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Direct Sales Company Review: Lia Sophia

DirectSalesGuy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:59:05 +0000

Thinking about selling Lia Sophia jewelry? Is Lia Sophia a good direct sales company?

The problem with reviewing a direct sales company like this is the fact that everyone offering advice or a review of Lia Sophia is in turn trying to get you to join under them… which means the review and information is biased. So we sorted through tons of forums and review blogs to get to the bottom of the opportunity that Lia Sophia offers.

The general consenses, we found, was that Lia Sophia is overpriced. Many people stated that they actually found much better deals at department stores after they purchased jewelry from Lia Sophia. Also, we found many complaints about the quality of the jewelry. Although Lia Sophia offers free replacement, we believe that you shouldn’t need to replace your jewelry so quickly, as many customers complained.

We don’t believe all of the complaints are legit, as some seemed to bash this direct sales company for no reason, perhaps as a marketing scam. The problem is, though, with the same complaints being found in multiple places on the internet, we cannot brush them all off as bogus. There seems to be a trend with the complaints of pricing and quality, and sometimes the length of time it takes to receive your Lia Sophia jewelry.

Here are some complains we found valid and interesting…

“I have spent hundreds of dollars on Lia Sophia but will never buy again. After spending $100 on gift certificates and $124 on well cared for jewelry that turned rusty after just 60 days, I attempted to take advantage of their Buy 2, Get 4 1/2 price deal with my credit and gift certificates in hand, and a few days after my order, was told that I could not. My GCs and credit were not as good as cash and could only be used on full priced items. I was also told I owed additional money for shipping and tax, however I paid tax on the product total AND I paid tax at the time the GCs were purchased!!!! So yes, I paid NYS sales tax twice. I have never in my life paid sales tax on a GC and not had a GC honored as cash at a store, whether I was buying full price or clearance items!!!! Basically, I’m being penalized for giving them money in advance. When I contacted customer, they basically threw the advisor under the bus and blamed her. Yes, they have some lovely pieces, but beware of their policies and don’t count on advisors to inform you.”

“I ordered about $350 worth of this crap and sorry to say it is horrible! The catalogs make a lot of the pieces look much better than they really are. The gold pieces are a joke and could not look faker. For $130 I expected the piece to somewhat look real. My finger has ALREADY turned green from the rings which I have only had for one week. I am better off buying rings at Charlotte Russ at the price of 2 for $8. I do own REAL jewelry and know how to care for it, this is just ridiculous. They get you to buy it by saying how great it is and it is lifetime guaranteed. Well it better be for the high prices they charge. I payed for $52 dollars for a ring that has turned my finger green in less than a week! Is this common with Lia Sophia?? Bottom line is the prices are way too high for what it really is! The trouble and annoyance to “Book a Party” and have a party worth AT LEAST $250 in sales was all too much. This was not a fun little jewelry party, more a HUGE hassle. I expected to get together with my gf’s socialize and buy what ever we please…not to be told that “I HAVE TO SELL $250″ worth of jewelry to even be considered a party and to get my “discounted hostess items”…which were WAY over priced as it is. Bottom line is the jewelry is horrible! It’s basically a huge scam that was a waste of my time.”

Take these quotes with a grain of salt, but it should raise a red flag when considering this direct sales opportunity or buying lia sophia jewelry.

On the other hand, the Lia Sophia commission payout is good and starts at 30% and goes up to 40%. The startup cost for Lia Sophia is minimal and you get a good value for that startup value. But why risk the bad reputation of a direct sales company when there are other direct sales companies that have more to offer and a better reputation? Take Scentsy for example… read what we have to say here.

With the complaints and issues we found, it is hard to overcome with enough good qualities to make this a great opportunity. We feel there are better direct sales opportunities out there. See our other direct sales company reviews.

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Direct Sales Company Review: The Pampered Chef

DirectSalesGuy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:17:48 +0000

Background: The Pampered Chef business was created and launched in 1980 by company Chairman (Chairwoman?) and Founder, Doris Christopher — she was an educator, a home economist and a mother who noticed and recognized the demand for professional quality kitchen tools in kitchens across the country.

Utilizing her knowledge of food prep techniques and her talent for teaching, Doris Christopher collected an inventory of what she considered to be “the essential home kitchen tools,” promoted them under The Pampered Chef® name and began showcasing them at in-home cooking demonstrations called Kitchen Shows.

With such high demand and popularity for this line of kitchen necessities, she recruited and personally trained the first generation of Pampered Chef® Kitchen Consultants.

Why we like the product: Good kitchen products and very useful. A great line of tools that are good for any kitchen.

Why we DON’T like the business: The Pampered Chef is a good line of products and it is well known. The problem is the competition for the consultants. With over 80,000 direct sales consultants selling Pampered Chef, the competition is really tough on new consultants. Getting started with so much competition really makes it a tough battle. For this reason, we recommend other direct sales companies such as Scentsy. See our Scentsy review.

Another reason we aren’t very high on The Pampered Chef is because with the economy in the shape it is in, consumers are less likely to spend extra money on premium and costly kitchen tools when they can easily find more economical choices in the many superstores across the nation.

Conclusion: While The Pampered Chef is a solid company with a solid commission, the competition in the market is the turnoff. The likely scenario is that wherever you live, there are already quite a few established The Pampered Chef consultants stationed in your area and will only leave scraps for a newcomer.

There are much better direct sales opportunities out there. Read more direct sales company reviews.

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Direct Sales Company Review: Scentsy Wickless Candles

DirectSalesGuy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:13:38 +0000

Background: Kara Egan was watching Oprah and was inspired by a show on “Millionaire Moms”. When having lunch with her sister in law, some weeks later, she was told about this “strange” thing that her sister in law’s neighbor did… breaking candle wax into pieces and heating them in an old potpourri burner.

Something clicked for Kara. “I heard the words in my mind saying Kara, this is it.” She called Colette that same night and asked, “Why don’t we start a business together selling candle chunks in a warmer?” They decided that this was their destiny as well and they created a company of their own. Scentsy was born on July 2003.

After seeing these two “moms” at a tradeshow in Salt Lake City, Utah, entrepreneur Orville Thompson bought some of these products and introduced them to his wife, Heidi. She loved the products and another idea was born. On May 1, 2004, Orville and Heidi purchased Scentsy from Kara and Collette and created it to be a party plan business… direct sales business.

Why we like the product: Scentsy offers a product that is unique and bold. These warmers are beautiful, well crafted (we own a bunch ourselves), and come in such a variety. The scents that Scentsy offers smell wonderful and also come in quite a variety with over 84 different choices.

Why we like the business: Scentsy wickless candles are a great quality product and are very inexpensive. This makes selling easy. Another great thing is that scentsy offers a consumable product. This means your customers will keep coming back for more! This fact makes a great renewable customer base for all scentsy consultants. Scentsy is also coming out with new products each season which gives you another chance to market to your past customers for many repeat sales.

The marketing edge: Because Scentsy has not become oversaturated in the market, there are tons of locations that Scentsy has not even touched which gives a great business opportunity for direct sales consultants. The low price of these products also helps in times where the economy is not really going strong.

How much money can you make with Scentsy: Scentsy offers a great tiered marketing plan and an excellent starting commission for such a great and inexpensive product. Starting with a 20% commission as a new consultant gives your direct sales business a great opportunity to make an excellent income. It is fairly easy to move up the step latter of Scentsy as well, giving you up to 35% commission on your sales with additional bonuses and bonus commissions of up to 9% on your downline. A very competitive payscale in the direct sales market.

Overall thoughts: With a great quality product, an under-saturated market, and very competitive commission payouts, Scentsy wickless candles offers an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to make a living with direct sales.

We rate this direct sales opportunity: 9.5 out of 10

After some research, we recommend firelesscandles.com as a way to Join Scentsy, Sell Scentsy, or just Learn More About Scentsy!

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Direct Sales Tips: The Best Direct Sales Companies

DirectSalesGuy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:08:58 +0000

Are you thinking about getting in to direct sales? Are you already in direct sales and not sure if you are representing a great direct sales company?

Good direct sales companies are few and far between, so let us give you a list of qualities to look for when looking for good direct sales companies.

Good compensation plan – Of course this is number 1 on our list, if you aren’t making a decent income off of each sale, then it is going to take a lot more work just to make a decent income. Think about it this way… if you make $1.00 off of each widget you sell for company A, and you make $5.00 off of each widget you sell for company B… you have to sell 5 widgets with company A just to make as much as you would if you sold 1 widget with company B. Also look at the compensation you get from your downline (people joined under you). This is very important because a successful team under you can provide a very lucrative income in itself.
Good quality product - This is important because you must believe in the product or service you sell. If you are a true believer, then you can pass that feeling on to your customer MUCH easier than if you don’t really believe in the product or service. This is a very important key to success when dealing with direct sales companies.
Help from the top – Good direct sales companies are willing to help out their consultants and provide excellent service to them as well. Look for a direct sales company that offers help, low start up costs, and marketing ideas for it’s consultants.
Good reputation – It doesn’t matter how good the product or service is or if the price is the best in the market if the direct sales company has a bad reputation. You, the direct sales consultant, CANNOT overcome the bad reputation of a direct sales company. If the company has a bad reputation, it is time to move on to a different one. In fact, it is much better to represent a direct sales company with NO reputation than one with a BAD reputation.
Internet sales – A good direct sales company will provide a way for your customers to purchase from you on the internet. In today’s market, you must have this technology to use. If your direct sales company does not have a way for customers to find you online and purchase services or products from you on the internet, you are losing a great amount of potential sales and income. This is important to your business.

Look for these five points in any direct sales company you are interested in and if they are missing one, move on. These are important keys to your success and with the number of direct sales companies in existance today you can find one that offers all five of these key points.

Direct Sales Opportunity: Important Choices

DirectSalesGuy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:48:47 +0000

Direct Sales Opportunity: Important Choices – What to Look For in a direct sales company

When entering the Direct sales field, you should always do lots of research on the company you are going to promote. Check the direct sales company’s reputation, check the BBB background on the company, talk with other direct sales representatives, and find out everything you can. You want to make sure that this direct sales company is the right one for you and that you are the right one for them.

Research the startup costs and costs that will incur for you to maintain your direct sales business through them. Most direct sales companies will have minimal startup costs. The reason for low startup costs is because the company wants to make it easy for you to get started with them, they are not trying to make a profit off of your startup. A direct sales company that tries to profit from you signing up is not what you want. These companies are usually just pyramid schemes that don’t last very long.

Make sure your direct sales company does everything they can to help with your success. This does not mean they will hold your hand through the process, but it does mean that they have policies in place that will allow the salespeople to be the way that they make money. A good direct sales company will not allow retail sales of their products or services, they won’t allow the direct selling of their products online through ebay or craigslist or other online services. If they do allow these types of sales, your selling will be limited because there will always be someone selling through ebay and craigslist and undercutting you.

Look for a direct sales company that provides a solid performance compensation for you and people that join under you. Your income can be excellent with just the direct sales of the items or services you sell, but if you have the added bonus of being able to build an excellent team underneath of you, and the direct sales company compensates this fairly, you can create a powerful income vehicle. Once you get started with your direct sales business, you will realize that the income generated by your team can quickly overcome your own sales income. After you build a large team under you, and you help this team to be successful through training and informative help, you can actually slow your own sales down and still make a full time income.

Don’t join a company that you don’t believe in. This is a VERY important factor in determining which direct sales company is right for you. You must be excited about the product and the opportunity so you can pass on the excitement to your customers and clients. If you believe in the product and the company, you will feel confident about telling your friends, family, and complete strangers about it, with no regrets. Don’t be the person that sells something they don’t even own themselves… it won’t work in the -long run. Be true to yourself, be true to your company and the success will follow with the work you put into it.

Happy Sales!