Is Norwex a Pyramid Scheme?

Welcome to my Norwex review. 

I am sure that you are looking into making money with Norwex and your mind is currently racing with questions, hopes and (maybe) dreams of making it big. 

In this post, we will answer the most pressing questions like Is Norwex a Scam? Is Norwex a pyramid scheme? Is Norwex worth it?

By the time you have read this post, you will be in a much better place to know how to whether Norwex is the right money-making project for you, or if there are better ways for you to make money online. 

 

 

Who or What is Norwex?

Norwex was founded in 1994 by Bjorn Nicolaisen. They sell chemical-free cleaning products. 

Norwex uses a MLM business model that involves recruiting distributors to sell their products. This saves them the need to advertise their products. 

The business opportunity for you is to work as a distributor to sell the cleaning products in return for a commission on each sale. 

You will also earn an income from recruiting other people to be distributors and building a downline (this is where the real money is).

It all sounds good on paper, which is why so many MLMs exist and are successful. They sell the idea of selling products in your spare time, building a team under you and earning great riches.

Unfortunately, the system is flawed and skewed against your success. 

Unlike most MLM’s, Norwex has been around for a long time – 26 years compared to most that close after a couple of years. This does offer you some reassurance that they won’t disappear once you have put your time into it. 

Is Norwex A Pyramid Scheme?

Norwex is not a pyramid scheme. 

A pyramid scheme is when your income relies entirely on the recruitment of others and there are no real products involved. 

Norwex does have real products and you can sell these directly to customers and make some money without recruiting anyone. Recruitment is definitely part of the deal with Norwex, and the route to success, but it is not the only way to make money so it is not a true pyramid scheme. 

However, MLM’s like Norwex do have a pyramidal structure that means most money is made by a few at the top of the tree. 

To be eligible for commissions you need to sell $250 worth of products every 3 months. Most people end up buying this themselves just to meet the eligibility criteria. I don’t think that this is a great way to start you own business. 

 

Can People Make Money with Norwex?

It is hard to say for sure. 

Usually, MLM’s have an income disclosure statement online that explains how much people on each level make on average. Often there will be a break down of how many are making money, how many are losing money and a percentage breakdown of this.

I can’t find one anywhere for Norwex. This is a huge RED FLAG. Especially for such an established company. 

Even the best income disclosure statements that I have seen (like the one for Pruvit) just show that all the big money is concentrated in a few people at the top of the pyramid. Most people make very little or nothing. You cant tell from a statement how hard people are working but many do put in a lot of work for nearly nothing in return. 

In general, three quarters of people that join an MLM make nothing or lose money. These are not good odds.

Even those that do make money tend to make very little, with most earning less than $5000 for a WHOLE YEAR. 

People tend to rely on selling to friends and family, which can be awkward at best and can destroy friendships in a lot of cases. The only way to be successful; is to recruit people into your downline and that is really hard to do. If these people are your friends they are unlikely to thank you unless they defy the odds and make some decent money out of it. 

 

What are the Norwex joining fees?

Norwex doesn’t seem expensive to join. In fact, you can get a FREE starter kit.

Did you notice the little *? Let’s see where that goes….

I’ve zoomed in to make that a bit bigger so you can read it. 

So, if you make $2000 of sales in the first 90 days you get it for free apart from the $9.99 shipping charge. Other than that you have to pay $200 for it. Plus tax.

The chances of selling this much are extremely slim so if you are thinking of signing up it is best just to assume you will need to pay for the starter kit. Bit of a sneaky way to do it if you ask me.

You can have a look at the signup offers here. As you can see there are loads of upsells to try and get you to invest in lots of products upfront. 

Norwex Compensation Plan

MLM compensation plans are always complicated, full of technical jargon and basically design to confuse.  

You can have a look at the Norwex comp plan here

I have had a good read through and will try to summarise and decipher the Norwex MLM compensation plan for you. 

Norwex Affiliate Ranks

Norwex has 8 different affiliate ranks.The higher the rank you are, the more money you can make.

You have to hit certain targets to move up the ranks. 

Sales Consultant: This is where everyone starts when they first sign up. In order to stay at this rank you must sell $250 in sales every 3 months. If you fail to hit this for 6 months you will be charged a reactivation fee to keep working for Norwex.  As a sales consultant you get 35% commissions on each sale.

Team Cordinator: In order to be a team coordinator you have to recruit 3 engaged affiliates and sell $250 of product in a single. Once you reach the level of team coordinator you get 35% on retail commissions and 3% commissions from your Personal Recruits

Sales Leaders: To be a sales leader you have to recruit 5 engaged consultants and have 10 engaged consultants in your downline (this includes your recruits). As a reward for reaching this rank you get 

• • 35% Retail Discount on personal retail sales 
• • 5% Commission on Group sales, except for Personal Recruits of a Team Coordinator 
• • 2% Commission on Personal Recruits of Team Coordinators in your Group
• • 1% Commission on 1st Level 

You now have to make $300 of sales each month to keep your rank and the people under you have to remain active 

Executive Sales Leaders: Exec sales leaders have 10 engaged personal recruits and at least 25 recruits in their downline. For reaching this rank you get 5% commissions on group sales as well as additional commissions further down your downline. You now need $400 in sales.

Senior Executive Sales Leaders: Senior Executive sales leaders have to recruit 25 recruits and have 75 engaged recruits in their downline. You must now have personal sales of $550 or more. Just reading through this is stressing me out. The higher up you go the more pressure there must be to keep up the sales and keep your downline active. 

Vice President Sales Leaders: To become a vice president sales leader you must recruit 45 engaged recruits and have 200 recruits in your downline. You also have to sell at least $750 in sales in a month.

Executive Vice Presidents Sales Leaders: To reach this level you have to recruit 65 people and have 400 recruits in your downline. You also have $1000 of personal sales.

As you go up the levels you earn a percentage from your down line, this is how it looks for Exec VP Sales leaders:

• 5% Commission on Group sales, except for Personal Recruits of a Team Coordinator
• 2% Commission on Personal Recruits of Team Coordinators in your Group 
• 2% Commission on 1st Level 
• 1% Commission on 2nd Level
• 1% Commission on 3rd Level 
• 0.5% Commission on 4th Level 

Senior Vice President Sales Leaders: To reach the top level of Senior Vice President Sales Leader you must recruit 85 people and have 600 total recruits in your downline. Additionally, you have to sell $1000 per month in sales. 

There are loads of levels but very few people make it past the first 2 levels. It’s just too hard to find enough people to recruit.

What Products does Norwex Make?

Norwex is best-known for its cleaning products. They have a range of various different cleaning sprays and microfibre products for wiping. 

They also have a range of personal care products and some family items. Things that will appeal to their target market of housewives and moms. 

They promote their products as being environmentally friendly. Following the Covid 19 Pandemic, they have brought out a range of face masks. 

These are their best sellers:

Many Norwex products are available on Amazon and they get great reviews so it seems that there is nothing wrong with the products that they make. This should make it easier for you to sell some.

The laundry detergent is one of their most popular products and this has the benefit that it is a product that you can get repeat orders on. Again this will help hit those sales targets.

I don’t recommend that you join to start selling Norwex products, but you might want to try out one or two of their products for yourself.

What I Like About Norwex

There are some decent things about Norwex:

• It’s not too expensive to join (even though you’ll have to do very well to get the starter pack for free)

• The products are good. This at least gives you a chance to sell some. Norwex have been around for many years so they are clearly onto something

• The products are not too expensive. This means you have a decent chance of selling a few (even if it is to friends and family), unlike MLMs like Enagic where you need to convince someone to spend thousands.

What I Don’t Like About Norwex

Whilst it is not the worst MLM I have reviewed, there is a lot more here that I don’t like than I do like. 

• Hard to make money: MLM’s are almost impossible to succeed with. The odds are stacked against you and you will invariably spend a lot of time and effort making almost nothing, or even Losing money. 

• Constant demands: The only way to make money is to find new recruits and go up the levels. This is hard. On top of that, you need to maintain and increase your own sales and ensure that your downline also remains active. It sounds stressful. Most people fail with MLM’s because it is so hard to find enough recruits to move up.

• Friends and Family: Inevitably you will end up asking friends and family to buy your products. These ones aren’t too expensive so you will probably sell a few but do you really want to be pestering them to buy your products all the time? MLM’s frequently result in broken friendships.

Is Norwex a Pyramid Scheme or a Scam?

No, it’s not. They have decent products and a good track record. Some people are making money with them. Just not many. 

So, is Norwex legitimate? Yes. However, it is not a good business opportunity and I recommend that you steer clear of joining Norwex. 

The chances of success are low and to succeed you will have to pester everyone that you know into buying stuff. 

Here’s A Better Option

I hope that you have decided that Norwex isn’t right for you.

That doesn’t mean you should give up on finding a way to make more money. 

I started making money online as a complete beginner and now make a 4 figure monthly income. 

To find out how I do it and to see my #1 method of making money online, click below. The best part is there are no direct sales and I don’t have to bother anybody close to me to make money.