By Henry Schiller
For those unfamiliar with the oft-used by Nickelodeon message of, “Hey kids, don’t get involved in a pyramid scheme,” Vector Marketing may be looking to hire you. Anyone who graduated from high school after the advent of social networking sites like Myspace is likely to have received an invitation to become a part of the Vector Marketing team.
Vector’s logic is reasonable enough; invite recent high school graduates–often eager to find a job so as to earn enough money for leisurely pursuits while in college (students consume a wide range of expensive tapiocas and exotic snuff, both a huge drain on the proverbial bankroll)–to become a part of a semi-futuristically titled company, the purpose of which is obscured by the word “marketing.” The bottom line, and this often isn’t revealed until the interview, is that Vector employs these students to sell knives door to door.
Actual door-to-door salesmanship has been lampooned since the 1930s, and for many students this revelation is a deal breaker. A job is a job, however, and one might reason that at least selling knives isn’t flipping burgers. Except Vector, a sales firm for Cutco Cutlery, forces the student employees in their sales division to buy or rent their own knives; and it is necessary for sales representatives to place a $139.00 deposit on a sample set of knives.
Student employees are encouraged to set up knife-vending relationships within their communities and amongst their close friends. Salespeople are also required to provide their own shoddy knives to be tested against the vector ones (a la every infomercial) for the seemingly impossible occasion that someone actually lets the knife-brandishing teenager from down the block into their home.
Vector’s business model, it would seem, is more nearly based around extorting money from their so-called employees (who have been strong armed into persuading their friends to join the Vector family) than selling knives to willing customers.
That is not to say Vector Marketing is unable to sell knives; Vector allegedly sells Cutco knives at a relatively high rate, citing worldwide rates of over 250 million in 2009 according to their website. The fact of the matter is, however, that a portion of these knives is being sold to prospective salespersons, who have no hope of getting rid of them (with fiscal gain) through the antiquated door-to-door system.
Vector is not technically a pyramid scheme because the money you used to buy or rent their knives with sees an immediate return; in the form of knives you have bought or rented. They are not using the money you used to buy a knife set with as artificially produced returns on someone else’s investment in the company. Technically, Vector is not doing anything illegal.
Corporations like Vector that force employees to purchase the goods they are selling, are a vaguely irritating problem on college campuses. Companies of this nature often employ a policy of taking down the number of everyone in a prospective student-employee’s phonebook with the promise that these numbers will not be called, and are for social assessment purposes only, and then calling these numbers in search of new prospective student-employees. For anyone with several friends desperate to make a buck, these calls (I’ve gotten several) can be a pain in the ass. Vector’s own website refers to their referral program as being “based on a ‘friends of friends’ approach, which has proven to be quite effective.”
Getting roped into one of these schemes is not uncommon, and it is difficult to break the chains these companies might throw over you if you’re indebted to them–especially if it seems like they’re giving you the opportunity to make your money back. Ultimately one should shy away from any job that forces its employees to pay the company before they even see a dime. The prospect of selling cutlery door-to-door should set off some alarms as well.
Dear author,
I want you to do more research on Cutco, and then please submit another blog. Any venture that an individual decides to take on, would obviously have some expenses involved. What do you think business owners have to do before they open up their doors? Is a college education free? Is a college grad guaranteed a job when they graduate? If they dont get a career job, do they get a refund for thier tution? Cutco builds confidence in young adults, and enhances thier communication skills. Warren Buffett(forbes top 10) said the his greatest key to success has not been his world class education, but instead his focus on enhancing his negotiating and communication skills. Cutco does not solicit on a door to door basis. They focus on building relationships with customers and lead generation from those customers. Sales reps contact the future prospects over the phone and gain permission to come by. There are thousands of examples of businesses that operate in this fashion. Insurance, real estate, medical supply sales, etc. Cutco is also not a pyramid scheme. There are several universities and colleges(NC state, USC, Texas, LSU, Purdue, Boston College, just to name a few that REQUIRE the Cutco program in marketing and business students senior level classes. The Wall Street Journal, which we have all heard of, published an article on tuesday August 5th 2008 stating that the Cutco job could be the best thing for a student to do to expand thier capacity and resume. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but FACTS are what ultimately prevail. The job is not easy, and anything worth while usually isnt, but there are literally tens of thousands of people in the US that are positively effected by Cutco each and every day. In a poor economic climate, students should consider doing something that will help them stand out vs. the easy path because good grades, and a 7.00 an hour job at the mall does not cut it(no pun intended). Employers want experience and skills on a resume, not good grades and a crummy hourly job.
I found this: http://www.humanityblues.com/2008/10/taking-on-vector-marketing-scam.html
A lot of comments from people who don’t like Vector Marketing. Sounds like a very strange dishonest company.
Weird, because I love my job.
Those who don’t like the job are the ones who don’t put forth the effort to make the job work.
There’s nothing dishonest about Vector, Cutco, or Ka-bar. The business has been around for sixty years, and is part of the Better Business Bureau, for a reason.
The one thing you have to understand is when it comes to any job, some jobs are not for everyone. I know first hand how this company works from top to bottom and I will tell you now that it is not a pyramid scheme and it is not a scam. Just like there are people who’ve decided it wasn’t for them, there are many people who have had positive experiences with Vector. Cutco sells itself, it’s an amazing product alone, and with the opportunities and growth that Vector brings makes it a wonderful environment for young adults and adults alike to grow and build the skills they need to be competition in the career world.
When it comes to the sample kit, think of it just like renting a car at Enterprise. You would NEVER let someone borrow one of your cars ASSUMING that they’ll bring it back, you’d want collateral. So that’s how what works. It’s a smart business move that many companies make. How do you expect to show a product to a customer and make a sale if you don’t have it? The great thing about the sample kit is if you want to keep it you can and if you want your money back, you get your money back.
There are so many other things that I can correct about your impression on the company and how it works. If your information is first hand, then I’m sorry that what ever manager/office interviewed you and trained you didn’t do a good job of telling you the facts. Vector has done so much for me just by helping me learn the fundamental skills that I need to take me far in any career path I choose. How many 22 year olds can say that they’ve had the chance to grow the way that I have? I’ve begun searching for my career path and when an interviewer sees Vector on my resume, the things that I have accomplished, and the skills I have gained I have a great sense of accomplishment hearing that those experiences are what’s getting my foot in the door. I am so thankful that these business pioneers created what they have. The job is challenging don’t think I don’t know that, but anything worth while is.
I can praise the Vector opportunity for days, but in order for you to make an informed and educated decision you should go in and check it out and try it out for yourself. Every person has their right to an opinon, but it’s always best that you make that based on the right information. Build your opinon on facts, not on someone’s opinion because after all an opinion is just a personal biased judgment.
Jake and Cathleen: You guys must be making more money than other people at Vector, because not only do you attempt to sell knives, you’re also paid to shill for the on blog posts that criticize your pet scam. Nice.
Hey, maybe I should try it too:
Say, guys! The Church of Scientology is just dandy! It’s worked for me, and I can’t see why ANYBODY would have anything bad to say about it! It’s helped me through so many problems! Clearly they were using the tech wrong!
It’s easy! Now for some Expert Difficulty+Godwin’s Law Shilling:
I can speak from experience that Hitler was an excellent leader, who really got all of Germany together! It made me proud to be a German the day we started taking over France. As for the Holocaust, who HASN’T committed genocide on a grand scale? etc.
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My point is, you’ve been found out.
You’re paid what you put into the job. If you work 15 hours a week, you’ll get paid a decent chunk. If I, personally, work 15 hours a week, based on my averages, I’d sell on 12 of my hours and sell 3,600$, and I’d get paid 1,080$, not to mention, if that happened this week, I’d hit a promotion and get recognized for it in my office, division, and region.
So, Jake and Cathleen are making as much as they’re worth in the company.
IM WITH THE AUTHOR ON THIS, I WORKED FOR VECTOR FOR 2 DAYS AFTER THE 15 HOURS OF TRAINING AND THE PRETTY MUCH JUST BRAINWASH PEOPLE INTO SAYIN THERE GOIN TO MAKE ALLL THIS MONEY. YOU EXPENCIES WILL MOST LIKELY BE MORE THAN WHAT YOU MAKE. THE DO SELL GOOD KNIFES AND ITS THE CUSTOMERS CHOICE IF THE WANT TO BUY THEM OR NOT, AND YOUR MANAGER WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO PRESSURE PEOPLE INTO BUYING, THEN WHY DO WE HAVE TOO KEEP CALLING IN DURING EACH DEMO AND IF YOU DONT CALL TILL AFTER YOUR DEMO AND NOT DURING THEY WILL ASK YOU WHY DIDNT THEY WANT TO BUY. MAYBE THEY DONT HAVE THE MONEY RIGHT NOW OR THE ARE FINE WITH THE KNIVES THEY HAVE. ALSO A BIGTHING IS THE 1099 FORM MEANING YOUR MORE OF A INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AND NOT AN EMPLOYEE, THATS WHY THE HAVE THE UNPAID TRAINING, MEETINGS, CONFERENCEES, PHONE CALLS, AND HAVE TO SET UP YOUR OWN DEMOS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, ASK THEM TO REFER YOU TO THERE FRIENDS AND FAMILY. MY FRIEND THAT FEFERD ME TO THE JOB DIDNT GET ALL HIS PAY CHECK THEY CUT SOME OF HIS MONEY AND THE CHECK DIDNT EVEN HAVE A PAY STUBB, SO I ASKED A GUY AT A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN CASH CHECKS AND HE SAID YOU SHOULDNT EVEN BE ABLE TO CASH ONE THAT DOSNT HAVE A PAY STUB. I WENT IN FOR MY INTERVIEW AND THERE WERE A COUPLE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THERE AND NONE OF THEM GOT THE 2ND INTERVIEW AND KEEP ALL THE YOUNGER KIDS FROM LIKE 18 TO 20 YEARS OLD, I DONT KNOW IF I WOULD BE RIGHT BUT I THINK ITS CUZ IF THEY KEEP THE OLDER PEOPLE TOO, IN TRAINING THEY WOULD START TO ASK QUISTIONS ON WHY THEY HAVE 1099 TAX FORMS INSTEAD OF W2S, I WOULDNT OF THOUGHT ANYTHING OF IT TILL I ASKED MY PARENTS WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN A W-2 AND A 1099 AND ALL MY MOM SAID IS I NEED TO START LOOKIN FOR ANOTHER JOB.
SO I WOULDNT SAY ITS A SCAM BUT ITS PRETTY CLOSE AND NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BE WORKING AT. AFTER LOOKING AT ALL THE SITES AND BLOGS SAYING ITS A SCAM AND WORKING THERE ITS KINDA HARD TO BELIVE THAT IT ISNT A SCAM
Weird, that “scam” has given me 5k$ and in three/four months and continues to promote me when I work hard.
working for 2 days doesn’t really qualify you as someone with a valid opinion.
There are plenty of places where you work as an independent contractor, like construction work.
The thing here is that Vector provides you training and the vehicle to make money. You get paid based on production/results as opposed to time like other jobs. Here, if you pretend to work, we pretend to pay you.
Sure, some people don’t make a lot of money. Some people don’t follow the program. Some people don’t work. but if someone is able to apply themselves and actually do some work, then the money is there.
Also, some managers aren’t great at their jobs, but if that is the case, one would have to be self motivated enough to do well. That’s what I did. And now I’ve got my own office helping people do it the right way.
I absolutely agree with you! Two days can’t honestly validate his opinion on whether or not money doesn’t come easy because long story short it doesn’t work like that. I you want money you are going to have to work for it, but Rod and Jake have definitely got the right ideas.
I worked at vector for 1yr and WOW what a waste. The base pay of 12.50 an hr is a rip off because your pumping in more money then your getting back in return. Also if you stop and think about it its the lead managers who are making the consistent income while you (the free worker) are getting nothing except your lucky sale or 2 avoid this and ignite energy all of them or one ethics violation away from being pyramid schemes your better off working for Bernie Madoff.