Should i buy mary kay inventory

See answers. Read 16 answers. Upvote 1 Downvote. Answered January 3, - Team Leader Beauty Consultant Current Employee - San Antonio, TX Although maintaining an inventory is optional, I choose to order regularly, in order to ensure I have products instock for customers, in order to eliminate waiting.

Upvote Downvote 1. Answered December 30, - Independent Beauty Consultant Current Employee - West Virginia It helps to have products on hand because people usually want the product now.

Upvote Downvote. Add an answer. However, if you are desperate it might be worth a shot! I was having serious doubts but felt that I was committed and too far in, and that it would be so bad for me to back out already. Thanks for being willing to share, you truly helped me to realize that it was ok to say no, and to get out even when I was afraid to because of what people would think.

Sorry to hear about your experience. You do understand that good housekeeping will buy back any product. As far as ordering I myself have been in mk over a year. If you are not happy call the mk office they can give you details on the buy back program for any product you purchased.

I also did Mary Kay. I did it for a few months after i got out of high school, years ago. I got into it when my best friend held a facial party. I love the make up and especially the satin hands!

I bought the start up package, got it in the mail and then when it came time to order more they wanted me to buy in bulk…. I am more of a nature girl, I like as little as possible when it comes to make up. I only use eye liner, mascara for everyday and then a little blush and lipstick on special occasions too. Plus I realized that with these MLM companies, if you are making money off getting your friends involved, eventually there will be too many people selling it and not enough buying it.

Plus it just creates more competition in your area. So you have to decide how you are going to make your money: buy selling to consistent clients or by recruiting new consultants. My best friend who got me involved just got out of MK. I hope it works out better for any one else doing it. I found myself in that situation too. Yes, Olivia, I know exactly what you mean! Plus, in my area, there were quite a good number as well. At an event, I gave a Satin Hands set away as a door prize, with the hopes that the lady who won would be willing to do a facial.

Well, she never came, and after trying to call to reschedule, never could get a hold of her. Some just are unable or want to spend that much, even if the product is good…. Hi Kayln! I am so happy you have shared your experience with us!

My family members all have their own small businesses, and I have seen them in the black and in the red. I was lucky to have that knowledge and have my recruiter confirm that.

Also, people say you HAVE to have inventory. I refused to buy inventory for a month until I thought I could handle it plus have the customers for. You never know if it will sell! Plus, you should never go into debt over this business- so not worth it! I do agree, that MK should not target women who are too afraid to pick up the phone to call customers- there have been some great transformations of timid women to confident women, but that is not always the case.

And unfortunately, many people are strangers to hard work. The consultants who get enraged not you, mind you! You had a more than valid reason to leave while you were ahead! There has to be a balance of realism and dreams. I hope this helps anyone who has had issues with the Mary Kay Company and I hope this helps potential or current Consultants.

Thank you soooo much for your post! Through this and following the comment string it really shows both sides. This helped me bring me to my decision I bit off more than I can chew and will be returning my starter kit. As long as you feel at peace with your decision, you know it was ultimately the right one to make. All I can say is that, its all up to you.

When you purchase a starter kit, you get all you need to start your business if you want. But nothing happens to you if you never do anything with it, they dont ask for it back.

You are truly your own boss if you want. It can truly work if you put a little effort into it just like you would any job. I have heard this about MK before. While direct sales businesses differ a great deal, I think there are some common threads that give them a bad reputation.

In particular, many bill the opportunity as very flexible and say you can build your business at your own speed, with as much or as little time as you want to put into it. You are what you put it!

You made your choice to back out after 9 days? I asked what her secret to success was in her Catering business and her marriage.

She said commitment. Commitment gets you through the hard times when things get tough in business and Marriage. Thanks for sharing ladies many lessons learned today.

I have recently became a MK consultant. Of course I joined right away. I figured I could casually sell to family and friends, maybe have a booking or two a month for people to come to my house and it would be some extra spending cash. After my kick-off party, I realized my directors have been VERY pushy for me to buy inventory and to book parties as much as possible.

Note that I have just graduated high school and plan on getting a job soon. This is all too much at once. I need some advice. If you truly love the product, and think for sure you can sell to family and friends to cover what you personally use and perhaps make a little bit extra on the side, then I would be very firm with your director and say that you will be working Mary Kay on your own terms. They like to call it incentives and encouragement, but sometimes it can be downright rude and pushy!

YOU control it. Get out!!! It is a scam to fill their pockets, not yours. I was a consultant for two yrs. Ran my business completely debt free despite the constant pressure and did not recruit! Ask any MK director to see their taxes and how much debt they have.

Get out while you can! This exact thing happened to me. I will never trust an independent sales oprortunity ever again! I just signed up to be an Independent consultant for the third time. After dealing with a critical illness last year and being fired from my job as a result, I realized that I need to get back to making money on my own terms. When I was a consultant in the past, I had multiple levels of support, managed my own time, and had complete control over my flow of income.

Plus, I love socializing, so I found myself in the perfect occupation. Now that technology is so advanced, even people who find it difficult to be social in person can utilize tools online to build a customer base.

Mary Kay even advertises for free on your Facebook Page! I agree with Amanda Baker and Dar. I have literally only been able to sleep for 4 hours because my mind is focusing on how to get my business up and running. My plan is to be in my Red Jacket by September. Thank you for sharing your story. Mary Kay is a predatory company.

Your story is NOT unusual. In fact there are tens of thousands of women by now hundreds of thousands who know how predatory MK is. Directors are taught to not share everything up front. They have scripts for every situation and for every argument you might put up.

They train directors in the DISC so that they know how to overcome your objections according to your personality. All of these types of things are said to make the victim feel like they are just a loser. How do you win at MK and why is it a pyramid? Just look at how you really make money — recruiting. To go up their career path YOU have to recruit. Then under you, you have to have recruits who recruit and so forth.

What shape is that? A pyramid. If you want to feel better about what happened to you and why ALL direct sales are similar in their construction go to wwww. Thank you for sharing. At first I signed up for everything, the website Pro Pay to accept credit cards, bought the kit and tons of makeup. I have struggled with being active. When I was active, I enjoyed getting the discount to buy personally.

I sold a few things to some family members, but never ventured further. I really did lose money on this one, but at least I have a stock of makeup I can use for myself for awhile. I am currently inactive and was wondering if someone could tell me how I can cancel my account and MK website? I just called MK through the consultant line and they walked me through discontinuing the site and canceling my account. What Mary Kay gives you in your starter kit is everything you need to do your first 30 faces Give or take depending on the way you squeeze, press, and puff.

It also gives you the necessary paperwork and direction to where to go for more information and business materials. Like any business, if you want it to grow, you have to put some energy into it. I try and tell my consultants before they sign up that it is a job, and they have to work it to get the rewards.

Many people sign up for Mary Kay under the delusion that it will be free money that they get when they wave their hands. Though I have had people chase me down in parking lots because they need their Mary Kay, the bulk of my business is getting out of my house, away from the computer, and actually interacting with people in the community.

I have never really been a stranger-person. I am very much a people person and have a great time with others. Mary Kay is really about jumping out of your comfort zone, finding your confidence and letting it grow. It is going to be uncomfortable and you are going to have to work hard if you want it to be successful. Just like growing any other kind of business. You have to get your name, face, and occupation out there or nothing will ever happen for you. There is only so much your close family and friends are going to be able to supply for you.

I give you this advise if you are thinking of starting up your mk business, or are already a consultant and on the line:. Make your own goals, quotas, and accomplishments. Set specific times to work your business. Mary Kay gives you the tools, use them. Talk to them. Do not be afraid to ask for references to Directors who may better feel your needs. If you are out of milk, you go to the store and get more.

Seek and ask questions. It will only benefit you in the long run. I hope you all success in any venture you decide to go on in your lives. Mary Kay is truly the place for me and my life is nothing but better every single day since I first brought home that beautiful starter kit.

At first it was hard work. Now I work for me and that makes me want to do all the better. Hi Kalyn! You are so right about having a talent in sales! Hope to see you around!! Thank you sooooo much. I am dealing with this now as a new MK consultant. I love the products and the team etc. But I feel the exact same way as you. I was looking to do this as a PT opportunity. There was times I did feel rushed and pushed to make decisions and that is just not my personality.

Thank you for your sweet comment, Tracey! It definitely takes a lot of work to make MK or any direct sales business successful. I am much happier being a customer too! Thank you for your article. You do have to place an order of your books, but websites and training and meetings are free.

I am so happy I found this. I am going through the same situation right now. I was introduced to the product by entering a drawing at bridal show. She said nothing of it being MK. When we got to her house with she called her salon we started getting suspicious. Sure enough it was your typical scam party to help them male money.

I have never been the type of girl to take care of my skin and i have always heard great things about the product so i decided to give it a shot. My director did not mention anything to me again until the night before my party. She said she would come early to help me set up and do a quick run through of what she would be doing. The whole time she knew i did not have time to devote all of myself to this company. Well she came about 40 minutes late to the party after my guests had arrived casually holding her starbucks.

She proceeded to put on the party and it lasted until …. She also allowed customers to purchase product with a credit card, not knowing how I was supposed to accept payment she informed me to download this free app that allowed to money to be put into my bank account. I did and now realize how stupid I am for putting all of my credit info into some app, that is not even through the company, and pay the random fees that come along with using it.

I had already given this whole business a lot of thought over the weekend and decided it was NOT for me. Everything went through fine and I thought I was in the clear. She freaked. She raised her voice with me and told me I needed to call and cancel the order with the MK company right away. I decided then that I did not care for this woman, she is money hungry she does not care about the consultants she just wants her profit and credit. I am very disappointed in the company.

I will always use the product but I need out. I cannot believe how she treated me and that she has a title within the company. I hope you were able to bow out without too much trouble! How unfortunate that you ended up with someone like her. I just barely started with MK and this story just reminds me that when I do start recruiting that I need to be very upfront about how the business works instead of letting the consultant find out bit by bit.

So sorry you had that experience! The directors said the products would sell themselves. They said they would sell the products for me if I needed help.

I spent so much money on inventory and no one bought. And you know the friend holding the parties are only doing so to help the sales person out…not because they think we want or need these products. I got an email from a salesperson before a party that I was invited to saying she wanted to bless the hostess with this party!

Who is she kidding?! Does she really think the hostess is being blessed by hosting this party? NO…the hostess was doing her a favor! We all know you need recruits to move up and get more money. We all know you need to bug your friends and get them to bug their friends, to move this product. Act like a human being and ask me if I want to buy something…. So, here is my MK story…..

I am currently a consultant and have been now for actually more than ….. I started out with a BANG!! I have been begged to place big orders.

I recruited 7 team members and was on a roll, and my director did to them what she did to me. Needless to say I lost all of my recruits and became discouraged and quit! Now, here I am again but this time, smarter, wiser and I have learned I can run this business without doing all of those things I have mentioned above. So here is what I did….. I allowed one of my recruits who stuck with the business to re-recruit me! She is also a very dear friend and the two of us are very creative when we put our minds together.

With no inventory on my shelf and with the help of my sister consultants who have all realized the samething about our director we pulled together an event. We sent out invitations, posted fliers with our individual names posted at the bottom , put ads in the local newspaper, and left postcards again with our names on the bottom in various businesses.

We each had a table set up with some product samples, gift baskets, etc. The game rules going into the event were as follows….. If someone placed an order at any of the three tables and the person had indicated on their registration that they were invited by a specific consultant then the sale went to that consultant. In the case of not being a client or being invited by a specific consultant, the names were counted up and divided by three.

This worked out wonderful. I do one on one facials or double facials 4 times a week. I am very vigilant in keeping up with current customers and knowing when to ask for re-orders. I have four events a year. This is how I find new clients as well as service my current customers. Now lets talk about recruiting…….. Thats it!!! I have now recruited 3 consultants!!! I am not allowing them to be pressured to buy anything, I am helping them to build their businesses as I have.

So am I making money? Yes, I am. Is the process slow doing it this way? YES haha, but I feel at least I am going about it how it feels right for me. I love the products and so do my customers. Will I make it to directorship or as a national director? I do not know at this point and guess what I am not worried about it. At this point I am finding customers, putting on various events, going to Festivals and Fairs setting up my table when I have a chance and building this business by having one on ones or double facials.

I am making a good chunk of change and its growing bigger each month. So I am happy and will take it. So what is my advice to someone interested in becoming a MK consultant.

Never allow anyone to tell you that you MUST buy a huge amount of inventory or any for that matter to get started. Having an inventory will come, just like anything else you have to crawl before you can walk. Put your faith in growing this business exactly where it belongs….

Realize this is a business and like all businesses it takes work and dedication to keep trying. If your director starts pushing you RUN!!! Find a new one in your area. Find one that is open to how you want to operate YOUR business. Hi Ann! Once I was back where I started, I was ready to quit. Ann, I appreciate you sharing your second time around. Your test is a testimony to me! This is something I plan to do every yr.

Although this is the slow route, the race is Not made for the swift But for the endure. Thanks Again! I became an IBC in October I joined, because I own a cattle ranch with my husband and I wanted to have a social life outside of cows and other cattle people. My IBC met me at my house with the agreement. I am far from being a stupid person, but I have never in my life encountered someone in such a hurry to get my signature and get out my door.

The next day she calls me and wants me to attend a training in Napa, CA. I attended. On the way down she kept pushing the religious aspect. I just side stepped her. At the training, I was appalled!!! It was like attending a Jim Jones recruitment convention!!! But, they certainly kept stating what their unit earned, the prizes, the free trips, etc.

Additionally, on the drive down with my IBC, she explained that she wants her consultants to call her everyday and tell her what they are doing with MK and who they have lined up.

I was starting to get very irritated with her, but kept my mouth shut. She was also pushing me to get my website setup. I apprised her that I was waiting for my business cards and a few other things before I started selling. I explained to her that, in order to have a good professional business, you should have all your ducks in a row lined up. My recruiter and upline got mad at me because I would not buy the recommended qualifying inventory package when I signed with them.

So much for women helping women. More like women putting women in debt. Sad what this company has turned into. Liblou — It has been this way for a long, long time. In the very beginning it had a selling focus. What you learned, if anything, was all the reasons why you should buy even more inventory even though you still had few customers. You also may have learned how to recruit your best customers, which would reduce your end-user sales even further. It was all bait-and-switch.

In other words, fraud. Every real business focuses on having the leanest inventory possible and avoiding dead weight. Yet another sign the real MLM customer is the consultant. MK could be liable, but I am sure there is a nice clause in the consultant contract, not liable for contamination and cross contamination during the pandemic.

Tell me would you buy from that consultant with the starter kit stuff? Used again and again to get those recruits….. You can return products at any time. See the details on returning Mary Kay inventory here. Details on returning your Mary Kay starter kit are found here.

Details on returning your Mary Kay inventory are found here. You should be aware, however, that Mary Kay has a history of filing lawsuits against women selling Mary Kay on these sites. It might not be worth the trouble for you to try. Yes, they are always in need of personal care products. It is simply a gift to the shelter and the women they help.

Of course not! Mary Kay Inc. You can earn the use of a car by meeting certain production goals with your team. Your team must order a certain amount of products each month or quarter. Kaybots will tell you that this makes sense. How can I make my wife girlfriend, friend, sister, etc. This is a hard one. Mary Kay and other MLMs are very cult-like.

They use a lot of brainwashing techniques to keep you in the company. From the beginning, Mary Kay consultants are told to NOT listen to negative comments about the opportunity.

Those people are just unsupportive! Your best bet is to sit down with her and ask to see her results. Have her show you the sales she has made, the amount of product she has purchased, the free products she has given away, and all other expenses she has incurred in Mary Kay. You will most likely see that she is losing money. If she is turning a profit, get her to figure out how many hours a week she has been working Mary Kay, and do the math to see how much she is making per hour.

It will most likely be less than minimum wage.