Is Zilis A scam? Nope, But it’s Very Expensive! (2020 Review)

Someone might have introduced Zilis to you and wondering whether they’re a legitimate way to earn income or is Zilis a scam.

You might have known Zilis through their CBD and Hemp oil products, but if this is your first time hearing about their business opportunity, then you’ve come to the right place.

And yes, Zilis is a classic example of MLM (Multi-level Marketing).

I no longer invest in MLMs, and I believe, neither should you.

Network marketing has the reputation of being similar to pyramid schemes. And they are essentially pyramiding with the exception of legality.

But before we conclude anything, let’s take a look at the offerings of Zilis and analyze whether they are really a good source of income.

In this review, I will walk you through and provide all the information you’ll need before investing.

And I hope that the details in this content help you make the right decision.

So once again, is Zilis a scam? Are they just another pyramid scheme? Or Are they a legit way to earn income?

Let’s find out…

What is Zilis?

Zilis is an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) company that primarily sells CBD and Hemp oil.

Steven and Angie Thompson founded the business in 2015. The word Zilis is derived from a Swahili word that means “nutrition multiplied.

” It is a fitting term because, after all, they are in the health and wellness industry.

What are the products they offer?

First, it’s important to note that Zilis does not manufacture its line of products.

They buy finished products from other companies and use their brand name when reselling them.

It may be a convenient way to save costs, but I think it's important that you manufacture your own products.

It is in this way that you can monitor the ingredients being used to ensure the quality and safety of the products.

Some of their top products are as follows:

• Ultra Edge Cognitive Support
• Ultra Dream Sleep Support
• Ultra Full Homeostasis Support
• Ultra Cell Water Soluble, Full Spectrum Hemp Oil
• Ultra Burn Weight Loss Support
• Ultra Cell Topical Water Soluble, Hemp Extract plus Essential Oils

They claim that they are a fast-growing company because they’re taking advantage of this new scientific breakthrough.

But realize that they are not the only ones taking advantage of it. There are other CBD and Hemp oil products that are as effective but less expensive.

Also, there are more legitimate companies where we can get CBD and Hemp oil.

Among the top manufacturers of CBD and Hemp oil are Endoca, CV sciences, Bluebird Botanicals, and Isidiol.

What is Zilis Opportunity?

Zilis is relatively new in the MLM arena. However, they’re touting in their YouTube videos and social media that they are a fast-growing company, and they expect rapid growth in the following years.

They also mentioned on their official website that they have a unique model that offers a great financial opportunity and that this is the best time to grab the opportunity.

However, these statements aren’t new to MLMs. If you have experience with them, these are common baits to lure you into investing in them.

There may be many different MLMs around, but their tactics are all the same.

They invite you for lunch or coffee, and then you realize that you’re really going to an MLM seminar. I’ve been there before, and most often it was invitations from a friend or loved ones.

The Zilis opportunity adapts the same pyramid structure used by a typical MLM or Pyramid Scheme. But let’s analyze whether they’re a legitimate way to earn income or just another MLM.

First, take a look at this YouTube video posted by one of the co-founders of Zilis—Steven Thompson. 

You can watch the video below

CBD(cannabidiol) oils are causing a lot of hype these past few years because it’s believed to possess many health benefits, including increased mental focus, induces relaxation, and possible treatment for depression.

Before this, it was causing a lot of stir because any genus of cannabis is illegal. CBD oils are extracted from hemp which is the same species of plant as Marijuana.

However, it was found that CBD oil has lower THC levels (the compounds that make you high), and it’s, in fact, extremely beneficial to health and doesn’t cause euphoria.

Throughout the entire first part of the video, you'll only hear Steven saying how amazing their products are.

And the second part explains their so-called unique path to success where you will need to build your down lines or a pyramid. And once you've established your down line, you just have to let the system duplicate itself.

By the way, Zilis members are called Ambassadors.

Click the following site to see the Zilis Compensation Package in detail.

The document basically explains the same thing as the video but in a more detailed way.

In the first pages, they say that their main priority is their ambassador.

They claim that they have the most powerful direct selling techniques, which they referred to as the recipe for success.

They also have a very interesting slogan, "Pay it Forward." What this means is that in every product sold, some portions of the sale are donated to charity.

Now, let’s check the income streams of Zilis…

What are the different income streams of Zilis?

The compensation plan explains 8 ways to earn profits.

Retail Profits

This is Zilis’ basic form of income—it is where you sell products to customers and earn profits as a result. Zilis refer to this process as your foundation.

When you go through this section, they said that you could earn up to 100% retail commissions. Your customers can also have a 50% discount if they become a “preferred customer.”

Beyond this, there’s no further explanation, which makes it unclear how a new Ambassador earns income from certain types of customers.

Fast Start Bonus

For this method, you earn income by personally enrolling a new member. It includes an optional pack as follows:

• Bronze Pack - $20 paid by enroller.
• Silver Pack – $60 paid by enroller.
• Gold Pack - $130 paid by enroller.

It’s further explained that this is a great opportunity to earn income while training your organization to grow.

I like to point out that you’re not essentially a business owner when you join any MLMs for that matter.

You are a representative of the business in which you're earning through commissions.

Also, an Ambassador sponsoring a recruit is mostly self-motivated because of the bonuses they’ll receive.

And they’ll likely persuade the recruit to chooses the gold pack because of the $130 bonus. If a recruit chooses the starters’ pack of $99, then they won’t receive any bonus.

Binary Team Builder

Depending on your rank, you’ll earn a $25,000 bonus per week.

Now, this is where the pyramid structure comes into view, which Zilis calls your binary team.

Just like any other pyramid scheme or MLMs, bonuses and commissions are based on your down line or the Ambassadors from your left and right leg.

Also,  you can gain as much as 20% from your lower down lines.

To give you a detailed overview, the following is a diagram from their compensation package:

As you see, you can earn a maximum of 24% commission as you reach the national ranking.

However, the concern with these commissions is that it’s based on the business volume that the ambassador already paid.

In other words, the cost paid by the ambassador goes to other ambassadors on his/her upper line.

Infinity Residual Bonus

It is an additional bonus besides generational commissions.

However, the recruit must purchase other than the Starters’ pack, or else, the ambassador won’t qualify for a bonus.

The ambassador can earn as much as 9% depending on their ranking. It is as follows:

Another unique feature of the Generational Bonus is that the commission is unlimited. It means that you can go beyond the 6th generation and still earn bonuses.

But the concern with this compensation is the same as the Generational Bonus. The 9% commission is based on the business volume already paid by the ambassador.

It means that the price paid by the ambassador goes to his/her upper lines.

Infinity Matching Bonus

It’s another bonus for high-ranking ambassadors. You qualify for this bonus when a person you recruited reaches the same ranking as you.

The summary of the bonus is as follows:

As you and your matching ambassador level up, you can earn a maximum of 40%.

But again, it’s based on the price of the starters’ kit. And it goes to the ambassadors’ upper line as commissions.

Benefits package

Zilis also offers other bonus packages.

• Blessing benefit – it is where they donate for charitable cause monthly.
• Healthcare bonus – monthly health premiums for ambassadors with a regional ranking or above.
• Jeep Bonus – it’s a bonus where Zilis will help you lease or loan a jeep. However, you must be at least in the area ranking to qualify.
• Global Bonus Pool – Zilis will provide a 2% bonus every 3 months for Ambassadors with an area ranking or above. Although it may look that has a lot of bonuses, remember that it’s based on the retail price of the ambassador already. Thus, it’s making the product 2% higher than the retail price.

Click here to view Zilis’ Compensation Package.

If you’re fully locked on becoming a Zilis Ambassador, the next section is for you…

How to become a Zilis Ambassador

Joining Zilis is a pretty straightforward process—fill out the online application, pay for the membership fee, and that’s it.

You are now a Zilis Ambassador.

You can start with the starters’ pack of $99, but certain benefits, bonuses, and commissions won’t be available to you. It will be just like a re-seller setup.

To upgrade, you need to choose from the packs below and pay the equivalent amount:

• Bronze Pack -$199
• Silver Pack - $599
• Gold Pack - $1,299

As you can see, the bronze pack is expensive, but if you're willing to take the risk to significant income, then by all means.

But keep in mind that in an MLM setting, a higher investment doesn't always lead to higher profits.

How to qualify for a promotion

As you observed, the only way to earn a higher income is when you rank.

Below is a chart on how you will qualify for promotion:

As you may have surmised, this is a classic MLM or pyramid scheme because the only you can rank is by building your down line.

Can you make a reliable income from the Zilis Business Opportunity?

There’s not much information regarding income disclosure statements. The only copy I can gather is one from their website, which dates back to April 4, 2016.

Zilis states that they are relatively new, so profits aren’t expected to be that high. At that time, ambassadors are expected to earn less than $300 per year.

Well, it was about 4 years ago, and they still haven’t released an updated income disclosure statement.

This, for me, is a red flag because they should continually update their income disclosure statement if they’re really earning profits.

Zilis is obviously an MLM, and I believe that the problems they’re facing are common to such business structures. MLM is a flawed business model.

Building a network is a way for companies to cut costs such as additional workforce, advertising, and promotions.

Instead of concentrating on their products, they focus on creating a network of people who are willing to pay a high price for a chance to gain financial freedom.

Now, let’s take a few points on why the Zilis Business Opportunity isn’t a reliable source of income.

As you may have observed, you have to be actively recruiting to advance in rankings.

And for you to gain significant income, your down line should also be making income and actively recruiting as well.

Besides, you have to maintain a certain number of personally recruited ambassadors to keep and advance in the ranking.

While hypothetically, you can just recruit some of your friends, you may still need to recruit constantly if they become inactive or quit.

In the rankings chart, you may also have noticed a requirement for PV or Personal Volume. This is where ambassadors are required to personally buy the products to advance in rankings.

This is sort of a pay-to-win scheme, which may lead ambassadors to over-purchase.

It seems like Ambassadors are buying products not because they need them but because they want to earn points.

You may be earning points and advancing in ranks, but as you see, you’re paying for the retail price. And you’re also handing commissions to your upper lines.

As we repeated explained earlier, bonuses or commissions are already included in the retail price. And the price you paid goes to other ambassadors on your upper line.

The sad truth is that in most cases, MLM members never reach the senior or upper ranks. Thus, it looks like members are only earning profits to feed their upper line.

If you put these facts into a test created by Dr. Jon Taylor called “The 5 Red Flags”, it presumes that the income you’ll be receiving isn’t desirable or even reliable.

Is Zilis a scam?

No. Zilis is not a scam. They are a legit MLM company.

Although income isn’t reliable and business growth is rare, income is still there. If you’re joining because you love the product and wanted to share it with your loved ones, then by all means.

But I do not recommend Zilis as a business opportunity.

I do suggest that you weigh your options and look for a better opportunity before joining them.

There are other ways for you to earn income online. One example (and probably the most profitable) is through Affiliate Marketing. (I will talk more about Affiliate Marketing Later)

Negative Notes

Expensive products

If you’re looking for CBD and Hemp oils, there are more credible brands that are as effective as Zilis but less expensive. Endoca and CV Sciences are just a few examples.

The start-up fee is freakin’ expensive

In the case of Zilis, they have a pretty normal start-up cost of $99, but for you to qualify for bonuses and commissions, you have to buy the premium packs, which start from $199 to $1,299. 

Too focused on recruiting new ambassadors

If their product is profitable, then you have to wonder why they’re too focused on recruiting than selling the actual products.

In addition to the outdated income disclosure statement, this one raises a red flag because it might mean that the products aren’t really selling.

Not accredited by the BBB 

Although they have a positive overall rating, they are not accredited by the BBB.

Positive Notes

Positive BBB rating, but…

The BBB or Better Business Bureau is one way people check the credibility of a company. However, an A+ rating doesn’t guarantee that the business is credible at all.

A report released in the CNN online article exposes such companies with an A+ rating despite having malpractices.

Products are of good quality

According to some customer reviews, the CBD and Hemp oils are of good quality.

Final Verdict + Better Way to Make Money Online

Is Zilis a Scam? Although they are a legitimate business, misrepresentation and low income may lead some to believe that they’re a pyramid scheme.

And I do not recommend Zilis or any MLMs for that matter.

If you want a legitimate way to earn income, then you need to try Affiliate Marketing.

• It’s risk-free!
• No cash-out!
• You don't need to recruit to make money!
• It’s free to start!
• Also, it's cheaper and you can earn more than any MLM can do because you can promote as many businesses as you want.

If you know to learn the basics of Affiliate Marketing, click the description below, and let’s begin.