Invited to a selling party, but no intention to buy anything. Is it better not to go?

[argyllherewecome]

A friend's dd is in university and has become a demonstrator for a very expensive product. I can't afford it, even if I wanted to buy it. I've been invited to a demo party and my DM says you can't go to these things without buying something as the host doesn't make anything. She proceeded to tell me how many things she bought from Pippa Dee/Tupperware/PartyLite just to "support the host". DM is prone to strange ideas, but I just want to check if this is a thing? Is it better for me not to go if I know I won't purchase anything?

Is it a Thermomix? My friend sells them and I’ve been to a couple of demonstrations. There wasn’t a hard sell but you get to see it in action. It’s a great product but I agree it’s too expensive.

It's not an invite to a party ,it's an invite to be parted with money.

Yeah I wouldn't go. I remember going to a party lite I think it was, all candles and stuff. Got handed an order form and pen as soon as I went it and it seemed expected that I'd order. I kept putting them down only to get it given back to me. I didn't buy and my friend was a bit off with me for a while

MLM selling parties were all the rage when I was late teens and early twenties. Ended up spending money I could ill afford on crap I didn't need several times!

Don’t go. Either your friend or the rep will try to convince you /cajole you or shame you into buying and if you don’t buy they will talk about you after you leave. Attending MLM parties tends to pipeline to being invited to more MLM parties. I had family member who hosted many different MLMs. My quite young daughter went in my place at hosts insistence (scrapbooking) and when I arrived to pick daughter up…she had been helped to fill out 150$ order form and the rep was waiting for me to pay. Another time I received an upsetting phone call and hurried out to my car with the hostess literally following me out the door calling out to me…don’t you want to buy that shirt?? No…I want to get in my car and cry. Incredibly difficult to extricate yourself from the sales pitch and they absolutely count on you being uncomfortable saying NO. And of course there’s “no pressure to buy” until you get there and then It’s not a wine and chat it’s a sales pitch and people who host and who rep are often quite comfortable pressuring you to buy. I say no to all invites and have taught my daughter the same. Spend your money on your own desires no wine or crisps is worth it

That’s not op’s problem. The host has decided to have this party in the hope that she’ll sell some products. Op is under no obligation to buy anything.

Of course they will be limited due to the size of the room. I doubt the DD will hire a conference room so it's probably going to be held in a living room which could perhaps comfortably fit twenty people (or even less). If half of those people are only going to support and definitely not buy then DD has lost out on ten grands worth of sales and could have invited others who might have been interested. It's limited due to space, not exclusivity.

Maybe the host should screen her guests first, before giving them a ticket? Are you likely to buy - you’re in. Not likely - get out!

Oh, back in the day I just refused the invitation. The host would be "you don't need to buy anything"
So why am I spending an evening in your living room, eating twiglets and drinking warm wine then.....

Haha same here, although I got the apple cutter, which is still brilliant 15-odd years later and is used sometimes twice a day (my kids really like apples and pears). I really wanted the chopper which everyone else was buying but I couldn't really afford it. Just googled them (as I could afford it now...) and it looks like PC aren't in the uk anymore!

Ten grand's worth of sales?! 😆😆 Come on - let’s have a bite of a reality sandwich here. I would be stunned if one person bought this item in a random living room, never mind 10.

Yes, there might be a physical limit on space, but given how difficult it is likely to be to get people interested in a demo “party”, the OP’s daughter’s friend is likely to be inviting anyone who shows even the vaguest enthusiasm. I can’t imagine she’s turning hoards of disappointed people away.

@BrightonFrock thumbs-up I can see you are the type to prefer mocking to discussion so I won't continue.

Probably best.

I'd also wonder how many people the average student knows who've in the market and can afford whatever it is that costs £1k+.

She's going to have to work very hard and network like crazy to sell more than a handful of items. Hopefully she'll realise this sooner rather than later.

I know most of the invitees and unsurprisingly they are all of the mother's friends. I highly doubt her uni friends will be tempted to spend £1k+ on a single device. Yes it is thermomix. I had a look and I'm not even remotely tempted by "the world's smallest kitchen". I'm a decent cook and I certainly don't need another machine clogging up my worktops. I feel sorry for the girl as I don't think she'll get any sales this time. I did read that she demonstrators don't get paid initially, they only receive a % discount on their own thermomix per no. of units they sell, so it's a really odd choice of jobs for her to do.

A friend of mine tried selling Thermomixes. I live in a different country from her so just had to put up with the constant stream of Facebook photos of her kids eating really ordinary foods like brownies or cookies or spaghetti bolognese with a huge long post explaining how she’d made these delights so quickly and easily in the enormous Thermomix. Then suddenly they stopped and she went back to being normal. It was all rather embarrassing.

"I absolutely won't be buying anything but if you are happy for me to come along and eat your crisps I'll be there."

Then the host can decide.

I have family members who've been to these events and not bought anything. If it's a friend's daughter, then surely you will be there to provide moral support. I'd say that being there is enough. If you don't want to make a purchase you could offer to share some of their posts and spread the word instead, that would be a fair compromise.

That's because it's not a job. They are unpaid sales reps who get given a small percentage of sales.

It's a pyramid scheme made legal by the product. Don't go along to offer support. These things need to be discouraged.

Oh dear - that’s her “ten grand’s worth of sales” out the window…

@argyllherewecome I guess she could try and sell it to her uni mates mums as gadgets for her mates in their tiny uni kitchens?
But I bet you it is an MLM scheme. So the product is vastly overpriced.