I'm waking up to a disappointing e-mail this morning. I was wrapping up a review for a direct sales company, Bamboo Pink, yesterday, but had trouble pulling up their website to grab a couple of stock photos. I tried and tried, with no result, so headed to their Facebook page, which looked like a ghost town. I saw a couple of comments from consultants and customers saying that they couldn't get through to customer service, and they wondered if the company was even still open?

I e-mailed their customer service department, asking if their website was down? The response came, and said that the company had 'dissolved,' and was no longer in business. I was shocked, as I thought their company was doing well. Bamboo Pink offered pretty jewelry by Jude Frances. They sent me several sample pieces, which I have worn and enjoyed. They failed to let me know what was going on with their company, though, and I'm honestly glad they if they had to close their doors, they did it before I could get my review posted, and promote their products and their business opportunity.

I am NOT knocking direct sales. I, myself am part of a wonderful direct sales company, and have a downline that I care about. Direct sales opportunities can be a wonderful thing for a family in need, a person who wants to share their love of helping people, and making them feel good, someone who wants to be their own boss and make their own schedule, etc. Companies like Mary Kay and The Pampered Chef, and even Tupperware have paved the way for women to be able to stay at home and raise their children, but still have their own successful business.

A lot of the companies we feature here on MBP are direct sales companies. We share about them because we love their products, and we want to share the opportunity with our readers. We have some wonderful, hard-working businesswomen in direct sales, who have joined us as Spotlight Sponsors. We highlight their products and their business opportunity each month, so that our readers can make informed decisions about purchases, hosting a party, or starting their own business.

Bamboo Pink is the second direct sales company, however, to close their doors while we were working on a review. Chartreuss closed their doors in April, and we were scheduled to review some of their products, as well. All I'm saying here, is do your research if you're thinking about getting into direct sales. I would hate for anyone to start up a new business with a company that is failing, and not letting on to their consultants or customers. No one needs to make an investment is a company that's going under. When I started poking around the internet and reading more about Bamboo Pink, I saw several negative reviews about the way their consultants were allowed to do business, lousy customer service reviews and even complains from some of the consultants claiming that they made sales, but never received commission checks. One consultant went so far as to tell others that she was going to sue the company.

When I joined Home Interiors as an Independent Consultant in 2008, I had no idea that the company was bankrupt. I invested a few hundred dollars, and just a few months later, my new business was in jeopardy. Thankfully, HI was bought out by a company called Home and Garden Party, and they graciously took on all HI consultants and accepted them into their family. We assumed a new, joint company under a new name, Celebrating Home, which is still going strong today, and I'm thankful to be a part of it.

There are a lot of new direct sales companies- they seem to pop up every day! There are so many of them, that I can't even keep up with them all, for wanting to introduce our community to their products and opportunity. Please just know that when we showcase a business opportunity here on MBP, it is still up to the reader to do the proper research on the company. I'm not a journalist, and don't have time to investigate each and every company we share about. So, please, please- just be cautious, use your good judgement, and make decisions based on facts. There's a reason why companies like Mary Kay are still booming after all these years.

We have a select handful of women we trust, and we know that they'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about what it's like to own a direct sales business. Our Spotlight Sponsors info can be found to the right of our homepage, underneath our archived posts. Chat with any of these girls for their honest feedback- they're fantastic women who care about their businesses, and their customers.

As for Bamboo Pink- their jewelry was cute. I liked it, and will probably still wear it. Hate that so many consultants lost their jobs, their downlines, and what they invested in this company.

Wanna talk about it? Leave a comment and we'll get a discussion going.