Unless you have access to some sort of stealth or cloaking technology (in which case I want blueprints), you’ve undoubtedly been accosted by an Amway distributor at some point in your life. It doesn’t have to be Amway; it could be any one of those other multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes too, such as Primerica, or perhaps it was Quixtar (Amway’s online variant). Or perhaps you received some scam via E-mail, promising untold wealth without any work.
If you’re like most people, you simply shook your head, dismissed it as a scam, and moved on. But a surprisingly large number of people get taken in by it, and the last time someone tried to sell me on the idea, I told him I would take a good look at the business model to see if it made any sense. I did, and it doesn’t.
How does Amway work?
The Amway “hook” is simple enough. You become a “distributor” for a low, low entry fee. This makes you a retail franchise. You sell Amway products for a profit, or you buy them for yourself. But if you want to make real money, you sign up other “distributors”. They’ll be your “downline”, and when they sell anything, you get paid a commission (they call it a “bonus”). Note that you can get commission on sales of both products and so-called “sales tools”, ie- the motivational books, videos, and audio tapes that constantly stream out of Amway and many of its top distributors.
Small problem: you don’t want to poison your relationships with friends and family members by trying to sell them products at a profit. “But that’s no problem at all”, say the distributors (aka IBOs, or “Independent Business Operators”), because you don’t have to sell them anything. Just buy $200 worth of household supplies for yourself every month, and you’ll have enough sales volumes to qualify for bonuses. Then, get everybody you know to do the same thing, and everybody wins! You’ll get huge bonuses from your growing downline, and they all win too, because they get to buy things at wholesale prices! In reality, you’re doing them a favour by signing them up. Right?
Wrong. For one thing, anything which sounds too good to be true usually is. For another, Amway products are not sold at true wholesale prices. In fact, when I got the chance to inspect an Amway catalogue, I made note of several key prices and later compared them to those found at discount retailers. What did I find? You don’t save money by buying Amway. In fact, once you add shipping and service charges to your order, you’ll find that you usually lose money by buying Amway (gee- Amway is out to make a profit at your expense? What a shock!). In fact, for big-ticket items, the prices can be grossly out of line: I saw electronic items such as stereo systems in the Amway catalogue for hundreds of dollars more than they were at local discount stores. Worse yet, I would have had to place an order and wait for it to arrive with Amway, whereas I could have simply gone to a local electronics store, seen the product up close, listened to it, and then bought it on the spot, all for less money.
But Amway cuts out the middleman, right?
Amway defenders would claim that they cut out the middleman, because Amway is “direct sales”. But this is simply not true. In reality, Amway adds middlemen. Let us compare Amway to Wal-Mart:
| Amway | Wal-Mart |
| Buys direct from manufacturer | Buys direct from manufacturer |
| Adds markup for operating overhead such as exployee salaries, building maintenance costs, etc. | Adds markup for operating overhead such as employee salaries, building maintenance costs, etc. |
| Adds distributor’s commission | Sells to you |
| Adds distributor’s “upline” commission | |
| Sells to you |
Do you still think that Amway cuts out the middleman? When you consider that Wal-Mart has many times Amway’s annual sales, you will see that the situation is even worse than it looks, because Wal-Mart has enough muscle to squeeze its suppliers for much lower prices than Amway could ever hope to negotiate. Amway makes some grossly exaggerated claims about the markups in traditional retail, but if you honestly believe that Wal-Mart has to go through a manufacturer’s representative, a jobber, and a wholesaler in order to get to their suppliers, you need to give your head a shake.
Of course, Amway also makes some of its own products (mostly things like household cleaners and bathroom products), which it can sell “directly” (if you disregard the multiple layers of commissions paid into the multi-level marketing system). But the only way to go through $200 a month of those kinds of products is to pay enormously inflated prices for them … the way you would through Amway. When people try to sell you on the plan, they don’t show those crappy little bathroom products. They show you brand-name electronics, and cars, and all the glamorous items in the catalogue … all of which would cost less if you bought them elsewhere.
Want Proof?
In the end, the proof is in the pudding. Quixtar reported year 2000 sales of $518 million, out of which they paid $143 million in commissions. You don’t have to be a mathematics genius to see what this means: when you buy from Amway, 28% of the price is pure commission! Worse yet, this is strictly the distributor’s markup, and it doesn’t yet include Amway’s own markup! “No middleman” indeed …
Compare Amway catalogue prices (including shipping and service fees) to the price tags down at Wal-Mart or Costco, and you’ll see that all the marketing in the world can’t change reality. Amway is not cheaper than a “traditional retailer” such as Wal-Mart (or even Sears, in most cases). You will not save money by buying home items from Amway, and neither will any of your friends and family. You will also not make money by selling these products, since people can be stupid, but not that stupid. Even if you can sucker somebody into buying your overpriced products, all it takes is for that person to wander through Wal-Mart or Costco once, and you’ll never see him again.
So why do people join Amway?
Why do people buy lottery tickets? When dreams crash head-on into reality, a lot of people let the dreams win. You know the sales pitch: “it costs you nothing, and the potential is limitless!” However, both claims are fraudulent:
- “It costs you nothing”– Wrong. In fact, an Amway “business” has just as much overhead as, say, an insurance agent. You need to have sales materials. You need to burn gasoline to go prospecting. You need to pay extra car maintenance for all that added travel. You may need to pay long-distance phone bills. You’ll start burning a lot of cell-phone hours, just like any insurance agent. And you’ll need to consume vast amounts of time, arguably the most precious resource of all.
- “The potential is limitless”– Wrong, unless you’re willing to screw a lot of people for a lot of money. You see, despite Amway’s protestations that it’s not a pyramid scheme, it is only through the pyramid commissions structure that anyone can ever hope to reach their “limitless” earning potential. On a typical sale, there is a pyramid of distributors (diamond, emerald, platinum) who will take commissions, and your objective is to be at the top of that pyramid. Why? Because everybody at the bottom of the pyramid is losing money, and that lost money is being funneled to the top.
Amway distributors will sell you on the idea of compounding. You buy $200 a month of Amway products for yourself, upon which you get a few dollars back. But if you can sign up 10 people, and they sign up 10 people apiece (and so on, and so on), eventually you’ll have 7,000 people, which will qualify you for the “diamond” distributor category. And if each of those people buys $200 a month of Amway products, you will generate nearly $17 million in yearly sales! Now you can sit back, relax, and just rake in the profits! Easy, right?
Wrong. The model usually collapses long before that, because quite frankly, most people aren’t gullible enough to go for it. They can talk about compounding all they like, but according to the FTC, some 75% of Amway distributors drop out, and according to Amway’s own figures, nearly 60% of those left are “inactive”. Is it truly realistic to imagine that you can build up a stable network of 7,000 active distributors?
But you can do it in your spare time, right? So what’s the harm?
Hmmm, let’s think about that, shall we? Let’s say that 1 in 4 prospecting attempts is successful (a very optimistic figure). Now let’s factor in the FTC’s estimate that 75% of Amway/Quixtar distributors drop out within a year, as well as Amway’s own figure that nearly 60% of distributors are “inactive”. And finally, let’s remember that it takes at least 2-3 hours to sit down and try to sell a prospect on the idea (based on the time someone tried to prospect me).
Let’s do the math. Most of an evening (say, 2-3 hours) is required for a single prospecting session. 4 sessions to get 1 recruit. 1 of 4 recruits stays in for the long haul. 2 of 5 survivors is active. So what does it all mean? Crunch the numbers: 4 x 4 x 2.5 = 40 evenings per active, long-term distributor. But you want 10 of them, so now you’re talking about four hundred evenings. Are you starting to get the picture? That’s four evenings a week, every single week for two years! And that’s not even including all of the silly pep talk rallies and inspirational meetings that you’re supposed to attend!
So after you’ve done all this, what do you have? A measly 10 people under you, each of whom has to do the same thing, and so on down three levels if you plan on making serious money. And since you’ve been doing all of this in addition to your day job (one of the great “benefits” of the Amway business model) you haven’t seen your family in two years. Feeling good yet?
But if you can do it, the payoff is huge, right?
Let’s suppose you’re a stubborn sunuvabitch, and you’re confident that you can do it. You’re willing to sacrifice most of your family life for two years or more, in order to collect 10 distributors who will be active, and who will stay on for the long haul. So are you sitting pretty?
In a word, no. The truly amazing thing about the Amway business model is the enormous sales volume required in order to make any money. A 1985 issue of Forbes magazine gave the example of Robert Crisp of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This man’s network of distributors generated $120 million (yes, one hundred and twenty million dollars) in sales for Amway, from which he earned $200,000. Just think about those numbers, people! His profit is less than 0.2% of the sales volume going through his “business!” If you had an independent business and you were making less than 0.2% profit on sales volume, would you be happy?
Let’s put it this way: Hollywood grosses roughly $5 billion annually. If Hollywood executives earned profits the way Amway’s “Independent Business Operators” did, the entire industry would have profits of less than $10 million per year! This wouldn’t be enough to produce the opening credits on a James Cameron movie, so if Hollywood’s business model were as good as the business plan of a typical Amway distributor, it would have gone out of business long ago.
Worse yet, these feeble figures are from a top producer, whose bonuses are nearly ten times as high as the bonuses a new distributor would get. Small wonder then, that the vast majority of Amway/Quixtar distributors lose money.
But what about those testimonials from happy distributors?
What about them? Oh, I’m sure they’re very compelling. After all, every get-rich-quick scheme in the world has pretty much the same stories: “I used to work nine hours a day, just barely getting ahead. But now, with
Testimonials are an incredibly stupid form of “proof”, for the obvious reason that they only pick the good ones (“diamond distributors” or higher). If they were forced to give a random sample of their distributors’ experiences, you would discover that out of more than 2 million active distributors, there are less than a thousand people who are so successful (that’s roughly 0.05%). If you had to hear more than a thousand testimonials in order to get one that was really inspirational, would you be inspired? Suppose someone came to you and tried to sell you an investment scheme in which you have a lower than 10% chance of breaking even, never mind making big money. Would you buy in? I doubt it!
So why do so many Amway distributors fail? Is it that they aren’t trying hard enough? Is it that they don’t have enough friends? Is it that they haven’t been coached well enough? No. There’s a very good reason why most Amways distributors must lose money, and it stems from the design of the Amway business model itself.
So why doesn’t it work?
Amway’s defenders will try to confuse you with superfluous details and perhaps even business jargon, but let’s look at this scientifically, shall we? Suppose you have a completely sealed black box except for an inlet and outlet. You put 10 units of mass/energy in, and you get only 5 units of mass/energy out. Logically, there must be 5 units of mass/energy still sitting in there, right?
Well, we can do the same thing with the MLM distributor group (not Amway itself, since we’re only concerned with the profitability of the distributors). We have a black box (the MLM group, including all of its members), we have an influx of mass (new members joining) and energy (sales income), and an outflow of mass (disillusioned members quitting) and energy (expenses, payments to Amway for products). If income exceeds expenses, then you have a profit. If expenses exceed income, then you have a loss. So far, so good.
So how much mass/energy is entering, and how much is leaving? Is the box getting more full, or more empty? Doth thy cup runneth over, or doth it run dry? Let us examine the example of Quixtar in 2000. Remember that their reported revenue was $518 million and their reported commissions were $143 million. Also remember that it has been estimated that roughly 80% of Amway/Quixtar sales are “self sales”, where the distributor buys his own merchandise, so only 20% of total sales come from an outside source and can be considered true income for the group.
| Money In | Money Out | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Income from Customers (~20% of total sales) | $104 million | |
| Payments to Quixtar (100% of total sales) | $518 million | |
| Commissions from Quixtar | $143 million | |
| Net loss: roughly $271 million | ||
See the problem? They sell you a business model in which you can sell your products to yourself and still make money. They assure you that it works because you pocket your own commissions. Millions of people who apparently flunked high school math seem to believe them. Is this not insane?
Perhaps the best analogy for the Amway distributor group is not a black box after all. Perhaps the best analogy is a black hole.
OK, so how did the top distributors make it?
In most cases, they were the first ones in. Pyramid schemes work if you can recruit a vast army of suckers to line your pocketbook. When the idea is new, it’s much easier to recruit suckers because they’ve never heard of it before, and their ignorance makes them easy marks. But in any market where Amway has been operating for a while, you won’t find such easy pickings. That’s why Amway success stories are so rare; you need to “open up a new market” in order to be successful.
The remainder fall into the category of the “super-salesman” personality type (you know, the guys who could sell refridgerators to Eskimos). People like that might be able to make the Amway model work, but consider the aforementioned example of Robert Crisp and his $120 million sales volume from which he made only $200k. With the kind of salesmanship and hard work you’d need in order to build up that kind of business with Amway, you could probably make far more money selling cars or even insurance (don’t laugh; there are life insurance agents out there making over $1 million per year; a truly great salesman can make a lot of money in our society, without having to line the pockets of Amway).
Pushing the Product
Their sales pitch is a textbook model for scam artists everywhere. Do they hard-sell you on their products? Do they spend two hours trying to convince you to buy some new power tools, or facial cleansers? No! Amway is not out to sell goods; they’re out to bring more members into their sucking black hole of distributorships, because the more suckers they have selling product to themselves in the hope of somehow making money on their own commissions, the more money the people at the top make. And even within the distributorship black hole, there is a pyramidal hierarchy, where some distributors make money at the expense of others (in other words, the people at the bottom of the distributorship group are really losing money). That’s why they hard-sell the business, not the products. That is a classic hallmark of an illegal pyramid scheme, and Amway escapes prosecution only because they don’t officially sanction this behaviour (even though most of their distributors do it).
In short, you have a distributorship which sends 4 times more money to its parent corporation than it receives in “outside sales”, and then heartily congratulates itself on getting a third of that back in commissions. Does this sound like a healthy business? Where’s the difference coming from? You guessed it: the distributors’ day jobs. This system doesn’t augment your regular income; it drains it.
The Amway distributor system does not generate wealth for its members; it is a net-loss proposition in which the entire group is hemorrhaging red ink like there’s no tomorrow. There’s only two winners in the system: the people who run the parent corporation, and the people who sit at the top of the pyramid (even though the whole pyramid is losing money overall, they are taking such a large share of the commissions that they make money at the expense of the rest). In effect, 90% of the people in the pyramid must lose money so that the remaining 10% can divide the profits amongst themselves (with the lion’s share going to the people at the very top).
Amway’s defenders argue that the trump card is the recruitment process; you make money not by selling product, but by pimping your friends and family. When they join, new money enters the system, and you can take a piece of it. But that is only true if the new people lose money! Imagine a poker game in which a new guy joins. In theory, there’s more money for you to win now, but only if he loses. Do you still want to go after your friends and family? How ruthless are you?
Now do you see why 90% of people in Amway lose money? Since the entire distributorship is losing money, most of them must lose a lot of money if the top earners are going to make any! And even after all of that, the top earners derive the lion’s share of their profits from the sales of seminars, books, and other “sales training aids”, because the really big winners are the people who run the parent corporation and laugh at the worker ants running around on their behalf. Small wonder that the handful of successful distributors are so enthusiastic for you to join; they need new donors. As P.T. Barnum once said, “there’s a sucker born every minute”.
More Info Elsewhere
For more on MLM, see the MLM FAQ. For an extremely thorough, in-depth discussion of Amway, see Amway: The Continuing Story. Also note that like Scientology, Amway has a history of legally harassing those who would speak out against it, which is another sure sign of a scam.
And finally, you may want to visit Amway’s home page. Update: They’ve improved it over the years, and added an on-line store to make it look more like a normal retailer and less like a MLM scam headquarters. But look at the prices: as of Oct 7, 2010, a case of 24 (16 fl oz) bottles of their “Nutrilite” Lemon-Lime sports drink costs $38.88. Meanwhile, the New York area online grocer FreshDirect sells a case of 24 (20 fl oz) bottles of Lemon-Lime Gatorade for $21.79. That’s 25% more sports drink, for 44% less money!
Amway’s website is chock full of ridiculously priced items, like a $384.50 wok or a $1,072.95 set of pots and pans (both from their in-house “iCook” brand, which is supposed to save you money). Some of their small-ticket products are closer to normal retail prices, like their $8.99 pack of 8 Fuji AA alkaline batteries (as opposed to FreshDirect’s $3.99 pack of 4 Duracell AA batteries, which is still slightly cheaper per battery), but what kind of accomplishment is that? Should we be pleased that they’re only slightly more than normal retail prices on some products? Where are those huge savings Amway talks about? Oh wait, that’s right: their real business is not that on-line store: it’s the MLM operation, and don’t let them fool you into thinking otherwise.
Hello thanks for the Insight on amway. Me and my wife recently joined paid the $168 Canadian. It’s been 5 days and I want to get out of it. Buty wife is totally sold on this venture. The couple that approached us really influenced my wife, she is not willing to back off, I don’t know what to do I want to get her out of this stupidity nothing I say helps, could you suggest anything!
I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Habit khan,
It is amazing how people take decision. You do not trust the people who showed the plan to you, the people who are willing to help you and your wife understand the business and plus you don’t even have to worry about your money. Your 168 dollars are backed up by 180 days satisfaction guarantee.
Yet, you trust some blog from an unknown guy who you don’t even know the background of. You trust unknown people’s opinion rather than trusting your own wife and letting her try it and supporting her dream ?
Negative is so automatic like weads and it eats common sense. This is what happens when you search on Google. Unknown people will steal your dream and you wouldn’t even know what you lost.
Nay sayers are everywhere. There is no industry in which people succeed 100% and this kind of blogs are designed to confuse you and steal your dream.
But you should use your common sense. Trust your friends or the people. Trust your wife if nobody else… At least your wife’s dream should be worth 168 dollars.
Come on! People who did not build Amway business can not tell you how to succeed in it. They can only tell you why you will not and should not succeed.
All the best to you.
Can you point out the flaws in the author’s logic or reasoning? You haven’t said anything to support your claim or refute the author’s claim. Therefore, you have made no valuable contribution.
Why trust a blog? Because this blog author has presented facts, none of which you have refuted. Why trust someone from Amway? None of them disclose income like real business owners so you don’t know if they are making money or just faking it.
You say to trust your friends but you mean only friends who like Amway. Friends who don’t like Amway are to be ignored right?
What a farce.
It’s not about who to trust, but watching for the signs of something being untrustworthy. For example, I’ve been wisely educated not to trust internet sites with glaring grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I didn’t find one on this site until I read your reply which was riddled with them. So, back to what the blogger is saying, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck …
I am interested to hear why successful business people and professionals would spend their time “faking it” in a business when they were very successful in their professional careers. I personally know a peadiatrician, an accountant, a owner of a listed company, a psycologist, etc who were all successful prior to joining the business and they now have growing businesses for the past several years. These are educated people that have spent a huge chunk of their lives studying in their respective fields, so why would they waste their time in a scam business and “fake” their income???
very true sir you are right negative is acceptable very fast..these ppl doesnt know what amway is and thy make their own theories..i want to tell this man dont quit before you see with your own eyes..
You are 100% right. This guy “Mike” is a complete idiot. I’m an IBO with Amway and made $10,000 in sales this pat month (April, 2013) which I made 23% of that $10,000. I am making money, very successfully through Amway. The only way you don’t succeed through Amway is if you’re a lazy bum and don’t work. Instead of typing out this long blog (because you have no life), you could have put those hours into making money with your business. Again mike; you’re a moron who is hating on the fact that YOU are not successful. Do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut when you have no clue what you’re talking about. If you can honestly say anything bad about making $10,000 this month, you’re an asshole, an idiot, and a f- up… Mike; send me an email (sah19990@yahoo.com) so I can tell you personally how much of an idiot you are… Later.
WOW!!!! Amway=Evil
If you don”t see that, your all crazy. Maybe your one of the few that can make it work for you, but at what cost. no sense of fulfillment in life. working like a dog finding clients going to meetings all for Amway. I’ve become very successful on my own terms and working hard to start my own business ground up. All you get rich quick lazy leaches will never become successful buying into someone else’s ideals. Be your own person and take what you want in life.
After you read thru reports ,comment on the site..you wont join any of the MLM company…
amway, nuskin, monavie is all include inside…
http://mlm-thetruth.com/research/case4and-against-mlm/
download the entire book.
I see that he is comparing Walmart vs Amway. Why he does not said that Amway product last a lot more than regular products because they are concentrate, so by the end of the day you are saving money buying from Amway. They have excellent products and its a great way to make money. By the way, I am not an independet rep from Amway, I work for Momentis (energy company) but I family members who buy products from Amway and they are excellent products.
Actually, I recently did some research on their products. Vitamins are not considered “the best”. Shockley was rated higher……why not sell them. The home cleaning products are banned in Vermont, due to chemicals in them, unless you have a lic. to sell in the state. Really.
There are products in the retail market that are as good or better than the Amway products. I don’t have to wait for the product, pay shipping, etc.
..the financial and personal pain has yet to start, unfortunately. I worked for an Emerald, way back in the middle seventies; my job was to tape all weekend functions, about thirty hours, and bring back enough drivel I could dilute into a ninety minute cassette…something he would sell as ‘tools’. These ‘tools’ are mandatory, something they deny, but expect zero help if you don’t purchase. Our cost was about thirty-three cents per cassette, and I think they retailed at the time for about eight dollars. I did some math and quickly realized, in spite of the blatant lies I heard from Those On High Living In Charlotte, the real money was indeed in tool sales. At a major function, with twenty thousand accolytes(this was at a major hotel in New York City) paying a hundred dollars a night per person for lodging, plus the FEE for entry to the festivities..that’s a lot of money out of your pocket and into Dexters’ wallet. I sincerely wish you well, and hope you can find a sane way out of this as well as keep your marriage intact.
Sadly, I have the same problem with a friend of mine. He is about to graduate as an engineer but he is really, really into this. Today, we talked for hours over his “business” and it was amazing his level of involvement. For more that I explained to him how money was really made out of his own pocket, he wouldn’t listen. I puntuated how little money most in the pyramid are getting out of DIRECT SALES was ridiculous, but it was like insulting him. He used many of the terms used in this article like if they all would the same bible-type pamphlet. Amway seems to bombard him with inspirational thoughts and well-known success quotes in every meeting in order to keep him in. I told him not to get offended, he understood. Although, he told me I was just an average guy and would never listen to me because I’m not quite as succesful as the guys on top of his pyramid. He also confessed his parents and other family members have asked him to stop but he is committed, sadly. It’s been one year in and does not have one recruit. Hope he gets to open his eyes soon.
How about explaining how much time it will take? That’s usually one of the biggest turn-offs for people who get excited about doing it.
Running your own business is a rewarding but engaging career and life choice. It demands your time and focus. Start by expecting to live your work until it is established so it can get off the ground. Amway is the same way, it take time.
Why will you want to rush your business? Amway is the best business opportunity for under $200.00. I have a traditional business where i pay over a million. I work my traditional business 50 to 60 hours a week, but my Amway business, 10-15 hours a week. This is not a lot of time for a business.
Hector Vazquez
Business owner-IBO
I actually started my own cleaning business for about $170. My sister and I are working on our own schedules making decent money rather successfully. And we aren’t forcing our families and friends to purchase their own business. We just provide a service that many people need.
Why are you working 2 jobs if your “first business” makes a million????
Just went to a seminar that my friend invited me to. I knew that it was too good to be true, and hey, when you here of people making that much money, and the way he describes it to you as a “nothing to lose scheme” you go with it. As I sat there and listened to the presentation these were some of the questions that were going through my head, but couldn’t put together because YES, the way they pitch it to you is fantastic. But this article puts alot of things into reality, and although some of your info may be not 100% right, it definitely opens peoples eyes to whats really happening. I don’t think its a complete scam, but your chances of winning in this type of business is like playing the lotto i think.
I went to a phase 2 Amway meeting and I was sold. I was invited to a phase 1 meeting and want to see how the business works before I join; but even if I cannot recruit people I figure I can generate sales and that could make me some money, at the very worst I buy the items wholesale and save money.
If I don’t break even after 2 years I will withdraw, if I make at least $216.00 gross in the first month I will not go further.
I am an accountant and was concerned about the fact that they focused more on recruiting than on sales. Stay tuned…
So… how did it work for you?
get your money out and run.
hi, im pavan kumar, a successful ibo in Amway. I firstly want to thank the author of this article for his great indepth analysis of MLM marketing. But he made some mistakes in his analysis of the paidout commissions to the distributors as he explained that it would add upto the price of the product. Ofcourse it does, but the reality n the great thing here is that those commission earning distributors are none other than the common man who realised that his normal hard earned money is going out into the pockets of the middle men n the advertising celebrities. By this opportunity the common man is now becoming the middle men, advertiser n earning the commission, which is very much legal there by realising his dreams. What’s wrong with that? When compared to walmart: i want to ask u one simple question. Can anyone on the earth can financially become free by purchasing products from walmart. The answer is NO. Amway in 92 countries is changing millions of lives through this opportunity. Show me one company which has given life to people. They just give salaries to people working in their companies not lives. I generally never argue with people who r negative or close minded to new opportunities but information from such sites may distract from people who may opt to do this business for changing their lives.
Friends who r reading this article, I want to say one last thing to u. Beware of people from whom u r taking this advice. If u want to know how ur life would b after marriage, ask people who lead a happy married life but not from people who got divorced or from people who r not married yet. Use ur common sense.
what are you talking about? do not lie to yourself. Amway is a pyramid scheme. do not try to mislead others to join this absurd scam. I strongly defended this article that helps people to understand better MLM and I doubt you are a successful IBO in Amway.I have lost friends and families because I do not join them. I define it as a sect not as a business oportunity like they claim.
every job is a pyramid just on a larger scale.
Do you know the meaning of Pyramid? Just use your brain a little bit. MLM business is a way to make money the smart way. If that is illegal, why none of them are in jail yet? I work for a different MLM business for 6 months already and I have made over $$43,000. Still have my family and friends that love me even more because I am helping them make money. Usually, people that talk crap about MLM are people that does not have goals in life or balls to change their financial situation.
Your job is a pyramid scheme. The man @ the top makes the most the man @ the bottom makes the least.
“I have lost friends and families because I do not join them. ”
sorry but i need to say that this is problem of your friend ,not Amway itself, they didnt treat you as true good friend.
A true friend will still will remember, be friend and always communicate or chatting with each other even you dont want to join Amway with them, unless you also dont like your friend and dont want to meet with your friend after you know he join Amway
sorry for my poor english
Brother sir, you are totally confused, confusing and confusable.
The truth is you sir have not studied business if you did you would relize that the person who wrote this blog and the negative comments from the ignorant masses mean they only lookfor the negative things they could find on the internet. Amway has been in business since 1959, has had an A+ business rating since the inception of the better business bureau, they are partners in business with major retail companies like Sears and best buy so who do you think I am going to believe you idiots or major companies that do business with them who have corporate lawyers that are not going to let them get wrapped up with an illegal scheme or scam.
Nobody I know of ever became financially free buying Amway products either.
ha ha ha ha you are totally out of your mind without knowing A of amway….
i am really wonderfully pleased with what MR.Pavan kumar says. i am actually a student who spare a little time in workng out with AMWAY. And I feel the time i put in it is fair worth. Now am in a position where I can earn as well as study. :)
Interesting how your inconsistent typing style and use of language is exactly the same as MR.Pavan kumar’s. If it wasn’t for the difference in user names I would have been confused.
I doubt they’re from America. The people who are misspelling and making grammatical errors are probably from countries where English is a second language to them.
In reference to Amway, my friend does it and he’s not making any money. He had a good sales pitch though. Buy from him or join his team and all the proceeds he’d make would go to helping stop sex-trafficking around the world. Unfortunately, no one bought into it, so he ended up making t-shirts and selling them and Those profits have been donated. I agree that of course it’s not going to be fair. The company has to make money off us too, that’s with Any company, especially Wal-Mart.
As an employee that recently quit, did he not forget to mention that we get paid just BArely above minimum wage, the hours are worthless for adults with children unless it’s during the holidays. Honestly, I think Wal-Mart jobs should only be for high school and college students during the rest of the year. There are two Wal-Mart scams. One is the one cent thievery. It’s where Wal-Mart steals a penny from every customer’s pocket. Look at your receipt. Do the math and you’ll see that they took an extra penny from you. It doesn’t go with your sales tax or the products you’ve bought. That’s not a big deal, sure, I’d agree, but pennies add up when millions around the country visit Wal-Mart. They’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars a day by merely taking that penny from people. And it’s been going on for years. My math professor 8 years ago showed us her receipt and had all of us calculate. + when you work at Wal-Mart and EVERYthing’s cheap and they have price match guarantees, of course you’re going to get off your shift and go shopping for food and necessities there. It’s convenient. You save gas and energy by just shopping at your job. They give you your paycheck, you give them the money RIght BAck. Wal-Mart is a frickin scam!! You’d think after they’ve made all that money, they’d pay their employees better. Aside from that, great place to work, pretty friendly to one another and supportive, as well as loads of pizza parties, donut fridays, free coffee, sometimes free snacks, and of course huge thanksgiving dinners for all employees. Usually flexible schedules, when you warn ahead of time.
I’m not joining the company because I’m really not an ambitious sales person. I know myself well enough to know I couldn’t do it, so I won’t waste my money on it. I believe a person can make money doing just about anything and if you put enough time and effort into it, you can succeed. Perhaps not to the extent you’d hope for but well enough to survive or have chunk change on the side. I work with 3 survey sites, inboxdollars.com, cashcrate.com, and opinionoutpost.com. I’ve made over 500 dollars betweent these 3 sites… in 6 months. It’s harrrrd work. Any and everything is. But in this case, I think it’d be better to stick to your day job and if you want to join Amway, go to college and learn marketing first, or do some extensive research so you’ll know how to sell yourself, the company, and the products. You have to be committed to this type of stuff. Like the blogger said, if you’re not ready for that, then don’t mess with it. You’ll just lose your money.
I am a student too who just recently joined amway, but I was very suprised when I got a cash back two months later. I have never shopped anywhere before were one gets money back, its always discount. I believe if we would shop together with my entire family in amway, then we will for sure make some cash. I also know a medical Dr who have resigned from her job coz is earning €4000 from amway, beside this they go for holiday with family which are fully covered by amway and the business is also inheritable. My friend who signed me up is a student like me and is currently earning €500 every month from Amway. Ofcourse one need one need to put in effort to get trainning and learn how to introduce the products to people but at a later stage the work become less. The products are concentrate and they are amazing.
I believe every business is a pyramid scheme, there is always somebody earning a lot of money at the top than the people at the bottom. Take for a example a University President and a lab technician who does all the data collection, analysis and drafting the papers.
In every business yoz have to invest some money, time and effort. No one start making money out of nothing.
Moiya (IBO)
Says the person who is using texting language instead of actual grammer and punctuation, but like you said “Use commons sense”.
At the guy above: Oh, god. I hope you never reproduce. First off: Yes, you do support people when you purchase from wal-mart, and a lot more than Amway. Think about the millions of employees who are earning money. I actually know several people who have a HEALTHY JOB SUPPORTING THEIR FAMILY as a manager! How would Amway do that, pray tell? It is, for all intents and purposes, a pyramid scheme. And how is your money “lining the pockets of celebrities”? Yes, I suppose it does if you spend your money on idiotic things like $300 celebrity perfume. You’re damn straight that it’s changing millions of lives, but is it changing them for the better? One company that’s giving “life”? What about Wally world’s manufacturers? What about its shippers? What about its cashiers? If you want to say that Amway gives “life” then what is your idea of “life”? Living high? Living rich? Driving a ferarri? I used to know a person who inherited literally millions of dollars. Their soul was sucked out of them! They became so enthralled in being rich and being number one that they lost focus of everything else. Everyone says “there’s no jobs” but really, there aren’t any jobs you want. If you think that you can get rich quick with Amway, you’re just funneling more of your (perhaps) hard-earned money to the people on top, who you will never join. As for your “last thought”, only talking to people who are happily married is like… oh, say, talk to one of the 5% success stories from a pyramid scheme. Instead of just talking to the people who are married, talk to the people who are divorced, talk to the people who have lost a spouse to death, and then infer from the three things you’ve seen whether it’s worth it! But unlike marriage, there are far more losers than winners in Amway.
Hallelujah, I managed to get through that without even making one snipe at your grammar. Oops, never mind.
you are an idiot. obviously you do not know how the business is ran. amway actually sells some pretty good products. they are acredited by the BBB. ya some of their products cost is a little rediculous. but they are high quality items. also when you saw the radio it was so expensive because they are partnered with other companies hmmmmu leave so much stuff out its rediculous. here is wat i learned. if you work hard you can make money if not you wont make a cent. plain and simple. by the way i work for walmart. their prices are so low because they pay their employees shit money. and also being around walmart….you would not want to c what the food on your table comes from. all of the pesticides..lol mite as well eat fast food every day. so il go with amway. they sell all natural supliments no preservatives. nothing but the best. get ur facts strandaight before you rip a company for letting people b their retailers and payin hem pretty good money.
I have a best friend and his girlfriend who just joined they have barely earned 100 points or whatever, I bought a purse for my girlfriend to be supportive, anyway they felt extreamely pressures to go a convention in Iowa that would have coated them 300 out of the gate plus weekly meetings that last until 11:45 at night when they both work first shift! the expectations of a new commer to amway doesn’t support their claims of making an extra 2k-3k/ month. my parents did amway in the 90’s and lasted just over a year and my friends desperately want to get out but figure they need to come out positive before they leave. I personally cannot stand the people who are higher up than bottom level say I know a husband and wife who are diamonds, they and among others I know who are close to that level are self centered snobs ever since joining. I wonder if these meetings led by the upper echelon turn them into these types of people to earn them more money at the sacrifice of their close friends!!!
in your comparisson you seem to not show that walmart also has to ship them from the manufacturers to warehouse, where the warhouses sort and then ship again to the individual store based on its need… thats 3 more steps off the top of my head… also how many walmart commercials do you see? how many amway commercials do you see? thats millions of dollars that is not spent by amway on advertising that instead goes to the IBO’s as payment there for less mark up is needed… and on the pressure situation… I cant guarentee that there are not shitty people in amway… just as you cant guarentee there arent shitty cops or lawyers etc… however if you do your research and find an appropriate upline it is a pleasant experience… you have the choice… I am never encouraged to buy any amount of stuff i dont need… especially being young and a college student living at home i dont buy the cleaning supplies etc for the house… i do however buy vitamins for myself because i do anyway… that is all that they encourage… is that you buy what you do already… and do you realize how easy it is to get 100 points to get a bonus?
See? See? Here you have it, ladies and gentlemen. And how can I “leave out steps” when I’m not even giving them? If I had said, “Product A is manufactured here, shipped to here, then blah blah blah” you would have a dubious reason, at best, to make a snipe there. My point wasn’t about the products moving; it was about all the people that Wal-mart pays to do labor. Granted, they may not be paying them enough, but it’s better than Amway. And their TV commercials? That’s what you’re attacking? Yet another great snipe! Did it ever occur to you that they put those out so that more people will come in and spend money? Now… wait, when they spend money, where does it go? Yes, in some cases, to the “corporate fat cats”. But the image given of the corporation exec who does nothing and gets paid our the wazoo is totally unbased. I know people who are executives for wally world, live in Bentonville, and have devoted their entire lives to the job. But you missed my point. I wasn’t defending wal-mart. I was saying that the current system, broken as it may be, is a helluvalot better than Amway. Can you imagine if Amway had its own country? And as for the “shitty people” you’re absolutely correct. The “shitty ones” are the, I don’t know, 20 people who are the millionaires off of other people’s mistakes.
ur talking about walmart executives compared to a small ibo? lol are u retarded? dude how about this. i dont know what ur job is dont really know you…but try working at walmart. starting out at the bottom, busting ur ass, being treated like shit…the alternative is what for most people without a college education? that is the great thing about amway. if u work hard at marketing ur product. and u sell some stuff here and their ul make some money. and by the way if u sell 200 dollars worth of product ur actual profit will vary from what you sold. not 17 dollars. u have no experience at amway other then apparently studying the layout. in all honestly if u give it a try u could make some really good money, but im not gonna sit here and say “ya u sit on ur ass all day and u make money” now i have heard that before from ibo’s mostly younger ones. but if u get involved with someone that knows the ins and outs of amway u could be very successful. dont try and taint a business’s image just because they let the people decide how much they want to make
Here’s the deal, does Wal-Mart provide commission to its employees? No! Does Wal-Mart inspire and motivate its employees to become better people? No! Does Wal-Mart market mainly american made products? No! There you have it! In a world filled with men and women lacking mentorship, Amway has allowed different training systems to use their distributorship to provide an opportunity for people throughout the world to grow and prosper.
LOL, Walmart’s commercial says “Live better, save money”
Amway’s commercial is “Now you know”
Sad.
“Live better,save money” by buy and use moderate to low quality product from Wal-Mart
or ”Live better,save money” by buy and using moderate to high quality and concentrated product from Amway?
There have too many people always like to get lower price and high unit(weight or capacity –kg, liters something like that ?) of product and didnt pay attention high quality product that are seems more expensive.
Most brands want to earn profit by using inferior ingredients when making their product, how about ingredient of Amway product? Please go for a detailed research to understand the product ingredient, procedure of making product of Amway compare with most brands then only compare the price.
And dont forget,there have nearly or more than 1000 patents Amway products have and included pending.
You will understand Amway product is really are high quality,reasonable,economical and eco-friendly.
Save money not equal to economical.
Go for have further and more understanding of Amway Background also,about Peter Island,Orlando Magic, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel,technology Amway product is using,you will know that Amway is huge and advance until most people cant believe, most people still thinking Amway is just only a direct selling or a MLM company, and Amway such a huge business provide a chance for people(or consumers) to become not only a member and distributors but actually a partnership with it,how many company provide partnership to help people.
And go for have further understand about Amway Crown Ambassador and Founders Council Members. Those Founders Council Members have the right to give idea and make important decision with 2 Founders of Amway. Some decision can affect Amway in a country or whole Amway in the World. Who can give idea and make these decision in most company?BOD, CEO or top managers only,but how those Amway Crown Ambassador and Founders Council Members actually come from?They all was and still, a consumer!
There have too many more i can say about Amway
Too many people’s understanding is too unilateral thinking and too short-sighted ,when they know something, they will only believes what they saw,heard and know are all right,others information are all wrong or just ignore.
Lastly,sorry for my poor english
Was invited to a meeting, then met with a Amway distrubitor the next evening. He was very aggressive in getting to the contacts in my cell phone. LOL…he asked for names an numbers of my family and friends to sell the plan too, please note…. not the product the plan. I asked about the the products an how to purchase them wholesale his response was that people wouldn’t keep buyhing them. Then went on to continue hounding me for a list of names an numbers. I clearly concluded that Amways main earning focus is not on selling products its focus is on selling a get rich plan to people and having the people within the company buy the products off of themselves to meet their bonus goals. No wonder the first speaker insisted not to google or research Amway or listwen to negative comments about the company. With over 18yrs of sales/marketing experience I dont like recruiting people to make my life easy. No one pays a true to the bone salesperson better than theirself. I am a firm believer or working smart not hard. Amway looked like alot of travel time, out two evenings weekly, buying products, recruiting/misleading people, alot of out of pocket for a maybe in two years I will receive an average of about $2k montly. Im wasnt impressed. Then the $150k within five years…..wow. Go figure. No Thanks. Wisdom is priceless Thank God for giving me the precious gift of wisdom.
Just for your information, every single MLM business tells you to stop listening negative people and searching on the internet about the company because people that does not know how to do the business or do anything make blogs just like this one to try to damage the company’s name (which does not work because every single day hundreds of people join the company).
Oh right, so I don’t know what I’m talking about (never mind that I provided sources for the facts I’m basing my conclusions on), so everyone should listen to you instead: a person whose E-mail address is REALWEALTH4U@YAHOO.COM (seriously, that’s the guy’s E-mail address).
My husband and I, while in our thirties, were given “the pitch” by — no joke — a 19-year-old acquaintance who kept harping about how he wanted us to be more successful. We nearly caused his head to explode by telling him (quite truthfully) thanks but no thanks, we were in the process of deliberately downshifting to pursue the lives and careers we actually wanted.
Twenty years later, we’re not rich, but we have healthy savings, we still love our jobs, and we’re still married. I have no idea what happened to Mr. Amway Junior — just hope that if he wanted to be a salesman, he took up selling something real.
I totally agree with the author. Myself i was a saphire with ruby at the side. You would not make enough money from the products. The lifestyle that you see from the emeralds and above is due to the fact that 70% of the money comes from the system(books, cds, open meetings, seminars,and conventions). I challenge any distributor from amway and lets run some numbers and you would see that truly you hardly become even on your investment. Any distributor that is less then 25% is on red numbers. Please dont waste your time.
I was approached (the mother of all fears, my boss!!) to join her team in taking up the business plan and was coaxed by her upline on several achievable ‘dreams’ in the couple of short years, by doing 10-12 hours weekly projects, buy cds, read books etc…
As I began researching the pros and cons and happen to come across this blog, really gives me an insight to amway and its affiliates (whatever alias they have). “no harm they say”, you’ll gain freedom and lots of passive income foreverrrr… dun. It’s up to the individual, really to be sold by the dreams, and one that needs to put in honest hours at work. Grateful that you are on earth!
How the heck does Amway change lives? I have worked in the hospitality industry for years and know the business well. I have someone who comes by every now and then to sell tp to the hotel group, saying it will save the business money.
I thought, have you lost your mind? Why would I or any of the people in this industry give up their long time relationships with industry established distributors/suppliers who can customize the products to franchise standards, at a reasonable price, for a roll of Amway tp? No person in the hotel industry I have known has probably said, “Gee, the tp is getting mighty expensive, better change my distributor.” Distributors will match prices too.
And as per the Amway folks who are trying to compete against Wal-Mart, they really must be smoking something during their seminars because hardly anyone can beat the Costco/Wal Mart/Dollar Trees of the nation, given the pathetic state of the American economy. So far I have yet to see a Wal-Mart/Costco close in my area.
So you change lives by working hard with salaries and profits through brick and mortar (or legitimate online businesses), saving money and investing wisely. How does Amway change that?
Hey you probably are broke aren’t you? Information is just as good as its source. To all the negative folks and failures look at you’re life now and what it could’ve been if you didn’t quit on yourself. Don’t blame people for you’re failures blame yourself. Amway has changed lives and is legit. I personally know a lawyer and a cop who retired from their jobs through this and not from “cd’s and books” because they dont have any ahahah.
Ahhh, the optimism of the ignorant …
It is easy to manipulate the facts when you are blogging to people might just be learning about this business. The fair way to blog about this is to actually have studied the business model. The truth is pyramid schemes are illegal. So the truth is either The FTC is stupid and incompetent for not realizing this or you are. It is sad that you put out this much hateraid.
I can tell you didn’t bother reading the article. I specifically pointed out that they stay just on this side of the law.
Excellent summary. I have known a few people who have made money selling Amway, but they treated it as a sales job, working 60+ hours a week, not as some ‘spare time’ money machine. Hmm, and they were in the business back in the early 1990s; the market has changed since then, and 60+ hours of hump-busting may not be enough to compete with Wally World today.
I have known many, many more people who’ve tried to sell me ‘the business’ as a great way to get rich quick — “you can deduct your car on your income taxes!” — but they never seemed to last long, since _somebody_ has to be selling the soap.
If u tell me i cant make it in a resturant y would i try n make it work… But if u say u can do it take a risk it hard but it a good idea id give it a go… Which btw worked it runs very well now…. But was told it never work… If u listen to neg ppl u get neg results and vise versa!! Im in amway been in bout 1yr… I bearly go to meetings but always listen to the cds which are great btw n helped me built by resturant!! I dont make millions from amway more like $1500 mth but that means i dont have to take wage from mt resturant so as far as im concered im making millions and am happy!!!! Perspectives are only relivant to the person giving them nothing more
Even with amway n ibos if ur introduced to the business my a wanker then your impression of the business is that it bad so u look at neg things… But u dont have a bad opinion on the business u have a bad opinion of a person…. But ppl always confuse the too!!
I’m sorry, but I’m having trouble understanding your prose. It’s probably because I am only fluent in English, not NetTard.
We joined to get some things at the cheaper price, then paying the full retail. I like the drinking system and believe that it would benefit family’s to have one for piece of mind. To that end I would be willing to sell to not only my friends, family’s and co-workers. The price is similar in a lot of cases with private company’s such as Culligan and Water group Canada. Even Home Depot offers a Reverse Osmosis unit for 550.00 which is cheaper but does not have a UV light incorporated into the unit that will kill germs.
As for getting people into Amway well only if they believed in what they were doing and lets face it getting “rich” is a dream not reality. The ability to make a little bit of money is possible with some work. I know because I used to sell water softeners and drinking systems and the mark up on them would make you gag.
Used to buy the water softener (the smallest one they made) for 550.00 and I would sell it for 1440.00 installed with 5 yrs warranty. i would sell on average 9 units a month and would get paid 1,500 a month as a flat fee and if I managed to sell 10 units or more I’d get a bonus. This didn’t happen often because I had to do all the installs and service work if they broke down.
Who ever wrote this is stupid because amway does cut out the middle men because walmaet not only pays for what the comparison says but also commercials and advertisements
So dont lie to people, people who say amway is a lie is because they are scared to try and people qho have tried and failed is because they dont put enough effort
Marketing isnt a middle man when it comes to products. In economics the middle man would be a distributor. Walmart does its own distributing in most areas but a few like pop and chips but their cheap products. Also with the percentageswalmarts overhead is much smaller because amway overhead grows with each lvl and so their products cost more. I would sugest before u start talking about how people are wrong you should take a few economics classes then just listen and believe in talking points. Sorry for errors but this is done on my phone
Amyway is just like any other career in life. If you work hard it’ll pay off. Yes some of the ways of amway seem to pushy. But do you all seriously think that the rich men in our world today were nice, stay in line, don’t take a risk kinda of people? No. They did things they didn’t want to do I guarantee it. They stepped out of their box. Success in amway is not guaranteed it’s dependent on the person. Think of it like the bible, the constitution, or a damn book on weightloss, it gives people hope. Enough hope to be productive and eventually be successful. However, it takes actually obtaining that sense of hope and if you don’t then you will not move forward in the business. I am new to amway, my family has been in the business for over two years and are doing terrific and loving what they do. I saw their lives, attitudes and whole outlook on life improve. So I’m just going to wrap this up with ” A man with experience is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion”. Peace.
Well said!!
If u’ll notice most amway IBO’s are great at making sales pitches that bring in a lot of cheers!
I’m not into amway, but i have been to couple of their meetings. I was one of the 16 prospects who quit. Only 4, i guess joined cos they seemed pretty spell-bound. Have no idea what happened to them later.
What i want to say is, it was pretty clear one had to work his ass off if he was in the lower level and the people at the top can take it really easy. I’m pretty sure one eventually would get consumed in breaking even and the prospects of making more money as one started to make profit. Whatever be the business model, whether pyramid or anything, there was money to be made if you could sell those outrageously priced products. Their distribution price was huge and retail prices was even more outrageous. Even if I were to argue that the extreme quality of the products demanded such a price, I personally dont believe that I have the patience or ability to convince customers to buy them. Not to forget the thought of giving demos of detergents and toothpastes to people really puts me off. Also i feel any expenses incurred for selling these products like phone bills, gas and incidentals are part of the cost involved in selling the products. So I was a bit sceptical and didnt join. And to those who are happy selling and made it big..hats of to you people! But i kind of dont like the idea of being treated like a saleseman selling products despite haveing a respectable job..Oh wait I AM a salesman selling products :(
amway is successful for those who want to be successful but not for those who wat to
Jasdeep singh you are so guillible. Amway is short for scAmway.
amway =great way you are wrong
Folks,
Its a great opportunity in the world..Which business will provide us an opportunity to be financially free and having great social life with absolutely no investment.
If somebody say there is middleman in the distribution of the products then it is true , there is but that person is the IBO who is the common person. Use the products and then realize the difference. Amway’s own products especially Artistry and Nutrilite are the best in the world , if you use then you will realise…So this is the great business for the people who are willing to learn and willing to follow the path of successful people in the business…God Bless you.
You probably think I’m kidding. I’m not. If you’re at all familiar with my writing, you might think this is another satirical piece. It’s not. I think you should join Amway. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-37440919/why-you-should-join-amway/
This is very informational and useful. I recently was apprached by a trusted co-worker on the subject. He gave me his story and gave me the run down on how it “works.” I later attended 2 informational group meetings where i learned about companies and products such as Artistry makeup, Nutralite vitamins, and some type of energy drink. I then learned about how pv and bv work. They made it all sound so good that i considered paying the 180$ application fee to become an ibo. After doing a bit of research online i concluded that i would not find the answers i was looking for. So, i asked around, and found out that one of my father’s soldiers use to be an ibo. He told me that he tried to do the program for a little over a year and only made approx. 900$ total. He told me how hard it was to find customers who were dumb enough to purchase the overpriced products and bring in more ibos. It sounded like much more than a simple “hobby, or part time job on the side” kind of deal. I am 17 and have realized that they want to sucker you in at a young age because:
1)they believe you are gullible
2)you have loads of free time
3) you have friends who they can get to
Its messed up isnt it?
Anyway, thank you for this info and peace be with you brother.
A couple of friends just got sucked into this. They are really excited. I feel bad for them and I feel like they will want to get me to do it with them everytime I see them. I bought a few things to be nice but it was way over priced! The detergent was 4x’s Costco’s prices. I looked over the website many times and I don’t see how they can sell this stuff consistently. Now it maybe pointless to hang out with them again! This is a good way to get your friends to leave you and keep potential friends at bay. So sad.
Mike, the girl you are lifting is cute.
That’s why I married her :)
My daughter got “sucked” in to be an IBO, she was and still is working as a waitress at a hotel- full time. Trying to do the Amway selling and recruiting in evenings. I discussed some “business” things with her to try and convince her, there is no way she will have financial freedom like the top leaders are telling her. It’s nice to have dreams, but they have to be reality down to earth dreams. She has attended many seminars and top speakers events. The one’s making a million dollars a year, 3 houses, 5 cars, boat etc etc and they show the pics on a big fancy screen. This excites everyone and all imagine themselves in 2, 3, 4 , 5 years they will have all this. –a dream, BUT not a down to earth dream. So my daughter pays for the gas, car rentals, hotel rooms, meals to go to these seminars that are 1000 miles away. OH yes she comes back and is all excited about her new life. However, she’s been in her “”own”” Amway business, trying to recruit others into her “circle” and purchasing items etc for almost 2 years. Her income from this?—about $200 a month after all her expenses paid. FINANCIAL FREEDOM? Nope. But as father I have to support the childrens dreams and visions and goals. I will never say to my children “”I told you so””, they have to learn that.
signed:
not a happy father, but supportive father
My daughter was sucked into Amway about 4 years ago and we have lost her as a result. She does not believe she can have a relationship with us outside of Amway. We have repeatedly told her we love HER, and want a relationship with HER, not with Amway. She refuses to accept that and has exiled us from her life. She just got married last weekend and we were not there because we “did not deserve to be a part of her wedding.” She is our only daughter and we have been robbed of so many memories with her because of Amway. We are heartbroken and lost, because she is so brainwashed and can’t be reasoned with. We wonder how long it will take for her to wake up and see reality. I feel for you as a parent!
Hi HonestBill,
I’ve been reading this website for a while now and came across your situation as the most similar to mine so far. I have a friend who I’ve known for many years and is currently working part-time as an IBO. So far, I’ve been supporting her as much as I can including providing financial support and even travelling with her to keep her out of harms way as she worked. Unfortunately, my resources and patience is rapidly depleting and would like to find a way to convince her to leave this business. I’m usually very bad with words and cannot string meaningful ideas together to make it sound convincing. As such, could you please provide me with some advice on how you spoke to your daughter or how you would like to speak to her if you had a second chance of convincing her to leave? Thanks in advance. I can be contacted via the email address: leaving_amway@outlook.com.
Amway is so much better than it used to be it’s like comparing a donkey to a Ferrari… Don’t believe me, a friend of mine who’s 24 years old just retired because of the opportunity in Omaha, NE. They own the Orlando Magic, Kurt Warner is the Nutrilite spokesman, Miss America and the Miss America organization represents Artistry skin care and cosmetics… AND Amway grew by over a BILLION dollars in sales last year… Sounds like a scam to me… Morons… LOL!
AND OF COURSE, I’ll provide proof that backs up what I am saying unlike most of the ranting whiners on here who couldn’t figure out how to make any money in Amway so they blamed it on everyone but themselves.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120318/NEWS02/120319707/-1
Ooops, my bad. She’s 25 not 24. After reading all the lies above about how bad Amway is, I had to throw a little fib in there myself : )
So you have some one allegedly retiring from work due to their Amway business. Great for her, but that probably means they have many downline losing money in order for her to do that.
I just watched a dateline video (On youtube) about Amway/Quixtar
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc4-34V75SQ ) and when they say something is a scam, I tend to believe them. I do not want to spoil anyone’s dreams but, in the video reading directly from the Quixtar pamphlet it says most IBO’s will make roughly $1400.00 a year. They do also say that any of the self help/motivational material you purchase is voluntary, but in their speeches mention buying it and then buying more to continue to grow. I have family that is doing this and they are trying to get me involved, I was really hoping this had some merit, but sadly it appears to be nothing more than a scam. :-(
Tim, I believe you refer to the average income. The average income of IBOs is about $115 a month or about $1400 a year. And that average is after disregarding IBOs who “did nothing”. The real average is much lower because while Amway disregarded the ones who did nothing, they included the diamonds and the crown ambassadors.
Amway brainwashes their sales reps with these seminars and cds. I have watched my sister and her husband be suckered into this business, not once, but twice. The first time was in the 1980s and the second time was within the last couples of years. They are still working at it in the second go ’round. We cannot have a family get together or event where some amway, artistry or nutralite product isn’t on display, offered or mentioned. We as a family support their decision to be distributors for this business. However; none of us believe that they are going to become rich or even have a healthy financial future with the business. We are constantly criticized and accused of being non-supportive because we don’t become distributors and we don’t buy the overpriced products. Frankly, no one is going to tell me how to spend my money. I have instructed my sister that should they start offering competitive prices for products I buy anyway that offer the same quality, I would be happy to purchase. However; I have not found one single item that was competitively priced. If you choose Amway, I wish you the most success. All I see is how my my sister/husband spend taking these trips and “get bonus checks each month”, but mostly I see how this particular business has affected our family’s relationship and how this business has changed a church-going dedicated Christian into a person I hardly recognize. Amway? No thanks. I’ll stay poor.
If you are happy to stay poor then good for you…
There are points to be noted that even if the Amway Products are costly.
1. They are useful to people and give results. Distributors are getting repeat orders.
2. Even if the other company’s products are cheaper it doesn’t give any common man the opportunity to earn income and change his lifestyle but only Amway Products Does.
3. It changes the life of lacs of Distributors round the globe but the other company which sells cheaper products only changes the lifes of few wholesalers and retailers.
4. The same plan is used by every company to build his network for sales only it is that if some company is giving the opportunity to a common man lot of people are telling it as scam. If Amway is Scam each and every product whi
I’m sure Amway’s is a pretty unique business model and has been replicated by many for the same reasons. Amway’s intentions are good. They wanna give a slice of the huge retail margins to the common man. But in order for this to work, the ROI for the common man must be attractive enough. Amway cant possibly make cheap products and expect common people to be able to sell high volumes and make profits. Its too much work to make even a little bit of sizable profit, let alone have enough time left to enjoy the profit. So no matter how you may blame retail giants for consuming profits, they are doing what no individual seller can do! They are able to mass sell! Individual sellers no matter how organized can never outdo retailers when it comes to sheer volume of sales. You may say amway made $X bn dollar of sales. But how much volume have they really sold? Sears may hv gotten lesser turnover, but their volume sale is unimaginable. It only means so many more people bought their products despite amway’s superior quality! In amway individual distributors are just making money for themselves, whereas retail organisations have to support themselves and the employees. It is to be noted that amway’s selling model cannot make a millionaire of just about anyone who joins, there will only be a few. It is no different from the top management of any firm where there are a few millionaires and mostly consisting of middle income groups. Millions of people have a steady job because of these large retailers. Can you have a steady income through amway? So, what remains for amway is is to price the products ridiculously taking care that people can imagine a decent profit even from a low volume sale! Whatever commission you get is in someway generated by the sales done by other IBOs. You really havent earned it! This royalty system itself means that you have the right to live off others! Even if one says products are world class and made of super quality materials, its hard to digest that something that is mass produced can be this expensive! For a true customer (who only wants to consume and not become an IBO), naturally he’ll think a hundred times for paying so much. Remember that people are willing to overlook price only to so much extent as their pocket allows regardless of the superior quality. After one point the customer might just say, “I dont bloody need such good quality, after all i just have to get a few stains off my shirt. I dont plan on gifting it to the king of scotland ya know!” Naturally people would only have to be fooled into buying them. And for those who are a little intelligent, think that they themselves can become distributors and try to make other ppl buy it. Also it is claimed that the products are concentrates and consumption is very less. So how often do you think people will buy from you, if it takes that long to finish the product? So there is no choice but to find new buyers. For the people who are at the top, it must have been easier because there were more naive people then, than there are now!
It has been a pleasure going through your reviews, the “testimonials” if you must are somewhat looked into but with all due respect most of you are missing the big picture.
Quite a few of you mentioned that the business model and its prominent “IBO’s” tend to brainwash people.
You couldn’t be more right, but the fact is Amway conveys ideas such as positive thinking, healthy living, financial independence, people skills and so on. rarely would a
9-5 job deliver anything remotely close to that, matter of fact it more or less discourages financial independence, free thinking and leaves people hung on the concept of a “stable and sturdy income”.
Regarding the people who are jeopardizing their relationships with friends and family they are simply misinformed in terms of how to promote their business
perhaps taking up a much rather aggressive approach and/or not following the business guidelines/recommendations to the fullest. Having said that, if a somebody close to me starts to criticize amway i wouldn’t go out on a limb to “get my point across” , I would simply leave them with their own opinion and wish them the best.
Having said that I feel i am contradicting myself to an extent so I’m going to make the rest brief.
Amway is NOT a “get rich quick” scheme, anybody who told you otherwise is not following the business model. It is like any other business and requires alot of effort if you are expecting a decent turnover.
Having said that i am in the business for just ofr 6 months now and it has been nothing short of amazing, I have recently qualified for the platinum level, I quit my miserable job and now I’m receiving around $5,000 a month for the hard yards that i put in prior to that.
Amway DOES endorse alot of products, but the brands that its sub-branches manufacture themselves are nothing short of amazing, ie. Artistry,E-spring, Nutrilite and so on. And like said above the business cuts out the middlemen and considering that its a premium product, products of simiuar quality cost 1.5x-2x the price. And the price per-use on a vast majority of the products released by amways sub-branches turns out to be lower than that of most rivaling brands on the market.
I have a few more points to address but I feel like I am running out of time,
I would be a much better option to enlighten you about amway rather than those who have failed at it. So if you have any concerns in regards to it, feel free to give me an emai.
imagine_ksm@windowslive.com
Best regards.
I read this whole article hoping to find some credibility to the author, and found none. Especially nothing like the ????????????????from the BBB that Amway has received. How do you like that for facts, Mike. And furthermore, you obviously don’t know much about the products if you are comparing them to products from Walmart or Costco. I hope anyone who has seen the business plan and believes in it, and the products, doesn’t let someone else’s negativity on the subject deter you.
Tracy – IBO
Everything this guy writes is crap. Anti God, anti American, uneducated, arrogant to write his “own ramblings” please like we care about your “opinions”. He takes delight in spreading negativity and doubt in people, and I love all of you who have responded back about how awesome AmericanWay is, and how there are so MANY MORE OF US then there are of “them”. I have made over a million dollars in Amway, and if you work it it works, that simple. The problem is the work ethic, faith, and self introspection required in building an organization worthy of true leadership in the Amway journey is a process that weeds out people like Michael because they have too much negativity, pride, and lack of faith in God. They are the types (1/3 of the population) who just delight in boasting about their unique intelligence to support their over inflated egos and enjoy bringing others down with them, so they feel justified and don’t have to deal with the massive insecurity and emptiness inside. So keep on letting your light shine, and you dream crystalize. Forget man’s quote on quote “wisdom, logic” For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25
We have already won baby!
Wow, what a devastating rebuttal. What use are FTC numbers and percentages and figures and reasoning against the supreme argument of “I claim to be rich and I believe in God so shut up”?
Ummmm…. If there are more of you then there are of them, who are you selling to?
There are few things that attract more vitriol than amway bashing. Troll on :)
Wow 1 million dollars! Great for you. First of all, prove it and secondly, Amway is a great business model to copy. But the sad thing is that Amway’s policies and terms are killing their IBOs who consider themself Independent Business Owners and want to open a full fledge company using their product line. Meaning that recently I opened my own business and was approached by a company wanting to purchase a very large quantity of the products so I went to amway to get their input and they said that if he isn’t in US or US territory I cannot sell to this company. What a load! So isn’t amway conducting business overseas? Why can’t I? Bull! Also, I wanted to put my busness on facebook and now their telling me I can’t use product pics, can’t sell, or can’t give discounts publicly. How am I suppose to get sales if I can’t use images? More Bull! Now I am a business owner and my business is driven by profits not Amway because if I do not sell I will not receive the profits. Most of the Big internet marketing Gurus I talk to had their starts in Amway but left because they realise Amway doesn’t work for FREE THINKERS. So yes you made a “million” dollars in Amway but how? By getting friends and family to join? Did they make “million” dollars too. I wanted a business not a scheme. This is Bull
Don’t waste time on this site. Go out and build your “business”. Hahahahahaha. You wouldn’t know a business if it hit you in the head. Hahahaha
Did your upline say Amway is a God pleasing business? I find it ironic how these leaders use God to promote their business when it’s pretty clear that many leaders are not honest about how they actually make their money, by selling tools and functions. The diamonds are about consumption and making money, even if it is made dishonestly.
Matthew 19:24
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
1 Timothy 6:10
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I have been in the Amway business for about 2 months now. I have made close to $200. The author tends to focus on just the negatives. Yes there are many IBO’s (Independent Business Owners) who focus more on selling the business than the products, which gives Amway a bad rep.
However, the Amway products are better quality than Wal-Mart and Costco. As far as nutrition and bath products go. That’s all I buy for myself really.
There is a reason why jobs have left this country and are never coming back. Walmart is one of them. People want to buy cheap, buying cheap means it has to be produced cheap. Products that were once made in the US are now made elsewhere. The American worker is displaced and good luck finding work in another industry.
Also, making only 28-30% profit on items you sell is a very good rate. Apple makes 30% on its sales. And Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world right now.
If I sell $100 and make $30, that’s a great deal because I didn’t have to buy and resale the product in the first place. And hopefully the next month my customer will make another sale. Residual income right there.
Amway works, bottom line. If you just focus on the negative, it won’t. In whatever you do, it’s a self fulfilling prophecy; believe that Amway won’t work and it won’t. Believe that it will, and it will. If you believe you can’t get a job, you won’t. Believe and work hard towards getting one, and eventually you will.
Successful business owners and entrepreneurs tread a fine line with insanity because they keep working on something expecting a different result. They tweak how they do it until they get they results they want.
Yes I’m sure Amway reports purchases that their IBO’s make as sales to make them look more profitable but that doesn’t mean you can’t make money with Amway. And you should not be missing out on important family time. If you do, that’s your fault, not Amway’s.
I know people who have been in the business for 4 years and they are making almost 10k a month from sales and downline activity. Don’t tell me only the people who have been in the longest are the only ones making money. Obviously the ones who have been in for 30 plus years are gunna be the wealthiest! They have had more time in the business to make money.
Just because the author throws facts and numbers around does not mean he is telling the truth.
Amway is the best MLM out there. Rather than focusing on the author’s negativity and pessimism, ask yourself what you can do to make it work for you.
OK! Please clarify ….. most people study too much about selling the products? Giving Amway a bad rep? Wow boy are you brainwashed! This is like telling Amazon to stop selling and focus on getting people to join. Then how will Amazon make 43 Billion Dollars annually? Listen the reason people are joining in the first place is to sell to receive profits. Getting people to join and then having go behind them and make sure they sell and get more people to join is hard work, selling products are much easier. We are called IBOs – Independent Business Owners not Amway Recruiting Agents. Come on wake up. In two years where would you want to be owning a successful business or looking for people to recruit because the people you had before dropped out.
so is that $200 pure profit? Meaning AFTER you CODB expenses & the amount you personally had to spend to receive this commission. Otherwise your not being truthful.
Thank god I never joined ScAmway!
hi i was IBO for amway. i spent a lot of money everything is wasted. u can compare amway product’s with other product. thy are indian basterd’s indian are fake actually they know thay are lying but they do not accept it.they know it very well but they invest so much money in it that’s they can’t get out of it.so my suggestion is to leave it as soon as u can before its too late and you waste a lot of money.HAIBAT KHAN tell your wife to compare quality and price of amway products with other brands.
Ok so here are some facts:
1. Who would you rather listen to, a guy you don’t know who is probably not successful and financially free (i.e. the blogger) or successful IBO’s (Fact as I know plenty that are specialist medical doctors, accountants, engineers, CEO’s etc) and Robert Kiyosaki (Author of rich dad poor dad which basically says that you should listen to rich people and not poor people and he endorses this business model as the best way to create wealth)?
2. Yes it takes effort, and alot of it, but then so does running your own business, and most people are too lazy to put effort into building something towards their futures.
3. They have been accredited and rated by the Better Business Bureau (Google them)
4. You will not become rich quick, it will take time, and at the least you will be able to replace your income and earn the same as what you are now but sitting at home. And it can take 5 years of hard work to retire as opposed to 40 years traditionally. (for the lazy people)
5. Again I would much rather take advise from a successful and financially free person than a poor person.
I love the way this imbecile assumes that anyone who doesn’t like Amway must be impoverished, and makes no real attempt to refute any of the actual facts mentioned, despite the fact that reliable sources were named.
Hi Sorry for this but I can’t see silly people make a fool of their self and do nothing. I am an IBO and firstly Robert Kiyosaki could say anything he isn’t in Amway. Lawyers, Doctors? I haven’t heard any of them quitting their jobs. You can’t see it now but being the spokesman for Amway “a billion dollar company” is not your job. Get your business successful then you can talk about YOUR business. Come On People!
Ok, listen to rich folk not poor folk. Because rich folk would NEVER tell you anything that would line their pockets at your expense…. right?
Oh and why would over 400 of the fortune 500 companies partner with a scam????????????
Because amway is the distribution for their products. Nothing Amway could do will damage their reputation in the same way that if a corner store sold pepsi and kidnapped people, the negative affect would not flow back to pepsi. Most product manufacturers probably couldn’t care less who they sell to.
Wow… 77 replies, I think you just hit a nerve there and people rush to defend something with hard facts and real proves… oh wait, that was on the movie I saw last night, here no one backs up their arguments with substance. Perhaps they are too busy making money..
I wonder why they keep having to change their name if they are so good?! Who are they running/hiding from? They were sued less than 5 months ago – and that is only their most recent problem that I found on quackwatch.org, which is where I go to look up companies in question: http://www.quackwatch.org/search/webglimpse.cgi?ARCHID_6=6&query=amway
I found your post while looking for an answer. Someone told me today that Amway claims they are ALL 100% natural. Well, since they started selling pots and pans and everything else, I guess that can’t be possible so I got my answer. Thank you.
Final Notes…. Amway is a wonderful company and has taught me alot but I no longer buy the bull because it’s just to benefit Amway’s annual profit margin. I may seem selfish but I am more concerned about my business. I want my business to succeed. So Amway I’m sorry but your rules suck and I will not sacrifice my business for your policies. My business has policies too.
Some good points here. I get the sense (I’ve been researching this a bit) that you can become very successful with AmWay but is quite rare. The numbers here in Australia are: average AmWay distributor gets $500 a week income. 5% of AmWay distributors get $200,000 a year! But if you take out the 5% doing that well the average for the other 95 percent drops a lot.
To be successful in life it takes lots of work, action and planning.
You have to have passion and listen to your own way of thinking and gut.
Do not always listen to gossip or word of mouth.
My motto is – If you do not know it then Google it. and study what you read.
If it too good to be true, then it must be.
If you do nothing, expect nothing.
If you do something, Expect something.
It’s a sad day in our society when feel-good “motivational” slogans are substituted for actual thinking.
Author of the above said things about MLM is a not understanding a simple formule that all people in this world are here to be consumed , smater gets less consumed and the less smater gets more consumed , auther knows less about life and more about statatics he needs to update himself regarding real life because world wants better products in day to day living which is tested and essential for them at any cost ,why do author think about price tag of a product he should think about utility of a particular product which varies from person to person if some one do MLM whats harm in it he may be a end user of that product or may helping other to use a better product that can change his or her life , because money do not matter for good product , and regarding top of the pyramid is considered that have worked hard to be of top and if new people join any MLM bussiness and do it on regular bases they will definitly will be on top at some interval of time.
Amway has 38 call centres and web centres all across the world to counter these real complaints.
The comments in support of Amway are posted by employees paid by Amway. So, forget it. You can never post enough complaints.
today i have been in a seminar the first time. I have lived in Turkey and in order to attendt to seminar, they took my money. This was suprising for me; if they make so much money from this job why they can not meet a cost of seminar that just lasts one hour. Does they take money for seminars in other countries, too? I am an engineering student who curious about building own job and I have attendet lots of seminar about to set up own business subject. And A conferencier has never told me before “do not try to understand logic behind this issue just take the benefits ” after my question. I am not confident with this job opportunity.
After joining and leaving a few of these businesses I almost got suckered into Amway since supposedly there was a low entry cost and who can’t sell that right? However glad I read this as what killed it was what kills it for every other mlm, the mandatory $ that must be spent on products. There are more chances of succeeding in selling a “legit” pyramid layout if all involved was a low entry fee, then leave it to the person to buy the products if they want, however once the products become a monthly mandatory this pressure is a turnoff. @author…..Thanks for the info. Kudos on the insight.
I joined amway since february 2012, i joined this bussiness because of the Nutrilite, the no.1 suplement on the world. there`s no supplement at thats good.it is from organics, the only one supplement that own their organic farm. Every ones need this to be health.
i joined Amway to be health, so why not if I promote the other people to join in this bussiness too, become more health than before :) Not only the bussiness things but also make the others more health than before :)
AMWAY is the symbol of quality @all of the product.
Wow, you must be doing incredibly well if you’re desperate enough to advertise your overpriced supplements on the blog of a person who hates Amway ;)
Nutrilite is not #1 in the world. Firstly, in the USA vitamins are not regulated by the FDA. There are ind. comanies that test vitamins and rate them. Nutrilite has been rated #7,sothere are 7 other vitamin brands that are “better”, meaning they have a certain percentage of what they claim they contain, and < 5% lead.
I understand you are interested in your "health", but if you eat properly you don't need vitamins for "health" and you physician can test you to see if you are lacking in any essential vitamins.
I Feel all negative comments come from negative people who are broke and never stayed in the business past a year. If every person in the world could do amway then everyone would. Its not for everyone. its only for the people who are willing to do what it takes to make the money.
Wow, it’s only for people who are willing to do what it takes? You could say the same thing about prostitution.
AWESOME!
Is this “negative” people what Amway pushes. I have heard that before.
If everyone could and was willing to do amway, who are the end users- the ones who actually opens the lids?
My brother has been with the “business” for almost two years now after three years of making fun of his girlfriend for being with Amway and not making any profits. As soon as he joined he tried to sign me and my wife up. Since joining Amway my brother has had his car repossessed, fallen behind on his rent, and HAS GOTTEN FIRED FROM HIS REAL JOB! After his employer told him that he could not miss any more days at work, my dedicated brother went to an Amway convention after ignoring my advice to just miss this one. He went to the convention and was fired the next week. Since he has joined Amway the family barely sees him because he always has “meetings” for Amway. My biggest issue with Amway is how they wrap family, and religion into their scheme that way members will stick around or join because their spending time with family at “meetings” or even church! Its genius if you think about it. Essentially Amway cuts its members off from outsiders and surrounds them with people who want the “Diamond Life” and believe in Amway. For people who say Scamway is more ethical than Wal-Mart or any other business let me ask you this. If you work at Wal-Mart for a set amount of years you will have earned benefits and opportunities for a promotion. You could be a part of Amway for years and walk away with nothing but empty pockets. Legitimate companies fire employees that are not productive and small business owners go belly up if they do not make a profit. Amway however allows its “business owners” to contribute money even if they have not seen success for years on end, but members will testify that their “upline” are good people. What good person tells you to put your hard earned money in to something that hasn’t brought you a profit for months or years? The is not a good person but a person that wants your money. The worst is that family will try to sell you on Amway even though they have not been successful. Would you trust someone who recommended a fisherman who sold rotten fish? Why would you trust someone who recommends a business that hasn’t yet panned out for them? Thats Amway…….
Dear Mike,
Your extended article only exposes once more the reason why the 98% of the global population is poor and only the 2% is rich. Human beings are too lazy to even think of giving themselves the chance of trying something different. They’d rather stay comfortably poor, surviving from pay check to pay check and dealing with the stress. Amway does work, if you really want financial freedom in your life and you are willing to educate yourself on how to become an entrepreneur, not a products seller, so that you don’t have to depend on someone else’s will to hire you or fire you Amway is a tool to obtain that freedom. You need to document yourself on how Amway works, you simply don’t know Amway and do not understand how it works, you are putting Amway as a pyramid, well it is not, any person who understands Amway can tell you don’t know what you’re talking about when you say:
“You see, despite Amway’s protestations that it’s not a pyramid scheme, it is only through the pyramid commissions structure that anyone can ever hope to reach their “limitless” earning potential. On a typical sale, there is a pyramid of distributors (diamond, emerald, platinum) who will take commissions, and your objective is to be at the top of that pyramid. Why? Because everybody at the bottom of the pyramid is losing money, and that lost money is being funneled to the top.”
If Amway is pyramid how do you explain that last month, September 2012, I made more money than my upline? I moved more volume, my business performance was bigger so my check was bigger than that of my upline. How do you explain that Tim Foley is at a higher level in the business and makes much more money than his uplines, simply because it is not a pyramid. Amway does work, it has been working for 53 years and it will continue to work for the ones who are really willing to be financially free and don’t stop to listen to negative comments. No pyramid is associated to stores like At&t, Sears, Kmart, Office Depot, 1-800- contacts, Barnes and Nobles, Best Buy, and so many more. I get a 19% discount in my At&t monthly bill beacuse I am an Amway’s IBO, I get discounts at hotels because I am Amway’s IBO, I move volume for my business, it is: I get money back when I purchase my son’s contacts from 1-800- contacts because I am an Amway’s IBO, I purchase from Bust Buy and instead of spending my money I am moving volume for my business so I’m making my Amway’s monthly check bigger, all in all, instead of spending money like regular people do, we Amway’s IBOs are sort of money magnets. It is the people who do not work because they are too lazy not to take advantage of the education system Amway offers, Amway does work.
Oh right, I should totally believe your sales pitch and inspiring “personal testimony” instead of the actual data being reported to government watchdogs. What a great cognitive strategy that would be.
It’s true what Greg Wells wrote above: the tactics of Amway are eerily similar to those of religion.
I beleive the hotels you get a discount to are not Sheratons or Hiltons, is that right. I believe that it is the Red Roof Inn. Lets get that in perspective. I get a discount with my AAA card, so your point is.
You have to buy they product. Make one or two dollars per unit, while Amway is making 30 times that much to spread up the pyramid. Sears gets 100% mark up, you get 4% if lucky.
Given that most IBO’s do nothing, making more than your upline is nothing to to cheer about. Try making more than your upline diamond and then come back here to brag about it.
watch this video from dexter yager “you’re never going to be rich in amway” wake up ibos and smell the coffee.
Michael Wong – get a life dude. Seriously. Stop trolling on Internet sites commenting “wow!” And “yeah right” and “nananana booboo” garbage.
First off, your “Internet blogger” here that you all are following like little sheep is a “happy atheist.”
For those of you who do believe in God and that Jesus Chriat died on the cross for us… I believe you should immediately disregard any and all information.
Do what you want, But I would never take any advice from an atheist.
For those doing “research” and for those who just regurgitate that word “pyramid,”here ya go: http://ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm
Or, if I can quote Micheal Wong, “WOW!” You could go to the source, http://www.amway.com
For future ibo’s – recipe for success : have a dream that is bigger than the opinions of others, determine what you want (clearly defined with a date to be accomplished), be willing to be coached and take action as prescribed and suggested by your coach and mentor. AND develope a backbone so when you read this garbage, you feel motivated and energized from not being one of the masses.
The greater the struggle, the greater the victory.
“Those who follow the crowd, usually get lost in it.”
This business is not easy, but it is worth it.
Be prepared to grow into the person you always wanted to be.
Amway and LTD
Proud to be affiliated with brothers and sisters in the fight
What the hell is this “nananana booboo” that you talk about? I’ve never said that to anyone. As for “wow”, I don’t use that word more than anyone else.
But it doesn’t matter; you are obviously just looking for excuses to dismiss the points I made, none of which you actually addressed.
Companions, who view them aware of the network marketing industry today If you look at what is the best selling advertising, word of mouth, the film industry have realized that and that is why they debut his films almost simultaneously in several countries to avoid the bad reviews affect their lockers.
Like any business you make the decision to start or, in your own work, requires discipline and focus, otherwise you are doomed to failure. But if you have the ability to create a franchise system or some book that make an effort once and then receive the benefits, or have some rental properties, that offers money without being there. Congratulations! you can earn residual income, and you’ll be getting a lot more with less effort.
Today, the small businesses are the backbone of every economy, what you need to start a business? inventory, payroll, taxes, finding customers. which is the probability of success in business, to be positive 50% success rate, as all it requires discipline, perseverance.
Now if rate, the company for its potecial that can make a big effort to start and then enjoy the benefits, remember now you are part of the statistics of WALL MART among others, they have their distribution network. why not start a small long-term network that can give you an excellent residual income, not think that your retirement income will achieve this tranquility. Look at you working seniors realize the trend, do not expect to be with the need to pay debts, to bucar a plan B.
Best of all is that within the industry, competition is eliminated because I am interested in your success and you get results, your success is the success of all,
“do not expect different results if you keep doing the same”
I hope you can understand my message. I know my grammar is not very good. I am from Panama.
It would have been nice if this rambling motivational sales pitch had anything to do with any point I made.
@mike: its k chill man..apparently the amway business model requires a shitload of faith to get into and keep it running. You cant rely on statistics and data alone. So this sort of business model doesnt work for us :)
Besides i really cant come up with a great sales pitch to defend my over-priced products if were to sell them as an IBO. This job is for a different class of people. Maybe they have made money and become rich, but anyway i dont wanna become rich in this way. I have my own ideas!
Boy, there are a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands to roll this blog around. 2 things, I built one of the top new companies in the country in 2011. A good venture which I have now successfully sold most of. I have also built a very profitable Rubyship with Amway. We have a relatively small organization (about 80 IBO’s all through) but most of our key business development team run personal retail circles of about 1000PV (about $2600). We focus on profitability in structure & retail. Balanced business practice. We treat it with the same respect as we did our traditional company and have taught others to make money. Quite frankly, the opinion and methods of building a business presented in this blog are archaic and outdated. It’s 2012… Not 1999, lol! If someone builds a narrow & personal use based business, then yes, likely they won’t make any money or create sustainability. But a wide organization which balances all facets of the business model does. We have a great system which I don’t get paid a penny for promoting (too bad! That would be a great incentive). My coaches are honest, and I have just applied the basic plan into the market place. If someone leaves one on of my plans hyped, I am dissappointed. I believe there is a lot of logic to be applied here. So, I thank the author for focusing so much on the Amway corporation. I do hope, however, he has other hobbies that are more productive, lol! A good blog I recently read which also offer some compelling facts is http://www.thetruthaboutamway.com. Just to balance things out for everyone here;)
Thanks folks. Now go do something productive with your time, Amway or otherwise!
Thank you for that generic sales pitch. I’m sure everyone here will appreciate hearing the same damned sales pitch from you that they’ve heard a thousand times before from others.
Why not listen to the pitch again? Clearly you have yet to understand it. If you did you would be an IBO.
Just joined Amway, this blog reconfirms all my fears. I’ve just been investigating my website all day, the prices are high, and I want to learn of the value for my consumers? I’m graduating college in two weeks, and I am grateful for all that I have, and was looking for something to help support my lifestlye, and was hoping Amway could be the answer. I’ve fallen for other pyramid schemes in the past, but Amway seems different, you start to see some flaws, but then you meet more people in Amway that seem very happy and successful, it’s quite confusing. I do believe the LDT service is a bit of brainwash, but they are just trying to get you into the mentality of selling, and creating downlines… I want to keep my business, but I don’t know if I will continue LTD. 24hrs in people, I will tell you how it goes for the 1st month, and I will make my final decision after 2 months. The model I have proposed has me making back my 166$ join fee, startup kit, in the first month, and have a profit of $250. The next month i plan on doubling to $500, hopefully doing so without sacrificing any family or friends. If I do not reach my goals, I will simply cut my losses.
Hi Eli, I’m not into amway, i quit the other day, and did so without trying. But i wont discourage you. One thing i do agree about what this LTD service will tell is to give it a try. It just depends on your ability to sell these overpriced products. They are so overpriced, so that your incentives are handsome. I feel there is a certain amount of brainwashing that you will hv to do to your customers to buy these products. They are great quality but they are overpriced too. Honestly speaking my reason for quitting was because i wasnt confident of convincing anyone to buy these over-priced products, secondly i hate the idea of selling house to house and finally even if i did sell, these products are supposed to last so long, that you cant expect the same customer to buy from you anytime soon!. If you are confident in these 3 areas, maybe u’ll be successful.
If you’re already planning your failure, then you’ll fail. Amway isn’t confusing or complicated, in fact it’s very simple. Do the work, use the system, be smart, listed to cd’s, read books, go to events, PUT IN THE EFFORT, and you WILL succeed. And Amway prices are not high, they are not only better value but also better quality than most of the competition. Plus, when was the last time your local shopping market gave you back 21% of your total bill…..
Amway is flawless, the weak link are the lazy, stupid people that don’t put in the effort. Work = success pretty simple.
Mr Wong! Nice to read your threads and how intelligent you sound. I am a humbly placed person in the social-economic strata but probably gifted in insight about the fact that we are all unique for a reason. I am sure you agree that it is in our diversity of perceptions that our productivity lies and hence the reason we have quite divergent outcomes from our input to processes. Much as Amway is not for you, it is very possible to work for others who are more gifted in what it takes to earn from it than you can afford. I know you are not the type to respect opinion but the one sour truth is that the words that come out of a mouth define the mentality of its bearer and wisdom lies not in how loud you are but in the scarce values intrinsic in us such as faith which sadly, you seem lack. Thirdly if I may just prompt you, time is so precious! Why waste so much time on something you cant win? (Not that you are a looser!!!) Amway is way ahead of you…! Get a life.
I love the way you try to make it seem as if people who don’t fall for Amway’s scam are somehow morally inferior.
I’m about to divorce my husband for all of the money and time he has wasted in Amway. He is a professional who could be moving forward in his career, but got into amway instead. Like his friend said, it’s a cult. It SUX.
Well. My girlfriend and i joined Amway/Network 21 3 months ago and have achieved 15% ELC, which means that we’re on course to get to 21% in less than 6 months. How is it that we’ve succeeded in Amway so quickly whilst so many have failed?
Amway is incredible – No problems there, best products in the world!
Network 21 – Fantastic training tools! Epic support network!
Hmm…..
Is it because we treated the business with respect?
Is it because we actually use the products?
Is it bacause we read the books and listened to the cd’s?
Is it because we actually showed the plan and the business to people?
Yes, all of the above. IF YOU DO NOTHING YOU GET NOTHING! IF YOU DO THE WORK YOU MAKE THE MONEY! IF YOU HELP YOUR DOWNLINE GET RICH YOU WILL IN TURN BECOME RICH YOURSELF!
People. If you’re looking for advice about Amway try asking people whom are succeeding, not people such as this shift individual whom failed in amway for one simple reason. Becuase your a lazy prick, and now you hate amway because it made that fact very clear to everyone around you.
EPIC FAIL! AMWAY IS AMAZING!
There are only two ways you could fail in this business….You either join the business, and don’t do any work, or don’t have any goals, and repeating that process (“Insanity – Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results)…..But thats fair right? Raitionally anyone would agree..
Or 2. you join the business and sign someone up, and neither of you do any work….and neither of you make any money..or the guy you sponsored does all the work, and he makes all money….but thats also fair right? It kind of sounds like just about any industry really…because there is no such thing as a free lunch.
But you know…..and this is in by no means whatsoever to be an offence to anyone…you take it as you like it……The majority of people in the world refuse to believe that they can achieve anything that they set their heart to…..thing is, everyone does this….the difference lies within those who are aware of it…be it amway…golf…heck I don’t know it could be in gardening! It DOESN”T MATTER. You got a dream…believe in it….because in reality….your gonna stuggle in your life, one way or another….but what you got to remember is that if you HAVE to stuggle, you may as well get something from it. Don’t cry to give up…cry to get better. And when you want success as much as you want to breath….thats when you’ll find it….
The blog written here probebly crushed a few people’s dreams…it doesn’t matter what the subject matter was quite frankly….Some people can withstand the crushing, and some people can be denounced…..And that……that destroys lives….that destroys nations….Thats the banner you see every country waving….”We’re here….the country that believes Nothing is Possible! You can’t achieve that in OUR country!” I don’t know all countries….but that one probebly doesnt exist…..even countries who have a low economic standard still take pride in their efforts and wish the success of their country….People could replicate that to their own brothers and sisters….their own communities….
Best to all.
Oh and by the way….This business does NOT make you rich….You make yourself rich….just as an athlete makes himself fit. Statistics show that in any industy, sport, businenss, trade, law…anything….there is always 5% of the people that do far more work in their own time.. (thus gaining far more wealth) then 95% of the rest…just look at any industry, a child could figure. It all comes down to you. Nothing will make you rich…its kind of funny really..its not the industry that is a scam…its your thoughts that are…and we have become proficiently good at scaming ourselves..
Hello everyone,
This person obviously has never tried Amway. I have been with them for 2 years and get about 350 a month in bonuses with only 3 people under me. That is not because I work hard or keep paying for stuff. People like the stuff we sell so they buy it. Amway never promises to make you rich they even say that someone who puts in a moderate effort can expect to make about 227 per month. So they are not scamming you they tell you the truth. You dont think WalMart is a MLM. Well look at it this way. Their is one guy at the top right, the people below him like board members, then you have your national managers, then you district managers, then your store managers then associates then the people cleaning the toilets. Now you can never go from teh person cleaing the toilets to the person running the place. You have to work your way up to it, Just like an MLM company. I sold fake perfume door to door and business to business for 6 months for an MLM schem as you call them and made over 25k then I opened my own and was making about 10k per month with my business partners, but then one of them got addicted to drugs and stole our mony and we closed down, but I was only 22. So you tell people that MLM’s dont work but I say they do.
Wow, you’re just like the guy who keeps posting on CNN forums saying that his girlfriend makes over $1000 per month working from home! So inspirational, and doesn’t make me question your honesty at all!
I thought this was very very well written! You could not have broken it down better. The amount they ask you to purchase a month is ridiculous! When I heard about amway right away it seemed “off” to me. I was looking for natural products that I could buy when I heard of amway. My fatherinlaw showed me a company called melaleuca. Idk if you ever heard of it but that seemed to make wayyyy more sense to me! Just pay $29 one time enrollment which comes with a monthly magazine and just shop $50 to $60 a month on things your already buying at Walmart.and that’s it! You have the option of doing the business and if you want to they don’t pressure you at all. What I think is awesome is that 80% of people that shop with Melaleuca are just strictly customers that love the products and want nothing to do with making money! Sorry if you think this is spam but I like sharing Melaleuca to people that want low price products and are safer and effective . Thanks! I’d love feedback on my website. It’s a educational site that informs people about harmful chemicals in products. http://www.xchemicals.com
there’s a story of a fox and berries. there’s a big stash of berries on somewhere high up.. the fox saw it and cant resist the temptation.. he tried to get it but he cant reach the berries.. hence, he gave up and tells all passer-by that those berries are sour and taste bad.. so, would you give up something without actually knowing it? My advice is go inside it and explore it yourself.. stay neutral and find out from both sides.. do not prejudge things.. get FACTS.. now the author didnt mention that amway produces its own main products.. here and there saying this is good that is bad.. pls show the facts.. and again.. why have so many professional people succeed in it? Doctors, engineers, successful businessman.. etc etc.. did those smart people got cheated and accidentally earn so much money? It is because they saw something that people did not see.. every successful people see something others dont.. or else they would just be an ordinary person.. those who never climb the mountain definitely say it is hard n impossible.. if you want something.. ask the person who has got it.. if u think ur life is good already.. dun bother saying people doing thing u never try, the wrong thing..
It’s hilarious how this guy tries to equate Amway with being a doctor or a lawyer: professions which require years of study and unusual abilities and qualifications. Yeah sure buddy, keep on with that motivational sales pitch.
English is not my natural language, I apologize in advance if I make any mistakes.
I joined and tried to make money with Amway; its reputation makes impossible to do it. How did it get that reputation?, by pretty much what was written on this post.
This post is almost 100% true. I believe there is no absolute truth and every text is influenced by emotions of its author, so I keep some percentage to doubts and other points of view. Yes, products are more expensive than regular products you find on stores. Yes, you have to find a huge number of people willing to put money on it and it is very easy to loose the enthusiasm you’re given in the meetings. This said and accepted I must say I didn’t leave Amway.
Why? My wife loves the skin care products and cosmetics. Are they the cheapest in the market? No. Are there better brands? Yes. But Amway skin care and cosmetics are my wife’s favorites, so, why buy them at full retail price when I can buy them 35% cheaper (IBO Price) for $62 a year?.
I don’t attend seminars, I don’t buy their books. I just use some products by my own choice.
Additionally, by being an active IBO Sprint gives me 19% discount on our cellphone basic plan (that’s a $20 savings/month). Even if my wife didn’t use the products I could save $178 a year on phone bills by being an active IBO. Is it bad?
I also workout and use the Nutrilite Double X Vitamins. I tried Centrum, GNC and a bunch of brands sold by GNC. Are Nutrilite cheap? No, but are the ones I like.
Hard money comes from sources that require hard work. No business can be built with 2-3 hours a week. I believe the choice of use, sell or promote Amway products should be personal and the responsibility of people loosing money or time belongs to those who don’t put enough thinking and reflexion about the “opportunity” shown and rush to put money upfront with the hope of becoming rich without effort.
Dear Michael Wong,
What if i tell you i am a medical specialist and i am doing great in AMWAY business?
OH MY GOD I’ve never heard someone give a glowing Amway TESTIMONIAL before! Please, tell me more of your oh-so-inspirational bullshit!
For those who r Confuse Whether to join MLM or not Lets make some things clear Amway is the Grandfather of MLM Companies Started 60years Ago. It is one of the Fortune 500 Companies i.e(Companies dat never ever going to shutdown). Amway has millions of IBO Who are millionears. to get success in Amway business You need to educate yourself. by Books, Cds & ofcourse Meetings. this Business is totally game of CommonSense.
Why Some people dont get success in this business Because They spend their time writting & reading negative blogs About company, not willing to do HARD-WORK which has no allternative. the above people who hav joined the business & not succeded just ask Yourself How many Plans u have shown Consistently ,readbooks listen to Cds, attended meetings & geniunely use the product & get educated about the products. if u r not doing this above steps constitenly & persistently How will u get success. its a geniune 3 to 5 year plan. if you work hard on it you will get success gureenty.
ok if u r Still confuse PLz for God sake Watch this & think With open mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM6qVL1aqSg
Yay, more sales pitches! I’m sure glad this guy is here to give us sales pitches and Youtube links to even more sales pitches. Where would we ever get to see or hear sales pitches if not for such helpful people?
People are still rambling on this amway stuff… wow Mike I was right, you totally hit a nerve there! I just had a fantastic half an hour laughing with the amway fanboy masturbatory fantasies published here, specially the one that implied you where a huge fan of Adam West Batman with all the nananana…
AMWAY=RIGHT WAY for open minded people
What Yatin says is true ,no matter where you are in USA and are ready to travel on a 4-5 hour drive,you can meet a Amway diamond. no business is perfect but improving day by day,what Amway “OFFERED ” in an era of Non-IT was very primitive,but with the rise of cell phones,internet accessibility one can definitely use these tools to work keeping one’s job.I know a person who is doing that way he is a millionaire,working in his job , keeping his job and using his spare time.
“Making money requires HARD WORK, Investing money requires KNOWLEDGE,To become wealthy one requires HARD WORK,KNOWLEDGE,PATIENCE,PERSEVERENCE AND SELF -CONTROL”-Late.NITIN NAGARKAR
Now coming back to whether you can be successful in Amway,being a neutral,i would say if one is ready to work hard,invest right way(with help of mentor),and keep on keep it on till the time you do not develop self control,patience and self control you could very well make it on the top .
This is not just for Amway,but for any field you are in. The great basketball player “MICHAEL JORDAN” was told that he did not have the skills to make it as a good basket-ball player by no one else but by his “own coach” in school days.
Donald Trump was denied access in many places during initial days of his business.Today i dont need to tell who is he.
Col.Sanders was rejected by over 400 people befor getting the first yes for KFC.
I love the way the guy pretends he’s offering a neutral take, and then he recites the exact same motivational lines that you would hear in an Amway meeting.
“The great basketball player “MICHAEL JORDAN” was told that he did not have the skills to make it as a good basket-ball player by no one else but by his “own coach” in school days.”
That’s a lie told at Amway rallies and functions. The fact is that Michael Jordan wasn’t “cut” from high high school team and told he didn’t have the skills. He was assigned to the junior varsity team because Jordan’s friend was 6″ 7′ and they needed another big man on the roster. Go look it up for yourself instead of spreading more Ama-deception.
well i got to say that Agreed that amway do sell good products in the market,but i do not agree with their sayings such as,Do not work for some one be your own boss ( but then u will have a leader on top who will constantly call you and ask your for your Pvs and pushing you.Second saying you have plenty of time for your family ( but then you spent hours attending meetings,meeting clients and hours in the phone)which is worse then office hours.When i leave my work i don have to bring back to home but amway when i am at home i worry about sales .pvs etc.your claims spend time with childrens are you ppl sure.almost for ten years you people sepnd time buliding the business until you reach the top after almost 10 years then your go for your childrens were by the time your childrens will be attached to your maid.I guess all companies and work has their own backgronds.Please do not say Amway is so good cause if the company gives you everything then what they have ,it’s all a sales and business tactics to sell their products thats all .it is just like any other business and nothing special so please do not boast.No company in thw world operates to give all the money to its workers and it goes back with watever it has if it does that it means that owner must be senile.
I think your age is not enough to analyze amway
I m really surprised to see the way the unsuccessful people in Amway are posting their frustration out. Friends, the company not only works on selling the products, the system i..e Britt World Wide which associates along with this company make you a genuine human being. Don’t hear to negative people who doesn’t believe to change themselves for something good. Amway plan itself says, if you have a dream and ambition level to do something in life, this may work for you. So have faith in yourself and keep going. I m sure, all of you who are in the business with a positive attitude will succeed one or the other day.
I am a business professional with a Master’s Degree, yet my friend who dropped out of college refuses to take my advice on Amway…
Michael,
I met someone a few weeks ago who had some success with Amway. He tried to get me into it by telling me how this is a great opportunity to start “your own business” and free myself from having to work 9-to-5 jobs.
As a business student I instinctively felt uneasy about Amway primarily because their products were quite crappy and I couldn’t understand how I could make money selling things I wouldn’t even want to buy.
However, I feel your article offers the true reasons for why people shouldn’t get into Amway. Furthermore, it’s ironic how people go into Amway thinking they could have their own “business” when they simply become glorifed salesmen.
I feel that people’s frustration with their own finances should be resolved with dligient financial planning and learning more skills to better jobs. Unfortunately, Amway seems to prey on those who are least capable of making sound business and financial decisions.
ambots are sucker because they are making money by buying products by themself.
The real income of IBO is (commission you produce by making your kith and kin fool minus the product of amway you use at high price with shit quality) result total loss.
I request to all of the IBO’s don’t make fool your relative as well as yourself .Wallmart is better option to by quality product at low price.
Didn’t L. Ron Hubbard sell Amyway, too?
I joined the amway…those buztards told me to attend seminar nothing to lose..guys don’t join it you’ll lose money family n Time. ..
Amway in the UK is free to join… Some of my friends have joined Amway and are yet to see any real income even after 6 months! One of them has made just about £90 in profits during these six months! Its really not worth the time and effort as Mike said. My wife got suckered into it and we are “ABO”s now but we haven’t been able to make any money from the business yet. Its all about suckering people into joining Amway in the hope of becoming business owners. As for the products, we’ve tried them and none of them are actually any better than the products that we find at Tesco or ASDA. Its a load of bull!
PS: Yatin and Lincoln must be a millionaire doing the Amway business!
*correction: Yatin and Lincoln must have become millionaires doing the Amway business!
All I heard from you mike is all talk.Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk,Talk, Talk,Talk, and more talk. Winners take action and Losers Talk. Sorry to say Mike but your a loser. All you had to say was “Kevin, I don’t want in your business.” Then I say “Fine, Next” and we both move on with life. I believe this rant is all about your regret. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You still have to wake up in the morning and go to your job. for the rest of your life. Looks good on you Mike. Better you than me.
Why are you mad? Is that because Mike is showing to the world Amay is a sca? Take it easy brother. Peace and love!!
I just wanted to say to all the people on here expressing why something will not work. I just want to give them a big FUCK you. Let me tell you guys something I learned it’s called ambition, and a dream before I was willing to compromise that so I live a standard life. I use to think security was going into college right away and accumulating big debt, getting a job, coming home to a family that complains about how we can’t live a better lifestyle. Well I’m not compromising that because a few retards on here can give reasons on why something can’t be done. For those of you he need statics on why it will work well you should take a look at the economy and unemployment, and defiantly take a look at the chances of getting hired somewhere because their really low. Like I said I am going to go full force not in Amway, but my dream, and Mike guess what fuck you because I am going to show this stuff works, I am going to show the people who said “oh that will never work it’s prymaid scheme, your just wasting time.” That I can do it and whatever else I set my mind to, and you can do the same it doesn’t have to be Amway, it can be whatever else. You want to know what a real prymaid scheme is any kind of job or business so hell yeah I am in prymaid scheme because unlike the rest of you supporting Amway by just floating around on positive words I will be doing something. I will be at the top of the prymaid like I will be on the top of Everest. I will be financially secure by 19 when all the rest of you are going along with the cycle. You know what fuck the cycle I am better than it, and if your smart enough to realize that so are you. I think kids need to really think about he options in whatever they do in life whether it would be going to a university, or getting job, and even signing up for prymaid scheme. So Mike I will email you next year nineteen years old financially secure while you keep trying to make the world negative and shallow as you.
Why are you mad? Is that because Mike is showing to the world that Amay is a scam? You don’t need to be rude. Take it easy brother. Peace and love!!
Good luck while you live in your mum’s basement. You won’t be back next year. You’ll be doing something more lucrative like retrieving shopping carts or flipping burgers.
Mate your rubbish you are peddling is either out of total ignorance and or stupidity you have the mindset that I sign into this business and why should I have to do anything I’m expecting the cheques to roll in … Idiot
. How dare you expect someone to go out and work hard for 2 years to find those 10 active ibos and set up the income that you referred to as even a platinum income… Anything that you can create that type of result should take time and effort. I love gow you promote the electronics as far as I am aware or at least down here in Australia Amway don’t make stereos maybe they do in the US obviously the money is in the exclusive Amway created and produced products I love how you gutless wonders can put anything you like on the net and never have to justify what you say faceless critics and peddlers of rubbish its laughable. And I bet using your method you have set up a recurring income are fully retired living the life if your dreams and I’m certain it would have taken no effort no time and no money. Keep working and keep sharing your ignorant stupid comments its better than the comedy channel for me the only thing that pisses me about this crap is that your willingness to poison other rational people’s minds and ultimately steal their dreams, of having something better in life.
You are a clown I would love to debate this crap with you but I have to out and help some more people change their lives for the better with a clear conscience
This is not an intellectual way to discuss. Being rude and disrespectful. The best way is to convince us that Amay really works and is worth it. That’s it ! Peace and Love!
I almost read all peoples comments in this blog. How can you compare Amway with Walmart! No way. Amway products maybe are not the cheapiest but are economical, high quality, eco friendly, organic and have the best organic nutritional suplements you can buy. Walmart is associated with Mosanto (GMO food) poor quality and not healthy for anyone. I prefer to spend my money in natural, organic products and nutritional supplents and be healthy. With Amway you never loose: you buy high quality products and you get reimbursement for what you buy. You make extra money. It is your bussiness!!! You are not obligated to anything. It is a lie that you have to buy books, cd from them. You buy them in Ammazon , Barness and Noble , Ebay etc any place that you like. They recomend what is good for you to learn and have success. You travel and go to the seminars and conventions if you want to. They really help a lot to have success, is up to you. Big companies are associated with Amway: Sears, kmart, Bestbuy, Office Depot, Sport Authority, all cellullar phones companies etc etc etc Why?? Amway reputation is unique and the best of all network marketing. Amway educate you to be a leader and to have success. In any bussiness, if you are the owner, you have to work hard to make it grow but harder than in Amway. No boss, no rent, no employees, no overhead and work from your house!!!With Amway you start doing it in your free time, few hours a week, focused in your dreams and goals and doing it right you will have freedom for the rest of your life. Sounds too good to be true, but it is true. The commitment is with your self only and not your upline. Your effort will give you the results. I will dream, have faith, hope and keep focused in Amway. My dreams will come true : freedom, health and quality of life with my family. Thats Amway for me!! Thank you
Did you know that big companies like Enron and Worldcom were also Amway partners?
Did you know that if you ask Amway, they will say their vitamins are the best? Did you know that you can get vitamins with phyonutrients outside of Amway at a fraction of the cost?
Did you know that many vitamins are better described as “urine” supplements because you simply pee them out?
Oh, good thing you are such an expert on Amway products! Maybe you can explain what exactly makes Amway diapers so much better that they cost 6 times more than Pampers Cruisers (highest quality in retail right now)? I would really want to know that cause if they will guarantee my child to go to Harvard if i use them then maybe I will reconsider my negative opinion about Amway. The prices that Amway charges are 2+ more expensive than leading brands, not generic Walmart crap. If you only consider Walmart’s Great Value products then they are probably 4+ times cheaper!
I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday in the science section… And it is very close to the new age/self-improvement bs section.
Some little 18 year old ahole from Amway pitches this other guy in that new age/self-help section about how successful he is and bragging that he has his own “business” at the age of only 18 and that he doesn’t live with his parents but by himself.
He started to talk about Napoleon Hill’s books. I decided to intervene in the conversation just to see if this guy is really successful from reading Napoleon Hill’s BS books.
He first talked about how these books should be taught in the school system. Really? We should be now teaching children this new age bs.
He didn’t say anything about Amway for a while. He was trying to build some rapport with me and the other guy. (I played like I was dumb.)
Than after some small talk about how great self-help books are and how it’s changed his life…
He then immediately goes into his sales pitch about Amway. Claiming he is making $50,000 a year as an 18 year old… Living on his own and paying all his bills without daddy.
Right then and there… I laughed very hard inside. Scammers, pyramid schemes, “multi-level marketers” and all other gimmick business cons always feed their sheep this positive self-help “you can do anything in the world guaranteed” BS…
It is disgustingly manipulative and they know that they have to play with people’s emotions to suck their wallet dry.
I even asked this ahole some questions to determine if he even fully read the book and applies some of the principles (99.99% of it is BS)…
Turns out he didn’t even fully read any of Hill’s books. He himself knows it’s just worthless bullshit. I’ve read a lot of Hill’s books for free in the Barnes & Noble and I think it is the most worthless garbage even dangerous thinking.
He didn’t even right down any of his goals in life like Hill suggests.
I agree with writing your goals and plans to achieve them but that is IT. I think the rest of it is complete utter garbage. Stuff like psychic abilities, speaking with ghosts, not masturbating like Hill suggests and other completely proven to be false garbage.
In fact, Hill became poor during the Great Depression and he actually admitted that he couldn’t pull himself out with his BS success secrets. That just goes to show and prove that it is all 99.99% bullshit.
They only thing recommended is to write down goals with specific plans, review them, take a specific planned course of action, have a written schedule and daily, weekly, monthly planner and just get to work. Forget positive think bullshit. It does nothing, I’m telling you right now.
Bill Gates or any other big name like Warren Buffet got there because of taking action not positive mental bs and other law of attraction fairy thinking.
And all you retards out there who keep saying so proudly how Bill Gates dropped out of college and he still was successful without college…
Actually you are wrong…
1. He completed 3 years with High Grades. He was almost done with just 2 more semesters. He learned a lot in Harvard in those 3 years.
2. He actually DID something like taking action and doing some very busy focused work. Not sitting around all day and visualizing wealth, ferraris, mansions and gold coins.
3. His father was an Attorney who supported him financially.
4. He went back and completed his degree at Harvard even at middle-age because he knew they value of education.
The thing with money and success also has a lot to do with what family backgrounds you come from. Warren Buffet came from a decent well-off family and so did Bill Gates.
It is very rare although it happens that someone self-made from poverty comes out but these scammers, cons and MLM assholes always love to point out these examples as actual typical results.
And in that case, it has a lot to do with being simply being lucky and also being NATURALLY talented along with years, years and years of dedicated specific focused hard work.
The true secret of success is just flat out common sense and it is actually a painful cold hard truth.
This is why these books and brainwashing courses on self-help are so popular because they try to tell people down in their finances that their is a easy shortcut at the push of a button and success will happen to them guaranteed.
Why do you think sperm banks always ask and strongly insist their donors to be college educated along with submit sometimes to IQ testing and psychological screening?
Success is simply a combination of genetics, family backgrounds, education levels, being in the right place at the right time, connections, marrying rich or lottery winning.
Speaking of lottery winning… EVEN that is not f-ing guaranteed since 2/3rds of people who win the lottery within 5-10 years end up worse than they started. Why?
Because money is not also only a matter of luck or visualizing money in your head in the foolish hopes that it will come out of nowhere.
It has a lot to do with talent in handling it, flat out classic hard work and being gifted with experience in finance. All these skills and qualities are earned not simply gained overnight or even within a few years… it can actually take DECADES and it has for a lot of authentically wealthy people like Warren Buffet.
I personally think the FTC should also implement laws that will prevent these self-help cons, pyramid scheme cons and other get-rich quick scammers to use examples of real-world successful people and claim that they will be able to duplicate the results of those people for you. This is flat-out blatant fraud and it simply not possible for these people to know unless they were with these people at all times since birth and even than they would also need to have read their minds throughout their life.
You don’t need to have books on what makes people successful and how you can be too. The answers are in front of you. Just use common sense, be logical, objective and see the reality of the world. Not wishful bs like law of attraction. Have a scientific discerning attitude and you will generally do ok in life. Wealth however I can not promise you; they are so many factors involved in wealth that are simply out of the majority of people’s control and will very likely stay out of their control. The con-artists often use such a dirty psychological tactic of saying “You are in complete control of your entire life.”
This is false. We only have a very small control of our lives. This is fact. Whatever control you have on your life, just work hard at it and spend your time wisely. Go get an education if you can as well. Not bs like get-quick rich schemes and seminars.
Most of these scammers I’ve seen first hand EVENTUALLY end up broke even when they made decent money that they cheated out of their victims. Why? Because they are stupid and people like them have to resort to cheating others for money. Stupid people tend to lose money.
I’ve even seen law of attraction scammer gurus suggest you to spend money as it will “give the message to the universe that you have a wealth mindset and not a poverty-mindset associated with saving”… These guys have such audacity to give even dangerous advice like this with no credible qualifications in finance, wealth management or business.
Warren Buffet himself said that saving as much money as possible is key to becoming wealthy. I’ve seen so many people act like they are rich and spend money like they have a high-income to afford it but eventually end up irrepairably bankrupt. If the law of attraction was real, these people would not have been bankrupted, foreclosed and end up homeless like I’ve personally witnessed first hand. I mean they were having a “wealth-mindset” after all right?
Moral of the story: Be realistic, stay in reality, work hard, get educated, save money and depend on mostly your actions, talent, IQ, intelligence, skills and connections. But even than don’t expect you will become the next Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Both of them even admitted they didn’t expect themselves to be where they are today, neither should you… It will set you up for dissapointment.
By the way, Tony Robbins was also involved with MLM and his “mentor” Jim Rohn who was also involved in MLM/pyramid schemes. They both studied and promoted Napoleon Hill’s works to their victims. Why are such shady people recommending Napoleon Hill’s books? Becuase they know it is bs and it is dangerous thinking that can put people into a easily manipulated state.
It’s kind of funny to see all the folks who are criticizing Amway :)
The facts are very simple…People DO make it, Amway is a business model, it’s NOT an good OR a bad thing. It’s a business model. You do what the business model says you get what the business model says you’ll get. If you fail at doing it, then you fail at doing it lol…
The argument that only the people who get in first make it is just stupid. How many people break platinum every yr? (thousands) How many ppl break emerald every yr? how many ppl break diamond every yr!! It’s insane to criticize a business model as evil or wrong or whatever…It’s a BUSINESS MODEL lol
Grow up, and use your brain power for something positive…if you tried and failed, how about looking at yourself, instead of blaming a “business model”!!
Agreed
You are the most mis informed fagbag in the world. Have you even worked with te opportunity the team an the mentorship? Do you realize a lot of the costs your saying such as shipping are tax deductible because you have self employed tax benefits? Bitching about shipping costs really? You pay for shipping costs really? Who ever takes this rant seriously please do your self a favor and get educated how can a business thats been around for 50+ years be a scam? Generating 11.2 Billion dollars and giving over 30 billion back in bonus’s and incentives. Im a 24 year old business owner w Amway and my team and I have been creating profits w this business for 2 years now. This dumbass is just a complaining little girl who wants to slam something down that didnt work for him. Let me ask you all something to think about.. How many of u graduated college and got your dream job right out of it? In fact 9-10 college graduates now are still unemployed or working jobs which they are over qualified for.. Are you telling me all college institutions are scams and you would want any of your family or friends to goto school? .. Looks like we have all been scammed. And taking advantage of yor family and friends? Im sorry i never knew offering your family and friends the same money makong opportunities as you is considered taking advantage of them. Please get educated sbout the amway opportunity from someone who is actually working with the opportunty and look Amway up in creditable sources like forbes not some dumbass rant about this loser who complains about life. Its a wonder you have a wife and kid.. They must be losers to to fall in love w a be lilting person like you. Feel free to contact me i can refuete all of this persons remarks about this business.
And this is why most of us are broke. Open your mind a little. Name a businessman who has never invested in his or her business? How about name a businessman who started a business and did not believe it could take him or her somewhere foreward in life? You are very until intillectual but for no reason. But hey I wouldn’t expect everyone to like or succeed in Amway. Oh well.
You’re hilarious. You actually think that being one of Amway’s stooges makes you like a real businessman who starts his own business. I know, I know, you believe that because they tell you that you’re an “independent business operator”, and they wouldn’t tell you that if it weren’t true, right?
Well here’s a secret: you are not an independent business operator. You are nothing but a salesman on commission, selling a product that most people have no interest in getting from you when they could acquire it (or something like it) from other cheaper sources. That is why the majority of Amway sales are “inside sales”.
The most deceptive part of the Amway sales pitch is when they try to convince you that it’s just like owning your own business. It’s not.
Agreed ! Amway is promoting antisocial, unethical business practices in order to get more n more slaves into the system. No way it’s self owned business with sole command, new ideas, organization, ability to stretch profit margins & importantly a status of being a true business owner. All these parameters are perfectly applicable to Amway itself but not the IBOs :) IBOs more sound like cash hungry, ready to eat Amway cooked dogshit at any cost.
Amway IBO’s get conned by their sponsors and then somehow all critical thinking skills get shut off. I’ve seen it time and again. The newbies drop in on forums and talk about how you can work hard in Amway and make money, etc. But I have yet to see a single one of these folks actually verify their claims. They speak of new platinums and diamonds but they don’t mention all the diamonds and platinums who no longer qualify (therefore no longer get the bonuses). While some established kingpins might make a lot of money in Amway, you will never get there no matter how hard you work. And why are all these crown ambassadors working if they could walk away and enjoy barrels of cash rolling in. Think about it.
The reality is that most new IBOs saw the hype and registered. Then when reality sets in, they end up doing little or nothing and quit. Most IBO’s probably never even order a single product, save for the starter kit. Most will do nothing and quit within the first year. If you bust your butt and prospect and show the plan, guess what? Most of your efforts will result in people doing nothing and quitting. That is the truth and the reality of the Amway business.
If most IBO’s do little or nothing and quit, you can’t make money except for your own sales (which is usually very little) and you sure aren’t going to be walking on beaches with barrels of cash rolling in when your downlines do nothing and quit (assuming you even have downline). Amway itself report that only about 1 in 5 IBO’s ever sponsor downline.
Imagine doing all that work and investing all that time and money only to suffer losses. That is nearly a certainty for IBO’s who attend the functions and purchase the other tools such as cd’s and books.
This is true, I tried it years ago, worked my backside off, getting brain washed by the “talk”, attending meetings, buying cd’s, books , goods, never got anywhere, when you want to stop.
they try to make it hard for you to quit.
All I was doing was lining the pockets of people above me.
Would never do it again.
If others make it work, good luck to them but it’s not for me.
I’ll stick to what I’m trained to do and enjoy, Saddlery!
Try reading the book Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect’. You make money in amway business through this principle. if there are 1 million mobile customers. The mobile company earns 1million $ every day if average cost of call made is 1$/customer. There maybe some who make very less calls and some who make calls beyond 1$. Once the network is set it you make a hell lot of money everyday. you dont stop making calls thinking that the mobile company owner is making money when you make a call.
Can we all just act like critical thinkers here and put the money making dream of becoming diamond millionaires aside long enough to think in a realistic manner? It’s always been supply and demand in a business model, regardless of middle men, always has been, always will be. A friend of mine recently joined Amway with realistic goals of making $200 a month and he is a CPA. He suggested the idea to me and we crunched numbers and did online sales research to compare supply and demand. For the effort needed just to sale and promote the goods did not make sense to me for just $200-300 profit a month, depending on what you want to push, make up, vitamins, energy drinks or jewelry, etc. you would have to spend almost 5 times the amount in product to see returns of $500 a month (depending on how you set your prices on goods, this is the mean). Not a lot of people can spend (or makes sense to) $3,200 in product to receive that little profit. What about sending them to your site? Well if you can find enough dumb people to buy that much over priced product, by all means proceed.
What about recruiting IBOs you say? Well why you’re working to make a profit if you can, I’m sure you will have the “free time” to find people just as “motivated” as you to only make a profit of $200 dollars a month for “doing nothing” right? Well here’s how free minded thinking I am not to get in to the Amway scam for all you “free thinking” Amwayers. I can buy my own products and sell them with out having to deal with Amway’s Cd’s, meetings, IBO pushing and crazy over priced goods (that are even high at IBO cost). It does not matter how many IBOs you get on board if they don’t sell and I don’t want to have to stay on the people I recruit like a boss to make money, to make me money. It’s a stupid concept that only gullible, brainwashed people that don’t do home work or research buy into.
I was given the whole money making recruit speech in my friends living room by a platinum member and it all sounded too easy and too good to be true. But how do diamonds make all that money then? Well off you of course, whether it is through the water fall that ends with you or the tapes, meetings and fees. It’s common sense to see how hard it is to swim up a waterfall and that is what your trying to do. The pitch is to create your own waterfall so you can be on top, but you will never be on top.
Put your efforts in your own dreams and not a business that offers you one because they offer a “cost effective way to start your own business” or a dream of making millions by having others work for you. No one makes millions by dreaming it up, they scam, rob, are lucky or put in hard work to do it in a manner that makes sense while receiving a large profit or selling quantity.
I just want to add my personal experience to this. I did a meet-and-greet and was told to read ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ and really ‘get educated’. As a matter of fact, he said the SAME things as ‘Graham’ does on this page…nearly word for word. He also gave me this line about just exchanging time for money in my present job(s) and using the present economical situation to really press home his arguments. I must express that the name ‘Amway’ was not mentioned until I asked directly for it, which was something I found odd. After some consideration (reading up on both sides of the argument), I decided that this was not the thing for me, and called the guy I had spoken to about it, telling him I wasn’t interested. He said that I was too smart to be making a choice to not take it up, and gave me that ‘get educated’ speech again.
The thing is, he told me he’d been at this for 5 years, and told me I could get rich in 2-5 years myself. Then he admitted that he was still driving an older model car. But at least he could be out here doing what he loved: helping people.
I thought that was a little weird. I mean, the sentiment is great! But he could have been volunteering his time just as well, I guess.
I told him I wasn’t comfortable with getting money off people I signed up; morally, that doesn’t sit right with me, I guess. He said that my boss gets more money than I do for the same reason but…see, my boss didn’t sell me on this job, right? I applied for it. He seemed super-aggressive, telling me he wasn’t judging me for my choices, but I still felt that way.
I have to say, that I don’t regret the choice. Even if I have to go on gut-feeling alone, it’s never failed me yet and my gut-feeling says that this isn’t as on the up-and-up as it seems. I’m kind of confused when people call themselves IBO’s: Independent Business Owners…when they don’t really own the business. They’re salespersons selling Amway products; not even a franchise, as my potential sponsor tried to explain to me using the McDonald’s model.
In reading the defenders of Amway here on your blog, I’m surprised at how they can infer that people who don’t want to get involved are destitute and stupid. I’m also shocked that they’ll use your atheism like that. Mike, here’s the thing: I’m a Christian, born and raised. And I think that this is one of the most amazing type of constant thievery I have ever witnessed.
To say that Amway products are not cheaper than ones from Walmart is an understatement! I recently was dumb enough to sign up for Scamway because my friend was advertising their skin care products for months. She finally showed up at my place telling me I should pay $62 so I could buy them myself. Also, if I sign up I’ll just be able to get very high quality products for less and they will last a lot longer. So I was stupid enough to listen to this nonsense and gave in. After she left I went online to purchase a few things and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the prices! I’ll give a couple of examples:
1.Amway: 24 rolls of paper towels = $46.56 (+6.75 shipping).Walmart: 2 packs of 12 Bounty rolls of paper towels =$27.94. That makes Amway paper towels twice as expensive as Bounty considering shipping.
2. Amway: catfood 8 lb. = $31.28 (+$6.75 shipping). Walmart: Fancy Feast 7 lb.= $14.98. It’s $4.75 per lb VS. $2.14 per lb. Amway catfood costs more than twice.
3. Amway: diapers 23 ct. = $38.08 (+6.75 shipping). Walmart: 116 ct. =$37.94. That’s $1.95 VS $0.32 per diaper!!!! That’s 6 times the price!!!!
Do you see that? It’s insane! I can understand buying expensive skincare if it really is good quality. However, I don’t see how you can charge 6 times more for diapers?! What do you make them with if they are THAT expensive? Or paper towels and toilet paper? Do you put gold in it? I compared nearly every product that Amway carries to high quality (not generic) kind from a store and every time Amway was at least twice as expensive. Their detergent is more than twice expensive than Tide, their vitamins nearly 3 times more expensive than One-a-Day and Centrum. If they mark their prices so high on absolutely unworthy products like paper towels under the excuse that they are much better quality than Bounty than I believe their skincare and make up must be horrible and overpriced as well! I will never ever buy anything from them! I’m meeting up my friend tomorrow and I will demand my money back for the stupid membership that she told me I can cancel within 90 days.
Hi Anna,
Can you please let us know if you successfully received your refund?
You’re right though. When I heard the pitch, it was about the average 30% savings you get from Amway. Then when you see the catalog, you find that most Amway stuff is twice the price (if not more) than WalMart.
Of course then the IBO’s try to justify it by citing quality or that Amway pays you and WalMart does not.
Hi, Joe! Yes, I actually did get my refund. I called my friend at first and said that I’m not willing to pay outrageous prices for every-day goods. She of course went on and on about the quality and said that she wants to give me another demonstration! She is totally brainwashed and I cannot believe that because I always considered her intelligent. After that I just called Amway directly and demanded my refund. They told me I had to send an email explaining why I wanted to resign. After I did that I got my refund. Unfortunately I don’t talk to my friend anymore cause I don’t want to be her sales target.
I also looked on their web site and never found any promises about the quality that representatives usually make. I think it’s because they are trying to protect themselves from false claims. If anyone raises any kind of issue they will be always able to say: “We never said that. It’s this particular individual who is lying!” I’m so happy I’m out of it.
But Amway cuts out the middleman, right?
Yes, it does cut out the middle men. Its like flipkart. You order stuff online and get delivered at your door step. Most products are manufactured by amway and the quality is superb.
So why do people join Amway?
Yes, you’re right. It consumes time and money to build the business. Any business you start needs time to build it up. only difference here is you dont need to invest vast capital on infrastructure, employing people, etc. You use the products you use daily in your home and recommend what you like to friends. All products come with 30 days money back guarantee even if you use it. Which compnay offers you this?
But you can do it in your spare time, right? So what’s the harm?
Yes you can do it in your spare time. Theres a well known saying’ no pain, no gain’. If you dont want to use your spare time to build a business and want to spend time watching tv and movies( maybe thats what the owner calls spending time with family). I know a lot of people who do invest 1-2 hours a day for this and rest time they actually spend time with family as they dont waste time watching tv or doing facebook as they have understood the value of time.
This does work, but only for people who have patience and perseverance. Its not a get rich quick scheme. You need to be consistent and stick in , then after some 5-10 years , you’ll have huge business that you can retire from your day job and actually spend the whole time with your family.
Last but not the least, the highly paid day job is got by professionals after investing 20-30years of their life in studying. How does the author expect people to make money in a day or two. We did not start our studies thinking that we’ll become a doctor or engineer one day. A lot of people dropped out of school in between, some became succesful, some did not. but my point is those who sticked in till they got the degree is only having the high paid jobs, not the ones who dropped out.
Yes, and people get degrees because a degree indicates that you have an unusual skill. Amway, on the other hand, promises money to people who have no special skills at all.
“This does work, but only for people who have patience and perseverance. Its not a get rich quick scheme. You need to be consistent and stick in , then after some 5-10 years , you’ll have huge business that you can retire from your day job and actually spend the whole time with your family.”
@Peter, if this is true, surely you can name 5 people who have done this, and walked away from Amway to spend time with their family while money is rolling in. Ever wonder why Crown Ambassadors never retire and keep working?
I am embarrassed to have spent so much of my time reading this blog, however, I couldn’t resist the temptation because of my experience with Amway. I am 50 years old. My parents were in Amway 40 years ago. They became direct distributors and then quit. That was there choice. From a child until now I can honestly say that second from the bible, there has not been a more positive influence on my life than what the founders Richard M. DeVos and Jay Van Andel have had. I have been very successful earning money in another retail business without a college education. At one point I’ve made more than $150,000 per year working a JOB.
I have to say something that no one has said or perhaps have even been exposed to.
The living co/founder, Rich DeVos is perhaps one of the greatest MEN that have ever lived. He is self made. From 0 to worth reportedly over $5 billion. He owns the orlando Magic basketball team and the list goes on. He has given 10’s if not 100’s of millions of dollars to charities and universities and research to make the lives of people better, ok … here is the point. YEARS ago, when the American Way Corp started, even back when it was called Ja-Ri Corp. BOTH Rich and Jay talked about the importance of SELLING products to 20 customers … 20 customers per distributor MINIMUM to make sure that each distributor profited and that they could then show others how they could build TWENTY customers downline a piece and so on. No one talks about that today. It’s what makes the Amway business model legitimate, NOT a scam. There has been NO misrepresentations accept by those persons joining who have ignored the founding FATHERS instructions. Sound familiar?
I am un-equivacably certain that AMWAY would be bigger than Walmart had every WORKING distributor followed Rich’s mantra… 20 customers.
It makes sense. Not everyone wants to SELL amway products. Not everyone wants to BUY amway products … BUT SOME WANT TO DO BOTH and there lay the opportunity.
Some innocent people are in prison. Other criminals walk among us freely. We are a people of more and less, honest and no so honest, smart and average. Life is not guaranteed or even always fair. I can say without a doubt in my mind that EVERYTHING about how AMWAY is designed IS HONEST AND POSITIVE for those who choose to see it.
An average person without the Bill Gates abilities could make a good living honestly just selling 20 customers some soap. I think most people still use it and don’t really spend alot of time arguing about the price :)
God…It sounds like a cult.
Just because something is barely legal doesn’t make it right or moral.
Most real businesses don’t care to indoctrinate their employees with such religious fervor.
Keep God out of it. It’s just greed.
First i will start off by saying this is the first blog i have ever wrote on in my life. Second; this guy “Mike” is a complete idiot. I’m an IBO with Amway and made $10,000 in sales this pat month (April, 2013) which I made 23% of that $10,000. I am making money, very successfully through Amway. The only way you don’t succeed through Amway is if you’re a lazy bum and don’t work. Instead of typing out this long blog (because you have no life), you could have put those hours into making money with your business. Again mike; you’re a moron who is hating on the fact that YOU are not successful. Do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut when you have no clue what you’re talking about. If you can honestly say anything bad about making $10,000 this month, you’re an asshole, an idiot, and a f- up… Mike; send me an email (sah19990@yahoo.com) so I can tell you personally how much of an idiot you are… IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND EXPLAIN WHAT I DID WRONG WHEN I MADE $10,000 FOR MY BUSINESS?!!!! MIKE, OR A DIFFERENT GENIUS (idiot) FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AND TRY TO TELL ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT. YOU ALL NEED TO GET A LIFE AND INSTEAD OF YAPPING ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING, DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF SO YOU CAN MAKE MONEY AND HAVE A LIFE. I feel bs for you silly mike….
Sha,
Are your downlines lazy bums? They obviously didn’t do as much as you did.
By the way, your $10,000 in sales is not $10,000 in profit, and does not factor in your business expenses. Were any of those sales to actual customers or just to the “lazy bums” in your downline?
It’s so amazing that the author has put so much effort to find out all the negatives about the system. It is normal to hear these types of comments about the business, but what I have been seeing that people with such negative thoughts ultimately become Diamonds and EDC in this business because they are indirectly trying to get answers to their questions. After meeting few of the Diamonds and Platinums, they share their story about how they used to smash their upline asking thousands of questions. A good upline will keep on answering as much as he can. But once they are turned into positive thinkers, they are the people who create CDs and define new rules and paths.
Amway is not just costly products and how much you spend. If you really understand the benefits of few of their products (not all products), probably you would have approached the entire thing different. Its a matter of time and right approach which decides how a negative person changes to positive.
Most of the time you would find an untrained IBO trying to approach and do prospecting for Amway products/business. They approach the entire thing from marketing and money making process. If you are comfortable doing it, its good for you. But if you change this to a need based approach, probably Amway would not have received such negative responses. Everything in this world is not made for everybody. There are people who come to PASE meeting to share their story who has no interest to join Amway, but to share their story about using few selected product which is relevant to their problem.
Einstein invented the formula E=mc^2. He did not invent the nuclear bomb. Its our destructive thinking which created a product that is scaring everybody in this world.
Gotta love the way this guy never addresses any specific criticism at all.
Can your upline answer this question:
Can I see the profit and loss on your schedule C tax return?
Hey all those SUCCESSFULL, amway IBOs, why dont you guys sell AMWAYS in the GCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf), where there is no tax stuff???
And you guys say it is 100%, and why the hell you guys sell the product in plastic bottles ???? do you think that gonna degrade in minutes???? or how many of you have seen that is really degraded????.
And the boasting IBOs, Let me ask you one thing, you say about hectors and chunks of land where you cultivate the RAW materials, do you think with the boasting SQUARE kilometres of land by which you produce, can serve the number of people that you actually populated as yous customers ????
This is a reply to Sha’s comment below.
“Sha says:
May 9, 2013 at 12:32 PM
You are 100% right. This guy “Mike” is a complete idiot. I’m an IBO with Amway and made $10,000 in sales this pat month (April, 2013) which I made 23% of that $10,000. I am making money, very successfully through Amway. The only way you don’t succeed through Amway is if you’re a lazy bum and don’t work. Instead of typing out this long blog (because you have no life), you could have put those hours into making money with your business. Again mike; you’re a moron who is hating on the fact that YOU are not successful. Do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut when you have no clue what you’re talking about. If you can honestly say anything bad about making $10,000 this month, you’re an asshole, an idiot, and a f- up… Mike; send me an email (sah19990@yahoo.com) so I can tell you personally how much of an idiot you are… Later.”
– Sha I have been asked to join Amway in promises of hard work for 2-3 year to receive 60k-120k per year being able to retire and having time with my family rather then a traditional job and working 5 days a week for the rest of my life, Yes I am sceptical but that is in my nature to look in as a neutral person and research before i bite. I have been told this is not a pyramid business model, my question to you is how long have you been working under Amway selling product on your online store? How many people do you have under you (recruited by you)? you said you made $10000 in sales “for Amway” and took 23% commission so $2300.00 in a month what I make every two weeks in my sheep 5 days a week traditional job.
Me did joined Amway 2 years ago and put in long long time and personal freedom, hoping to be successful. Signed up 8 people in two years, they all have some new recruits some of them have new recruits and I had about 3200 people that are inactive. I not make anything from buying my products each month, people keep saying fuck amway, it over inflated prices make people at top money, not me. Fuck you Amway you fuck scam
I make more money, in less time without Amway. They want you to buy buy recruit buy and get more recruit to buy. You get 0.2% profit on the one’s that keep buying, but not alot keep buying, and profit is piss weak, because it all goes to top dogs, 90% I am not in, I am slogging it in the 10% category, but my mentor keeps saying, get people buy more, more motivational tools, scam as many as you can he mean, the more suckers spending 100 or 200 a month the more we at the top make from your hard work, fuck you I say, it is a duck, it looked like one, it waddles like one. Amway products might be ok, but there are others out there just as good, in your supermarket, go look, there is stereo cheaper whereever you look, amway make money from you, and give you pityful slice for your hard work, it’s the business program they try to sell you for good reason, not the product. Fucks black dog, with pimples on balls barking, fuck AMWAY you suck the big pussy black dog dick
LOL actually, Amway is awsome. It makes you alot of money – that gets redistributed to the dicks sitting at the top. It’s very simple. Amway wont make you alot of money, it’ll make the lazy prick in the 10% category money, which by rights should be yours. You can lie about the claims that this business isn’t a pyramid scam/scheme all you want Amway brainwashees, but in reality, it is a pyramid scheme, you will all see for yourself once you give it a go for 2 years like I did, that it was a complete fucking waste of my time, I did all the right things and made all the right moves, recruited more than enough people, and then some, but in the end once they realise the product is over inflated, it’s marked up and there are indeed middle men expenses, they will decide to buy else where. When they aren’t buying you dont earn shit, it’s the way it goes for most. You learn the hard way with Amway.