Letters recently sent to young people throughout Southern California arrive in plain white envelopes without a return address. “Time sensitive information is attached,” he said.

A piece of paper in the claim to represent “important opportunities for students in your area,” with “direct vacancies for summer work.”

“The initial payment is very good – and the best part is that you don’t need any experience,” he said. “We will train you and teach you everything you need to succeed.”

It sounds good. Except for a few small things.

Like: What is this company? And what is its function?

The only clue is the company which refers to itself as Vector, “an international company founded in 1981.” It is said to have openings in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Marina del Rey, Beverly Hills “and surroundings.”

Is this a scam? Not. This is real business.

Is this a dubious way to recruit people? Yes, of course.

Here’s what you need to know if you or your child get one of these things.

Real vector Vector Marketing, a New York sales branch of a private company called Cutco, which manufactures kitchen knives and claims annual sales of more than $ 200 million.

What the company is doing is recruiting young people to sell cutlery that costs an average of $ 366 but can work more than $ 2,700 for high-end devices. Vector / Cutco temporarily switched from Avon-style home visits to virtual sales calls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Salespeople get around $ 21 for each appointment they order, or they will receive a sales commission of at least 10%, whichever amount is higher.

“Anyone can sell Cutco,” said Ryan Williams, 21, who started as a rank-and-file salesman after being recruited by a friend two years ago and now managing the company’s Northridge operations.

“I like to say we are in the transportation business,” he told me. “We bring people from their places to where they want to be.”

If that sounds like a sharpened sales tone, bingo. The people who succeed in this game are those who are naturally talented in moving any product.

“I understand selling knives might sound strange or different,” Williams admitted. “Sales are not for everyone. We are looking for people who work hard and take initiative. “

And maybe who won’t ask too many questions.

The internet dripping with writing from former Cutco sales rep who said the company was nothing more than a pyramid scheme aimed at enriching senior managers.

There is something to this. Williams said salespeople were encouraged to recruit friends who were suitable for the organization. He also said managers like himself received part of the sales made by subordinates.

But that doesn’t make this a pyramid scheme, where money flows up to the highest level of employees, leaving little for those at the bottom of the pyramid.

As far as I know, Vector does not depend on an endless stream of raw recruitment to make money. The company has legitimate products to sell and reviews for the knife generally positive.

It also does not require new salespeople to buy their own knife sets for demonstration – a classic tactic for what is known as a “multilevel marketing” operation, such as Amway or Herbalife.

Indeed, Vector tried hard to emphasize that it wasn’t a multilevel marketing company, even though it was exactly like that.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, multilevel marketing company “Selling their products or services through person-to-person sales. That means you sell directly to other people, maybe from your home, a customer’s home or online. “

“If you join MLM, you will become a sales force,” the agency said. “Your job is to sell the company’s products and, in many cases, convince others to join, invest, and sell.”

Joel Koncinsky, Vector’s spokesman, told me that although the company’s sales reps were rewarded for recruiting new employees, the compensation system was different from some other multilevel marketing companies where high-level employees benefit from subordinate cash flow.

“We think therein lies the confusion,” he said.

Yes No. Vector’s sales structure is an exact match for the FTC’s definition of a multilevel marketing company. There is no confusion.

That was one of the reasons Vector was prosecuted repeatedly for allegedly fraudulent recruitment practices, including actions taken by Arizona attorney general in 1990 and another by Wisconsin authorities several years later.

In 2011, Vector agreed to pay $ 13 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him of failing to pay the minimum salesperson’s wage.

Five years later, the company paid $ 6.75 million resolve class action lawsuits accusing him of failing to provide adequate compensation to salespeople in California and several other states.

“In the business world, lawsuits occur,” Koncinsky said. “We decided not to acknowledge mistakes, but to better invest our time and energy in the hardworking managers and representatives we serve every day.”

Some former salespeople say online part of the reason Vector is aggressively recruiting inexperienced young people is because they want them to sell wet knives to friends and family, who might be more likely to feel sorry for and make a purchase.

That doesn’t make the Vector or Cutco a pyramid scheme. But the fact that the company is very reluctant to have multilevel marketing status is a sign of danger.

My biggest problem with all this is an ambiguous deliberate recruitment strategy that focuses on teenagers and people in their early 20s, targeted through mailing lists sold by shadow data brokers.

Any company that is going up and up, and that sells legitimate products, shouldn’t hide behind envelopes and unsigned letters that try hard not to tell you anything.

If you are a knife company and the recruitment letter does not contain the words “knife” or “knife,” there is clearly an attempt being made to mislead.

Koncinsky stressed that everything was made clear “during the interview process.”

“Although our letters do not try to explain everything our representative will do, each of our recruitment letters clearly states our name Vector,” he said.

Ah.

Williams, Vector Northridge’s manager, told me that you cannot beat a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sell goods to an audience that is held at home during a pandemic.

Sales, he said, have more than doubled since last year.

“This is amazing,” Williams said. “Demos are easier to order than before. Everyone cooks at a very high speed. “

He told me that he started selling Cutco knives at the age of 19. He said he earned around $ 3,000 the first summer to sell around $ 15,000 in knives.

“I was able to pay my way through school and get some resume experience,” Williams said. “If it’s a scam, it’s a very good scam.”

We will leave it alone.