avon basics you need to know

How Avon works

Avon is a direct-selling beauty business. Here is how the model works in South Africa and what your day-to-day might look like as a representative.

What Avon is

Avon is one of the world’s best-known beauty brands, offering skincare, fragrance, cosmetics and everyday personal care. Products are sold through independent representatives directly to the customer. This is called direct selling.

How the Avon business works

Avon runs in monthly campaigns. Each campaign has a new brochure with fresh offers. You share the brochure in person or online, collect orders, and place one order with Avon. You pay Avon your discounted Avon rep price, and the customer pays you the price in the brochure. The difference between these two amounts is your Avon earnings before any business expenses .

Business expenses

Running your own Avon business means you may have business expenses in addition to the cost of the products you purchase from Avon.

It is important to keep these costs in mind when working out how much you are actually earning. The difference between the price you pay Avon and the price your customer pays is not necessarily your final profit, because you may have business expenses to cover.

Common examples include:

  • Extra brochures: You may want additional printed brochures to give to customers or leave with potential customers.
  • Samples: You may choose to purchase samples so customers can try fragrances, skincare or other products before ordering.
  • Packaging: Bags, wrapping or other packaging may be useful when preparing customer orders.
  • Mobile data and communication: WhatsApp, social media, calls and other digital communication may use mobile data or airtime.

Your digital tools

Avon helps you manage your business by providing you with an Avon mobile app, as well as the Avon representative website.

These tools help you place orders, view the latest brochures and special offers, and stay up to date with the latest training to help you in your business.

Avon ON App

What an Avon representative does

The process is simple and repeatable:

  • Share the current brochure and your personal online store link
  • Answer product questions and make recommendations
  • Place your campaign order and package them for each individual customer when they arrive
  • Deliver the order and take payment
  • Follow up so customers come back next campaign

Most reps will set a monthly ordering schedule in advance. Special holidays like Valentine’s Day and the festive season may influence when you order so you can deliver the products in time.

Your role in Avon

When you become an Avon Representative, you are self-employed and run your own independent business. You are not an employee of Avon.

Avon provides the products, brochures, digital tools and support to help you sell, but you are responsible for managing your own customer relationships, orders, payments and business expenses.

This means you have flexibility in how you build your customer base and how you organise your time, but your Avon business also comes with responsibilities.

Think of Avon as the supplier and yourself as the reseller of the Avon products.

Credit accounts at Avon

Some Representatives may qualify for a credit facility with Avon, depending on their credit assessment.

When you apply to become a representative, Avon is required to conduct a credit assessment before providing credit. This isn’t a personal decision made by your Sales Leader or someone deciding whether they “trust” you. The assessment is part of the legal requirements that apply to credit providers under South Africa’s National Credit Act. Not every Representative will receive the same account type or credit limit.

Having an Avon account does not automatically mean that you have a credit facility. Avon may require orders to be paid for before they are released, depending on your account type.

If you do receive a credit facility, remember that it is credit that must be managed and repaid, it isn’t additional income. Staying within your credit limit and paying your Avon account on time is an important part of running your business.

Avon Rewards

As you grow your personal sales, you can unlock more benefits through Avon Rewards.

The programme runs over three-month periods, with your total personal sales determining the Rewards level you qualify for. As you move up the levels, you can unlock higher fixed earnings, administration-fee exemptions, sample offers, exclusive promotions, product rewards and more.

Do not be misled by claims that you can earn a guaranteed income or make easy money through direct selling.

How to get started with Avon

Apply online and a leader will contact you to confirm your details. Once your account is ready, you can share your brochure, place your first order and begin building your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to questions about how Avon works

No. Avon Representatives are self-employed independent contractors, not employees of Avon. You run your own Avon business and are responsible for managing your customers, orders, payments and business expenses.

Representatives purchase Avon products at the applicable rep price and sell them to customers at the applicable selling price. The difference between the two amounts represents the earnings before any business expenses.

When you apply, Avon may assess your credit information and determine whether you qualify for credit and what credit limit applies to your account. Your credit limit is not necessarily the same as another Representative’s

You can agree on payment arrangements with your customers, but this is generally discouraged. You still owe Avon for the products you ordered even if your customer has not paid you.


For this reason, collecting payment before or when you deliver is generally a safer way to manage your Avon cash flow.

The customer not paying does not remove your obligation to Avon. You remain responsible for amounts due on your Avon account.

This is why it’s important to keep track of customer orders and payments and avoid allowing unpaid customer balances to build up.

Not necessarily. Your ordering approach depends on the way you choose to run your business. Some representatives start by sharing the brochure or their online store, collecting customer orders and then placing their campaign order. Others may choose to order a few things for themselves and their family to get started.

Avon operates in monthly campaigns, with new brochures and offers released at the start of each month. Many representatives develop a regular ordering routine around each campaign, while adjusting their schedule for busy periods such as Valentine’s Day and the festive season.

Established Representatives often plan their ordering around their customers’ paydays, which can allow them to place two or more orders during a campaign month. This can help keep products moving regularly and give customers more opportunities to order throughout the month.