# Can one make a living selling Herbalife? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658 "2012-11-11T05:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/21 "2012-11-11T19:21:14Z")
Think about it. Those pills cost about $15 a bottle (from Amazon). I don’t know how much you have to buy them for, but how many bottles can a single person sell to their network of aquaintances? How much effort do you need to put in cold calling and otherwise hustling to make the same amount at a regular job? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/22 "2012-11-11T19:27:30Z")
Interesting…there is a guy in my town (reputed to be crazy) who plugs this stuff. His junky old VW bus is plastered with signs for “Herbalife”-I shudder to think what would happen if you asked him about his “product”. Anyway, what does Herbalife do? Is it like homeopathic medicine? No active ingredients-no effect-no nothing? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/23 "2012-11-11T19:36:28Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Interesting..there is a guy in my town (reputed to be crazy) who plugs this stuff. His junky old VW bus is plastered with signs for “Herbalife”-I shudder to think what would happen if you asked him about his “product”. > Anyway, what does Herbalife do? Is it like homeopathic medicine? No active ingredients-no effect-no nothing? No, it’s not homeopathic. it’s weight loss and bodybuilding stuff. Shakes and powders and vitamins and stuff. [http://products.herbalife.com/weight-management/daily-nutrition#.UJ\_9FWf0az4](http://products.herbalife.com/weight-management/daily-nutrition#.UJ_9FWf0az4) Very little in the way of herbs anymore, it appears. They used to have a fantastic herbal extract blend that really did help me lose weight. I’m talking 15 years ago here. It was a terrible bitter drop that you put in a little water or juice. Contained lots of herbally derived caffeine and Ma Huang, and it was a wonderful little miracle worker. Then lawmakers got titchy about Ma Huang and temporarily banned it, and Herbalife changed their formula, and then eventually their product line strategy. Now it’s mostly shakes and pills. Same stuff you can get by a bunch of different manufacturers at GNC (hey, remember when GNC was a health \*food \*store? I do). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/24 "2012-11-11T20:54:16Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’m talking 15 years ago here. It was a terrible bitter drop that you put in a little water or juice. Contained lots of herbally derived caffeine and Ma Huang Not to rain on your herb garden here, but wouldn’t NoDoz have done the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/25 "2012-11-11T21:12:53Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Not to rain on your herb garden here, but wouldn’t NoDoz have done the same thing? No, not in weight loss studies. Ma Huang is the herbal source of ephedrine, not caffeine. Ephedrine works in \*conjunction \*with caffeine to promote weight loss. [http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS\_patient-ephedra/DSECTION=evidence](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS_patient-ephedra/DSECTION=evidence) > **[Office of Dietary Supplements - Ephedra and Ephedrine Alkaloids for Weight...](https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/EphedraandEphedrine-HealthProfessional/#h4)** > **[The effect of ephedrine/caffeine mixture on energy expenditure and body...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1619985/)** > > Treatment with beta 2-agonists promotes fat loss and muscle growth in numerous species, but human studies are lacking. We studied the effect of a compound with beta 2-agonistic properties (ephedrine 20 mg/caffeine 200 mg \[E + C\]). Fourteen obese... Now that I have no source for Ma Huang, however, I do use caffeine pills (not NoDoz brand, as they’re bloody expensive!), as well as cinnamon and gymnema for blood sugar stabilization and fiber for fullness. This combo is pretty good, but if I could get the old Herbalife blend again instead of the caffeine pills, I would. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/26 "2012-11-11T23:52:20Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > It works like this. > > Some guy recruits you and gets you buying products from him. While he makes money from this he can make more if you get other people to get products through you. And then other people get products through them. > > These people will only sell to well qualified leads that they usually know personally or via a friend. This eliminates many problems. > > All this money (well most of it anyway) is funneled back up line. > > Although you may think you can get products cheaper elsewhere, you have to remember that someone above you is probably paying for some kind of assurance from the local police that your operation is safe. This allows them to dictate whose meth you are dealing. You lured me down the primrose path right to the “gotcha.” Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/27 "2012-11-12T01:58:24Z")
Have you ever heard of “Protandim”? I’m being pressured to sign up for this ‘all-natural’ wonder supplement for $40 a bottle! Is this like Herbalife? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/28 "2012-11-12T03:40:25Z")
My Bro worked for the IRS for 20 years. _Never,_ during his career nor any other tax Auditors career was there _ever_ a Sch C that showed a profit from **selling** _any_ MLM product. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/29 "2012-11-12T04:09:25Z")
In addition to everything everyone else has mentioned, many MLM organizations (not sure about Herbalife in particular) also sell “how to sell” materials to lower-level people (books and tapes, seminars, etc.). So the people that don’t flame out early get fleeced even more as they purchase these things to help move up the chain. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/30 "2012-11-12T04:20:40Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Have you ever heard of “Protandim”? I’m being pressured to sign up for this ‘all-natural’ wonder supplement for $40 a bottle! Is this like Herbalife? It is sold through a multilevel marketing scheme like Herbalife, yes. And as an herbalist, I wouldn’t give it the time of day. The only thing in it with a traditional weight loss use is Green Tea, which is dirt cheap if you buy it as Green Tea. The rest of the stuff is traditionally liver tonic or anti-cancer. No reason for it to be in a weight loss formula. Even if you set aside for a moment the question of whether herbs are effective for weight loss, these aren’t herbs that are recognized for weight loss. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/31 "2012-11-12T07:58:06Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No, not in weight loss studies. Ma Huang is the herbal source of ephedrine, not caffeine. Ephedrine works in \*conjunction \*with caffeine to promote weight loss. > > [http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS\_patient-ephedra/DSECTION=evidence](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS_patient-ephedra/DSECTION=evidence) > > [Ephedra and Ephedrine Alkaloids for Weight Loss and Athletic Performance - Health Professional Fact Sheet](http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/EphedraandEphedrine-HealthProfessional/#h4) > > [The effect of ephedrine/caffeine mixture on energy expenditure and body composition in obese women - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1619985) > Now that I have no source for Ma Huang, however, I do use caffeine pills (not NoDoz brand, as they’re bloody expensive!), as well as cinnamon and gymnema for blood sugar stabilization and fiber for fullness. This combo is pretty good, but if I could get the old Herbalife blend again instead of the caffeine pills, I would. Very interesting, but even here we see the limits of herbal ‘medicine’: > [@Your Mayo Clinic link](#): > > The results of research on ephedrine alone without caffeine are unclear. The amounts of ephedrine in commercially available products have varied widely. Inadequate studies, little quality control of the product people are actually taking. Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/32 "2012-12-21T03:39:02Z")
Wanna make money on Herbalife? Short the stock. Bill Ackman gave a 350+ slide presentation today absolutely destroying the company’s business model, marketing claims, operations, etc. He is so sure that this company is a fraud that he has stated he will donate all profits to charity, and if the stock actually goes up and he is wrong, he will still donate $25 million dollars. Here’s the presentation: > **[We Have Never Seen Anything Like Bill Ackman's Dizzying Takedown Of Herbalife](https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackmans-herbalife-presentation-2012-12?op=1)** ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/33 "2012-12-21T04:20:54Z")
Is it just me, or does MLM have some strange striking resemblances to feudalism/the vassal system? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/34 "2012-12-21T04:30:29Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I agree with what everyone’s said. That said, I _do_ personally know someone who is making a TON of money selling Herbalife. As in, the very top level of leaders according to **Postariti** ’s link. In fact, from what I recall, they (it’s a couple) generally make close to a million a year. > > That said, they are VERY lucky, and there’s ample proof that you will not make that much money. They are also really freaky to be around. Literally everything they wear has “Herbalife” emblazoned on it. I had to block them from Facebook because I’m so bloody sick of reading about Herbalife. It’s more like a religion than a job. This reminds me of MIL’s periodic infatuation with Scamway, er, Amway. She really has caused family problems with the pushy sales and the evangelism, and I’m betting she’s alienated more than a few (now former) friends, neighbors, etc. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/35 "2012-12-21T06:10:56Z")
Here’s what weblebrity Rob Cockerham of [cockeyed.com](http://cockeyed.com) says about selling [Herbalife](http://www.cockeyed.com/workfromhome/selling_herbalife.html). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/36 "2012-12-21T18:31:29Z")
Compared to Herbalife, you can make more money and keep some self-respect by working for an escort service. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/38 "2013-09-03T21:02:44Z")
Spam reported ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/39 "2013-09-03T21:16:22Z")
> [@whatisherbalife](#): > > I must agree that in many cases people fail and dont make money selling herbalife for many reasons lack of committment, lack of knowledge, cant see the wood for the trees and many other reasons. > > Its certainly not because of the products, the training and the shared knowledge base. > > many posts on this thread appear to be from people that havent themselves tried making money from herbalife but repeating what they have heard or read from others. all i can say is my daughter and I make money!! Real Money! > > there is some very good information here about making money from herbalife it should clarify the situation for many. What is your position in the company? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/40 "2013-09-03T21:27:03Z")
Also, what percentage of your profits come from sales of the product that _you_ make(as opposed to profits that are passed up the line to you.)? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658/41 "2013-09-03T21:35:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What is your position in the company? Given corporate personhood, \*\*whatisherbalife \*\*may well _be_ the company. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-make-a-living-selling-herbalife/640658.md?page=3)