SELLING THE NET DOOR-TO-DOOR.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

It worked for Tupperware bowls and Avon beauty products. Why not home entertainment devices?

That's the attitude of Futurenet Online Inc., a Valencia-based network marketing firm that is taking the same word-of-mouth approach into cyberspace with ``Internet boxes,'' a low-cost alternative to the personal computer that allows users to surf the World Wide Web and chat via e-mail.

``If you combine Amway and Microsoft, that's what we're aspiring to be,'' said company spokesman Robert Clarke.

Futurenet's 8,300 independent sales representatives network among family, friends and new acquaintances to sell the $500 sets that include a hand-held remote and Internet box.

Known as Internet consultants, they demonstrate the machines in homes and offices, touting its low price, ease of use and advantages for schoolchildren - a key selling point for parents who want to give their offspring a high-tech head start on the 21st century.

``The simplicity and ease of this product make it valuable,'' said Debra Olson, a Sherman Oaks sales representative. ``It's valuable for the person who doesn't really understand computers. You can sit back on the couch with the remote control and download information and print it with ease.''

The company targets consumers hungry for the Internet and e-mail but who are technology-shy and unable to afford a personal computer, which can run between $1,500 and $3,500.

``It's less expensive and much easier to use,'' company Chairman Alan J. Setlin said of the product, Baby Bear. ``Until they make computers easier to use and cheaper to buy, they're never going to dent the marketplace.''

To spark interest, sales representatives drop off informational fliers at houses, hawk the product at swap meets and hold demonstrations at the Valencia headquarters. Sales representatives even leave the devices with potential buyers for home tryouts.

``We call it the `puppy dog technique,' '' Olson said. ``You give someone a puppy dog, they'll want to keep it.''

The marketing approach seems to be working.

During its first two months, the company sold more than 5,000 of the set-top units and related equipment including keyboards and wireless modem jacks, generating more than $4 million in gross revenues. And with stagnant sales of personal computers the company hopes to do even better this holiday season.

Futurenet says sales have exceeded 10,000 units since opening in September. The company buys the machines wholesale from Taipei-based Mitac, which Futurenet officials said makes computers for Compaq Corp. and IBM Corp. During the past few years, the Valencia firm has grown from six workers to 100 permanent employees in sales, accounting, shipping-receiving and technical maintenance.

Setlin, a 63-year-old retired insurance industry executive, said he was inspired to launch Futurenet after learning how few of California's public schools were connected to the Internet.

``Our kids are not on the Internet and need to be on the Internet. We thought we needed to get involved,'' said Setlin, who pledged to donate 100,000 of the set-top boxes next spring to public schools across the country, including those in the San Fernando Valley.

About the size of a hardback dictionary, the device connects into a phone line and TV, which displays a main menu offering the Web, e-mail and favorite Web sites. For $19.95 a month, users have unlimited access to the Internet through on-line provider Future-Link Inc. of Montclair, N.J.

Using a remote control, users can browse the Internet and manipulate a keyboard on the screen to send and receive e-mail messages. A separate keyboard for the Baby Bear can be purchased for $89 and users can print information by connecting an Epson-compatible printer to the device, Futurenet officials said.

The Baby Bear is one of several set-top boxes to hit the market this year.

Sony and Philips Magnavox market WebTV devices which sell for around $400. Manufacturers plan to introduce a compatible printer during the first quarter of 1997.

While these TV-meets-PC boxes are cheaper and easier to use than personal computers, technology experts said that they have several disadvantages, including little or no storage capacity.

Most of the Web is not designed for the television screen, so what viewers see on the TV set may not be what they see on a computer. Some of the TV devices can't understand certain computer programs that allow for real-time music and video to be played directly off the Net.

``I've also found the wireless keyboard to be very difficult to use because there's nowhere to rest your wrists,'' said Ed Rosenfeld, a New York-based technology analyst and publisher of the Web magazine BusinessTech.

``This is only the industry's first generation of products. Talk to me in a year and I bet things will improve.''

Chatsworth resident Corinne Follis doesn't need more convincing. The 70-year-old retired nurse bought a Baby Bear last month after attending a demonstration seminar with 300 other prospective customers. She said she's happy with the device.

``It's excellent for getting onto the Internet,'' said Follis who owns an IBM-compatible laptop computer whose screen she finds too small to read.

``I'm getting older and you have trouble reading the screen,'' she said. ``The Baby Bear puts it on our 35-inch TV screen. It's so easy to read.''

Futurenet doesn't plan to rely on network marketing alone. The company hopes to parlay its partnership with on-line provider Future-Link into more sales of the Baby Bear.

Executives were drawn to Future-Link because it provides toll-free 24-hour technical support and service to customers in rural areas without additional charges and accepts checks in addition to major credit cards.

``It's going to be great for customers in rural areas that don't have access to the Internet,'' said Steve Kelley, special projects director for Futurenet. ``It's a true flat fee and it will help our customer service.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Chairman Alan J. Setlin has overseen Futurenet's bringing in over $4 million.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News

(2--Color) No caption (Internet box)