Matilda Jane MLM Review - Make Money Selling Doll Clothes?

If you are someone who loves shopping for clothes, what better way to feed your shopping addiction than actually selling clothes yourself? Matilda Jane MLM could possibly make that happen for you. In this Matilda Jane MLM review, I’ll look inside to see if this is a bargain or a big disappointment.

In order to make the Matilda Jane MLM work for you, it would also help to know a lot of women and/or people with kids since that is the target market here. The prices of the products aren’t too bad but may be out of reach for families that do not have a lot of disposable income.

What is Matilda Jane MLM?

Matilda Jane is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company was founded in 2006 by Denise DeMarchis. The clothing is targeted specifically to women and girls of all ages and includes accessories as well as products for the home. Have a look at this video overview of the 'Spirit of Matilda Jane' before reading on.

How Does Matilda Jane Work?

The clothes are sold through Trunk Keepers who are essentially distributors. Like most MLMs, you would make sales by having someone host a party. In return for the party, the host would qualify for a gift. Any sales from the party are sent directly to the company to be fulfilled and will be shipped directly to the customer.

Can You Make Money With Matilda Jane?

It may be difficult to make a lot of money with Matilda Jane. As a Trunk Keeper you are not really selling anything exclusive. These clothes can also be purchased online directly from the website as well as through other sites such as Zulily, Amazon or eBay.

So in order for you to make any DECENT money, you would need to recruit a downline of people who would sell clothing under your sponsorship. You would earn a percentage of their sales.

What Is A Jane?

A Jane is someone who is a hostess of a Matilda show. As a Jane hosting a show, you would earn either a discount or free products depending on the amount of sales from the show. Unfortunately, the discounts aren’t great. In order to get 50% off one item, your show needs to produce at least $300 in sales.

As you can see from the image above, 50% off one item is the bare minimum gift your host will receive. But 50% off one item doesn’t sound like a lot of incentive for a host to throw a party. Maybe it’s just me. Unless, of course, your host invites tons of people which is also possible, I guess. But having a lot of people at a party doesn’t necessarily translate into sales.

Pros:

Available in the U.S. and Canada
Not restricted to where or who you can sell to within the United States and Canada.

Free Training
As a Trunk Keeper, you will receive training and a personalized development plan free of charge.

Good Commission Rates
Trunk Keepers earn a commission rate of 20% for any products they sell. Unfortunately, that’s the only commission rate I could find.

Plenty of Variety
There is an extensive catalog of clothes ranging from clothes for children, women and baby clothes. There are also accessories such as small bags and toys and even products for the home such as pillows, blankets and bedding.

Cons:

High Startup Costs
Not only do you have to buy a starter kit here, you are also obligated to buy a seasonal kit every time a new line of clothes comes out. And you have to buy it at retail prices--not wholesale prices. The startup kit alone will set you back $1,600.

Non-refundable Deposit
As a Trunk Keeper, you have to pay a non-refundable deposit of $300 by credit card in order to become a Trunk Keeper.

Buy A Trunk
As a Trunk Keeper, you will also be required to purchase a trunk at the beginning of every Selling Season at the stated price.

No Ads
You are not permitted to promote clothes through ads on Facebook. You also cannot promote through ads you create yourself.

You Pay To Terminate
If you wake up one morning and decide that you no longer wish to be a Trunk Keeper, you have to notify Matilda Jane in writing and send that notification via Federal Express at your own expense.

The Charges Don’t Stop There
Matilda Jane can still bill you for commission refunds from customer returns or exchanges after your termination.

Maintain Monthly Sales Target
In order to stay in the game as a Trunk Keeper, you will need to maintain at least $1,500 of sales per month.

Beware of Lawsuits

This information should really be in the Con Section but I thought it should be highlighted. There's a woman in West Virginia who is actually suing Matilda Jane for poor labor practices. She was under the impression that she should be making at least minimum wage which is certainly not the case.

My guess is that the woman didn't really know what she was getting into when she signed up for Matilda Jane MLM. She probably didn't understand that you only make money on commission. And you are only paid a commission if you reach your sales quotas. But I thought it was definitely worth mentioning here.

Is Matilda Jane Legitimate?

The problem with MLMs is that they seem legitimate because it’s basically you are working as an affiliate or distributor to sell someone else’s product in exchange for commissions. But let’s think about that for a moment. You only make money from sales. There’s no hourly rate here. That means that you could work like a dog chasing people to buy merchandise and spending tons of time and money out of your own pocket knowing that the end result could be a big fat 0. No sales.

The other problem with MLMs is that there’s a lot of cost to you upfront. You have to buy your kit and all your startup materials in advance before you even arrange to have someone host a party.

Then there’s the recruitment issue. If you want to make more money, you’ll need to recruit a downline of people that work under your sponsorship. You will then earn money from any sales they make.

Final Thoughts

MLMs are great at making their products seem glamorous and easy to sell with catch phrases such as “these products are so good, they sell themselves.” I’m sure you’ve heard that before, right?

What they don’t tell you is how much work you will have to put into your business in order to make even small commissions. For anyone who needs a full-time income, this is a long game where you probably can’t wait for the payoff. Not to mention the high upfront costs.

With Matilda Jane products you are not giving your potential customers anything exclusive because those customers can also buy online directly from the Matilda Jane site or even other sites such as Zulily, Amazon or eBay.

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