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 Vector MarketingWhat the heck is this company and what's the work they advertise for students? Viewer LetterHi Street Cents, My name is Claude Khan and I go to Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. I went to a website with the address www.workforstudents.com. My problem is, the website doesn't really tell you about the company. All I know is that they're called Vector Marketing Canada. I assume it's a marketing firm. But I'm suspicious that this company may be a well-disguised telemarketing company. Street Cents, do you have any information about it? Street Cents responseVector Marketing is not a telemarketing company. It's an international direct sales firm. That's a business where people sell products face-to-face, in a location other than a retail store; for example, a person's home. Insurance businesses, Mary Kay and Tupperware all use direct marketing to sell products. People who sign up to work with Vector Marketing start off by selling Cutco knives to their friends, family members and anyone else they can arrange appointments with. Most of the students Street Cents spoke with said they were disappointed with the work. That's because Vector Marketing hires students as independent contractors. That means they make their own hours and find their own clients. But, Vector Marketing will only pay contractors for the time they spend doing presentations, or commission on sales. They're not paid for the time it takes to set up appointments, travel to and from locations, do any paper work, etc. And, they're not paid for training time either. One student we spoke with who worked for Vector Marketing, said his biggest pay cheque was around a hundred dollars for a week's work. There are stories of students who made big bucks working for Vector Marketing. But even reps from Vector say this isn't the job for everyone. Anyone who wants a steady paycheque based on guaranteed hours of work, probably won't make it at Vector Marketing. For tips on spotting a Vector Marketing classified ad, see the side bar. The 411 on Vector MarketingVector Marketing is a direct sales firm, with locations across the United States and Canada. The main product this company sells is Cutco Knives. Both Vector Marketing and Cutco Cutlery are part of a bigger company called Alcas Corporation. Alcas is based in New York. Branch managers for Vector Marketing recruit students by putting classified ads in newspapers, on billboards and on school campuses. The company also sends out direct mail. The company buys lists of students' names and addresses. Company employees then send letters to these students. The letters make it sound like they have been personally recommended for a job. Vector Marketing also runs the workforstudents.com website. This website contains vague information about Vector Marketing and the types of students it's looking to hire. But, the website doesn't clearly explain what students will be doing. |
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 original air date: Janurary 14, 2002 Page 01: Viewer Letter Back: to Episode 10 How to spot a Vector Marketing adHere are some of the typical phrases in Vector Marketing classified ads:
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