A $6,000 Inventory Package?
I am consistently amused by these types of documents that Mary Kay sales directors use to convince women that they need inventory. No one is “holding a gun to their head….” True, the new recruits have a choice. But over and over they are told the only way to succeed in Mary Kay is with BIG inventory.
Who signs up for Mary Kay with the intent to fail? Mary Kay consultants are taught to always take the advice of the sales director who has the experience and knowledge and is looking out for the consultant’s best interest.
Not to mention the fact that we all know that $6,000 wholesale is NOT needed to service 50 customers. Let the lies begin with one sales director’s presentation of inventory options:
Double Diamond – $6000 Wholesale
Starting with the Double Diamond Package is Awesome! This package will service approx. 50 customers, but not on a full line of course. However, it will start the foundation of your business on a level that will give you the confidence that you need to make sure that you will have what the customer will be needing. Starting your very first month you could feel assured that you could easily do 3 shows a week accomodating your New Customers with on the spot delivery, just like the department stores, only better because of the personal touch.
Super Achiever – $5000 Wholesale
Keeping in mind this is a little less then our Double Diamond package, however, not any less effective! It will allow 3 appts. per week with on the spot delivery to your newest customers plus giving you the freedom to book future appts. (approx . 3 more appts. not classes per week) will get you started in the right direction with your new business.
Emerald Star – $3600 Wholesale
The Emerald Star Package is my very favorite!! Why? because it gives the brand new business owner a complete line of the products she will be offering to her new clientele plus a little more. Keeping in mind this is just alittle bit more then one of everything that Mary Kay sells and even though that’s not much, it’s my favorite because it gets the new business owner comfortable with our product line.
Diamond Star – $3000 Wholesale
This level of success and below are for those who will just want to experience Mary Kay, not work it like a real business and here are the reasons why: #1 it is impossible to Deliver something we don’t have. I have come to learn that we can talk, but if our business is going to run like a business we must first understand how important it is to DELIVER! Let’s first take into consideration that just one of everything that Mary Kay sells is $2524 wholesale. Yes, one of everything will get you started, but thats just about it. If more than one person wants the same color, well, I think you know where this is going.. It’s not to say that any of these packages are wrong. In fact quite the contrary, each package is set up to service so many people and to help you get your business started with knowledge and understanding of just what each package is all about.
However, sometimes when we are making money decisions, we don’t take time to stop and really think about our own personality, and that right there is the “Big Mistake”. Because the very same way you would like to be serviced is going to be the very package you will really want. However, most importantly it will also be the very package you need. Why? Because starting at the beginning, you are going to be the very same person in Mary Kay, as you were out of Mary Kay and you are going to treat people exactly the same way you would want to be treated… which serves to show my point! In other words, if you were a previous user of Mary Kay, and loved having the products when you ordered them, (on – the – spot -delivery) then you will know how that feels to NOW what your future customers will come to appreciate.
So, the REAL question is not what you can afford, the REAL question is how do you want to run your business, and what would you like to accomplish? Different investments result in different accomplishments and personalites! This is not sometimes what the invester wants to hear, however, it is a hard vast business rule of thumb! Smaller packages = smaller thinking = smaller results!/ Big Packages = Big Thinkers = Bigger Results! I have found that the price that we are not-willing to pay, sometimes, becomes the Biggest Price of All!
Beginners Package – $2524 Wholesale
Approx. one of everything
Ruby Star – $2400 Wholesale – not even one of everything
Sapphire Star – $1800 Wholesale
Visit the
LOL $1800 is so pitiful it’s not even worth talking about. I mean, it’s only a couple grand.
Do lurkers understand the double-talk going on here? Think lurkers: What is the Sales Director’s business? How does she make money?
– She makes a commission on that huge inventory order.
– She makes no further profit when it’s resold by you.
– She does make a profit if you recruit your potential customer to buy a package.
– The Director doesn’t advance unless she recruits (you) and then pushes you to recruit.
– New recruits don’t buy your already ordered inventory. They place a new package order directly with the company at 50% off.
She isn’t doing you a favor, giving guidance, or presenting you an “opportunity”. She is making a commission off of you! Don’t be swindled.
All people interested in Mary Kay will be encouraged to join with the opportunity to save 50% – not buy that $hit on your shelf for full price. That 6k of product is dead weight to everyone now…..…except your bank account..
My director came right out and told me to buy a big package so she could make some money. I left Mary Kay.
One of the most deceitful things about that 1st order is that by the beginning of the next month it doesn’t matter at all in the grand scheme. I thought that my $1800 inventory order was really a great thing! I was a STAR! I had product to take care of my customers. Yay!
Then came the next month and I was shocked that my director expected me to order AGAIN! …and the month after that, and the month after that.
When I figured it all out, I felt she really took advantage of me. I felt tricked. Oh – and she KNEW that products would be retired soon and purposely helped me order enough of them to force me having to purchase the new ones.
MK Sales Directors are great at taking advantage of those who don’t know better by pretending to be a new friend and helping other to grow a business!
“Then came the next month and I was shocked that my director expected me to order AGAIN! …and the month after that, and the month after that.” —
(Adding to my previous post for lurkers) Because that’s how she makes HER commission! It’s not only on the important first inventory order, it’s all direct orders by consultants. The reselling of already ordered product by consultants offers no further commission to upline.
I’m sure she told you that this was your own business and ordering each month was the way to be successful. However if you were in your own retail business you would be able to order as needed. Sure, whole sellers have minimum orders but none of your friends are pressuring you to place an order so they can receive a commission.
I remember my director wanting me to order “a full store”, neglecting to tell me it was changing from pink to platinum the following month.
Which makes me wonder if it wasn’t time for a complete packaging overhaul again? Pink to Platnium to Black, then from the regular eyeshadows to minerals…for a while there, it seemed like every time you turned around there was some MAJOR change, and its been quiet.
$6000 of items, is not appropriate in the world of abundance we live in of available 24/7 skin care/cosmetic options. Then upkeep on being MK active post purchase.
AKA product dumping to masses.
All I can smell is $6000 of product, it had a certain odor, one that is not in my home now.
“just like the department stores”
Well, there’s a throwback. I haven’t purchased skin-care/makeup from a “department store” in nearly 20 years.
I think the $6,000 & $5,000 packages’ primary purpose is to make the $3,600 & $1,800 packages seem more “reasonable” by comparison. $3,600 is not a reasonable amount of inventory, but by adding the higher price package, it skews people’s perception & gets them to buy more than they planned. Just more manipulation to get consultants to order more than they need. It’s the Mary Kay way!
Yes. The lowest package was $600. Scripts sound like
“With this package you get this amount of free products…(go from top down)…or would you rather start with a $600 order?
You are absolutely right. In psychology, that is called the “door in the face” technique.
You get “slammed in the face” with an outrageous offer (in this case, placing a $6,000 order) which you would likely reject, which makes a smaller, “more reasonable” offer (placing a $600 order) seem more appealing in comparison to the first offer, making you more likely to accept.
“It gives the brand new business owner a complete line of the products she will be offering to her new clientele plus a little more” 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Oh, yes, she’ll be the owner of something, but it ain’t gonna be a business.
My SD shared a similar line of falsehoods when I started. I think back then, I started with a Sapphire Star order with my SD selecting the products. Of course, she ordered hundreds of dollars of items I didn’t need (think perfume, body lotion, colors for a demographic that was not my customer base, etc.). It took me so, so long to get rid of that.
Once I knew the score, I only ordered what I sold and stocked up on the fast sellers. Seriously, outside of IBCs, who decides on their own to buy a MK perfume or body lotion? Much of this ends up on the Christmas open house clearance table or mixed in with a gift basket or gifted to friends and family who didn’t want it.
WORD TO WISE LURKER: Don’t let your recruiter or SD place your first order. She will deliberately order things for you that you don’t need and limit the items you will need in order for you to have to place another order for the popular items.
This is exactly what happened to me. I let my sales director make my first $3000 order, and she ordered tons of fragrances, limited edition items, and every shade of foundation. I had tons of this mess on my shelf but I never had what my customers needed in stock. And I had to place ANOTHER minimum order to meet that need.
I had also asked her if I could shadow her at one of her classes so I could learn the business, but she never let me. One day it occurred to me that she wasn’t even holding appointments because she couldn’t get any bookings!
Was her name Valerie Beck from Chicago?
This whole word salad reeks of “feels” and emotions, which is not the way to run a business. But that’s MLM for you. They prattle on and on about mindset and confidence being the keys to success. Sure, they help, but they are not the same as having the right skill set and a sound business plan.
But what really burns me about this thing is the duplicity. Spending more on inventory gives you confidence ? No, it doesn’t; it only starts you out further in the hole. That builds the opposite of confidence: fear, angst, nervousness, worry, etc.
When is this writer going to discuss the things that matter, like how many other reps there are working in your area? How much does the average rep sell in a month? (Do not accept “Oh, but you’re better than average, aren’t you?” for an answer.) Where is the income disclosure statement for the U.S.? (Surprise! There isn’t one.)
The last I heard, it takes $225 wholesale every two months to stay active. That would make $6,000 worth over 4 years of qualifying, yet it only gives you 2 months maximum, as VAgirl discovered (above). Your plunking down $6k is advantageous only to your upline.
This kind of manipulative crap is why we declare Mary Kay and other MLMs to be scams, each and every one. They are all calculated schemes to extract maximum cash from their “sales” force. Today’s article is a glaring case in point.
“ This level of success and below are for those who will just want to experience Mary Kay, not work it like a real business…”
Honestly, if I’m talking to a recruiter and they told me this, and I knew that there was no way I could afford anything of this price or higher, then I would just tell her that I’m not interested AT ALL and get ready to leave. Then she’ll backpedal and try to convince me why I should still sign up, even if only for the starter kit. The only way to respond to that would be to ask her why I should even just sign up if doing so means I cannot possibly “work my business”. How hypocritical. Because you know she’d rather take any recruit than no recruit.
Such a great post and comments!!!!!
But.. but..
“MaryKay made it so you can start a business for &100”
I believe the way this is written is to get new consultants to buy the $3600 order. To make the $3600 order appear as someplace in the middle. In the company documents someplace in the middle is $1800. Some national probably wrote this to get more emerald orders from starting consultants.
Yes, I think that’s a fair statement. If $3,600 is the highest package offered, it seems like so much. But in the context of $6,000 being the largest package, the $3,600 sounds a lot smaller.