Is Usborne Books MLM Legit? [2022 Review]

If you are a parent, guardian or teacher, then you have probably heard of Usborne books mlm. It is one of those online businesses that uses network marketing to sell children’s books.

In this review, we will look at what Usborne books is all about and whether it is worth investing in.

We will also explore some of the frequently asked questions about Usborne books.

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Usborne Books & More Review

Table of Contents

What Is Usborne Books & More?

Usborne Books, also known as Usborne publishing, is a multi-level marketing company that sells over 1,800 titles of educational children’s books.

It is centered around selling children’s book membership and is a subsidiary of the Education Development Corporation(EDC)

Furthermore, Usborne books sell traditional books, 3D cut out books and sticker books.

Usborne Books & More distributes Usborne books in the USA through independent consultants who sell directly to the consumer via home parties, Facebook parties, website sales, book fairs, fundraisers and direct sales to the school and library market.

The practice is pretty common with MLM companies as we’ve seen with others like Happy Coffee MLM, Herbalife, and Amway.

The company has been recognized as one of the fast growing(Fortune magazine) and one of the best 200 small companies(Forbes magazine) after being in business for just over 40 years.

Who is behind Usborne Books?

Usborne books was founded by Peter Usborne in 1973 and is named after him.

Peter started working in children’s books when he got the news that he was going to be a parent.

My wife announced that she was pregnant and suddenly. it seemed the only thing worth doing in life was children’s books- Peter

He pioneered an entirely new line of groundbreaking, educational children’s books by using two theories. First of all, he thought that for children to learn, they must be treated as equals.

The second theory was that children will be more entranced by books that did not look like books as they seemed to prefer other media to books.

Therefore the vision was to create books that were a combination of quick, often witty text, bright colors in lots of cartoons and illustrations, packaged in 30 or 40 pages as light as a magazine.

This resulted in books that were high-quality, popular and had contemporary subjects that were unmatched in the industry.

About 50 years later, Peter says that publishing books for children was a major factor for making parenthood one of the best times in his life.

Now in his eighties, his roles as publisher and parent have never been more intertwined, as he now runs Usborne alongside his daughter Nicola Usborne, who is the deputy Managing Director. Peter still looks forward to coming to work every single morning.

Martin Usborne, Peter’s son, has his own publishing company called Hoxton Mini Press.

Together, the three Usbornes run the Usborne Foundation. The Usborne Foundation is a charity that utilizes research, design and technology to create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health.

One of the charity’s claims to fame is an award-winning series of games enjoyed by children globally called “Teach You Monster To Read”.

What does Usborne books sell?

Usborne books sells children’s books for all ages.

The books are divided into various categories:

Activity books
Baby books
Early years
ELT – English Language Teaching
English
Fiction
Foreign languages
Geography and environment
Growing up and mental health
History
Back to school books
Science and Technology
LGBTQ

Once you get on their website, the books are divided into different sections(age, category, author etc.) where the customer may choose to browse according to the preferred section.

They also provide links to contact teachers and to join book discussion groups.

How to become an Usborne consultant

To join usborne books multi-level marketing company, you can become an usborne consultant using just $75 to purchase their mini kit. This will get you:

1-year consultant status
business supplies
6-month e-business package
ten books

Instead of the Mini-Kit, you could also choose to get the $30 Virtual Kit, which includes a website you can use to take online orders and one free sample book. The Virtual Kit may only be offered for a limited time.

To add to that, you can pay $125 for a Consultant Kit, which provides you with everything included in the mini kit, 10 more books, and some additional information about working with the company.

You receive a 25% commission for all the sales you make, together with extra bonuses for any sales you make over and above your quotas as a new consultant.

There are also no sales minimums that you need to make on a monthly basis.

Most Usborne consultants are parents since they mostly have a passion to build their children’s library.

This is possible because you can order the consultants book kit with no minimum restrictions. From there you can use a 25% consultant discount for books to create a library for your child.

How to be a Successful Usborne Consultant

Most Usborne consultants tell new consultants to go all in when asked for advice about the mlm company.

They encourage them to get started quickly so as to get their library and business up and running.

During seasonal fluctuations like during the Summer and before holidays, consultants are told to keep their noses down as the direct sales may not be as lucrative.

Creativity is also encouraged for Usborne consultants as you have to come up with other ways to sell books other than just your home.

Furthermore, consultants who have made the most money are not the ones who have sold the most books. They purpose to create a large team of consultants in their downline.

Usborne consultants are mostly encouraged to have a passion for books, run their business as a business, and ask for help when needed.

How much does it cost to join Usborne Books?

To join usborne books, Usborne has three consultant kit options.

There is the mini kit that costs $75. It includes a one year consultancy status, ten books and marketing materials.

There is the $30 Virtual Kit which is a cheaper option but includes an online business package that is only available for a limited period and a free book. You can use the website to take online orders.

There is also the consultant kit that costs $125 and includes everything in the mini kit plus ten more books.

How to sell Usborne books

There are many different ways to sell books, but most of the educational consultants like to book parties online using Facebook and doing home parties.

This means that the independent consultant will have some books for display during the party but the party guests will place their orders for the books online through Usborne. They will then have them shipped to their homes.

After you begin throwing parties, you can earn more free books.

The Usborne host or hostess may give free gifts and discounts on the books depending on the sales made at the party as an incentive for potential guests.

You may have the opportunity to choose from over twenty books in their library if a friend hosts a party for you.

You could also sell books at booths in events and trade shows. You will have to pay the booth fee but you are free to display your products at craft fairs, carnivals and other events.

How to make money online with Usborne books

On their website, Usborne says that the average earnings for a book party are $100. So what does that mean if you look at it from an hourly basis?

The average monthly income for many of the usborne consultants ranges from $150 to $4100 with a median of $550.

This applies to consultants that have been working for Usborne for an average of a year and a half, ranging from 1 month to several years.

They throw around 5 book parties a month and spend 3 hours on each party for party preparations, organizing orders and event attendance..

Therefore the hourly pay for most consultants is $17.50 an hour in an average month with the median $40.83/hour.

You can increase this pay dramatically if you become a team leader and recruit more consultants in your downline. You could have an income of $600 per hour for building your team of consultants.

Just as expected, the best way to make money with Usborne is to recruit consultants. This is not that different from other MLMs.

As a team leader, you are paid a 25% commission for your personal sales and personal bonus for each new consultant.

You also receive a commission for your team sales in addition to your own personal 25% commission.

To become a team leader, you need to have achieved $120 personal sales, $1800 personal team sales and have four active personal organisers.

You can also make more money as a group leader. To be promoted to a group leader you need to make $6000 Total Title sales and have two first level qualified team leader legs.

To earn even more, you can become a divisonal leader by earning $18000 Total Title sales and having four qualified first level team leader legs. From here you may be promoted to executive team leader which would require $30000 Total Title sales and eight first level qualified team leader legs.

Further increase in personal sales and recruits will promote you to a Supervisor and you can keep growing from there to Executive Supervisor, Senior Executive Supervisor, and even Director. At these higher levels, you can also start qualifying for trips and other reward bonuses.

Can You Make Money Selling Usborne Books To School?

As an Usborne consultant and organizer you can sell books to libraries and schools. Many consultants believe that you can make a sizeable amount of money this way.

Unfortunately, selling to schools will only get you a 20% commission on your sales. The 20% is a good commission but not as good as getting the 25% from personal sales. Therefore this is only profitable if you receive large orders from said schools and libraries.

Before creating a sales account with schools or libraries, you’ll need to have a minimum of 6 $160+ orders. This has been reported to be an uphill task by consultants.

That aside, even if you are able to start selling books to libraries and schools, you will have to compete with representatives from other companies. These representatives will have lower retail prices to offer for larger book orders.

For instance, you can sell “See Inside Your Body” from Usborne for $13.60 at retail price, but schools could purchase this book from Book People for $10.87. They can also get “Looking After Your Mental Health” for $4-5.50 less than the Usborne retail price.

Therefore, in order to compete with these other companies, you would need to sell your books at a cheaper price.

Is it possible for Usborne books to be sold at a lower price?

If you choose to do this then your commission will obviously be affected.

To make matters worse, Usborne corporate sells their books to schools without the help of consultants.

In conclusion, to sell these books, you have to meet the requirements which will end up straining you.

These are a lot of obstacles to overcome to make a consistent amount of money.

Why Usborne Consultants love the program

They enjoy the fact that they can buy books at a discounted price for their children which in turn helps other children get books that they love too.

Why some Usborne Consultants do not like the program

Since direct sales is a major part of the business, more than 30% of the consultants say they found it a bit hard not having any sales experience when becoming a consultant.

Most say that it’s pretty difficult to get more than one party out of a hostess and even though they can make a lot of sales at book fairs, companies like Book People can really be a setback at schools and libraries.

Another challenge that most consultants often have to deal with are the technical issues with the Usborne website and the daily obstacles they encounter.

Consultants become frustrated when a customer wants to make an order for usborne books just to find that they’re out of stock or that there’s a delay in shipping.

Of course, shipping and website issues might be out of the company’s control, but if a company keeps track of their sales and inventory for any given line, then running out of stock should not be a potential problem.

Challenges like this are what can be a detriment to the daily business of an Usborne consultant.

Even though a couple of things have been changed for the better when the new website was implemented, a considerable amount of consultants still have their issues.

Pros of Usborne mlm company

They sell high quality products

Usborne has earned a reputation for publishing great books. The quality of the products you are selling is important as it motivates you as a consultant when you sell something that you would have no qualms buying.

It is an established company

Unlike most mlms, Usborne has been around for quite a while which just cements its legitimacy.

It is convenient for parents

Aside from being a side hustle for most parents, they also get to build libraries for their children for discounted prices. This is definitely a plus.

Cons of Usborne MLM company

No income disclosure statement

Usborne does not have a clear income disclosure statement. This makes it harder for those wanting to join the company to trust it.

Books are costly

Compared to the books sold by stores and Usborne cooperate themselves, the books are quite dear. This discourages potential customers thus affecting your daily income.

There is emphasis on recruitment

To make money on Usborne, good money, you might have to focus on recruitment of consultants to become a team leader or just to go higher up the ranks. This makes it too similar too a pyramid scheme.

There is the possibility of losing more than you earn

The price to join Usborne is also a bit costly. That aside, you will also have to make some purchases as a consultant in order to maintain your status or to rise up the ranks. In this way you might end up losing money.

What Some Consultants Have To Say About Usborne Books

After working for Usborne, people have come away with varying experiences. Here are some of testimonials we found online of people sharing their experiences:

Unlike Usborne, a lot of MLM companies can be somewhat scammy. But, even if I didn’t make any money on the side hustle part of the business, getting books at a discount or even for free is such an awesome perk people still love the business, because my child loves Usborne books. – Chelsea H.

I love that we don’t have to sound salesy as a consultant. I just buy the books for myself at a discount and then sell the product to other parent. Stress Free! – Brynn S.

I love using Usborne books for our homeschool. Some of the best quality books out there, no doubt. By nature, I’m just not a very good salesperson. – Rachel G

The thing I like about Usborne is that not only can we make money selling the best books on the planet, but we can really make an impact on children all around the world. Pretty sweet! – Janice S.

I’m an Usborne Books & More team leader and compared to other Direct Sales companies, we have such high quality products and so many additional perks that really make us stand out from our competition. Plus, the money that I can make as a work at home mom really helps with the day-to-day needs of my family. My kids are still pretty young, so I can make money and do most of my work after putting them to bed for the night. And the best part is that is the giant home library I’ve built for my children. I believe this is why most people sign up. And lastly, I’m not a salesperson. I am, however, a staunch advocate for literacy and I believe that is the primary reason why people succeed at Direct Sales, that is you love the business and the work you do. – Katie K.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Usborne Books Scam?

No it is not.

There are many UBAM consultants who are very successful as are many other companies using the direct sales model.

For example, in 2019 one of the top sales consultants made more than $15,000 in total books sold in a month, which came out to nearly $4,000 commission.

This consultant made this much by just selling books.

Of course, you will have to be diligent and very hard working to make this type of money as just a consultant.

Is this a get rich quick scheme?

It is definitely not a get rich scheme.

Once you join Usborne, it will take you some time before you start making a decent amount of money.

You can certainly make a fair money with Usborne Books and More plus get free books along the way.

Is Usborne Books A Great Way To Work At Home?

Yes.

You can make money at home with Usborne Books, though not much.

Are Usborne Books Any Good?

Yes, the books are of high quality.

However the books from Usborne books cost much more compared to other companies.

Is Usborne Book And More A Direct Sales Company?

Yes.

Usborne Books & More is a publishing business that distributes its books through direct sales via thousand of consultants within the United States and internationally.

Is Usborne books a pyramid scheme?

No, Usborne books is multi level marketing company that focuses on network marketing.

The main difference between pyramid schemes and mlm companies is that pyramid schemes are illegal and have no real product that they sell. They focus on recruitment and the ones at the top of the scheme earn passive income while the ones at the bottom barely make any money.

MLM companies, like Usborne, have a real product to sell which is their primary focus.

You can earn money by just selling usborne books without having to recruit more consultants.

Usborne Books & More Conclusion

In my opinion, I do not think joining Usborne books mlm is worth it.

Working as just a consultant will not earn you enough money online unless you push yourself past your limits, which can be an uphill task especially for parents.

The only other way to earn more while working for less hours is to go up the ranks as a team leader or supervisor, which also isn’t that great as you will have to keep making purchases to maintain your rank.

In this way, you end up losing more than you earn.

The usborne compensation plan also encourages recruitment, like most mlm companies, which makes the company sound similar to a pyramid scheme though it is not.

The incentive of getting free books is also not that lucrative as later down the line, you will have to start buying the books which are more expensive with the company compared to in bookstores.

Getting loyal customers will also be a task because of the cheaper offers in retail stores

You also cannot post the books on other e-stores like Amazon and eBay therefore exposure of your products is limited. Couple that with the unreliable website and your chances of making money do not look that good.

Furthermore you have to consider that there are a lot of e-books that are now available therefore reducing potential customers.

All in all, I do not recommend joining Usborne as the cons are definitely way more than the pros.

There are definitely other ways to make money online without facing as many challenges.

Before you leave

If you’re tired of scams and want a real solution for making money online check out my no.1 recommendation.

It’s helped me earn over $300,000 in the last 12 months alone:

Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online

(This is a 100% free training)

David Fortune

David Fortune has been the editor NoBSIMReviews.com since 2019. He is an expert at writing content on stock advisory services, side hustles, reviewing online business opportunities and many more topics. You can learn more about David on our about us page.

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