Avon Reps - Pyramid Scheme?

[TurtleCrusher]

It seems to me like Avon is just a pyramid scheme, and no one really makes any money except for the top few. How the heck does this all work?

 

[lxskllr]

I never considered it one, but I don't really follow it. I thought it was sales driven.

 

[zerocool84]

It seems to me like Avon is just a pyramid scheme, and no one really makes any money except for the top few. How the heck does this all work?

Lol no, read up on what a pyramid scheme is. Avon is far from it.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Lol no, read up on what a pyramid scheme is. Avon is far from it.

With the exception that they have actual products to sell, what's the difference? The market for the actual products is so saturated as it is, and you can just buy their products online cheaper, what is the point?

 

[shortylickens]

I hate to tell you this but EVERY ORGANIZATION is a pyramid scheme. There is always one person at the top and a shitload of people at the bottom.
Thats called life. You can either whine about it or work your way up. One of them is more rewarding than the other.

 

[bononos]

AFAIK Avon is one of the more reputable ones in direct marketing because it is supposed to be sales(not recruitment) driven. But I heard reps knocking months back and asked one neighbour(hard of hearing) whether she would like to make some money which sounded shady.

 

[bononos]

I hate to tell you this but EVERY ORGANIZATION is a pyramid scheme. There is always one person at the top and a shitload of people at the bottom.
Thats called life. You can either whine about it or work your way up. One of them is more rewarding than the other.

Rubbish. That sort of an org you are referring is a mafia org or a classic pyramid scheme. Real companies actually do some work instead of recruiting members and selling phoney overpriced products.

 

[gorcorps]

Just because it's hard to make money doesn't mean it's impossible. I've known people do well enough through Avon because they know how to sell. Just because you suck at it doesn't make it a pyramid scheme.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Just because it's hard to make money doesn't mean it's impossible. I've known people do well enough through Avon because they know how to sell. Just because you suck at it doesn't make it a pyramid scheme.

You make money by selling the product.

You also make a little more by selling the idea to people that they can make money selling the product.

The biggest issue is the saturation of the market.

You need a base of 200+ active customers to create any kind of income when your profit per customer is $5-10. Most customers will only purchase 1-2 times a year at that. You will burn 1hr per customer of your time between scheduling, visiting and processing the order

 

[Jeffg010]

I saw a news article on how Avon was losing money and all comments were from reps that were saying you can't really make any money. The reps were saying you get bled dry by other expenses that Avon pushed on the seller. You have to pay for the sample products yourself. Someone who is a rep for Avon can explain it better. They said all the reps were leaving because it was just to hard to make any money.

Read this Avon makes really hard hard for a rep to make any money.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/avon-products-c125769.html

 

[bruceb]

Avon is a good company and the people who do the sales do make money. Same for a company called Herbal Life .. excellent products and you can make money.

 

[Fritzo]

My wife did that for a while. It's a joke. You have to sell at a 40% discount to sell anything (which is your entire profit margin) because that's what everyone else does. Then you have to drive around dropping off orders, worry about collecting money, and often pay for things out of your own pocket.

It's a lot of unpaid word that makes money for everyone but you.

 

[slayernine]

There are pyramid schemes and then there are real companies that get you to peddle shitty products to your friends. I can not comprehend how women find it so interesting to buy crap from friends while wasting time on these stupid parties when you could just run down to a store that sells the same type of stuff for much lower prices.

Can you imagine: "Hey Steve you should come by my house on Saturday, I'm hosting an Intel party. If you spend over $1000 you even get free shipping. I'll be doing some overclock demos on all the free merch I got from them for sucking you guys into spending money on stuff you don't need"

You see that will never happen because this is one of those classic ways in which women differ from men.

 

[Jeeebus]

Is there a pyramid type structure? Yes, that is one way Avon people make money. Reps earn money both by the products they sell and by a percentage of those they have recruited to sell. So if you have brought in 100 people to be Avon reps, you're making money off of their sales as well (at least, that is how it used to be).

My mom worked for Avon for 25+ years, first as a rep and then as an actual employee (district manager). Knock it if you will, but Avon is what paid for their house on the beach and rental properties on the beach. It's definitely not easy work, but people can/do make decent money doing it.

 

[DrPizza]

If you have an unused room in your house, there can possibly be tax benefits to help make something like Avon be more worth it. Set up an office in the unused room, and when itemizing deductions, you may be able to deduct a portion of your utilities, etc. as business expenses.

 

[shortylickens]

Rubbish. That sort of an org you are referring is a mafia org or a classic pyramid scheme. Real companies actually do some work instead of recruiting members and selling phoney overpriced products.

 

[alkemyst]

I hate to tell you this but EVERY ORGANIZATION is a pyramid scheme. There is always one person at the top and a shitload of people at the bottom.
Thats called life. You can either whine about it or work your way up. One of them is more rewarding than the other.

Not true. A Pyramid Scheme is way different than corporate america.

In most pyramids, the top makes a large portion of their income (sometimes all of it) not by sales, but by simple new membership fees and mandatory monthly purchases.

 

[preslove]

Passion Parties >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Avon

 

[eits]

i never judge a product based on whether or not it's a pyramid scheme. for example, cutco knives or juice plus. both fantastic products with incredible customer support, but annoying pyramid scheme sales structure.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Just because it's hard to make money doesn't mean it's impossible. I've known people do well enough through Avon because they know how to sell. Just because you suck at it doesn't make it a pyramid scheme.

I'm not selling anything. I keep seeing a bunch of stupid girls on Facebook quit their jobs to be Avon reps.

 

[shortylickens]

I'm not selling anything. I keep seeing a bunch of stupid girls on Facebook quit their jobs to be Avon reps.

At the very least its a learning experience. I go to college now and I wish more of these lazy little shits would quit school and do something real with their lives. Let them come back when they're willing to put in effort and appreciate higher education.

 

[ussfletcher]

My mom has sold Avon since I was a little kid, no it isn't a pyramid scheme. My mom was doing a lot in sales when I was younger, pre-internet, she also didn't have a job.