Will the In-Home Party Circut Survive the New Depression?
Welcome back!
Friday night a friend was giving a jewelry party from a well known company, which specializes in these types of parties. I really did not want to go. I know that those types of parties are ridiculously expensive, but it was for a friend. I have been to this type of party before, that was from the same company.
While I applaud my friend for trying to come up with inexpensive ways to entertain large numbers of friends, I do not think that a party where guests were expected to purchase something was such a good idea durning these rough economic times. Don’t get me wrong, no one forced me to go to this party, I was curious to see if there had been any changes in the way the jewelry company did business.
As the part started, the company representative invited all of us to ask her questions about her business. There were the usual questions such as, “do you get to keep the jewelry?” I wanted to know more in-depth questions, since she said nothing was off limits. So I asked away.
In asking my questions I learned how this pyramid-like scheme worked, all they time while the consultant said, “this is not a pyramid scheme.” I politely smiled and thanked her for answering my questions. Quite frankly, I am leery of any business which requires others, who then work under the one who brought them in. Not to mention, the consultant makes a cut of whatever new hires which she finds makes. How does this not sound like a pyramid scheme again?
Aside from my obvious reservations I decided to ask one more question. I asked the consultant if there has been a difference in sales since the recent economic downturn. She replied that there hadn’t as of yet. She said it was the “lipstick factor.” She went on to explain that in the last recession that lipstick sales went through the roof. She reasoned that women could not afford a whole new ensemble but that they could afford a tube of new lipstick. She then told all of us at the party that her jewelry was the new lipstick factor. She said, “buy something and feel good about yourself.”
After that I was pretty sure that I was not going to purchase anything from this woman. The final straw of the night was when she said that she promoted the “husband unawareness program” which, she explained to us how to pay with multiple methods of payment so that our husbands would not know how much we were all actually spending. I could not believe my ears! I can take a joke as well as the next person, but was this woman actually encouraging wives to lie to their husbands about what they were actually spending?
After looking through the order book with all of the jewelry I could see that she was not kidding because the jewelry was outrageously expensive. The consultant guaranteed every piece of jewelry that she sold, but that was still not enough to coax my money out of my wallet.
Then came the traditional hard sell of hosting one of these parties in your own home. She passed out little boxes that offered prizes or a piece of paper that said “me” on them. If you decided to open your box and it said “me” in it, then you were required to hold a party of your own. I was not born yesterday. I told the consultant that I would not be opening the box, and gave it back to her.
These types of parties cost money, not just for the host but for the guests as well. I told the consultant that everyone that I would invite to my own jewelry party was already at this one, and that I would not expect them to have the funds to do this type of thing in the near future.
As the night came to a close, some of my friends and family did make purchases. I however did not. When I looked through the catalogue, there were things in there that were over $100! This company was not selling fine jewels. I wonder, with the economic times as they are, is there really room for these types of parties to continue? I do not think there is. As disposable income becomes a thing of the past, I feel that these types of overpriced, hard sell concept parties will be a thing of the past.
On a closing note, I would like to say that I did not have a horrible time, I was able to eat and drink with close family and friends. I would also like to say that while my criticism may sound quite harsh, that I and the consultant were not at odds at anytime during the party.
Cancel the Lease on Your Storage Rental
We love to have stuff. It’s the American way after all. A problem arises though, when we have too much stuff and no where to put it. For many people, they take the simple solution and rent storage space somewhere to store away all the stuff they don’t need.
As children we were told to put away our things when we weren’t using them. This shouldn’t be applied to adulthood. Rental storage space is a terrible waste of money. Think about it, you’re paying rent on the stuff that you no longer need!
My father had a storage rental for the longest time. He ran a business and needed somewhere to put all the old equipment that was no longer useful but couldn’t bare to throw away. He rented that shed for YEARS until he moved in to a place wehere he could store everything himself. He thought it was stuff that he needed.
Well, after moving the stuff for the 3rd time to a new location, he realized that he didn’t need most of the stuff and ended up throwing most of it away. He wasted $50 a month for 4 years or so for storage rental on stuff he didn’t need.
Don’t fall prey to the false dichotomy that if you run out of space, you should get MORE space.
No, if you run out of space, it’s time to weed out your things, pare down and clean up your life. The solution isn’t to add another cost to life. It’s time to let go of the stuff you no longer need.
I recognize that getting rid of things is hard to do, especially if you have an attachment to it. But think about it, you’ve already let go of something if you throw in a storage shed. You are already placing it out of your mind, moving it to a geographic location you will rarely visit. After a year, will you miss it? You will certainly miss the $50 a month more.
There are good uses for storage units. For example, if you are in between moves and have to put your stuff somewhere until you can settle. Of if you are leaving the country for work and intend to come back (though this would be a great time to let go our your things).
Grab some gloves, a friend’s pickup truck and go clean out your storage unit. It’s time to let go of the stuff you no longer need and increase your bottom line.
