Is Usborne Books A Scam? Read Before You Join [Review]

There are a whole host of educational books, absolutely thousands of them available from Usborne books. 

It is impossible to detail all of them. Instead I will give you an indication of the different types of book and who they are aimed for. 

Given the fact that Usborne have several thousand books I think that all parents will find something for their kids regardless of their age, interest or reading ability. 

On their website their books are categorised as follows. 

• 0 to 2 years old 
• 3 to 5 years old
• 5 to 7 years old
• 7 to 11 years old
• 11 to 13 years old
• Young adult old

Navigating their website is very easy, you just select an age range for the books that you are seeking. 

Their books are then also sorted into different categories based on the type of book that it is. Usborne Books have both fiction and non fiction reading material for your children: 

• Beginners
• Classics Retold
• Discovery
• Fabulous Fiction
• Farmyard Tales
• First Picture Books
• First Thousand Words
• Flip books
• History of Britain
• Look & Say
• Phonics Readers
• Puzzle Adventures
• Season titles
• See Inside
• Spanish titles
• Spotter’s Guides
• Things to Make and Do
• Touchy Feely
• True Stories
• Usborne Reading Programme

Usborne Books also have a range of specialist educational books covering a wide range of subjects including: 

• Science
• Maths.
• Literature
• History
• Hobbies
• Adventure

All their books are of good quality, well presented, beautifully illustrated and are loved by children of all ages. 

Lots of parents have given positive feedback regarding the quality of the books available. 

The average home book party earns US$400 is gross sales which would earn you US$100 in revenue for your business with them. 

• 2. Monthly Sales Bonus

You can earn a monthly sales bonus based on sales generated by No 1 above, (excluding fund raisers and book fairs) 

• Earn A 3% Bonus on sales of between US$350 to US$699.99 
• Earn A 5% Bonus on sales of US$700+.

• 3. Earn 2x The Number Of Free Books

This is very similar to a typical network marketing fast start bonus.

During your first 12 weeks (approximately 3 months) you can offer to your party hosts 2x the number of free books for events that generate a minimum of US$250 in retail sales. 

• 4. Earn by Recruiting new Usborne Consultants

The recruitment part of generating revenue with Usborne and more business opportunity is as follows. 

• Earn 4% of your direct recruits monthly sales, to qualify you must sell at least US$350 in sales per month. 
• For every new recruit during your first 12 weeks you earn US$25 in free products.

The compensation model adopted by Usborne Books And More is neither the well accepted and popular unilevel or binary models but one that is unique to them as indicated in the screenshot below. 

Usborne Books Consultant Ranks

Like all network marketing opportunities there is a ranking system for consultants.

Usborne Books only have 3 ranks to their rather simple compensation plan. 

• 1. Consultant Rank

As a consultant rank you can earn commission that range from 15% to 30% and an additional performance based bonus of 3% to 5% depending of the amount of sales made. 

You can also qualify for pass up commissions from your downline of 4% as long as you generate a minimum of US$350 in sales per month. 

• 2. Supervisor Rank

To Qualify as a Supervisor Rank you are required to personally recruits 5 bronze recruits of which must remain active. 

Also, 

For a 2 month period you must generate US$700 is gross sales volume and your downline generating US$2,000 in sales for two months in a row. 

At this rank you also get a recruitment bonus which is 2% of the sales generated by your direct recruits if you and when you generate US$350 minimum in sales. 

You can also earn 11% of your group sales volume (including your own personal sales). 

• 3. Executive Supervisor

To reach this rank you need to have 3 first levels in your downline, 1 third level and a monthly sales volume of US$25,000 as total of your own sales generated and that of your central group.

The video below detains and explains the compensation plan excellently well, click play and watch it. 

Something that is always worth your while checking out when it comes to every business opportunity that catches your eyes is their rating and standing with the Better Business Bureau. 

This gives you an indication of how professionally and legally the company conduct business and from the information gathered you can start to form a basis of trust (or not) with them. 

On the BBB website there are a number of listings for Usborne Books, all (except 1) have good ratings.

However, 

These listings are not in reference to Usborne Books themselves but are the Independent Businesses Operated by Usborne Consultants. 

In lieu of no listing by Usborne books themselves I searched for the Parent company, Educational Development Corporation. 

I can report that they are not accredited and hold an impressive A- rating. 

Yes, Usborne are a member of the Direct Sellers Association indicating this is a company that you can trust and confide in. 

Membership to the DSA is not easy to obtain as the the DSA stringently check and audit all members with membership taking up to a whole year to obtain. 

Some common complaints that I have found from a variety of independent sites, forums and complaints boards mention the difficulty in selling their books due to competing with online giants like Amazon and the need to constantly keep hosting parties and attending various events and fundraisers. 

There are many complaints about the books taking months to get delivered. 

According to their website Usborne have almost 3,000 books for children ranging from books for babies, sticker books, information style flip-flap books and books for varying reading levels are interests. 

As indicated in the compensation plan section above, Usborne Consultants can earn 25% on all retail sales generated. 

Your income potential does not end there as there are other bonuses based both on sales volume and recruitment of others into the Usborne Business Opportunity. 

From what I have seen the books available from Usborne are non secular with their books not particularly focused on religion or religious teachings or culture of any denomination. 

Their books can be used for christian (or any religion) homeschooling without compromising core values or beliefs. 

The only slightly religious or cultural element that I found were related to Christmas and Easter, which are in separate seasonal books. 

There were a lot of things that I did like about Usborne Books and Their Business Opportunity, let's highlight the main points: 

• The Parent company are highly rated by the BBB with a A- rating
• They are a Long established company dating back to 1973!. 
• They are members of the DSA
• It is not expensive to get started with them, US$75 is all it takes!
• Growing company with over 5% year on year growth in sales.
• Sales focused company - which is good!. 
• They have a wide range of books and known for their quality.  

There were some things that I did not like about Usborne Books, which were:

• Delivery of their products are reported to be very slow! 
• Huge competition from Amazon 
•  The MLM industry as a whole is in a slump, experiencing a decline
• There is distinct lack of training on how to run your business - you are basically left to your own devices to figure it all out!.
• MLM businesses are incredibly difficult to make a success of. 
• Heavy reliance on home parties.

Something that I like to do here is state facts and figures to give you an indication of how much you are likely to earn and the probability of achieving success. 

Unfortunately Usborne Books do not display an income disclosure statement, which I am led to believe is a legal obligation. 

In my experience of reviewing 600+ business opportunities I can tell you that in my experience this is never a good thing. It is not displayed for a reason. 

And there is no prizes for guessing what that reason is!. 

My opinion is that you will find it difficult to earn a full time income from Usborne Books as a consutantdue to the flawed MLM business model and 98% of people starting a MLM business failing to make money. 

This is an industry wide fact. 

Due to the very nature of network marketing businesses many people consider all opportunities to automatically be Pyramid Schemes. 

This is due to the very nature of how MLM company's are  in regards to their business model and compensation plan. 

Due to the 1979 Amway ruling, MLM company's must have a retail element.

If no retail element is present, this is simply an exchange of money with no goods, products or services rendered in exchange. 

Usborne Books do have the required and obliged retail element and are compliant with all other anti-pyramid scheme laws. 

Yes, 

Due to the business model adopted and evident in their compensation plan which pays on a few levels Usborne can be identified as a multilevel business opportunity.

By definition a scam is an intentional act of deception that causes a financial loss.

There is absolutely no act of deception intentional or not by Usborne Books that would result in you suffering a financial loss, thus it cannot be said that Usborne Books is a scam. 

Usborne Books is not a scam and by definition is a legitimate business opportunity. 

This does not mean that you should jump on it right away and get started. 

There are concerns in regards to the real cost of getting started here, as US$75 to US$125 this is only the cost of getting started and your business kit. 

The books that you use for and of the book fair or home book parties you will need to pay out of your own pocket - if the right titles are not in your business kit. 

The buck stops right at you when the company who are notorious for taking weeks and even months to deliver ordered (and paid for) books.

It you that is going to receive the calls and your "tree" that they are going to be barking up!. 

The other major concern is the lack of an income disclosure statement which is indicating to me that very little income is being made by Usborne consultants. 

It is also unlikely that you have a lot of schools and library's in your area in which you can promote and sell your books to.

These are unlikely to be regular customers, frequent customers every term or year perhaps, but certainly not every month. 

You also have to consider how many book events happen in your area and how often you can hold home parties. 

This just shows how limited the opportunity is and why few people are earning a full time income with the opportunity. 

If you are insistent on trying out this opportunity, read this article to help you generate more MLM sales. 

Affiliate Marketing is my Number 1 recommended way for making money in the digital world both for those just starting out and those that are semi experienced. 

The reasons are pretty simple:

• No huge startup costs!
  
• No Selling face to face!
• No Stock to keep or manage!
• No huge investment involved - (Get started with a FREE TRIAL!)
• No networking or recruiting required. 
• You can operate in any market you wish! - even your hobbies & passions!
• Earn a full time income & more!. No limit to your earning potential!. 
  

In fact...

I have created and built a regular mid 4 figure passive monthly income and fully enjoy a life of travel to where I want and when I want. With no boss to answer to and zero annoying co-workers I completely enjoy life and work when I choose to.

This is all thanks to Affiliate Marketing!

To emulate what I have achieved, real freedom and a passive income stream, click that red button below..and watch the video that I have prepared for you. 

Because MORE MONEY IS Waiting For You. The Question Is: WILL YOU TAKE IT?!?