Okay I don’t know about anyone else but I hate those stupid tupperware parties. I know people that have had those things and have tried to force me to go and you feel bad saying no so you end up going to these damn things and get so bored and want to fall asleep.
Not to mention candle parties, lingerie parties, make-up parties and pampered chef parties!
Arghh, please no more stupid useless crap!
I can go to the freaking dollar store and buy a plastic container that has a lid and everything and not be bankrupt afterwards!
Add to that Avon and Melaleuca (even though people don’t generally throw parties for that.) I hate having friends or coworkers trying to get me to buy things from them. It’s awkward.
My mother-in-law keeps having candle parties and Pampered Chef parties. She keeps inviting me to them. I keep weasling out of it. I know she is trying to be nice, but Sheesh!
My mom used to have tupperware and candle and Avon parties. They were horrid for me, as a child. She is currently having Basket (of all things) parties. Thank God she lived 12 hours away!
People have those so they get a chance at the “host gift.” Might as well sell your soul. The crazy thing is that some people go to those because they ENJOY them. :smack:
Happily for me a now have a friend who sells the stuff, so after hosting one obligatory party I can now order through her without doing the party thing (Yay).
As for the rest of the insert product of your choice parties I could happily live without them.
Candles, Pampered chef, Tupperware–all evil. Too smelly, too expensive, too tacky. The parties are excruciating. I’ve quit going to all of them, and live with the guilt.
Scrapbooks–well, I’ve never been to a real sales party, and just have a friend who does it and throws a late-night party every month to hang out and cut up photos. Being a photo album addict from childhood, I confess to being a Creative Memories customer.
Just the other night I trepidatiously went to a new genre for me–a stamping party. I have a love for rubber stamps, it’s true, and I have to admit that the prices were very good and the catalog was tempting–it actually had things in it that I liked. However, I need another expensive, time-consuming hobby like I need…um, something I don’t need at all. I already have two (the aforementioned photo albums, and quilting).
I refuse to host parties myself, though, even for my good friend the scrapbook dealer. I still have some morals! Also my mom would probably never speak to me again; she is militantly against such things.
Oh, and I saw the other day that Target has started stocking Tupperware. So even if I wanted some, I wouldn’t have to go to a party for it.
Heh, hope I don’t get myself into trouble here. They are simply trying to provide a service for you. Avon, for example, offers excellent high-quality products for a fraction of the price that drug stores or department stores sell them. They are simply inviting you into their store.
As for Tupperware, I went to one party a few years ago and it was trippy! It seemed like such a “cult” thing. The lady spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of selling Tupperware, as opposed to trying to get us to buy it. So I buy it off eBay. There are a lot of new items on there for really cheap prices.
I hostessed a couple Mary Kay parties, and had a blast. My Mary Kay lady is one of my dear friends, and having an amateur interest in cosmetology I was a natural to host this kind of thing. Both were very successful, with my friends, sister, mom, and aunts buying up lots of goodies.
I think that it really depends on the kind of party it is and your interest level in the items. Also, the sales dealer can make or break your interest for sure. Anything where I get freebies or get to actually try on stuff, I’m all for.
I had a friend who was a Wicca, and had a Tupperware party with her fellows Wiccans. The Tupperware Lady, however, wasn’t – and had no idea. Every time some new item came out, they talked about how they could use it for some ritual or other (or for sex). I would’ve loved to have been there. From all accounts the Tupperware Lady was hopelessly lost and clueless. It must have been hilarious.
I think she sold a lot of plasticware, though. But it ended up being used for pretty unorthodox stuff.
I Just Say No to sales parties by cow-orkers. And I’m pretty up-front with them. “I don’t buy that stuff because it’s over-priced and I don’t need it.” My family (fortunately) is more likely to throw a poker party than a Tupperware party. I get off cheaper gambling with the family than buying crap I don’t want.
It is a cult - guilt thing going on. A person that I’ve always considered very level headed ( to the point of being dull as ditch water because she is so rational) is into the cult of partylite candles. I have yet to see how these candles burn any better than my el cheapo ones from Target.
I vigorously eschewed home parties for years with the fiery rage of a thousand suns.
Then I was invited to a sex toy party.
Now, *that * was fun.
I will now attend these parties ( no check book or money on hand) and just socialize.
Don’t forget the jewelry parties and the basket parties.
I always go just to get out of the house, hang with the moms, and have the snacks, but never buy anything. At work, you are only allowed to leave the catalogs in the breakroom, no ‘selling’.
I hate those parties. I hate making small talk with women I don’t know and I hate having to act as if I actually am impressed by whatever widgets are being pedaled.
Miss Manners says (and please don’t ask for a cite) that asking people to your house and then trying to sell them things does not constitute a social event. It is a commercial endeavor and one is never under any obligation to shop.
I just say “no” these days. Of course, given that I’m becoming the epitome of a grumpy old country curmudgeon, I’m not normally invited to that many anymore.
I’ve been invited to two and went to both. They were both hosted by my boss at the time. Of course, I’m the type that feels obliged to buy something. With the Tupperware party, at least it was possible to find something useful and not too expensive. With the jewelry party nothing fit my taste, but I got something as a gift for someone else.
I guess I’m lucky I’ve never been invited to a Longaberger basket party, although I’d probably decline the invitation. Even I don’t have enough guilt in me to buy a $100 basket out of a sense of social obligation.
I’m the same way about feeling like I should buy something. With Tupperware or even Pampered Chef I manage to find something useful that comes in pretty handy later on, especially since Mr. Winnie is such a whiz in the kitchen. He’s always happy to have some little gadget or container to make things easier for him.
Yes, you’re very, VERY lucky. What a waste of money these overpriced woven twigs are. My dearest friend is a Longaberger junkie and has spent hundreds of dollars in “collectable” baskets that will be “worth lots of money someday”. For birthdays or holidays, her mother forgoes spending good money on things they may desperately need like towels, clothing, applicances, etc. and spends obscene amounts of money on some basket that sits on a shelf in the kitchen all year long.
She knows better than to invite me to one of her basket parties. I’d come for the free food and that’s about it.
I am in Canada (not sure where you are), and I find Avon isn’t any cheaper than going to the store. And although you can return anything you buy, I’d much rather just go the store where I can see the product in person instead of guessing by a colour bar. I do look through the catalogues when they’re left in the lunchroom at work but I don’t buy anything. It’s just a hassle.
The problem isn’t that they’re simply inviting me into their store. I mean, it’s like having a sales-person shoving merchandise in your face and saying, “look how great this is!” and following you through each aisle.
Not that I’m trying to start an argument with you! Just how I feel about it. It makes me feel awkward because I don’t want to say to a friend, “I don’t care about something that you obviously have a lot of enthusiasm for”. And of course, they want you to buy something. So you also have to say, “I don’t care to buy what you’re selling” to a friend. It’s just plain awkward for me.
And they want you to start selling the stuff, too, saying how easy it is to make a bit of extra money from home. And then you have to explain why you don’t want to. And then they go on about how easy it is. And then you have to make up reasons why you don’t want to sell stuff. And then they start raving about how easy it is and all the money you save and on and on and on and ugh!
Actually, I enjoy Pampered Chef parties. They always feature more imaginative snacks than other parties! They also have some pretty cool gadgets that it’s hard to find anywhere else (well, I guess some kitchen specialty stores, but I live in Podunk, and we don’t have any of those).
Creative Memories (scrap booking) parties are fun, but they actually charge you to go to them, then try to sell you the same stuff you can buy at the craft store for less than half as much!
Tupperware. . .don’t get me started. $16.00 for a freakin’ cereal keeper??? can anyone tell me why this device is any better than the Rubbermaid one I paid $4.00 for that was already freakin’ fillled with cereal? $12.00 for a set of 4 plastic sippy-lid cups of the same variety I can find three to a pack at my local dollar store? Please! And we won’t even discuss the baskets!
Avon has some good prices when they run specials, and I do enjoy looking at their catalogs, and sometimes order the sale stuff.
Mostly, I go to parties when friends have them, socialize, and buy little or nothing (I warn the friends when they invite me that this is the case).
I always thought tupperware parties were kind of cool. They remind me of being a little kid and wanting desperatly to be an adult so that I could watch the nice lady show off all the nifty stuff instead of being relegated to the kids room.
But what is up with the Longaberger baskets? Does anyone actually pay a hundred bucks for a basket that isn’t even made out of gold? Insane!
They also have some pretty cool gadgets that it’s hard to find anywhere else (well, I guess some kitchen specialty stores, but I live in Podunk, and we don’t have any of those).