Disciple's Cross Review: Work-at-Home Opportunity in Jewelry Making

Disciple's Cross sells beautiful cross necklaces to stores all over the country. The company is located in Slidell, Louisiana and has been in business since the early 1990's. It's currently run by founder John Raymond, Pastor of New Horizon Christian Fellowship in Slidell. They need you to make their copyrighted Disciple's Cross necklaces so they can keep up with an increasing demand. This is Work-at-Home job. There is also an affiliate program.

Start-Up Cost: Almost $80 ($69.95 plus shipping, so it may be slightly more or less depending on where you live in the USA) pays for the start-up kit, which includes a sample necklace, materials for making 25 crosses, a very detailed instructional DVD, and the paperwork necessary for you to be recognized as an official Disciple's Cross Producer. Watch the DVD carefully, then start making crosses! In order to become an
official DC Producer, you must send them a shipment of at least 10 crosses, along with all required paperwork. If your crosses pass the test, you will receive your first check and legal permission to produce and sell the pretty necklaces. Congratulations!

Payouts: Disciple's Cross pays $2.25 for each finished piece ($1 for materials, $1.25 for labor) and $5 per unit of 50 pieces for shipping costs. They only accept 400 crosses from each Producer each week (8 units of 50), for a Gross Profit of $500 per week ($2,000 per month). This is before taxes, since DC doesn't take any taxes out of your checks. Once they receive your 8th unit of crosses, DC will refund you the price of the starter kit. More robust gains can be had by selling the necklaces wholesale to retail shops (at $5 a piece) or at retail price ($10 each) at trade shows and similar venues (you can only use these options if you will not be in direct competition with another DC Producer, so use caution).
Join the affiliate program for even more earnings. You get $10 for each Producer you bring to DC.

Drawbacks: The initial cost of $69.95 plus shipping doesn't include all the tools you'll need to make the crosses. You can order all additional tools from DC's website, except for the clear gloss coat, which I couldn't find on the Internet for a reasonable price, but found at Lowe's for just under $9 per pint. You'll also need a drying rack for the crosses. If you don't already have one, I'm not sure what that will cost you. Buying the necessary tools can set you back $25 or more, depending on where you shop.

My Experience: When I joined Disciple's Cross in June of 2007, I was really excited to get started. I thought I had finally found a work-at-home job that I could do! Turns out I was wrong. Contrary to all the message boards I found on the Internet (yes, I did my research before buying into this), the crosses are very difficult to make, or at least they were for me. They require a lot of visual measuring and much more hand and finger strength than anyone would have me believe. I'm in my mid-20's, and found it extremely difficult to bend the nails in the right places and twist the wires tightly around them. I literally messed up all my nails, and I'm not about to buy more materials just so I can mess up again and re-tenderize my thumb with all that pulling and bending. That's terrible, because I was incredibly excited about working with DC!
I plan on taking advantage of their generous 30-day refund policy.

Conclusion: Although I didn't get even as far as becoming a Producer for them, Disciple's Cross seems like a good company to work with. One warning, however, is that I found several message boards from the year 2005 that said the company was having financial difficulties and payments were exceedingly slow. It seems that they've cleared that up, and in light of that, I'd at least try them out, if you have a strong grip, like to
work with your hands, and don't have arthritis.

For all the info on DC and how to join, visit their official website: http://www.disciplescross.com