Are you looking for a Pampered Chef MLM review? Is Pampered Chef a pyramid scheme?
If you want to make money online, you may have heard of Pampered Chef MLM. There is a good chance that you heard about Pampered Chef MLM through someone – a friend or family member.
But since there are so many scams online, you may wonder if you can trust it or not.
I have a passion to help people explore the best money-making opportunities online, so over the years, I have reviewed hundreds of similar online programs like Pampered Chef MLM.
In the past week, I have done thorough research about the Pampered Chef MLM, so I can tell you everything you need to know about it.
As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with Pampered Chef MLM, which means I’m not paid to write this review for Pampered Chef MLM. So you can be sure that my words are unbiased.
In this Pampered Chef MLM review, I’m going to cover the following in this review:
What Is Pampered Chef MLM?
Doris Christopher founded the Pampered Chef company as an MLM company. It has been sweeping the market since the 1990s.
Doris Christopher has a background in economics and finance, so it’s not surprising that it’s also been financially successful.
Pampered Chef Parties are network marketing events in which friends and families get together to sell kitchen products directly to each other.
There are some cool products, some mediocre products, and some products that can be found on clearance racks at Wal-Mart for a low price.
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Who Founded Pampered Chef MLM?
Doris Christopher established Pampered Chef, a multilevel marketing company that sells kitchen accessories, in 1980. It is one of the most well-known MLM companies in the household tools industry.
Doris was an economics teacher who loved cooking and everything related to the kitchen.
She devised the concept of providing everyday people with essential kitchen items such as tools, cookbooks, and food items.
As a result, she founded Pampered Chef, a multilevel marketing company that has been a huge success in the world of kitchen tool mlms.
Pampered Chef is a global multi-level marketing company with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Canada.
Its primary headquarters are in Addison, Illinois.
With over 40 years in the business, this company is not some new mlm company looking to make a quick buck. Rather, it is a well-known company that is becoming increasingly popular on search engines.
Why did it become so well-known?
One of the primary marketing strategies they teach their affiliates or distributors is to host a house party and then pitch your products to potential customers.
This marketing technique was extremely popular in the 1990s.
At the house parties, the new sales pitches were well received.
Currently, every home in the United States, particularly those in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, receives nearly hundreds of sales pitches per month.
This marketing strategy has already irritated them to the point where they know what you’re up to when you invite them to your house party.
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What is MLM?
Before we get into Pampered Chef MLM, I’d like to explain what MLM is and how it differs from traditional business models.
Multilevel marketing companies are also known as direct sales companies or network marketing companies.
An MLM company does not pay you a salary.
You make money by recruiting others to join your business rather than selling products. If you hire someone and they start making money, you get paid a commission on the sales and recruits they bring in.
There are several levels to this (hence multi-level).
Think about a triangle. If the person at the top of the triangle recruits ten people, and each of these ten recruits ten more, and each of these ten recruits ten more, you will receive commissions from everyone in the triangle because they are all in your direct downline (in an MLM, the people beneath you are known as your ‘downline,’ and you are their ‘upline’).
You can earn $1100 by recruiting 10 people.
Even if your MLM company offers a wide range of products, most people prefer to recruit others because they can earn a lifetime passive income from them, whereas if they sold a product, they would only receive a one-time commission.
People at the top make a lot of money because money trickles up to the top of the triangle, while people at the bottom make the least.
The ultimate goal of someone who works for a company like Pampered Chef MLM is to have as many people in their ‘downline’ as possible, allowing them to earn large amounts of passive income.
How Does Pampered Chef MLM Work?
The majority of Pampered Chef’s revenue is generated by its consultants selling their products directly to their friends and families. Pampered Chef also earns money by appearing on television shows.
They demonstrated the utility of Pampered Chef products at Pampered Chef parties or on television.
It’s interesting to see how a product works when experts are cooking and demonstrating it on TV.
Chef consultants are paid. This is where MLM comes into play. Consultants can hire new consultants and earn even more money based on the sales they make.
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What Products Does Pampered Chef MLM Offer?
Pampered Chef is well-known for its extensive product line.
Pampered Chef cookbooks, Pampered Chef kitchen products, tools, and more are all available.
Pampered Chef sells a variety of products, including multi-use utensils. These items are appealing to people looking for an all-in-one kitchen tool.
They also provide a full one-year warranty on all of their products.
The following are some of Pampered Chef’s most popular items:
- Stoneware Bakeware
- Teak Wooden Spoon
- Cut-N-Seal Maker Tart
- Pizza and Crust Cutter
- Mini Tart Shaper
- beer bread mix
- gardening tools
- kitchen tools
- food products
The catalogs and menus from Pampered Chef contain all of the information you need to make an informed purchase.
However, we believe that some of the prices for these kitchen products are quite unreasonable.
How Much To Join Pampered Chef MLM?
If you want to become a consultant and start making money, you’ll need the consultant kit.
You can select one of three main kits based on your level of knowledge and enthusiasm for selling kitchen tools.
Some of the Pampered Chef consultant kits are as follows:
Starter kit
The kit costs $99 and contains over $400 in products. Starting with a starter kit is a great way to get a feel for the product line.
Deluxe kit
The kit costs $159 and includes $700 worth of products. With the deluxe kit, you can sell more products, and therefore make more money, than with the starter kit.
Ultimate kit
There are $1000 worth of products in this kit, which costs $259. If you are committed to going at a business opportunity with 100% effort all the time, the ultimate kit will help you.
The main aim of this company and you is to make people realize how beautiful it is to have Pampered Chef products in their kitchens.
By giving you access to products, these kits should help you make more money.
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What is the Pampered Chef MLM Compensation Plan?
Pampered Chef’s compensation plan appears to be quite complicated.
One thing to keep in mind is the commissions you’ll receive if you reach a certain monthly sales volume.
Here are the specifics:
- $1 to $749 in monthly sales will make you 20% commissions.
- $750 to $1249 in monthly sales will help you make 22% commissions.
- $1250 to $2500 in monthly sales and get 23% commissions
- $2500 to $4000 in monthly sales will get you to 24% commissions.
- $4000+ will get you to 25%.
Consultants make an average of $20, which is very low compared to the industry average.
Below are a few of the bonuses companies offer.
- Earn 3% commission on every sale by recruiting people under you.
- Kits with special discounts
- Points and free products
- The commissions can increase to 3% if you hit $15000 in sales.
The following video explains their compensation plan in detail:
Is The Pampered Chef MLM a Pyramid Scheme?
A pyramid scheme recruits members by promising them money or services in exchange for enrolling others.
A pyramid scheme is unsustainable and frequently a scam because members lose money as the number of recruits increases.
Those who want to join must pay a fee to an organization that runs a pyramid scheme. The organization will share a portion of the funds raised from each additional member they recruit as a reward.
The directors of the organization receive a portion of these payments (those at the top of the pyramid).
The scam is profitable for the directors whether or not they do any work. It is in the membership’s best interests to recruit and funnel money to the top of the pyramid.
Such organizations almost never sell valuable goods or services. The scam’s only source of revenue is from recruiting new members and soliciting more money from current members because it does not produce any goods or services.
Pyramid schemes are very similar to exponential growth mathematics. The size of a pyramid grows dramatically with each level. A pyramid scheme would have to grow indefinitely in order to make money for everyone who joins. This is impossible due to the planet’s finite population.
The scam will fail in the absence of new recruits and other income sources. Because the largest terms are at the bottom of this geometric sequence, the majority of people live in the pyramid’s bottom layer.
Workers in pyramid schemes typically promote the company rather than the product they are selling. At some point, no one at the bottom of the pyramid will make any money, while only those at the top will profit.
People at the top of the pyramid usually make money, while those at the bottom usually lose money. Because they are at the bottom of a pyramid scheme, the majority of participants lose money.
Members at the scheme’s bottom will have no chance of profiting if the scheme fails, but they will have already paid.
Is Pampered Chef, then, a pyramid scheme?
No. Pampered Chef does not operate as a pyramid scheme. It’s possible for members of the company to make money by selling their products.
They don’t have to make money solely through recruitment.
Watch the short video below to learn more:
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Is Pampered Chef MLM A Scam?
I cannot say Pampered Chef MLM is a scam for legal reasons. A scam is defined as “a dishonest scheme; a fraud” by the Oxford Living Dictionary.
Can you make money selling Pampered Chef products? We already know that a majority of Pampered Chef reps did not earn any money. A few people do make money but only if you put in a lot of effort. And usually, the way they make a lot of money from Pampered Chef is by recruiting aggressively.
Also, Pampered Chef blatantly makes disingenuous and irresponsible marketing claims to recruit members. Therefore, some people do consider Pampered Chef MLM a scam.
My #1 recommended platform, however, has seen a lot of beginners earn four figures a month after joining it for a year.
I will tell more about my #1 recommended platform at the end of this review.
What are the Pros of Pampered Chef MLM?
1. Pampered Chef Product Discounts
This MLM company offers members special discounts, which is a good thing.
Whether you like your kitchenware or not, you can get discounts ranging from 20% to 50% off all products.
2. Some People are Making Money From Pampered Chef
Pampered chef does offer the possibility of making money. There are some people who make money from the company.
3. Pampered Chef is Willing to Withdraw Unsafe Products
Pampered Chef will immediately investigate any faulty product, withdraw it, and notify anyone who has purchased it.
They issued a recall for two products on their website because they were defective in some way. the Ice Cream Dipper and the Garlic Slicer
4. Pampered Chef Has a 30-day Product Guarantee
The 30-day guarantee is another great selling point for your customers. Not all product guarantees are the same.
Only defects are covered under the Lifetime Guarantee.
5. No Inventory
You don’t need to store anything other than your starter kit. You will receive everything directly from the manufacturer.
6. Pampered Chef Has a Long History
The Pampered Chef company has been around since 1980. Not many MLM companies survive that long. In fact, most of them only last for two to three years before they fail.
Pampered Chef, however, is not one of them.
It just goes to show that the company is here to stay. The company is also one of the first multi-level marketing companies in the kitchen utensils industry, which led to the establishment of many more companies.
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17 Reasons Why I Don’t Recommend Pampered Chef MLM
1. The Good Reviews are Written by Pampered Chef MLM’s Affiliates
You probably have found some other reviews of Pampered Chef MLM and all of them are saying good words.
But all of them are actually paid to write, meaning they will receive a commission if you join Pampered Chef MLM via their links. Therefore, their words are often biased and not trustworthy.
Those reviews are simply sales pages and do not tell you the hidden costs and the difficulties of really making money.
By common sense, should you trust someone who has a conflict of interest that receives huge compensation by “reviewing” the program? Probably not. They are not reviewing, but selling!
Therefore, I recommend reading the reviews of those written by the non-affiliates of Pampered Chef MLM.
2. Very Few People Can Make Money With Pampered Chef
Success is difficult to achieve with an MLM company like Pampered Chef.
You can look at the statistic that says 72.5 percent to 99.9 percent of MLM members lose money.
The reason for this is that MLMs have sales quotas that require members to continue selling products in order to remain active and eligible for commissions.
They will not be paid if they do not meet the quota.
As a result, many MLM members lose a significant amount of money before even recruiting one person into the company.
3. Losses From Pampered Chef MLM Are Reframed As Investments
Pampered Chef MLM uplines often reframe their financial losses as ‘investments’ in their business so as to keep their reps in an MLM scheme, dangling the carrot of future financial freedom.
But the reality is that these are not investments. You are unlikely to get the money back. And the return on “investment” is negative in most cases. So saying that it’s an investment is cheating.
4. Pampered Chef MLM is a Cult
Why do people continue to work for Pampered Chef if it appears to be so bad? Our investigation of MLMs revealed that they all have cult-like company cultures.
Critical thinking is actively discouraged among MLM representatives. They are chastised and even isolated when they ask questions that deviate from the ‘this company is a-mazing’ mindset.
MLMs, like abusive partners, encourage you to isolate yourself from anyone who questions your involvement.
Those who leave an MLM are labeled as failures or bad people/influences, and reps are not allowed to contact them.
Rejection from people they once considered practically family is one of the most devastating losses experienced by former MLM representatives.
MLMs frequently expect their representatives to prioritize their events and business over their personal lives in order to further embed them in the business while separating them from their family and friends.
5. You May Need to Purchase Pampered Chef Products Yourself
If you don’t have a large network of friends, family, neighbors, and so on, you may have to buy products yourself each month. It’s a losing proposition all around.
I think it’s quite ridiculous when you have to buy the products you are trying to sell. But this is very common for people who join MLMs like Pampered Chef. That’s why in the long term, you are going to lose a lot of money, not to mention making money.
6. Pampered Chef Products are Overpriced
As with other MLMs, Pampered Chef offers overpriced products. There are many other brands that offer similar products but at lower prices.
Therefore, you may find it difficult to sell Pampered Chef products because your prospects can buy the same product elsewhere at a much cheaper price. This explains why most people who join MLMs only focus on recruitment instead of selling actual products.
7. Pampered Chef’s MLM Business Model Has a Bad Reputation
Some people have benefited financially by joining a network marketing/MLM company. Unfortunately, most people who join MLMs are left with nothing but regret and a lot of useless products that they were unable to sell.
MLM like Pampered Chef is fundamentally flawed. The distribution of commissions is skewed toward the top.
The majority of those in the top tier and pioneers make the most money, while those at the bottom will not even break even after a few months.
As a result, many people do not consider Pampered Chef to be a legitimate business opportunity.
8. Exaggerated Claims Of Income
Pampered Chef, like any other MLM company, makes exaggerated income claims, but in reality, very few people make a good living by promoting Pampered Chef.
Pampered Chef’s low retention rate can also be discouraging, as less than 41% of its distributors are active.
According to Pampered Chef’s payouts to distributors, over 99 percent of Pampered Chef distributors never make a profit.
9. Pampered Chef Is Like A Pyramid Scheme In Disguise
If you want to avoid losing money every month, the MLM will actually encourage you to recruit people.
Every system that requires you to recruit people in order to make money eventually looks like this.
Pampered Chef is not a pyramid scheme in the traditional sense because you can earn money by selling their products.
However, in order to make a living, you will need to hire others in reality.
10. Recruiting is Required to Succeed
I don’t recommend MLMs to people for this reason. MLMs like Pampered Chef put a lot of effort into recruiting. Eight out of ten ways to earn money with Pampered Chef require recruiting. If you don’t recruit, you are destined to lose money at the end of the day.
My #1 recommended platform is different. You can make a 4-figure, 5-figure or even 6-figure passive income by promoting and selling products you truly like. You don’t have to recruit people but recommend useful and great products. I will tell you more at the end of this Pampered Chef review.
11. Product Quality Is Poor And Expensive
The Pampered Chef product quality has been heavily criticized online.
Hundreds of negative reviews have been published on several review sites, including BBB and consumer affairs.
When you compare the products to their competitors, you will notice that they are quite pricey. Selling expensive products may be difficult.
It appears to be one of the MLM companies that asks for too much from their consultants rather than simply providing more.
12. It Can Be Exhausting To Host A Party
It is true that throwing parties can be a lot of fun at times.
It appears to be a lot of fun the first and second times, but people eventually grow tired and bored of them.
Partying is a real pain in the a$$. It’s also an outmoded approach to business development.
You will also need to spend money on these parties. Food, travel time, gas, and other incidentals must all be factored into your demonstrations.
You’re already spending money before your first show. Once you have recouped your investment in the show, you can begin earning a profit.
You will need to spend $300 on top of everything else for this house party.
Most people find it difficult to recoup their investment in these house parties.
You might be able to host a few parties and earn some money by inviting your friends and family. The problem is that once that audience has dried up, you’ll need to find a larger audience, which won’t be easy.
Assume you’re a superstar who sells your entire starter kit at a party. The suggested retail price is $400. Because the commission is 20%, you’ve earned $80.00.
Assume you received a $25 discount on your hosting starter kit, which means you paid only $74 for it. You’ve now earned $105 in commissions.
But don’t forget about the cost of food and other expenses associated with hosting this party. This is most likely around $50.00. You’ve now earned $55.00 for your time, effort, and energy.
Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it to go through all that trouble for the sake of $55.00 for one party.
14. Pampered Chef Receives a Lot of Customer Complaints
There are many dissatisfied customers, according to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website.
The most common complaints are about poor customer service, faulty or defective products, and insufficient refunds. Pampered Chef, on the other hand, has addressed these concerns.
15. You Need to Meet Monthly Targets
Many people are unaware that Pampered Chef has a 150 PV sales quota. You should sell $150 in products per month to earn and stay active. PV is an abbreviation for personal volume.
If you don’t, you won’t be able to get any money. However, there is a way around this: purchase the products yourself. That defeats the purpose of your desire to make money.
16. Pampered Chef is Becoming Less Popular
According to Google Trends, Pampered Chef is not a very popular search term. Knowing that no one is interested in their products makes selling them difficult.
17. Pampered Chef Does Not Have an Income Disclosure Statement
My search for income disclosure statements for Pampered Chef consultants yielded no results. This raises some serious red flags in my opinion.
Why not share their earnings if you offer a great business opportunity and tell people they will be able to make a good living as a pampered chef consultant?
The goal is to conceal information because their consultants do not make a lot of money.
Who Is Pampered Chef MLM For?
Those who enjoy cooking and are knowledgeable about various cooking tools may find this company appealing.
Otherwise, it will be difficult to sell overpriced and unfamiliar items.
Because recruiting new members is difficult, it is also ideal for people with MLM experience.
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Pampered Chef MLM Positive and Negative Feedbacks by Real Users
Pampered Chef MLM Positive Feedbacks
- The company has been around for a long time, having been founded in 1980.
- The Better Business Bureau has given Pampered Chef an A+ rating.
- All Pampered Chef products come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pampered Chef MLM Negative Feedbacks
- Some customers have criticized the price of certain products.
- House parties are used as traditional marketing methods, and the company does not have an automated online marketing platform.
- It may be difficult to sell the products because cheaper alternatives are available elsewhere.
- MLM is challenging. With a high failure rate, success necessitates advanced skills, a strong marketing platform, and assistance.
Pampered Chef MLM Review: Final Verdict
Here comes the conclusion of my Pampered Chef MLM review. Overall, I don’t recommend joining Pampered Chef MLM to make money.
You will have a tough time at the beginning when you are prospecting and trying to find recruiters to add to your Pampered Chef commission.
The worst part is that you practically have to ask your family and friends to join your Pampered Chef business opportunity. It’s not fun.
Your upline is constantly following up with you to encourage you to buy more Business Support Material even as you struggle to get people to join your downline.
The reality is that you’re likely to lose more money. Statistics confirm this as well. 99% of people who join an MLM break even or lose money, according to a case study on the FTC’s website.
People who join these MLM-type businesses often feel under pressure to succeed, and that is one of the main reasons they leave.
Why not consider starting your own online business if you want to earn money and have a flexible schedule?
Thus, you can choose what you want to promote rather than having someone tell you what you must promote.
Let me tell you how to build an online business in a legit way to make passive income online in the next section. This has allowed me to make a full-time income in a year. Most importantly, unlike MLM models, It’s 100% legit and sustainable.
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But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?
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Compared with Authority Hacker, Wealthy Affiliate has a much longer history, which has been established for 15 years and there are many success stories in the past decade. Actually, Wealthy Affiliate has more than a million members so far, so you can see how popular this platform is.
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Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?
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Pampered Chef MLM FAQs
1. How To Make Money From Pampered Chef?
Pampered Chef offers two ways to earn money, just like any traditional MLM company.
- People who need their products are selling them directly to them.
- Recruiting people under you and making money from their sales
However, you have to give them some money before you start making money from Pampered Chef.
2. How To Join Pampered Chef?
If you’re interested in joining Pampered Chef, you simply need to visit their website, fill out your information, and wait for them to contact you.
You need to purchase a Pampered Chef consultant kit in order to register as a Pampered Chef consultant.
3. Is Pampered Chef Overpriced?
We don’t understand how a slew of products purchased for $259 can be flipped for upwards of $1000.
As a result, without some high-level sales training, it’s difficult to see how a regular person could make money with Pampered Chef.
We may believe that the products themselves are overpriced.
4. How much do Pampered Chef consultants make?
Consultants at Pampered Chef are paid according to their sales levels.
Please review their compensation plan below:
- 20% commission rate for $1 to $749 monthly sales.
- 22% commission rate for $750 to $1249 monthly sales.
- 23% commission rate for $1250 to $2449 monthly sales.
- 24% commission rate for $2500 to $3999 monthly sales.
- 25% commission rate for over $4000 monthly sales.
In comparison to any other network marketing company, Pampered Chef offers a pretty solid compensation plan that can compete with any network marketing company.
However, making money is very hard.
