No $300 Profit for Chelsea Claytor
Another unsurprising instance of lying about profits by a Mary Kay sales director. This time we have Chelsea Claytor saying she “played in makeup and ate cookies and cupcakes” and “made $300 profit.” False earnings claims again.
Chelsea uses Mary Kay Math to get to her numbers. If you do real math, she did not profit $300.
If you add up the totals (products, less discounts, plus sales tax) on the sales slips she shows, it comes to $601. Take 50% of that (from the “we make 50% of what we sell” line that is always parroted), and she magically “made” $300.
But she didn’t make that much. The gross sales on her sales slips are $567 before sales tax. The first question is whether those sales figures were at full suggested retail. If so, she would have 50% gross profit before other expenses. If she gave any discounts, her gross profit is less. But let’s assume that she sold everything for full price. In this case, her gross profit is $284.
Then you have to subtract all of the other expenses for the day. She’s got the cost of the cookies, cupcakes, refreshments, and dinnerware. I’d guess that’s between $10 and $20.
There are the samples and demo products she used. Let’s call that another $10. There are the hostess gifts she gave in order to get the hostess to bring three guests to the parties. The cost of the hostess gift is probably at least $25.
So on the conservative end of the estimates, Chelsea has at least $45 in costs for the day. Her “profit” of $300 for the day is now down to $239. (But is probably less than that because the supplies cost more than I’ve estimated and she’s probably discounted some products that were sold.)
Fine. She’ll say …. “But that’s for two hours of work! Where can you work and make over $100 per hour?”
That wasn’t for two hours of work. There are hours that go on behind the scenes trying to get people to book and hold parties, getting to the parties, setting up, cleaning up after, etc. She’s got at least 4 hours into THIS party, and many other hours into trying to book other parties that never materialized.
But she’s still making money??!!?!?!?!?!?!
Yes, sort of. She’s got thousands and thousands of dollars of products sitting at home from when she bought her way into the pink Cadillac. This little sale of $284 wholesale value doesn’t even put a dent in that massive stockpile. The credit card interest alone has to be eating her alive. (And don’t forget that she’s not making Cadillac production. She took the cash compensation and leased a pink Cadillac on her own, but is now getting less than the $900 cash compensation per month than she was hoping for since her unit isn’t making production.)
There is very little money to be made by actually selling Mary Kay products. This Cadillac director proves it.
Visit the
If I were to attend one of these parties, and assuming she’s not discounting, here’s what I would say:
“I’m sure you have a lot of “inventory” at home that you bought to qualify for something, so I’ll tell you what. I’ll take some of the product that I want off your hands, but I’ll only pay your cost of 50% off. If you rather not do this, I’ll just sign up as a PUC or buy it elsewhere. I mean, if I’m placing a $300 order, that’s a $150 savings. That is enough money for me to go through the trouble of shopping for the discount.” (Oh the inherent flaws of MLM)
Anyone who pays these consultomers double retail is getting ripped off! Excluding all grandmas for the gift a charity to their grandchildren. That’s sweet, but let’s hope they’re wealthy grandmas and not spending their medicine and food money. That’s just disgusting and elder abuse.
Except that you can’t buy $300 and get $150 off.
You don’t get the 50% off discount until you buy the “qualifying” quota of $450 “retail”/ $225 “wholesale” plus tax on $450 (about $42) plus shipping.
And that’s after you buy the $100 starter kit.
In my example, I suppose I should’ve technically used the numbers $450 and $225. Of course, there’s that other option of buying it on eBay/elsewhere mentioned too. In general, the point is that you don’t ever have to pay double price, and you’re silly if you do.
Simply put, offer to pay 50% off retail. If she doesn’t accept, don’t buy. I have a sneaky suspicion she will be looking to either unload product, or need orders for “production”, and accept. If she doesn’t, good riddance.
No, I don’t ever recommend buying any MLM product. This is specifically addressing the party scenario and how to get the best price if you plan to buy.
My point is that new consultants think just spending $100 for the starter kit means they can make small personal purchases at the “50% off” price.
Not true. They have to spend about $400 in real money to get that “50% off” and probably buy a lot of makeup they’ll never use to get their orders that high.
The MLM “pay to play” scenario. Why can’t they see it?
“It’s only $X to start!” Yes, but it will cost you MUCH more to continue! Funny how that part is left out. Like, oh, you need to order a minimum of $X every month or quarter to get your discount, or those “free” products and credits, or to qualify to collect your commissions and bonuses.
The Universe wants you to put your blinders on, ignore the haters, and SPEND!
How did she “lease” a pink Caddy if she took cash comp because of her driving record? I didn’t think she could lease a pink car?
The car she leased was a two-year-old one turned in by another director. She was allowed to lease it because she made unit qualification (at the eleventh hour, by some “miracle” that likely maxed out all of her credit cards). MK wouldn’t lease it for her because she had too many driving violations, per corporate policy.
I can’t help but wonder how high her insurance must be on such an expensive car, with her poor driving record. Yet another hefty expense for her trophy on wheels.
In the new Applause, her unit did less than $18,000 wholesale in November. Her commission check was < $6,000.
Source: Pages 15-16, March 2020 Applause
Indeed. Likely FAR less than $18,000.
I’ve seen so many TOP directors implode and quit MK as of late. The number one Director (earned her Caddy during DIQ) from my debuting class quit after about 2-3 years, several TOP Cadillac Directors from Leah Lauchlan’s area are gone, plus Michelle Cunningham, Kelly Brock, who else am I missing? Corp is terminating Top Directors. Even the Million Dollar Director from a few years ago terminated also. They are either terminated or figure they will cut there losses and jump off the hamster wheel.
Also It’s just like DIQ motto……she will either be in ( As make Director) or out (as in quit)
I bet if we check back July 2022, Ali Zornes and Chelsea Claytor will either have done well or most likely quit completely
Ali will be with Mary Kay til they force her to retire at 65 ?
Which Million dollar Director quit/got terminated?
Dawn Barton? She left shortly after doing the million because God told her to write a book. I think she had to leave MK, she was really capitalizing on the “how I did a million” to draw people into her book promotion.
Yes, that is who I was speaking about. I think she capitalized on the book but also no one that is a Top Million Dollar Director is going to “mysteriously vanish” and quit.
One month in June earned 30K commission then pretty much disappears from Applause. She most likely got kicked out. Even like Michelle C…..still at the top of her game and if they didn’t terminate her I guarantee she would still be milking it!
I was still in MK then and I really liked Dawn Barton (I’ve never met her), she was funny and seemed like she was normal. Until the whole “God told me to write a book” thing, but even she said it sounded nuts. It’s really hard to believe she went from being million dollar unit to willingly quitting all of a sudden, therefore not having her pink Cadillac anymore and having to rely on her husband.
Does anyone know if her unit actually sold a large amount of product? I can’t remember the exact number, but she had a small unit compared to others who do a million. I wonder if all the ladies have huge amounts of inventory in their spare rooms while Dawn was using hers to write that book. Lol.
I thought she just did Trip, but I definitely remember her being a Helou Director.
Morale of the story: Just because we drove Cadillacs doesn’t mean we weren’t secretly fed up.
Gag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdZZeEj7wOM
I’m sure their basements are full of inventory. Plus most of it is discontinued since 2017.
I have an abundance of now obsolete merchandise. What a waste! It makes me mad everytime I look at it and I can’t send it back.
These women like Kelly Brock and Dawn Barton are full of crap when they say they voluntarily left. Sure, MK may have said “we’ll give the opportunity to leave so you can say it was your choice,” but you know they didn’t just say to hell with commission checks of $10k, $20k, etc per month. Dawn’s going to make very little money on this book. She’s acting like it’s going to be a best seller, but it’s an insignificant book that will pay her little. She didn’t choose to go focus on that.
There is nothing in Mary Kay that can withstand the light of day.
Seeing things through rose colored glasses. All of mlm and MK means being in denial. Make a $300.00 sale and forget reality. Cost of gas, giveaways, discounts, time, coffee etc. Deluding yourself works initially. It works because we cannot fathom the depth of depravity an mlm of 50 years can reach. It began with find a way or make a way. After decades of desperation women convinced themselves that MK just had to be real. MK herself was so successful. She’s part of the mythology. Those NSD emeritus can’t be misrepresenting this cult. After all they got in on the ground floor of this pyramid scheme. They drive luxury cars, wear tons of make up and jewelry. They go on fabulous trips, hold conferences and win trips. All those amazing rags to riches I stories. How could all of that be fabricated? Sadly it all is. Start to finish for thousands of women it’s been a pointless financial abuse. Women were conned into pursuing: some kind of MK Pink Mission, wealth, the sisterhood, reaching out and helping others etc. Unfortunately only a few NSD’s from the 1970’s and heirs have profited. The rest of us have been used. Unfortunately our financial exploitation is their make a way.
“If she gave any discounts”
They always give discounts, freebies, BOGO, etc. They are taught to do this right from Day One. And once they do, the customer expects it all the time.
So true, Enorth!
There was a video Cindy Williams posted a few years ago about tips for selling the Repair Set. She said she gives away another bottle of the serum because that’s the first to run out and encouraged others to do the same. That stuff is pricey! Annnd, good luck if you don’t do it and another person does and your customer gets wind about it.
Everyone expects a discount, especially friends and family!
LOL I love it.