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CUTCO is a brand of cutlery and kitchen accessories directly marketed to customers through in-home demonstrations by independent sales representatives who are almost exclusively college students. The products cannot be purchased in stores. Cutco Cutlery Corp. is owned by CUTCO Corporation and has been in business since 1949. The parent company name was changed from Alcas Corp. to CUTCO Corp. on Jan. 1, 2009, as the company marked its 60th anniversary. All its knives are produced in Olean, New York in the United States, although a few products (such as the ice cream scoop and the metal heads of the flatware) are partially made outside the US. More than 100 kitchen cutlery products are sold under the Cutco name, as well as a variety of kitchen utensils, cookware, sporting and outdoors knives, and flatware.

Product

Cutco's kitchen knives use a full-tang, triple rivet construction, and the company claims that their cutting edges are the sharpest available. The knife blades are stamped 440A high-carbon stainless steel that undergo a three step heat tempering process, and have a Rockwell Hardness of 55-57c. They use both straight edges and an edge design Cutco calls the Double-D or double durable edge. The Double-D Edge consists of three recessed straight blade segments separated by pointed edges. The company claims that the recessed edge is protected from dulling caused by the knife hitting the cutting surface via the sharpened points. This is similar to a serrated knife, but the company claims their edge design performs better(i.e., the points don't rip and shred the materials like serrated blades do, and the three blades allow cutting forward, backwards, and downwards), and unlike a serrated knife, Double-D Edge knives can be mailed back to the company for resharpening. Cutco also uses ergonomic handles designed by Dr. Thomas Lamb. The handles are made from a thermo-resin plastic that resists absorption of bacteria and is heat resistant to temperatures of approximately 350 degrees F. Cutco offers a highly touted "forever guarantee" on their products.

The "Forever Guarantee" policy states that if any of the knives are unsatisfactory in any way, then Cutco will correct the problem or replace the product. It states that when the knives eventually do need sharpening, they will be sharpened and polished for free with the customer providing a $6.00 return shipping and handling fee for 1-3 items, and $9.00 for 4 or more items. It states that if any of the knives are found to have been damaged through misuse, the company may ask for half the current retail price for repair or replacement, and finally, it includes a 15-day unconditional money back guarantee.

Vector Marketing

Main article: Vector Marketing

Vector Marketing is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cutco Corporation and does all of the marketing of the Cutco products.

Vector Marketing offers opportunities and bonuses based on representative performance, but also pays their representatives a base dollar amount per appointment.

Controversy and criticism

Some former employees have accused Vector Marketing of unsavory business practices.

Vector Marketing, in the past, has required sales representatives to make a security deposit of $135 + tax in order to procure a set of knives for demonstrations, prompting some to complain about this policy (the deposit is refundable if a representative chooses to quit or the contract is terminated). Since Vector Marketing is a multi-level marketing group, students who work for Vector Marketing are considered independent contractors and are not reimbursed by the company for money they spend on gasoline used while working or for the time they spend at training sessions.

References

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1. ^ Chu, Kathy, College students learn from job of hard knocks: Door-to-door sales draw thousands every summer , http://www.usatoday.com/educate/college/careers/Car_foc/cf7-20-06.htm , retrieved 2007-10-12  
2. ^ Davis, Jana, What is 'Work For Students' anyway? , http://media.www.thevistaonline.com/media/storage/paper962/news/2007/10/02/News/What-Is.work.For.Students.Anyway-3005703.shtml  
3. ^
4. ^ Cutco Forever Guarantee
5. ^ Cutco Sharpening Policy
6. ^ ^{a b c} Lucchesi, Nick (2004-02-04). "Vector Marketing targets unaware college students". News (The Journal): pp. 2 . http://media.www.webujournal.com/media/storage/paper245/news/2004/02/04/News/Vector.Marketing.Targets.Unaware.College.Students-596811.shtml . Retrieved 2008-06-05 .  
7. ^ Da Costa, Polyana (2004-08-21). "Firm misled sales recruits to sell knives, students say". Business (Statesman Journal) . http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=85450 . Retrieved 2008-06-05 .  
8. ^ Anderson, Matt (2004-10-06). "Vector policies questionable". News (Sidelines): pp. 1 . http://media.www.mtsusidelines.com/media/storage/paper202/news/2004/10/06/News/Vector.Policies.Questionable-743131.shtml . Retrieved 2008-06-05 .  

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