Modere Review: Is Modere A Scam or Pyramid Scheme?

Welcome to my Modere MLM review.

You probably came to this page because you wonder if Modere is legit, a pyramid scheme, or any other sort of scam.

No need to worry you’re in the right place for the answers to these questions.

Over the last few years, I’ve been busy creating reviews about all kinds of online products.

Some turned out to be fake others were legit ways to make money online but in the process, I learned how to spot scams.

In this post, I’ll show you absolutely everything you need to know about Modere and after reading it you’ll know exactly if you should give it a chance.

What is Modere?

Modere is a health, wellness, and beauty company formerly Neways but got rebranded in 2015. The original company was founded in 1992. 

Modere was founded by  Thomas and Leslie Mower but their current CEO is named Asma Ishaq.

Modere manufactures and distributes its health, wellness, and beauty products with the help of the MLM structure.

According to Modere, they’ve taken a strong stance against using potentially harmful ingredients such as  PEGs, SLS, phthalates, and parabens.

The company is located at 588 S 2000 WSpringville UT84663

Here's a video from Modere that explains what it's all about. I'd advise you to read the post afterwars because there are some things Modere has conveniently left out of their marketing.

How does Modere work?

MLM (a.k.a network marketing or direct selling) stands for multi-level marketing.

According to Wikipedia, multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy for the sale of products or services where the revenue is derived from a non-salaried workforce.

As a part of this workforce, you sell the products from the company and/or you recruit people to do the same thing. This group of people you recruit will work under you and is referred to as your downline.

The bigger your downline is the more money you can earn passively (in an ideal world) because you’re also getting paid a percentage based on the performance of your downline.

This also means the person that recruited you which is called your upline is making money based on your performance.

Recruiting turns an MLM company into a pyramid-shaped organization where the first people to join make the most and are at the top of the pyramid and those last to join are at the bottom.

Source: Wikipedia

MLMs have been around for a long time. There are Multi-level marketing companies active today that were founded in the 1950s. The Multi-level Marketing business structure has a lot in common with pyramid schemes. This is why scammers often use MLM to disguise their pyramid schemes.

Is it absolutely necessary to recruit people while working for a legit MLM company? No.

You can also stick to just selling products you can order at wholesale price (25% discount) and re-sell to make a profit. 

This is easier said than done for multiple reasons which is why most members try to recruit others so they can earn more money.

Is Modere an MLM? 

Yes. Modere is indeed a multi-level marketing company because it possesses these 4 things. 

• A method for distributing through an independent workforce.
•  A compensation plan that rewards selling their products.
• The capability of recruiting people and getting compensated based on the member and their team's joint performance.
• The capability to earn money based on the performance of multiple “generations”.

These are the key ingredients in determining if a company can be considered an MLM company.

How to join Modere

Modere has a simple 3-step process that anyone can follow to join. Most people join through a sponsor but you can alsign-up by going to their website’s sign-up page. 

The 3-step process goes like this: 

1. Build your first product order
2. Set up your “Subscribe & Save”
3. Complete your enrollment

The Social Marketer enrollment fee of $39.99

With this required annual recurring transaction, you’ll be eligible to earn commissions via the Modere Compensation Plan

As a reminder, you’ll need a minimum of 250 points in your first calendar month to be eligible to earn a Modere Experience. Do you want to add more items to your order?

1. Build your first product order 

Everyone that wants to join Modere start off with placing their first order. Modere sets you up with a few pcks that you can choose from to place your first order.

1. XM launch packs $395(300 point) – $659,99 (760 points)
2. Basic Launch packs $195,99 (250 points)
3. Essentials $59,99 (75 points) – $99,99 (125 points)

In your first calendar month you’ll need a minimum of 250 points to be eligible for commissions.

2. SET UP YOUR “SUBSCRIBE & SAVE”

The second step is optional and is called the “subscribe & save” option. This option makes it possible for Modere to order for you every month. 

Letting Modere order for you every month comes with a few benefits such as a 15% discount on every order and a reduced monthly quota for accumulating products at 75 points instead of 120 points.

3. COMPLETE YOUR ENROLLMENT

This is the last step of the process where you basically submit your personal and payment information and how you got introduced to the Modere opportunity. 

After the 3-step process you’ll officially be given the title of Social Marketer.

How to cancel your social marketer account 

In order to terminate your account, Modere needs to receive a cancellation by Action form. Once they receive the form, Modere will complete the termination process.

You can find the form on your website under Tools – Documents and Media – Education & Compliance – Policy & Forms – Cancellation by Action Form.

Is Modere a pyramid scheme?

To answer this question we need to know what a pyramid scheme is.

What is a pyramid scheme?

A pyramid scheme is a type of scam where people are promised money for joining the scheme and recruiting other people. No selling of a product or service is involved whatsoever.

So you might be wondering where the money comes from.

The people that join are expected to pay a one-time fee and in exchange for that, they get a percentage of the fee of everyone they recruit after that.

The problem is from a mathematical standpoint it’s impossible for everyone to make money because you simply run out of people.

Take a look at this picture below showing how it’s impossible for everyone to earn money.

Source: Wikipedia

As you can see, in this pyramid model it’s required for every person to recruit 6 people. You’ll notice from the 12th level and further, it’s not possible anymore for everyone to earn money.

The 2.2 Billion people on the 12th level need 13.1 billion recruits in total for them all to make money which is more people than there are currently on Earth.

Looking at the description of what a pyramid scheme is, Modere can’t be classified as a pyramid scheme from a legal perspective. Modere products have given people a method to make money without recruiting people.

That being said, there are pyramid schemes that disguise themselves as MLM companies because MLMs also use a similar pyramid structure but they sell products and services.

These pyramid schemes offer products that are almost impossible to sell to push you to recruit people because you supposedly can get higher commissions.

Red Flags of a pyramid scheme (in disguise)

Often an argument to counter pyramid scheme claims is sustainability.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a good argument because there are a lot of companies that have been running pyramid schemes for over a decade and have been closed down just recently.

These pyramid schemes get an influx of new money by expanding to new countries or introducing new products that are geared to different audiences. The influx of new money makes it possible for the pyramid scheme to sustain itself much longer.

This is why it’s better to look at the following red flags.

1. There is an endless chain in which recruiters are encouraged to recruit other recruiters.
2. Advancement in ranks is based on recruiting rather than sales
3. The compensation plan pays out on 6 levels or more
4. Upline earns more than the person makes the sale
5. You have to pay-to-play

There do seem to be a few red flags such as the compensation plan paying out more than 6 levels.

A study done by Frank L Taylor that’s still accessible on the FTC website shows that MLMs with more than 6 levels have a tough time paying out everyone.

There also is a pay-to-play aspect in some MLM companies this only applies when you want to reach the maximum commission rate but with Modere even at the lowest level the financial risk is incredibly high.

Modere is really on the edge of being considered a pyramid scheme in my opinion. 

Modere its only saving grace is its selling bonuses that you can get on top of your personal sales commissions. 

There seems to be somewhat of a balance between the bonuses for achieving higher ranks (that require recruiting) and just selling products.

This is why I believe Modere is not a pyramid scheme.

Who can benefit from Modere?

Who would benefit from joining the Modere MLM program:

• Expert salesmen
• Expert recruiters
• People that want to use Modere products for themselves.
• People that are older than 18

Who shouldn’t join the Modere MLM Program:

• People that hate sales jobs.
• People that hate recruiting
• People that expect to earn passive income
• People that expect to earn a full-time income

Modere products

Modere offers a variety of personal care, weight loss, nutritional supplements, and cleaning goods.

What are the products Modere sells?

Multiple collections but their most popular collection seems to be the lean body system.
The products in this line accelerate fat reduction, improves muscle tone, and promote lean body composition.

They also have other collections named:

• Modere Axis Opti pack
• Trim 
• Liquid Biocell
• Tria
• Modere Logiq

The price range of these products is somewhere between $395 and $50 . 

Is Modere FDA approved?

Modere’s nutritional supplements, like all dietary supplements, are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA does not approve dietary supplements.

Is Modere safe to use?

The ingredients used in their products are safe for human consumption but the products do come with a disclaimer because of side effects that can occur.

An example of that is the Modere Trim supplement of which the side effect could be an upset stomach, lightheadedness, vomiting, or nauseous.  

Modere lawsuits and controversies

Neways rebranded in September 2015 to Modere. 

There is no record of exactly why they chose to do it but people suspect it was done after the FDA recalled weight products. 

On November 12th after testing single-dose samples that contained at least 33.5 mg of the prescription diuretic furosemide.This is considered a harmful dose.

FDA estimates that 4,900 canisters of Quickly have been sold nationwide.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• A lot of good product reviews
  Most people that have rated the product online seem to be satisfied with Modere. This makes it easier to sell as a distributor because you can refer to all the positive reviews.

Cons

• You have to pay to play
  You have to purchase a specific amount of Modere products to stay eligible for earning commissions and bonuses. The same applies to getting commissions based on your downlines. The higher the rank, the more you have to purchase.
• Hard to scale
  Modere recruiting and selling requires you to be face-to-face with people. Unfortunately, they don’t allow you for example to use SEO to promote your website. Since you can’t be everywhere at once it limits how much money you can earn.
• No tangible benefits to products
  It’s hard to prove that these products work from a scientifically perspective. The reviews are great but if anyone asks what it exactly does and what it improves it is hard to answer since everyone is claiming different results.

Modere Compensation Plan

Modere can be considered a traditional binary MLM when you look at its compensation plan. You either re-sell their products for a commission or you can recruit people and receive residual income, climb up the ranks, and earn bonuses.

In total there are 10 ranks that all come with their benefits such as getting a higher commission percentage of all your sales starting at 20% to a max of 47%

How much does it cost to join Modere?

You start off with paying an annual fee of $39,99 after that you need to place an order that’s worth a minimum of 250 points (even though the cheapest package is 125 points which equates to $99,99). 

According to their checkout pages, 250 points equals $195,99 which is the price of a basic launch pack.

This adds up to $299,98.

After becoming a member you have a monthly quota to uphold 100 points.

This is $80 worth of products per month ($960 per year) that you need to accumulate to stay active and eligible for commissions.

Accumulating is a fancy word for acquiring products. This doesn’t mean you have to resell them to stay eligible for commissions. 

Unfortunately, it’s not unordinary for multi-level marketers to buy their titles as a way to cheat the system and attract more recruits or maintain their titles.

You can also go for the “subscribe & save option” a.k.a Smartship. Modere advises people to go for this option guaranteeing they’ll always be eligible for commissions. 

Based on how many items you pick for subscribe & save, you’ll receive additional discounts. Here’s a table showing all the discounts you receive.

The cheapest smart ship option costs $89 per month and $1068 per year.

The last cost is shipping costs of $7.99 per shipment. If you solely keep it to the smartship orders you’d have 12 orders in the first which comes to $103.87.

In total, you’d need a minimum of $388,98 in the first month.

In the first year, you’d need a minimum of 39,99 + 195,99 + 960 + $1068 + $103,87=  $2.263,98.

In all likelihood, you’ll also be dealing with additional costs when you try scaling your business outside your friends and family.

Here are some of the costs you’ll be dealing with according to the Modereincome disclosure statement:

• advertising or promotional expenses
• training
• rent (for conferences)
• travel (for conferences)
• telephone and internet costs
• other miscellaneous expenses
  
  

How much can you earn with Modere?

As I’ve said earlier, you can earn money through selling the products or recruiting others to become a part of your team as social marketers. This results into getting all kinds of bonuses for these activities. Here’s a list of all the bonuses you can receive as a social marketer.

• Breakout bonus 
  1. A bonus social marketers are eligible for in the first 30 days.
  It consists of a 25% commission on the first order of personally sponsored social marketer and 10% on the first order in the new social marketers customer pod.
  2. 10% commission on first orders of all 2nd level enrollment of social marketers.
• Modere social marketers uni-level commissions
  This bonus is based on MP which are purchases made by your team of social marketers and is being paid through a special matrix. The commission rate for this bonus can be 3%-5% per level.
• Rank advancement bonus 
  Earn up to $750 at Team leader title and $12K at Elite Social Marketer title for rank advancement . It’s a one-time rank advancement bonus
• Rank advancement matching bonus 
  A special bonus of $250 is awarded when a team leader develops a new team leader. An additional $250 can be won in the second and third months if they stay on that level which results in a total of $750
• Dynamic team leader and director bonus 
  Earn 10% on your largest pay level within 3 levels of both the social marketer uni-level commissions and customer uni-level commissions.
• 4 & More builder bonus
  An additional 2%-4% on your 4th team and beyond.
• Customer uni-level commissions 
  Points based on purchases from your social marketer’s customers. 3%-5%
• Sharing bonus
  An additional 20% on your personal customer points
• Monthly selling reward 
  Earn up to an additional $1000 every month starting at rank CP
• Consistency selling report
  Earn up to $4000 manually when qualified for at least 3 consecutive months for the reward
• Leadership management bonus
  Earn a match on all social marketer and customer uni-level bonuses with a cap of 10%

You can find more information by looking at the complete Modere compensation plan.

The Modere income disclosure

As you can see from a theoretical standpoint the earning the earning potential with Modere is insanely high but how does that translate to reality? 

Modere has published an income disclosure that shows the numbers of how much their social marketers earned in the last year which you can see below. 

As you can see, 82% of social marketers (that are getting paid) are making less than $500.

You can also 97% are making less than $5000 which is the avarage US income.

This table doesn’t include monthly costs from the quota, or the time you spend recruiting and developing social marketers.

That being said, we can get an idea by looking at the minimal costs I've mentioned earlier in this review.

In the first year, you'll have to invest a minimum of $2.263,98. 

According to their income statement atleast 92,28% of total commission earners has made less than $2000 over the last year.

It's not uncommon for people getting into a business can experience loss but what's worrying is the small percentage commission earners that breaks even.

Why aren’t people earning decent money with MLM companies like Modere?

You might be wondering why there’s such a big discrepancy between how much people can earn and how much most social marketers earn in reality.

Technically, the sky is the limit but in reality, we know because of factors such as your ability to recruit, your competition, and the performance of your downlines there’s is often a limit.

Modere also shares the same “handicaps” most MLM companies have which prevents members from earning decent money.

1. MLMs are often associated with pyramid schemes

MLMs have a pyramid recruiting structure that you often have to join to be able to make decent money or at the very least not lose money. The problem is a lot of pyramid schemes disguise themselves as MLM programs making it difficult to differentiate the two.

This is the biggest problem why most distributors have a difficult time recruiting people. The moment people hear about how you can make money by recruiting people red flags appear in most people’s minds.

2. You have to consistently invest money to earn decent commissions
The bigger the bonuses the more product you have to buy. and the more you have to recruit. You do get discounts but if you can’t sell the products I can see you easily fall into a financial deficit (which happens to the majority of MLMs).

3. The price of the product often isn’t aligned with the market

It’s hard for a multi-level marketer to sell products because most MLM products tend to be a lot more expensive than similar products sold by non-MLM companies.

This means even if you’re really good at recruiting your downline still needs to sell those same expensive products for you to make decent money.

You can see that translated in these statistics I found about Multi-level Marketing.

• Nearly half (47%) of MLM participants reported that they lost money.
• One in four (27%) MLM participants reported that they broke even (made no money).
• MLM participants are 7% more likely to declare bankruptcy during their lifetime.
• Direct sales have risen 79% in the last decade, but MLM participants continue to lose money.
• 90 – 99% of distributors in multilevel marketing only receive a couple of hundred dollars commission per year.
• Out of 33,000 interviewed, 90 people made enough money to cover the costs of building their business.
• 50% of the people who start a network marketing enterprise abandoned it in the first year.

Sources:
FTC
AARP
Jobsinmarketing.io

Modere Reviews, Opinions, and Ratings

Modere Reviews by bloggers & online reviewers

A lot of blog reviewers have shared their opinion of Modere as an MLM program and if it’s a good opportunity to earn money. You can find them simply by googling Modere reviews just like I did but in case you don’t want to do that I created a small summary of the general consensus.

Most of the reviewers don’t consider Modere a pyramid scheme from a legal perspective but they do think it might be a pyramid scheme in disguise or at the very least a bad opportunity.

Modere Company Reviews by current and ex-users

A great source for finding out how people think of Modere as a company and the products they sell is the Better Business Bureau.

The Better Business Bureau is a non-profit organization that focuses on advancing marketplace trust. On this website, millions of user can share their experiences about working with all types of companies including Modere.

Modere seems to be BBB accredited and has an A+ rating which is a rating based on the likelihood Modere communicates with their customers. 

This rating doesn’t necessarily mean that the products and the company provide quality service and products. It simply reflects engagement with customers when they file complaints.

You immediately notice that when you look at how customers are rating the company and its products. Right now it's rated 1.32/5 stars which isn’t a good thing. 

There seems to be a theme when it comes to the complaints about Modere as a company. 90% of the complaints are about 3 issues. 

• Non-consented orders being placed
• Money Back policy on unopened products
• Ignoring requests for cancellation

Here are some examples of complaints people have voiced.

The majority seem to be negative reviews but there are some positive reviews as well.

Modere Product Reviews

There seems to be a divide when it comes to the effectiveness of the products themselves.

Some people think they work while others say they’ve gained weight since using them or haven’t experienced any chance.

Here are a few examples of those reviews.

Modere Revenue, Popularity, and its future

Forbes has named Modere the fastest women-led company in 2021 and this seems to be supported by multiple statistical websites and news outlets.

Revenue skyrocketed from an estimated $200 million to 368 million in 2020 and has been around that number up till 2023.

It could be that Modere has reached its peak but it is too soon to make an accurate statement about that. 

Most MLM companies are known to grow exceptionally fast in the beginning and after a while cool down. In many people their eyes this seems to be the perfect time to join an MLM. 

Google Trends 

Relevancy can say a lot about the demand for a product. If people aren’t interested in the product or business they wouldn’t pro-actively look it up.

It seems on a global scale according to Google Trends, Modere started to become more relevant in 2017. 

After that, on a global scale, it started to take a “dip” in 2018 and has been a bit inconsistent in its relevancy up till now. It does seem to have a hard time maintaining interest according to Trends.

This is most evident in the United States where it seems that interest in Modere has gone off a cliff. It seems to succeed with Modere will be heavily dependent on in which country you reside. 

The Future of Modere

In terms of growth, it seems Modere is steadily cooling down. 

Does that mean Modere is doomed? 

No. It’s not uncommon for MLM companies to experience this but the ones that survived this period all have done the same thing. 

Modere in the near future will probably have to pivot in the form of bringing out new products for other niches and expanding to other countries.

I can’t say this for certain but the time when you were the most likely to succeed with Modere seems to be over.

My Personal Take

What I like about Modere: 

1. Modere apparently offers quality products 

The Modere products aren’t FDA approved but according to a lot of reviews and user ratings are considered a quality product. You can go on merchant websites like Amazon and find hundreds of users talking about the results they go from using the products.

As someone who would be interested in joining an MLM program looking at the quality of the products they sell is one of the most important factors.

What I don’t like about Modere: 

1. Modere offers overpriced products

People seem to be satisfied with the products but one thing that always keeps coming up is that the products are a lot more expensive than similar products on the market. This makes it hard to sell the products as a multi-level marketer. 

You aren’t only competing with other Modere social marketers but also other companies that offer the same thing for a cheaper price.

2. Modere’s Income disclosure results 

Most people that work as Modere social marketers aren’t making meaningful money but are asked to spend a lot of time on their Modere business. If most people seem to fail at succeeding with this MLM program that doesn’t spell good for my chances of earning money with Modere.

3. Modere is expensive and offers no real training

Just starting with Modere is expensive and afterwards you keep paying on a monthly basis without any guarantee of results. 

I understand very well that results aren’t guaranteed but I’d expect for that price to get premium training to increase my chances of succeeding.

There’s no mention of training mentioned anywhere on the Modere website.

4. The maximum earning potential can only be achieved through Recruiting and developing your team

Not everyone is interested in trying to meet up with people and pitch them the opportunity of becoming part of their team. Unfortunately, this i absolutely necessary if you want to earn as much as possible with Modere.

You’re also dependent on your team’s results which to a certain degree you don’t have control over. I’m not a fan of that dynamic especially if it’s going to influence my income.

You are also dependent on your team

5. The reputation of the company

Modere before the rebrand had its products recalled by the FDA for having a dangerously high dosage of certain ingredients.

 It explains why they chose to rebrand to a company that puts an emphasis on not using harmful ingredients in their products but it still happened.

Is it fair to judge them on it? No, but potential recruits could be influenced by this information when Googling the company.

6. Oversaturated niche

The health, wellness, and beauty niche is without a doubt over-saturated. There are thousands of MLM companies and non-MLM companies offering the exact same thing. 

To succeed in this niche in 2022 and beyond is going to take a lot more effort and energy than it’d take in other niches. The chances of succeed with MLM are already low and picking a oversaturated niche is only going to make it harder to stand out.

7. An uncommon number of complaints about unauthorized credit card deductions

There are multiple websites on which people can leave reviews about Modere as a company. 

It seems roughly 70% of the complaints that aren’t about the product itself are about unauthorized credit card deductions.

This is my first time coming across a company where so many of the complaints are about 1 specific thing.

Modere does respond to these complaints and issues refunds but the complaints date to years ago which makes me wonder if they’re even addressing the bug in their system(if it truly is a bug).

Verdict: Is Modere A Scam, Pyramid Scheme or Legit?

Is Modere  A Pyramid scheme?

No. Modere isn't a pyramid scheme because while they use a pyramid structure they still sell a fully functional product and provide additional personal sales bonuses hinting at a legitimate focus on selling products.

That being said, it can’t be considered a great business opportunity.

There are just too many roadblocks you have to overcome to succeed. The only people I see succeeding with Modere are expert salesmen, recruiters, and influencers.

Is Modere A Scam?

No, it is not a scam because Modere has published a legitimate income disclosure statement that truthfully reflects how much social marketers earn when they join Modere. 

I worry about these questionable credit card reductions that keep happening. 

They do refund people when it occurs but only when people complain on Better Business Bureau when the complaint is out in the open.

Is Modere legit and do I recommend it?

Modere isn’t a legit business opportunity in my opinion. I consider something a legit business opportunity if you at least have an adequate chance at success.

Numbers have shown that success with Modere is extremely rare and you’re more likely to lose money than earn money.

I wouldn’t be comfortable recommending the Modere opportunity to people looking for a way to earn money.

Modere Alternative

Unfortunately, Modere isn’t for everyone. 

It comes with significant financial risk and it’s hard to scale because most of the marketing is done face-to-face and you can’t be at multiple places at once.

This is why I suggest those that don’t want to deal with these 2 factors an alternative.

It is called affiliate marketing. 

It’s the method I use to earn most of the money I earn online.

How do you earn money with affiliate marketing?

You don’t have to sell products or services and you don’t have to recruit people.

The only thing you’ll be doing is referring people (that already are interested) to merchant websites such as Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. 

When people buy something based on your recommendation you’ll get a percentage of the purchase.

My #1 recommendation is an affiliate marketing training platform with more than 1.5 million members. 

Memberships are basically an all-in-1 package that comes with expert-level training, resources, and support from a community of people doing the same thing. 

Want to learn more? Take a look at my comprehensive review of the affiliate marketing platform.

Do you have any experience with MLM or Modere let me know in the comments!

That's all for today. 

See you at my next post!