BehindMLM first reviewed Q Sciences just over two years ago in 2016.

A reader recently reached out to us with the news that since then, Q Sciences have updated their compensation plan.

The new plan is believed to have come into effect earlier this year.

After looking at Q Sciences’ new compensation plan, it appeared different enough to warrant an updated review.

Today we take a look at Q Sciences’ new compensation plan and see where the company is at.

The Company

In 2016 Q Sciences credited Darren Hogge as its Founder, President and CEO.

Today the Q Sciences website contains no information about the company’s corporate structure.

The company’s business opportunity website credits Marc Wilson as its founder and Managing Executive Director.

There’s no mention of Darren Hogge and whether he’s still involved with Q Sciences is unclear.

I did try to research if he’d left and why but turned up nothing.

Marc Wilson (right) is credited as a former NFL player.

In a 2017 interview with the Herald Extra, Wilson reveals

after retiring from the NFL, he moved back to Seattle, and went into real estate development.

He retired from that around 2010, and said he took up “the retired golf course thing.”

“But after six months, I was bored,” he said. “I was driving home from the golf course one day in 2011, and I had an epiphany.

I thought, ‘Am I going to do this every day for the rest of my life?’ I mean, I’m not that old.”

In late 2011 Wilson signed on as Chief Financial Officer of Minerva Worldwide.

Minerva Worldwide ultimately collapsed, although I wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly when.

Marc Wilson and Darren Hogge co-founded and launched Q Sciences in 2013.

Q Sciences Products

Q Sciences operates in the health and nutrition MLM niche.

The company’s product range is pretty broad and a full catalog is provided on the Q Sciences website.

There have been some pricing adjustment and range changes (the pets line has been expanded, for example), but not enough to warrant an updating listing.

You can get a sense of what Q Sciences are offering product wise in our 2016 review.

For updated pricing refer to the Q Sciences website.

The Q Sciences Compensation Plan

Q Sciences affiliates are paid both retail and residual commissions.

A Rank Achievement Bonus for all sixteen Q Sciences affiliate ranks is also available.

MLM Commission Qualification

To qualify for commissions a Q Sciences affiliate must order at least 100 PV worth of product each month.

Q Sciences Affiliate Ranks

There are sixteen affiliate ranks within the Q Sciences compensation plan.

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

  • Builder – generate and maintain 100 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 300 GV a month
  • Pro – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 600 GV a month
  • Executive – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 1500 GV a month
  • Elite – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 4500 GV a month
  • Bronze – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 10,000 GV a month
  • Silver – generate and maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 25,000 GV a month
  • Gold – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 50,000 GV a month
  • Platinum – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 100,000 GV a month
  • Ruby – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 200,000 GV a month
  • Emerald – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 350,000 GV a month
  • Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 500,000 GV a month
  • Blue Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 750,000 GV a month
  • Black Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 1,000,000 GV a month
  • Royal Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 1,500,000 GV a month
  • Presidential Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 2,000,000 GV a month
  • Crown Diamond – maintain 200 PV a month, maintain at least two commission qualified affiliates and generate at least 3,000,000 GV a month

PV stands for “Personal Volume” and is sales volume generated via retail sales and an affiliate’s own orders (includes autoship).

GV stands for “Group Volume” and is the sum total of PV generated by an affiliate’s downline.

Note that the following GV quota restrictions apply:

  • from Builder to Executive up to 60% of total GV can be sourced from any one unilevel leg
  • from Elite to Bronze up to 50%
  • from Silver and higher up to 40%

Retail Commissions

Q Sciences pay retail commissions based on total sales volume generated each month.

  • 1 to 500 GV = 15% retail commission rate
  • 501 to 1000 GV = 20% retail commission rate
  • 1001 or more GV = 25% retail commission rate

Retail GV is counted from retail customer orders only (includes preferred customers on monthly autoship).

Residual Commissions

Although Q Sciences uses a unilevel compensation structure to track downlines, residual commissions are based on rank.

  • Builders earn $50 a month
  • Pros earn $100 a month
  • Executives earn $250 a month
  • Elites earn $750 a month
  • Bronzes earn $1700 a month
  • Silvers earn $4000 a month
  • Golds earn $8000 a month
  • Platinums earn $15,000 a month
  • Rubys earn $25,000 a month
  • Emeralds earn $45,000 a month
  • Diamonds earn $65,000 a month
  • Blue Diamonds earn $90,000 a month
  • Black Diamonds earn $120,000 a month
  • Royal Diamonds earn $160,000 a month
  • Presidential Diamonds earn $220,000 a month
  • Crown Diamonds earn $350,000 a month

Rank Achievement Bonus

Q Sciences reward affiliates for qualifying at each rank with a one-time Rank Achievement Bonus as follows:

  • Builder – $100
  • Pro – $200
  • Executive – $500
  • Elite – $1000
  • Bronze – $2000
  • Silver – $4000
  • Gold – $8000
  • Platinum – $15,000
  • Ruby – $25,000
  • Emerald – $45,000
  • Diamond – $60,000
  • Blue Diamond – $75,000
  • Black Diamond – $100,000
  • Royal Diamond – $130,000
  • Presidential Diamond – $175,000
  • Crown Diamond – $250,000

Note that additional time-sensitive qualification criteria also applies:

  • Builder, Pro and Executive Rank Achievement Bonuses are only paid if each rank is obtained within an affiliate’s first 30 days
  • Elite to Platinum ranks must be maintained for two consecutive months to trigger the Rank Achievement Bonus
  • Ruby and higher ranks must be maintained for three consecutive months

Joining Q Sciences

The Q Sciences business opportunity websites cites affiliate membership as costing $79.95.

When I clicked “Join as an Ambassador” however, the Q Sciences website presented me with optional Ambassador Packs costing $125 to $435.

Conclusion

While there is some effort to encourage retail sales with a sliding commission rate based on retail volume, it’s pretty clear Q Sciences’ core business is affiliate autoship recruitment.

Autoship recruitment was a potential concern raised in our 2016 review. In 2018 however it’s pretty much central to Q Sciences’ business model.

This starts with Q Sciences’ “Qualified Ambassador” requirements:

Active Ambassador: An Ambassador who maintains a monthly minimum order of 100 PV.

More dubious MLM models see retail volume count towards a monthly PV quota. Q Sciences however drop the pretense and just flat out require affiliates to order each month to qualify for commissions.

These orders can be placed manually throughout the month, or more than likely will just be a 100 PV or more monthly autoship.

On the surface this is “pay to play”, and deeper it encourages affiliates to forget about retail and just recruit 100 PV a month autoship affiliates.

Not helping is the compensation plan, which fixes set monthly incomes to each affiliate rank.

What you basically wind up with is a monthly GV quota, satisfied primarily by downline affiliate autoship orders.

This causes the overwhelming majority of company-wide revenue to be sourced from affiliates, resulting in a product-based pyramid scheme.

We’ve seen the FTC go after Vemma and Herbalife for this exact reason. And for a 2018 compensation plan refresh, an established MLM company like Q Sciences should definitely know better.

Dropping mandatory affiliate orders and adding retail volume qualifiers to each rank (at a minimum 50% ratio) would remedy Q Sciences’ compliance problems.

In its current state however both the company and its affiliates run the risk of regulatory intervention.

Not withstanding secondary issues related to participation and promotion of pyramid schemes.

 

Update 20th March 2024 – Q Sciences has been purchased by Awakend founder Rodney James.