SCENTSY MLM Scam Deceptive Advertising by Sleazy Independent Consultants?
Is Scentsy a deceptive MLM company that uses fraudulent tactics and sleazy independent consultants to sell dangerous, overpriced products?
According to Carol B. it is. We received this angry complaint from Carol, who felt that she was deceptively tricked into attending a sales presentation by a coworker.
Here’s Carol’s story:
“I started working at a new job in a new town. Since I don’t know too many people here, I was really happy when a coworker sent me an email saying that she was having a few people over on Sunday afternoon, and she would love it if I would be able to come.
“I really appreciated her thinking of me, and I was really looking forward to meeting some new people.
“When I arrived, I found out that instead of a social get together, this was a home party and that my new ‘friend’ was an ‘independent consultant’ for some multi-level marketing scam called ‘Scentsy.’ Instead of a real party, I had to listen to a presentation about these stupid, overpriced warmers that melt scented wax with a light bulb. She was pushing these stupid warmers and wax bars packages for like $75 – $85. The Scentsy plug-in warmers are glorified nightlights they sell for $20, and the tabletop warmers are like $35. Of course, if you’re stupid enough to buy those you’ll have to buy their ridiculous scented wax bars for the rest of your life.
“I discreetly asked around and none of the other guests knew they were attending a sales presentation. Yet still they allowed themselves to be manipulated into buying these ridiculously overpriced air freshners just to be polite. I was the only one who didn’t buy.
“I have some advice to people who do these home parties like Scentsy and invite people under false pretenses: You are scum. You might think you are clever, and you might get some free products or whatever, but all those people you tricked, even the ones you tricked into buying and tell you they love the product, now know you’re scum and can’t be trusted.
“My advice to people who unknowingly show up to sales parties: You should leave. Or eat a bunch of their free food and then leave. Do not buy a thing! Make it clear you don’t appreciate being lied to and that if your friend needs money that bad she just should have asked you for a loan. Do not be ashamed. It’s your scummy host who should be ashamed. Go buy yourself a Glade Air Freshner and buy some new shoes with all the money you saved!”
The only good thing that came out of Carol’s experience with the Scentsy home party is a new goal she has at work.
Says Carol: “I now have a work fantasy that I will get promoted to supervisor over the sleazebag Scentsy consultant. I will call her in for a meeting to discuss a promotion and a raise. When she gets there, I’ll say ‘Oh, I didn’t mean a promotion and a raise! Sorry! The meeting was to let you know you’re fired! Good luck with your Scentsy MLM scam!”
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE SCENTSY MLM HOME PARTY OPPORTUNITY? IS IT A SCAM OR LEGITIMATE OPPORTUNITY? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW!
First of all, that is my graphic you’re using and I have a copyright. So remove it ASAP.
Trista De Leon:
Could you please
1) Substantiate that it is your graphic,
2) Substantiate that you have the copyright
Thank you,
ADMIN
More Scentsy nonsense. Of course Trista De Leon is lying… she’s a stinksy rep isn’t she? She’s one of these delusional self-important scentsy legends-in-their-own-minds “consultants” who come in all puffed up and demanding and then run away like little girls in a huff when they get challenged or exposed as the frauds they obviously are.
How is that her graphic? Looks generic.
I also like how she starts “First of all…” then never gets to a “second of all.”
stay away from scentsy and the stinkers who pushit!
I’ve already chatted with you through email. I don’t do drama. Do what you would like to. I’ll file Copyright infringement and be done with it. Remember just because it’s on google.. does not mean it’s yours to take. :) Have a great day!
I take no pleasure in calling out Scentsy Star Director Trista De Leon and demanding an immediate public apology.
The apology is not for me or UnhappyFranchisee.Com, nor is it for our readers whom Ms. De Leon misled. The apology is for the group of more than 400 hardworking Scentsy consultants across Canada, Ireland & the US who look up to Trista De Leon as a leader, mentor, role model and source of inspiration… as the guiding light in their wickless candle of entrepreneurship.
Trista De Leon accused UnhappyFranchisee.com of infringing on her copyrighted work. She demanded that we remove a graphic of a cartoon woman that she created. She threatened us with legal action. And she hurt my feelings by calling me “rude.”
Trista De Leon wrote “You are using my graphic on your site. I own the copyright… It’s mine. I did it with photoshop and have used it for years.”
We researched the illustration in question and found that it was created by Lauren Burke, a graphic designer/illustrator in San Diego California, and licensed as stock by Getty Images and iStockPhoto. See:
http://www.istockphoto.com/vector/gesturing-woman-7838301?st=e103ec1
When we confronted Trista De Leon with irrefutable evidence that she had lied, she admitted that it was Ms. Burke’s illustration and Scentsy’s logo, and she had only created a background.
Trista De Leon has racked up significant awards and achievements, including the 2009 Annual Mentor Award – Scentsy Wickless Candles, 2010 Annual Mentor Award – Scentsy Wickless Candles, Hawaii Trip Earner – Scentsy Wickless Candles, Dominican Republic Trip Earner – Scentsy Wickless Candles, Cancun Trip Earner, and Star Director status.
Trista, with much recognition comes much responsibility. You have soiled the Scentsy reputation with black carbon-like stain one would expect from wick-based companies. We believe all those who began selling witless candles because of you would like to hear an explanation, or at the very least an apology.
We think you owe them that much. Don’t you?
ADMIN
UnhappyFranchisee.Com
Wow, you are an angry person. Its sad that you feel the need to hurt people. Just wondering are you going to remove the image since you didn’t pay for the license to use or alter the image? Like I said, I created the graphic. I didn’t day that I created the girl. I paid to use the image of the girl. A lot of bloggers know this image of the girl has been around for years. You know what I’m sorry about? Wasting my time and giving you the pleasure to create drama to add to your blog. You’ve insulted me over and over just because of a request to remove an image that I’ve been using for years. I hope that you can find some happiness in your life and not feel that you have to treat people the way you do.God Bless You.
Trista:
I appreciate and accept your apology. Even Star Directors make mistakes, but only super-Stars can apologize when they’ve wronged others! And you are a Super-Star Director in my book!
Wow, you are an angry person.
Trista, I admit that I was angered by your attempt to bully us with demands and legal threats. But then I put ROSE CHAMOMILE LAVENDER fragrance in my Scentsy warmer and was immediately transported to a romantic garden path with billowing chamomile, spikes of lavender and lush, and feminine rose notes. I now understand why those feminine rose notes have been long-trusted for their soothing effects!
Just wondering are you going to remove the image since you didn’t pay for the license to use or alter the image?
It’s allowable under the doctrine of Nominative Fair Use. It’s legal, unlike claiming a copyright to someone else’s work.
Like I said, I created the graphic.
At most, you put a colored background behind someone else’s illustration and a company’s registered trademark. I am glad you see the difference between what you did and what graphic designers go to art school to learn.
You know what I’m sorry about? …giving you the pleasure to create drama to add to your blog.
Apology accepted.
God Bless You.
Thanks! I don’t know why I keep sneezing. Hope I’m not allergic to billowing chamomile or spikes of lush!
In my opinion Scentsy is great. I love the products & that they are guaranteed, warrantied, & not all Scentsy consultants are “scum” or “sleaze bags”. If you were so unhappy & this lady lied, why did you not just leave when you showed up and realized it was a Scentsy Party? Bashing people is not the right thing to do, lying to people or tricking them certainly is not acceptable; however, not every direct sales consultant is like another. Some do it for hobby, some to purchase for themselves, & some do it to make friends & have fun. I do not understand why you feel the need to be so judgmental and say “Consultants” because each individual are their own.
What an insane bunch of petty, sensitive adult-children.
There is a market for overpriced anything and it will be capitalised on so long as consumers have the cash to throw at it.
Instead of overreacting to a party ( you’d call this consultant scum and would fire her over this incident if you became her manager, that’s retarded.) You could have capitalised on the get together by enjoying free snacks and socialising with other coworkers as you had intended to had you not been so offended by some crap about warmers.
It’s not like your coworkers actually wanted the product being sold and therefor threw money at it or anything, right? How absurd.
Grow the fuck up, petty woman.
“Adult Child” says “You could have capitalised on the get together by enjoying free snacks and socialising with other coworkers…”
GREAT suggestion, Adult Child! I can tell you, it really works! My friends and I do this several times per month for free food and drinks. We call it Girl’s Club.
Here’s how it started: A girlfriend and I went to Happy Hour after work one Friday and I complained that I had gotten roped into going to the Scentsy party that night by a particularly annoying co-worker. I mentioned that she lived in a big expensive house and seeing it was the only positive thing.
My friend asked “Will there be booze?” and I said, yes, scentsy lady had mentioned that they’d have wine and beer. They are kind of show-offy so I knew it would be top shelf stuff.
“Let’s go!” said my friend.
We had a blast! Instead of spending our money at the bar we each had at least 4 glasses each of this really good wine (French names, corked bottles – no twist off caps). At, say $7.50 a glass, that would easily have cost us $60 at a restaurant or bar.
She had these great appetizers like puffy pastry things and these big ass shrimp. We stuffed ourselves with ate least $30 worth of food. So by going to the Scentsy party we saved like $90 worth on food and drink, $99 total if you figure in a 10% tip. That doesn’t even count the swigs of Fireball we snuck from the bottle we found in the freezer!
Almost every other week my friend and I and now another friend go to basket parties, art parties, cosmetics, cooking crap, you name it. Three of us work different places so we’ve tripled our exposure and once you start going you get a bunch of invites from other people at the parties for THEIR stupid parties. None have been as fun as that first one, but we regularly score over $100 worth of food and drink and goodies. We call it “Girl’s Club.”
If you want to start a Girl’s Club, here are some tips we’ve learned:
– Always find out if there’s going to be alcohol. If not, take a pass.
– Find out what they’re serving in advance. You can do this subtley by saying “You’re hosting a home party? I’ve always wanted to do that but know nothing about it. What do you serve? Is it expensive?”
– Bring a large purse to hide goodies “to-go.” Include a few ziploc bags in case there’s stuff like shrimp that might smell up your bag.
– Never buy anything, but make a big fuss about how great the products are. Several party hosts are on to us but still invite us because we help sell their crap and we swell the numbers.
– If you feel pressured into buying, place an order then text the host right away and cancel. You can always cancel a check or charge back a credit card purchase and claim you never ordered it.
– NEVER feel bad. Remember, they were trying to take your money for overpriced crap. F- them. Turnabout is fair play.
Most important thing: Have fun! Keep a running count of the $$$ amount you consume at each party and try to top your highest score! We’ve topped $250 but that included a Swarovski crystal paperweight that turned out to be a limited edition that “fell” into my friends bag… Oops!
What Scentsy consultant peed in your damn cheerios? lol this post is straight comedy. Damn don’t buy the produts and move on with your life. How extremely bitter and pathetic. Get a hobby, and quick.
“Get a hobby, and quick.”
EVIL SCENTSY CONSULTANT: I HAVE a hobby, a wonderful one called “Girl’s Club.” It’s profitable, too!
Didn’t you read my message… or are those Chinese-made Scentsy fumes corroding your short-term memory?
Do you have a scent called “Burned Con-sultant” cuz I would order a dozen or 2.
(and later cancel).
Thanks for the good laugh at a boring day of work! ;) These comments are HILARIOUS.
Trista De Leon along with other super star directors are deceptive resellers that Scentsy let’s continue to abuse their privilege and use deceitful techniques to sell. I feel horrible for all the other consultants that work so very hard for Scentsy thinking they have a chance as they truly are not awarded the same opportunities.
Trista De Leon/scent warmers Jenn Burton/scent girl stop lying on GOOGLE SHOPPING as if you are direct Scentsy stores. . Misleading and lying to the public is unlawful and having Scentsy back you is even worse and also unlawful. I would be concerned of an actionable lawsuit at some point. 1000’s of consultants/other directors are watching and waiting carefully to see how this is handled. Quite similar to a case of another director caught selling on eBay, Scentsy was eventually forced with irrefutable evidence to can that person, rather than face harsh disgruntled consultants. It’s a shame because it once was a good company and a select few ruin it for the the rest of the honest ones.
haha love it im a new scentsy consultant and have already realised the vindictive evil bitch consultants that would sell their soul or cut their own kidney out for a sale some of them are shocking shady bitches and the rules scentsy have are bullshit …
if you sell avon or some other type thing they tell you that you cant sell anything but their scentsy items and if you dont stop selling your avon or whatever they close your account so you can no longer sell scentsy … who do they think they are seriously …
most of the consultants are a bunch of back stabbing bitches that narc you into scentsy with screen shots the first chance they get yet some would stoop to total degrading acts to sell that extra pack of melts … i have been a consultant for 2 weeks and already over it too many bitches and too many rules …
scentsy think they are god totally pathetic the stuff they have put some consultants through just for some other bitches heresay and taking all they have worked so hard for… why work for a bunch of assholes that you make a lot of money that are happy to throw you under the bus after making them 10s of thousands some even hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales inc the people that sign up after them …. get a message off some random bitch and BAM we will just take her word from it and take all you have built up and earned …
and yep its full of chicks that will just use some bullshit excuse to get you to a party to order i wouldn’t be surprised if some would even bring catalogues to a funeral for that 1 extra buddie or washer whiffs ….
Trinity, that is not true, you can sell what you want for whatever company you want, BUT you cannot mention them in the same post, or have a gathering for all of your products at one time, but hey, this is your fifteen minutes of fame, go for it! Lie, girl lie!
Scentsy
I joined to be a consultant, then they raised the $5 dollar bars to $6. After 8 hours of being a consultant, I called up the main office and told them, it wasn’t for me, I wanted my $63 dollar back. I wa sure they were subject to the 3 day cool off period, but the support person I talked to, acted like she never heard of that. I said I wanted to run another biz too, and my sponsor said I could do that, but after she left, I read the new rules and It said no. So why I was talking with Idaho main office, they said that wasn’t in the rules about no completion. She didn’t even know what I was talking about, and she then said I could run scentsy with another business but not have the products together. aka A Grey area.
Well, I didn’t know the commission scale, I was led to believe it was decent, but you only make $20 bucks on a $100 sale.
I can make more money doing PHONE SEX and being paid 33 cents a minute!!! I was trying to get away from phone sex ,but it pays better than Scenty!
The company sent me a scam email, about some guy wanting to make Scentsy buy, a scammer, If I could tell right off the bat, that this was a scammer, why couldn’t the head office, unless of course, there are scammer too???????
Anyway, now they have made their rules so that you can only sell Scentsy and nothing else, plus there are a lot of other rules you must sign, if you want to sell their products.
I wrote my director saying cancel my account, and also unsubscribe me from the emails, but that didn’t work. I called Idaho office, was but on hold for so long with no hold music I am not even sure if I was connected.
I like the product, but not the ‘three ring circus ‘ of being a consultant. I can buy wholesale wax melts in China at 02-.60 cents , so except for a few Scentsy bars I like, and they only put them out a few times a year, why would I sell/buy this over priced stuff? If I host a few parties for the sponsor, I can get credits for discounts of the merchandise, and no stupid rules/contract to sign.
I realize that this post is old as crap (At least the initial posts), but I am compelled to add my two cents.
Sneak parties are low down, imo, but the commenter that said they steal from houses…. how does that make it right? (I’m hoping that was just BS for added drama).
I am currently a rep, and while there are some practices I’m not 100% drinking the kool-aid on, overall from what I’ve seen of other DS companies Scentsy is one of the better ones.
The compensation plan is outlined on the join pages as well as in workstation, that you can access as soon as they generate your ID. Additionally, your sponsor and your join Kit has all of this information as well.
I’ve had a variety of warmers and tried a number of wax brands and fully believe Scentsy is among the best. (I like the derisive remarks about them being made In China, like 3/4 Of the warmers out there aren’t made in china?).
Do I agree with any MLM-er billing themselves as a small business, no. Do I agree with leadership or other consultants who use shady business practices or abuse compliance, of course not, but I feel this post paints the entire company overwhelmingly unfairly.
MlM is a great (though unprincipled) business model only if you are the mlm. If your a rep or consultant or independent business owner ot whatever they call them your basically participating in a play-business-person hobby that funnels staggering amounts of cash up to the company leadership and the very small handful of high level reps who are needed to complete the illusion and recruit more reps, who usually quit in a few months to a year, but not before they helped their higher ups recruit a few of their friends to replace them, who usually quit in a few months to a year, but not before… and so it goes on and on, and in some of these well established MLMs like Amway or Mary Kay it has gone on for decades to the tune of billions and billions of dollars and multiple continents of recruits(the founders of Amway are some of the richest folks in America). Many are almost cult like and seem to prey on people who are looking for some sense of belonging or achievement in their lives and many also have very religious undertones.