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Comment by oneiric | Hacker News Reader

"Mayvenn will send you a check for your earned commissions every month. You can do anything you want with it – pay rent, pay for your car or buy those shoes you wanted!"

From Mayvenn's site. Does this seem insulting to anyone else?

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In an initial reading it strongly implies Mayvenn thinks its customers don't know that checks can be redeemed for normal money. There is also a bit of a scale jump from "pay your rent, your car" to "your shoes". But I guess it is implied its $200 shoes.

Since this indeed seem like a pretty insulting way to address a business owner, maybe a more reasonable explanation is that Mayvenn earlier paid commissions in store credits and not actual money? An alternative would be that they pay in some sketchy way that can eventually be turned into normal money. Both alternatives would create a need to reassure prospective clients that they will indeed get real money at the end of the day.

If the hairdressers in the target market tend to have cash flow problems, it wouldn't be too surprising for them to not have bank accounts / be unaccustomed to handling checks. Even in America.

Insulting because they did their market research and have tailored the message to address the needs/wants of the target audience ... outrageous indeed. Next thing you know companies on the internet will start showing ads in webpages targeting what they think I could want/need. Being insulted here is really pointless.

It's insulting because it addresses its target audience as though they are children, as if they don't know how money works.

To me the emphasis is simply an implication that their customers get pitched a lot of programs where the payout has strings attached. (A common tactic to exploit the poor- see the old "company store" days)

Simple example, the reward points I get on my credit card are not cash. They can be redeemed on my mortgage, but not on shoes.

A product that is trying to differentiate itself from such programs would certainly want to really emphasize that they are giving you cash.

Why, exactly? Some women really like shoes. If most African American hair stylists (their customers) really like shoes, is it insulting?

Also, shoes that simultaneously meet standards of professionalism for women and are comfortable enough to be worn by someone on their feet for 9 hours a day are expensive.

For example: Dasko, a brand commonly worn by nurses seem to be in the $120-$140 range. http://www.zappos.com/dansko-shoes/CK_XAVICuAPiAgIKAQ.zso

I think that your statement assumes that somebody that works in a beauty salon should want something 'better' than buying shoes. For a (most likely) low income woman, being able to afford something luxurious like beautiful shoes likely represents a significant accomplishment and would be very personally rewarding. This is good marketing copy, and probably does a better job of recruiting stylists than reading like a mutual fund prospectus.

Poor choice of words? Sure.

Insulting? Not really.

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