Vector marketing-- Big scam

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: At Vector, virtually nobody ever gets fired, leaving the incompetent almost always weed *themselves* out.

Oops… ironically, I mis-edited that line. Hopefully you still get what I’m saying. ;-)

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: Of course Vector is like McDonald’s. McDonald’s makes a lot of money; so does Vector. McDonald’s keeps a good portion of that money because it has a streamlined business model; so does Vector. McDonald’s’ streamlined business model allows for turnkey solutions and exponential growth; so does Vector’s.

In short, McDonald’s and Vector have one main thing in common: success. Since when is that a bad thing?

Wow Otter, you are the typical Vector type employee... .twist words around and only use the points that defend your arguement.

Yes both companies make a fair amount of money are are considered to be a sucsessull, profitable company.

Now, which company provides paid training? which company provides benefits? how about workmans comp? paid time off?

And also - just curious, who are you to determine if people at McDonalds are incompetent? and if so to what percent? and how it is determined who gets fired?

I worked in HS for 3 years at a McDonalds, and if you knew anything about how scheduling was done, and hiring, a majority of the hours go to the best employees, leaving those who are not as good to weed themselves out.

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: With all due respect, IbysMom, why are you visiting people that already have Cutco? If all you’re saying is that they already have knives, I’m sorry, but I can tell you from years of experience that that’s just not the way it goes. My parents pretty much hate everything I get into,

If Vector’s not for you, fine. It’s not for me, anymore, either. But *please* don’t try to claim that Cutco is just another knife (or pot, or pruner, or whatever), because the facts just don’t bear that out.

Thanks!

Well, I go to present it to people who are my neighbors, and after I've done the presentation, when I ask them if they would like to place an order it's when they tell me they already own Cutco and show me what they have.
They thank me for the presentation, demonstration of the products, and don't order anymore accessories.

I never claimed Cutco was just another knife, I just said people are not going to buy what they already have, be it Cutco products, or other top high quality set of kitchenware.

Just because I'm going to people who happen to think logically, make smart, reasonable choices, I'm being told to now focus on impulsive buyers, and target on people that I know to make a smart choice by buying Cutco, by not buying it they're making a wrong choice.

Also, you do get paid according to them per appointment, per presentation. But, there's also conditions on that. If you show it to a numerous of people and none of them buy, they do not pay you for the presentation anymore and think you need to really push at people into buying even if you say in the demo, we get paid to present it to you, whether you buy or not. Even though subliminally it's saying, buy, buy, buy.....

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: just curious, who are you to determine if people at McDonalds are incompetent? and if so to what percent? and how it is determined who gets fired?

As I said, this was all hypothetical. However, being that I have:
• a brother-in-law that currently works as a McDonald’s store manager;
• a sister-in-law that formerly worked as a McDonald’s store manager
• a brother-in-law that formerly worked as an assistant store manager for McDonald’s
• a brother-in-law that formerly worked as a swing manager for McDonald’s
• a sister-in-law that formerly worked as a crew person at McDonald’s
• a mother-in-law that formerly worked as a crew person at McDonald’s
• several friends that either currently work, or formerly worked, at McDonald’s

…I’d say I’m about as familiar with McDonald’s as a non-employee can be, including the fact that your scheduling argument isn’t quite accurate. From what I’ve seen, the only people that get hours are those that are willing to work 24/7. Anyone that has, oh, I don’t know, a *life* gets put on probation, as a pretense for firing them. You’ll never see Vector doing that kind of thing. (And for the record, I have also worked fast food, by the way—after I worked for Vector, in fact!—just not McDonald’s in particular.)

The bottom line is that when I was a college student contracting for Vector, I made considerably more than my brother-in-law now makes as a store manager for McDonald’s. And guess what: he puts in a lot of “unpaid” time, too. (Just ask the many people that have to babysit his kids.)

Now can we please return to my original argument, which dealt with *hypotheticals*?

IbysMom in Mississauga, Ontario said: Well, I go to present it to people who are my neighbors, and after I've done the presentation, when I ask them if they would like to place an order it's when they tell me they already own Cutco and show me what they have.
They thank me for the presentation, demonstration of the products, and don't order anymore accessories.

Huh. You’d think they’d have mentioned that before then. Whatever, right?

[QUOTE]Also, you do get paid according to them per appointment, per presentation. But, there's also conditions on that. If you show it to a numerous of people and none of them buy, they do not pay you for the presentation anymore
Not sure what you mean by that. I mean, sure, if you’re only showing it to teenagers or homeless people or whatever, you’re right: you won’t get paid for that. But other than that, I’m really not sure where you’re coming from.

[QUOTE]we get paid to present it to you, whether you buy or not. Even though subliminally it's saying, buy, buy, buy.....
This part is absolutely true. But then, that’s what sales is all about, isn’t it? Helping the customer make a purchase?

funny how every single comment by the otter has exactly 1 "yes" for it was helpful.

I fixed that

theotter>No, my customers are not teenagers nor homeless people. They're people within the target age of over 30 years of age, some are even over that age. Still they're not interested in paying that much for kitchenware.
Despite it's high quality and will stay with them in the long run, again they do not want to pay that much whether it's in installments or all upfront.

Now if it was some other product such as a car, fridge, stove, washer or dryer, or jewelry that's an entire different matter as to them that's priority. Kitchenware is not. I just have to find people that are willing to pay that much for it, yet you can't tell from the outside even if they live in a big house and have a good job and cars, it all matters in what they want and need.

IbysMom in Mississauga, Ontario said: [T]hey're not interested in paying that much for kitchenware. … Now if it was some other product such as a car, fridge, stove, washer or dryer, or jewelry that's an entire different matter as to them that's priority. Kitchenware is not. I just have to find people that are willing to pay that much for it, yet you can't tell from the outside even if they live in a big house and have a good job and cars, it all matters in what they want and need.

You’ve got some really good points there, IbysMom. but it sounds like you might be showing your hand a bit. There may be some people out there that can sell a product they don’t believe to be worth the money, but I’m guessing you’re not one of those people, any more than I am. We’re honest, IbysMom, and while that’s an *extremely* good thing, your lack of confidence in the product is probably also the source of your failure to sell it. It’s like one of my managers once pointed out: 10% of the people will buy Cutco, no matter what. 10% of the people *won’t* buy it, no matter what. The other 80% will be influenced by the representative, for good or for bad.

Personally, I think Cutco is *much* higher priority than jewelry, and is probably higher priority than a washer or dryer. You can go to a laundromat, to wash your clothes—goodness knows, I’ve done so—but it’s kind of hard to eat much more than fast food, without a halfway decent set of kitchenware.

Finally, I think it’s interesting that you should point out people that “live in a big house and have a good job and cars.” It’s been my experience that those are exactly the people that *don’t* buy Cutco. People with lots of money generally don’t spend much, plus they usually aren’t even home enough, to benefit from anything Cutco makes. My biggest orders—some upwards of $2,000 each—were to middle-class families that recognized value. The biggest orders I’ve heard of were to Amish families!

Anyway, please let me reiterate that I am *not* claiming it’s a bad thing to not be successful with Vector. It’s not for everybody, probably even more so than most jobs. But when I think back to all the people that I sold Cutco to, in the early to mid-’90s, it makes me chuckle just a bit. Even on my biggest sales, I only made a few hundred bucks—most of which was gone within a matter of days or weeks, spent on God only knows what.

My customers, on the other hand, parted with a few hundred more than that, yet they still have a product that they use on a regular basis—many of them, every day of their lives. That‘s why my wife and I have probably accumulated well over $4,000 worth of Cutco, over the years: it really is that good, and we don’t know what we’d do without it.

Thanks for your comments! :-)

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: funny how every single comment by the otter has exactly 1 "yes" for it was helpful.

True, but they’ve also only been around for what, a day at most? How many people do you think have even read this by now? The fact that even one person found it helpful makes it all worth it! :-)

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: True, but they’ve also only been around for what, a day at most? How many people do you think have even read this by now? The fact that even one person found it helpful makes it all worth it! :-)

Or that you went and clicked it- you are far from original.

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: True, but they’ve also only been around for what, a day at most? How many people do you think have even read this by now? The fact that even one person found it helpful makes it all worth it! :-)

WOW - your new comments are 1 hou old, and yet already helpful... hmmm

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: Anyway, please let me reiterate that I am *not* claiming it’s a bad thing to not be successful with Vector. It’s not for everybody, probably even more so than most jobs. But when I think back to all the people that I sold Cutco to, in the early to mid-’90s, it makes me chuckle just a bit. Even on my biggest sales, I only made a few hundred bucks—most of which was gone within a matter of days or weeks, spent on God only knows what.

My customers, on the other hand, parted with a few hundred more than that, yet they still have a product that they use on a regular basis—many of them, every day of their lives. That‘s why my wife and I have probably accumulated well over $4,000 worth of Cutco, over the years: it really is that good, and we don’t know what we’d do without it.

Thanks for your comments! :-)

TheOtter-

in "defending" vector, you point out exactly why it's not a good place for many people to work.

Can you be sucsessful- YES, are most people - NO

I am glad that you did a decent job and made enough money for what you needed.

BUT there are a lot more stories like Ibysmom of people who do not make it, than of yours.

So if you need a job - and to make money (not be given money, but earn it), the conclusion is there are a lot of better opportunities out there.

It's a risk/reward thing- yes there could be a high reward at Vector, but the risk of making no money is also very high.

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: WOW - your new comments are 1 hou old, and yet already helpful... hmmm

True enough, but my most recent (before this one) hasn’t been clicked at all. It would be pretty lame to just go around, clicking all of my own posts. (Frankly, I’m new to this site and rather surprised that clicking one’s own stuff even works!)

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: Can you be sucsessful- YES, are most people - NO

It's a risk/reward thing- yes there could be a high reward at Vector, but the risk of making no money is also very high.

I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment. I’m just saying that there’s a big difference between a risk/reward situation and a scam. If it were a scam, the risk reward would be 100/0 (or at least, pretty darned close thereto).

Like I said in my previous post, if Vector doesn’t work for you, that‘s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it *does* work for some people, and it *definitely* works for millions of Cutco owners worldwide. If it were a scam, I doubt you’d find that many satisfied customers, five years later, let alone 60.

theotter>We're told to sell it to people that live in big houses and have nice cars, and making lots of money because people with a lot of money will buy Cutco, than people that do not have a lot of money.
They said to target people that have jobs, and the jobs have to be that they're making a lot of money in that, because the higher the jobs the more products they're willing to buy.

IbysMom in Mississauga, Ontario said: theotter>We're told to sell it to people that live in big houses and have nice cars, and making lots of money because people with a lot of money will buy Cutco, than people that do not have a lot of money.
They said to target people that have jobs, and the jobs have to be that they're making a lot of money in that, because the higher the jobs the more products they're willing to buy.

Wow. Either there’s something tremendously different about people in Ontario, or your manager has completely missed the point (and set you up for failure, in the process). Over the course of six years, I worked for five different managers and even more assistant managers. (Yes, I moved around a lot.) In all that time, the only manager I can think of that promoted such methods was a particular assistant that never used leads, just went door to door in rich neighborhoods. As a Field Sales Manager myself, I warned the new branch manager about making him an assistant, and it only took a few weeks for that warning to bear fruit: the assistant was fired, primarily for dishonest business practices.

Cutco is not—and has never been—a product exclusively for the rich. Sure, the occasional rich person does buy it, but some 500 presentations were enough for me to recognize that focusing on the rich was (for me, anyway) an exercise in futility.

HTH!

ETA: By the way, IbysMom: I hope that last post didn’t come off as mean or defensive. Intent is sometimes hard to convey, in plain text, but it was honestly meant to be helpful and non-confrontational.

Thanks again for your comments! :-)

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment. I’m just saying that there’s a big difference between a risk/reward situation and a scam. If it were a scam, the risk reward would be 100/0 (or at least, pretty darned close thereto).

Like I said in my previous post, if Vector doesn’t work for you, that‘s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it *does* work for some people, and it *definitely* works for millions of Cutco owners worldwide. If it were a scam, I doubt you’d find that many satisfied customers, five years later, let alone 60.

Otter- this site is nothing about wether or not it's a quality product. I think most people agree it is, if it's worth the value vs. other high end knives, that's another debate.

I have said before this is not a SCAM. but if sucsess rate is under 10%, probably not a good career move.

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: Otter- this site is nothing about wether or not it's a quality product. I think most people agree it is, if it's worth the value vs. other high end knives, that's another debate.

Touché. I was mainly pointing that out as a related comment, but you’re correct that it’s peripheral to the discussion. Thanks.

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: I have said before this is not a SCAM. but if sucsess rate is under 10%, probably not a good career move.

No, but others have. I apologize if you felt I was lumping you in with them.

To be totally fair, what Vector does is give people that never would have considered a sales position, the opportunity to have one. And as I pointed out, even if you don’t go with the job, some colleges—Purdue University, for example, where I received my degrees—even offer college credit for the training! (Purdue’s is somewhat indirect, but I definitely placed out of at least one class because of it.) As for me, I *definitely* wouldn’t have considered a primarily commission-based, sales position, but look where it got me! I am who I am today, in part, because of Vector.

As always, just my 2¢. Thanks again! :-)

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: Otter- this site is nothing about wether or not it's a quality product. I think most people agree it is, if it's worth the value vs. other high end knives, that's another debate.

I have said before this is not a SCAM. but if sucsess rate is under 10%, probably not a good career move.

Guy, some 95% of new businesses FAIL within their first FIVE years...does that make starting your own business a bad career move? By your logic yes but if there weren't people who would be willing to go against the odds because they have the OPPORTUNITY to make more, then people like yourself looking for the safer option, wouldn't even have jobs to apply for. NO BUSINESS OWNER gets paid for workman's comp or insurance or any of that, but talk to the successful business owner and they don't care at all because they are still profiting more money...

MarMan in Warsaw, Indiana said: Guy, some 95% of new businesses FAIL within their first FIVE years...does that make starting your own business a bad career move? By your logic yes but if there weren't people who would be willing to go against the odds because they have the OPPORTUNITY to make more, then people like yourself looking for the safer option, wouldn't even have jobs to apply for. NO BUSINESS OWNER gets paid for workman's comp or insurance or any of that, but talk to the successful business owner and they don't care at all because they are still profiting more money...

1. Please state yor source. Where did you get that 95% of all new business fail within the first 5 years? I can throw out numbers too without any sources.

2. Once again- AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR FOR CUTCO you are NOT A BUSINESS OWNER. Please stop with this inacurate analogy.

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: 1. Please state yor source. Where did you get that 95% of all new business fail within the first 5 years? I can throw out numbers too without any sources.

2. Once again- AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR FOR CUTCO you are NOT A BUSINESS OWNER. Please stop with this inacurate analogy.

I wasn't saying that an independent contractor for Cutco was a Business owner...I was saying that business owners don't get that stuff either and their path isn't that bad...let me work on the source, I read a lot of stuff and I honestly have no idea what article it was from.

I reread your post. Plenty of business owners get paid for workman's comp and insurance.

if I am the owner of lets say a 200 person company. Yes as a company I pay into the workmans comp, and for the insurance plan.

But I also draw a salary, and as part of that, I am also covered under workmans comp, and get the same insurance plans as the rest of my employees.

Once again, you have spoken without knowledge.

Guy in Ohio in Cleveland, Ohio said: I reread your post. Plenty of business owners get paid for workman's comp and insurance.

Good point, Guy. However, very *very* few people that go into business for themselves will have such benefits, at the beginning. As a small business owner myself, I can *definitely* attest to that.

MarMan definitely misspoke, but I think, from the context, that he was talking about the initial stages of business ownership. These initial stages often involves sole proprietorship, and in such cases, are actually *quite* similar to Vector’s entry-level positions.

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: These initial stages often involves….

*These initial stages often *involve*. Dang lack of editing…. :-P

theOtter in Lafayette, Indiana said: Good point, Guy. However, very *very* few people that go into business for themselves will have such benefits, at the beginning. As a small business owner myself, I can *definitely* attest to that.

MarMan definitely misspoke, but I think, from the context, that he was talking about the initial stages of business ownership. These initial stages often involves sole proprietorship, and in such cases, are actually *quite* similar to Vector’s entry-level positions.

Please let marman speak (or mispeak) for himself. In the past many pages, he has made points that were far from true in the past.

A person starting their own business if often well funded, with a business plan, and possible investors. They also sometimes plan for months before they make a profit.

People signing up for vector more times than not are looking for a job to make money.

ONCE AGAIN - PLEASE STOP COMPARING BUSINESS OWNERS TO VECTOR EMPLOYEES

MarMan in Warsaw, Indiana said: I wasn't saying that an independent contractor for Cutco was a Business owner...I was saying that business owners don't get that stuff either and their path isn't that bad...let me work on the source, I read a lot of stuff and I honestly have no idea what article it was from.

answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/418119.html

Here is a site with a few links. yes, one source says up to 95% as you mentioned, but others say it's much much less.

its not technically a scam but its wrong. i went to the interview and training technically i work there....not really....im not going back having checks flashed in your face and so much bullsh*t coming out of the managers mouth. stay away from vector yea cutco knives are nice but dont try to sell them. its a waste of time, money, energy, and gas. and definitely dont spend money on to make them money think about it $1000 for knives...i think would rather spend that money on something better. but they will continue to get students to believe their crap and take their money.

pasqual13 in Kaysville, Utah said: think about it $1000 for knives...i think would rather spend that money on something better. but they will continue to get students to believe their crap and take their money.

With all due respect, pasqual, I’ve spent a *lot* more than $1,000 on Cutco, over the years—probably more like $4,000?—and I don’t regret a single purchase. They’re *well* worth the money, and as a Christian, there’s no way I could have helped so many others purchase their own.

The fact of the matter is, pasqual, it’s kind of hard to find something better than knives, to spend $1,000 on. A house? Sure. A car? Most likely, but I guarantee it’s not going to last as long as your Cutco. A computer? Again, definitely worth a grand, but it’ll probably last about as long as your car, at best. The beauty of Cutco is that I bought the great majority of what I own, 15+ years ago, and my wife and I still use it on a daily basis—usually multiple times per day. Unless everything you eat comes ready to eat, knives are a necessity, and a truly sharp knife that you’ll never have to replace is just good sense (as is spending $1,000 on knives instead of an extra $100,000 on a lifetime of convenience food). ;-)

As always, my 2¢.

I was walking on campus and saw an ad that noted "workforstudents" and ive been dying for a job since i moved up to ft myers. so i got home and went online. and i swear, 10 minutes after i clicked apply, i got a phone call telling me there was an opening at 4:15. so im on my way to this interview and i have absolutely no idea what vector marketing is but i found out and i was actually very interested because im a business major in college. but as i walk in, i feel like i dont belong because i was probably the youngest in the room. but i went thru with it anyways, i went thru the pre screening and was sent to another interview and was given the details everyone knows about: unpaid training, appointments, incentive, commision, etc. but it all seemed very legit at firt.

eventually i realze what going on, and i must say, the people running this company are smart cuz it works on kids. fortunately, i was one of the few kids that opened my eyes and said no. i attended two of the three training sessions and decided not to go back.

its not that vector is a scam, but i believe that its just what i like to call "an americanized sweatshop". they pay money to do a job that is worth much more. but usually, students are a little more desperate for cash and become blind sighted. they keep it all in the u.s. they pay reps what seems like a fair payment, but truly, you have to work your ass off to get the pay you really deserve. now im not saying that this isnt a great opportunity to learn, because it is. but all im saying is that know what youre getting yourself.

i would NOT recommend working for vector marketing at all.

NBassett in Fort Myers, Florida said: I was walking on campus and saw an ad that noted…

Thanks for a level-headed response, NBassett. While I don’t agree with your assessment of the remuneration—my first summer with Vector, I worked a *lot* fewer hours than my friends working other jobs, and wound up with about the same money to show for it—I appreciate that you were able to express your opinion without resorting to name-calling, or whatever.

Peace!

i got your back. ive been working for vector for 4 monthes now, and im a full-time student going for a double major. Ive already recieved 4 promotions and on my way to manager candidate. its hard work, but its all worth in the end.

Here's a link to literally THOUSANDS of reviews of this company:

www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?vector

Take a look and you'll see the obvious patterns of deception!

shan in Nolensville, Tennessee said: Yeah right you must be one of the people trying to hire folks to do this so called business. Isn't it funny how you are the only one that says something good about it. Makes people think. Read the other post. I am not the only one that knows about how this company is a HUGE SCAM!!!! Come on folks how real is it that you made 50k in one year. Like I said you are the one that's probably trying to hire people for this business wasting their time. Misleading them in the ads and everything else. Don't be pulled into the lies folks it's just not true and it just isn't going to work like that. I don't care where you live and who you know and what you do, the only ones that profit are the ones in the ownership of the business. Of course unless you invest in this scam and find some old couple that has nothing better to do with their money and falls for the tired sales pitch and pay for some knives that cost an arm and a leg. I don't even think it's too many of those people left. Just be prepared to go door to door knocking, begging and trying to sell. How about that!!!!!!

sorry buddy but your totally in the wrong here vector marketing is NOT a scam as long as your willing to invest time and a small amount of money considering the price of the knives you get in your demo kit are worth alot more than you really paid you just have to be willing to work,like one item in your kit is worth what u actually paid for the whole set..... Obviously the point of being a sales rep is to sell, but you dont wanna have to pressure a customer into buying something ever it makes them feel like theyre being forced to buy something.... Lots of ppl tht say vector is a scam is people who never even tried ....who never finished training....or people that jus love to follow peoples crap...

shan in Nolensville, Tennessee said: Yeah right you must be one of the people trying to hire folks to do this so called business. Isn't it funny how you are the only one that says something good about it. Makes people think. Read the other post. I am not the only one that knows about how this company is a HUGE SCAM!!!! Come on folks how real is it that you made 50k in one year. Like I said you are the one that's probably trying to hire people for this business wasting their time. Misleading them in the ads and everything else. Don't be pulled into the lies folks it's just not true and it just isn't going to work like that. I don't care where you live and who you know and what you do, the only ones that profit are the ones in the ownership of the business. Of course unless you invest in this scam and find some old couple that has nothing better to do with their money and falls for the tired sales pitch and pay for some knives that cost an arm and a leg. I don't even think it's too many of those people left. Just be prepared to go door to door knocking, begging and trying to sell. How about that!!!!!!

And im not jus some random person saying this i work for vector not has a hiring agent not has a manager im a sales rep and i can tell u vector is a very planned way to sell they've had this set up for years clearly if u even took the time to look into it and lots of places you will have to invest in....In clothing stores for you to work on the floor you need to buy an item from the company for advertising same as vector...you need to buy your demo set to do demonstrations .... theyre not gunna give u 400$ worth of knives just to leave the company