Origami Owl Review – Should You Invest Your Time and Money?
So, someone introduced you to Origami Owl and told you that it is an excellent income opportunity where you can make money while empowering and motivating other people.
But as amazing as that sounds, you want to make sure that Origami Owl is not a scam, and that it can indeed become a source of a part-time or even full-time income.
Well, it is possible to earn between 20-50% in profits by selling this company’s products.
However, there are critical things about Origami Owl that might discourage you from investing your time and money in this company – facts that your sponsor might not tell you.
So in this Origami Owl review, I will discuss everything you need to know about this company so you’ll have a clear idea of whether or not you want to get involved in this opportunity.
Let’s dive right in…
Review Summary
Website: origamiowl.com
Founders: Isabela “Bella” Weems, Christian “Chrissy” Weems, Tyson Basha, and Shawn Maxwell
Price to Join Opportunity: $49 – $199 plus monthly product orders
Recommended? Only if you’re confident that you can sell a lot of fancy jewelry each month. If not, you may want to check this out instead.
Overall Business Opportunity Rating:
Quick Summary: Your income in this business highly depends on your ability to sell a lot of custom-made fancy jewelry pieces and whether or not you can build a large sales team who will do the same.
And while its possible to make money as an Origami Owl Independent Designer, over 99% of the people who joined this business didn’t make a decent income based on the company’s Earning Disclosure Statement below.
Are you confident that you are among the top 1% who will succeed in this business?
Nevertheless, whether you decide to start a network marketing career with Origami Owl, or look for another opportunity that better fits your passion and interests, here are some training materials for the direction you choose…
FOR ORIGAMI OWL INDEPENDENT DESIGNERS
IF THE ORIGAMI OWL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IS NOT FOR YOU
What is Origami Owl?
Origami Owl is a Multi-level Marketing (MLM) company that sells custom jewelry pieces.
The company started operation in 2010 and was founded by Isabela “Bella” Weems, Christian “Chrissy” Weems, Tyson Basha, and Shawn Maxwell.
Apparently, Bella was just 14 years old when she co-founded Origami Owl. I can only assume, but this is probably one of the reasons (if not THE reason) for the massive success of Origami Owl in the past years.
Bella is the face of Origami Owl, and the company has been using her image to inspire other entrepreneurs to reach for their dreams.
If a 14-year-old can create a successful company, so can you, right?
I didn’t find any information about Tyson Basha and Shawn Maxwell outside of Origami Owl. However, Christian Weems (Bella’s mother) has a different story to tell.
Christian Weems, aka Chrissy Weems, has been arrested in 2010 for allegedly tampering evidence in a sex abuse case of her friend.
Chrissy pleaded guilty in 2011. (Source)
This scandal was big enough that it was aired into national television.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I would be hesitant to join a business opportunity where a founder has questionable credibility. And if you join this company, this issue could affect you negatively.
Some people might hesitate to buy Origami Owl products or join the business because they don’t want to be seen affiliated with a company who’s founder has a criminal record. Would you?
I know, I know… One mistake shouldn’t be used to judge a person, and it doesn’t mean that Chrissy can’t change for the better.
But it didn’t end there!
Origami Owl Sued for Copyright Infringement
In August of 2014, Linx Bracelets filed a case against Origami Owl for copyright infringement.
The Linx Bracelets vs. Origami Owl lawsuit states that Bella and Chrissy “copied and duplicated” the other company’s jewelry design instead of creating their own.
I dug deeper about the case, but in one source I’ve found, it says the case status is “Not Classified By Court.”
In the end, I wasn’t able to verify who won this case, but one source says that Origami Owl lost and they ended up for a settlement with the other party.
And as much as I don’t want to give this company a hard time, it turns out that another Origami Owl lawsuit was filed in 2019.
The plaintiff was Sam Carell, who claims Origami Owl allegedly used the picture of her dog in a promotional campaign for a pet product line accessories.
The case was settled in favor of Origami Owl. (Source)
All these things aside, Origami Owl is a recognized MLM company, and it has thousands of members in the US alone.
It isn’t also that difficult to find positive Origami Owl reviews here and there, and there seem to be people that are genuinely happy with this company.
But can you really make money with Origami Owl?
Origami Owl Business Opportunity – Facts your sponsor might not tell you
1. Origami Owl Products – Made of “cheap” materials?
One thing I like about Origami Owl is that the company gives you a chance to own a piece of jewelry that is uniquely yours.
When buying an Origami Owl jewelry, you can choose to pay for the pre-made designs, or you can create your own.
You can choose the charms, the chains, the lockets, and the make of your jewelry.
However, these jewelry are not made with solid gold or silver, nor the charms and gems included are genuine.
Origami Owl jewelry is made of stainless steel only, plated with silver or gold. And when it comes to the gems, these jewelry pieces come in Swarovski crystals.
A Swarovski crystal isn’t a gemstone or even a crystal. It is a glass that’s made at high temperatures patented by Swarovski, an Austrian producer of glass headquartered in Wattens, Austria.
I understand that owning a piece of jewelry that has “sentimental value” could be special. Still, I doubt many people would wear this kind of jewelry in gatherings and social events outside Origami Owl.
Because the fact is, most people still prefer to wear jewelry that has real value, made of solid silver or gold, and embellished with genuine gemstones like sapphire or diamonds.
I bet you would rather spend a hundred dollars on a piece of jewelry that features a genuine gemstone, no matter how small, compared to fancy jewelry of the same price.
Furthermore, there have been many complaints regarding the quality of these products. Some of the most common complaints against Origami Owl products are that it breaks easily, and it overly expensive for its worth.
Others also received a totally different product from what they order, but the company “didn’t bother” replacing them.
2. Selling Origami Owl Products will be Tough…
If you notice on the company website, Origami Owl claims that if you like its products, you should share it with your “girlfriends.”
While it may seem that I’m nitpicking, this statement actually means a lot if you want to join this company for business.
Because when you look at it, your primary target when marketing these products are women.
Of course, I’m not saying that men won’t buy these products, but I guess we can all agree that unlike selling food supplements where anyone with a pulse is a prospective buyer…
Your target market in Origami Owl is significantly smaller and more restrictive.
I express the same concern on a similar MLM companies Thirty-One Gifts and Paparazzi Accessories.
You’ll have to learn to find the right people that are interested in your products, or else you’ll be wasting your time and effort chasing after every person you see.
This is on top of the concerns I discussed above.
3. Origami Owl Compensation Plan – All about building a sales team (recruitment)
As I briefly mentioned at the start of this Origami Owl review, it is indeed possible to earn money by selling the company products.
However, the higher income in this business still relies on your ability to recruit people and build a large sales team of “Independent Designers.”
But don’t take my word for it and let me show you instead.
Retails Profits
Your potential income selling Origami Owl products depends on the product volume you can sell each month.
Each product is assigned a point, and every time you place an order, either for yourself or for retail purposes, you’ll earn a PV or Personal Volume.
While your PV is less than 250PV, you’ll only get a 20-40% discount, which translates to your profit margin when you sell the products on retail prices. Generate more than 250PV, and you’ll be entitled to a 30-50% discount.
You have to generate a minimum of 75PV to get any discounts.
Advancement Bonus
Designers unlock different ranks within the Origami Owl compensation plan, the higher your rank is, the better is your income potential.
In the rank advancement bonus, you’ll earn one-time cash bonuses from $50 up to $10,000.
When you join the company and generate your first 75PV, and you’ll be a Designer.
When you reach the rank of Team Leader by generating at least 250PV, 750TV (Team Volume = Total PV of your team), and recruiting at least 3 Designers in your team, you’ll receive a $50 Advancement Bonus.
Reach the rank of Executive Field Vice President by generating at least 500PV, 200,000TV and 10 personally recruited Designers, you’ll receive $10,000.
Amazing right?
Sad to say, up to the time of this Origami Owl review, less than 1% of the people who joined the company for business had ever reached the Executive Field Vice President rank, and over 90% are still stuck at the Designer level.
People who have no skills in building and maintaining a large sales team have no chance to move up to higher ranks.
Making A Full-Time Income From Home Without Recruitment is Possible! Here’s How.
Residual Commissions
Origami Owl will pay you residual commissions based on your current rank using a UniLevel pay structure.
In UniLevel, all the people you personally recruit (or sponsor) to join Origami Owl will become your Level 1 (frontline) sales team.
Designers recruited by your Level 1 will be placed on Level 2 of your organization, and when members on Level 2 recruit more people as well, the new members will fill the positions in your Level 3 and so on…
Depending on your current rank, Origami Owl will pay you 3% to 10% based on the PV generated by each person in your team down to 5 levels deep.
However, you can only expect to earn down to the 5 levels if you are at least a Director ranked member, have at least 500PV and 25,000TV, which believe me, very hard to achieve.
Aside from finding the right people for your Origami Owl business, you also need to learn how to get a continuous supply of leads using the Internet.
But you might be thinking I’m just exaggerating things. So here’s a video from one of the Origami Owl Designers as she shares the reality of this business.
In the video (in case you didn’t watch), the Origami Owl Designer expressed how tough it is to make money and survive in this business.
She briefly mentioned how, in one event, she reached out to 300 people, but only 24 joined, and only 4 people managed to generate 100PV.
Meaning out of 100 people, only 8 joins and 1-2 stick with the business. Basically, you can only expect one active recruit out of 100 people you invite to the company.
And contrary to what some people might lead you to believe, this business is not for everybody and not all who joins will want to stay with you. She also faced tons of rejections and overcame different challenges that come in any MLM business.
Furthermore, you will need a lot more than just 4-6 people to make this business work!
4. Most Origami Owl Independent Designers Aren’t Making Money!
Based on the 2018 Earnings Disclosure Statement released by the company, it appears that over 99% of the company active Designers are only earning on average between $6 to $249 each month ($82.22 – 2,962.08 annually).
Not really the “life-changing” and “living the dream” income you’re hoping for, right?
I also tried to find a more recent earning disclosure statement from the company but to no avail.
Although, if more people have been earning with this business since 2018, don’t you think Origami Owl would be touting about it already?
Food for thought.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Origami Owl?
If despite the things above, you still want to join this company because selling fancy jewelry and accessories and building a sales team is a passion of yours…
Then you can become an Origami Owl Independent Designer by purchasing any of the starter kits below.
Startup Kit – $49
Essentials Kit (50PV) – $99
Signature Kit (100PV) – $199
The primary difference between the three is the amount of PV you get at the start and the number of jewelry pieces that you get.
But other than that, each of the starter kits will give you access to,
Personal replicated Origami Owl website to sell the products online
Marketing emails plus additional digital marketing support
Designer Back Office and business tracking tools
Business and personal development training
Now you might notice that the kit doesn’t entitle you to take part in the Origami Owl compensation plan. It’s because these are “starter” or enrollment kits only.
To qualify for the discounts and commissions, you’ll have to generate at least 75PV of product orders first.
You can get the required 75PV by ordering Origami Owl products and selling, or by purchasing either the Essentials or Signature kit.
Is Origami Owl a Pyramid Scheme?
While I have concerns with the company, its products, and its business in general, I am confident that Origami Owl isn’t a scam nor a pyramid scheme.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made it clear that in a pyramid scheme, your only source of income is through recruitment.
As an Origami Owl Designer, you’ll earn retail profits by selling the products to the general public. Also, you will only get paid when a product is sold, not when you recruit someone.
Nevertheless, you won’t make a lot of money by doing this business on your own, and you will need to build a sales team (recruit people) to reach your financial goals.
I have no intention of bringing a company down, but the fact is, its almost impossible to earn a decent income selling Origami Owl products without recruiting and building a large sales team.
I dare say that if selling fancy custom jewelry and recruiting people is not something you are passionate about, then this business is not for you.
But of course, the final decision is in your hands.
My Sincere Advice
Making money from the sales of your team is what the Origami Owl business is all about. Needless to say, you have to find the right people and convince a lot of them to join your team so you will reach your financial goals.
And if that is the direction you are going to take, then may I suggest that you check out this training program for network marketers.
It is the program that allowed the top-ranking Origami Owl Designers to overcome the challenges of the MLM industry, including how to find a constant supply of leads using the Internet.
But if while reading this Origami Owl review, you’ve realized that this is not a suitable income opportunity for you, but you’re still looking for ways to make money…
Then I highly recommend that you check out this program!
It is the same program that turned me from a nobody to somebody online, without selling any product nor recruiting a single person.
I know these all sound too good to be true, so I’ve shared my early income proof here: 2015, 2016, 2017.
Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read this review. I sincerely hope that you’ve found the answers that you were looking for.
If this has helped, kindly share this with the people you know so they too will have a clear idea of what the Origami Owl business opportunity is all about.
And if you have any to contribute about Origami Owl in general, feel free to leave a comment below.
Until here and whichever path you take towards your financial goals, I wish you all the success in the future.
Your friend,
Jack