Once or twice a year during my childhood, most of which took place during the '90s, one of my mom's friends would excitedly tell her about a new business endeavor, which inevitably meant my mom would host a party at our house, provide finger foods and punch, and invite her other friends to come see what's for sale this time. Throw in a few last minute cancellations, and pressure for those who did in fact attend to purchase at least one product, and you've got yourself a proper Tupperware* party.
Or, as my dad lovingly referred to them: A Rape Your Friends Party**.
Today, the company names have changed, but the pyramid scheme, take-advantage-of-your-social-network concept remains the same. Stella & Dot. Scentsy. Origami Owl. Passion Parties. Thirty-One. And my own personal favorite, Rodan + Fields.
Let's spend some time on Rodan + Fields...
I am, to some, a beauty product junkie. I'm a Birchbox subscriber, and I can't leave Ulta without spending $100. (ULTA : ME :: TARGET : STAY-AT-HOME MOMS) So when I was first invited to a Rodan + Fields party, I was intrigued. The party was on a weeknight at a friend's house back home, so I couldn't attend in person. Instead, I asked the R+F consultant to let me browse the website; maybe I'd purchase something anyway (and in typical female guilt fashion, I wanted to be sure that if I did in fact buy something, my hostess friend would get credit toward whatever discount/free shit she could get out of dragging her friends to her party).
I'll just cut to the chase here and say I was disappointed to find that the skin care line I was interested in purchasing was $193.00. I have easy skin. It's combination, but easy to manage. Now that I'm in my late twenties, I get maybe ten pimples per year. I use drugstore products to remove my makeup, clean my face, and moisturize. So I decided to ask a friend who uses R+F before I committed that much money to a new skincare regimen. Here's how that went:
Me: Hey, do you like your Rodan + Fields products? I'm thinking about buying something but I don't usually spend that much on skincare.
Friend: I liked it at first, but I'm not totally sold. You actually just reminded me that I want to cancel my subscription.
Me: SUBSCRIPTION?!?!?!
Seriously. As it turns out, the product I was interested in would cost me $193 per MONTH. (Or maybe it was every two months. But, either way! Wow.) Dollar amount conveniently deducted from my checking account and product delivered to my door step.
After I collected my jaw from the floor, I sent the R+F consultant an email and politely/succinctly declined. But I have so many unanswered questions about this nonsense! How did someone convince her that this was a lucrative business opportunity? Does she actually have friends that can afford to pay that much for skin care? If so, where did they meet their rich husbands? (...I'm half kidding.) If people are willing to pay that much for skin care, should they consult with an actual dermatologist first? Or at least a licensed esthetician?
Side note to anyone who might be tempted to defend Rodan + Fields: I am not questioning the quality of the company's product offerings. I'm sure the products are lovely, and I am aware that Ms. Rodan and Ms. Fields are practicing dermatologists. I am speaking to the company's marketing and business model. And price point. Because I'm
I could go on forever about how Facebook has made this worse for my generation that it ever was for my mother, but I'll stop here. My point is, even though my sample size is limited and my observations are strictly qualitative, I can only think of one person who has made a respectable living as a salesperson for one of these businesses. She was an acquaintance of my mom, and she was not exactly well-liked.
Thankfully, all of my friends have real jobs.
*Other '90s substitutions: Creative Memories, Pampered Chef, PartyLite, Mary Kay, etc.
**My dad is kind and generous and ultra conservative. He would be appalled if he knew I tell people this story because he cares too much about what other people think, but it's one of the funniest things I've ever heard him say, so I'm sharing it.
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