#vector marketing

MLM stands for Multi-Level Marketing, and it’s an updated term for something we might be familiar with: pyramid schemes. For those who are unfamiliar, pyramid schemes are “companies” where one person or a small group of people at the top and all the people at the bottom send the majority of the wealth to the top. This sounds normal, but the problem is that the only way for a new recruit to make any money is to recruit multiple other people for the company to work under them.

There are two problems with this. The first is that there are quite literally not enough people. If one person recruits 5 people and each of those 5 people recruited 5 more, there are only enough people on the planet to go through this cycle about 14 times. The second problem is that you have to be pretty high up in the MLM to make money. According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), about 99% of all MLM “employees” don’t make any sort of money (x).

And that’s just a background on my little rant today. Most of my MLM-hate is directed at one company in particular: Vector Marketing. 

Vector Marketing was founded in 1981 and sells cutlery and other kitchen utensils for the company that owns them called “Cutco”. Their annual revenue is about $245 million dollars and is an A+ according to the Better Business Bearuea. 

So what’s the problem with them? Well, there are multiple.  

The first is their pretty smarmy recruiting tactics. “High school and college students are the most vulnerable age category in the work force and you better know Vector Marketing understands that.” Kaitlin Tomko, from the article “I Worked At Vector Marketing So You Don’t Have To” (x) wrote. While college students are usually adults and fair game, going after high school students is pretty sketchy. Then there’s the fact that they’re rather repetitive while they’re at it too. 

I’ve personally gotten at least three letters from them between my Junior year in high school and last week (May 2020 for anyone who sees this post later). All three of these letters promised different entry-level wages ($11.50/hour, $13/hour, and $18/hour). They can also get your number from any of your friends that just so happen to work for the company (see attached screenshot) (also, I don’t blame the person who gave them my number, they’re really trick like that; all love towards her, she was trying to do the right thing).

Then there’s the product itself. By all accounts and reviews, it’s a good product with knives that last. That’s not the issue. Cutco’s knives are stamped instead of forged, a process that has 40 steps in its testing. Forged knives are generally better, but that’s not to say that stamped knives bad. But when you see a forged WÜSTHOF 8-inch knife produced by a 200-year-old German company and compare it with the stamped Cutco knife, also 8-inches, you don’t expect that the less expensively-produced knife to be so expensive. The WÜSTHOF costs $149.95 (x) while the Cutco knife is $142 (x).

Then there’s Vector’s problems with the government. According to the Washington Post, “David Tatar, a Wisconsin consumer protection investigator, said that state surveyed 940 Vector recruits in 1992 and found that almost half either earned nothing or lost money working for Vector, because the company encourages workers to lease or buy a sample set of knives for their presentations. In 1994, Wisconsin ordered Vector ‘not to deceive young people it recruits . . . as salespeople.’ Tatar said the investigation was a catalyst for changes effective Aug. 1 in the state's consumer protection laws,” (x). Wisconsin actually banned Vector within state lines, so there’s that In 2008, there was a class-action lawsuit levelled at Vector for not paying their employees minimum wage and they had to settle for $13 million dollars (x). And these aren’t the only suits: [x]

Why does the BBB say they’re an A+ then? Simple: they have an actual product and they don’t go door-to-door (which a lot of MLMs do), but they do encourage “salespeople” to do so. Yes, the bar is that low.

So. Basically. I don’t like Vector, they need to stop sending me letters, and if they ever contact you, don’t fall for it.

So for reference, here are the players in this story:

Me, recent electrical engineering graduate in an intense job searching phase

My brother, J, who has never really bothered to do any job searching since graduating high school but recently has decided he needs to start being more responsible

VM Guy, who J calls "The Dad of the Group™", which is pretty fucking creepy imo. We'll also find out later he's kind of an asshole

This all takes place in my hometown, a small rural area in Texas about an hour away from a fairly big coastal city.

So my brother, J, isn't exactly known to take initiative when it comes to job hunting. He's done a few odd jobs here and there, but that was mainly thanks to family members and our parents, but those jobs never really lasted long. Anyway, I get a text one day from him while I was visiting my girlfriend that, surprise surprise, he got a job. I was pretty impressed, not gonna lie. At this point I had been applying for jobs as well, and that he beat me to the finish line, I thought, was a good sign. About an hour later, I get an odd text from a number I didn't recognize saying that J had referred me and asking if I would be interested in coming in for an interview. No details on the job or anything, just an interview. It piqued my interest, but the lack of info was suspicious to me, so I put it on the back burner and waited until I could ask J about it in person (since it was obviously his doing).

Turns out this was the best decision I had made during all this because I later came to find out this "company" J worked for was basically Red Flag Inc.

not actually a scam. they don’t force reps to buy their set of demo knives to use, or even pay to start up. if a branch has you pay, they are way outdated and you should complain to the higher-ups

actual quality merchandise. Cutco is a great company and many people are happy with their knives. and they will often say it’s better than anything they’ve used prior. a very nice product guarantee, too. “Forever Guarantee.” solid customer care

that said, Vector targets young college aged kids and high school seniors who are still a bit naive about the world to be reps

ask you to sell out your friends (90% of your contacts list) for a sweet prize. they can’t force you, but you will get the Disappointed Dad stare if you don’t. this is fully legal. they can’t force you to give out personal information like that, but if you volunteer...well...

advertise as a “make your own hours” job and then pushes you hard to have a full schedule 13 hours a day, 7 days a week (even on holidays). you get another Disappointed Dad stare if you don’t

seems to be run by people who don’t actually know how poor people economics work

they expect everyone to make $6k in sales in one week. unless you know some fancy rich people who are in the market for some knives, you’re out of luck

unpaid training that lasts for a full day of work, several days in a row. this is mandatory. so is the weekly meeting/team-building exercise. you will never get paid for this time. nor will you get paid for working your ass off calling everyone you know to set up demos. again, you’re supposed to be working for 13 hours a day, 7 days a week, no vacations. or you get the Disappointed Dad stare. also, if you do REALLY WELL, you will be forced to come in for an extra hour every day, at way-too-fuckin-early in the morning for a shiny new job title

if you sell out your friends and family and your soul, and push really REALLY hard, and don’t mind working for no pay (you get paid per demo, or commission, whichever’s higher. commission increases as you make sales), you can actually earn a ton of money (which covers the cost of not getting paid for doing work) 

you will be constantly harassed via email and snail mail to return to vector. shredded paper makes good nesting material for birds