Direct selling
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Direct selling is the marketing of products or services to consumers through sales tactics including presentations, demonstrations, and phone calls. It is sometimes also considered to be a sale that does not utilize a "middle man" such as a retail outlets, distributors or brokers. This is needed where the products value like in Insurance, needs more explanation and cannot be purchased off the shelf.
At its best, direct selling can be an opportunity for individuals to find fulfilment, express their entrepreneurial talents and gain financial independence. At its worst, it can become a kind of pyramid scheme.
Some direct selling associations, for example the Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland, the direct selling association of Germany, have given themselves codes of conduct which lead to a fair partnership both with customers and salesmen.
Most of the national direct selling associations are represented in the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA). In Europe there are two supranational associations: the first one is the Federation of European Direct Selling Associations (FeDSA), the second one is the Direct Selling Europe, which is founded in spring 2007.
Please note that direct selling involves people and is a part of direct marketing which additionally involves the use of media, print etc.
There are prominent people in the society who started their careers in direct selling.
Zig Ziglar started his illustrious career direct selling cookware. Richard DeVos and Jay Van Andel the founders of Amway were actually direct sellers of Nutrilite. Brian Tracy also claims experience in direct selling.
[edit] Comic books
In the comic book trade, direct sales has a somewhat different meaning. It involves retailers taking advance orders for titles and purchasing only as many as they need, eliminating the previous process of having to "strip" (remove) & return covers for a refund; this was done to indicate the "stripped" copies had been destroyed. (Such copies do occasionally turn up in used bookstores; publishers consider them stolen.) This also allowed retailers to offer titles with mature or explicit content inappropriate for newsstand sales.
