*Edit* I appreciate some of your responses, although I would love advice from someone who has been a consultant and successfully quit/gotten rid of some inventory. Also, please don't respond with what I should/shouldn't have done as far as joining MK in the first place. I just need guidance on what to do now. Thanks.*
I am looking to liquidate my giant Mary Kay inventory before the baby comes in May. So far it's been slow going to get rid of it all. I will be selling it all back to the company for a loss in March but I'd rather sell it near cost to anyone else! If you have quit Mary Kay and tried to liquidate your inventory, how did you do it?
Any help is greatly appreciated :)
Thanks!
Craigslist was the best avenue. Sold it at 40% off for a month, then 50% off for a month, then 60% off for 2 weeks, then sold what I had left back to the company.
Do you know anyone who wants to get INTO Mary Kay? Or maybe send a message out to former customers and friends saying "BIG SALE!" and see who bites.
Unless you are willing to sell it at garage sale prices the only way to get rid of it is to do facials and continue working until it is all gone. Just buy the stuff you don't have from another consultant and that way you are not ordering more. I would just let it go and not worry about the cost unless you are willing to continue doing the work and sell it to customers or other consultants. Maybe you can go to the monthly consultant meeting and sell it to other MK reps. at cost. That way you don't lose money just break even which is better than letting it go to waste or sold back at a discount.
Do you have a friend who can bring it into their office. We have had two Mary Kay people liquidate here.
Me, I didn't have a lot of inventory so most of it I used myself. I never ordered colored stuff like foundation unless it was sold so it wasn't that hard to do. My two older kids put on eighth grade plays as a mystery trip fundraiser. You would have thought they died and went to heaven when I brought in my sample bags. :)
I used www.thinkinpinks.com. They are very fast and have fair prices. I got my money within 1 hour of them receiving my items.
Contact anyone who was your customer, offer it to them at cost! Put up a message on fb that you are getting rid of your inventory at cost so that people know. Most people at least know someone who uses MK that they might contact and pass the info on.
And as has been mentioned, ebay!
While it's against your aggreement, you can post it on Craigslist.
Have you tried liquidation open houses where everything 40% off for your customers (and non-customers)?
My wife sold it back to MK, took the loss. It was easier to just 'do it' that way for her.
Craigslist is an option.
She kept the stuff she used, it really doesn't spoil and gifted a lot of it to her sister.
Have you tried putting it on CraigsList? I have a lot of success selling most anything on that site and it's free! You could also check out a consignment shop. If you want to try another business like Mary Kay, try one like Arbonne, they don't have you carry an inventory and the payout is big! In short, you won't be stuck with a bunch of stuff you won't use.
Good luck to you and your new baby!
I have a friend who started a Mary Kay business the same time I started my Pampered Chef business in 2003. She invested $4,000 in inventory. She stayed in the business for a few years and never made her initial investment back. I think she's still trying to get rid of some of her inventory. I don't think there's any way to predict what will sell and what won't. If you decide to start up a home business in the future - remember to pick one that doesn't require you to buy products and keep a stock at home. You'll end up on the losing end every time.
My only other suggestion now would be to try to sell the stuff on Ebay. That's where I get a lot of products like that and they're much cheaper. Best of luck with everything.
I have never sold MK BUT a friend of mine did. She had open houses and also sold quite a bit on Ebay when she decided to get out of it. Good luck!
