goDesana Review: Heavily incentivized 31-day affiliate purchases

goDesana originally launched as Green Organics International in 2011 and are based out of Ohio in the US.

The company operates in the essential oils MLM niche and is headed up by Founder and CEO, Paula Scarcella.

The goDesana website domain was registered in 2013, suggesting this is when Green Organics International rebranded.

I did try to ascertain why Green Organics International rebranded as goDesana but came up blank.

Paula Scarcella’s Green Organics International executive bio claims she got involved in MLM back in the 1990s.

Over the past 20 years Paula discovered a disconnect between company owners and their distributors.

After experiencing for herself the lack of integrity and dishonesty from company owners she decided to start her own company based on honesty, integrity and transparency.

From her experience as a distributor, Paula saw that the average person needed help, support and the right tools to reach that same success she did.

Based on this philosophy she started Green Organics to help propel people into reaching their goals and dreams.

Prior to launching Green Organics International, Scarcella was an affiliate with Essante (health and wellness) and Ultra International (essential oils). Whether either of these companies is referred to in Scarcella’s bio above is unclear.

In 2010 Scarcella launched Cycle for Wealth, a $45 matrix cycler Ponzi scheme.

Read on for a full review of the goDesana MLM opportunity.

The goDesana Product Line

goDesana primarily market a range of essential oils but also offer personal care, weight loss, nutrition and home products.

The goDesana compensation plan claims the company markets “300 organic and wild-crafted products”.

goDesana’s essential oils are offered as singles and blends, with full retail pricing available on the goDesana website (click “buy retail” from the website navigation menu).

Other products featured on the goDesana website include:

• Herbology – Black Assam Tea ($18.40), Cellular Herbal Tea ($29.90), Cherokee Bitters Kit ($20.70), Cleanse Herbal Tea ($28.75), Detox Herbal Tea ($28.75), Elderberry Syrup it ($20.70), Ginseng Root Powder ($57.50), Green Tea ($18.40), Heart Berry Protect Herbal Blend ($32.20), Lifex Herbal Blend ($24.15), Peppermind Leaves ($10.35), Rooibos Tea ($18.40), Sip & Slim Herbal Green Tea ($27.60), Soothe the Soul Herbal Tea ($20.70), Wise Woman Herbal Blend ($27.60)
• Personal Care – Bath Bars ($9.20), Aloe Lavender Body Wash ($20.70), Dry Body Brush ($10.35), Flora Oceana Bath Bags ($31.05), French Green Clay Body Wash ($21.85), Hand & Body Lotion ($21.85), Hydrating Lip Balm ($9.20), Loofah ($9.20), L-Stimulate Deodorant ($9.20), Mouth Rinse ($19.55), Foaming Hand Soap ($13.80)
• PH Nutrition – supplements, tea, weightloss, alkalize & cleanse, biominerals and heart health
• Skin Care – age delay, baby care and anti-acne
• Spa – Argan Oil ($20.70), Avocado Oil ($20.70), Clay Vitality Detox Powder ($23), Salt: Dead Sea Salt Fine ($17.25), Flora Oceana Bath Bags ($31.05), Fractionated Coconut Oil ($17.25), Grape Seed Oil ($17.25), Hemp Seed Body Oil ($24.15), Macadamia Nut Oil ($17.25), Pink Himalayan Bath Salt ($15.60), Rosehip Seed Oil ($17.25), Sea Buckthorn Oil ($20.70), Sesame Seed Oil ($24.15), Signature Body Oil ($20.70)
• Animal Care – Cold & Congestion Oil ($20.70), Cooling Relief Massage ($24.15), Fear & Separation ($20.70), Flea Repellent ($17.25), Immune Support ($20.70), Itch Relief ($20.70), Motion Sickness ($17.25), Stress & Nerves ($20.70), Super Calm Trauma ($24.15), Tick Repellent ($20.70), Warming Joint Massage ($20.70), Wound Relief ($20.70)
• Home Care – Bug Spray ($31.05), Deep Green Grounding Blend ($20.70), Protector antiseptic and disinfectant ($31.05), Home & Laundry Concentrate ($13.80), Spray & Wipe Cleaner ($13.80)

Alternatively goDesana products are available in various packs. The company also claims to offer a “100% unconditional money-back guarantee”.

Note that goDesana’s full product catalog and pricing is available on the goDesana website. In the interest of brevity I haven’t covered every goDesana product available above.

The goDesana Compensation Plan

The goDesana compensation plan pays affiliates for generating retail sales, as well as residual sales primarily through a unilevel compensation structure.

goDesana Affiliate Ranks

There are ten affiliate ranks in the goDesana compensation plan

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

• Product Consultant – sign up as a goDesana affiliate and maintain 30 PV over a rolling 31 day period
• Silver – maintain 50 PV over a rolling 31 day period
• Gold – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period
• Jasper – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period and recruit at least two affiliates
• Amber – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least four affiliates and have a downline generating at least 1200 GV a month
• Ruby – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least six affiliates and have a downline generating at least 2400 GV a month
• Emerald – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least twelve affiliates and have a downline generating at least 5000 GV a month
• Diamond – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least eighteen affiliates and have a downline generating at least 12,000 GV a month
• Double Diamond – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least twenty-four affiliates and have a downline generating at least 30,000 GV a month
• Platinum Diamond – maintain 80 PV over a rolling 31 day period, recruit at least thirty affiliates and have a downline generating at least 60,000 GV a month

Note that up to 50% of the GV requirements can come from any one unilevel leg.

PV stands for “Personal Volume” and is sales volume generated by a goDesana affiliate’s own orders and that of their retail customers.

GV stands for “Group Volume” and is PV generated by a goDesana’s recruited downline.

Retail Commissions

goDesana affiliates earn a 20% commission on sales volume generated by retail customer orders.

goDesana affiliates who host retail parties can also earn “shopping dollars”, which can be put towards an affiliate’s own purchase of product.

Wholesale Order Bonus

Wholesale orders are product orders placed by recruited affiliates or preferred customers (retail customers on monthly autoship).

The Wholesale Order Bonus is paid out via 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 any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

goDesana cap payable unilevel levels at five, with commissions paid as a percentage of wholesale order volume generated within the unilevel team.

 

For wholesale orders of 219 BV or less:

How many unilevel levels a goDesana affiliate can earn on for 219 BV or less orders is determined by their rank.

• Product Consultant to Gold – 3% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates or preferred customers)
• Jasper to Emerald – 6% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 4
• Diamond or above – 8% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5

 

For wholesale orders of 220 BV or more:

• 220 BV to 359 BV orders – 15% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5
• 360 BV to 499 BV orders – 18% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5
• 500 BV or above orders – 21% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5

Note that to qualify for the Wholesale Bonus on 220 BV or more orders, a goDesana affiliate must have generated at least 220 PV within the last 31 days.

A goDesana affiliate can increase the percentage payouts by 2% by purchasing at least 80 PV worth over a rolling 31 day period.

Residual Commissions

Residual commissions in goDesana are paid out using the same unilevel compensation structure as the Wholesale Bonus.

Whereas the Wholesale Bonus applies to wholesale product orders only, residual commissions are paid out on all placed order volume.

Residual commissions are paid out down a total of seven unilevel levels.

How many unilevel levels an affiliate can earn on is determined by their rank:

• Product Consultant – 3% on levels 1 and 2
• Silver – 3% on levels 1 to 3
• Gold – 3% on levels 1 to 4
• Jasper – 3% on levels 1 to 5
• Amber – 3% on levels 1 to 6
• Ruby or higher – 3% on levels 1 to 7

Infinity Leadership Bonus

The Infinity Leadership Bonus provides a way for Platinum Diamond ranked affiliates to earn beyond the first seven levels of their unilevel team.

Platinum Diamond goDesana affiliates earn a 1% Infinite Bonus on sales volume generated from level 8 of their unilevel team.

Note that there is no level cap for the Infinity Leadership Bonus.

Check Match Bonus

The Check Match Bonus is a percentage match on unilevel commissions paid out to downline affiliates.

Using a unilevel compensation structure, the Check Match Bonus pays out on up to five levels of recruitment:

• Jasper – 10% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 and 3
• Amber – 15% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 and 3
• Ruby – 20% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 and 3
• Emerald – 25% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 and 3
• Diamond – 30% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5
• Double Diamond – 35% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5
• Platinum Diamond – 40% on level 1 and 2% on levels 2 to 5

Revenue Sharing Pools

goDesana run four revenue sharing pools each made up of a percentage of company-wide revenue:

• all affiliates qualify for a share in the 2% Build and Earn pool for each affiliate they recruit
• all affiliates qualify for a share in the 2% Team Build & Earn pool when a personally recruited affiliate recruits a new affiliate
• Ruby & Emerald ranked affiliates earn an equal share in a 1% Ruby & Emerald pool
• Diamond and higher ranked affiliates earn a share in a 3% Diamond pool

Rank Advancement Bonus

goDesana award affiliates who qualify at the Amber and higher ranks with the following cash bonuses:

• Amber – $100
• Ruby – $250
• Emerald – $1000
• Diamond – $2500
• Double Diamond – $5000
• Platinum Diamond – $10,000

Note that the rank must be held for three consecutive month after first qualifying for the bonus to be paid out.

If a goDesana affiliate qualifies as a Ruby within 90 days of joining the company, they also receive an iPad Mini.

Car Bonus

goDesana affiliates at the Diamond and higher ranks qualify for a monthly $400 to $800 car bonus.

Joining goDesana

goDesana affiliate membership is free.

Conclusion

One corporate bio I read for Paula Scarcella stated she’d spent almost ten years in Ultra International.

It’s abundantly clear that Scarcella’s time at Ultra International heavily influenced the goDesana opportunity. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing.

The products are readily marketable and reasonable niche-grouped. Given the broad appeal of the products however, it is advisable to check out the local competition (especially with respect to the flagship essential oils).

After Ultra International, Scarcella appears to have had a brief stint with Essante before venturing into the MLM underbelly with Cycle For Wealth.

That didn’t last long, with Scarcella returning to what she knows with Green Organics International. There doesn’t appear to be a nefarious reason for the name-change to goDesana but I found it odd I couldn’t find an official cited reason for the rebrand.

In any event, goDesana offers a massive range of products that compliment the primary party marketing model behind the business. Most of the goDesana product-range is focused in one way or another around the home, so from a presentation perspective hosting marketing parties at people’s homes makes sense.

There’s a lot of emphasis in the goDesana compensation plan about there being “no product purchase required” to earn commissions.

goDésana has eliminated the hoops and hurdles to getting started with no sign-up fees, no auto-delivery requirement, no investment, and no personal purchase requirements to earn, making this the Income Opportunity by which all others should be compared.

While this is true on the surface, affiliate purchases to qualify for commissions are however heavily incentivized.

If an affiliate purchases product to self-qualify for commissions, they earn a discount the longer they do so (up to 30% after 13 months).

goDesana affiliates also earn a bonus 2% on unilevel commissions if they purchase 80 PV or more worth of products every 31 days.

Commissions on wholesale orders of 220 BV or more require an affiliate to generate 220 BV, which again can be self-purchased.

The likelihood of this happening (as opposed to retail order volume) is increased by the offering of up to 30% in discounts if an affiliate purchases products (220 BV = 10% discount, 360 BV = 20% discount and 500 BV = 30% discount).

The good news is establishing whether or not affiliate purchases make up the bulk of your potential upline’s business easy.

What you want to find out is whether or not they’re qualifying their monthly PV requirement via their own purchase of product or not.

To be fair, there are goDesana affiliates who genuinely are ordering product each month for personal consumption. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

What you want to look for though is equivalent BV being generated via retail sales each month.

I want to reiterate that again: There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a goDesana affiliate purchasing product each month, provided they have at least their commission qualification BV met by equivalent retail product orders.

A lack of significant retail activity would indicate the majority of BV generated company-wide being sourced from affiliate purchases.

This would mean goDesana are operating as a product-based pyramid scheme.

Not helping are the rather steep recruitment requirements at the upper goDesana affiliate ranks. I can’t really see why these requirements are there, given an affiliate can only generate up to 50% of required GV from any one recruitment leg in any case.

It just seems to be an excuse to get affiliate’s recruiting, which may lead to inventory loading recruitment.

That said overall I don’t think there’s enough in the compensation plan to tip the scales against retail orders, but it is a possibility nonetheless.

One other factor to consider if you decide to utilize party marketing is the cost of products your going to use as samples.

These will be self-purchases, but be careful you don’t fall into a trap of spending money each month on samples without generating a “return” via retail sales.

Be even more wary of recruiting other goDesana affiliates who might fall into the same trap if you yourself aren’t generating commissions via retail sales.

Good luck!