You might had of MLMs before and wondered how do they work. Today, we will be reviewing Origami Owl to find out about its business opportunity. In this guide, we will dicuss what is Origami Owl? What does it do? How can you earn money with Origami Owl? Most importantly, is Origami Owl a fraud or a legit business?
In this deep dive, we present our research. By the end of it, we hope you will make an informed decision. So, let us get started.
What is Origami Owl?
Origami Owl is an American multi-level marketing company founded in 2010. Isabella Weems (Bella) founded Origami Owl, or OO or O2, at the age of 14, or so would the company like you to believe.
In reality, Bella’s mom founded Origami Owl and brought in Bella’s uncle and aunt to be marketing CEOs. Naming Bella as the founder was a marketing move, which was a smart one. Bella’s mom indeed got the idea from her daughter. Bella would save up her babysitting savings and make lockets to sell to her friends.
OO expanded quickly in its early stages when it first introduced the MLM business model. Since then, more products have been added to the product list and thus more revenue. Origami Owl has a business concept similar to LulaRoe, Color Street, Paparazzi Accessories, and SeneGence.
In 2014, Origami Owl generated over $250 million in revenue. It also entered the list of top direct selling companies in North America. Origami Owl ranked 32nnd, according to the Direct Selling Network.
Even with all its success, Origami Owl has one of the worst records for poor customer service. According to Better Business Bureau (BBB), Origami Owl has a B+ rank with over 310 customer complaints on the quality of products.
The Origami Owl Product Line
Origami Owl is a jewelry company that manufactures and sells personalized accessories. You can get living lockets, bracelets, and charms among their products.
According to the company website, Isabella designs and creates various products. These one-of-a-kind accessories are what made the company flourish. The most popular product is the living locket. It comprises translucent glass. In the mirror, you can place charms and trinkets that you like.
Origami Owl sells chains, plates, bracelets, custom inscribed jewelry, and dangles. Earrings, watches, lanyards, and CORE are among other products you can find in their collection.
Origami Owl Prices
Charms, which come in hundreds of designs, go for only $6 on their website. You can choose from various floral, insect, and bridal designs.
Lockets cost between $24 and $44 and are better in quality than charms. Chains are simple and cheaper than lockets. They retail at $12-$40 on the Origami Owl website. The watch collection looks decent and cool but is relatively pricier. A watch sells for more than $100.
Necklaces, similar to chains, have an almost identical price range, from $28 to $44. Rings go for $40 to $48, ranging from birthstones to Harry Potter.
The issue with OO’s product quality
Part of the 311 complaints from Origami Owl is the issue with their product quality. According to their customers, what you see is not what you get. Perhaps there would not be a problem if the products were not as expensive and advertised as ‘high-end.’
However, the products on the website are stunning and youthful. However, the materials are cheap, almost like cheap plastic. Some customers claimed that their charms fell off after a single wear. The chains break easily, and the latches barely hold them in place.
For $40-50 dollars, you would expect something more.
How to join Origami Owl
To become an independent designer at Origami Owl, you need a $149 sign-up fee. The $149 starter fee gets you the business basics package, which includes:
- Access to a mentor
- Training materials and guide
- Online training suite (24/7)
- A set of Origami Owl pieces
- Marketing tools like flyers, posters, and some order forms
You can also start as a designer with Origami Owl with other kits, which include:
- The $399 Origami Owl Kit
According to their update, the kit bears some attractive discounts. Business supplies are free, and the next time you refill them, you get a 30% discount on lockets and chains. You also enjoy a 50% discount on the plates, dangles, and charms.
This party package gets you $200 in personal volume for the month. Once you attain $250, you get a 25% Hoot Loot reward. This reward gets you merchandise you can sell and earn a lot. For instance, if you get $25 from the PV in charms, you can sell them for $50. Therefore, you get $50 into your pocket by selling these charms at your party.
How do you earn money with Origami Owl?
Origami Owl has a standard MLM business model. Like any other multi-level marketing business, you can earn money in one of two ways:
- Sell their products directly
- Recruiting members to sell
If you are not up for the challenge of recruiting members or hosting parties, then Origami Owl is not the business for you. Once you join Origami Owl, you become a designer. That is the base level in the company or an individual seller if you like.
As a designer, you get to host a jewelry bar (a home party), where you demo and sell the Origami Owl products. You can also recruit new members under you. The customers have to confirm their orders through a phone call or its website.
Being a jewelry bar host earns you some rewards. Once you share the Origami Owl Jewelry experience, you get to enjoy:
- Free jewelry– you get to acquire the Hostess Hoot Loot. This is like a voucher that you can exchange for free jewelry
- Incentives and discounts– You can earn free items from the reward table on your selected products. The reward program allows you, an independent seller, to get free and discounted items.
- More fun with +1– Origami Owl believes that the more guests you have, the more money you will make. So, they encourage you to host jewelry bars and maximize attendance by encouraging your friends, family, and co-workers to bring an extra friend with them
It is all good until you notice the requirements. First, you need to make at least $250 in retail sales. In addition, there must be at least four attendees to your part. The buyers need to call the company to place an order. The customer service experience is not ideal for some reason, but about that later.
Origami Owl Compensation Plan
MLM companies have complicated compensation plans, and Origami Owl is no different. The company has eight ranks, with the designer being the lowest and the executive director the highest. To reach the executive director’s position, you need 700 Personal volumes in sales and seven recruits below you.
These recruits need to be at level seven. However, you can have two members in level six. Upon selling or recruiting new members, you can:
- Earn vacations, rewards, and recognition for your efforts
- Create a team and earn money by teaching them how to sell
- Earn 30%-50% in commission for your retail jewelry sales
If you invest in the minimum option, you get an item at a 50% discount, with an exclusive 20% discount on your purchases.
If you buy products worth more than $1,000, you can get four products at half the price and some complimentary items. In addition, charms, dangles, and plates earn you a 50% commission, while everything else brings in 30%.
An important selling point of the Origami Owl jewelry business opportunity is that you can receive your payment weekly or monthly; however you like.
The payout you get from Origami Owl constitutes various bonuses and rewards. These include:
- Retail profits
As mentioned before, the retail profits can range from 20%-50% depending on what you sell. What you order from the company earns different discount rates, hence the variation in income.
These discounts come with wholesale rates, but you could bite more than you can chew.
- A sponsor bonus
Once you recruit members to your team, you can earn a 6%-10% commission on their sales. However, these members should at least be on the senior designer rank.
- Rank advancement bonus
As the name suggests, you get to earn a one-time $50 reward when you become a team leader.
- Mentor bonus
As a mentor, you help guide your team members to make sales. So, whenever you direct recruit purchases products from Origami Owl, you earn between 3% and 7% commission. However, you must be an executive designer for this bonus.
- Generational bonus
Once you become a director, you can earn commission depending on your sales volume, plus your direct recruit’s volume. The bonus pays 0.5% to 1% on a maximum of two generations.
Pros and Cons of Origami Owl
There are good points to Origami Owl and some undesirable features.
Pros
- Origami Owl has a unique and ingenious direct selling strategy
- Since you are dealing with jewelry, there is less competition compared to other MLM businesses like the health and wellness industry
- The core value at Origami Owl is to empower its clients so that they succeed
- Origami Owl has some cheap products, which is a rare sight among MLMs nowadays
- They are open with their information, including their compensation plan and income disclosure statements.
- Origami Owl has been around for more than a decade now, and their profits have been steady, which means they must be doing something right.
Cons
- As you join Origami Owl, you are looking for financial freedom. However, according to the Origami Owl income disclosure statement, you will have to find a side hassle for that. Over 93% of the 20,000 active designers in the US earned an average of $82.22. Now, spending $149 on a starter pack and making $250 in monthly sales is not worth $82.22 annual income.
- They have a complicated compensation plan. A good opportunity has a clear compensation plan. So, when the plan is too complex, it makes you wonder if that is a deliberate action to hide something
- You need to keep recruiting to earn commissions. This is an undesirable feature of the MLM business model. You have to keep adding to your list of recruits to make money.
- There are many complaints about their customer service experience. When you host these jewelry bars, the customers purchase directly from the company. However, calling their help desk might get you a 2-hour hold, plus a rude greeting, as some customers claim.
So, is Origami Owl a Pyramid Scheme?
All evidence points to the legitimacy of this jewelry company. They have actual products that you can sell to customers. They also have their compensation plan and income disclosure statements published for the public.
You can also make money with the company by selling their products or recruiting. However, this is only excellent when it is your side hassle and not your full-time job. As seen from the income statement, the average earning is too low to be your sole income source.
However, you can climb the ranks and get more commissions by recruiting and selling more. The task is doable, but you have to pour your blood, sweat, and tears to reach a level where you can rely on the job to provide.
Bottom line, Origami Owl Jewelry is not a scam, but that does not mean it is a business worth your investment. Looking at the numbers, you notice that the income is not ideal. Moreover, if you are not the persuasive type, this is not your business.
Our Recommendation
Origami Owl is an inspiring company founded by a 14-year old and making millions in revenue. However, the returns are not as promising. You may venture into the business and end up making no sales.
Before investing in a $149 starter pack, you should consider your odds. Once you join, you need people with exceptional sales skills and excellent face-to-face recruiting. So, if you have no sales experience, DO NOT venture into the business. Otherwise, you can join and work hard to rise the ranks. But we can’t promise you any success with Origami Owl.
Instead, you can go through some training on best business opportunities and learn more about affiliate marketing. Then, you can come back and earn some money with Origami Owl Jewelry.
