Mary Kay Cosmetics

[dolphindan1]

Has anyone had any experience as a sales consultant? My wife is considering but they are wanting 3000 dollars up front? I just wanted to get peoples opinion before we went further into debt to support this....

Thanks in advance

 

[beautybelle]

I done it for a while and if you really want my opinion you would be a LOT better off to stay away.
The reason being: #1 The consultant over you wil constantly, and yes I do mean constantly call and hound you to death to place more and bigger orders....How many partys do you have planned this week? 10? Oh, girl thats great but I think if you made a few more phone called you could do better than that. If you place a 500.00 order you get this nice little pin to wear on your shirt to show how well you're doing. Yada, yada, yada. On and on and on.
3000.00 up front. Honey you're getting ready to get played. If she or you really wants to do this you DO NOT have to buy this stuff up front. Get a few things to begin with and work from there but please dont spend that much money up front till you know what you're getting into.
Oh btw, the reason the head consultant will hound you so much, and trust me they will, is because depending on how much her sub-consultants order depends on how much money she is bringing in, if you order that 3000.00 she gets a BIG portion of that. If you need to know anything else just ask me and I can let you know all about it. Ive been there and done that already.
BEWARE.

 

[beautybelle]

I done it for a while and if you really want my opinion you would be a LOT better off to stay away.
The reason being: #1 The consultant over you wil constantly, and yes I do mean constantly call and hound you to death to place more and bigger orders....How many partys do you have planned this week? 10? Oh, girl thats great but I think if you made a few more phone called you could do better than that. If you place a 500.00 order you get this nice little pin to wear on your shirt to show how well you're doing. Yada, yada, yada. On and on and on.
3000.00 up front. Honey you're getting ready to get played. If she or you really wants to do this you DO NOT have to buy this stuff up front. Get a few things to begin with and work from there but please dont spend that much money up front till you know what you're getting into.
Oh btw, the reason the head consultant will hound you so much, and trust me they will, is because depending on how much her sub-consultants order depends on how much money she is bringing in, if you order that 3000.00 she gets a BIG portion of that. If you need to know anything else just ask me and I can let you know all about it. Ive been there and done that already.
BEWARE.

 

[rentayenta]

I think the market is saturated with Mary Kay consultants. $3,000 seems like an awful lot.

 

[clarabelle]

I say run
I have not done it -but a good friend did and lost some money.
She said if you love the product -do it so you can get yourself and your friends a discount -but do not go into it expecting to make money.

 

[rie'smom]

Some people love Mark Kay and some hate it. In this market, I'd stay away. It's
more of a pyramid thing. Her sponsor will push her to sell more and have more parties, then she'll push her to sign up people under her. "You'll get a % of all of their sales." Amwayish

 

[diz8297]

I am a MK consultant. I happen to love it. I've been one for 6 months. It's like anything else-you get out of it what you put into it. My director is awesome-not pushy at all. If I want support, I have it. My choice. The inventory that she buys is up to her. $600 qualifies her as an active consultant, but technically, she can just start for the $100 starter kit (plus tax/shipping). Everyone has an opinion, but like anything else, some people succeed others not so much. I'm hoping to make this a career-I happen to love it!

 

[Gagirl69]

I tried it. I'm not the type to pressure people into buying so it didn't work out for me. I do like their makeup. Everybody's different so what doesn't work for one will work for another. But 3,000 upfront is WAY too much to invest. She needs to start with a small amount first to see how she likes it. HTH

 

[dolphindan1]

I am a MK consultant. I happen to love it. I've been one for 6 months. It's like anything else-you get out of it what you put into it. My director is awesome-not pushy at all. If I want support, I have it. My choice. The inventory that she buys is up to her. $600 qualifies her as an active consultant, but technically, she can just start for the $100 starter kit (plus tax/shipping). Everyone has an opinion, but like anything else, some people succeed others not so much. I'm hoping to make this a career-I happen to love it!

Well she works full time now in a Pharmacy and wants to do it on the side

I asked her why we had to pony up the 3000. She basically said cause women are impulse buyers and will be more prone to buy if I already have it in stock. Ok I can go with that. I then asked her if she is just trying to get started why not start with the bottom level and see how well you do. I told her if you can sell with the small inventory then you know you will do better with more and we can slowly build the inventory. So I think thats what she is gonna do.

I appreciate all the replies....She is looking to get out of her current job but will not do it till she finds something else. She doesnt have to work but does anyway. I have asked her to quit several times but she enjoys working. I work nights and odd hours and our kids do alot of travelling for sports and its hard on me to be there and work the hours I work but her hours keep her away sometimes too. So she is looking for something were we will not be so strapped getting the kids to where they need to be. We are gone almost every other weekend to tournaments or whatever.

 

[pfishgirl]

My good friend sold it and hated it.. She always had to buy stuff she really didn't need just to make quotas.. Plus she was told you are mandated a certain amount of parties each year.. as well as a specific Sales goal..

As for me... I sell Avon.. and Honestly.. I LOVE it.. Only costs $15 to sign up AND there is nothing really mandatory unless you want to be an Advanced Leader.. Plus our products cost alot less...

 

[dolphindan1]

Also I am hoping the consultant will not be too pushy they are the PTO board together adn the planning board together and have known each other for a while, we will see...She already has 3 parties setup and she just started Monday...I guess thas good

 

[dolphindan1]

My good friend sold it and hated it.. She always had to buy stuff she really didn't need just to make quotas.. Plus she was told you are mandated a certain amount of parties each year.. as well as a specific Sales goal..

As for me... I sell Avon.. and Honestly.. I LOVE it.. Only costs $15 to sign up AND there is nothing really mandatory unless you want to be an Advanced Leader.. Plus our products cost alot less...

She almost did Avon last year. I am not sure what happened with that...I will have to ask her.

 

[Octoberbeauty]

If she's wanting her to put $3000 up front, then she's already being pushy and I say "Watch out!" She doesn't have to put anything up front except the starter kit. I've sold before too, and like their products, but hate selling. I'm not aggressive at all. Good luck to her.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bluesaturn]

There is a blog called Pink Truth, I believe, that talks about the down side of Mary Kay. If I were you I would search for it and read there, just to get more information. I've never sold (or bought) Mary Kay, I just stumbled upon it one day.

 

[barkley]

there's also a website called 'the pinking shears' that details all of the claims the company and their rep's will make to prospective sales people and the realities (as in what the actual profit margin is, what actual expenses you can expect, what kind of time committment the average net income generating sales person can expect to have to put forth...).
it's not a bashing site-it is just very honest and provides the factual info. on what goes into being a mk sales rep (the good, the bad and the ugly).

 

[Laura]

Well she works full time now in a Pharmacy and wants to do it on the side

I asked her why we had to pony up the 3000. She basically said cause women are impulse buyers and will be more prone to buy if I already have it in stock. Ok I can go with that. I then asked her if she is just trying to get started why not start with the bottom level and see how well you do. I told her if you can sell with the small inventory then you know you will do better with more and we can slowly build the inventory. So I think thats what she is gonna do.

Makes sense to "have things in stock" except your wife doesn't have customers yet, now does she? And where is she going to get them? How many consultants are in your area?

$3000 is a lot of product that will, I guarantee you, mostly just sit on the shelf. What blushes will her customers use? Which eyeshadows? Will they want more skincare products? What stuff will she buy that will be discontinued in two months? If she wants to try this DO NOT spend that much money up front.

I appreciate all the replies....She is looking to get out of her current job but will not do it till she finds something else. She doesnt have to work but does anyway. I have asked her to quit several times but she enjoys working. I work nights and odd hours and our kids do alot of travelling for sports and its hard on me to be there and work the hours I work but her hours keep her away sometimes too. So she is looking for something were we will not be so strapped getting the kids to where they need to be. We are gone almost every other weekend to tournaments or whatever.

Your wife will be working nights and weekends for Mary Kay parties unless all the ladies she has for customers or potential customers don't have 9-5 M-F jobs.

Go to http://www.pinktruth.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=34 for some info.

 

[Shmily1]

My sister-in-law sold it and she did pretty good with it. She started with very little inventory and worked her way up. Also, the group under her "leader" would swap items to get what their customers needed. If I wanted pink eye shadow and she was out, she would swap a brown eye shadow (or whatever color they wanted) to get me one. That way, they didn't have to stock every single color. Also, since we were related and I sent her sales, I only had to pay the 50% of retail that she paid!!!

 

[Christine]

I don't sell Mary Kay (but I have bought it and know a few consultants). Here's something to think about. How successful your wife will be depends a lot upon her personality and how socially connected or networked she is. As much as I would LOVE to be a real estate agent, Mary Kay or Avon consultant, I have had to face it that I'm kind of a "quiet" person who has a few very good, lifelong friends. I don't have a large social network or a large family and I have found that the most successful people in the sales careers like real estate or makeup consultants are those that already had a very large social network. If your wife has that, she may do very well. If not, I would be more realistic about getting involved in this.

 

[lustergirl]

3000 dollars seems like an awful lot. I am seriously considering selling Home Interiors & Gifts as a supplement to my full time job. I worked the past 3 months at a local Kmart and hated it. They paid a little above minimum wage and slaved you to death. In getting start with Home Interiors there are 2 options that you can purchase- one is only for 31 dollars (the basic starter kit) and the other option is 121 dollars which includes actual inventory that you perhaps can sell for even more and keep for yourself. The difficulty with any business like this right now I think is the way our economy is and are people, especially women, are they willing to spend that type of money. Home Interiors is not cheap product (they have beautiful stuff though). I am a very outgoing person and believe I could make this work however. I sold AVON for awhile and it didn't work out for me. You have to sell alot of stuff to even break even.