Oh my gosh- so may wrongs in the info you found- I will add to the other posters answers:
1) To Start the right way in Mary Kay you are looking at $4,000
investment of supplies and inventory + orders to restock your
inventory and keep it where it "needs to be" in their eyes! The
company will refund this only if you quit being a rep AND thus
are barred from every being a Mary Kay consultant again.
[I]As I stated- I did not invest in any inventory. Some consultants are encouraged to, but I was not ready to do that and it was fine with my Director. I had the choice to purchase an inventory package where the benefits are free products. But I chose not to start that way. The nice thing about a Mary Kay busines is that if you choose to quit as a consultant, Mary Kay will buy back your inventory at 90% of what you paid for it and then it will be destroyed by the company. Because of this loss to the company they require that you agree not to become a consultant again. But- I have 2 people in my unit who were consultants years ago and with a letter from them and the Director, they were able to become a consultant agin. I can't see how a consultant can go into debt- you are totally covered![/I]
2) With Mary Kay there are three main ways to sell,
1) facials/skin care/nail care parties,
2) monthly phone calls to see who needs what,
3) preferred customer program where the clients are
given a catalog and can purchase no less than $30 from the
catalog at their conveince.
These all require the Consultant to give a "thank-you" gift of
some sort that comes out of his or her own pockets.
[I]I do classes like facials, glamour nights, bucket party (pedicure party), etc. I check in with my customers about every 2 months to se who needs what- not to pressure them but as a courtesy to them We all get busy and then I can get their product to them. I also have a website ($25 for the first year) and I get orders that way and I have only done the preferred customer program once and it is a mailing that you pay Mary Kay to send out a catalog (at less than the current postal rate) and it includes a free sample of the current promotional product)
I also get lots of reorders- therfore I make money by answering my phone[/I]
As far as the gift goes- you can choose whether or not you give the quarterly gift. I typically pay $3-$5 for each one and they are the gift-with-purchase with a $40 order. On a $40 order I make $20, so $3-$5 of my profit is a gift with new products for the customer to try which she may then decide to order. It's your choice whether or not to do it. I have found it excites my customers to get to $40 and they love the gift since it's not a cheesy gift
3) Mary Kay requires their consultants to take orders, stock
inventory or place orders with the company and await arrival of
products (if they do not have that item in stock, then collect
the money (taking the risk of bouncing checks or loss of profit
if their clients charge on a credit card!), Then they have to
deliver the products sometimes making repeat trips if the people
are not home.
Not sure what you mean by loss of profit by credit card. I take cash, cc, and check- only had one bounce and she pd. me in cash. If you have inventory then you wouldn't have to deliver orders when they come in- that's the cost of doing business that way. No big deal. I get to write off every mile of it! Or you can mail it and write that off too. It would only make sense to call someone to be sure they're home before going there.
Also, you can choose to charge a shipping fee for oput of state orders (if you have a customer who moves and still orders from you). I also like that there are no goofy fees associated with MK for the customer. I just ordered some Discovery Toys from a friends party and there was this 11% handling fee- for what I don't know. The consultant got that money- not the hostess since she brought me my products. and the DT consultant didn't have my product that night. I alomost always deliver my product unless it's more convenient for the hostess to do so (like they work together).
4) Mary Kay will not let their Consultants place orders of less
than $180. They also are charged $6.00 shipping and handling per
order, $3.50 if they call the order in on the phone, and take 3%
of the profit if the customer has paid with a check.
Actually here is how it works; your first initial order has to be a min. of $200 wholesale- not hard to do. Then for the next 90 days, you can place any size order and get the 50% discount. Then as soon as you place another $200 min, your 90 days starts over again. Lots of consultants are "personal use" consultants and they place 1 or 2 $200 orders per year to get the discount and remain active. The shipping is now $8.35 and that is a deal with UPS. No matter if I have 1 box of stuff or 10- it's always the same price and I get to deduct it off my taxes. There is a fee for phone orders- I only place my orders over the web. You can also mail your order for no fee as well. There is no profit loss if someone pays by check. If you take CC, the company who processes them takes a small percentage (just like paypal) but again- I wrote it off and it's small. Customers who pay by cc usually buy more anyway.
5) Mary Kay let's their Consultants assume all of the risk that
the people will like the product and assume all of the hassle
and cost of replacing a product. Since often times the test
samples, which can be fairly old, do not match the new product,
this happens quite regularly. Any money due back to the
Consultant comes as a credit to their account.
Again- FALSE- MK has a product replacement program. You are NEVER stuck with something a customer doesn't like. If you try a shade of lipstick ,then decide you don't care for it, we try a different color. (I have purchased samplers from the compay 6 for a $1 in each color) When we get the right one I give you the new shade. then I go online and fill out a form and have them ship me the new item to replace. NO COST!!!!! I don't have to even return the returned item to MK unless they ask me to. Every product is 100% guaranteed by the company and that is a real selling point- especially to those of us with a drawer full of buying mistakes!
Again- where else could you find so much support and safety in a home business!
6) Test samples, Mary Kay 's products require that
they provide a chance for their customers to test the product
for color etc. These testers cost the Consultant money.
YES they do- that's part of working in the business of cosmetics. Though they are a business supply and again- you can write it off! You can choose to take retail size products out of your inventory for sampling if it can be done sanitarily like liquid foundation, but lipsticks can be difficult to sample that way. MK has the best samplers and supplies for us. Any items you take out of your inventory for demo are again- a write off
7) Mary Kay is constantly changing their color lines and other
products. Often products are back ordered. (i.e. I have been
awaiting a back ordered product that I ordered the beginning of
May. I told my friend that if it is not here by October to just
forget it. There is $7.00 in profit that she will now miss out
on because of the company's inability to deliver!) This happens
time and time again.[/I][/QUOTE]
I have never had anything backordered and I have never heard of that before with my unit of consultants. They have limited edition items every quarter and I don't buy a alot of them since they will only be promoted in that quarters brochure. You are not required to have any quotas or be pressured into buying stuff. You can run your business your way. You can move up in level when you want and you are never in competion with another consultant. We always ask a potential client if they have a current consultant and if so we direct them back to their org. cons. - that's the MK way.
They have changed a couple of things in the few months I have been a consultant. That's why I don't carry 10 of each item. It's not cost effective. If an item is discontinued I can use it as a hostess girft or record it as obsolete inventory and again- I can write it off.
I hope I was able to shed some light on how it's done in MK. PM if you have more questions!
Rachel, that is good advice. I will think about what you suggested. Micki, who was named after Mickey Mouse, I am looking over the information now. Sounds very interesting, especially since my kids have asthma....I would love to hear more about safer products to use in the home
Have a great weekend!
lol YOu don't have to take checks if you don't want to. It's your business, run it like you want.
Of coarse if they were happy with the company they would not have gotten out! Again, thanks for taking your time 
