Cutco

Cutco is a brand of cutlery and kitchen accessories directly marketed to customers through in-home demonstrations by independent sales representatives who are mostly college students.[4][5] More than 100 kitchen cutlery products are sold under the Cutco name, as well as a variety of kitchen utensils, cookware, sporting, and outdoor knives.

Although the products are not typically purchased in retail stores, Cutco has opened six of its own retail stores: Indianapolis, Indiana; Okemos, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; Novi, Michigan; Edina, Minnesota; and Erie, Pennsylvania.[6] The company's knives are produced in Olean, New York, while other products are made in Mexico and China.[7]

A few Cutco knives and a pair of super shears

Vector Marketing is a multi-level marketing subsidiary that builds its sales force through advertising via newspapers, direct marketing, word-of-mouth, posted advertisements, letters, and various media on the internet.[8][9][10] Their fliers advertising "student work" are distributed in many high schools and college campuses across the United States and Canada. Students are hired to sell Cutco products (mainly kitchen knives) to customers, starting with their friends and family, then branching out through recommendations, all through one-on-one demonstrations. While Vector required a deposit on the sample kit representatives were issued in the past, this was changed in 2011, and deposits are no longer required from representatives.[11][12][13][14] Vector denies being a multi-leveling marketing company, or a pyramid scheme, but the Los Angeles Times says that it meets the Federal Trade Commission's exact definition of a multi-level marketing company. However since it does actually sell a product, it is not technically a pyramid scheme.[15][16][17]

• Official website