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Original poster

usborne vs. body shop at home

13 replies

pink1970girl · 31/05/2009 07:29

i, i'm considering ditching Body Shop at Home (my heart just isn't i it any more)and becoming an organiser for Usborne books...am i mad? after all what is more important...childrens literacy or lovely smelling cream etc? I am in the stoke on trent area and would love to hear the experience of anyone local, thanks in advance x

OP posts:
bluejeans · 31/05/2009 07:41

Sorry no advice here but DD has quite a few of the craft/baking etc Usborne titles and I'm impressed with the quality so I'd give it a go if I were you. I'm bored of the Body Shop these days - and too expensive now

MaryHuff · 31/05/2009 09:07

And Body Shop is owned by Nestle

Original poster
pink1970girl · 31/05/2009 16:14

thanks bluejeans, i love the books too,
didn't know Body Shop was owned by Nestle,Mary Huff, are they related to L'oreal then?

OP posts:
LadyPinkofPinkerton · 31/05/2009 16:30

Usborne books are absolutely fantastic. My Auntie did these at home years ago, however with so many companies like the book people around now I'm not sure people would be willing to pay full price for the books

MaryHuff · 31/05/2009 18:10

Yep pinkgirl L'Oreal bought Body Shop in 2006. Lots of negativity surrounded the sale - not so much because of the Nestle link, but because L'Oreal still test on animals, which Anita Roddick had been against from the beginning when setting up the Body Shop.

Brid72 · 31/05/2009 19:19

have you looked on Party Plan Together? There is lots of info from reps of different companies if you are thinking about changing.

Cathodegirl · 03/06/2009 08:37

Hiya, I do Usborne and its great.
Our recruiting initiative is now called 'Make A Difference' exactly for the reason you described .... literacy matters!
Just thinking about comparing the two...

  • unlike Body Shop at Home you get can sell into schools and libraries so your potential market is bigger.
  • the stock you have can be used directly by your own children unlike BS@H.
  • our basic commission rates and host benefits are about the same but Usborne's delivery is cheaper. We have enhanced commission rates for team leaders and higher volumes (Dont know about BS@H)
  • much much cheaper to join than Body Shop, just £38 and you have everything you need to start
  • because youre selling to parents you can easily tailor the kind of events you do to something that lets you take the kids (if you can cope with that). I have an 11 year old so do lots of fetes and fares and shows, where she can come and have a good time and I dont worry about childcare
-the fun factor is huge - loads of backup from team leaders and a really supportive network

Ladypink is right in that you can get cheaper books from the Book People, but (a) people are very loyal to Usborne (b)hosts and school can get books for FREE (c) only we offer our full range of 1500 titles (d) we frequently have our own heavily discounted offers on such as 20 sticker stories for £16.99 RRP£79.80 or 12 phonics readers for £12.99 RRP £57or 6 activity books for £12.99 etc etc. (the very first party I did I made £65 and the host got £50 free books, how can that not be great value?!)

Feel free to mail me on [email protected] and we can chat about it if you like
Bev

NatLex · 04/06/2009 09:53

how much do you earn on average a month from doing Usborne from home? I am in a full-time job, but desperate for some balance in my life/work and love books. I am worried if it would make me enough money though.
Any advice please?

womblingfree · 08/06/2009 08:12

I started Usborne after gettin made redundant last year and it really didn't work for me at all. Even at Pram & Toddler groups I never managed to make even £100 worth of sales, and after approaching a dozen schools and having no luck I called it quits.

That said, I started it maily as a sideline to something else I was trying to do at the time. I suspect if you go into it full swing as your only job and really hurl yourself at every possible opportunity you may have more luck.

My 'recruiter' only started at the beginning of last year and has done very well. She now has a team of about 25 reps and is earning more than she did before jacking her job in to have her sons, so obviously it can be done even in today's economic climate.

NatLex · 08/06/2009 09:19

I don't think it will work, to be honest. Thanks for sharing your experience.

JosieJosie · 08/06/2009 20:40

Personally, I love Usborne books and at a fair would be more likely to buy them than Body Shop stuff even though I do use a couple of BS products. The reason being, I am always getting sent special offers via email from Body Shop & so tend to order on-line with free delivery and free goodies too!

Another website worth a look is www.comparextraincome.co.uk

You're absolutely right though, your heart needs to be behind whatever you're selling!

MissSunny · 12/06/2009 23:47

Message withdrawn

NatLex · 16/06/2009 12:13

yes, thank you for the comments. I don't think it is for me. Just not realistic to earn any money on this.

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