Future Global Vision Review: Fuel tabs, recruitment & autoship

Future Global Vision (commonly abbreviated as FGV) launched in 2013 and appear to be registered in the US state of Nevada.

Credited as the CEO and President of the company on the company’s website is Raul Serrano.

The FGV website domain is registered to Serrano himself through “Future Global Vision Inc.” An address in California is provided, which is likely where FGV is actually being run out of.

Raul Serrano (right) does have a short corporate bio video on the FGV website, however nothing about his MLM history is revealed.

I did a bit of searching myself and turned up nothing. As such, FGV would appear to be Serrano’s first corporate MLM venture.

Read on for a full review of the Future Global Vision MLM business opportunity.

The Future Global Vision Product Line

FGV operate in the “fuel enhancer” MLM niche. Two products are listed on the company’s website, EF-Tabs and EF-Plus.

On their website, FGV claim that ‘using EF-TABS is like getting an extra quarter of a tank of gas for free!‘

The EF-TABS fuel catalyst uses proven technology to burn gasoline and diesel more thoroughly inside your engine and delivers dramatically better fuel efficiency.

The EF-TABS also boosts octane for more power and removes carbon residue in your engine.

Additionally, they also claim that use of the tabs

• removes combustion chamber deposits
• reduces emissions
• lowers exhaust temperatures
• extends engine oil life and
• extends engine equipment life

EF-Tabs retails for $16.95 for four tablets, which ‘treats up to 98 gallons of gasoline , diesel, biodiesel or E85‘. A four-pack is also available for $64.95 (16 tablets).

The EF-Plus product is described as “the anti-aging of your engine”.

EF-PLUS is a synthetic oil additive that is light years ahead of its’ competitors in the market when it comes to engine protection and anti-friction formulas.

The proprietary formula designed with micro-molecules that are beyond the technology science is called nano. EF-PLUS is formulated with something we like to call “smart molecules”.

These smart molecules know how to react to any combination of temperature and pressure. When the temperature, friction and pressure is altered up or down, EF-PLUS molecules activate a succession of chemical reactions and modify its’ behavior according to the present condition and stress.

The higher the pressure and the stress, the better it will perform.

EF-Plus retails for $64,95 a bottle, which ‘treats 5-6 quarts of motor oil‘.

The Future Global Vision Compensation Plan

The FGV compensation plan revolves heavily on the recruitment of new affiliates and signing up for monthly autoship. Retail commissions are also offered however they are largely insignificant.

Note that FGV’s written and video compensation plan presentations are at odds with eachother regarding various commissions and payouts.

I observed that the video presentation is dated June 2014 whereas the written Powerpoint presentation is dated July 2014. Thus for the purpose of analysis below I have relied on the written FGV’s written Powerpoint presentation.

Commission Qualification

The FGV compensation plan mentions mandatory $69.95 monthly product purchase for affiliates to qualify for commissions.

Affiliates who join at the Distributor level will also need to personally recruit at least three affiliates who are also on a minimum monthly $69.95 autoship order too.

Retail Commissions

Retail commissions are paid out on the sale of FGV products ordered by retail customers.

Retail commissions paid out are the difference between the wholesale and retail cost of the product being purchased.

This equates to

• $7 on a pack of EF-Tabs
• $14.95 on a four-pack of EF-Tabs and
• $25 on an order of EF-Plus

Preferred customers are retail customers who agree to commit to a monthly standing order (min 3 months), in exchange for access to wholesale pricing.

Retail commissions are paid out on wholesale customer orders at a rate of 40%.

Recruitment Commissions

Recruitment commissions are paid to FGV affiliates when they recruit new affiliates into the company.

How much of a recruitment commission is paid out depends on how much an affiliate paid when they joined the company, as well as how much the newly recruited affiliate is spending on their membership.

Distributors ($368.50 to $1280.50) are paid

• $20 on the recruitment of an affiliate or Sales Associate
• $50 on the recruitment of a Distributor (Freedom)
• $100 on the recruitment of a Distributor (Executive)
• $200 on the recruitment of a Distributor (Presidential)

Regular affiliates ($49.95) and Sales Associates ($119.90) are only paid 50% of the above amounts.

Coded Bonuses (residual recruitment)

A Coded Bonus is paid out on the recruitment of a Distributor (Freedom) or Distributor (Executive) affiliate.

A Coded Bonus is paid to the upline of the affiliate who recruited the new affiliate, with how much is paid out determined by the uplines affiliate rank.

If a Distributor (Freedom) affiliate is recruited, the coded bonus paid out is:

• Silver Executive – $20
• Gold Executive – $40
• Regional Executive – $60
• National Executive – $80

If a Distributor (Executive) affiliate is recruited, the coded bonus paid out is:

• Silver Executive – $40
• Gold Executive – $80
• Regional Executive – $120
• National Executive – $160

If a Distributor (Presidential) affiliate is recruited, the coded bonus paid out is:

• Silver Executive – $80
• Gold Executive – $160
• Regional Executive – $240
• National Executive – $320

Unilevel Commissions

Residual commissions in FGV are paid out using a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If an affiliate on level 1 goes on to recruit a new affiliate of their own, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team. If a level 2 affiliate recruits a new affiliate, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

Commissions are paid out as a percentage of generated sales volume, with an example of 30 PV given for the sale of a EF-Tabs four-pack ($64.95 retail, $50 wholesale).

FGV cap payable unilevel levels at ten, with how many levels an affiliate is paid out on determined by their affiliate membership rank:

• Sales Associate – 1% on level 1
• Distributor – 1% on level 1 an 4% on level 2
• Silver Executive – 1% on level 1, 4% on level 2, 5% on level 3 and 7% on level 4
• Gold Executive – 1% on level 1, 4% on level 2, 5% on level 3, 7% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6 and 7% on level 7
• Regional Executive – 1% on level 1, 4% on level 2, 5% on level 3, 7% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6, 7% on level 7, 5% on level 8 and 2% on level 9
• National Executive – 1% on level 1, 4% on level 2, 5% on level 3, 7% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6, 7% on level 7, 5% on level 8 and 2% on levels 9 and 10

Global Bonus Pools

The Global Bonus Pools are made up of 10% of the sales volume generated by affiliate autoships and second month onwards purchases made by non-affiliate customers.

The Global Bonus Pools are split as follows:

• Silver Executive Pool – 3%
• Gold Executive Pool – 2%
• Regional Executive Pool – 2%
• National Executive Pool – 3%

Each ranked affiliate who qualifies for any pool is awarded one share, with additional shares awarded per 1000 Group Sales Volume generated by an affiliate’s unilevel team each month.

Note that in order to participate in the pools, a FGV affiliate must have purchased the Distributor (Presidential) package and be on $140 a month autoship (Gold Executive and above require $280 a month).

Also note that no rank qualification criteria is provided in the FGV compensation plan.

2% Elite Power Bonus Pool

The 2% Elite Power Bonus Pool is made up of 2% of the sales volume generated by every new affiliate’s purchases made within their first 30 days.

Shares in the pool are allocated as follows:

• Master – 3 shares
• Continental – 2 shares
• National Executive – 1 share

Although not explicitly stated, I believe shares are accumulated as an affiliate moves up the three applicable ranks.

As with the other Global Bonus Pools, one additional share is awarded per 1000 GV generated by an affiliate’s unilevel team each month.

Note that no qualification criteria for these three ranks is provided in the FGV compensation plan.

Dream Bonus

The Dream Bonus revolves around the generation of points in an affiliate’s unilevel team. Once an affiliate generates 4800 points spread out over any three given unilevel legs, they achieve one cycle.

Points in the unilevel are based on affiliate recruitment as follows:

• Sales Associate affiliate – 800 points
• Distributor (Freedom) – 400 points
• Distributor (Executive) – 200 points
• Distributor (Presidential) – 40 points

A car bonus cycle of either $400 or $600 is attached to an affiliate’s first twelve weekly cycles, with the amount received per cycle dependent on the type of car an affiliate has leased.

How many times an affiliate can cycle in a week is determined by how much they pay in autoship each month:

• $70 autoship – 3 cycles
• $140 autoship – 6 cycles
• $280 autoship – 12 cycles

An additional cash cycle bonus is paid out at rate of $70 per three cycles (must be on $140 a month autoship).

All affiliates qualifying for the Dream Bonus must have recruited at least three affiliates who are all on monthly autoship.

Joining Future Global Vision

Basic FGV affiliate membership (Sales Associate) is $119.90 and then $69.95 a month.

Additional affiliate options are as follows:

• Distributor (Freedom) – $368.50
• Distributor (Executive) – $668.50
• Distributor (Presidential) – $1280.50

Note that a basic affiliate option is available for $49.95 and $39.95 each subsequent year annually, however this only permits an affiliate to earn retail sales (non-MLM)

Also note that mandatory monthly product purchases for commission qualification adds to the ongoing cost of being an FGV affiliate.

Conclusion

As with all fuel-saver type MLM companies, the question of EPA analysis comes into play when evaluating FGV’s various product claims.

The US EPA is required by Section 511 of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to test many of these devices and to provide public reports on their efficacy; the agency finds most devices do not improve fuel economy to any measurable degree. (Wikipedia)

I was unable to find any mention of EPA testing of FGV’s EF-Tabs or EF-Plus product, indicating that they have not been independently tested.

I imagine that when attempting to market FGV’s products to any knowledgeable retail consumer, that this is likely to be a major road-block.

On the compensation plan side of things, FGV focuses heavily on the recruitment of new affiliates and getting them to sign up for autoship. At the upper-tiers of the compensation plan, FGV affiliates are required to pay hundreds of dollars a month in autoship themselves.

The recruitment commissions offered in the compensation plan drag FGV squarely into pyramid scheme territory. An affiliate signs up, pays their fee (the more they pay the higher the potential commissions earnt), and then are directly compensated on the recruitment of new affiliates.

That the amount paid is determined by how much an affiliate spend on their membership, introduces an additional “pay to play” layer to the scheme.

The trouble with mandatory autoship requirements is that the motivation behind the product purchase is then called into question. This is especially pertinent if how much an affiliate spends is tied into their income potential, as is the case with FGV.

Given all this, it’s likely that retail activity within the company is next to non-existent, with the bulk of monthly sales volume generated via affiliate autoship orders.

Anyone considering FGV would do well to enquire with their prospective upline as to how many retail customers they have actively purchasing FGV products each month. Weigh this carefully against how much of their monthly sales volume is derived from affiliates on autoship.

Tread carefully.