What Young Living is and how distributors earn

Young Living is a direct sales company that sells essential oils, wellness products, and skincare items through independent distributors rather than retail stores. Distributors buy products at wholesale prices and sell them to customers at retail prices, keeping the difference as profit. The company also pays commissions when distributors recruit others into their downline — a structure common to all direct sales businesses.

Young Living calls its distributors "members" and organizes them into levels based on how much product they purchase and how many people they recruit. The more recruits in your downline, and the more those recruits purchase, the higher your potential commission. This means your income depends on two separate activities: selling products to end customers, and recruiting and supporting other distributors.

The company was founded in 1994 and is privately held. It operates in multiple countries and reports annual revenue in the billions, though the company does not publicly disclose how much of that comes from product sales to consumers versus commissions paid to distributors for recruitment.

Key Takeaways

  • Young Living distributors buy products wholesale and sell retail, but most income in direct sales comes from recruiting others rather than from customer sales.
  • The company requires an initial purchase to join and ongoing monthly purchases to remain active and receive commissions.
  • Distributors at higher ranks earn commissions on the sales of people they recruited, creating a layered income structure.
  • The Federal Trade Commission has warned that in most direct sales companies, the majority of participants earn little to no profit after expenses.
  • Young Living has faced multiple lawsuits and regulatory actions related to its business practices and income claims.

Startup costs and monthly purchase requirements

To become a Young Living distributor, you must purchase a starter kit, which typically costs between $50 and $300 depending on which package you choose. The kit includes sample products and materials to help you get your free guide. This is your entry fee to the business.

After joining, Young Living requires distributors to make a monthly purchase order to remain active and may be able to access to earn commissions. The minimum monthly order is typically $50 in product value, though many distributors purchase more. If you do not place an order in a given month, you lose your rank and your ability to earn commissions that month. This means your costs continue whether or not you make sales.

Beyond the starter kit and monthly orders, you may also spend money on marketing materials, training events, and travel to attend company conferences. These costs are not required by Young Living but are common expenses for distributors trying to build their business.

How the commission structure works

Young Living pays commissions in two ways: retail commissions on products you sell directly to customers, and wholesale commissions on products purchased by people in your downline.

Retail commissions are typically 20 to 25 percent of the product price when you sell to a customer who is not a distributor. This is straightforward: you buy at wholesale, sell at retail, and keep the markup.

Wholesale commissions come from your downline — the people you recruited. When someone you recruited purchases products, you earn a percentage of that purchase. The percentage depends on your rank and how many levels deep into your downline the purchase occurs. Higher ranks earn commissions on more levels of their downline. For example, a distributor at a higher rank might earn commissions on purchases made by people they recruited, people those recruits recruited, and people in the next level down.

The exact commission percentages and the number of downline levels that pay commissions change periodically and vary by product category. Young Living publishes a compensation plan document that outlines these rates, but the plan is complex and designed to reward those who recruit aggressively.

Rank advancement and what it requires

Young Living uses a rank system with titles like Distributor, Senior Distributor, Star, and higher levels. Your rank determines how much commission you earn and how many downline levels pay you.

To advance in rank, you must meet two criteria: a personal sales volume requirement and a downline sales volume requirement. Personal volume is the wholesale value of products you purchase for yourself or sell to customers. Downline volume is the total wholesale value of all purchases made by people in your downline.

Higher ranks require significantly larger downline volumes, which means you must recruit more people and those people must purchase more products. The company publishes the exact volume thresholds for each rank, but reaching the highest ranks typically requires a large, active downline.

If you do not maintain your rank requirements in a given month, you drop to a lower rank. This means your commission percentage decreases and you lose access to commissions from deeper levels of your downline. Many distributors find themselves cycling between ranks rather than advancing steadily.

Income reality: what research shows about earnings

The Federal Trade Commission has studied direct sales companies and found that the vast majority of participants earn little to no profit. In most cases, distributors spend more on required purchases and business expenses than they make from sales and commissions.

Young Living does not publish detailed income disclosure statements showing what percentage of distributors earn at each rank or how much the average distributor makes. Without this data, it is difficult to know your realistic earning potential before joining.

Research by academics and consumer advocates who have analyzed direct sales companies suggests that fewer than 1 percent of distributors reach high ranks, and most people who join earn nothing or lose money. The income structure is designed to reward recruitment over retail sales, which means most of the money flows to a small number of people at the top of the organization.

Young Living has faced multiple lawsuits alleging that it operates as a pyramid scheme — a structure where income comes primarily from recruitment rather than from selling products to real customers. The company denies these allegations, but the lawsuits reflect ongoing concern about whether the business model is sustainable for most participants.

Regulatory actions and legal challenges

Young Living has been the subject of investigations and legal actions by state attorneys general and consumer protection agencies. In 2021, the company agreed to pay $5 million to settle allegations by the state of Washington that it made false income claims to distributors.

The company has also faced class action lawsuits from former distributors alleging that Young Living operates as a pyramid scheme and that the company made misleading statements about earning potential. These cases are ongoing or have been settled, but they indicate that regulators and courts have taken the allegations seriously enough to pursue them.

Young Living operates in a legal gray area. Direct sales is not illegal, but the FTC has clear guidelines: a company is a pyramid scheme if it pays participants primarily for recruitment rather than for selling products to real customers. Whether Young Living meets this definition depends on how much of its revenue comes from distributor purchases versus genuine retail sales to non-distributors.

Comparing Young Living to other direct sales models

Young Living operates similarly to other large direct sales companies in the wellness and skincare space, such as Herbalife, Monat, and doTERRA. All of these companies use a downline commission structure and require ongoing purchases to remain active.

The key difference between direct sales companies is the ratio of retail sales to distributor purchases. Companies where most revenue comes from real customers tend to have lower startup costs, lower monthly purchase requirements, and more realistic earning potential for average distributors. Companies where most revenue comes from distributor purchases tend to have higher requirements and steeper income pyramids.

If you are considering Young Living, it is worth comparing the startup costs, monthly requirements, and commission structure to other direct sales companies or to traditional retail or online sales opportunities. The time and money you invest in Young Living could potentially be used in a business model with lower barriers and more transparent income data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to recruit people to make money with Young Living?

Technically no — you can earn retail commissions by selling products directly to customers without recruiting anyone. However, the commission percentage on retail sales is lower than the potential commissions from a downline, and most distributors find it difficult to build a profitable retail customer base. The business model is structured to reward recruitment, so most successful distributors do recruit.

What happens if I stop buying products each month?

If you do not place a monthly order, you become inactive. You lose your rank, you stop earning commissions, and you can no longer earn money from your downline's purchases. You can reactivate by placing an order, but you will have to rebuild your rank if you want to earn higher commissions again.

Can I return unsold products to Young Living?

Young Living has a return policy, but it is limited. You can return unopened products within a certain timeframe for a refund, but the policy does not cover all situations. If you purchase products and cannot sell them, you may not be able to return them for a full refund, which means you absorb the loss.

Is Young Living a pyramid scheme?

Young Living denies operating as a pyramid scheme, and direct sales is legal. However, the FTC defines a pyramid scheme as a business where participants earn primarily from recruitment rather than from selling products to real customers. Whether Young Living meets this definition is a matter of ongoing legal dispute, and multiple lawsuits have been filed making this allegation.

How much money do most Young Living distributors make?

Young Living does not publish income disclosure statements, so the exact average is unknown. However, research on direct sales companies suggests that most distributors earn little to no profit after expenses. The company has settled regulatory cases alleging false income claims, which suggests that many distributors were told they could earn more than they actually did.