Women Join Mary Kay Just to Make a Little Extra Money
Mary Kay Cosmetics has responded to the Harper’s Magazine cover story, The Pink Pyramid Scheme: How Mary Kay Cosmetics Preys on Desperate Housewives, with almost no substance. There have been two primary arguments set forth by corporate representatives:
Mary Kay products are sold to end users!
Mary Kay’s Laura Beitler proudly proclaimed, “The majority of the product ends up with end consumers.” Yet when pressed for details on actual retail sales of products, Beitler admitted that corporate does not track this. Thus, her statement that most product ends up with actual consumers is 100% fabricated.
Women join Mary Kay just to make a little extra money!
When presented with the fact that more than 99% of people involved in multi-level marketing companies lose money, MLM lovers turn to a common defense… no one wants to make money. Laura Beitler’s response to the high failure rate included, “Different people start a Mary Kay business for different reasons. Some are looking for just a little income…a new career…social aspects.”
And today Virginia Sole-Smith, the author of the Harper’s cover story, shows what nonsense this is. Today she blogs, [Inside the Pink Pyramid] Women Join Direct Sales For All Kinds of Reasons. The post starts with a screenshot from Mary Kay Inc’s. website, clearly touting how LUCRATIVE Mary Kay is.
Virginia writes:
There are a couple of problems with this argument.
For starters, it’s a little too convenient for me. Mary Kay promises a “lucrative full-time opportunity,” (see that claim right there in a screenshot from their website, above, red circle mine). It puts out press releases billing itself as a job creator and the answer to our unemployment woes. In fact, it’s currently pursuing recent college grads, advertising its career potential to twenty-somethings saddled with student loans and facing down a tepid job market. But as soon as we start asking how much money you can really earn in Mary Kay, the tune changes. Now it’s oh don’t worry, most of these women aren’t relying on us for their income anyway. Really? In this terrible job market that you just told us about, with all their debt and unemployment issues?
[snip]
And last, there’s the fact that almost everybody I interviewed told me that initially, they “just wanted to make a little extra money…” but once their recruiter started outlining all of the income potential before them, they wanted in, in a big way. Lynne thought it would be just a sideline — until her recruiter convinced her that she could replace her full-time income. Mary Kay knows women are coming in with this idea — but it wants to convert as many as possible to the career path, because those are the folks who buy the most product. Lane, writing over on Jezebel yesterday, was similarly skeptical until she heard her recruiter’s pitch:
I bought into the lure of easy money hook, line, and sinker. She told my coworker and me her own rags to riches tale, which included how she had kept her family afloat during her husband’s layoff. She talked about financial freedom, economic success, and then showed us her newly earned pink Cadillac. I was sold, and I was going to sell Mary Kay cosmetics to all my Goth and Grunge friends, and I was going to make a killing.
In fact, even if you make it clear that this is just going to be a hobby for you, a successful Mary Kay sales director will find ways to increase your inventory purchase.
If you’ve ever gotten a whiff of a Mary Kay recruiter, one of the first things you probably heard was one of these:
- Executive pay for part-time hours
- You decide when you’re ready to promote yourself
- You can make as little or as much money you want… you decide how much effort you’re willing to put forth
- Earn a living while still being at home with your children
Indeed, all MLMs push the “income opportunity,” but when faced with the the fact that almost everyone loses money, they turn tail and say that no one wants to make money anyway.
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Comments (7)
Fraud Files Blog
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[...] lack of actual retailing of porducts is one of the dirty little secrets of multi-level marketing. See how Mary Kay Cosmetics lies its way around this issue in an article at Pink Truth. Related [...]
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bellaone
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“I was sold, and I was going to sell Mary Kay cosmetics to all my Goth and Grunge friends, and I was going to make a killing.”
I wondered how that worked out for her?
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katrink
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ummmm I am a goth and I sold Mary Kay.
It’s more common then you think.
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raisinberry
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And there you have it. Start to finish. Hypocrisy.
Walk with me down memory lane.
Your first meeting or guest event…”anyone can do this”, “smile and squirt”, “make 50% per cent”, “you don’t need inventory”,”unlimited earnings”, “financial freedom”, “as long as women have skin we have something to sell”, “product flies off your shelves”, “we’re paid to teach women how to wash their face!”
Right after your perfect start / perfect stop…”it’s not for everyone”, “you have to use your scripts”, “You make 40%, but don’t pay yourself till you have profit level inventory.”, The big money is in building a team”,
“inventory is not debt it’s asset”, “Book, Sell Book, Recruit”, “You have to have the new product, that’s what’s advertised!”
Lured on to the career path…”the speed of the leader is the speed of the gang”, “You have to be a STAR to set the example”, “Tell them you only need one more”, “Find a way”, Show up to go up”, “Stars drive cars”, “You only need $xxxx.xx to go on target and win your car!”, “Can you help us reach our Unit goal.”, “We only need $xxxx.xx to finish”, “you’ll sell it”, “Our NSD has her eye on you.”,
Facing the reality and risking being labeled “negative”…”you have analysis paralysis”, “stinkin’ thinkin”, “well you have to maintain production or you have a co-pay for the car…you earned the use of the car-you didn’t “win” the car”, “get out there and warm chatter strangers”, “if you can’t afford to go, you can’t afford NOT to.”, “20,000.00 in debt? How did THAT happen?” “You can’t afford to miss (career conference,seminar,retreat,red jacket rally,leadership) because you’ll miss what you need to hear.”
Convinced to recommit…”if it is to be its up to me”, “if she can do it I can do it”, “put your blinders on”, Beelieve and achieve”, “What you think about you bring about”, “Be a glad I did, not a wish i had”, “the secret is personal business”, “have a unit within your unit”, “never miss a bonus”, “pull production”, “you got to have an exciting meeting”,
“s t r e t c h”, “you’re so close, put it in yourself!”
Oh yea, and remember to do it “the Mary Kay way”. Which is what exactly? SInce You, Mary Kay’s “daughters” taught us all to do the business this way? We DID it the “Mary Kay way”.
You never cared one iota how much debt we were in, how much debt our people were in. You KNEW your Sales Directors were adding in production to keep their Units or cars. You watched them do it for FRIKKIN’ YEARS…on your “stretching” advice, and you have the audacity to ask them, “How did that happen?”
You are hypocritical frauds. You never cared a shit about how much retail product was sold…you NEVER ASKED. So yea, no surprise that a mary kay spokesperson talks out both sides of her mouth.
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Grateful Mom
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THANK YOU Tracey and all of the contributors at Pink Truth!
My daughter, who lives in another state, is currently a struggling Director with Mary Kay. For about a year, I was on her “team”, to help her out when she was going through her DIQ period. Then last summer, her dad and I went to her home for a visit and I was stunned when I entered her “office”. She had what looked like a warehouse iof products. I was shocked! In particular because I knew she was not selling loads of products to warrant such a high quantity in inventory. I just KNEW that something was not right! She became very defensive when I brought my concerns to her and dismissed all of my reservations.
Shortly after that visit I “stumbled” across your website and my life was changed. My fears and concerns were validated by all of your experiences! Now to get my daughter to see that proved to be the big challenge! For months, I tried to get her to read some of the heartbreaking stories and accounts from other Consultants or Directors on this site. She became more and more defensive and over time, her Mary Kay “business” put a wedge between us as mother and daughter and between her and her husband. For the last few months in particular, her personality became virtually unrecognizable. She even seemed to be neglecting her family for the sake of this business, choosing to shun those of us who would try to tell her the truth… So much for God first, Family SECOND!
Well, the problems continued to mount and a few weeks ago her husband gave her an ultimatum (can’t say I blame him – and for that I feel really guilty). What makes me sad is that when she called to tell me, she kept on about how jealous he is about her having a “life” outside of him and not relying on him for all of her financial needs.
She called me in a panic because she realized that she had put her family’s finances in such dire straits. After she asked her dad and I for a loan we agreed under 2 conditions: first, she would have to bring us ALL of their credit cards and second, she would have to QUIT Mary Kay! She was devastated! She did not bring up the subject again for a couple of weeks… that is until she read the Harper’s article on the same day that she received notice from the bank that their house was going into foreclosure for repeated payment issues.
On that day, she called us and agreed to our 2 stipulations! I am happy to say that we now have all of her credit cards. Her brother and husband plan to spend the weekend packing and returnable inventory which amount to more than $9,000 wholesale!!! She thinks they will try to sell the other stuff at a yard sale or donate it.
Well, I guess this is all to say THANK YOU first to Tracey for starting this blog and for all of the contributors who have helped open my eyes to the cult and dangers in Mary Kay. I am thankful for all of you!
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enorth
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How did you get her to read the Harper’s article?
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Pink Truth » Reasons for Mary Kay Consultants to Order
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[...] by TRACY. Posted in Business Basics Even Mary Kay Inc. knows that consultants are not selling their products. There is no significant retailing going on. Yes, there are some retail sales. But if you’ve [...]
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