Avon

Lily2005

I've been thinking about selling Avon in addition to my current job and wondered what the actual start up costs end up being?  What ppl take home in an average month, and if there are any downsides?  Any info. would be helpful!

NSL

It's not about Avon, but I found this Mary Kay blog fascinating: http://www.pinktruth.com/.  From what I've read, it's very hard to actually turn a real profit doing any of the direct sell "businesses" out there. 

ShaMcKoy

I hear that Avon is like $20 to start up and Mary Kay is $100.

WendyGR

I don't know much about Avon, but I'm guessing it's like any other direct sales company - it takes work if you want to make any money at it. I sold Pampered Chef a few years ago and it really helped  me pay off some debt. Another friend of mine sells Premiere and does quite well. The key is to pick a product you love, that a lot of your friends/family like, and that doesn't require an inventory.

StephHess

I've one avon and Tastefully Simple and I'll never do another diret sales again - you make NO Money unless you're doing it full time - TS I made a little $$ but with the parties and working full time it wasn't worht it - so I left that for Avon cause it didn't havve parties, but it was hard to get customers because so many people already had an avon rep they used - i primarily used the avon for me to get a discount on the items i wanted and made NO money at all selling avon and lost $$ with having to deliver orders, people wouldn't use the online ordering and that was 8 bucks a campaign as well - so between that and the books and low sales it was a loss... nice tax write off though.

MrsBossHog

I sold AVON after I graduated from college and like the PP said unless you intend to do it fulltime then its not worth the headache.  On a $200 order I may have turned a $20 profit.  Peanuts. Avon is as low as $20 to start but again unless you make a it a full time career then...I would leave it alone.

econnell

Hiya,

I sold Mary Kay for several years, and I would definitely echo what was said here about it being difficult but with a few caveats: ultimately, you have to remember that there is no such thing as free money and anything that will make you money is going to take a lot of work.

 Websites like pinktruth.com are important for bursting the "pink bubble", but ultimately they offer the same one-sided perspective as the people trying to sell you on the company in the first place. I firmly believe that you can make money in these industries, but it takes a lot of hard work and determination.

 At the very least, Avon and MK can be a great resource for making friends, learning good business skills and getting some great product for less money. Just remember to keep a perspective on what you can do given your time and resources and never get in over your heard re: inventory, etc.

 I'd be happy to tell you any more about my experience if you're interested: emeneer at gmail dot com.

Whatever you do- good luck!!

englishtrish1

I sold MK years ago, worked like a dog and made about $1000 a month. But that included a couple of parties a week and being the only MK seller in a large primarily female workplace.

NoneForUs

I don't like MLM sales jobs. Only the people at the top make the real money and it is all about recruiting others to get there. 

My husband has an aunt who is a Mary Kay rep. She keeps ordering products but sells very little. I don't like the way she obsessively pushes MK and parrots their brainwashing business caveats.

I love pinktruth.com; I visited there when I saw how programmed my husband's aunt was.  

MommyLiberty5013

I have "sold" MK for 10.5 years. I say "sold" because I don't actively sell or host parties. I order for my mom, sister, and a few friends here and there only 2x per year. The main reason I do it is because I like the product and I use it for myself and therefore I get it at 50% off.

At one point I had 6 team members. My highest ever monthly commission check was only $300.

It's a lot of work. You have to be "on" all the time and view ever single woman as a potential customer or team member and, that, to me, seems fake. My 9-5 job was selling bank products, and I couldn't come home and sell more on my time off from the FT job.

My sales director is one of the best in the nation. Does all the trips. Bling jewelry. New pink Caddy every 2 years. But, she's intense. I "like" her but she uses a lot of things to seemingly encourage people, but I can't get past the fakeness of it.

Honestly, if you're actually interested in making some extra money, I would consider a regular part-time job. It will be far less work, less stress, and you won't have to make a cash outlay to do it.