History of Direct Selling
Early
direct sellers – hawkers, peddlers, traders, itinerant merchants and caravans –
are part of an ancient tradition that originated in man’s basic need to
exchange goods and to communicate. Doorbells, catalogues and purchase orders
were centuries away from the early direct seller who relied on his instincts
and common sense to make a living through selling.
As he
established economic ties with his neighbors, he traveled extensively despite
geographical barriers. The development and use of roads and or water routes for
commercial activity were pivotal points in the history of direct selling.
Early man
had the option of either contending with geographical barriers like mountains
and foothills, or refining the surroundings that hindered trade movements. At
the outset, during a period of time called “prehistoric,” trade followed
naturally-defined routes. Traffic between neighboring people of eastern Europe,
for instance, was hampered by a mosaic of densely and sparsely inhabited areas
covered with ridges, foothills and valley floors. These ecological niches were
an impediment to commercial exchange between Northern and southern Europe.
Early
traders developed easily accessible routes to facilitate land travel. Along
ruggedly constructed roads treaded the early direct seller with his goods. Even
before the advent of wheeled traffic, the early direct seller did not hesitate
to exchange pottery, stone weapons, tools, agricultural products and raw
materials with people from other lands. Barter, the direct exchange of goods
for goods, was his principal means of trade.
Among the
early civilizations, Egypt, Syria, Babylonia and India were actually involved
in trade. Ivory and ebony were exchanged for pottery and stone vessels. Indian
beads and vases, believed to have originated in remote localities, were found
in Babylonia.
In
Greece, the caravan trade that connected the Greek world with Asia, prospered.
Everyday articles, domestic tools, metal kitchenware and ordinary clothes were
exchanged. Markets, in their fundamental stages, were meeting places for
customers and direct sellers. Frequently, the direct seller used the market as
one of his stopping points before continuing his village-to-village journey.
Anatolia,
which is presently Turkey, was an area in which direct sellers, traveling by
donkey, sold cloth to people he encountered along the way. The purchase price
was generally higher than at trading centers because of the length of the haul
and the hazards of the expedition.
The early
direct seller seized all opportunities to trade his goods when traveling. Fairs
connected with religious feasts brought him to the armies stationed in the
fields. Swarms of salesmen procured for the troops all the goods they needed.
The
direct seller’s activities were influenced, certainly, by the cultures from
which they emerged. As early as 2000 B.C., the Code of Hammurabi, a monument of
Babylonian law, protected the general welfare and integrity of the Babylonian
direct seller, who was then referred to as the “peddler.” The Code stated that
“the peddler shall swear the oath of God” if any enemy caused him trouble in
the travels. It also said that the merchant who sells the goods must be aptly
compensated. Trade by land, though hindered by poor roads, continued to grow
after the birth of Christ.
In the
5th century A.D., Athens was involved in a great deal of direct selling. Many
producers who sold direct to the consumer without the intervention of a
middleman, continued to sell their goods in this fashion, despite the growing
urban population which spawned a new class of retailers. The direct seller of
the 5th century either sold his wares about the street or exhibited them for
sale on stalls and in shops. Others traveled from place to place, following armies
on the march. They visited great festivals and fairs as well, and sold from
village to village.
The 10th
century marked the beginning of worldwide economic expansion. As commercial
opportunities grew, so did the opportunities for the direct seller. He was the
native merchant in Western Europe, for example, during the Middle Ages, and he
played an important role in bringing about the perpetuation of trade during the
Commercial Revolution of the 10th to 13th centuries. He witnessed great
progress in road building at this time. In France, the direct seller
contributed to the growth of trade by bringing “novelties” from the large
cities to small villages. Many of the more prosperous French towns were graces
with the opportunity to buy woolen and silk belts, bonnets, brass rings,
thimbles and writing tablets from the direct seller.
The
traveling merchant was cited in mythology as a notable direct seller. Ulysses,
the mythic hero, once posed as a merchant. The little tale, repeated by many
ancient authors in many different forms, makes reference to Ulysses as a
traveling merchant. The antedates the American peddler by almost 3,000 years.
At a palace, Ulysses offered ornaments for sale that he had placed on his arm.
The king’s daughters were “engrossed with the contents of the merchant’s pack.”
In the
17th century, “The Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare, was inspired by a
girl peddling flowers. This flower girl was reminiscent of the direct seller of
the Middle Ages who walked tirelessly through the village streets displaying
his goods.
In early
America, for instance, the renowned Yankee Peddler walked to his customers
while those of grander stature rode horseback. The prosperous sellers rode in
wagons or carriages.
As
emigrants began to filter into early American territories in the 18th and 19th
centuries, many became direct sellers. Like their predecessors, these direct
sellers began their treks on trails marked by nature. Good roads developed
slowly on the frontiers of early America. Early Indian trails evolved into
major roads and eventually turnpikes. As the roadways expanded, the Yankee
Peddler’s influence on trade was reinforced.
Yankee
notions consisted of items like pins, needles, hooks, scissors, combs, small
hardware and perfume. The Yankee Peddler carried his goods in oblong tin trunks
slung on his back by a harness or a leather strap. Sometimes he used large
wagons. He traveled by land primarily until rivers and lakes became connected
by canals. Then, direct selling in early America branched out to the frontiers
of the West and the Canadian territory in the north. The Yankee Peddlers, as
did the Phoenicians, preferred to trade via water routes.
Nearly
every culture shares a heritage of direct selling. The direct seller of
tropical Africa walked the streets of cities and towns crying out his wares.
Some cycled from village to village. “Colporteurs” of France sold flowers
directly to their customers and used purchase orders as early as the 14th century.
The Chinese direct seller sold, bought, exchanged, mended, entertained and
catered to personal wants of man in almost every conceivable way.
European
gypsies, after emigrating to America, practiced their native trade of direct
selling in their new land. They brought the direct selling tradition from
England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Hungary to Colonial America and took to
tinkering, peddling and horse dealing.
The
selling tradition continued to thrive through the end of the 19th century and
into the 1900s. The advent of the home party in the 1950s added a new dimension
to direct selling as customers gathered at the home of hostesses to see product
demonstrations and socialize with friends. Direct selling offered opportunities
for many who had previously run into barriers because of age, education or sex.
The growth of the industry allowed many to become successful where no
opportunity has existed before.
Today, at
the beginning of the 21st century, the customer still benefits from a personal
and convenient way of purchasing products. The Internet has become an important
element of direct selling – essentially giving each direct seller a worldwide
customer base. Direct sellers have been empowered by use of the Internet and
find direct selling to be a rewarding way to improve their quality of life,
reach specific earnings objectives, facilitate social contact and sell products
they love.