My First Order

Alright, here we go! I placed my first order on January 19, 2010. I must say I was quite impressed with their speed. The order was placed around 4pm, and by dinnertime, I had an email confirmation that it had been shipped. Crazy! That was Tuesday, and I received my order Friday afternoon - even with all the crazy weather that ripped through AZ that week. So, here's the details of the order and a price comparison with Walmart. I feel that I need to add a disclaimer...this would not post the way I typed it in, so I had to find a better way to present my information. Here's how it reads:
Product
WM $
New $
Points (35 needed)

laundry detergent 192 loads
$26.34
$29.99
19

pump
$0
$1.99
0

Fabric Softener 64 loads
$7.82
$5.69
3

pump
$0
$1.99
0

Lotion for Dry Skin(compared with Eucerine) 20 oz
$12.80
$15.99
12

Face Lotion (Vitamart)
$20.00
$22.50
14

All Purpose Cleaner 96oz
$12.29
$5.69
3

mixing bottle
$0
$1.49
0

Shipping + handling
$0
$9.06

Totals:
WM $79.25
$94.39
51 points
Total minus one time purchases: $88.92

One time purchases are the mixing bottles and pumps. The products are concentrated, so you need a mixing bottle to dilute correctly. And might I add that the bottles are quite pretty...they match my kitchen perfectly. Bonus! :) I can leave them on the counter and they blend right in. The WM price is calculated per ounce - not the actual bottle - to make for an accurate comparison.

So, about $10 more for natural products - including shipping! I didn't include tax, because that should be the same for both stores. Also, my face lotion says Vitamart because that's where I buy it...it's Avalon Organics. I look forward to telling you about these products and how they measure up individually in future blogs. More later...

Signing Up

The company I am dealing with has two kind of customers - those that sporadically order and those that order every month. When you agree to order every month, you receive 30 - 40% off of their regular prices. This is what makes their products affordable. Now there is a slight catch, of course. They assign each product a point value, and you have to order 35 points (which equals more than $35) every month. I've looked into it, and I don't think it will be a problem at all. Also, at sign up, you pay a $30 fee. Every year after this, they charge a $12 annual fee. Kind of like a warehouse store I suppose. The first year is $30 because they send you a small business kit in case you want to pursue the business aspect of it. The good thing about this is that you are considered a business partner no matter what and apparently everything you order is tax deductible. I love that idea...but it seems too good to be true--everything I buy is tax deductible? I'm checking this out further just to be sure. :)
When I finally decided to give this company a try, I called the representative I'd been talking to and she walked me through an online application form that took about 15 minutes. I printed out all the fine print, read it in my spare time, and found no problems. So, now I'm set to go. If I do end up loving the products and referring people to the company I can make 20% on everything they end up purchasing. I only refer, not sell anything.
So, onto the ordering!