How to work with Farmasi in the Bahamas

Farmasi is a direct sales company: it manufactures its own cosmetics in Turkey and sells them through people rather than shops. You enroll as an entrepreneur, buy at a discount, and earn in two ways: from what you sell and from what the team you build sells. That much anyone will tell you. The detail is where it gets interesting.

Worth saying plainly: most people who join any direct sales company earn little or nothing. Farmasi's own 2025 income disclosure states that 46.43% of participants earned no commission that year. That does not make it a scam; it means half the people enroll, do nothing and drop out. Join expecting automatic income and you will be disappointed. Join understanding it is a small business you have to work, and it looks different.

The Bahamas has the most product-specific duty schedule here, and it splits a beauty catalogue right down the middle. From Bahamas Customs' own brochure: make-up carries 35% duty, while shampoo, conditioner, hair dye and hair preparations carry 25% — and perfume, cologne and deodorant come in duty free. VAT of 10% is then charged on a wide base that includes duty, processing fees, storage, insurance, freight and the environmental levy. The processing fee is 1% ad valorem with a USD 10 minimum, which is what makes very small parcels uneconomic.

The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one with the US dollar, so there is no conversion cost on the price itself. Exchange control still exists but has been substantially relaxed for ordinary spending since 2024; the Investment Currency Market premium applies to capital transactions, not to buying goods.

A Business Licence is required to trade. Given the duty split, the mix of products you stock changes your landed cost dramatically — perfume and deodorant are the cheap end, make-up the expensive one.

As a side income, five or six focused hours a week will hold it up. As a main activity it is a full-time business like any other, except there is no salary: you earn what you move. The first quarter is usually learning and small numbers, and that is exactly where almost everyone quits.

Enrollment happens on the official Farmasi the Bahamas site and takes about ten minutes. The sign-up guide has the exact requirements, the paperwork and the direct link.