Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home

From:	Zeke (adsl-71-135-121-171.dsl.pltn13.pacbell.net)
Subject:	Door-to-Door Markup
Date:	December 4, 2006 at 5:42 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: There are at least eight disadvantages to Cutco knives. posted by d. anderson on November 19, 2006 at 10:12 am:

Absolutely, just because it's sold door-to-door doesn't mean there's a markup.

The nice young college student who tries to sell you the product is paid initially 10% commission (no pay if you don't buy -- it's contract work; no minimum wage, no employee benefits). That might seem kind of low, but if that dedicated college student builds his or her way up the pyramid, with a lot of hard work the margin will build up to 45%... at which time the young motivator will be directed onto a new route, management. The job of the manager is to recruit new young college students to buy a Cutco knife set and sell themselves out to family and friends. And herein lies the company's main source of income. An unsuccessful salesman will not make any money (but rather, lose money), and Alcas will not have lost anything. A marginally successful salesman who barely breaks even will have profited the company about $1500. And a successful salesman will benefit both, and then go on to recruit more.

The system that the Alcas corporation has set up in Vector Marketing preys on college students to be Cutco's marketing, their demo, and their deal closer all in one, while giving them no benefits, treating them as if they were employees (even though they're legally independent contractors), and paying them marginal commission. On top of it all, they teach them half-truths and a handful of lies to make the products sell better and the contracted students more likely to stick with the program (The kids believe them unless they know better). And finally, they require the students to sell themselves out to their family and friends before selling to anybody else.

The lies go all the way up and down the chain, even to their receptionists. But you can't expect too much else, Vector _is_ a company devoted solely to selling things.

A 1992 study of Vector Wisconsin found the average profit among Vector contracted workers to be less than $3 per day. Almost half of these workers didn't break even.

And then, of the price they charge, Alcas doesn't need to worry about a retailer marking up the price; the profit goes straight to them.

If you wish to buy good knives with an excellent warranty that will be well-suited for kitchen use, but you don't care about the ethics of how it's done, then buy Cutco. While you're at it, buy Ka-Bar too (the company that _used_ to sell the Marine Corps' standard issue knife, now owned also by Alcas Corp.). The USMC now buys bayonets from Ontario Knives.

I'm selling beef jerky at $1 a pound, I guarantee it's tastier than any jerky you've ever had before. I simply force-fed the cow with a feeding tube from birth, then cut the cow open to marinate it while it was still alive, thus giving a fresh, sweet, yet tangy flavor. I swear it's better than any other jerky, and I'm selling it cheaper.

Alcas/Vector/Cutco sells something whose superiority is subjective, sell it as if it's objective, and practice objectionable ethics. If the company does any good to the world, it's teaching college students to be careful. But if I see someone putting up Vector ads on my campus, I'm not afraid to get physical.

Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home