Becoming an SU demo- to be or not to be

[pattyandellie]

I am really interested in becoming a hobby demo- mostly because I dont know many people with my same "addiction" so I dont think I could actually "sell" to anyone; but I am wondering how much money you actually **save** with becoming a demo? I have a demo who is awesome right now- she dosent charge tax or S&H, so I pay the price listed in the cattie. Would I still save even more money if I signed up for myself, or does this benefit (no tax or S&H) even it out KWIM? :confused:
TIA

[KFontin]

First of all, you might be surprised that your WOULD find some people who wanted to buy from you or that you would enjoy doing workshops or even just classes or stamp camps. You might not necessarily save more money over the discount your current demo is giving you, probably depends on your tax rate....mine is 8.25% plus 10% shipping almost equals my 20% discount. But then if you sold (or bought!) over a certain amount in a month, you would get an extra little percentage. Plus all the benefits of being a demo, like the Stampin' Success magazines, ability to preorder new things from time to time, the "fun" of sitting down at your computer and putting in your own order whenever you wanted to! If your current demo has stamp camps or whatever, she probably wouldn't mind you continuing on as a paying customer just for the class fee so that you could still go and enjoy your projects. Good luck in your decision!

[katestamps716]

That's exactly why I signed up...6 years ago but now I have a little business and downline that is spread all over the country. You never know what will happen and you've really got nothing to lose!

[row4d]

Patty, you would definitely pay sales tax on your order -- right now your demo may not be charging you, but rest assured she's eating that cost herself because unless your state doesn't have sales tax on this type of merchandise, someone has to pay it. Kudos to her for being able to do that, because I know lots of us can't afford to offer personal specials like that to our customers!

[stacey carter]

When a SU demonstrator orders for herself/himself they put their orders in as a demo order - so demonstrators only pay tax on the discounted (80%) amount.

For instance - Right now your demo charges $20 for a stamp set that lists for $20 in the book.

If you were a demo, you would pay $20 less 20% - $16 plus shipping ($1.60) for a subtotal of $17.60. Then if you live in a state like mine that adds tax to the shipping and handling - then this subtotal is your taxable amount - I am figuring it at 8% - That's $1.40 in tax bringing the stamp set cost to $19.

So you would save $1. If this is something that you are really thinking of - maybe you should talk to your demonstrator.

[stampwithdiane]

I think the cost savings to you would be minimal considering your current price. What you would gain would be the ability to access the Stampin' Up! website with all of its ideas, a subscription to a monthly demo-only magazine and a quarterly demo magazine, access to the demo-only forums here on SCS along with demo-only gallery, the ability to register and go to SU demo events like Regionals and Convention, the ability to pre-order upcoming sets ahead of the general public, sometimes at a greater discount, the ability to take advantage of the numerous SU demo incentive and reward programs plus the ability to order on-line any time day or night.

If you intend to have customers to help you meet your minimums there would be additional work involved as well. you would have to declare any income you make on your income taxes so you would have to keep business records. You might have to generate an e-mail list to update your customers about specials. You might have to purchase business supplies such as catalogs and mini catalogs to give to your customers (You can sell the big catalogs but the minis are free and demonstrators do have to purchase them) as well as any order forms and other supplies after the ones set in your starter kit run out. If you're going to do classes and parties, you would have to invest in supplies of the class/party projects and you would have to be prepared that some customers might use your stamps and tools in a way that you might disapprove of (i.e. if you can;t handle your stamps getting dirty, letting other people use your stamps at workshops and classes may be entirely too stressful for you).

Those are just some pros and cons I can think of. I'm sure there are others. The best person to ask would be your potential upline.

Also (here I go again) if you want to run your demo ship as a business, it's wise to select an upline who knows a lot about the business and can provide you with support as you're starting out. Selecting an upline is not like selecting the person you'd most like to spend a couple of hours in a coffee shop with -- it's more like selecting a mentor who has achieved a position that you would like to achieve. You obviously want to like and admire the person, but it should be more than just for their personality, it should be for what they can teach you about the business and for the resources that they have to help you succeed. You don't need an awesome upline to succeed, but it does help, and if your upline is helping you there is no resentment down the road of the money that your upline is potentially making off your successful business.

Also, the demo kit offer ends Monday, so if you want to take advantage of this special you have to make sure is that whoever you sign up under has a demonstrator business web site so you can sign up on line, as it is now too late to mail in the paperwork.

Good luck in making your decision either way!