Anyone ever heard of Big Yellow Box? I saw it on a bumper sticker (one of those windshield clings so popular with the MLMs these days) at my daughter's school last week. Haven't had a chance to check on the internet. Said she was an Independent Consultant - so you know what that means!

These things are like rabbits!!!!!

Oh, for heaven's sake! As if they don't make enough money as it is!

I went to a Big Yellow Box party today. The party was actually for adults, although some people buy the kits to do with scout troops or church youth groups and stuff like that. At the party they sell kits for adult crafts and child crafts; each kit comes in a yellow box with all the supplies you need to make that specific thing. They have ceramics and wood things to paint and decorate as well as fabric things (bags, pillows, etc) that you paint or use fabric markers on. Also some glass vases to decorate or decoupage, etc. You have to look at the catalog pretty carefully to figure out if you're getting a good value for your money or not; some of the kits are quite reasonable for what you get, some are not.

The consultant wasn't pushy about sales or bookings but it was the same basic idea as MK. There was a short game as an introduction, then we all did a short craft together (decorating change purses), then she showed us products from her own collection and we looked through the catalogs together. Interspersed throughout was her "I" story and plugs for hostessing a party or joining the company. At the end she went and sat in another part of the room and we could come to her with our sales tickets if we wanted to order anything.

Things I liked as a guest were that unless we ordered she wouldn't know our names or addresses to follow up, and that it was low pressure. I happened to like a few of the items and did order a couple of the kits for myself. She didn't ask me to host a party; there was a box on the sales form to check if I did. The orders are shipped directly from the company to the hostess in less than a week.

I didn't like the fact that a shipping charge of $4.50 (I think) was added to each order; more if you wanted it sent to your home. Some people at the party didn't order because there was almost nothing available for under $20, and couldn't justify spending $30 and up for the things they actually wanted.

I think it would be hard to make much money off of this unless the consultant gets a HUGE discount off her own supplies. She had to provide everything for the craft and had several products there to display as well. One strange thing was that she'd show us something and say, "I keep this clock on my mantel at home" or "My son keeps his pencils in this", which would imply that every time she has a party she has to go around her house and take down all her decorations to show us as well as stuff out of her kids' rooms, then go home and put everything back!

BTW she said Crayola is owned by Hallmark--you would think they'd have enough money without this business venture for sure!