Part 1: Selling products from home can be a full-time job

When Misti Cousineau was in high school, she started selling Aloette-brand cosmetic products from home.

“I thought I could fit it in and get some really good skills,” she says.

More than a decade later, Cousineau is still going into homes, setting up parties and demonstrating Aloette cosmetics – but now as a full-time job.

People have been making money off Avon, Amway, Tupperware and other brands in what’s now called ‘multi-level marketing’ for decades, but there’s been a resurgence of the idea over the past few years, with many new companies joining the marketplace.

Vitamins, knives, fitness programs and even website sales are now sold through multi-level marketing, and the Direct Sellers Association estimates that the industry has grown 11 per cent over the past two years.

Companies like it because they can sell their products without buying expensive retail space, while salespeople like Cousineau like it because they maintain more control over their hours and income.

“I was actually making more money doing Aloette part-time than I was full-time salaried,” she says.

More than 600,000 people agree with that sentiment enough to sell direct products of some sort themselves – accounting for a $2.2-billion industry in Canada alone.

Consumers like it too – just ask Dona Theriault, who recently had Cousineau into her home for an Aloette demonstration.

“It was very convenient. It was easy,” she tells CTV News.

 

Part 2: From new to used, online buyers seem to want everything

Tony Lemieux finds old furniture, refinishes it and sells it online.

“At first we sold a couple pieces, and then we thought ‘Why don’t we go find a couple more pieces and just see if this is real?’” he tells CTV News.

He and his wife have made enough money – about $3,000 in one recent month – that they’ve even started renting workspace outside their home to keep the furniture train rolling.

Jonathan Costa doesn’t upgrade the items he lists for sale online, but he too finds buyers for items his family doesn’t need anymore.

“Money-wise, I’ve probably made $450 to $500 in two weeks,” he says.

A quick scan of listings on Kijiji, one of the most popular online marketplaces, turns up everything from hand-knit teddy bears to an entire tool-and-die business.

It seems just about anything can show up for sale online – and almost all of it finds a buyer.

Still, safety concerns are always on sellers’ minds – understandably, as most transactions are completed in-person by two parties who don’t know each other.

“If it sounds weird enough, I just won’t respond because I know it’s probably not legitimate,” says Lemieux.

Costa says he tries to arrange meetings in public places and only accepts cash for his items.