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Have you ever been told you can make money and be your own boss by getting into sales?
Companies like Herbalife and Avon advertise that everyday people can start their own business by selling supplements and skincare products respectively.
These companies are multi-level marketing, or MLM, companies.
They use a network of representatives to distribute products through direct sales.
How much money sellers make is entirely commission based.
Another popular company in the MLM space is Paparazzi Accessories, also known as Paparazzi Jewelry.
By selling its jewelry products, Paparazzi Jewelry claims you can become your own boss and make money from home.
But can you really make money selling Paparazzi Jewelry, and is this company legit?
Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
A Complete Paparazzi Jewelry Review
What Is Paparazzi Jewelry?
Paparazzi Jewelry is a direct sales company that began in 2011 when sisters Chani and Misty began selling affordable, trendy accessories.
Since then, Paparazzi Jewelry has grown dramatically.
Estimates range from there being 20,000 to 75,000 plus active sellers, who are known as Paparazzi Jewelry consultants.
The company promotes becoming a Paparazzi consultant quite strongly, stating you can:
- Work from home with flexible hours
- Be your own boss
- Earn 35% to 45% commission
As for the products you’re selling, Paparazzi Jewelry prices its accessories at $5.
You can sell a variety of jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other accessories.
The company states products are nickel and lead-free, are exclusive, and are manufactured in China.
How To Start Selling Paparazzi Jewelry
Becoming a Paparazzi Jewelry consultant takes three simple steps:
- Find An Independent Consultant: You have to search with your zip code for another Paparazzi Jewelry consultant in your area to sponsor you into the network.
- Pick A Starter Kit: You purchase upfront inventory to sell. Paparazzi Jewelry sells a small preview pack if you want to start out slow. You can also purchase a bulk jewelry package which contains more products and extras to help you sell, like jewelry and accessory displays.
- Throw A Jewelry Party: Paparazzi Jewelry encourages consultants to invite their friends and family to a launch jewelry party to kickoff initial sales.
Finding a Paparazzi Jewelry consultant to sponsor you is straightforward.
A quick search in my zip code brought up over 20 consultants, and you can select them to sponsor you immediately or send them an email to chat.
How Much Does Paparazzi Jewelry Cost To Join?
You have to purchase a kit to join Paparazzi Jewelry. Your three options include:
- Preview Pack ($99): Includes 35 pieces of jewelry for $175 retail value.
- Small Home Party Kit ($299): Includes 120 pieces of jewelry for $600 retail value.
- Large Home Party Kit ($499): Includes 200 pieces of jewelry for $1,000 retail value.
Kits also contain extras like party invitations, sales baggies, a Paparazzi party planner, product displays, and other knick knacks to set up a sales booth for your party.
The party aspect of selling is really the focal point.
You’re meant to invite people you know to a launch party to start selling fast.
Can You Make Money Selling Paparazzi Jewelry?
If you sell every single piece of jewelry for the retail sale price of $5, which is the suggested price, the preview pack nets you $76 in profit.
The small and large party kits net $301 and $500 in profit respectively:
This gives you an average commission between 35% and 45% on every piece of jewelry you sell.
This sounds like a pretty solid profit margin, provided you can sell your inventory.
However, Paparazzi Jewelry’s compensation plan also rewards you for “building your team” and inviting new members to become consultants.
The more active consultants you bring on, the more money you make.
This is where the multi-level marketing aspect comes into play.
Additionally, the compensation chart below really shows you why you want to invite new consultants:
Essentially, the program pays you 5% to 10% of revenue from your direct recruit inventory purchases.
As your team invites more members, you also earn between 1% to 3% of the revenue your team’s invites end up generating.
This is commonly called a downline sale.
You can see how this commission structure can lead to your income spiraling out for control for members with a lot of invites.
In contrast, members who are just starting don’t make much money, if any, from referrals.
Here is another chart, which comes directly from Paparazzi Jewelry.
It shows the average earning paid out by rank.
It’s important to see that just over 6% of Consultants earn a monthly bonus.
This means over 90% do not earn any bonus.
On the other hand, close to 70% of Star Consultants earn a monthly bonus, which is most likely due to them having recruits.
Starting to sound a little pyramid-like in structure? I think so.
But on paper, you can theoretically make money with Paparazzi Jewelry through direct sales and by inviting new consultants.
Consultants also get a personal website for ecommerce sales according to Paparazzi Jewelry, but let’s be real, this isn’t where the money is for this MLM program.
Paparazzi Consultant Rules – PV & OV Requirements + Selling Terms
It isn’t enough to buy a starter kit to start making money with Paparazzi Jewelry.
Rather, you have to follow a set of rules once you’re a consultant.
The main rule is that you have a personal volume (PV) requirement of 50 to be an active consultant.
Buying one unit of inventory gets you 2 PV points.
Since jewelry sells for $2.75 at wholesale price, this means you’re spending $68.75 per month to meet your PV requirements.
But, if you want to move up in rank, you have to progressively hit higher PV targets and spend more.
To cover this cost, it means more direct selling and, more importantly, recruiting more consultants so you can earn larger downline bonuses from their sales and recruitment efforts.
Additionally, Paparazzi Jewelry has organizational volume (OV) requirements, just like PV requirements.
If you reference the commission payment chart, you see that to become a Premium Director, your organization requires 3,000 OV.
That’s 1,500 pieces of inventory per month, which definitely means your entire team better be recruiting new consultants.
Outside of PV and OV requirements, other rules include:
- You can’t give away free jewelry when it’s related to a purchase (i.e. no BOGO deals)
- You can’t sell products for less than $5
- You can’t sell on websites like eBay or auction websites, just your Paparazzi Jewelry website
Many consultants still host events like Facebook Live parties or advertise their business on social media, and the rules are quite simple to follow.
Other Paparazzi Jewelry Reviews
If you search for Paparazzi Jewelry reviews, you find two types of testimonials.
The first type of review typically comes from someone who is an active Paparazzi Jewelry consultant.
Considering the immense incentive to recruit new consultants, it’s not surprising that these reviews are generally glowing.
In contrast, you also find Paparazzi Jewelry reviews from former consultants who have quit the company.
In fact, videos on YouTube go so far as to call Paparazzi Jewelry “predatory” because you have to buy-in to the network and keep paying for inventory:
My advice is to ask yourself: who is incentivized to tell the truth?
Is it current Paparazzi Jewelry consultants who need to invite members in order to offset their monthly PV cost and earn bonuses?
Or, is it former consultants who are creating free content on YouTube and aren’t selling you anything?
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Is Paparazzi Jewelry A Pyramid Scheme?
In my opinion, Paparazzi Jewelry is a legal pyramid scheme.
The reason companies like Herbalife and Paparazzi Jewelry are legal is because you have a real product to sell.
Pyramid schemes are illegal if there isn’t any product or service to sell.
However, this doesn’t mean people turn a blind eye to MLM-companies.
Famously, Herbalife has fought several class action lawsuits and paid hundreds of millions in fines and FTC settlements throughout its murky history.
So in short, I think Paparazzi Jewelry is a pyramid scheme where most of the earning potential comes from recruiting members into the network, not necessarily direct sales.
Again, it’s legal and not a scam because you’re selling real products.
However, you should use your judgement when deciding on a side hustle to start.
Advantages And Drawbacks Selling Paparazzi Jewelry
If you’re considering making extra money with Paparazzi Jewelry, I’d also review some of the pros and cons of this company:
The Pros:
Cheap products. Admittedly, selling $5 pieces to people sounds a bit easier than selling expensive coaching programs or supplements with other MLMs. Plus with such a low price, you tend to have repeat customers.
Low monthly requirements. I don’t like that you have to constantly buy additional inventory each month, but for beginners, the requirement is under $75.
Fun. If you want to sell accessories through direct sales, Paparazzi Jewelry might be enjoyable.
The Cons:
Most sellers lose money. The FTC states that 99% of sellers in pyramid schemes lose money.
Pushy business nature. Do you want to push other people to sign up or your friends and family to buy your products in order to make a profit every month?
Initial cost. Even at $99, the fact you have to buy a starter kit means you’re spending money out of the gate.
Monthly cost. You have to buy more jewelry every month in order to hit your PV targets.
I’d seriously weigh the pros and cons before buying a starter kit and ask yourself if you want to be part of this business opportunity.
Alternatives To Paparazzi Jewelry
If you’re still wondering if Paparazzi Jewelry is legit or if you can make money selling costume jewelry, I have some better suggestions.
Why not try starting your own jewelry business selling on Etsy?
Alternatively, why not open your own ecommerce store with Shopify?
So many sellers with a passion for fashion and accessories make money online.
Just look at the Etsy marketplace, where you find some sellers with thousands of orders and reviews for their store.
You could even supplement your online jewelry business by attending craft fairs and festivals.
The point is, there are so many online business ideas out there to start, you don’t need to settle for one with questionable income potential.
Plus, I think the long-term potential of starting your own business or a side hustle like a blog is greater than joining a business model where 99% of people lose money.
How Much Money Can You Make Selling Paparazzi Jewelry?
There are many factors that come into play when talking about your earnings.
First is how large is your social circle and how good are you at networking.
You need a large circle to be able to sell the jewelry at your parties.
Related to this is bringing on additional recruits.
The real money with this side hustle comes from the commission structure of your direct line of recruits.
The more they sell, the more money you make.
On average, you can expect to earn between $50 and $100 a month selling jewelry.
There will be outliers here who earn more.
But for the average person, you will find yourself on the lower end of this range.
In other words, don’t expect this side gig to replace your primary income any time soon.
Wrapping Up
Can you make money with Paparazzi Jewelry?
Absolutely.
However, I don’t think the cards are necessarily stacked in your favor.
Plus, I don’t think direct selling and MLM-pitching is for everyone.
Paparazzi Jewelry isn’t a scam, but again, consider what sort of business model you want to get into.
If you love fashion and are happy with direct sales and recruiting other consultants, go for it.
Otherwise, my advice is to try a variety of other business ideas to start working towards financial independence.
Whatever the case, I hope our Paparazzi Jewelry review helps you make the best decision for your finances and business goals.