Complaint Review: Onyx Wholesale-aka Observe-L-Essence

To use the word 'respectfully' in the proper context:

I am not going to get all bleeding heart about the homeless kid, or the tactics used here that are at minimum, decades old. My fiancee' attended the '1st interview' this afternoon and pretty much got the same opinion of Iris. We did a little research, found some negative blogs, positive blogs, and a carload of red flags on Onyx's own website.

The reality is, that if it is a reputable business, with an established product that people legitimately WANT to buy, then a base salary is offered, along with paid training. Nobody works for a week and makes $50, that's absurd. A legitimate sales job ALWAYS has paid training and a base salary + commission after that. These tactics are used to sell bad products and circumvent minimum wage laws to do it. 'Free training' to sell a specific company's specific product is NOT AN EDUCATION!!!! For those who actually want an EDUCATION in sales, it's called a Marketing Degree and it's available at every accredited academic institution in the United States. Which you can get loans and grants to pay your expenses to achieve if you are destitute.

The fact of the matter is, that businesses like Onyx are not new, they've been in place for decades, they absolutely use brain washing tactics to make one feel as if the only thing that stands between them and a mountain of money is their own motivation, that if they don't take this 'opportunity', they are lazy and/or stupid. I fell victim to the same thing when I was very young, about 25 years ago, and i'll tell you that Chris sounds like a carbon copy of the guy I was victimized by. At minimum these people take advantage of desperate, hungry people, and a minimum abuse, if not completely violate labor laws and until someone gets wise and starts suing these types of people and fight back, they will continue to get their hooks in.

I can only say I am pleased that we chose to take a little closer look before anymore time was wasted.

Good Luck!

A lot of people come onto these complaint boards to slam Scentura, or the office that recruited them, or the product, etc.

It's really not that complicated... You're given a product that you don't have to pay for until after you sell it.  Then you're taught how to sell it.  It's a numbers game, just see the people. Not a very exciting or glamorous way to sell something, but it works.

Once you're strong in the field, you train others and run sales trips. This is a microcosm of running an office.  Learn to run a sales trip and manage money/merchandise for 3 or 4 people, then move onto running an office with 20 or more people, and thousands in money/merch.

After you've learned to run teams and trips, you learn the administration and recruiting.

Then you get a shot to run your own deal.  That's all there is to it.

It's not a job, it's a chance to learn a business FOR FREE.  It's a chance to have someone else fund the opening of YOUR business.  And yes, they make money when you open your office.  Which is why they are invested in your success.  This is why they start new groups every week. The more people they can teach this business and get them into their own office, the more money they make.  That's how you know their desire to help you succeed is for real, that's how you know they're not lying to you - YOU WILL GET YOUR OWN OFFICE if you finish training.  

Every owner pays the same price on the merchandise.  There are people who have only been open a couple years that are making more money than people who've been doing it 5 years. It's not a pyramid, it's a level playing field.  Everyone has the same opportunity to open their own office and promote out new owners.  The margins and the opportunity to make money are the same, whether you've been around for 20 years, or you're brand new. And doesn't it make sense to work in an environment where everyone around you actually wants you to succeed, versus secretly hoping you fail so you don't take their job?  You decide.

By the way, if you look at the hierarchy of most businesses, they're shaped like pyramids.  A pyramid as defined by law is "a business model that is supported by monies paid in from new entrants." Onyx doesn't ask for a dime to learn the business.

Bottom line - if it's not for you, don't do it.  If you have other options and opportunities that may better suit you, then by all means.  The way people talk on these scam boards, they act like someone held a gun to their head and made them do it.  And I'd be willing to bet they were NEVER ONCE told they'd receive a salary, an hourly wage, or any other set pay during training or when they open.  More likely, they were given income PARAMETERS.  Which means if you do things right, you are likely to make between X and Y.

And once they started, they probably signed an Independent Contractor agreement. You know what that means? It means you're not an employee.  You know why?  Because it's not a job.  You're in training to learn a business.

Some people don't have a lot of opportunity, education, background, experience, etc. And they'll never really get a chance to do something. This is a chance for them.  No need to slam it just because it's not for you.

Either do the business, or don't.  Plain and simple.

I used to live in CO and have run across these before (they're especially popular in the Boulder-Denver areas where there's lots of students desperate for money and a career prospect). Onyx is just another MLM or essentially legal, slightly altered version of a PYRAMID SCHEME. Let's see here...

-Do they advertise on job sites/listings online (like Craigslist or Monster), by putting up paper flyers, through generic letters sent to local students?
-Do they promise you a future in sales, that many people have become wildly successful in their program, that you could one day soon become a 'manager,' 'consultant,' 'team leader' or another important-sounding title? Do they make it sound like you could make vast amounts of money as long as you put in the work?
-Do they encourage you to recruit others beneath you... that if you meet a certain number of people you recommend/hire that you can be their boss and get promoted? Do they constantly insist that you barrage family, friends and acquaintances to buy their goods/services or join the company?
-Do they make you pay upfront for a special 'kit,' 'tools,' 'package,' 'training program/seminar' or purchase a certain number of goods 'just to get you started?'
-Do they operate out of one or more small and odd, dingy locations, or have no central location at all?
-Do the people in charge seem initially really pepped up and excited? Do they compliment and flatter you or imply that only YOU out of a handful of interviewees has been chosen? Do they tempt you by saying how quickly they made a vast amt of money, and all the fancy stuff they got with it? Do they push you to sign up fast otherwise you might lose this golden opportunity?
-Do they make vague references to you being a 'consultant,' a 'salesperson/sales associate,' a 'manager' or some other kind of fancy-but-generic title, only to turn around and force you to sell door-to-door, over the phone or to complete strangers?
-Do they harass you to do better or blame you harshly when you fail to make enough money or recruit enough new members? Do they pressure you to give them more money or come up with hidden fees or penalties so that they can bilk you on the money you worked so hard to earn?
-If you leave or threaten to expose them, do they intimidate you? Do they immediately jump on any criticism online or in the media as soon as they find it and respond back either as employees, 'members of the public' or customers (when really they are all just sockpuppets of the company), naturally saying how great the business is and how wrong the detractors are for calling it a scam? (See above for proof of this.)

...Yeah, legitimate businesses do not answer 'yes' to many of these questions, but MLMs certainly do. Oh and don't give me that 'it's not a pyramid scheme' BS... if you're having trouble understanding, start by drawing a little guy at the top of a page, he's the CEO/owner/President. Now draw a few guys under him that are his top executives. Each exec has some lil guys under him, and so on and so forth, until we get down to the poor kids they hire with big promises they can't fulfill, and when those kids harass someone enough into becoming a 'member,' add them beneath the kids. OH IT'S SHAPED LIKE A PYRAMID, HMM, FUNNY.

Respectfully, I think this person may have missed the whole point.  It's not a job, it's about learning a proven business model and getting a chance to be a business owner.  People spend tens of thousands of dollars and years of their life in college, with no real guarantee of a job.  Onyx will train you for free, it only takes 90 days, and then you're guaranteed a shot at running your own deal where you can turn a profit right out of the gate.

When you think of it like that, it's a pretty incredible opportunity, and you won't find that in too many other places. It's not for everyone, because it is a tough business.  But for someone that doesn't really have much else going on, it may be worth a shot.