Vector Marketing Or Cutco Selling knives, not what you think it is! CULT-like organization! Paramus New Jersey
I went to Vector Marketing a few years back after getting a direct mailing saying they are looking for college students for great business opportunities. "Make big money!", (Red Flag #1) "Anyone can do it!", etc. Trust me, if it was that easy, EVERYONE WOULD DO IT.
I was talked into a 7:30 apointment (Red Flag #2)- who makes night time apointments?! I went down there, and low and behold the place was a mess... torn carpeting, plastic chairs in the middle of the room, papers everywhere and paint chipped walls. Obviously no one took care of this place and they did not care how it looked - it was a testament to how many people went out as quickly as they came in. (Red Flag #3)
So I sat through their meeting, then another meeting, then met at a hotel one weekend for yet another meeting. Now here comes the scam. See they want you to sell knives, Cutco brand knives. And everyone who sells them gets a set - but you have to give them a deposit for your set of like 110 dollars or something - (BAM! they just made money off you!) (Red Flag #4!)
Now here's the second part of the scam - you have to make your own contacts to sell the knives. "Everyone here knows 10 people, right?" - so you make a list of 10 people and bring it in the next time. You're basically selling out your friends and family for Cutco. And you do keep a percentage of what you sell, but think about it. At what price?
I didn't even get through my first real sales pitch when I realized "What the heck am I doing, this sucks - and I am not doing this!" I promptly gave brought back my stuff and asked for my deposit back - that's when the CULT came out. They said I obviously wasn't one of them, and they were disappointed. 2 of the managers that had been shooting the s**t with me and asking me about college and my girlfriend suddenly gave me dirty looks and stares.
I am so glad I didn't do it, and please - if you got this in the mail or went to one of the meetings or even have that stupid 100 dollar set of knives - bring them back, stop going and shred that letter!!!
John
Norwalk, Connecticut
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Morgan
Spring,Texas,
U.S.A.
READ ME!!! CUTCO SCAM!!!
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, March 05, 2005
DON'T DO IT, RUN!!!!! I DID IT YEARS AGO IT'S A HUGE SCAM THEIR PRODUCTS ARE MINIMALLY ADEQUATE RENDITIONS OF HENKELS (AND I CAN SAY THIS BECAUSE I WORKED FOR THEM YEARS AGO AND MY KNIVES ARE JUST OK) ONCE YOU SURPASS EITHER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN SALES OR GO ON TEN APPOINTMENTS THEN YOUR HAVE JUST BROKEN EVEN.
BUT HEY YOU HAVE A REALLY NICE EXPENSIVE MISMATCHED SET OF KNIVES, SCORE!! THE BOTTOM LINE IS THEY ARE SHADY!
I SOLD THOUSANDS IN CUTCO AND JUST BROKE EVEN THINK ABOUT ALL THE TIME YOU PUT INTO THE COLD CALLING, GAS MONEY, SALES MEETINGS, STUDYING YOUR IN HOME ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING FRIENDS AND FAMILY (BECAUSE THEY THINK IT'S A WAY FOR YOU TO GAIN SALES EXPERIENCE FOR SCHOOL), AND HELLLOOOOO YOU ARE A TELEMARKTER! FIRST YOU DO START OUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BUT THEN IT'S FRIENDS OF FRIENDS OF YOUR FREINDS FAMILY.... STRANGERS!
I ALSO HAD TO EVENTUALLY HAVE FAMILY COME WITH ME TO THEIR OFFICE (1 HR AWAY) AND EVEN THREATEN LEGAL ACTION JUST TO GET WHAT I WAS DUE, THEY LIKE TO NOT PAY YOU ANOTHER FINE FLAW. OH AND THEIR "SCHOLARSHIPS" YOU GET $250 WORTH OF FREE CUTCO, YOU CAN THEN SLIT YOUR WRISTS AND SELL YOUR BLOOD FOR MONEY FOR SCHOOL.
Colin
Cleveland Hts.,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Vector Veteran responding to the confused and cynical
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, February 20, 2005
I worked as an independent contractor for Vector for two summers and sold over $10,000 worth of knives (yeah, it sounds stupid, but I learned more about people, selling, perseverence and marketing than most business majors learn in College).
Your comments are a fair account of your perception of how it works in Vector, but you just didn't get the point.
It is true that anyone can do it, but noone ever said it was EASY. It's hard to call strangers and ask them to help you with your summer job to put you through school, it's hard to motivate yourself to put in the time and effort you need to in order to be successful at the job. Noone is babying you or looking over your shoulder, but you have great support from managers and other sales reps.
Why do you think it's selling out your friends and family? I sold Cutco to almost every family friend we have, and every single time they see me, they all say the same thing: "I love my knives! They work so well! Cooking is so much more fun! My favorite is the __________ one!" I have never recieved negative feedback from a customer that purchased Cutco.
As for the "cult"-like properties you said you witnessed, that does suck. The managers were dissapointed because they believe in what they are doing, and didn't want to see you go, but they should not have pressured you or chastized you for leaving, that's shady. And so is the delapidated office, I don't blame you for being wierded out by that.
Finally, the sample set that you buy at the end of training for a little over $100 is not ripoff, and they do not make money on those. They actually slash all of the markup and give you than sample set for about 1/4 the retail cost. Then you can either sell the knives in there, and make a 400% profit from the purchase, or just keep them and use great knives that are guaranteed forever for the rest of your life. I have the full set of Cutco, plus several accessories, most of which I never paid for--I earned them as gifts for working hard and doing my job.
I am sorry you had a negative experience with them during the interview process but I don't think you ever gave it a chance, since you were cynical and skeptical from the moment you got the letter.
I am so glad I DID do it, and if anyone wants to know more about Vector, find an office and go through the free training (you don't have the buy the sample set until the end, and you can always just leave). You'll learn something about marketing and sales, and you'll see that they are not a cult and they are not into ripping off College students.