Many don’t really know how Young Living works or they think that it works the same way as other companies when it comes to ordering, becoming a member, and becoming a distributor. In this article I’d like to dispel some of the confusion and misinformation so that you can make a more informed choice based on facts.
Becoming a Young Living member is very much the same as becoming a member of Sam’s Club or Cosco, with one big difference, you do NOT have to pay a yearly membership fee. As a matter of fact, there is no cost at all, other than than the price of the products, unless you want to become a wholesale customer or a distributor.
So, How Much Does it Cost…
The cost depends on which customer type you choose. I want you to select the option that is best for your needs. Here is the skinny on each:
As a “Customer” (retail) - it costs nothing except for the cost of the product(s) you want to buy, and tax/shipping. Do NOT select this customer type if you want wholesale pricing, you will not get wholesale pricing if you select this customer type (even if you do purchase a Start Living kit, read below “Wholesale Customer.”
As a “Preferred Customer” (save 12%) - this option saves you 12% off retail but you ‘must’ be on the Essential Rewards program and order at least 50 PV worth of products of ‘your’ choice a month. Do NOT select this customer type if you want wholesale pricing – or – if you do not wish to be on Essential Rewards.
As a “Wholesale” Customer (save 24%) – anyone can be a wholesale customer by purchasing one of the five “Start Living” kits which range in price from $40 to $300. You will save 24% off of retail on all orders, effective immediately. (see the Start Living kits)
To maintain your wholesale pricing the ONLY thing you are required to do is have a yearly total of 50 PV – this means you only have to buy about $50 worth of product a year to maintain your wholesale pricing – which is nothing.
When you go to join up as a wholesale customer you will need to select the “Independent Distributor” customer type and purchase one of the five Start Living kits. If you do not do this you will not get wholesale pricing.
Note: the “wholesale” and “Distributor” membership types are combined for ease – you do not have to have a business and you do not have to make monthly orders unless ‘you’ want to, the choice is entirely yours. I do want to point out that if you do join Essential Rewards you will save more money, an additional 10% to 20%, read more about Essential Rewards below.
As a “Distributor” (save 24%) - anyone can be a Young Living Independent Distributor and have a home business and share Young Living with others. To do this you will purchase one of the five “Start Living” kits ranging in price from $40 to $300. You will save 24% off of retail on all orders, effective immediately. (see the Start Living kits)
Note: As a distributor you will have to be on Essential Rewards in order to get a commission check. Your monthly order should be a minimum of 100 PV (about $100, plus tax/shipping). You choose which ever combination of products you want each month, Young Living has well over 400 to choose from, I’ve never heard anyone complain that they don’t know what to get because the selection is too limited, I only ever hear newbies say, “wow, there’s so much I want from Young Living that I don’t know where to begin!” If that’s the case with you, let me know, I can help you sort through what we have and your needs so you can get started with products that you will immediately start using.
More on Supplementing Your Income and Home Business
So, very simply put… there is no cost… unless you want to be a wholesale customer or a distributor, in which case it’s a one-time $40 – $300 fee for a Start Living kit; which by the way, they all come with product and a mail-in coupon worth 50% off on a diffuser (which means you are getting product you can use for your one-time member fee).
As shown in this chart, you can see which requirements are necessary for each customer type. Young Living is quite reasonable and makes every effort to keep it easy for you to purchase and become the customer type that works best for ‘your’ needs.
11 Common Misunderstandings
1. You ‘have’ to buy products every month. False.
Buying products every month with Young Living is completely optional unless you choose to be a distributor and get a commission check.
2. I have to buy products every month whether I want them or not. False.
We do NOT want you to buy products you do not need, ever. You order what you want, when you want – though I have to point out that you will save an additional 10% – 20% when you’re on the Essential Rewards program as a Preferred Customer, or a Wholesale Customer/Distributor.
3. If I become a wholesale customer I will have to sell and/or push my friends and family to buy products. False.
You can be a wholesale customer the rest of your life if you like, you never have to sell a thing ever. You also will NOT be pushed to sell anything, ever.
4. I have to buy ‘packs’ every month. False.
Unlike other companies, Young Living does NOT require you to buy packs every month. We do have some very nice packs available that contain useful products most use daily, but no one is ever required to buy them – packs are 100% optional and ONLY available to those on the Essential Rewards program.
5. I have to buy the same things every month. False.
Young Living has a very extensive product line, well over 400 products to choose from. You are encouraged to buy whatever you want – always!
Even if you want to get the best pricing through being on the Essential Rewards program, by all means change your order every month – get your favorites that you’re running low on and try a new oil each month, it’s exciting and a terrific way to experience something new in your life regularly.
6. There are hidden costs and/or other things I need to pay for. False.
Which ever membership type you choose the price is the price and that’s that. There are never any additional charges for anything ever.
7. Every year I will have to pay a membership fee. False.
There is no yearly membership fee for any of the customer types. If you want to be a wholesale customer or distributor there is a one-time purchase of a Start Living kit. Purchasing 50PV worth of product a year WILL maintain your wholesale pricing.
8. If I want to have a Young Living home business I will have to do cold calls and become a sales person. False.
Nothing could be further from the truth. At Young Living we do not do telemarketing, nor do we push or pressure others to buy anything ever. We work from the principles of “Heart-Centered Sharing” approach – which does not include high-pressure sales pitches or making a list of 100 people you know and pushing them to buy products.
9. It will be costly to start up as a distributor, I will need a lot of money to carry an inventory, and I will have to find a place to set up shop to sell the oils/products directly to people. False.
As a distributor, you are never required to carry an inventory. Some distributors might carry some items in limited quantities if they are doing health expo’s, but that’s optional (the least you need to do a show is to have some samples). Additionally, you do NOT have to have a store or a display in a shop.
How your customers will get the products: their order is shipped through FedEx, Young Living drop-ships everything for us. I personally find this to be excellent, after over 35 years of having conventional retail and wholesale businesses it is a god-send that I do NOT have to have a small fortune tied up in inventory, space to house the inventory, space designated for shipping, and schlepping product around to retail locations, and driving all over delivering it to people (not that I don’t want to see people, just that it’s extremely expensive to be driving around these days and I’m into being efficient). Because I do not carry an inventory I never have to deal with additional bookkeeping or quarterly sales tax (both of which I hate doing) Young Living does all of that for us – that leaves me with more time to do the other things that I do enjoy!
10. I want to buy Young Living products without becoming a member of anything.
I’m not exactly sure what people are thinking when they make that statement. But I want you to know that it’s not like you’re joining something that will make demands on you personally or financially, it’s quite the contrary.
Actually what’s going on is this, because Young Living essential oils are used differently than your average aromatherapy oils the company wants to make sure that each customer has access to someone who can help them learn how to use the oils properly, this is why you never see Young Living oils sold in stores; the staff is not trained to help customers in that way.
Also, Young Living is set up to eliminate the middleman. Yes, it is a Network Marketing company (not a pyramid, those are illegal) which allows people like you and me to have a home business and an income should one decide to become a distributor. This means that the cut, or percentage that normally goes to the middleman in the chain is given to the distributors for their work and efforts. It’s just a different way of splitting up the money so that it goes to distributors, rather than a corporation who provides a service in the chain of events that goes into every single thing that is sold everywhere, everyone gets a cut whether you buy products from Whole Foods, WalMart, Cosco, or popcorn at a movie theatre there are people along that long line of hands items pass through that get a cut. In the case with Young Living, the product does not go through a long line of people; the products go through the company, then me, then into your hands. Like I said, it’s just a different way of distributing the percentage that goes to the middleman.
In short, the reason why a membership is necessary is so that when, let’s say… I meet you and you want to make a purchase with me that you become my customer. And each time after that when you make a purchase I get a commission for my efforts in assisting you and helping you to learn more about using our oils and products. You are assigned a member number as a means by which Young Living can keep track and sort through all of the customers to make sure that I am the one who gets the commissions instead of someone else. It’s not like you’re becoming a part of some strange and obnoxious community or anything like that.
11. I live in Canada and will have to pay additional fee’s and customers costs. False.
For all orders you place with Young Living select the shipping method called “IGD” and the total on your purchase will be the price you pay, no additional expenses! Your order will usually arrive within 10 business days or less, unless you choose express shipping.
12. I can get the same quality essential oils at my local health food store for less. False.
The reason essential oils would be cheaper than Young Living’s is ONLY because they are of much lesser quality. You can safely assume that you get what you pay for holds true in regards to this too. I have never been in any health food store, or shop for that matter, that sells any brand that even comes close.
In terms of using essential oils, if you’re going to use them in the ways we discuss you most certainly do NOT ever want to use a lesser quality essential oil. You have no idea how bad the quality is in this industry. Which is precisely why I was over-joyed when I discovered Young Living over 10 years ago – I was sick and tired of spending a small fortune on adulterated and diluted essential oils that ALWAYS turned rancid in 6-8 months. People who buy cheaper essential oils are in reality spending 2 to 4 times as much on junk oils in the long run.
As either a wholesale customer or distributor on Essential Rewards I am getting my superior quality Young Living oils (and products too) at nearly 45% off retail. How can that be??? I’m in the 20% bracket in the Essential Rewards program – take that 20% and add it to the 24% wholesale discount and you’ve got 44% off retail pricing! If you’re currently using, or thinking of using, a cheaper essential oil; I can assure you that you ARE spending a small fortune on junk. Oh, and I have never had to throw away a bottle of my Young Living oils because they’ve turned rancid, and I DO have a few oils that are 8 years old. Think of a high quality essential oil as a fine wine; it wont go bad, you’ll never have to throw it away, and like fine wines some essential oils even get better with age.
Essential Rewards: what is it, and why you want to be interested
The largest plus to you is that it will save you a lot of money in the long-term. It’s a free program Young Living created that gives you rewards points that you can redeem for FREE product!
Essential Rewards is 100% optional for everyone except for: Preferred Customers, and those who choose to have a home business and want a commission check as a distributor.
How you earn reward points…
Months on Essential Rewards, Points Earned:
- Months 1–6 you get 10% in points
- Months 7–12 you get 15% in points
- Months 13+ you get 20% in points
The minimum monthly order on Essential Rewards is 50 PV, about $50 wholesale, plus tax and shipping.
I’ve been on Essential Rewards for over 4 years now, which means I’m in the 20% bracket. I choose to redeem my reward points 4 times a year, you can redeem yours more or less frequently. This means that I get about $600 worth of free product a year – that adds up to a savings of about 45% off the retail prices. Because I am a distributor, my monthly orders are between $110 – $130 a month – Young Living gives me 20% of that in rewards points every month.
While you’re in the 10% bracket, it doesn’t really ‘feel’ like you’re gaining a lot… but wait until you’re in the 15% and 20% bracket… Wow, you can feel the savings!
The thing I like most about the Essential Rewards is that I am getting high quality nontoxic oils and products for about the same cost people spend to buy the cheap brands in the store! This makes me feel so smart and empowered. Empowered because I have taken my health into my own hands and I’m NOT exposing myself, family and dog to horrible toxic products (this saves a fortune on health care costs), my household is a safe haven and healthy for us at the same cost as buying products that I shun in the stores. I am getting a lot for my money by using Young Living oils and products.
One perfect example is the conditioner, I have very long hair and I only have to buy 2 bottles of Young Living conditioner a year! That means it costs me less than $15 a year for my conditioner – are you seeing better now why I feel ’smart’ and ‘empowered’? To add to that, prior to using Young Living shampoo and conditioner I had to switch brands every month due to the build-up on my hair… until one day about 9 years ago I decided to try Young Living’s shampoo and conditioner.
For the past 9 years I haven’t switched brands once, not even once! These shampoo’s and conditioner’s do not leave build-up on your hair, ever! On top of that, they don’t contain any chemicals that are hazardous to my health. Like I said, ’smart’ and ‘empowered.’ I have tons of other stories like this, some of which are in this blog.
The point I’m trying to make is that there are so many smart and empowered things we all can be doing, they’re easy, they make us feel good, they’re good for the environment, and they save us a ton of money over time.
When you’re initially making the switch over to Young Living (from toxic products you’re currently using and yes, the essential oils can and do replace many products we use daily) can feel a little expensive at first, my advice is… try to see past that and just know that after you get switched over and have your nontoxic household in place, particularly if you’re on Essential Rewards, you will most certainly feel the savings every single month. You will also spend less time shopping and driving because the Young Living oils and products can be used in dozens of ways.
A good example is Peppermint essential oil, one day I counted 26 different ways I use Peppermint, one bottle of essential oil can replace dozens of other products that are commonly used (here’s how we used it to get rid of a squirrel). I’ll have to write an article on that soon and put a link here so you can see what I mean. Overall, if you’re looking to make the switch to go truly natural, save your health and a lot of money – you can do it with Young Living and I can show you how. Contact me if you have questions.
In Conclusion: How much does it cost to join Young Living?
- Nothing if you want to be a retail customer.
- The least amount to become a wholesale customer is $40, but can go up to as high as $300 depending on which Start Living kit ‘you’ choose.
- The minimum amount to be a “Preferred Customer” or on the Essential Rewards program as a Wholesale Customer / Distributor is 50PV a month – which is a little over $50 a month wholesale, add 12% to that if you choose Preferred Customer.
Evelyn Vincent
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Article by Evelyn Vincent, Young Living Independent Distributor
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