My statement indicated that for the entire year my star gifts were valued at a whopping $49!!! Wow…. that said a lot right there. I had been a consistent Emerald that year which means I did a LOT of ordering. I earned a pink blender… which broke within two months and rusted out at the base. I earned a gadget which would take an electronic genius to operate and did not work well even when it did operate. In short, the gifts were cheap.

Perhaps the only thing really worth the effort was the luggage set that I earned, since I needed a new suitcase. The quality was good, and when I went to sell it, a friend asked me why I would want to sell the luggage since it was well made. She said, “After all, you bought it each quarter.” It was then that I had some clarity

That’s right! I bought every single star prize. I paid for it through my orders. Certainly the company was losing nothing on the gifts.

They are dangled in front of us as “must haves” and unfortunately, many of us pursued winning them.

It isn’t just the company that gives out cheap gifts though. Sales directors and NSDs also give out prizes that come at little or no cost. I remember receiving a special unit ring from my SD. It was a pretty amethyst ring with a gold band. I wore it proudly and many people remarked about how pretty it was. One day, however, I noticed it turning green in the back. So when I went to seminar, I decided to check out the vendors there and see if I could find a similar ring.

Imagine my shock when I came upon that very ring being sold for all of $4! Later, when I became a director, I was told that we should never spend much on unit prizes for our consultants. The vendors sold pins, bracelets, rings and other pretty baubles for $4 to $6 per piece. In some cases, it was less, and the quality was not good either.

So tell me…. Why did we work so hard to earn something so cheap it could be a prize in a gum ball machine? Somehow, we just had to get that star each quarter so we could struggle to get it attached to the ladder pin. The gem stone was so tiny as to be totally insignificant. In reality, none of the prizes or gifts were worth all the hard work and time we spent trying to do Mary Kay.

Lest you think that only sales directors give out cheap gifts… think again. NSDs also give away cheap items too. At one year end banquet, my NSD gave a bracelet to each of her directors. Within two days, mine had turned green. I was horrified because my NSD told us that she shopped specially for these thank you gifts. The next day, while at the Vendor’s area, I found that bracelet on a rack for all of $2.25. I was so glad to know that my efforts and support were so greatly appreciated.

Even the GREAT seminar award program leaves much to be desired. The diamond rings are not the highest quality and the diamond bumble bees are not either. Then, if you decide to return product and leave MK, you will have to pay for that ring or diamond bee if it was earned during the year you left. So, once again, you just bought your own prize!

In all honesty, there is nothing given to us out of the kindness of Mary Kay Inc’s heart. They cover themselves very well financially. We are the ones that are foolish for pursuing these inexpensive gifts. We sacrifice family time, our faith and every spare moment so we can achieve what? A $4 pin or ring?

If anyone feels the need to have a “bling bling” ring, please just go out and buy one for yourself at one of the vendors. They can easily be found on the internet! It is cheaper, less time consuming and when it turns green, you can always pick up another one for the same price.

Don’t sacrifice the precious time you could be having with your family. Don’t go into debt trying to earn gifts that are low quality and not worth the effort. In fact, the best gift you could give yourself is to not get involved in MK to begin with!