Making the World More Beautiful....

...one tube of lipstick at a time.

With my husband being out of work for at least 3 months, I decided to try selling some Avon on the side. Shelby and I use a lot of their facial products (the Pore-fection line for me and the Clearskin for her) and even if I don't sell a ton of stuff at least I can get our products for a discount.

I signed up the week before Thanksgiving so on Thanksgiving Day I hit my family up by passing out a handful of catalogs and samples. I told them there was no pressure to buy anything, just let me know if they see anything they are interested in. Shelby's best friend also took one home to her mom. This was perfect timing in that her previous "Avon Lady" stopped selling after having a baby (and her order ended up almost half of my total).

I placed my first order last week which was really fun. I mean, I get to buy a lot of stuff, I get to receiv big packages in the mail and go through all the products and to top it all of I don't have to pay for most of it. I don't even mind that the products are for others, just the ordering and going through it all is satisfying enough for me.

With the first order, I also bought few refills of face wash, some sheer foundation and a Christmas gift for Shelby, a demo lipstick and demo nail polish for me, my next round of catalogs, a handful of samples and some mark magalogs. I think I cleared a whopping $10 profit. Oops, wait....I forgot that I paid $15 for my initial kit....okay so I'm in the red 5 bucks overall.

The past week, I have discreetly passed out catalogs to a few co-workers. And when my new catalogs come in today, I plan on stopping by Shelby's orthodontist's office which is filled with a dozen beautiful and young dental assistants. I'll have to think of a few more places to hand out catalogs. I am not the pushy type at all so I am real hesitant to just go door to door but I will have to eventually build up to that. Maybe I'll try my mom's neighborhood first.

Avon has a young trendy line called mark. The products are quite unique, very trendy and just plain cool. She is so excited about sharing some of the magalogs (part magazine, part catalog) with her friends (but only before or after school or during lunch). I also bought quite a few mark samples based on Shelby's recommendation. Shelby and I made a deal in that if she want to pass along the magalogs to some of her friends and either have them call me or collect the orders herself, then I will buy her one demo product per campaign. All her other products she can purchase for cost as long as she doesn't tell her friends what she paid for them. I feel a little bad about targeting the teens but then I stop and think about how much money they are throwing around on designer clothes and makeup that I realize that I might as well try to catch some of that money being thrown around. (Shelby is already talking about wanting to be a mark representative but she has to be 16. We'll see how this goes and when she turns 16, we might consider it.)

I know I won't make enough money with Avon to cover the lack of a second paycheck however after getting established I should be able to make enough to pay for lunch money or voice lessons or other little things like that...well that is, as long as I don't buy too much stuff with my discount!


*I am also able to earn a small amount on orders placed on the web if my phone number is entered in as the representative. If anyone is interested in placing an order or would like an Avon catalog, a mark magalog or samples, just send me email and I'll see what I can do to get you set up.