stella & dot trunk show...direct sales??

[Anonymous]

and Stella and Dot doesn't want you to be 100percent satisfied. They just offer store credit when your not happy...why would I want store credit to buy GARBAGE. So, the phone reps says, well you don't have to use the credit. Umm, then what's the point?? I thought you wanted me to be satisfied?? What's the point of a credit I can't use? And what's the point of me ordering more worthless garbage? I could get a better product from a gumball machine!

[Anonymous]

and just to be clear. I don't even mind the solicitation from friends, etc. I mind the inferior GARBAGE that they're selling at premium prices!

[Anonymous]

Ugh. Someone I know very well just became a S & D rep. I don't want to go to the parties! Noooooooooo!

[Anonymous]

One thing you have to remember is they are a business. This means they don't really
care about how many parties you hold - that's just a trick so you think you have a business.

Actual reports and studies PROVE that these companies like S&D, Arbonne, Mary Kay, etc
make 90% of their profits on:

-reps registration fee
-reps sample orders
-reps buying the minimums THEMSELVES so they can
keep some ridiculous "title" like "Area Executive Manager"

If you're in any of these "network marketing" programs or "social selling" programs,
be certain that you:

-will annoy and lose the respect of your friends
-end up paying from your own pocket to keep your silly title
-end up with a tiny profit (maybe, if you're lucky)

The only way to be a successful in a network marketing company is to START ONE
then sign up naive reps as a "business opportunity"

If you want to be an entrepreneur, you're WAY better off just starting a business for real.
There are so many home-based businesses you could start practically no money or education,
like event planning, wedding planning,gift baskets, lawn care, home daycares, hair braiding,
make-up application, and the list goes on and on.

This way you get to actually make money AND your friends and family support and respect
you instead of avoiding your phonecalls and secretly making fun of you.

[Anonymous]

I am honestly SO surprised by the responses on this thread. I held a S&D party (as a host, not stylist) last night. Sure, a lot of people declined, didn't show, or only bought a few items if they did come. I could care less! A good time was had by all and I would certainly never "unfriend" someone who declined my invite to a party.

Seriously whining ladies, grow up. If someone invites you and then you decline, and they stop being friends with you (or because you didn't buy anything), they were NOT your friend to begin with it. S&D, MK, etc. have zero to do with it. If someone decides you aren't a friend because you didn't want to buy something from them, it's indicative of your relationship with that person; likely the crappy morale on part of this person you thought was your friend.

If someone invites you to a S&D party and you don't want to go - don't go!! If you go and don't want to buy - don't buy!! WTF??? Since when did women become such mindless idiots?? Can we not speak for ourselves anymore? I completely understand that some sales reps are pushy and downright rude. But this isn't selective to the direct sales market - it happens EVERYWHERE. In EVERY store!! We deal with it everyday! For goodness sake, even grocery stores do it by having taste tests!!

Stella and Dot makes nice jewelry. Nicer than a lot of crap you can get for the same price at similar stores. And, as the service rep responded in this post previously, if it falls apart or you are not satisfied, give them a call! What do you do with other things that are poor quality??

I have zero affiliation with Stella and Dot. I was recruited heavily by a MK rep about three years ago. She was too much, she came on too strong. But it was just her as a person. I never bought from her because I felt put on the spot. I bought a LOT of MK from a friend who did it on the side, as she never pressured me. I think it has a lot to do with personal approach.

If you feel like someone won't be your friend if you don't buy or attend a party, you might want to reexamine your friendship with that person. I'm not saying it's you but rather the person who is putting ridiculous demands on you and your friendship. Many woman love to buy jewelry. So if you do, why not do and it help someone you like, or do it in an environment where you can try things on, have your friends' opinion and drink wine at the same time? S&D is not making the fortune 500 because they are full of nasty bitches doing something wrong. It's a very clever idea and if you have a problem with it, you might want to look inside and figure out why you can't say no, make informed purchases, call a company to complain if you are unhappy and who you "think" your friends are.

Peace.

[Anonymous]

I've been a S&D Stylist for over a year now, and have only had one piece that didn't hold up to my standards. This jewelry is designed by people that have come from top fashion labels, and its made in the same factories as top labels. Sure, some if it is made in India, but when you're designing a piece based on something you've seen in India, who is going to make it better? People in India of course! There is a link on the Stella & Dot website which explains the corporate responsibility, and they are members of a couple of fair trade organizations.

The price may be a little high for some people, and as stylists we certainly recognize that not everyone is going to buy. But those who do, love it. The price reflects the quality materials and the labour that goes into each piece. Some necklaces take a couple of hours to make each one... some necklaces are strung by hand. And while some of you say that the price is still too high, if you went to Michael's to buy all of the materials that go into a particular piece (same quality as the S&D materials) you'll find that you'd spend just as much or more, plus you'd have to put it all together on your own.

There's a reason that Stella & Dot brands its in-home sales as Trunk Shows, not 'home parties'. They're meant to be casual, fun and like a mini-boutique set up in the home. Not a party with sales on the side. If you're not interested in attending or buying, then simply decline the invitation. No one is going to be offended if you say "Sorry, but I'm not really interested in the jewelry" or "That's not really in my price range/budget".

Stella & Dot is not my main job, and I don't bug my friends about it. I usually let them know when a new line comes out because there are always a TON of new pieces, but they know where to find me if they want something.

It doesn't hurt anyone to say to their friend "you know, I'm not really into the Stella & Dot thing, but how about we go for coffee/movie/dancing?"

Any quality issues should be brought to stylist you purchased from. You don't even need to call customer service yourself. That's what the stylists are here for.

[Anonymous]

Have any of you ever heard of Sequoia Capital? They are known as one of the most influential venture capital firms, By some estimates are responsible for over 14% of the value on NASDAQ. Funding some of the Internet giants such as Apple, Google, You Tube and Zappos.
Sequoia invested $37 million into Stella and Dot. Stella and Dot did not need nor was it seeking capital. Sequoia sought out CEO, Jessica Herrin who sold her first start up company, Weddingchannel.com in her 20's for $90 million.

For those of you who are truly interested in joining a potential billion dollar brand you can google Stella and Dot Sequoia or visit http://www.stelladot.com/Randimanning see details from this stories and more reviews from Fashion editors and more stories from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and many others. You can see the Stars sporting Stella and Dot on the Red Carpet or you can choose to stay on this sight and listen to these experts. I do not know the people posting on this sight but the certainly do have a bad attitude about life in general. I have wasted enough time here. I took the time to post this for those of you who truly are interested in National Business News. I believe I have given you a few reliable sources but for the people on this feed maybe they own com pies bigger than the ones I have named but I am willing to bet Not! Last but not Least, I am from the South as well and True Southern Ladies have more Class than to criticize people without knowing the facts. I left a very lucrative job in Advertising which I had been doing for 12 years to care for my Father who was diagnosed with cancer. He wanted to go to Duke to be treated so I left my Job so that I could take him to Duke sometimes once a week and every 2 weeks for treatments. I would not trade the time I had with my Father for any of your Pay checks. Since his Death I am basically the primary care taker for his 92 year old mother.
If any of you would like to know more about this company feel free to contact me http://www.stelladot.com/Randimanning or http://www.Facebook.com/stellaanddoyindependentstylistrandimanning email [e-mail].

[Anonymous]

General question for stylists: how does your tax structure work? Does S&D take it out of your pay or are you on your honor to declare your income?

[Anonymous]

you have to declare your income yourself.

[Anonymous]

I am very discouraged by this thread of comme

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who has been pressuring me to have a trunk show...I don't want to but know it will ultimately be the end of our friendship if I don't.
I can't remember the last time she sent me an email asking me how I was...only "so are you okay for me and go ahead to schedule a show for you?" I'm pretty sure I'm going to say no and I'm pretty sure I'll be kissing that friendship goodbye....Oh well...I guess she wasn't the friend I thought she was...

[Anonymous]

These home sales people work by putting friends, neighbors, work colleagues, relatives. etc. on the spot. I think that most women want to be nice and thought of as good people, so they attend the parties and/or buy the products to be kind.

A neighbor invited me to a Stella & Dot party, and to be nice, I went and bought some jewelry I really did not need.

As for the S & D quality, I have bought pieces of similar quality at department stores (on coupon days) for 1/3 of the price. For what I spent on the S&D jewelry (or for a few dollars more), I could have gotten "real" pieces, not "gold-plated brass."

I have received e-mails and phone calls regularly since the party, and now I am invited to another one!

So now I am "on the spot," and I will graciously need to inform the S&D rep and the hostess that "No thanks, I'm all set for jewelry right now." Like other posters, I hope my neighbor will still speak to me.

I am a SAHM (worked both at home and out of the house a few hours a week) and extremely sympathetic to the need to earn extra money and independence and self-esteem from a career.

But there has to be a better way!

Over the years, I have encountered
--pressure to buy products I couldn't possibly use, for example, children's clothes that stopped at 6X when my youngest child was in size 8-10
--pressure to buy products that I could not afford, such as expensive make-up
--pressure to keep buying after I bought everything I would ever buy from the company (toys)
--pressure to buy from companies who had absolutely NOTHING I wanted (home decor)
--multiple neighbors selling for the exact same company (at one time THREE selling the same cosmetics)
--school parents using the directory to mail invitations to all the mothers in the class
--secretaries at work hawking products

and of course, the pressure to host a party of my own (NEVER!)

Be my friend, my neighbor, my cousin, my work colleague, but please do not target me as a source of income!

[Anonymous]

In answer to the original question, if you are thinking of doing direct sales and specifically Stella & Dot there are 4 things you need to consider:
1) Are you a warm, friendly, outgoing, extrovert type of person? If you are even a little bit shy, reserved, held back this might not be the thing for you. You have to be able to easily talk to people, not be afraid to approach new people.
2) Do you love jewelry in general and their line of jewelry in particular? Do you believe in the price point that it's selling at and the quality? You have to have a passion for the product you are selling. I personally love their line, find it on trend and good quality at a great price point.
3) Do you have a wide network? Given all the negative comments in this post, you can see that you can't rely on just your family and friends. This means how active are you outside of your private life in say clubs, church, work, professional organizations, clubs, etc. You have to be out there and active in order to sell any product. You have to target the right people, fashion minded people that love jewelry. For those doing well in this business they are mostly selling outside of their immediate circle.
4) Do you have some money to invest in the business? Money that if you never sell any jewelry will not hurt your household budget? You will hear that you can start your business with just $199 which is true-ish. But to be honest, in order to have a nice selection of jewelry, nicely displayed etc. you will have to put in more. And as the collection changes you will have to invest more as well. But if you are selling you will be getting product credits, so it is do-able.
It's not for everyone, and it is Work - in order to do well you will have to work hard just like everything else in life. If you are considering it, go to another trunk show, maybe host one yourself to get a feeling of the job at hand. Then you can decide if it's something you want to do.

[Anonymous]

The phrase "on trend" originates from this Stella and Dot thread, doesn't it?

[Anonymous]

The phrase "on trend", originates from the fashion industry. Must admit I first heard it on Project Runway. See here:
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/on-trend#on-trend111

Blogs that use "on trend" in their name
http://www.spendontrend.com/
http://www.clickontrend.com/

It's just another way to say "this will be really in style really soon".