No, this is not Mona Vie's site. No, MonaVie doesn't endorse or approve me writing about them. In fact, they'll probably get mad that I'm mentioning them. I don't like MonaVie.

I received the following information about multi-level marketing company MonaVie via email from an anonymous source. I have written here about MonaVie in the past, and my opinion is that it is another thinly veiled pyramid scheme with an overpriced product (magic juice) as a front.

If you are thinking about getting involved with MonaVie as a distributor, this is the single most important article to read about it. This will give you a good idea of how little money you’re going to make.

And you should also take a careful look at the below. Note that I have not verified the accuracy of the assumptions in this article from the anonymous source. You should do your own research on MonaVie prior to making a decision.

Written by Anonymous

Over the last few years, many people in the direct selling industry have been faced with the surge in juice company sales as the promises of improved health and massive wealth lured in numerous dreamers. As the media exposes the $40 bottles of juice and new lawsuits are pending with such icons as Dr. Oz and Oprah, you have to wonder what is really happening at a privately held company like MonaVie.

More importantly, you have to ask yourself, what impact could it have on someone that hears promises of having all of their dreams come true. Check out these questions and review the very recent financial information (Obtained in Feb 2009 from MonaVie’s own finance department) recently discovered. It comes from a very credible source inside the company and is something that the common distributor or customer would never see from a private company. Challenge everything you hear, check all of the claims you hear, make sure you are making good decisions, and remember that in many cases private means secret for a reason!

1. Why isn’t a company like MonaVie a member of the DSA (Direct Selling Association)? These companies are held to higher standards and a code of ethics and are representative of those doing the right thing in this industry.
2. Why do they carefully word their sales tools to claim to be a billion dollar company when their annual sales will be closer to 500 million? Are they purposefully using a cumulative number to represent an annual figure and mislead people?
3. Why do they continue to claim excessive growth in their international markets? Check out the numbers, they tell a dramatically different story as all but one market are declining at a double-digit rate? Information obtained shows that the overall sales for MonaVie will show a decline this year to the tune of a decrease of 18%.
4. MonaVie Associates keep saying to people that business is booming worldwide.  Information from someone inside says that as of a week ago, Monavie’s sales rate for the US sales is down 27%.  Mexico is down 13%.  Canada is off 4%.  Australia is off 22% and SG is off 26%. In fairness, they do $1.5 million per week in Japan which is growing at 28%, I would assume the decline will happen in this market very soon just like all of the others.
5. A tactic used by Monavie to “grow” their business is to lure away high-ranking distributors and their entire organizations away from other direct selling companies by promising luxury items like exotic trips, high-end luxury cars, homes, etc. Be aware of the fine print, you will probably be required to pay for these items sometime in the near future! If it sounds too good to be true, guess what, it is!
6. I have been contacted and lured with large sums of money to leave and come to MonaVie. Be careful about the attractiveness of big sums of money. 6 leaders that I know of just lost an arbitration case against our old home at Amway and now owe them 25 million dollars! It’s possible to leave for a quick bag of money, but would you want to have to pay your old employer millions as a result of unethical behavior? http://mlmblog.net/2007/08/orrin-woodwar-3.html
7. Apparently their latest tactic is to dangle exotic cars in front of inexperienced young business hopefuls creating the illusion that everyone can have these cars in their own garage. That’s just not realistic when you consider the high number of people leaving their business. If it were that easy, every one of them would be driving an orange Lamborghini! It’s been said that Dallin Larsen, their CEO, is the one making the offers.  Wasn’t the power of the juice sales behind promoting the health benefits and not joining thinking you’ll get a fancy new car?
8. How long can they continue this apparent charade you ask? Good Question! They are a privately held company with their CEO and his team lining their pockets at their distributors expense and the expense of their customers who believe their magical juice has “real” benefits. They are, however, private and this information usually never gets out…. until now.

Don’t be fooled by the stories you read and hear about the MonaVie opportunity. An analogy relevant to Monavie is that they are built similar to a house of cards.  The north breeze is blowing and the house of cards is beginning to crumble. Be careful how attractive the new car, the trips and the promises of newfound wealth are….all of these material things don’t last very long. It’s hard to pay off the promises when there isn’t a credible product, fair compensation or a company left to stand behind it.

How can you sustain your home based business when the company you’re working with has lost almost 30% of it’s business right here in the US, and in only one year!

Wonder if my old friends from Amway still think MonaVie was a good decision? Don’t listen to the Pied Piper, he has nice toys, big homes, a nice jet, and a palatial office but what do his Associates have? There are credible publicly held options out there that share their information openly and honestly. Do your research before you become another card on top of the house wobbling with no hope of stability

Choose wisely………

Summary of Worldwide Sales

Listed from Largest to Smallest

52 week avg.              Last 4 Week avg.       Change

US        $9,759,373             $7,085,100                -27.4%
JP         $1,167,971              $1,495,816                   28.1%
CA       $979,415                   $944,195                       -3.6%
AU       $287,164                  $223,989                    -22.0%
SG        $223,692                   $164,528                    -26.4%
MX       $145,551                   $125,850                    -13.5%
PL        $98,068                     $98,310                          0.2%
BR       $56,114                       $83,680                        49.1%
IL         $41,526                      $71,165                        71.4%
UK       $67,034                     $64,812                         -3.3%
FR       $20,797                     $32,540                        56.5%
NZ       $34,118                      $19,394                       -43.2%
HK       $8,367                        $8,367                           0.0%

TOTAL   $12,757,845    $10,413,560               -18.4%

Is it all you think it is? Is the opportunity rapidly increasing or just the opposite?