I just joined Mary Kay and am a "sell only" consultant (I don't recruit).  I am also a Cookie Lee Jewelry consultant and have been so for almost 4 years.  There is much more emphasis on sales than on recruiting.  And I have experienced none of the craziness (pushiness, inventory loading, etc, etc) that I have in MK. 

So have any of you been exposed to Cookie Lee?  What is your take on it?  (I'm incredibly hard to offend, so feel free to be open and honest.)

I think it's way too expensive to start a Cookie Lee business, maybe that's how they keep the "riff-raff" out. I also think their jewelry is overpriced - I make my own jewelry, so I know what the cost is of most of what goes into those pieces and the prices are outrageous! I also look at most of it and see how simple it is and think, "I can make that myself," so I certainly won't buy it when I can make it for way less money.

There aren't many Cookie Lee reps in this area that I know of, and I've only been invited to one party (didn't go though), so I can't speak that that experience.

Is it like Premier Jewelry?  That price range?

I've never heard of it (told you I was sheltered!)

Yeah, I like how Premier is "high fashion" jewelry, not "costume jewelry".

Just exactly what does that mean? ???

I do, in a small shop near where I live. Don't have much made at one time to sell it elsewhere yet, but I can honestly say that $48 for a pair of earrings is outrageous. Even if they are sterling silver and gemstones, there is some incredible markup in there. It's possible that she pays too much for her supplies and then marks them up at a high percentage. None of my earrings are over $16, and most are only $8. . . but each person is different.

PRD- You still have a Mervyn's?!  (I'm so jealous!!) They pulled out of Texas and left me all alone!  My only friends now are Target and the mall. I thought they closed completely, but I guess not.

As a Cookie Lee consultant 18 months into the business, I thought I'd add my two cents.

You won't succeed in direct sales (or any business, for that matter) unless you have a goal. I got in because I liked the jewelry and wanted to buy it at 50% off for myself. Then ended up taking a catalog to work and collected $800 in orders. Then thought I'd be good at sales and bought $1,000 more jewelry and found that no one wanted to have a show. I then needed to pay the credit card off fast, so my husband wouldn't kill me, so I sold jewelry at little league games and wherever else I could go with my two-year-old. After that, I realized I almost failed because I didn't have a goal or plan.

I like what I do. I love the jewelry, and get compliments on it all the time. It's guaranteed, and although corporate does not take returns past one year, I do. (It's a customer service thing.) I like the way I feel when I wear it. I'm a total diva. I like the way I feel after having a show, whether it was a $200 or $1,500 night. The money I make and have saved is paying for a new roof and siding for our house, so there is a way to come out ahead in MLM/Direct sales. Sure, you can find other jewelry on sale at Kohl's or Mervyn's--we all have the choice to buy there or from Silpada or Premier. I personally liked Cookie Lee the best, and my upline never pushed me to sell sell sell or recruit.

What I don't like is the hype that comes with being in direct sales, which is why a lot of you read this board. I don't like being told to dream and imagine and look deep within myself to find inner peace. I'm motivated by my own goals and the gratification I get when someone in my dowline calls me to tell me they paid the house payment or are now saving money for a new car with Cookie money. I'm a leader with Cookie Lee and am there to help and do what I can for my downline and other team members. I don't like the "rah rah's" as much as I used to--I'm more of a "just tell me what to do in order to get to my goal and I'll do it" type of person. If someone who signs up with me just wants to make an extra $200 per month, I help with that goal. I don't bug them to go to a monthly unit meeting or attend showroom events. I leave them alone and touch base once in a while to see how things are going.

I love to wear and sell Cookie Lee Jewelry. I'm having fun with it. Someone inquired about it, and that's my two cents.

With that, I'll leave with an excerpt from my favorite personal development author, Steve Chandler. He's no nonsense, which is why I like him so much:

“I think daydreaming is infantile, and I think its demeaning to women how many motivational speakers try to manipulate women’s natural creativity by encouraging dreaming and daydreaming and wishing and hoping. DECIDE what you want and pay the price for it. You WILL get it. Stop fooling around with daydreams and wishes and spinning around the bedpost singing his name like a bad Julie Andrews movie . . . this is an insulting recommendation to women who would really like to achieve something.”

Kathleen Lancaster
Independent Cookie Lee Jewelry Consultant

This is me exactly, with both CL and ML.