Why Are We Not an MLM?

By Brandon Love, founder of Bewilderment

Since 2015, I’ve been pretty vocal about my dislike of multi-level marketing. It has not made me especially popular in certain wax-melting circles, but I’ve made peace with that.

My issue has never been with someone wanting to earn extra money. Wanting more flexibility, a little financial breathing room, or work you actually enjoy is perfectly reasonable.

My issue is with selling people those possibilities while being considerably less enthusiastic about explaining the costs, the conditions, and what they’re actually likely to earn.

There is a big difference between helping someone make money and making money from someone who hopes they will.

That difference is what I care about.

We have a little history

As a small-business owner, I’ve dealt with MLM consultants promoting themselves in the comments on our paid advertisements. Nothing quite like paying to introduce people to your business and finding someone else treating the comment section as their personal recruiting booth.

Then there was the Pride imagery incident in 2021, back when Bewilderment operated as Crumble Co.

After we raised concerns about similarities between our artwork and a Pride image published by Scentsy, the company removed its image and apologized. Its apology described the imagery as “uncomfortably similar” and said the similarities “clearly crossed the line.” Those are their words, not mine. Source: Scentsy correspondence.

So, yes, some of my frustration is personal. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

But annoying advertising comments and an apology over artwork are not the main reason I oppose MLMs. I’m much more concerned about the person who signs up because they genuinely need money.

That person deserves more than a success story about somebody several ranks above them.

They deserve to know what happens to ordinary people who join.

Please show us the boring numbers

Before I care about the biggest commission check, I want to know what the typical participant kept after expenses. What does joining cost? Can you earn worthwhile commissions without recruiting more sellers? And who still gets paid when you don’t make a profit?

A motivational graphic is not an income statement. Neither is a photograph of someone on vacation.

In September 2024, FTC staff reviewed 70 MLM income disclosure statements. Many participants received no payments; the vast majority received $1,000 or less per year, generally without expenses accounted for. Source: FTC income disclosure report announcement.

That is less than $84 a month, before expenses. In at least 17 of the MLMs reviewed, most participants received no money at all. Source: FTC analysis of 70 MLM income disclosures.

Most disclosures excluded some low- or no-earning participants from displayed calculations, failed to account for expenses, and emphasized a small group’s high earnings. Source: FTC.

This was not a census of every MLM. But we do not need to invent a dramatic statistic: the FTC says most people joining even legitimate MLMs make little or no money, and some lose money. Source: FTC consumer guidance.

What Scentsy’s own disclosure shows

Scentsy’s 2024 U.S. income disclosure separates consultants enrolled for all 12 months from those enrolled for less than 12 months. The second group includes both people who joined and people who left.

These are company-paid gross commissions before business expenses, excluding noncash rewards such as product credit and trips. Source: Scentsy’s compensation and income disclosure.

For the full-year group, that median equals $38.88 per month when divided by 12. That is a monthly equivalent, not a reported regular paycheck. The table does not establish each person’s hours worked or expenses. Source: Scentsy’s compensation and income disclosure.

The median is the middle result. Unlike an average, it is not pulled upward by a few exceptionally large payments.

And that is why I want to see it.

Someone else’s enormous commission check does not make your own opportunity worthwhile. It tells you what happened to that person. You still need to know what happens to people in circumstances reasonably comparable to yours.

To be fair, Scentsy’s compensation plan rewards personal sales. It also provides leadership bonuses based on downline sales, with higher ranks requiring a team structure. Saying it pays only for recruiting would be inaccurate. Source: Scentsy’s compensation plan.

My objection is not that product sales never happen.

It is that I do not want building layers of additional salespeople to be part of what makes an opportunity financially attractive in the first place.

Real products, recruiting pressure, and buying eligibility

MLM means multi-level marketing: participants recruit others, creating downlines and uplines. What matters is how the compensation structure works. Source: FTC business guidance concerning MLMs.

An MLM is not automatically an illegal pyramid scheme. Despite what I say after a glass of wine. The FTC evaluates a business’s actual incentives; selling real products does not automatically settle the question. Source: FTC business guidance.

Can someone focus on finding customers without pressure to recruit sellers? A product can smell lovely while the opportunity attached to it deserves scrutiny.

Buying something you enjoy is different from buying to protect a rank or qualify for compensation. The FTC identifies purchases driven by reward eligibility rather than genuine demand as a concern. Source: FTC business guidance.

The company makes its sale when you buy inventory. You still have to find someone to buy it from you. Buying the difference to stay qualified gives the company another order and you another expense. That is not proof you believe in yourself.

And “you already buy this, so sign up and save” does not establish a profitable business. A discount is not a paycheck. Perhaps someone just wants the subscription box. A radical possibility, apparently.

Receive $300 in commissions and spend $500 selling? You are $200 behind. Training, travel, marketing materials, and product purchases count. Source: FTC consumer guidance.

So does your time preparing, posting, and following up. The useful response to disappointing results is to examine the numbers, not prescribe a larger order or a stronger belief in the universe.

Someone should be allowed to remain a customer without being treated like an overdue recruit. Enjoying a product and earning a profit selling it are different things. I want an opportunity to make sense for the person who has no interest in building a team beneath them.

Fine print should not have to undo the entire pitch

In January 2026, BBB National Programs’ Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council examined 12 earnings-related posts by Scentsy salesforce members. Scentsy removed six, modified five, and terminated the remaining unresponsive poster’s account. The council recommended further changes to four revised posts; Scentsy agreed. This was industry self-regulation, not an FTC judgment declaring Scentsy a pyramid scheme. Source: BBB National Programs’ Scentsy decision announcement.

The council also found that linking to an income disclosure did not adequately qualify the atypical claims at issue. Source: DSSRC Scentsy case.

People should not need a research assignment to discover that an advertised outcome is unusual. That standard needs to apply to us, too.

So why are we not an MLM?

Calling someone an “ambassador” instead of a “consultant” changes nothing by itself. Our program pays for referring purchasing customers, not recruiting salespeople. No recruitment commissions, no downlines, no percentage of another ambassador’s sales.

A referred new customer’s first qualifying order pays 30%; subsequent qualifying orders pay 20%. Source: Bewilderment’s earning calculator.

Repeat purchases are not additional “levels.” They are the same customer buying something else. We benefit from gaining customers, and share that value with the person who introduced them.

As of September 12, 2026, our program provides 20% on qualifying repeat purchases for the life of the customer relationship, without monthly sales quotas to preserve that connection. Taking a break should not erase work you already did.

The connection is intended to stay with the ambassador who established it, rather than reset when another link appears. Customers are people, not property; this is commission attribution. New-customer eligibility, attribution, refunds, fraud, and termination rules belong in the agreement. “Lifetime” is a meaningful promise, not a decorative word.

I do not think your contribution magically stops having value after the first order. Nor should you have to keep reaching a rank to deserve credit for a customer you already brought us. The point is to reward the relationship you created, not make you repeatedly audition to keep it.

Our calculator uses our actual customer history

In our Ambassador dashboard, I knew from the jump I wanted a tool that used real customer data. No fluff. Even if the math was less exciting than the insane promises brought to you by many MLMs.

As of September 13, 2026, our all-time Shopify history included 41,644 purchasing customers, including 16,883 repeat buyers: a 40.54% returning-customer rate. Repeat buyers spent an average of $383 over their recorded lifetime. Our first-order cart baseline is $40.80. Source: Bewilderment’s earning calculator methodology.

Here is what the model calculates for 10 new purchasing customers, before expenses and taxes:

The repeat calculation subtracts the first purchase from repeat-buyer lifetime spend, applies the 20% commission, and weights it by the historical returning-customer rate. It does not assume every customer returns. The formula is 10 × returning-customer rate × ($383 − $40.80) × 20%. Example amounts are approximate; calculating from the displayed snapshot inputs can differ by a cent or two.

$399.87 is a modeled total, not a promise, typical ambassador earnings, or money paid upfront. Recorded lifetime spending covers customers with different lengths of history; the future portion has no guaranteed timetable. New referrals may behave differently, and commissions depend on eligible purchases and attribution.

Ten people saying “that sounds cute” are, unfortunately, not ten purchasing customers. This model cannot tell you how many customers you will attract. If nobody purchases, commission is zero.

Future commissions are not guaranteed monthly income. Dividing possible lifetime commissions by one event’s hours does not establish an hourly wage. I would rather the calculator help you decide this is not worth your time than sell you a fantasy.

Please do not quit your job because you like our wax melts

Enthusiasm does not automatically become a replacement paycheck. Treat this as a possible side project; do not budget around unearned commissions. Some people may earn nothing.

“Not an MLM” is a starting point, not a gold star. We still owe you understandable terms, fair commissions, and honest marketing. Sample kits should demonstrate products, not sell the feeling of starting a business.

Paid recommendations need clear disclosure. Source: FTC endorsement guidance. Being paid does not prevent sincerity; hiding the payment does not make you more authentic.

You should be able to try this, decide it is not worthwhile, and stop without being told you failed to manifest hard enough. We sell fragrance. I am not qualified to diagnose your relationship with the universe.

There are real costs even without a downline. An event can cost more than it earns. Hours of content can lead to no purchases. An ethical program should make room for someone to notice that and leave, rather than blame their mindset. What matters is qualifying purchases, commissions received, money spent, and time invested.

We want your sales skills, not your downline

If you enjoyed parts of an MLM, I am not here to tell you every friendship was fake or your effort meant nothing. Talking about products, hosting events, and making videos are useful skills. You do not need a recruiting hierarchy to use them.

I have spent years criticizing opportunities that ask people to trust the pitch instead of examining the structure. I do not get a special exemption because this one is mine.

Read our terms. Question our calculator. Consider your time and expenses. If the arrangement makes sense for you, we would love an honest recommendation, an interested customer, and something that smells ridiculously good.

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Source notes

Scentsy correspondence: June 2021 correspondence to Brandon Love and Crumble Co., retained by Bewilderment, including the company’s explanation of the removed Pride image and its quoted public apology.

Bewilderment earning calculator: Commission rates and methodology refer to the calculator’s September 13, 2026 historical snapshot. Customer purchase history is a modeling input, not a record of typical ambassador earnings or a guarantee of future purchases.