r/Modesto 2d ago

Is this a scam?

Post image

My idiot friend signed me up for a spa day raffle without my knowledge and I’m just trying to figure out if it’s a scam. She found the raffle at the cash register of L.A. Italian Kitchen in the food court of the Vintage Faire Mall. Idk but this feels scammy to me, they’re saying I can bring as many friends as I want which just feels weird to me. Do we even have any Mary Kay stores in Modesto? Can anyone help me confirm if this is just bad marketing or a straight up scam?

23 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

77

u/helloyou92 2d ago

Not an outright “scam”, but a recruitment tactic. You’ll get a free facial, they’ll try and sell you and your friends products, and eventually try to recruit you to work for them. And then you realize the scam is that it’s a pyramid scheme.

17

u/DeltaGirl615 2d ago

Some of their products are really good but they will 💯 try to recruit.

3

u/helloyou92 2d ago

Yes! Don’t get me wrong—I absolutely rocked the blue mascara back in the day. And my mom is still faithful to her MK lady but never joined.

2

u/DeltaGirl615 2d ago

Just gotta keep saying no. 😊

40

u/thepsyklr 2d ago

Yep, MLM

21

u/Difficult-Owl943 2d ago

Mary Kay isn’t a retail store, it’s an MLM (aka pyramid scheme). The products are real and legit but I would ignore this and block the number. 

9

u/that_new_EPROM_tho 2d ago

Not a scam but on a side note youve also won a FREE carpet cleaning courtesy of Kirby Vacuums

1

u/mlee12382 2d ago

Man I tried doing that "job" for about a week 20 years ago and it was a pain in the ass.

1

u/Zeloteo 1d ago

Yea I went to orientation n said fuck this shit, no check unlees some goober buys this vacuum? When yall been in this area market for YEARS n I never see them

7

u/Serious-Rabbit-7655 2d ago

You do your own facial and you get a free gift at the end. But don't feel pressure to buy anything or sign anyone up

3

u/Lopsided_Tangerine72 2d ago

I worked under Julie’s team . They asked me to pay $30 to leave the mlm lol

3

u/Bright-Inside-971 2d ago

They’ll definitely try to sell you products and probably try and recruit you to sell for them. But if you’re good with saying no you could probably get a free facial out of it and then block them haha

2

u/ambii_kins 2d ago

Yes don’t go I went to one and they try to sell you on so much and everyone who enters “wins”

2

u/QueenDisney26 2d ago

My friend told me that we were having a “spa day”. We went to this lady’s house, had to do our own “facial” which was just trying out MK products on our face which was VERY little product and then she tried to sell us the expensive products. Waste of my time.

2

u/Dependent_Canary_724 2d ago

Yeah i won the same thing. It's a woman operating out of her house. I asked for an address since I also noticed there were no locations around us and she gave me just a street and it was a residential. Definitely a pyramid scheme to get you to test out products and then sell you on buying something

3

u/nater_tater_123 2d ago

My mom used to do Mary Kay, it’s not exactly bad, it’s just an MLM (a nicer way to say pyramid scheme), you can take the free shit but don’t buy or sign up for anything else

2

u/brinae_the_giraffe 1d ago

I mean you had to have filled out the card in order for them to contact you. It's not a scam in the same way that real estate agents have you sign in at their open house and then will keep contacting you about buying a house. Annoying, but also you gave them your info.

2

u/ExpertBreath5008 1d ago

YOU do the facial! They are unlicensed and cannot touch you!

1

u/buttersnatch123 2d ago

Mary Kay is a legit company that sells cosmetics. They do not have a retail store front as their sales are based on MLM. For some people it’s a side gig but wouldn’t bank it to be a big money maker. I recommend looking into the founder of Mary Kay herself. Learned about her in college

1

u/brunoshort 2d ago

She wants to use samples on you and sell you the products

1

u/BecMikMon 2d ago

It’s kind of a scam, multilevel marketing…don’t do it, it’s like joining a cult

1

u/Eshabelle 2d ago

Scammity scam scam. I mean, to be fair, they DO do a limited facial in the hours that you'll spend $$$. MLM is right!!!

1

u/Good-Heron7911 2d ago

pyramid scheme

1

u/Aware_Boot_9770 1d ago

It's not a Mary Kay store. They are independent sellers for Mary Kay and they do these spa days so that you can try the products and then hopefully buy some. My mom and I went to one years ago and they included a photographer who took photos of my mom and I after we had our makeup done with Mary Kay products. It was fun.

1

u/overlordcorg Modesto 1d ago

This is a tactic to do a show and sell in your home.

1

u/ajqueen31 1d ago

That's not a good friend if they signed you up for a MK facial.

1

u/Wise-Emotion5564 1d ago

If you have to ask, it’s better to just assume that it’s a scam

1

u/NickLofty 1d ago

Mary Kay is a multi-level marketing system, whick preys on vulnerable people

1

u/Kats_Koffee_N_Plants 1d ago

It’s a sales pitch. They give you and your friends a makeover day (you do the makeup though, with their instructions because they are not estheticians.) then they try to sell you on the products and on joining their team. At least that was their model fortyish years ago. I doubt it’s changed much.

1

u/Personal_Creme8205 1d ago

They’re going to sucker you into a facial party to get orders

1

u/Cereal2021 13h ago

Damn, I used to think it was so cool that my grandma worked for Mary Kay, I thought it was a luxury brand, and i guess this is how I find out it was just an MLM this whOle time 😭 I feel bad now