I’m 18 years old and starting college next month. I’m interested in becoming an Avon Representative but wanted to hear from others experiences to make sure I really know what I’m getting myself into. Please try to answer my questions the best way you can (:
-Besides the start up fee which I heard is currently , what are other expenses that come out of your pocket? Are they expensive?
-Do you get free samples?
-Can you make your own Avon business cards or fliers?
-Do you pay for shipping?
-Is it profitable?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions (:
You have to pay for your campaign booklets out of pocket. It’s about six dollars for ten books. It gets expensive because you give these out. If you order a lot of books it can cost you alot.
Samples are not free. You must pay for them and give them out for free. Yes, you can make your own fliers. No, you don’t pay shipping unless you are making a return. I was an avon rep and I didn’t make much money because it cost so much just for everything else. You can make money if you are willing or have enough money to put out and know alot of people who will order from you often. I didn’t have steady customers. All in all, I think most of the time you end up losing money as an avon rep unless you have tons of people buying from you all the time.
Being an Avon Representative is the same as owning your own business. You are an independent sales representative and being such are responsible for all aspects of running your business.
You have to pay for all things needed to run your business. That includes the brochures, samples, bags to pack the orders in and basic business supplies. Business expenses are tax deductible when you do your income taxes at the end of the year. Make sure you keep all receipts for the items you purchase so that you can use them to do your returns. It will be best to consult an accountant for details. The brochures cost almost $6 for 10 but the more you buy the less you cost. If you purchase 100 at a time, they only cost $19. So for an investment of $9 more dollars you get 90 more brochures which you can use to find more customers.
10 brochures $5.75
20 brochures $7.95
30 brochures $10.20
40 brochures $12.10
50 brochures $13.00
60 brochures $14.25
70 brochures $15.45
80 brochures $16.75
90 brochures $17.90
100 brochures $19.00
11 or more packs: $19.00 (for first 10 packs)
+ $1.30 for each additional pack
Perfume samples are $1 for 10. Lipstick samples are $1.50 for 10. The samples are not expensive but I usually don’t recommend buying them unless a customer asks for one. There is no point in buying a ton of samples if nobody is interested. I haven’t found that I get many extra sales by giving them away. However you can use them as a little gift in the bags of people who have purchased something already.
You can make your own cards and flyers but Avon does have some rules as to what you can and can’t put on them. As long as you follow the policies and procedures, you’ll be fine.
Avon charges you a $2.50 charge for each order placed. It also charges each customer a .75 cent fee which is basically to help pay the shipping. If you have ever shipped anything yourself, you’ll know that is practically free. Most other direct selling companies charge each customer a very large shipping fee per order.
Avon can be profitable if you run it as a business. Do things the right way and you won’t lose money. First and foremost how you work you business is key. Your commissions are based on your order size after the first 4 campaigns of a 40% commission. As seen below
$1550 or more 50%
$900 – $1549 45%
$425 – $899 40%
$285 – $424 35%
$145 – $284 30%
$25 – $144 20%
$00 – $24 0%
It is possible to make good money with Avon if you work your business and run it like a business but its not going to happen overnight. Most people usually give up before they get started. They don’t manage the business properly and end up spending more than they make.
As with any job, if you don’t show up or you don’t do the work you won’t get paid. If you don’t work your Avon business and put in the time needed to find new customers and build your business you arent going to make any money either.
If you opened a bakery and ate all the merchandise you won’t make any money because you have nothing to sell. Likewise if you spend all the money you make on your own personal Avon products you won’t see a profit either.
You want to batch your deliveries to save time and gas. Organize them so you deliver it all to one area in one trip. Give any customers who live to far to deliver a free shipping code out of the web office.
Be sure to submit your order on time, make the payments when due and only submit one order per campaign. As long as you keep to the schedule and do things properly you won’t get charged the extra fee’s and lose your profits.
I have seen people not do the above and wonder why they didnt make money. Avon is a well known name and has quality products at affordable prices. However you do need to put time in finding the people who love it. They are out there.
Hope that helps!