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Ok so I just got invited to a friend's shower, and it is a Pampered Chef shower. So I don't have to bring a gift, because the invite says that I will have stuff to select from there. Um, this completely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Has anyone else gone to one? Maybe I'm way off base, but it just seems like a racket.
Wait, you have to buy stuff at the shower, or the gift you bring has to be from Pampered Chef? That's strange - I've never heard of that!!
I've heard of these (my co-worker went to one last year). She thought it was strange, too, but supposedly, the bride's aunt sells pampered chef (and was the one who threw the party) and it was an excuse to make quite a bit of commission. I don't think the bride was too thrilled about it either.
But maybe it's what the bride wanted...maybe she just really loves pampered chef?
Seems a little "off" - is one of the bride's friends hosting, as in, they get a cut of everything? (I assume that's how PC works).
To each his own......not something I would choose to do, but I'm not the one getting married. If that's what they want then hey, why not, though I can see it being a bit awkward knowing how much everything costs that everyone is buying there.
Oh, wow, that's bad! Technically it's not the bride's fault, since the bride doesn't usually plan the shower. I guess I would chalk it up to the host not being very tasteful. I would still go though if it isn't the bride's idea.
Yeah I find that a little strange... Especially since someone is making commission off of what you buy! I really hope it's not the person throwing the shower, because that would definitely leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Well, it's a Pampered Chef party....that's usually how they go. If she wants kitchen gadgets, you can pick it out there I guess. Which is a little different but hopefully the 'host' has the tact to handle the money stuff in a separate room...which is always how i've seen it done.
Some people really really love pampered chef--a friend of mine is just addicted to it and registered there, which you can do, also.
Hopefully whoever makes the commission (i hate those kinds of set ups!) donates it (how cool would that be? Donating to the bride's favorite charity?) or pays for extra nice food and drinks for everyone that night, knowing that she'll bring in some money.
As I understand, the person selling Pampered Chef gets a cut, and my friend gets "points" or some shite for everything everyone buys. I feel like I HAVE to buy something, and I don't even get to go on a registry and think "Oh, Ms. Shower and I love to drink wine together, so I'll get her these wine glasses she has registered for," I feel like it is going to be the Sham-Wow guy in my face forcing me to buy silicone oven mits or something, and everyone is skimming off the top!
it's like a tupperware/mary kay/avon party and calling it a bridal shower.
you don't bring a gift, you buy something off their catalog, and that's the bride's gift. (and the aunt's commission).
i wouldn't do it.
Do you think she would be offended if you bought something off the registry and brought it to the shower?
Yep, it's like Mary Kay. The Pampered Chef lady buys the products for 50% price and sells them at retail (whatever you pay for, basically). And the more people buy, like let's say the sales are $400 that night, the bride gets like $50 worth of 'points' to spend towards more Pampered Chef.
Oh yeah if she's already registered, just pick that up. And if anybody asks why you did that instead, just make something up--"oh i was already shopping" or "oh i'd already bought it" or something.
It does seem a little odd at first, but after I thought about it, it's almost the same thing as a registery (kind of). I know when I registered, I registered at my favorite stores. Beings I created a list of things on my registery, I was basically telling my guests "hey, this is what I want!" To me, having a Pampered Chef shower party thingy is no different. It's just the bride telling you what she wants. I personally LOVE pampered chef and I'm a huge kitchen gadget freak, so I would have loved a party like this...I would have received things that I knew I would 100% use all of the time. My shower experience was that out of about 30 ladies, only 2 actually shopped from my registery. Don't get me wrong, I was very greatful for everything I received, but considering the ladies didn't shop off of my registery, they pretty much gave me things that I already had and did not need.
I don't think these are that bad. I've been to one before. It was actually kind of convenient for me, I like Pampered Chef stuff, and I bought something for me and took care of her registry at the same time. I personally would rather an individual that was close to the bride get the money than a large chain like Target or Macy's. I can see where some might think it's in poor taste, but I thought it was kind of unique and a smart way to make sure you get what you want.
im a pampered chef consultant and this is a great way for the bride to get some good kitchen stuff. im not trying to promote or anything. i usually try to throw in something for guests to win and so on so theres a little more fun involved. it basically works like a catalog show. the bride gets the free product credit too. its great if the bride likes pampered chef but if she has no interest in it then well...you get the idea. basically the bride looks through the catalog and creates a wishlist...pretty much what she would do for a registry at a store. the wish list is then presented to the guests at the shower to choose from. dont freak out if your budget is a little tight. there are several items that arent that expensive. if the idea of this still freaks you out then just get her a card and a different kind of gift. im sure she'd understand. hope ive helped a little bit
I agree with JSDragon. If the bride is having a pampered chef party, chances are she likes pampered chef and if a loved one also benefits, the more the merrier!
That's definitely not going to be your average bridal shower, but at least the bride-to-be will get everything that she registered for. I hope that they keep some tradition. Hopefully they will have bridal shower games.:)
For my bridal shower I wouldn't like to control what everyone gets me. I just want fun, flirty stuff for my honey moon like they give at all the other traditional bridal showers...
I hope you have fun at the bridal shower! And take notes for your bridal shower you might love the idea and do it for yours!
oh...the commission a consultant makes isn't 50%. i do want to make that clear. like i said before...i try to throw in free stuff for guests to win...i.e. ill make up my own "gift certificates" that the guests can try to win....that money comes out of my commission. thats just me. its not how every consultant works. i do pampered chef because i enjoy doing it and i love the products.
hum...if it makes you uncomfortable (it would totally make me uncomfortable, i kinda think its a little tacky), i would do what ejs said pick up something off her registry, and when/if someone says something just say you had already gotten it for her prior to the invite and just couldn't wait to give it to her!
the papmered chef stuff is nice...but everytime i've seen them someplace/at a party, i always feel like the person selling is so pushy and that have to buy something...um, awkward!
goodluck! and have fun at the party!
ps kingcake are you in nola? i <3 kingcake!
50%? Really? So if I buy her a gift, say a silicon oven mitt, for $10, $5 of my dollars goes into the pocket of the Pampered Chef rep? That is way different from a registry, in that Chuck Williams isn't attending in person, and taking a 50% vig! Now I have decided it is ok to be judgmental.
There was a plan to throw me one of these and I asked for them not to make it a pampered chef party... it was going to be complete with demonstrations and everything. I don't really even like Pampered chef that much!!!! AND then to top it off, she still announced that if people wanted to buy me something, she would be taking orders, and I still haven't gotten my stuff yet. Boohiss. This was over 1.5 months ago.
My mom is a pampered chef consultant and we were originally going to do a pampered chef style bridal shower. Mostly because I felt obligated to do it that way. I decided that I really didn't like the idea of people not coming with a gift and having to do it there, it just seems like a lot more pressure. And what do you do at the opening presents part of a bridal shower, that is pretty much how you know a shower is done and over with.
I think a lot of my guests wouldn't have enjoyed it much. It seems like people like to see you open their gift and be able to see your reaction, rather than them getting your gift in the mail two weeks later.
I also didn't want anyone making money off of my guests purchases. That just seems really strange to me, but I do still like their products...so, I am just listing my pampered chef registry along with my other ones...people can just order off the site if they would like and bring it with them. Otherwise they can go to the other brick and mortar stores that we registered at. Hopefully, everyone will feel comfortable this way and have a good time!
Ugh, sorry to comment twice, but the more I think about it, the more this irks me! In 3 years of reading the boards thisis the *only* thing I have ever read about that I would call tacky. These type of MLM "party" companies like Pampered Chef are pretty bad for most of the sellers, too. Over 90% of them end up losing money (a good info site is www.pinktruth.com). I personally have stopped attending these parties altogether. It's tough though if this wasn't the bride's idea. You don't want to punish the bride for having a pushy host.
I think a good idea would be to bring a cooking-related gift that she can use along with her new Pampered Chef stuff. A copy of your favorite cookbook would be nice. And then I wouldn't buy anything at this shower/sales pitch.
Oh my - this is what my FMIL suggested throwing for me. I was horrified - it sounds so terribly tacky, and NOT my style. Nevermind the fact that I don't WANT pampered chef products. My mom hates the idea of it as well - so one of us will have to get the guts to tell her 'no thanks'.
According to my FMIL, the commission would go to the bride - but I guess it's an individual thing. Either way, it's tacky!
The commission doesn't go to the bride. the free product credit does. just like with anyone hosting a pampered chef party. it's basically considered a catalog show. pampered chef consultants DO NOT receive a 50% commission. The commission a consultant earns does not even come close to 50%. I apologize to any of the brides out there who feel as if they've been pressured into a pampered chef bridal shower. that shouldn't have happened. for those not comfortable with the idea of a pampered chef bridal shower, the bride can also just do a wedding registry with pampered chef just like she would with any other store. all people have to do is go to the website and choose what they want to purchase. pampered chef bridal showers are not for everyone. its a personal preference.
Ok i know Mary Kay works with 50% but I guess Pampered Chef does not.
And every party I've been to, the 'host' provides freebies, goodies, etc, like what guffee says she does. Then it's more of a party, not so much a grabby thing like what I think some of you are imagining.
Maybe it's different when it's a store making money, not a person, haha.
I don't find it that offensive. It's a little weirder than a regular shower, but showers are supposed to be all about gifts, gifts, gifts anyway. I used to go with my mom to some of these Pampered Chef parties when I was younger and if they do all the demonstrations, it's kind of like an infomercial - it's fascinating but you don't really know why.
I really do not like this idea, and would probably skip it, depending on how close the bride was to me. Whether it is 50% or 10%, I don't like the bride's aunt (or friend, mom, sister) making money off my gift to the bride. I also don't like the "how much did you spend?...how much did she spend?" atmosphere of those types of parties.
I think the party depends on the consultant on how enjoyable the experience is...
I love pampered chef (not having a Bshower one though!) and have been to several regular consultants parties. Some were better than others. Everyone loves freebees and games so more consultants should do them, better for business.... a couple I went to were basically a cooking demonstration and they handed you a catalog. Um, boring. Yeah.
I registered at pampered chef and my sis put it out to people invited to the shower but they people invited to the wedding will only know about my other registries... but I don't think I'd ever like a shower strictly for pampered chef.
If I were a guest at this shower, I'd be really uncomfortable. I wouldn't want people buying presents for me in front of me. I think that would be awkward.
I'm also assuming that the gifts wouldn't be wrapped, which is also sad. Half the fun of having a shower is opening a mountain of presents!
I am so confused. I would hope that if you are invited to her shower, you would know whether or not she is obsessed with Pampered Chef - so is she?
@bmore - thats funny! i never thought of it that way! lol! guffee, the infomercial lady!! ha ha!
@heathaah - anytime you buy something, even from a store, someone makes money off of it. most large chain stores make alot in profit from the items they sell. whether you bought from a store or a consultant, someone is making money.
@jqoulart - when you do a pampered chef wedding registry they give you small cards that can go in with your invites so that your wedding guests know that you're also registered with pampered chef and how to purchase items in your registry.
Thanks Guffee, I preferred only my shower guests know about my pampered chef, only because all the women invited to my wedding were invited to my shower and most likely know about pampered chef whereas the wedding gifts I thought would be more appropriate to be generic registries (not sure how else to put it! )
:o)
I don't really see a problem with it. Someone is making money off of your purchase, whether it is Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, or the aunt. It's not like this aunt is just doing it, that is her job to sell these products. I hope that she would have games and giveaways though to make it more fun. Honestly, I hate the part of showers where people open gifts and since that wouldn't be included in this type of shower, it makes me like it better.
haha my mom mentioned doing this. i really dont like the idea. i want my guests to buy what they feel comfortable with and not feel pressured with everyone around them. i think it would be a little awkward. if it were me, id rather buy off the registry.
My mom had one of these types of things for china instead though for her shower. Appears to be not all that uncommon!
I was a PC consultant for a while, and it works like this - they pick what they want to give the bride, order it and pay for it, then the consultant puts in the order and the products are shipped to the hostess (in this, case the bride). The bride gets a specific amount off of whatever she wants to buy, plus can also get free products, so the higher the $ amount of everyone's purchases, the more the bride gets for free or discounted. It can work really well for people who love PC, but I don't think I would have done that as my bridal shower.
FYI - She probably won the show at a bridal show she went to, so the consultant pays for the food for the guests, the bride only has to invite guests
I understand someone makes money off of any registry gift anywhere. My point is that it I feel uncomfortable with a friend or family member taking advantage of the bride's shower to make a profit for herself.
ETA: I would be uncomfortable and maybe even embarrassed if my aunt did this for me. I would not like the awkward position it puts my friend's in.
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