stuck hosting a come buy something "party"

[Laurel]

for a mom from dc's school because i can't say no!!! it's too late to back out gracefully. i don't consider this a social occasion, and am having trouble even wording the evite without sounding like spam! this just isn't my thing...no offense to those who enjoy it/do it as a job.

actually, does anyone have tips for making it more bearable??? i feel like i'm just going to alienate friends by doing this!!!

[MamaMolly]

Ouch! I hear you on this one. Would you get in trouble if you did it kind of tongue in cheek? Make it kind of jokey about hey, at least it is an evening out of the house and the food and drinks are free. Try to have some fun yourself, and at least it will be over soon.
HTH

[happy2bamom]

I'm with you on this. I recently was in a similar situation. In the evite I invited friends over for a girls night out with food and drinks. I also included (kind of as an after thought) that my friend x was starting a business with x company and that she would be joining us that evening to practice her sales pitch. I made it very clear that no one was obligated to buy anything, instead putting the emphasis on getting together and socializing.

I think that it made the evening much more laid-back and enjoyable for everyone. Good luck! BTW, I told my friend that I wasn't a big fan of these types of "parties", and I didn't want my friends to feel pressured to buy. She knew that I was doing this to help her business and she was respectful of my concerns.

[C99]

This happened to me recently and I am soooo dreading it.

[ha98ed14]

I'll join the bitch:

I recently got invited to a Pampered Chef Party. My friend "Alice" was hosting, but someone else that she knew, "Becky," was the actual company representative. I found out that if I buy something at Alice's house, she gets stuff for free. I didn't know that until I called Alice to say I could not come, and she told me to go on line and order off the website and put in her name and party date so she could get credit for my purchase. I was floored. I could not believe that is how these things work. Alice is also an Arbonne (sp?) sales representative. She gave me samples as a baby shower gift and said if I liked them, I could order through her. I never did and she never pushed it, so it hadn't been an issue before. But I hate feeling she is keeping up with me as a friend just so she can invite me to the next sales party. If I want expensive cookware, I will go to William Sonoma. If I need expensive beauty products, there is a Sephora and a Kiehls at the mall. I'd rather be ripped off by an anonymous corporation that by someone I thought was a friend.

[psophia17]

I thought I made a new friend, someone DH knew in HS, and turns out she just wants me to host a Pampered Chef party. I told her I was new to the area and had 3 friends I'd be able to invite, so it wouldn't be worth it to her, but if she knew of one, I'd like to go. I think she may just be clueless...

[Melanie]

I actually don't mind getting invited to the parties, though I wouldn't want to host one. I only go if it's something I might be interested in, otherwise I decline b/c I don't want to feel guilty not buying anything or as the host if no one bought anything and felt like I had to overspend.

What I really hate about them is when you go and the salesperson makes it out like buying the stuff isn't enough, they are really trying to sell YOU on becoming a salesperson. Grr.