True or False: It only costs $100 to join Mary Kay
L J
Filed under True or False?
TRUE and FALSE.
To become a Mary Kay Consultant, you must sign an agreement and pay $100 for your “starter kit.”
However, in order to stay “active,” you must place a $200 wholesale product order with the company every three months.
Now, it makes sense that you can’t just sign up and never place a product order. That would be silly, since the whole point is to sell the product. And it makes sense that in order to be considered a Consultant that you would have to order certain minimums to be able to represent the products.
What doesn’t make sense is the big presentation on “initial inventory packages” that comes after one has signed the agreement, and the sudden push by your Director to start your Mary Kay venture with hundreds, even thousands, of dollars worth of inventory.
The problem is that in my observation and experience, Directors almost always emphasized the $100 starting figure and never mentioned what came after that: a hard push to buy an “initial inventory package.”
Many women know nothing of the impending “Inventory Interview” they will be subjected to once they join MK and many current consultants feel guilty recruiting women with what they feel is only half of the story.
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Yes, you can keep it. Keep it and use all the items and if there are things like mirrors you don’t want, you can sell them on eBay.
You start with the $100 kit. Which comes with tons of benefits. To be active yes you do have to make a purchase $200 but NOT TO START! you can start doing parties and facials and selling the product before buying it. For example. You buy your start-up kit. They give you everything you need to know about doing complimentary facials and parties. You throw a party and then people order whatever they want and then pay you for the product. Of course you charge them for the retail price. THAN! with the money they pay you. You go to the site order the product with the money they paid you!!!!!! You will only need to use half that money (because of your 50% discount) and the rest can go into your account. So no…you don’t have to take $200 out of your own pocket or budget to start. Now it is easier to sell product when you previously buy it because women want products and they want it now but some women will still buy it if you don’t previously have it. This is by personal experience. Thank you
Kristin,
You seem to have it all figured out. You sound so much like I did when I first started out. You should come back in a few months and let us know how things worked out for you.
Best of luck.
While its true that it only costs $100 to JOIN Mary Kay, once you have signed that agreement, it costs much more. And not just in dollars. — don’t for get there is tax and shipping on that $100 –
I am a full time grad student and I was looking for a way to make extra money, in addition to a part time job. No one can tell me (or wants to) how I can sell Mary Kay PART time. It was OK before I signed up, but after there was an insane push for this to become a new career. No thank you.
I thought I was smart enough to not be duped. I was wrong. My director did not tell me that $200 was an option. She told me that $600 was the minimum investment in inventory I “should” make, but pushed and pushed for a higher amount – telling me that it’s OK to get a loan and that it would be paid off in no time. This was AFTER I told her I was just laid off (therefore, unemployed and unable to get any kind of loan through a bank). I reminded her of this, to which she told me to use a credit card. Since those are close to their limit (due to textbooks and an upcoming wedding), she suggested I borrow from someone. Stupid me. I took part of my student loan money to fund this venture. She also neglected to mention, until AFTER she had my credit card number (because for some reason she HAD to place my first order) that she was going to add on a few marketing tools that would “be essential” — $200 worth — She called me several times to make sure I had ordered my business cards (another $50+ after tax/shipping) and signed up for my website ($25). Granted, you don’t NEED these, but she was great at convincing me that I did. And because I TRUSTED this woman, I took her advice.
After all this comes the time and emotional investment I made. AND the toll it has taken on my relationship with my fiance. The ridiculous meetings I was “required” to attend – because while you aren’t actually required to go, the Stepford Wives make it clear that you won’t succeed unless you do. These meetings ate into time I should have assigned to homework or time with my fiance.
I have not been able to make back, and probably won’t fully recover, the amount I “invested”. This is NOT because I am lazy. I am an extremely hard worker – there is a reason I got into an extremely competitive grad school. I am not a weak person that can’t stand up for herself. What I am is a woman who TRUSTED someone. Not a mistake I will make again and I will warn every other woman about.
So long story less long – TRUE it only costs $100 to JOIN.
And in my case and additional $875.79 after Director manipulation.
August, please click on the link above to get information on returning your inventory. You can return all of your section 1 items purchased in the past year to MK Inc for a 90% buy back, refund of the sales tax. That will at least help you recoup most of your money. Try having a 40% of sale first to offset some of your costs.
You can sell section 2 on this website to others who are still in MK.
You can’t recoup your time lost, but get what you can money wise and get that credit card debt monkey of your back! You’ll also find lots of support inside the Forum from those who have been where you are.
Lots of luck to you and good for you for getting out before you got nto more debt than you are in! (((HUGS)))
Hello Girls,I just want to say that it seems that everyone was taken by people who use people,not how M.K.works.If you start out small and work your way up,it can happen.I was successful in M.K. until the fire,don’t let people take advantage of you in anyway.People will take advantage of you if you let them,learn from your mistakes like I have.I feel sorry for all of you,its not fair for people to use you like that.You know what? My inventory had no insurance,that was stupid huh!I know everyone is against M.K. but it is not M.K.,it is people who give you a bad time.I stumbled on this site to let people know there is life after the ashes,my house fire,but it is so sad to hear all the stories how people have been taken advantage of.M.K. is helping people not using them and helping women make extra money for there family,I never started with a huge inventory to sell,that was to scary for me,but I have to say I have made a Lot of money even when I had no money. Sorry Girls,I Really Am! Lori Van R-Powerpink
Pessimists and Optimists……….. thats the major differences in these comments…
I agree with you Lorraine… unfortunate relationships thru Mary Kay representatives (NOT MARY KAY in and of itself) is the problem.
Lorraine and Tracy, I respectfully disagree with your statements about unfortunate relationships through MK representatives, not Mary Kay in and of itself).
Since Mary Kay in and of itself restricts and controls every avenue of income and every way you can work your business and now have won a lawsuit against selling their product after a consultant has purchased and no longer is under consultant agreement, I believe MK Corp has a responsibility to monitor how these “representatives” represent MK Corp as they conduct business. If MK Corp spent half the time monitoring those still under contract and less time monitoring those not in contract, maybe the company as a whole wold have a better reputation and those who act in dishonest and misleading ways would no longer be “misrepresenting” and tarnishing the MK image.
IMO, I say truly if it doesn’t affect MK Corp income they really could care less how active representatives misrepresent or dishonestly entice others to buy huge amounts of inventory and whether representatives can “’sell” the product.
wow lipstick, you must have had a really bad experience!! you seem to be on a mission here. i still love my mk. i have for 7 years and have had good and bad experiences but apparently nothing like what you seem to have had. i hope you get past it, honestly. take care.