign up for the business.
I do not believe in the integrity of this business, or that the income potential is as great as they say. Our team leader said he made $8,000 a month but drove a car that needed mechanical and body work. Our meetings were held at the smoke-filled bar (talk about embarrassing to invite potential IBOs to), and all of the people that said they made tons of money seemed, in my opinion to have nothing to show for it.
This company makes money off of the poor souls who get suckered in to spending $500 to sign up, and then sign up for the services themselves. Sounds like monthly residual income for the company itself…not the IBOs.
Signed,
the girl who lost $500
Thank you Taylor for your story and I hope it proves to people thinking of joining ACN, plus those still struggling to get paid, that this company is NOT a good way to make money. It is however a great way to lose money.
And to all those in ACN who have commented here telling me that they do not make money from the recruiting of others…get your facts straight before commenting. Taylor’s comment above and from many others before is proof that you need to recruit to get paid.
I just went to an ACN meeting last night and I was pressured by 3 people!!!!
Amen. I maid my $1,500 bonus check. Plus I just received a $200 bonus for a sale to a customer. My friend made the $2,000 bonus check in his first month. Plus, he now makes a 7k residual check. He also got a $400 bonus check 2 months ago. C’mon. What are they talking about. This is just ro join their company. Get real
Congratulations on your earnings. However I bet the majority of ACN members are not so fortunate to make that much if any at all. I am not promoting a company here but rather an online training platform that will teach you how to make a lot more money per month, 24 hours per day, without you having to buy or sell any products. Plus you get to become free affiliates of any online retailer that you desire.
I bought a 3 year membership at the gym for $649 and never lost a pound nor six pack abs like they promised! That’s a total SCAM!!!
I didn’t tell you a I never went to the gym, nor did anyone ever tell you they never did anything with this company.
Mostly the discussion has been on the other side of the fence. What about the customer themselves? Are they better off using the ACN’s “service”?
There haven’t been many endorsements that I could find from people who were NOT ASSOCIATED with ACN for the quality of their services. Though their products may be of quality, there are other more popular and less expensive options out on the market. That being said ACN could very well have a quality product but the make money business side of their program is flawed from the start and could be killing their chances of effectively marketing their services to the world.
Actually I disagree strongly with this…all the payments you said that a participant has to pay…are not all required…and you make more money as you add on more people you’re getting percentages of what ever they pay as a reward for adding on to the company.IBOs lose money because if people stop using thoes services they don’t make money off of it anymore. Anyway most people that participate do it as a side job just to make extra money…not to completely live off of that income. My father does it and made back the 500 in a month and that’s really all he had to pay. How much these people make is determined by how much they put into the company..ive met many people who make 6 figures and have only been doing it for a year. You don’t really have to travel and you pay 149…a year not every month so it’s not even bad and a 60-70k is plenty to live off of and like i said already this isnt a job replacement its a way to make extra money…this post to me seems like a scam..ive seen this stuff work in action… but hey believe what you want:)
You do realize that when you make money from the sales of the people you recruit under you and so on, that is considered a pyramid scheme and it is ILLEGAL in the U.S. and other western countries? But like the video I provided in this post from a former IBO, the compensation plan for ACN is flawed from the start and it is extremely hard to make any money if at all for all new IBO’s.
All companies are set up las the person on top makes the money off of work of the people on the bottom, that should be wrong. In ACN you get paid when you help other people make money, whether it be by getting customers or recruiting other members. This is a better way of doing things. We, my husband and I have several customers, people who are not in ACN but are using our services. This is nothing but a way for you to run down something to make what you are selling look better all you are doing is looking like a baby. And ignorant.
Making money from the sales of people you recruit under you and the people they recruit under them and so on, is ILLEGAL in the U.S. and in most other countries. This is a classic example of what is called a pyramid scheme.
And you are false in your statement that all companies are set up with a person at the top making money off of the work of the people at the bottom. Yes in a sense that is true because there has to be a boss and the workforce. But making money from the productiveness of the workforce is different than making money from the money gained by the members of the workforce.
As for ACN, I am just voicing my opinion and exposing the many complaints by those who are or used to be IBOs. There are many different and easier legit ways to make money in your own business that do not require you to recruit people to do what you are doing – recruiting others. I bet the majority of the people in this world would not bother purchasing the ACN services.
If it is such a good service, why are IBOs told to sell to their warm market of friends and family first? Why are you not trying to sell to the 3+ billion people on the internet? This is how I and hundreds of thousands of others all over the world make our money from the comfort of our homes, without recruiting or meeting people and without selling to them. I would not call that ignorant, I would call that smart.
Peoples jobs make money off of them all the time is that not a fact? Do you not have the CEO at the top that you never see and then at the bottom the many. Hard workers who may never move up and stay at the same pay barely getting a raise?
That analogy is not close to how this ACN MLM model works. When you work for a company you do not have to give a percentage of your earnings to your employer, whereas you do in an MLM scheme.
Plus you are not required to buy whatever it is that the company is selling in order to get paid. If ACN is so great, why do members have to do these things just to make money?
Thank you
It was my pleasure.
Very interesting post. I have heard of the company before, but really didn’t know what it was all about and the fact that Donald Trump endorsed it says enough for me. I definitely would not trust his endorsement! I can’t even imagine why anyone would put $1600 into a business that isn’t up front about the compensation plan. That is truly unbelievable!
Thanks for the information!
Any money making opportunity that will make more money for itself than it would provide for their members is in my opinion a blatant rip off scam. ACN, as with many other MLM companies that rely on recruiting for making money, is a scam. The FTC says that, “if the money you make is based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, the multi-level marketing is not legitimate.”
In addition, if anyone thinks that spending $1,600 just to start and will be able to make that money back with no proof that they can, then they know nothing about how real online businesses work. And yes, having Donald Trump saying anything good about a company should be a negative. He is only promoting it because they paid him more than a million dollars, which means he can be bought. That says a lot about Donald Trump and ACN.
However if people want to make money in an online business of their own, they do not need to be saddled with an MLM company like ACN marketing their own expensive products. People can make thousands of dollars per month online, getting paid by popular companies like Apple, Walmart, Nike, Amazon and thousands more. Plus it will all cost less than $50 per month for all the training and running of their business. A much better option than ACN could ever hope to offer.
Jesus $499.00 just to join!? Who the hell would do that. Any company which doesn’t let you try it out for free – Or at least close to free is already a red flag in my book. But $499.00? That’s insane. Not to mention all the other high priced materials. It sucks that we are going to have two candidates running for president that the majority of voting Americans absolutely hate. How did our government get like this?
Yes Matt, $499.00 AND a monthly membership fee plus other rip off upsells. I always SMH when I see these scammy programs actually asking their members to pay them just so they can turn around and sell their products. That in essence is making them get paid twice.
Why would people fall for something so insanely stupid? When a person becomes a sales person, they do not have to pay their employer to sell their products. In the real world no one has to pay the company they are selling for. But in many of the MLM companies, this happens often, and when I see things like this, it is clear to me that it is a scam.
Then you have the high cost for items that are meant to help its members make money. Between all of the costs, the upsells, the bogus payments to be an affiliate, and the massive need for recruiting, makes ACN a pyramid scheme. Plus with Donald Trump, who was already being sued by people for his other MLM scam, to be endorsing ACN and now distancing himself from the company, definitely tells me there is something shady about this MLM company.
When it comes down to it, every business operates in a Pyramid scheme to some extent and every business is making large amounts of money from its employees, clients, partners and so forth. If you want to bitch about this business, then maybe you should bitch about every business because when it comes down to it this one is
– Yes in it to make money
– Offers an opportunity for people to make money also
– Failure can only be blamed on someone who thought they could make something of it yet does nothing.
– Personal Growth in other areas whether its speaking in front of people or other.
What you make simply comes back to what you put in. If you do nothing, you get nothing.. If you work hard and stick to it, eventually you will have a very good income. Its not a scam, its up to the individual who signs up whether they are successful or not.
When it comes down to it, money can be made and it isn’t going to happen overnight either.
I agree with your last sentence Jason but you cannot fully blame the person trying to make money when the company they are associated with has a compensation plan that is WAY TOO HARD to become successful in. Plus the profit margins of what ACN is selling is extremely slim, not to mention that it is technology that can be obtained for a cheaper price and with equal to better quality elsewhere online.
I make thousands of dollars every month and I do not have to invest more than $50.18 to do it. I do not have to buy or sell the products I promote on my website and I do NOT have to talk to or recruit anyone into a downline. In fact you do not need an upline or downline to make residual income every month online and even while you sleep.
Can you do any of that with ACN? No you cannot because pyramid schemes and pyramid scheme-like businesses only benefit those at the top. People can make lots of money online if they first take the time to learn how to create their own internet marketing business promoting ANY kind of product they wish. I bet people would find it easier to market products from Apple and get paid by Apple than to sell any of ACNs products.
Sir, you are painting a picture that is only half truth. You sound as if you are an attorney.
I am only reporting to people what I have heard from others who were IBOs of the company and then my opinion on why I would be skeptical of ACN. The video I have included in my post from an ACN IBO and the comments below of others with negative experiences of the company speak for themselves.
It does let u try it for free. Ive been in the company 3 weeks still had to pay nothing yet? dont always believe what u see
The majority of MLM companies with a very difficult and non-rewarding compensation plan will always change certain aspects of their signup rules as the years go by to hopefully attract people to join. When this review was written there was a signup cost, and as far as I know there still is. The fact you haven’t paid anything could have everything to do with whatever break/gift your sponsor is giving you.
There’s always a background to celebrity endorsements. If a companies’ claim to fame is having an endorsement, you know you’re not getting the full story. Thanks for including that video. MLM schemes are always so complicated. I think it’s to confuse customers into submission.
In my experience, the best way to identify a scam if to look for upsells. If there’s even one of them, it’s probably useless. Wouldn’t you think so, Robert? Well, that and any ‘guarantee’ of getting rich. Great review!
I do agree Makki as far as the celebrity endorsement and the upsell. If the upsell is one from free to paid, that would be acceptable. But then if it is a scam program that charges people to be an affiliate on top of their membership and monthly fees, that is a major red flag.
Affiliates of the real affiliate programs should always be free to join. But scams like this will always charge their members to be affiliates and sell their products. Think of how stupid that is. What legitimate company would charge someone money for them to sell their products? That doesn’t make any sense. When I see that, in addition to upsells, I know it is a scam.
Thanks for sharing about ACN. I like how you incorporated helpful videos into the post. I had never heard of the company before, and now I’ll be better armed with information and questions in case someone approaches me about it. I almost got pulled into a different multi-level marketing company through a casual conversation at a gas station. The potential benefits of joining the company were really enticing. However, I couldn’t get behind the products, and I later learned that most of the up-line IBOs made their money selling tools and products like cds containing inspirational speeches and conferences to the downline sellers in order to motivate them to sell more of the actual products, which in this case, were nutritional supplements and cleaning products. This is something to also watch out for with mlm companies. Is the company making money through selling the main product(s) or by selling “selling tools” to downline IBOs? If it is the latter, watch out.
Thanks for your comment Will. Being someone who started out in the online marketing business by being a part of the MLM industry, I know all too well how they can trap a person into thinking that the opportunity for making big time commissions is a desireable goal. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be financially free?
But if the people doing the MLM make their money from the people they recruit, or the selling tools like you mentioned, and not the actual products, then these programs need to be avoided. In the case of ACN, they used Donald Trump’s endorsement as a way to recruit more people into their money making web and of course The Donald made a lot of money in bonuses paid to him by ACN. The old “one hand washes the other.”
People need to be very careful when joining a Multi-Level Marketing company because the majority of them will rip people off of their money and only those at the top levels will be make the most money. Personally I realized this when I was in an MLM many years ago, I just felt like I was busting my butt to make it work and the ONLY way it could possibly work was to recruit others. But if I couldn’t support the money making model, how could I convince others to believe in it?
Fortunately when I discovered Affiliate Marketing and realized I didn’t have to sell any products, nor did I have to recruit anyone and share my money earned with an upline, I knew it was the type of internet marketing for me. It is low cost, like less than $50 per month, free to start, and I could make money on the promotion of ANY product I wanted. It gave me so many freedoms that an MLM could never give.
Excellent post. It amazes me that these companies can get away with tricking their members into thinking that they can make big sums of money if they only invest large amounts first. That just doesn’t seem like a smart way to approach you way to start a business. As for your assessment on this company, I could not agree with you more.
Thanks Britt. I have often wondered how many people that join these MLM companies begin to think that they can really make big time money after spending so much up front just to get started. For me that is a major red flag because how can one expect to be profitable by starting out in such a financial hole? Do these people not even bother to look into other options for making money online? This is one of the reasons why I created this website, to expose companies like these and offer better and less expensive alternatives that really work.