About

Important information

• Additional Info:

  INFORMATION RELEVANT TO END-USER CONSUMERS:
  
  1. Book purchases/cancellations: By Federal law, customers who purchase
  Southwestern Advantage products from the independent student representatives
  have three days from the date of purchase to cancel their order. Saturday is
  included by Federal law as a business day. Southwestern Advantage is a third
  party to the contract between the students and customer and can only act on the
  student's behalf within the three-day cooling off period. The website and app
  subscriptions are month-to-month and are cancelled when the consumer contacts
  the company and requests the subscription to end (FTC Title 16, Chapter 1, Part 429, Sections 1 and 2).
  
  Subscription website & app
  purchases/cancellations: If a purchase was made through an independent
  representative for websites/apps (Global Academy or LEAD products), please note
  this is a month-to-month subscription. Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled
  anytime by request of the consumer who made the purchase by contacting
  the company and requesting the subscription to end. The subscription begins
  immediately with the input of the order. Customer Service: [email protected]
  
  2. If you purchased education, leadership, or faith-based
  products from a college student or young person at your home, please note you
  are their customer, as they are running their own business. The products are
  sold at wholesale to the representatives who generate their own customer base
  and sell them at retail. The sale is a binding contract between you and the independent
  representative. It is written up, signed for, and includes the preferred
  payment information as provided to the representative, which is turned into our
  company to be processed per the parameters of the contract we have with the
  independent representative. Southwestern Advantage is a third party to the
  contract between the independent representative and the consumer and does not
  have legal authority to cancel or alter the sale except within the three-day
  cooling off period, as contracted with the representative. Southwestern
  Advantage offers the services of a Customer Service department to provide
  product information, verify independent student dealers, make additional sales,
  process cancellations, and answer questions. Southwestern Advantage can only
  act on the student's behalf within the Federal three-day cooling-off period for
  purchases of books (see #1 above).
  
  2. Book purchases/cancellations: By Federal law,
  customers who purchase Southwestern Advantage products from the independent
  student representatives have three days from the date of purchase to cancel
  their order. Saturday is included by Federal law as a business day.
  Southwestern Advantage is a third party to the contract between the students
  and their customer and can only act on the student's behalf within the
  three-day cooling off period. The website and app subscriptions are
  month-to-month and are cancelled when the consumer contacts the company and
  requests the subscription to end (FTC Title 16, Chapter 1, Part 429, Sections 1 and 2).
  
  Subscription website & app purchases/cancellations:
  If a purchase was made through an independent representative for websites/apps
  (Global Academy or LEAD products), please note this is a month-to-month
  subscription. Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled anytime by request of the consumer who made the purchase by contacting the company and requesting
  the subscription to end. The subscription begins immediately with the input of
  the order. Customer Service: [email protected]
  
  3. After ordering products, be sure to keep the sales receipt given to you by
  the representative or sent via email. It is a binding contract with the representative
  of your intentions to purchase the product. If in the event you do not receive
  the product you ordered, Southwestern Advantage guarantees delivery if you have
  a valid receipt. Call the Southwestern Advantage Customer Contact Center at
  888-551-5901 or e-mail at [email protected].
  
  4. Delivery of Product: The delivery of product may be delivered at the time of
  sale, at the end of the summer, drop-shipped if paid for, or drop-shipped after
  all payments set up with an independent representative are made. This is
  dependent on the terms of the sale made with the independent representative.
  
  
  Additional Info
  INFORMATION FOR STUDENT PARTICIPANTS & PARENTS:
  
  Students are interviewed and recruited by Southwestern Advantage sales leaders
  and local student leaders during the fall and spring. If selected for the
  program, the students may begin initial training to know what to expect, and
  informal product training. Students, although legally classified as adults, are
  endorsed into the program by their parents through a parental support letter.
  
  The students attend a five-day training course in Nashville that covers
  business management, product knowledge, sales presentations, success
  principles, safety, and ethics among other things critical to running a
  successful business. Like other direct selling companies, students are
  independent contractors, NOT employees of Southwestern Advantage. After
  training they are provided a recommended sales area in which to operate their
  business. They typically live with a host family and 1 to 3 other student
  representatives of the same gender. Housing is not guaranteed, but students
  receive training and advice from the company. Housing is part of the set-up of
  their business. We do employ a Host Family Coordinator and readily have
  hundreds of qualified families who will assist with housing needs. Many host
  families do house year-to-year and consist of both alumni and non-alumni of the
  program. Students are financially responsible for their lodging, food and
  travel expenses during the training and summertime. The company does subsidize
  their hotel stay during training in Nashville.
  
  Southwestern Advantage suggests students bring approximately $500 with them to
  sales training. The total expenses incurred throughout the summer vary
  according to the individual, but range from $1,500 to $3,000. Students
  generally pay their expenses from down payments collected from sales of product
  and remit the rest to the company where it is recorded on their company account
  to cover the wholesale cost of the products.
  
  The most successful student dealers maintain rigorous schedule of 72 or more
  hours a week, Monday through Saturday. The students talk to families in or
  outside their homes through both referrals and cold-calls. Although students
  work independently during the day, a student leader is close by to mentor,
  support, answer questions and even follow or be followed to offer advice from
  his/her previous experience. The students also have access to a program that
  helps them navigate their sales locality and can help their sales leader locate
  where they are if they have it turned on.
  
  There are no sales quotas set by Southwestern Advantage, as the representative
  is an independent contractor running their own sales business. At the end of
  the summer, students deliver the product to their customers, collect the
  balances due and return to Nashville to reconcile their accounts. They remit
  the remaining money, return left-over product for full credit, and receive their
  profit from their credit balance.
  
  For more frequently asked questions about the
  program: https://southwesternadvantage.com/frequently-asked-questions/
  
  
  
  
  
• Customer Complaint:

  INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS:
  
  Cancellations for subscription website/app products: If a purchase was made through an independent student representative for websites/apps (Global Academy & LEAD products), please note this is a month-to-month subscription. Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled anytime by request of the consumer who made the purchase by contacting the company and requesting the subscription to end. The subscription begins immediately with the input of the order. Customer Service: [email protected]

  
  

   

  
  

  Book purchases: By Federal law (FTC Title 16, Chapter 1, Part 429, Sections 1 and 2), consumers who purchase Southwestern Advantage books from an independent student representative has THREE (3) days from the date of purchase to cancel the order. Saturday is included by Federal law as a business day. Customer Service: [email protected]

  
  

   

  
  

  Delivery of Product: The delivery of product may be delivered at the time of sale, at the end of the summer, drop-shipped if paid for, or drop-shipped after all payments set up with an independent representative are made.

  
  

   

  
  

  After ordering products, be sure to keep the sales receipt given to you by the independent student representative or sent via email. It is a binding contract with the student of your intentions to purchase the product. If in rare the event you do not receive the product you ordered, Southwestern Advantage guarantees delivery of the product, reach out to the Customer Service team at [email protected].

  
  

   

  
  

  Please note, Southwestern Advantage is a third party to the contract between the independent student representative and the consumer. Southwestern Advantage offers the services of a Customer Service department to provide product information, verify independent student dealers, and answer questions. Southwestern Advantage can only act on the student's behalf within the Federal three-day cooling-off period for purchases of books.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS:
  
  Students are interviewed and recruited by Southwestern Advantage Sales Leaders and local student leaders during the fall and spring. If selected for the program, the students may begin initial training to know what to expect, and informal product training on products and the cycle of selling. Students, although legally classified as adults, are typically endorsed into the program by their parents through a parental support letter.
  
  
  
  The students attend a five-day training course in Nashville, Tennessee that covers business management, product knowledge, sales presentations, success principles, safety, and ethics among other things critical to running a successful business. Utilizing a direct selling business model, students are independent contractors, NOT employees of Southwestern Advantage. After training they are provided with a suggested sales area from which to operate their business. They typically live with a host family and 1 to 3 other independent student representatives of the same gender. While Southwestern Advantage employs a Host Family Coordinator that maintains and sets up host homes throughout the year, housing is not guaranteed. As independent contractors, the students do not have to live at recommended host family homes. Students receive continual training and advice from the company. Many host families do house year-to-year and consist of both alumni and non-alumni. Students are financially responsible for their lodging, food, and travel expenses during the training and summertime. The company does subsidize their hotel stay during training in Nashville and sales kits and training materials are provided for free.
  
  
  
  Southwestern Advantage suggests students bring approximately $500 with them to sales training. The total expenses incurred throughout the summer vary according to the individual, but range from $1,500 to $3,000. Students generally pay their expenses from down payments collected from sales of products and remit the rest to the company where it is recorded on their company account to cover the wholesale cost of the products.
  
  
  
  The most successful student dealers work a rigorous schedule of 72 or more hours a week, Monday through Saturday, typically 8 am to 9 pm. The students talk to families in their homes through cold calls and referrals. Although students work independently during the day, a student leader is close by to mentor, support, answer questions and even follow or be followed to offer advice from his/her previous experience. Student leaders meet with the students each Sunday and someone from Southwestern Advantage calls each host home at night to collect stats for inventory and make sure the students return safely.
  
  
  
  There are no sales quotas set by Southwestern Advantage, as the representative is an independent contractor running their own business. At the end of the summer, students deliver the product to their customers, collect the balances due and return to Nashville to reconcile their accounts. They remit the remaining money, return leftover product for full credit, and receive their credit balance.

  
  

   

  
  Due to the volume of complaints filed against this business, BBB only publishes the details for 40% of the total complaints filed.