The reason that this site exists is because there is a great deal of controversy over the Mary Kay business. A good debate can not be had when only one side of the story is presented. In order to truly evaluate the truth about a matter, one must first here both sides of the story. Hopefully this site will create an environment where that is possible.
The basics of this debate are as follows.
Mary Kay is a cosmetic/skin-care product based company that uses a direct selling marketing plan involving what could be considered dual or multi level marketing. Many sales reps on various levels of the Mary Kay Sales Force claim a great love for the opportunity that has been afforded them through Mary Kay. From personal use consultants that sell to a couple of friends so that they can get a huge discount on their products to business minded individuals that prospect for, find and sell to just about everyone they meet. Like any good business owner, they will most likely recruit others to duplicate their efforts. Mary Kay is structured to allow for commissions to be earned based on the efforts of the people one recruits to their “unit”.
Opponents counter that there is no value to the products offered, there is no way to make money solely by selling product, and that the only people who succeed are the ones that manipulate weak-minded individuals into racking up huge debt to purchase inventory that they will never be able to sell. They also assert that there are no reasons for someone to have a positive outlook on Mary Kay. Reasons cited for optimistic views of Mary Kay include naiveté, manipulation, and the “fake it ‘til you make it” attitude.
Having established that, please weigh in here. If you have had a bad experience with Mary Kay, please describe it here. If you are active in Mary Kay on some level, please describe your experience here. If you are so excited about how great Mary Kay has been for you that you can’t contain yourself, tell the world about it here!
One final note, this is designed to be a place to share personal stories. Please do not attack someone’s experience here. As this site develops, I hope to create a forum where you can go at it in full debate style. But, for now, please simply tell your story! If there are particularly compelling pieces, I will post them on the big page!
If you are not a consultant but want to talk about how much you like or dislike Mary Kay Products, Click Here
Posts
1 word .. Pyramid! Nothin but pressure on women to rack up credit cards to pay for thousands of dollars in "inventory" these poor girls are bieng conned and I feel sorry for all or of them! It's a pyramid and the base is full of a bunch of fractured relationships and imbarrased women! There should be a federal investigation, madof has nothing on this crooked scam!
ReplyDeleteHi William,
ReplyDeleteThanks for logging in and leaving a comment.
There are a lot of women on this site that would disagree with what you say here. As you may have noticed, my experience (via my wife) is completely different than what you are alleging.
I (and I am sure several others here) wonder what information you used to come to this conclusion.
Personal experience? An article you read on the internet?
All opinions are welcome here but for the sake of discussion, it would be great if you elaborate on your thought process here.
Thanks
Ouch, it sounds as if William thinks all of us fillies, are brainless and gullable. Guess us fillies are suppose to be barefoot in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteit is 2010!! some of "poor girls" have a brain and a heart and have learned about skin care and color and already knew business management, accounting, and psychology. Gee, can it be so??
ps I am not embarrassed to say I am very happy and have a great selling business of products!
On top of that, MK4ME has also been educated in the English language. William, please go take a continuing education course.
ReplyDeleteWilliam and lurkers,
ReplyDeleteWe in NO way discount the emotional and financial woes that may have been thrust upon consultants and directors who have been frontloaded, lied to, or guilted into joining MK. What we DO loathe is the fact that there are two sides to every story. Our heart goes out to women and men who have become a part of MK and it didnt work out for them because the company was misrepresented or a half-truth was being told. Believe it or not there are people in MK making pin money and bucketloads of money and many directors have strong units and dont have to be cajoled into ordering at the end of the month. You will find that the majority of the women in MK that are making money are not frequenting blogs with nasty comments they dont have time they are working their business. Dont get me wrong there are many big units that have fallen due to the domino effect of a business built on lies but there are also many that are standing strong due to truths being told. There are two young women in their 20s that I can think of who did it fast and their areas are NOT crumbling. There is also one I can think of that the company terminated who was going into NIQ (National in Qualification) and didnt make it because she lied and used many a credit card to get there. Its a long story as to how she did it but time does not permit for me to explain it. If you read this whole site (when you have time) you will find that we welcome and and all opinions as long as they are civil. We do not shun or ban people because they dont believe as we do we are not the Pink Nazis. I hope you continue to contribute and I promise you that as long as you are civil we will be. I dont want you to get a bad taste of MK in your mouth.
I had a bad experience with Mary Kay due partly to my own fault. I ordered more products than I could sale and had credit card debt. Luckliy, my sponsor bought the products from me. I am not a salesperson so it was hard to go up to stangers and encourage them to buy or hold a party. I have a full time job and do not have time to host parties. I was encouraged to go to the meetings which were worhtless to me. Everyone talked about how many sales they made that week. Did not teach new consultants about the business. I am not bashing the company. It is a good business for people that are good in meeting strangers and hosting parties. As the saying goes, you need money to make money. I wish everyone success in there Mary Kay business.
ReplyDeleteThe only real issue I have with Mary Kay is that I have had 3 friends who stopped being friends with me after starting their business. I expressed time and time again that I had no intention of joining them, but they simply would not listen. They start by asking if I want to buy their product (no) and just keep pressuring me to join the business (no). I stopped being friends with them because every. single. social gathering turned into a business meeting. It wasn't just annoying, it was a little sad.
ReplyDeleteI have been a consultant since July 2011. It wasent until 2 weeks ago (8 months later) that I actually started consulting new clients! lol.. I was not forced to buy a large inventory kit, however, it was offered to me. Due to financial reasons, I had no options but to start slower then normally and I am grateful for that circumstance. I have 15 plus clients and that's from not even trying! Its all on how your mind set, business building and education about the products you sell. Not for the "quick fix" business starter, ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY. Hard work pays off. It may take time but .......if you throw out enough something will stick!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, I am just beginning in Mary Kay I have the resolve and the lack of finances to say no. When my recruiter/director reminded me that I cant sell from an empty cart, I remined her that you cant buy from an empty bank account. I did'nt take her comment as pushy. She has been in the company for thirty years. Maybe she was hoping for a larger commission or maybe she was promoting what worked for her. I am not a driven hard sell person, I worked in traditional retail for twenty years, I know the difference between a sale and pestering Building slow I think in the long run will bring customers and a lower customer turnover rate Good things are worth waiting and working for
DeleteHello Everyone... I came here hoping to get a little more of an idea about how Mary Kay works and if it would be worth the $100 kit to join.. I was told by my Hair Dresser this week that she started selling Mary Kay a year ago. I asked her what it would take to join and she explained to me how all I would have to pay for out of my own pocket was $100 for the starter/party kit but I was wondering if that's just what they say to get you to join? I am a stay at home mother so I have the time and dedication for it but I also don't know many people but I am not shy and love talking with people.. If anyone may have some advice for me, it wold be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThank You,
BRANDY
Brandy, it's been SO long since your post. I don't even know if you'll get this. I just started MK and I'm $400 in the hole with no inventory.
DeleteThat's MY CHOICE. The kit actually totals more around $118 with tax and shipping. Why I'm $400 in the hole is because I've lost 50 lbs since January and NONE OF MY OLD WORK CLOTHES FIT. I've been a SAHM for 3 years and so I had to get professional clothing. Same would go if I'd gone back to work. Not MK's falt.
I also opted to order a personalized business kit that came with labels, a custom self-inking stamp, etc, and some business cards. I picked up a few more things too, like stuff from My Girlfriends House which caters to Direct Sellers like us. Baggies and self-sealing celo-bags for samples and cards, and a Look Book Holder (people LOVE looking through my Look Book now). So, I invested in items that would promote my business like CRAZY and then a wardrobe on top of that....And I'm ONLY $400 in the hole. So, if you have professional clothes to wear and can hold off for a little bit before getting the goodies, then it's just the starter kit. I have a great recruiter and director (adopted) who have agreed to help me hold parties if I'm too scared or don't have the right stuff. They've lent me samples, mirrors, advice, and supplies. They've put orders in for me with their orders so I could get the discount (so I didn't have to put in a $200 order because I couldn't).
I was pressured to get inventory. I still am. And I couldn't care less. If I don't have the, uh, well you-know-whats to say no when I can't afford something, then I have NO business being in business!
I say do it so long as you are looking to make EXTRA funds now and maybe all your funds DOWN THE ROAD. Like any business, you can't expect a profit AT ALL at first. A typical business takes 3-5 YEARS to turn a profit. And 9 out of every 10 businesses fail! So, when you look at all the people screaming about being ripped off by Mary Kay because they didn't make it, know that these people would have been statistics regardless of what business they pursued. 90% fail! And, it's so easy to quit when they don't turn a profit (the company has a 90% buy-back program), that they don't wait out the process. You WILL have to invest 100% of your gross profit into the business at first. Once you've built up some inventory and have a solid system in place, you'll need to invest less back into the business and as the business expands, you'll start to be able to retain a net profit.
Good luck! Blessings!