youuponyourchannels– things
canquicklygetawks(orannoying),
especiallyif you’rejustnevergonna
buythoseleggings.Here’showto
dodgetheoverenthusiasticsellers
in yourlife.B ewa r e o f
‘party’invites
Kate,32,saysabouthalfher
friendsfromhighschoolare
involvedin somekindof MLM
companyandfrequentlyinviteher
to buying‘parties’,whereguests
areexpectedto forkovercashfor,
say,a randomperfume.Usually,
Katebailsbyshootinga quick
‘Sorry,I’mbusy,can’tmakeit!’text
or DM.Butthentherearethesneak
attacks,likewhenshewasinvited
to a babyshowerandthenfound
outthehostplannedto sellskincare
productsat theevent.‘I didn’tgo,
buteveryoneelsewentandhadto
buymakeupin additionto giving
thebabygifts,’shesays.‘Halfour
groupisn’tsurehowto dealwith
thefactthatourfriendskeeptrying
to sellus shit.’Somesuccumbed
andboughtthings.Somedidnot.
(Buttheywereallprobsjealous
Kateskippedout.)Playthe moneycard
Amanda,36,getsinvitedto
thesekindsof partiesallthetime.
‘A lotof myfriendsarestay-at-
homemomswithyoungkidsand
they’rejustlookingfora littlebit
of income,’shesaysof theselling
boomonherFacebookfeed.
Whenpeopleaskherto spend,
sherepliesthatshejustcan’tafford
to buyanythingrightnow,sorry.
That’sworkedwellwithherclosest
girls,shesays.‘Theygointothis
wholethingknowingthata certain
percentageof peoplearegoingto
turnthemdown.’Amanda’sother
favouritewayto boxoutsellers
is simplyto claimbrandloyalty
(‘I reallyonlybuythisonemascara,
sorry,bb’).Smooth,Amanda.‘Halfourgroupisn’t
surehowtodeal
withthefactthat
ourfriendskeep
tryingtosellussh*t’Tell’emthecold,
hard truth
Lexie,27,usesthisgo-tolinewhen
she’sonthe‘no,thanks’grind:
‘YouknowI appreciateyour
entrepreneurialspirit,butI don’t
reallyhaveuseforessentialoils
rightnow.’It pullsdoubleduty
in thatit notonlycompliments
yourfriend’shustlebutalsolets
herknowyou’recurrentlyclosed
forbusiness.Thatsaid,if what
a friendis askingyouto buyis
totallywhack,feelfreeto bereal.
At a partya fewyearsago,one
of Amanda’sfriendsapproached
heraboutgettingsomeweight-loss
supplements.‘I toldher,“Actually,
I’mreallyhappywithmyself,”’
Amandasays.‘Shehasnever
askedmeagain.’THEY TRIED TO SELL WHAT?!‘My boyfriend’s sister sells
kitchen products, and the last
time I was at her house, she
demoed a bunch of products
and made me a grilled
cheese in one. It was a good
demo but, like, the whole
thing came out of nowhere.
And I defs didn’t buy one.’
-ANNA, 25‘This girl who dated my ex
DMed me to get coffee,
which was weird because we
weren’t friends. She ended up
being sweet, but when I got
up to leave, she pulled
out a bag of lotions and
brochures. She kept me there
forever trying to sell me stuff!’
-SAM, 22‘My best friend’s lame
boyfriend called me out of
the blue one day. I assumed
my friend was in a terrible
accident – why else would
he be calling? – but then,
bam, he tried to sell me life
insurance. I hung up.’
-AS H L E Y, 25‘I had a close friend who
started selling lipsticks and
plumping products. I wanted
to be supportive, so I spent
more than $50 (about R760)
on lipsticks. But when I put
them on, they nearly burned
my lips off! I told my friend,
but she’s still selling them.’- BRITTANI, 31
PHOTOGRAPHY
STOCKSY
MONEY