SAN FRANCISCO (Direct Sales Aid) — Some of the best-known names in direct sales have swapped multilevel compensation plans for affiliate programs that pay sellers a flat commission on what they personally sell, betting that a pitch anyone can explain in one sentence will win over sellers and shoppers alike.
Rodan + Fields, BODi, Seint and the relaunched Counter have all made the switch since mid-2024. Each now pays sellers on their own customers’ orders rather than on the sales of a recruited team, and several have dropped the starter kits, ranks and monthly minimums that defined the old model.
A wave that started in 2024
San Francisco-based Rodan + Fields was first among the large brands. On July 15, 2024, the dermatologist-founded skin care company said it would move away from multilevel direct selling, and its affiliate program took effect Sept. 1, 2024. Recruiting and commissions on recruits’ sales were removed, and sellers now earn a flat 30% on customer sales, according to the program’s published terms. The company said more than 90% of its consultants would have higher earning potential based on their existing sales, Direct Selling News reported.
Makeup brand Seint followed. In July 2024 it said its “Artist” program would become an affiliate model on Oct. 1, 2024, paying 25% to 45% commission plus a bonus pool on customers sellers refer themselves, with nothing earned on recruiting, Retail Dive reported. The company said the change “simplifies the commissions structure.”
The Beachbody Company went furthest in its language. On Sept. 30, 2024, it announced that its BODi network would move to a “single-level Affiliate Program” on Nov. 1, 2024, and described the new structure as simpler and more modern.
“We recognize that in light of today’s current market dynamics, as well as consumer preferences, the multi-level marketing distribution model is outdated and unsustainable,” Executive Chairman Mark Goldston said in the announcement.
…the multi-level marketing distribution model is outdated and unsustainable.
Mark Goldston, Executive Chairman — The Beachbody Company announcement, Sept. 30, 2024
BODi’s affiliate page now advertises up to 40% commission and says the program is free to join.
Counter, the clean beauty brand rebuilt from Beautycounter after that company went into administration in April 2024, relaunched on June 25, 2025, without its former multilevel “Brand Advocate” plan. Sellers join free and earn 40% on a new customer’s first order and 20% on reorders, with bonuses at higher monthly sales, according to Beauty Independent.
Why sellers are listening
The appeal is easiest to see in what affiliates no longer have to do. There is typically no starter kit to buy, no inventory, no rank to hold each month and no requirement to recruit friends and family. The pay plan fits in a sentence: share a link, earn a percentage of what sells.
That simplicity also changes the conversation with customers. An affiliate recommending a moisturizer is making the same kind of pitch as a beauty creator with a shoppable link, and does not have to field questions about downlines or explain a compensation chart.
For companies, the model carries less regulatory baggage. A September 2024 Federal Trade Commission staff report that reviewed 70 multilevel marketing income disclosures found that most participants made $1,000 or less a year, and in January 2025 the agency proposed a new rule on earnings claims by multilevel marketers. Affiliate programs that pay only on sales to customers sidestep the recruiting-based rewards the FTC’s guidance treats as a warning sign.
The change comes as the channel shrinks. U.S. direct selling sales fell for a fourth straight year to $34.2 billion in 2025, down from $42.7 billion in 2021, and the number of U.S. direct sellers fell 4% to 5.2 million, according to the Direct Selling Education Foundation.
Not everyone is following
Other companies have publicly recommitted to the multilevel model. “Neora will never leave the multi-level marketing model,” founder Jeff Olson said in July 2024, and Neora’s Amber Olson Rourke said an affiliate-only approach “is not a long-term winning strategy,” Direct Selling News reported.
Some brands are splitting the difference. Tastefully Simple introduced “TS Ambassadors” with no sponsoring requirement on Jan. 1, 2025, while existing leaders kept the ability to build teams, according to Social Selling News.
The trade-off for sellers is real: affiliates generally give up the team income that a small number of multilevel leaders earn, and their pay stops when they stop sharing.
What it means for sellers
Anyone weighing an opportunity now has a clearer choice: a flat commission on personal sales with few strings attached, or a multilevel plan that pays on a team in exchange for targets and recruiting. Our explainer, Affiliate Marketing vs Direct Sales, compares the tiers, pros and cons side by side.
Because an affiliate is paid only on what sells, the people who do well tend to start with the audience, not the brand. Sellers who already have a following around a subject, such as skin care routines, home cooking, fitness or family safety, can take an inventory of who actually listens to them and what those people buy. Only then does it make sense to pick a company whose products fit that audience, rather than signing up for a brand and hoping to find customers for it afterward.
The same test applies to the program itself. A seller can compare commission rates, cookie windows and payout minimums across programs, but the deciding factor is usually simpler: whether the products are something that seller would recommend without being paid, to people who already trust the recommendation.
Company profiles for Rodan + Fields, Counter and Tastefully Simple list startup costs, commission ranges and reviews, and our earlier story covers Rodan + Fields’ flat 30% affiliate program in detail.
Sources: The Beachbody Company press release (Sept. 30, 2024) and BODi affiliate program page; Direct Selling News (July 15 and July 26, 2024); NewBeauty (July 2024); Retail Dive via Yahoo Finance (July 22, 2024); Beauty Independent (2025); Social Selling News (2024); Federal Trade Commission staff report on MLM income disclosures (Sept. 2024) and proposed earnings claim rule (Jan. 13, 2025); Direct Selling Education Foundation, Direct Selling in the United States: 2025 Industry Overview (Aug. 2026).
