OEI Corp operates in the personal care and nutritional supplement MLM niches.

The company is based out Malaysia and headed up by co-founders Jaswinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh (Chairman).

Kourosh Sharifirad serves as OEI Corp’s CEO.

Unfortunately the corporate bios of OEI Corp’s executives reveal nothing about them. Instead each bio is little more than a marketing spiel for the company.

The same names are cited as management for OEW Group, which appears to be OEI Corp’s parent company.

All three OEI Corp executives have been with the company for a number of years. As far as I can tell this is their first MLM venture.

For reference, the “OEW” in OEW Group stands for Ortus Expert White.

The “OEI” in OEI Corp stands for Ortus Expert International.

OEW Group, as Ortus Expert White Pte Ltd, appears to have been in business since 2009. OEI Corp seems to have been launched on or around December 2017.

Read on for a full review of the OEI Corp MLM opportunity.

OEI Corp Products

OEI Corp markets personal care and nutritional supplements through their Royal Valens and Royal Esence brands.

OEI Corp’s Royal Esence branded personal care products include;

  • Oxygen Mask – a skin hydrating formula that retails for RM 190 for a 50 ml bottle ($45.40 USD)
  • Multi-action Toner/Serum – a skin care toner based on “purified water, butylene glycol, prunus yedeonsis leaf extract and isononyllsononanote”, retails at RM 315 ($75.30 USD) for a 100 ml bottle ($75.30 USD)
  • Nuevena Stem Cell (women)- a “skin lightening” and anti-aging cream formula containing “lumskin, allantoin and keratoline”, retails at RM 315 for a 50 ml tub and RM 225 for a 30 ml tub ($53.80 USD)
  • Nuevena Stem Cell (men) – product description is similar to the women’s variety although with different ingredients (peg-50 shea butter, betula alba leaf extract and jojoba oil peg 8 esters), retails at RM 225 for a 30 ml tub ($53.80 USD)

OEI Corp’s Royal Valens nutritional supplement line is marketed as “holistic wellness to detoxify, nourish & energize your body”.

Each Royal Valens variety is sold as a 14 day cleaning plan that targets the digestive system.

  • Royal Valens LetItGo – contains digestive enzymes, garcinia cambogia and mixed berries, retails at RM 190 ($45.40 USD)
  • Royal Valens Qinova – contains circumin, fucoidan, reishi mushroom and black seed oil, retails at RM 225 ($53.80 USD)
  • Royal Valens Fitunix – contains guarana, honey, pomegranate and prune, retails at RM 190 ($45.40 USD)

The OEI Corp Compensation Plan

OEI Corp’s compensation is a hybrid binary/unilevel. Additional performance-based bonus pools are also on offer.

OEI Corp Affiliate Ranks

There are eight affiliate ranks within the OEI Corp compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria they are as follows:

  • Social Connector – purchase a Social Connector Pack or 80 PV worth of product and maintain 20 PV a month
  • Social Networker – purchase a Social Networker Pack or purchase 160 PV worth of product and maintain 20 PV a month
  • Social Executive – purchase a Social Executive Pack or 400 PV worth of product and maintain 20 PV a month
  • Social Manager – purchase a Social Manager Pack or 800 PV worth of product and maintain 20 PV a month
  • Pristine Director – maintain 20 PV a month and generate 20,000 PV a month in your weaker binary side and recruit and maintain at least four Social Managers (two on both sides of the binary team)
  • Emerging Director – maintain 40 PV a month, generate 40,000 PV a month in your weaker binary side and recruit and maintain at least two Pristine Directors (one on both sides of the binary team)
  • Victorious Director – maintain 40 PV a month, generate 80,000 PV a month in your weaker binary side and recruit and maintain at least two Emerging Directors (one on both sides of the binary team)
  • World Beater – maintain 40 PV a month, generate 200,000 PV a month in your weaker binary side and recruit and maintain at least two Victorious Directors (one on both sides of the binary team)

PV stands for “Personal Volume” and is sales volume generated by retail sales and an affiliate’s own orders.

Note that the Social Manager rank must be obtained prior to Pristine Director qualification.

Given PV requirements drop from 800 to 40 over these two ranks, I believe once achieved, Pristine Directors no longer need to maintain Social Manager qualification criteria.

Retail Commissions

Although retail pricing is provided on the OEI Corp website, they aren’t mentioned in the company’s compensation plan documentation.

The OEI Corp Polciies and Procedures references a “Business Partner price” (wholesale), so I believe retail commissions are paid as the difference between retail and wholesale pricing.

The 20% level 1 commission rate paid via residual unilevel commissions suggests the retail commission rate is probably also around 20%.

 

Update 21st November 2018 – OEI Corp has reached out and confirmed retail commissions are 22% to 22%. /end update

 

Recruitment Commissions

Each OEI Corp affiliate that signs up must purchase an affiliate pack.

An up to 40% commission is paid out on the pack purchase, based on affiliate rank:

  • Social Connectors earn 40% on Social Connector packs, 30% on Social Networker packs, 20% on Social Executive packs and 10% on Social Manager packs
  • Social Networkers earn 40% on Social Connector and Social Networker packs, 30% on Social Executive packs and 20% on Social Manager packs
  • Social Executives earn 40% on Social Connector, Social Networker and Social Executive packs and 30% on Social Manager packs
  • Social Managers earn 40% on all packs

The coded-nature of the recruitment commissions means that if less than 40% is paid out, the system searches upline for a higher ranked affiliate.

Once found, they are paid the difference at their rank. If the 40% still hasn’t been paid out, the system searches higher till a Social Manager is found and what’s left of the 40% commission is paid out.

Note that as Social Managers are initially paid the full 40% across all pack levels, no coded bonus is paid out on their recruitment efforts.

Also note that although not explicitly clarified in OEI Corp’s compensation plan documentation, I believe Pristine Director and higher ranks are paid the same as Social Managers.

Residual Commissions (binary)

Social Connector to Social Manager ranked OEI Corp affiliates are paid residual commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.

A binary compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):

The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).

Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of affiliates. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.

Residual binary team commissions are paid out twice a month as a percentage of matched sales volume generated on both sides of the binary team.

How much of a percentage an OEI Corp affiliate earns in residual binary team commissions is determined by rank:

  • Social Connectors earn 20% capped at $500 a week
  • Social Networkers earn 22% capped at $1500 a week
  • Social Executives earn 24% capped at $5000 a week
  • Social Managers earn 26% capped at $12,500 a week

Residual Commissions (unilevel)

Pristine Director and higher ranked OEI Corp affiliates are paid both binary and unilevel residual commissions.

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.

Residual unilevel commissions are paid out as a percentage of sales volume generated on up to 7 unilevel team levels.

How many unilevel team levels an OEI Corp affiliate earns on is determined by rank:

  • Pristine Directors earn 20% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) and 10% on level 2, capped at $15 a week
  • Emerging Directors earn 20% on level 1, 10% on level 2 and 5% on levels 3 and 4, capped at $20,000 a week
  • Victorious Directors earn 20% on level 1, 10% on level 2, 5% on levels 3 to 5 and 3% on level 6, capped at $25,000 a week
  • World Beaters earn 20% on level 1, 10% on level 2, 5% on levels 3 to 5, 3% on level 6 and 2% on level 7, capped at $30,000 a week

Note that to maintain binary commission payouts, Social Manager qualification criteria must be maintained.

Additional Bonuses

The OEI Corp compensation plan references a Key in Bonus, State Bonus and Company Global Pool Bonus.

  • the Key in Bonus is 5% of monthly company-wide sales volume and shared between Social Manager ranked affiliates
  • the State Bonus is 2% of monthly company-wide sales volume and shared equally between affiliates who sign up with a Social Manager pack

The Company Global Pool is awarded to World Beater ranked affiliates who maintain Social Manager qualification criteria.

OEI Corp don’t disclose the percentage of company-wide sales volume the Company Global Pool is made up of.

Joining OEI Corp

OEI Corp affiliate membership is tied to the purchase of one of four packs:

  • Social Connector – $150
  • Social Networker – $300
  • Social Executive – $750
  • Social Manager – $1500

Pricing for these packs is not provided on the OEI Corp website.

In addition to bundled products with each pack, the primary difference between them is instant rank achievement.

I believe a Social Connector pack is required at a minimum, after which higher compensation ranks can be qualified for via PV.

Conclusion

My first run through OEI Corp’s compensation plan led me to believe affiliates were either paid binary or unilevel residual commissions.

This made sense as the monthly PV requirement from Social Manager to Pristine Director drops from 800 to just 40.

As I got to the end of the plan however I noticed this description for the Company Global Pool Bonus;

Those who achieve World Beater (WB) with SM or 800PV equivalent, will enjoy the Bonus of Company Global Pool on a monthly qualification basis.

This suggests that Social Manager qualification must be maintained to receive the Company Global Pool Bonus.

The only reason I can see a requirement for that is to continue to earn residual binary commissions.

The problem though is if an affiliate is maintaining Social Manager rank, they’re maintaining at least 800 PV a month – automatically satisfying their Pristine Director and higher PV requirements.

Granted there is other qualification criteria at the Director ranks, but it just seems strange to include PV.

I suppose at Pristine Director and higher binary commissions are optional, so one can choose to continue earning them or not by satisfying Social Manager rank qualification.

Bit of an interesting twist on residual commissions and something I hadn’t seen before.

 

Update 21st November 2018  – OEI Corp have reached out to clarify monthly required PV. The 800 PV is only required to initially qualify. /end update

 

Unfortunately the rest of OEI Corp’s opportunity isn’t up to standard.

Problems begin with the nature of how OEI Corp affiliates are advised to build their business.

As above, which is taken directly from marketing material on the OEI Corp website, new affiliates are told they “must” purchase a pack.

They’re then advised to recruit two others within 90 days who do the same.

This continues to duplicate, and over time you build your OEI Corp business.

Nowhere is retail sales mentioned or featured as a component of the business. And the absence of retail commissions in OEI Corp’s compensation documentation didn’t go unnoticed.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the majority of monthly PV requirements for OEI Corp affiliates is likely satisfied through autoship, as opposed to retail sales.

For an MLM company this is a problem. If the majority of sales volume generated company-wide are affiliate orders (autoship or otherwise), that MLM company is operating as a pyramid scheme.

Another regulatory compliance problem is “pay to play”.

OEI Corp affiliates choose their commission rate by paying more for an affiliate pack, thus rewarding affiliates who spend more.

Tying commission rates to affiliate spend encourages inventory loading, where product is purchased to qualify for higher commissions as opposed to genuine need.

OEI Corp appear to have already received some pushback on this, as evidenced by a November 8th video uploaded to their YouTube channel.

People hear MLM & start running away! Are you one of them, haunted by the whole system?

PONZI/SCAM/CHEATING/MONEY GAME/FRAUD/PYRAMID SCHEME is all you hear????

So, what really is the problem here? Is MLM really all about what the taboo says? Watch & judge for yourself!

Unfortunately the video in question fails to address any of the concerns I’ve raised above. Instead CEO Kourosh Sharifirad spends most of the video urging viewers to put aside preconceptions of MLM and sign up as OEI Corp affiliates anyway.

As far as OEI Corp’s products go, they seem to be an improvement over what was offered through OEW Group.

Although it doesn’t appear to be sold anymore, at least not through OEI Corp, I feel obligated to point out a regulatory warning issued in Singapore last year.

Prior to the launch of OEI Corp, OEW Group marketed Royal Expert Whitening Cream.

In May 2017 the Singaporean Health Sciences Authority issued a warning against Royal Expert Whitening Cream.

The regulator claimed testing revealed the product contained “3000 times the allowed amount of mercury”.

It alerted the public not to buy or use Royal Expert Whitening Cream and instructed sellers to remove all listings.

HSA advised those who have bought the product to stop using it immediately and throw it away.

Rather than confirm or deny mercury levels in their whitening cream product, OEW Group responded by stating;

Dealers are allowed to distribute their products only in Malaysia.

This is not a new issue as there (have) been many counterfeit and imitation Royal Expert products in the market, and we have taken all the necessary steps to curtail this issue.

As far as I can tell, there was no indication in the HSA warning that the OEW Group products tested were counterfeit.

OEI Corp still sell a skin whitening cream through their Nuevena Stem Cell cream. Whether the mercury level issue has been addressed or not I can’t say.

I did find OEI Corp’s response to the HSA warning to be somewhat concerning however. The only acceptable response would have been to confirm their products don’t contain harmful levels of mercury, and if so acknowledge the fault and stop selling the product altogether.

I did note that OEI Corp website states the company expects ‘to fuel rapid growth in the Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and South African Market in the near future’. No idea on what the regulation for mercury in skin care products is in Malaysia, but if OEI Corp haven’t addressed the issue it’s likely it’ll resurface sooner or later.

As a potential consumer I’d find that worrying.

 

Update 21st November 2018 – OEI Corp have reached out with the following response to my concern regarding potential mercury content in their products;

All of OEI Corp’s products are registered with the Health Ministry of Malaysia. Adhering to the Malaysian regulatory system, our products can only be registered after going through all the relevant testing by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

As for OEI Corp’s products, all of them are made with the highest quality products available in the market and contains 16 patented ingredients.

/end update

 

The rest of OEI Corp’s product lines seem above-board. Nothing particularly stood out but there was decent synergy between what was offered. Rather than go for a broad “we hope something sticks” range, OEI Corp have a smaller targeted range, making it an easier sell for affiliates.

That is if the affiliates are focused on retail sales, which going by OEI Corp’s compensation plan and marketing material, for the most part I don’t believe is the case.

First and foremost OEI Corp need to rework their compensation plan, specifically how affiliates sign up.

Abolish tying higher spend packs to commission rates and instead have everyone start at the Social Connector rank.

Split higher rank required PV between affiliate revenue and retail revenue (50/50 or higher), and go from there.

Until those issues are addressed at a minimum, the OEI Corp MLM opportunity leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Update 30th May 2019 – Sometime over the past few months Ortus Expert White have renamed themselves to Dr Esence Sdn Bhd.