Mary Kay Destination Red Cruise
Let’s talk about this cruise that Mary Kay is offering to consultants in 2019. It’s a cruise to the Bahamas October 7 to 11, and when you qualify, you get to bring someone along. The cruise is on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, leaving out of Miami. The current cost if you just book yourself a room directly with Royal Caribbean is $491 per person (double occupancy) for the least expensive room (an interior). Mary Kay is also covering base airfare (no baggage or other fees, though). Consultants can take a “cash option” of $1,500 if they don’t want the cruise.
To get this incentive, you have to purchase $3,600 of inventory in the first 6 months of 2019. You also have to recruit 6 new consultants who order at least $600 each in the same time period. (During January, qualified recruits counted as double, so you only needed to recruit 3 in January to meet this one.) Three of your recruits must also become “star team builders” for the first time during this period, which means at the end of a month, she has 3 active recruits. How much inventory is being sold to get this incentive:
- Winning consultant $3,600
- 6 recruits x $600 = $3,600
- 3 star team builders x 3 active x $225 = $2,025
- TOTAL = $9,225
Those total inventory orders of $9,225 are the minimum the company will receive as a result of this promotion. There will likely be other orders placed under the winning consultant as various recruits of hers go active and inactive, trying to achieve the goal.
So Mary Kay Inc. benefits to the tune of $9,225. They don’t actually pay $1,000 for the rooms. They get a discount because they’re buying in bulk. But even if they pay something on the order of $750 for a room, that’s only about 8% of the total they see coming in (at a minimum) from all this activity. MK can’t lose with this promotion.
The fine print:
- You can’t bring along a consultant or director in MK. So if you don’t have a spouse or significant other, don’t try to bring the friend or aunt that you signed up to round out your numbers.
- You pay for your drinks and your excursions. Mary Kay is covering the base cost of your room only.
All in all, it’s a better prize than they usually offer to consultants. We’re used to dollar store trinkets and dirty diamonds (for the “big” prizes at Seminar.) I can’t help but think promotions like this are evil genius. There are all sorts of consultants who will try and fail. The company gets all the money from the inventory orders, but doesn’t have to provide a prize. This is a well-oiled machine. I bet they can predict with 90% accuracy exactly how much of a bump in production they will get from this and how many prizes they will actually have to give out.
Another tidbit: Rumor had it that around the end of April, only 45 people had qualified for the cruise. That’s out of something like 500,000 consultants in the U.S. That’s pretty sad.
Visit the
Airfare to/from Miami *is* included.
MK will not pay airline baggage fees.
MK will not pay for transportation from your home to the airport.
You’ll need a passport, so factor in time and money if you don’t have one.
I stand corrected and I’ll fix it. Do you have any docs with the details?
I don’t. Just info gleaned from videos and flyers.
Also:
— If you earn the cruise, you can choose the cash option instead: $1,500
— The sales force member will receive a 1099 for the entire amount of travel expenses for the sales force and the guest.
About the passport, MS Navigator of the Seas is registered in the Bahamas, not the US. Anyone know how Bahamas financial law treats MLMs?
All I found was http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/aug/25/video-chaos-hundreds-demand-refunds-pineapple-expr/ (and https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/11/09/what-is-an-asue/ for comparison).
About the passport:
When traveling by AIR from the Bahamas, all US citizens must provide a valid US passport to enter or re-enter the states. Citizens traveling TO the Bahamas on short trips for tourist or business purposes do not require a visa.
So add the cost of the passport to the cruise, if you want to leave the ship.
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at time of entry.
BLANK PASSPORT PAGES: Two pages are required for entry stamp.
TOURIST VISA REQUIRED: No.
For the car program MK offers a cash option that’s about half of the car lease supposed value. If the cash option for the cruise is $1.500 I wonder what those cruise 1099s are going to say.
Oh yes, October is at the peak of the hurricane season. Matthew, Maria, Irma and Michael all hit in late September or October. Enjoy your trip, ladies.
I live in South Florida so rhe first thing that came to mind was HURRICANE SEASON! ??
You are just so rude Good lord
Scamming ladies for thousands of dollars in a pyramid scheme to profit is so far beyond “rude” that you are in no position to judge. Plus, MLM Radar stating facts about hurricane season isn’t rude. Not wishing a ship of con artists a good time perpetuating their scheme is appropriate. Of course, no one here wishes physical harm on anyone; but financial harm on shysters is another story. A bit of discomfort would be nice too!
So, you haven’t even finished your Mini Cooper, yet I bet you say you make an executive income. I was a Director, too, and the numbers don’t lie. $75,000 over 6 months is FAR from “executive”. Please tell me you haven’t uttered those words to your unit or to any prospective recruits. Please tell me you’re honest and admit you gross about $3,000/month in commissions and keep way less than that.
Honesty is the ONLY policy accepted on here.
Lol also how did taking goodie bags to jury duty work out for you Wendy?
Oh my gosh, please tell me this is a real thing LOL I thought I was surprised at nurses and hospitals! All these warm chatting opportunities make it seem so pathetic and desperate. If this is considered ‘working hard at my business’, I’d rather not be in this “business” at all.
Please don’t take this as an insult; I see how it’s so easy to get indoctrinated. But was there ever embarrassment in this? Or are you so deep in it that nothing ever seems inappropriate? I have seen some youtube “scripts”, and I could never morally do things that include outright lying to random people.
Wendy, you haven’t responded. $36,000/year gross commissions aren’t “executive income”, are they??
When the 1099 includes $1500 for “winning” the cruise, it’s costing you approx. $500 in taxes. That’s NOT FREE.
Precisely why it’s much better to take the cash option. You still pay the $500 in taxes, but you have $1,000 left in your pocket when all is said and done.
The cash option is $1,500, but MK’s cash option has historically been half of the “prize worth” amount. So I’m thinking the 1099 for the women who actually take the trip will say something more like $3,000.
Remember, the trip is for you and guest, but the cash option is just for you. Also, MK always makes a profit on prizes
Of course MK won’t come right out and say that. You’ll find out next January when that 1099 arrives. Surprise!
This trip was supposed to be later this week. My comment about hurricane season was considered rude by some drive by troll but alas, a hurricane has hit and pretty much leveled the Bahamas. I imagine Mary Kay will be paying out the cash equivalent to whomever qualified.
No, it’s a month from now. Royal Caribbean will still have the cruise, they’ll simply go to different ports.
Whoops! It is a month away!
If you earn the trip, you select whether you want the trip or the cash.
Once you select the trip, your travel arrangements are made and you cannot change your mind to the cash option.
— “Cancellations after registration will result in the forfeiture of the cash option.”
I saw that. Makes sense, because once you choose the trip, MK will confirm the reservation with RCL to lock in the room and the rate.
And also make airline reservations for you and your guest.
“When the 1099 includes $1500 for “winning” the cruise, it’s costing you approx. $500 in taxes.”
So you spend $3600 in product ordfers AND then have to PAY $500 more in taxes?
Yes! Taxes on all our prizes. I hated it!
Doesn’t it work like that with all cash prizes as they count as income?
At least with the cash you have something real.
When you take the prize instead, Mary Kay sticks you with an IRS Form 1099 that claims your income included the value of your prize. It makes a nice tax deduction for Mary Kay Corporate, because they subtract the total of all those 1099s as business expenses.
But as for you, surprise! You don’t get a statement detail showing that the 1099 is supported by anything except Mary Kay’s own inflated estimate of what the prize is supposedly worth. But you get stuck paying taxes on that dollar amount.
If you don’t think that 1099 figure is inflated for a Mary Kays own benefit, just ask anyone who ever tried to sell a Mary Kay prize ring. You’re told it’s “valued at over $800!” You pay tax on $800. Then you find out it’s really just dirty spit diamond scraps and junk gold worth maybe $100.
Yes, but these are tangible items that are taxed and even subtracted from inventory refunds. Any item we received was counted as income on our tax form.
I feel sorry for ALL the Non-MK people on this boat…. but on the flip side… they will be over exposed to the crazy that is all MK people.
I remember going to Hawaii for my 10th anniversary. My husband and I were so excited to go on vacation for the 1st time without the kids, etc… looking forward to a real relaxing time. Unfortunately- we had a MLM trip on our flight… Party Lite Candles…. SO MANY OBNOXIOUS WOMEN! Sadly… it reminded me of MK (which I was heavily still working)… but I never put 2 & 2 together.. as that is how the outside world viewed me when I was with my MK friends.
God help those non-MK people who paid good money to go on a relaxing vacation.. and they get stuck with all that. Ugh.
I wonder if I could get a cheap deal with RC if I mention that I know MK nut jobs will be on the ship? LOL
That sounds like a lot of product to line your shelves as well as your recruits. You’re better off just booking a cruise and enjoying BEFORE hurricane season.
I have been on many better vacations with my husband and adult children. In the end in MK, I figured out that those trips, cars, jewelry etc. were all low end bribes. (With a catch). It’s like the MK cult indoctrinates us into chasing that pot of gold. Like a gambling addiction, we spend time, money and energy for that NSD prize. Sadly this NSD lottery is a long shot. Worst is the amount of debt most MK women get themselves into. By the time we pay for the kit, the samples, the gas, the clothes, the fake training, the Open Houses along with decor, coffee etc., the conferences, Seminar and inventory etc. our meager earnings dwindle and debt ensues.
Surely this cruise aren’t all full of desperate scammers? I feel awful if regular people just wanted to go on a nice vacation only to be harassed the entire time.
*isn’t.
But considering how homophones are so difficult for these whenever you post the pro-MK emails, it makes me sad how much time is wasted instead of going to college, if that suits you, or just a normal job. Actual professionals wouldn’t put up with that. I don’t why the grammar in particular bothers me so much. Very middle-school-ish.