Reader Question: Direct Sellers

It’s easy to go to your nearest drugstore and buy the newest Cover Girl product. You don’t even have to know you want that new product. All you have to do is show up at the store to buy a bag of potato chips, and voila! You walk out with new lip gloss. However, there are lots of great products you can’t find on store shelves.

Erin from St. Paul, Minnesota recently started using Arbonne, a skin care line she wishes she had heard about a lot sooner because she loves it. Arbonne is only sold directly, and therefore isn’t available in stores. So how can Erin and others of us who may want to buy brands like Arbonne find them?

Direct selling is a way for companies to bypass the middle man. Rather than paying distributors and sellers to promote their products in store, direct sellers bring their products to you. Companies like Avon and Mary Kay are the most well-know direct sellers, and if you walk down the street for several blocks looking for a Mary Kay lady, you are sure to find one. Other brands are less known, however, and are more difficult to find out about unless you are told about them by a friend. If you want to do your own research on direct sellers to find products you wouldn’t normally find in stores, the best way to do it is through the Direct Sellers Association (DSA).

The DSA independently researches direct sellers, and if the company meets legal requirements along with the DSA’s Code of Ethics, the DSA will post their information on their website. This is the easiest way to make sure you are not getting scammed by some nut in Nigeria promising you wrinkle-free skin even at age 70. Since the DSA lists all the companies on their website, all you have to do is log on to find out about new direct sellers whose products you may want to try. To navigate their website, click on their member directory; click on company search; and then click on the category Cosmetics. This will search their directory for all companies that sell cosmetics, including Arbonne and many others. The DSA posts a general description of what the company sells and all their contact information, including a link to the direct seller’s website, and from there you can look at their products as easily as you would look at Cover Girl in the store from the comfort of your own home. The website will usually let you find a seller in your area as well.

If the DSA endorses the company, the products it is selling are reputable, but that doesn’t mean they are going to work on you. Erin loves Arbonne, but during my research for this post, I found plenty of people who didn’t. Just like Cover Girl or any other product you buy, you may love it or hate it depending on how your skin reacts to it and how it looks on you.
Buying from a direct seller is often a benefit if you do end up disliking the product because most direct sellers will take back a product you aren’t satisfied with. Direct selling often provides many benefits to its customers including lower overhead costs (equaling cheaper prices) and personal care. And believe me; no one will love you more than your local Avon lady.

Do you have a beauty question you want answered? I would love to hear from you. Please include your first name and town along with your question. Please e-mail me at explorefashion@gmail.com. I would also love any feedback on the blog or ways to improve it.