Today we will be reviewing a company called Barefoot Books. Is Barefoot Books a scam? Find out in this Barefoot Books Review.
Before you heard about Barefoot Books, I am sure that you probably have not heard about MLMs before. To be honest, I cannot blame you for not knowing about them. Their marketing style is pretty different compared to regular companies.
Basically, only the people that the members approached by their members will be the ones aware that the company exists. They say that this makes for a more personal shopping experience, but it my opinion, they have a greater reason behind what they are letting on.
This is actually very disadvantageous because people are less likely to notice them. MLMs think that people are all wanting to be validated with the feeling of exclusivity, but in reality, they are just trying to say as many positive things as possible.
After encountering hundreds of MLMs in the past, I have come into a conclusion that they are all the same, with only minor differences. You will know what I am talking about as you continue reading this Barefoot Books review.
Before we go further in this Barefoot Books review, I will define two terms first: MLM and pyramid scheme.
MLM members make money by selling products and recruiting new members. In pyramid schemes, members could only make money by recruiting people. Pyramid schemes are illegal and banned by the FTC.
As a disclaimer, I am not affiliated with JC Premiere in any way.
Hopefully this Barefoot Books review can help you decide whether you want to sign up for the company or not.
Before we proceed with the Barefoot Books review, check out my #1 recommendation to making money online after reviewing 300+ MLM companies.
What is Barefoot Books?
Barefoot Books is a multi-level marketing company founded in 1993 by Tessa Strickland and Nancy Traversy. The company sells children’s books, and the founders decided to create the company with hopes of getting closer to their children by reading with them. Traversy has 4 children, while Strickland has 3.
By 1996, Barefoot Books has accumulated more than 2 million sales. They decided to expand their business overseas, specifically to New York, in 1998. However, since Traversy found it quite difficult to go back and forth between their London and New York offices, they decided to build the current headquarters in Massachusetts in 2000.
They decided to hire home distributors in 2003, and by the next two years, the company has seen a 70% growth in their business.
The Barefoot Books MLM opportunity is currently available to those living in the USA and Canada. The company has also adapted a more ecological business practice, as they switched to printing their books in paper that only came from sustainable practices. They also advocated recycling.
You can learn more about the MLM opportunity by watching this video.
How Do MLMs Work?
Now that I have discussed with you the background of Barefoot Books and the products they sell, I will be giving you a crash course about MLMs. I am sure that the textbook definition gave you a brief explanation, but since you are considering joining an MLM, I figured that an explanation like that simply would not suffice.
MLMs are well-known for giving people false hope regarding the success they will be getting once they join the company. What they do is manipulate people into thinking that an MLM is their way out of poverty. They will say whatever the person wants to hear in order to persuade them.
Doesn’t that sound exactly what a cult does? They brainwash people into thinking that what they are doing is right, even though it is wrong most of the time. They manipulate them into thinking that they need to be in the cult, and that it is the right way of life. This is why cult members do not leave, as cults demand absolute loyalty.
MLMs are pretty much like that. I have encountered people who have quit MLMs before sharing their experiences in online forums. Most of what they said about MLMs are negative. MLMs love playing mind games with them. These companies have even influenced people into making major decisions in their lives, including quitting their jobs.
That would have been fine if they actually give their members proper salaries, but no, they do not. Earning money in MLMs is only done through a commission basis. This simply means that you can only earn money if you were able to make product sales and meet sales quotas set by the company.
There is a lot more to MLMs than just deception and manipulation, but joining one is definitely not a good deal.
Is Barefoot Books a Pyramid Scheme?
Since Barefoot Books members earn money both by selling services and recruiting new members, then it is safe to say that Barefoot Books is not a pyramid scheme.
However, since Barefoot Books is still an MLM, do not expect to make money if you have no plans on recruiting people. Recruiting will earn you significantly more money than actual product selling, and is more encouraged.
This just makes Barefoot Books look like a pyramid scheme in disguise, doesn’t it?
Like JC Premiere, Savvi, and Kirby, Barefoot Books is not a pyramid scheme.
Is Barefoot Books a Scam?
No, Barefoot Books is not a scam.
However, if you think this is enough for you to jump in Barefoot Books’ so-called opportunity straight away, then I suggest that you hold your horses. This is just the most basic thing, so don’t go signing up for this company right away.
Before making your decision, I suggest that you do a thorough research on the MLM first. You can consult some of the sources I listed below. Take note that you can definitely consult any source you want to, but the sources I listed below are the best kinds to consult, for various reasons listed.
What Sources Should You Look For?
There are three kinds of sources that you can consult when it comes to researching MLMs. There are other kinds of sources, but I believe that these two sources will be of the most help to you.
To be fair, you managed to find the best source to consult in this situation just by yourself. This Barefoot Books review is an example of a third-party review, meaning that this review is independent of any influence from the company. These reviews can publish whatever information they want without being pressured to publish only positive things.
Third-party reviews take quite some time to make, because thorough research is necessary. Sure, these reviews may be independent from any MLM, but of course they do not want to mislead their readers. Fact-checking is also done more than twice to ensure that the information is correct and accurate.
Even though third-party reviews are good sources of information, they do not necessarily mean that consulting only one source is enough. These reviews are still not perfect, after all. I am sure that you have concerns that were not answered by third-party reviews. This is when you should consult online forums.
Online forums are pretty big databases of information. They are moderated by a group of dedicated moderators. These forums have a lot of active members who are all willing to answer your questions and attend to your inquiries.
Some forum members I have encountered used to be part of MLMs. Some of them even belong to the high ranks of the MLMs they used to be a part of. I guess even then they have come to regret their decision.
How to Make Money from Barefoot Books
Since Barefoot Books is an MLM, there are only two ways to make money with the company. and these are:
- Selling products
- Recruiting members
These two methods may be the only ways to make money from this company, but even if that is the case, Barefoot Books offers quite a lot of benefits that their members can avail. I will explaining the two methods to you.
The selling aspect is pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. MLMs give discounts to their members, which they utilize in order to make a profit. The MLM companies are also the ones who set the retail prices which the products could be sold for, and this is how people make a profit.
The recruiting aspect is a little more complicated. This involves being able to reach out to people who may be interested with the joining the company. You can probably be successful with this if you are a people person, but I cannot guarantee that being like that inherently will still suffice.
Remember that the MLM business model is not sustainable, so as time goes by, you will run out of people to recruit.
MLMs do not really care about how many products you sell. What they care about is how many you buy and how many people you can bring in.
How Much Can You Make?
Well, what did I even expect? Of course Barefoot Books does not have an income disclosure statement. Since I do not have the accurate data to share with you, I guess we can just speculate about it. Do not get your hopes up though.
Like I said before, this company is a pretty standard MLM. This means that most people who have joined this company has failed to make any money whatsoever. Most of the time, they lose a lot of money. They cannot even earn back the initial fee they paid to get started.
You may be thinking that this is mere exaggeration, but I can assure you that my claim is backed by quite a lot of reputable sources. Sadly, MLMs know exactly which people they should target in order to maximize their profits.
Most MLM members I have encountered in the past were single parents and those who are currently unemployed. These people are the desperate ones who are willing to take on anything just to earn money. Most of the time, they are not aware that they are being deceived.
So, is this company still worth joining?
Things I Like in Barefoot Books
Established Company
Barefoot Books was founded in 1993, which means that they have spent more than two decades in the business. This is impressive, considering that most MLMs do not even live to see their third anniversary. After all, the business model is highly unsustainable, but seeing how this company made it, it seems like they are doing it right.
Good Business Practices
I am actually happy that I found an MLM selling books who use sustainable materials. I am not sure if the newly published books today do that, but having a company that cares about the environmental impacts of their business is quite rare.
This is a good selling point too, as people have become aware that they need to reduce waste and conserve our natural resources.
Things I Dislike in Barefoot Books
Saturated Market
The biggest competition that Barefoot Books is facing is the eBook industry. Nowadays, more and more people are switching to this model. It has sadly put a lot of publishing companies out of business, but that is just how modernization works.
eBooks are pretty convenient as you can bring them anywhere, and the devices you read them in have also a lot of functions. Unlike a book that takes space, an eBook does not consume any.
It is an MLM
This is an MLM, so it means that a lot of people definitely failed in this venture. In fact, 99% of people who join MLMs fail to make money, and they do not even earn back their initial investment.
Barefoot Books Compensation Plan
You can view Barefoot Books’ compensation plan through this link.
Here are the ways to make money in Barefoot Books:
- Personal Sales Bonus. When you sell $500 worth of products per month, you are eligible to receive a 10% bonus. This scales up depending on the amount you get to sell.
- Personal Team Bonus. When you recruit a new member, you get a 4% team bonus.
- Climbing Ranks. As you climb the ranks in Barefoot Books, you get to enjoy more bonuses.
- Ambassador
- Ambassador Sales Leader
- Turquoise Team Leader
- Chartreuse Team Leader
- Amber Team Leader
- Saffron Team Leader
- Crimson Team Leader
- Amethyst Team Leader
10 Shocking MLM Statistics That You Need To Know!
- Almost 99% participants of all multi-level marketing companies lose money, according to the FTC.
- There are 38% more chances of you profiting from your own any kind of small business than joining these MLMs.
- Success rate of an online business, which will give you financial and time freedom, is 20% more than joining MLMs for making money.
- The odds of you winning a lottery worth $10k among 10,000 people is 300 times higher than actually making money from MLMs.
- According to the AARP foundation, 47% distributors of all MLMs lose their money. Apart from this, 27% do not make a single penny.
- In the remaining 26% that actually make money, 53% of them make less than $5000/year.
- 39% of those 53%, who are making $5000/year quit because recruiting and selling crappy products to friends and family members jeopardized their relationships.
- Forget about building a long term business with MLMs, because 50% of all MLMs participants quit within one year.
- 75% people that joined MLMs say that they will never again join any kind of MLM.
- A poll was conducted in 2018 among 1050 MLM distributors and it was concluded that most of them made 70 cents an hour and 20% of them did not make a sale. 60% of them made less than $500 in sales over the past 5 years and 32% of them acquired credit card debt to finance their MLM involvements.
SOURCES:
Final Verdict – Barefoot Books
Before I end this Barefoot Books review, I would like to share a few more insights that could help you.
I hope that I was able to help you out with your concerns in this Barefoot Books review. Now that you know a lot more about MLMs, I guess you should be able to make a sound decision now.
That aside, MLMs are not as good as they think they are. Not only do they exploit their members, but they also want them to dedicate all their time to an opportunity that does not work 99% of the time. The odds are against you.
I have a better opportunity for you, and it does not require that you pester your friends and family. Read the next section to learn more details about it.
That’s it for my Barefoot Books review. Hopefully this Barefoot Books review helps with your decision.
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