Avon has no much explanation needed when someone introduces and convinces you to join as a representative. But, the question is “Can you make money selling Avon?”
I think that’s probably the case you visited my website and read my review right now. I like to give you a big huge since you googled it and tried to avoid being scammed. That’s great!
First of all, I am not associated with Avon. This review is simply to reveal my findings from Avon’s compensation plan, so you can trust me that I am not going to sell you Avon’s products on this post.
Secondly, Avon runs the business for more than 134 years as of this writing. A company like this should know very well about how to stay in business. You don’t have to worry about much on the business opportunity from Avon, and it’s hard to question Avon’s credibility.
Let’s read on for more details.
Disclaimer: As the owner of Smileaffiliatesuccess.com, I have tracked down special deals for products, tools, and services mentioned herein. When you click my affiliate links on this page to make a purchase, I may get a small commission, and you will definitely get a great bargain. This is a win-win advantage for both of us.
What Is Avon?
-Summary of Avon-
Product Name: Avon
Founders: founded in 1886 by David McConnell
Product Type: beauty, personal care, and household MLM(Multi-level Marketing)
Price: $10 Sign-up fee + $25/$50/$100 starter kits
Rating: 40 / 100
Recommend: No
Avon is founded by David McConnell back in 1886. He first started as a door-to-door salesman of books, then turned to sell fragrance when he discovered that fragrance is more like to get the attention of women. That was the beginning he found the empire of Avon.
Avon had annual sales of $5.5 billion worldwide in 2018 with 6.4 million representatives around the globe. It has cosmetics, skincare, and personal care products, and you won’t run out of products to promote any time soon.
It also becomes the second-largest MLM company(just behind Amway) and the fifth beauty company on this planet after 134-year business operations.

What’s inside Avon?
Avon has so many products that you won’t run out of ideas to sell to anyone you know. But, I won’t go through each item on this post since it’s not the main intent here. I will only talk about the items that I have interests in and would likely share with my friends if I join Avon.
Product Lines
- Makeup: Lipsticks, mascara, foundation, blush, etc.
- Skin Care: Moisturizers, serums, cleanser & toners, scrub & masks, etc.
- Bath & Body: Body lotion & spray, deodorant, hand cream & wash, etc.
- Fragrance: Perfumes, candles with fresh & sweet or many scents.
- Jewelry: Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches, etc.
- Men(Yes, for men): fragrances, grooming kits, and watches.
For all information, you may check HERE or online catalogs for every item that Avon has to offer.
Does Avon Product Work?
Yes, based on my research, they receive a good review from the customers. Especially the fragrance – the first item Mr. McConnell created in the late 1880s, Avon still produces an excellent line of quality perfumes.
How Does Avon Business Work?
There are two main ways to make money with Avon just like all the other MLMs, and Avon has no exception.
- Selling Avon products to earn commissions
- Recruiting people to sell Avon products for more bonuses & incentives
Getting Started
You need to sign up with Avon at just $10, then to decide which starter kits you are going to purchase to start your journey with Avon. I listed out all the details below for a better understanding, or you could check HERE.
- Quick Starter Kit $25(over $80 value)
- Advanced Starter Kit – Your cost $50 (Over $190 Value!)
- Premium Starter Kit – Your Cost $100 (Over $400 value!)

The Compensation Plan
I cannot find any official compensation plan on Avon’s website, and the below info is from one of Avon’s representatives.
- Representative Commissions: 20%-40% commissions of retail sales depends on your campaign sales.
- Qualified Recruit Bonus: You will earn a $20 one time for each qualified recruit you personally recruit to your team. This new member must purchase at least $150 of products(or more) within their first two campaigns.
- Sponsoring Bonus: You will receive a 3% sponsoring bonus when your recruit place an order of any value and you place an order of at least $50. This bonus is on top of other bonuses you will earn from that sale.
- Promotion Bonus: When your team grows, your ranking rises too. When you reach Bronze Ambassador, you could get a $500 promotion bonus and it is paid out in four equal installments. You need to maintain the same status to get the full payout.
- Generation Bonus: Your team gets stronger when your team makes more sales. Once one of your recruits becomes a star promoter, you can start to earn a bonus of 1%-5%. At the same time, you need to meet the minimum requirements for the specific title to get this bonus.

There are some other bonuses and incentives, but I am not going to explain all. You could check HERE or watch the YouTube Video below.
What I Liked About Avon
TOP#1 Longevity
It’s hard to imagine that Avon survived two World Wars and the great depression, and it still runs the business today in over 100 countries. I tend to pick the oldest one if I want to join any MLM to start making extra money. Avon might be the pick.
When a company has annual sales of $5.5 billion worldwide and runs business more than a century, it only means they are good at handling risks. The possibility of being bankrupt seems lower than other new MLM start-ups.
TOP#2 Donations
Since the early 1990s, Avon kept donating towards breast cancer research and care through the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
They understand the majority of customers are female, and there are just 2 in 5 are confident that they know the early sign of breast cancer.
This is aimed to raise awareness of the symptoms of breast cancer and how to lower the risk of developing the disease.

TOP#3 Low Cost to Start
The sign-up fee is only $10, and I cannot think of any other MLM that has the same competitive cost. When you first start your journey, it’s common that we don’t want to spend too much and just want to give it a try.
Avon knows it well, and it might be the reason why Avon could have 6.4 million representatives around the globe. You could still choose the higher cost of start kits($50 & $100) if you want to show your customers a complete Avon’s experience.
Ugly Truth About Avon
TOP#1 Not Transparent
People join Avon because they want to make money with it. Without the income disclosure, it’s difficult to know the averagely annual income of being a representative.
Hiding the income disclosure from Avon’s website makes recruiting harder for every representative since people tend to believe the real numbers shown on the internet.
My thought on this is that a report with low numbers of average income is much better than nothing revealed.
TOP#2 Chinese Corruption Charges
Since 2008, at least four executives, both in Asia and in the USA, were suspended for bribery.
According to New York Times, Avon settled the bribery charges for a total of $135 million, $68 million in criminal penalties, with the remainder in interest, disgorgement, and fines from a civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
TOP#3 Animal Testing
Avon vowed in 1989 that they would no longer use animals for testing in the USA. But, people found Avon still runs animal testing for sunscreen products, whitening/pigmentation products, and hair dye/perm/ or growth products in China.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) does not include Avon in the cruelty-free list because Avon is not a global animal-testing free.
Who Is Avon For?
Women, housewives, or anyone female who likes to give Avon a try.
If you also have excellent presentation skills and you know how to recruit new members, I think you must try Avon for a few bucks in the pocket.
If you do not have the skills I mentioned above, I would suggest you try other ways to make extra money. What is my recommendation? I will reveal my TOP#1 recommendation right away.
Can You Make Money Selling Avon?
Yes, definitely! I see many aunties earned lots of money when I was a kid.
There are no secrets to be successful with Avon. The winning shortcut is as same as doing other MLM businesses. The more time you put, the more people you recruit, the more sales you and your team make, the more you get paid.
Avon runs business longer than one century, so please know that it might be saturated in your region. There might be lots of women selling Avon door to door just like David McConnell already.
If you live in a region that is lack of Avon’s representatives, I must say “You get lucky!” You must work your butt off to get the bonuses home as soon as possible ahead of others.
Is Avon A Scam?
No. There is no scam that can live longer than a century. If there is, please leave a comment below. I would like to review it at the earliest.
Avon has legitimate products, especially for its fragrance product line. After 134 years, it still stands like a giant in the world. There is no much to say about its credibility, and it’s very difficult to find another MLM like Avon.
Before you click Avon’s sign-up button, I want you to ask yourself some questions:
Are you able to work consistently to maximize your earnings when there is no official income disclosure from Avon? It could take you 2 years, 3 years, or 5 years to see the positive results!
Do you like to sell things(cosmetics mostly) to your friends, family, or your colleagues and could stand their indifference after your introduction?
Or can you take “No!” as feedback from them without hurting your feelings?
If you cannot accept them at all, I would recommend you try affiliate marketing! This is exactly what I am doing right now!
My Alternative Way to Make Money Online
My alternative way to make money online is through Affiliate Marketing instead of promoting Avon products in person. Try to imagine you sell Avon’s products to your friends, family, or anyone you know, don’t you feel embarrassed or super nervous? They might avoid you ever since.
Doing affiliate marketing will save you from that!
You don’t even need to buy any physical or digital products and sell to someone face to face. You also don’t need to convince people to join you as you downlines to build a team.
You only need to create a website or YouTube channel with quality content that makes people trust you then purchase them through your links.
The platform I am using currently is Wealthy Affiliate. The reasons are all the training courses, every Friday night LIVE training courses, 24/7 sitesupport, and the most friendly community.
For more details or top secrets about Wealthy Affiliate, you could check my full review in the below link.
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Here are some of the most active members from Wealthy Affiliate. Each of them did succeed in generating a sustainable income to replace their 9-5 jobs. You are more than welcome to check their stories HERE.
- I Made Over $1 Million With Affiliate Marketing.
- Can someone make a full time income promoting WA? You bet they can!
- What Does $1000 Per Day Look Like?
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I hope you enjoy this review and you are more than welcome to share ideas or leave your comments below. I will reply as soon as I can, thanks.
When I was a kid we had an Avon Lady that came to our house every week. My mom would sit and have tea and snacks with her and they would go through the catalogue and talk about all the deals. She would always bring these mini lipstick samples and let me choose some to keep. She was like a part of the family!!!
A couple years ago I had an Avon lady and I would buy lotions and little stocking stuffer gifts from her. It’d definitely still a company that’s moving forward.
Hi Tara,
Thanks for the feedback and I agree with you that Avon is still rocking the world. But, it’s not my first choice to make extra money any time soon since I am introvert and cannot deal with face-to-face sellings.
If you are like me, I would suggest you read my FULL REVIEW of this platform I am using currently. I hope you find it interesting and helping, so enjoy it. 🙂
Cheers,
Matt
Wow. A great, thorough review of Avon. So if you can make money with Avon, why do you not recommend it? I guess the negatives. Non-transparent, which means a lot to me. Bribery charges. What were they bribing for? I appreciate all the info you provided here. Thank you.
Hi Paula,
Avon’s Chinese subsidiary paid out $8m to obtain a direct selling license in China, so they conducted lots of bribery activities.
One more thing, I have to admit I am very introvert, so I feel panic when I need to pitch or promote any products to my friends, family, and my colleagues. That’s the reason I don’t want to go for Avon. But, if you are super out-going and have so many friends, I would suggest you try Avon since I saw many of my aunties are making money by Avon.
I believe you have a strong passion for Avon, you might be interested in Amway. You are welcome to check my full review for Amway HERE!
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
A good and balanced review of the Avon MLM program, and anyone who’s looking at any MLM would do well to follow the approach you took – in particular they should respond honestly those questions you asked at the end!
The key to a successful MLM business is the quality of the product and whether the products meed a genuine need.
Cheers,
Martin.
Hello Martin,
Thanks for the feedback, love to hear someone who shares the same thought as me. And, I think you also got my meaning of how it takes to become a successful MLM. Avon is doing quite well based on this principle, otherwise, it won’t last more than 134 years.
Cheers,
Matt