An official Usborne Books thread....

Looneylee

:rotfl:Caroline... that's fab for you!! I know you don't really "do" parties :T

mazcambs

Hello,

I've read the threads for everything Usborne related on here and am now raring to go.

I've heard that i'm not the only one who doesn't get any help / correspondance with my upline. I joined in November last year and typically my starter pack of books got lost in transit so missed the christmas orders :-( I tried by posting a few leaflets to get some parties going but had no takers at all.

I thought i'd be able to sell some books at work and had all of them on display in the canteen on some shelves they had put up for me, didnt have any takers for a few weeks but thought that because it was a new thing it would take time for someone to bite. I had 3 books that sold !! not a good start.

My work desided to allow The Book People to sell in there too and that just gave me no chance in selling anything. The Book People sell Usborne too and are half the price sometimes of what I can realistically sell mine for.

I gave up, lost my faith and haven't looked at my Usborne books / kit till now.

I''ve just moved house, into a new area and have the desire to make my Usborne business a sucess. Trouble is I don't know anyone and dont know the area. I'm about to head into the small town and pick up the local newspapers to find out if there are any toddler groups and where and how many schools there are.

Sorry for the ramble ... it's a bit long but if anyone could give me some tips of what you think I should start off by doing I would really appreciate that

Looking forward to hearing from you soon

stephyt23

Hi everyone, another newbie here. I looked at this a few months ago and have now come back to have another look. I am a student training to be a teacher and was looking at this as a way to make a bit of extra cash. I used to do Avon but you have to make £75 each order before you earn anything, so after my first two orders it was getting to a point where I was out of pocket as I wasn't making that from orders yet still paying for brochures.

So firstly do you have to make a minimum each order before you earn anything?

Also how does it work with getting books to display? I see you get quite a lot in the starter pack but do you have to buy more yourself to make your pack bigger for parties etc?

Would it be advisable to contact schools/nurseries etc to see what local demand would be before I fork out the £38 starter kit? I know £38 isn't a great deal but as a student it's a lot if it doesn't go anywhere and i'm stuck with a load of books.

Sorry for all the questions, i'm sure i'll come up with more. Just wanna make sure this is worth it before I commit.

Looneylee

Hello!

There is no minimum order for you to earn. You basically earn 24% commission on every book you sell. Although it is better for you to put through orders of £100+ to benefit from cheaper delivery charges and free books on each order! Most parties will be over £100 anyhow. And if I'm planning on doing events (ie toddler groups etc), then I try and make sure I have a couple fairly close together so that I can club the orders together if necessary.

To do parties, all you really need is your starter kit. It is a big enough selection for people to see how lovely our books are, and then people can browse the catalogue to see the whole range and order from there. We have around 2000 titles now and they range from birth up to 16 years.

Before you join, you won't be aware of all the things we can offer schools and nurseries. I would suggest sussing out who would have a party for you to get you up and running. At parties you will meet all sorts of people who may be able to get you into local schools, toddler groups, nurseries etc.

If you do 6 parties within your first 6 weeks, you will get your kit fee refunded. So you will have earnt commission along the way, and be quids in with your starter fee. You also have 14 days to get a complete refund if you do change your mind. Usborne is a member of the Direct Selling Association.

Lisa x

stephyt23

Thanks for the info Lisa. I've decided to start by sending a message to my friends on Facebook who have children to see if any of them would be interested in having a party, or know of any nurseries/toddler groups they attend who may be interested. At least they are people I know so definitely a good place to start before taking the plunge

Looneylee

Cool - good luck!

Looneylee

mazcambs wrote: »

Hello,

I've read the threads for everything Usborne related on here and am now raring to go.

I've heard that i'm not the only one who doesn't get any help / correspondance with my upline. I joined in November last year and typically my starter pack of books got lost in transit so missed the christmas orders :-( I tried by posting a few leaflets to get some parties going but had no takers at all.

I thought i'd be able to sell some books at work and had all of them on display in the canteen on some shelves they had put up for me, didnt have any takers for a few weeks but thought that because it was a new thing it would take time for someone to bite. I had 3 books that sold !! not a good start.

My work desided to allow The Book People to sell in there too and that just gave me no chance in selling anything. The Book People sell Usborne too and are half the price sometimes of what I can realistically sell mine for.

I gave up, lost my faith and haven't looked at my Usborne books / kit till now.

I''ve just moved house, into a new area and have the desire to make my Usborne business a sucess. Trouble is I don't know anyone and dont know the area. I'm about to head into the small town and pick up the local newspapers to find out if there are any toddler groups and where and how many schools there are.

Sorry for the ramble ... it's a bit long but if anyone could give me some tips of what you think I should start off by doing I would really appreciate that

Looking forward to hearing from you soon

Toddler groups are a good place to start. As well as looking at the local papers, try looking on the internet for events in your area. Where are you based? Is there a childrens centre nearby? Look in the village hall for posters for events/groups. See if you can leave your details places too (local shop, village hall etc.). Contact local nurseries, playgroups, schools etc too. August might be quite quiet though as a lot close down for the summer hols.

Have you tried calling your upline and explaining that you need some advice?

stephyt23

Great news, I've had one response from Facebook so far from a friend who's expecting her first baby. She said she'd have a party and invite her mom who's a childminder! Hopefully get some more responses soon, enough to join and become one of you all

Looneylee

Wow - that was a quick response!!

Sounds like a good start to me

mishkanorman

What a great start