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Posted: 12/29/2005 7:55:27 PM EDT
Everyone I've known who has become a Mary Kay representative has lost a shit load of money. Is there anyone whose wife or girlfriend has made any real money selling these overpriced cosmetics? Or is this a fancy pyramid scheme?
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Posted: 12/29/2005 7:56:59 PM EDT
[#1]
my mother tried it, my dad ended up a few grand less wealthy due to this
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Posted: 12/29/2005 7:57:34 PM EDT
[#2]
Pyramid scheme for women. A buddy of mine ate $1,500.00 before he put his foot down and told his wife it was over. I had a girlfriend who tried. She was a dumb shit as well.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 7:59:41 PM EDT
[#3]
Unlike Scamway, Mary Kay cosmetics may actually involve selling a product instead of “distributorships”. I knew a girl who made extra money on the side, but it wasn’t her full time job. Still too scam like for me.
Can I interest you in a home business internet store? (Not!) |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:03:20 PM EDT
[#4]
I tried to talk my daughter out of this scam but she wouldn't listen to me. This Deans List, Cum Laude child-o-mine fell for the bait.
Now when she is about to do something dumb, all I have to say is 'Mary Kay' and she understands that she is about to screw up. In all fairness to her, she broke even on the deal before she quit. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:05:16 PM EDT
[#5]
My gf does it and I honestly don't know if she's made any money or not, but if it makes her happy then all the more power to her....I'll still love 'er either way!! |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:08:45 PM EDT
[#6]
my sister did it and no she did not make any money
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:09:54 PM EDT
[#7]
My Grandfather used to say "m-dc its just as easy to fall in love with a rich woman as it is a poor one. Take the rich one" |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:14:48 PM EDT
[#8]
Multi-level marketing. Gotta love it.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:16:09 PM EDT
[#9]
My mom tried selling it (not very hard) and lost money. They convince the noobs to buy the inventory knowing well that they won't be able to sell much of it.
I think if you have a lot of contacts and natural sales skills you can make some money. It's like selling anything else, it involves hard work. I have a friend who made $12k a year selling baskets. She busted her ass but on an hourly basis it wasn't that great. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:28:49 PM EDT
[#10]
My wife sells Arbone(like Mary Kay ,but high end). She is making about 7K a month. She works real hard at it, about 40-50 hours a week.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:32:53 PM EDT
[#11]
You can make money selling Mary Kay - after years of busting your ass to build a list of clients and a "down line". It's nearly a full time job to make it work. I have a basement full of the stuff if anyone wants it. My wife still sells a few orders here and there, but she doesn't make enough to buy lunch.
Here's a pretty good Amway story - I worked with a young guy that grew up in the same town as Amway headquarters, but he had never heard of the company! That is the best measure of their impact. Well that, and the Chinese experiment. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:47:17 PM EDT
[#12]
what was the "chinese experiment"?
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Posted: 12/29/2005 8:52:08 PM EDT
[#13]
My mom sold the stuff for 20 years.No,she didn't make money.But it got her out of the house regularly and she enjoyed that part of it,I guess.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:03:55 PM EDT
[#14]
I know a few who have pink caddies, it's a lot of work if your going to make money.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:06:40 PM EDT
[#15]
My best friend's wife started selling MK (or Avon or one of those things). I love her to death but she has a hard time with the 'business concepts' of selling things.
Anyway...she had sold a few things to her friends but my buddy wants to help her get motivated so one night he volunteers to drive her around as she places the the little plastic bag 'info' bag with some samples and her card at people's houses. This was the kind of bag with a handle that goes over a doorknob. Apparently they didn't realize that the Postal Service wouldn't be happy with them putting the bag on the handle of the mailbox. Because of the way they positioned it, the mailman had to take it off before he could open it to put the mail in. So....for the next 2-3 days the mailman brought back every single bag (about 200 of them) and dumped them on their front porch along with a note explaining that they couldn't open the mailbox without removing the bags and asking them not to do it again.   That was pretty much the end of her MK experience. (I still give 'em shit about it though so it wasn't a total waste) 
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:07:16 PM EDT
[#16]
Well, son of a gun, they wiggled out - www.rickross.com/reference/amway/amway56.html Amway was barred from China around 1998, but they have opened retail stores there now! |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:07:44 PM EDT
[#17]
Actually my wife put herself thru at lot of college (1996-2000) by selling Mary Kay to the soriety girls, church folks, ect. Her grandma has sold it for 20 years in Florida as her primary occupation. Think it's like a lot of sales things, you can either pound the pavement & sell or not. Heck, she used to dress up & carry a basket of Mary Kay things at the local parades, sports events, around campus, ect. I helped her with bulk purchases and budget stuff so she didn't get screwed by the company, but it worked for her. Would she do it again, probably not.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:18:25 PM EDT
[#18]
My wife sells that crap, she's made about $1800.00 this year. About 40% of that is profit. Not worth it IMHO.
The scam is every couple of months you have to buy product from them or you are deactivated from the program. In order to be reactivated you have to buy product. No matter how you slice it, it has PYRAMID written all over it. The worst thing is the brochures they put out showing the ones that have made six digits or more selling it. They make it sound like it's soooooo easy. Women power!!! 
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:30:19 PM EDT
[#19]
I told my wife if she was ever interested in the MK route, I'd just go ahead and buy her a pink Cadillac and be done with it.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:34:32 PM EDT
[#20]
My stepmom goes in for all of that shit:
Herbalife, NSA (water purifiers), Shackley, Arbone, Talk America (I sold that for a while and made a few bucks off of it) and a bunch of others. Now she's doing some kind of diet patch that doesn't help people loose weight. My Dad would be a rich man if they hadn't gone in for all of the pyramid schemes. Oh well, what are you going to do? The problem with these things is that once they have someone suckered into thinking that they are going to make a few bucks there is no talking them out of it. ETA - The worst part about the whole thing is that my stepmom's brother got in on the ground floor of a Talk America pyramid scheme (he was the top of a pyramid for a region). He basically set up the rules for everyone in his region and he made a fucking fortune screwing people out of their comissions. Now my stepmom is convinced that you can make a killing in these things. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 9:43:57 PM EDT
[#21]
My wife did Avon. I thik she spent more than she made.
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Posted: 12/29/2005 10:13:10 PM EDT
[#22]
People do make money at these things. It's not for everyone though.
Dennis Jenkins
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Posted: 12/29/2005 10:19:23 PM EDT
[#23]
I saw a statistic that said at one point Mary Kay had 900,000 distributors selling 1.4 billion dollars a year gross.
Do that math. That means every distributor sells an average of $1500 per year. And that's the average, doesn't account for the small minority that actually sell 5 or 6 figures in a year and make money. If you figure it that way, the average person is going to make close to 0. That said, you can make money in MLM. No reason a good salesperson can't sell that stuff just like anything else. Just hope you don't mind being the person all your relatives hide from at the family reunion. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 11:02:07 PM EDT
[#24]
My mother-in-law(who is 80) has a life long friend who has been a Mary Kay rep for many years...
This woman drives the official MK pink Buick... they used to get caddy's... From all appearances she does very well peddling that snake oil, but my guess is that she is the exception to the rule. |
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Posted: 12/29/2005 11:18:25 PM EDT
[#25]
One of my friends mom made like 100k a year selling Mk stuff, she had a pink caddy every year and even had one of the allante's for the uber sellers.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:17:30 AM EDT
[#26]
P*Y*R*A*M*I*D
Multi Level Scheme....... Everyone gets a piece of each others pie in one direction. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:27:07 AM EDT
[#27]
Doesn't matter if a person is selling widgets, as long as they make that kind of commitment to doing it. Mary Kay has a product line that millions of women use because it's a good product (according to my wife and her friends). Yes it's multi-level marketing, but that doesn't mean it's a scam. What dooms most women who try it is the lack of commitment, a good business plan, and organization. And it goes without saying, sales just isn't for everyone. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:43:52 AM EDT
[#28]
Gah...Most women my age and younger won't touch MK products...and we're the ones with the desire to look pretty, and willing to pay for it, not the old ladies!
I sold Pampered Chef products for a year: made enuf money to buy the products I wanted and my hubby was happy: new stuff for me to play with in the kitchen that didn't cost him a dime. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:50:07 AM EDT
[#29]
I actually like the Mary Kay products. I do realize its not for everyone though. I've been selling MaryKay for 15 years now and no I haven't made any money at it. I make enough to pay for my make up which is my reasoning. My girlfriends all use it and we get together on a group buy a few times a year. I have had pushy bimbos above me that I've had to draw down on [just kidding] a few times.
Patty |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:53:17 AM EDT
[#30]
When I was doing my own business, 3 of my clients were Mary Kay reps who made over 80k per year doing it. Its like any other business startup, most don't have the drive or the know how and fail at it. Its not a pyramid scheme, its a business like any other. The pyramid scheme cry is used by those who don't have a clue or those who tried and lacked the initiative and business snese to get it moving. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:59:09 AM EDT
[#31]
Isnt the loose weight the weight they are trying to LOSE? |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 5:59:53 AM EDT
[#32]
D'OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 6:33:07 AM EDT
[#33]
My wife did the MK thing years ago; she spent a few thousand dollars on it and I don't suppose she ever made that much back; I just let her figure it out for herself and she quit after a couple years of it. She wouldn't even think about doing that now.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 6:33:49 AM EDT
[#34]
Look at it this way.
Do you like your wife's friends ???? If not, let her start selling it. Her friends won't come around any more.  Ed |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 6:55:39 AM EDT
[#35]
My wife has a "friend" that we hadn't heard form in a few years. Then, one day, she starts getting e-mails and phone calls from her. She was selling Mary Kay.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 7:09:19 AM EDT
[#36]
Pyramid scheme. They offer a 2k 0% credit card, with the idea that you'll stock up on this shit. MK wants you to buy, they could care less if you sell. My wife asked me if she could sell...reluctantly, I agreed. She then asked me to max out the 0% card, and I told her no. Just offer a 5% discount on what you sell to make people mot worry about shipping. She's sold about $500 of merchandise, and made maybe $60. It's not worth it.... Erik Johnson |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 7:17:18 AM EDT
[#37]
My wife tried selling Home Interiors for awhile. It was like joining a cult.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 7:25:15 AM EDT
[#38]
Ah yes, Mary Kay....a sore subject around my lil' hacienda.
The old lady decided that she was gonna get into it, and apparently, the words 'multi-level marketing' and 'pyramid' didn't mean anything to her. She drank more than her share of the kool-aid and before long she'd dropped about $2k on 'inventory' and other BS that the local high priestess of lip gloss said she'd need. 6 months, a dozen 'parties', 24 weekly meetings, and $147.63 in net profit later, I heard the popping sound made by her head being extracted from her ass. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 7:56:04 AM EDT
[#39]
My wife's Aunt is selling M.K.
So far she seems to be doing really well. She has put a lot of time into it - 50 hours a week or so. She said it took a while for it to get going and she thought about quitting after a few months. She did the makeup for my wife and all the bridesmaids at our wedding, and is doing the makeup for each of my sisters and their bridal parties when they get married. Av. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 8:51:27 AM EDT
[#40]
Bloom County had it pegged about the Mary Kay empire years ago.....
  
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Posted: 12/30/2005 8:52:49 AM EDT
[#41]
I have no idea how old you are, or what you look like, but I doubt that you could make a more self absorbed and arrogant statement. I guaran-damn-tee you I'm not married to any "old lady," and believe me when I tell you that she fixes up good. Real good. 
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Posted: 12/30/2005 10:37:25 AM EDT
[#42]
Sorry...no offense meant. Not trying to make anyone's wife feel poorly or be self absorbed. It's just that most women that I have PERSONALLY known who have NOT liked MK products are much younger than those who do. No offense to your lady or anyone who does buy their products intended. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 10:43:16 AM EDT
[#43]
Is it just me or are most Mary Kay girls hot?
 Anyone ever tried to trade a lap dance for a cosmetic sale?
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Posted: 12/30/2005 10:46:12 AM EDT
[#44]
My sister Kathy made lot's of money with Mary Kay 15 years ago. She was given the Pink Oldsmobile, not the Caddy for selling the crap. She stopped selling when she had kids. They ask her back all the time. It was a full time job plus some for her. MIKE.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 10:47:59 AM EDT
[#45]
Wife didnt make a dime off of it, still got that crap around the house.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 11:48:38 AM EDT
[#46]
You got off cheap. Did you record that popping sound? I need a copy if so, maybe it'll induce a wakeup call here. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 11:54:30 AM EDT
[#47]
Fuck that shit, I clean toilets in my dorm for $20 a hit for people, easy money, takes me 4 hours to make $240.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 12:13:04 PM EDT
[#48]
i have had a couple of relatives do it. according to them they liked the products and basically just did it for the discounts. never made and useable money from it.
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Posted: 12/30/2005 1:20:51 PM EDT
[#49]
That is one of the best descriptions of the Mary Kay experience I have ever seen. Well done. I would guess that would be accurate for like 90% of the people that get into it. |
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Posted: 12/30/2005 1:33:13 PM EDT
[#50]
That's why my wife sold this stuff. That, and the "home business" write-offs for tax purposes. She got tired of it after a while and quit, no biggy. I still snicker when her ex-supervisor comes over and talks about parties where they give everyone "facials".  
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