Am I making this up? Does this exist?

October 15, 2006 3:55 PM

I had a friend once who became a member of some sort of organization not unlike Avon, but with housewares/knick knacks?

She paid a fee yearly, I think to be a member and get these housewares/knick knack type things at a good cost and resell them however she wanted. Does this make sense? Does anyone know what I'm talking about or how I can find such companies?

posted by heavenstobetsy to Shopping (20 answers total)

Amway?
posted by Dr. Wu at 3:59 PM on October 15, 2006

Was it Tupperware? They're the most famous one I know of. I don't know about the US, but it's a household name in the UK, although it's become a bit of a generic name for any cheap old plastic containers.
posted by wackybrit at 3:59 PM on October 15, 2006

Response by poster: Like Amway, but not. Smaller, definately. I seem to think that the name of the company contains initials? If that helps.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 4:02 PM on October 15, 2006

Fuller Brush ?
posted by Airhen at 4:04 PM on October 15, 2006

Pampered Chef? (Link challenged)
posted by FYKshun at 4:08 PM on October 15, 2006

Was it SMC?
posted by MeetMegan at 4:13 PM on October 15, 2006

Kleeneze?
posted by fire&wings at 4:28 PM on October 15, 2006

Bettaware?
posted by Glum at 4:44 PM on October 15, 2006

Home Interiors?
posted by The Deej at 4:48 PM on October 15, 2006

Sounds like Regal
posted by jmcgrady at 4:54 PM on October 15, 2006

Also, the people with the wicker baskets.
posted by Mid at 4:55 PM on October 15, 2006

Partylite?
posted by bristolcat at 4:56 PM on October 15, 2006

I used to be an employee (not a distributor, but an actual home-office employee) of business such as you describe. Such companies are often referred to by the catch-all terms "direct sales" or "home party plan". There are dozens of them out there; the more established ones are quite reputable, but the rest are _highly_ shady organizations that exploit their distributors to make a buck. Be wary.

Longaberger is a reputable party plan company that fits the description you've provided. They do handcrafted baskets and ceramics and their stuff is of a very high quality.
posted by perissodactyl at 5:00 PM on October 15, 2006

Oh yeah, Southern Living at Home is a goliath of the type. They match your description perfectly. They do all manner of housewares and home decor items, and they have an army of tens of thousands of distributors. Their stuff is the worst kind of junk, though.

If you do figure out the company name, feel free to post it here. Odds are I'll know of them and will be able to tell you if they're a decent company or not.
posted by perissodactyl at 5:04 PM on October 15, 2006

Seconding Regal.
posted by dobbs at 5:07 PM on October 15, 2006

perissodactyl, if you have time to answer a few emailed questions about those types of companies, would you mind dropping me an email? (You don't have one on your profile.) Thanks!
posted by dejah420 at 7:00 PM on October 15, 2006

Melaleuca?
posted by porpoise at 7:02 PM on October 15, 2006

My Mom used to be involved with one called "House of Lloyd."
posted by web-goddess at 7:18 PM on October 15, 2006

Ah ha -- Longaberger is who I meant with the wicker baskets.
posted by Mid at 8:32 PM on October 15, 2006

It's Shaklee.
posted by dgeiser13 at 12:51 PM on October 16, 2006