Congratulations on your Marriage. .. Can I sell some junk to you and all your friends?

I know someone who is going to a bachelorette party in a while and she told me there would be a 'party' hosted where they can buy things for the bride to be. Of course the gracious 'host' of the party will certainly be happy to sell their wonderful wares to the other people at the party and not just the bride. The host is called a 'consultant' for the items being sold and they will help explain their use at the party. Of course if you don't buy something for the bride then you're obviously going to be thought of as 'cheap'. I'm sure people may end up feeling a bit of peer pressure to buy something for themselves as well. The genius who decided to crash peoples bachelorette parties to sell them junk was very clever and evil.

I know that 'parties' as a multi-level marketing sales tool have existed for a long time. I've heard of Tupperware parties and other kinds of parties for Avon or various household goods or beauty supplies. The marketing mechanism where people throw a party in someones home to sell stuff is called a party plan. Apparently Tupperware has been doing it since the 1950's. I'm not a huge fan of such parties since they do tend to rely on peer pressure from your friends to make sales. But at least with these parties the nature and intention of the party is very straight forward. Its a party to look at and consider buying Tupperware, Avon or some other product. If you don't want to go then you can decline the invitation. I'm sure for some people they enjoy the process and like the products so it has its place and isn't all bad. I've got nothing against Tupperware or Avon for sure.

But by inserting the sales party onto the bachelorette party is not something you can very easily opt out of in a socially acceptable way. So this concept is much more deceptive and intrusive. If someone is going to have a bachelorette party then it should be a bachelorette party and not a sales pitch.

If you feel the need to hold one of these sales parties then hold it separate from a normal party. Don't force a captive audience to attend a sales pitch for products they may or may not have any interest in. Make it optional and clearly separate so that people can opt out of the sales pitch and attend the normal event if they choose to.

I just hope there isn't an Timeshare presentation between the ceremony and reception.