So, while it is possible to retain some customers longer simply because it's easy for them to signup for AutoShip but not so easy to cancel, again, do you really want your customer to feel like he or she is being held hostage?

Ideally, you should have high quality products and services that are well understood and in demand by your customers. Customers should continue ordering because they WANT or NEED your product or service, and not simply because it's on AutoShip.

In the majority of cases, companies, and their representatives, want people on AutoShip for ONE reason and one reason only, to attempt to extract ongoing consistent revenue from that customer. At least from the company's standpoint, that's the real bottom line. And, from both the company's standpoint and that of the representative, that AutoShip may very well be tied to that representative achieving or maintaining a certain compensation level, often with names like Silver, Bronze, Gold, Platinum, Executive, etc. The more money you spend each month (especially on AutoShip) the more money you qualify for in the compensation plan. Often this results in inflated and/or artificial consumption. In other words, people either buying things they don't really need, and/or buying more than they really need.

Rule #1 For Keeping AutoShip Under Control: For your own long term financial success and in the best interests of your customers, is to make sure that you buy only what you need! If you need a particular product or service delivered every month and in that quantity, great. If not, don't agree to have it continue to be auto-shipped to you.

Rule #2 is to remember that, whether as a representative or a customer, YOU are the ultimate consumer and purchaser. It's your money! Therefore, it should be up to you as to when and how much of it you spend. Don't be intimidated by your company or upline into buying more than you need, or fall into the trap of trying to make your representatives and customers to do the same (buy more than they need on AutoShip).

In the short run you may make less money than if your numbers are artificially inflated by people buying more on AutoShip than they really want to. But, in the long run, you'll have a stronger customer and rep base, and your representatives and customers will respect you far more for keeping their best interests in mind by encouraging them to buy your products and services because they want and need them, and in the quantities they need them in.

At the very beginning of this article "Customer Convenience" was mentioned as one of the reasons that companies claim to offer AutoShip.

However, after decades of experience ordering a multitude of products worth tens of thousands of dollars, and watching others do the same, I'm absolutely convinced that AutoShip can be just as much an inconvenience as it is a convenience.

And please let me be quick to point out that, yes, I absolutely DO have products and services that to this very day are delivered to me each and every month on AutoShip. I'll go even further by sharing with you that in just one category, nutritional products, I order as much as $400 to $600 PER MONTH worth of those kinds of products.

HOWEVER, in a "slow" month I might order as little as $100 to $150 worth of product. So, you might be wondering, why the difference, and what do I mean by a "slow" month?

Just one example: Health Packs (or Paks). Keep in mind that this is most commonly applicable to health and nutritional products, but it can apply to many other products and services as well.