Amway Global - WalMart Doesn't Pay Me To Shop?

One of the silly arguments some Amway enthusiasts will use is the line that WalMart doesn't pay them to shop and Amway does. It's a silly comparison in that Amway is a business opportunity and WalMart is a discount retailer. It is also silly because WaMart could raise their prices 30% and give you a 3% rebate amd WalMart profits would go through the roof. Let's give a couple of examples.

Satinique shampoo costs around $8.00 for a 10 ounce bottle.
Suave shampoo costs $1.99 at WalMart for a 20 ounce bottle.

Even when you factor in a 30% rebate ($2.40), you still come out several dollars ahead of the satinique. Granted, not every single product at WalMart will be cheaper than Amway's, but generally, overall, you will save a lot more shopping at WalMart than you could "earn" by shopping via Amway. Also, unless you are at the 25%level, you will get a much smaller rebate. Most IBO, is they qualify, will only receive a 3% rebate.

For those IBOs who subscribe to "buy from yourself", you could simply purchase $70 worth of goods and hand the WalMart cashier $100 and receive $30 change. You can call that you rebate and be better off! LOL

In my opinion, you can get much better value by shopping at WalMart and using a cash back credit card. Do the math.

Amway Global - How Many Millionaires Has Amway Created?

I don't know how many millionaires Amway has created. I honestly don't think Amway knows either, except for the owners of Amway who are reported as billionaires. But still there is a myth that Amway has created the most millionaires in the US, save for Microsoft corporation. To be perfectly honest, I am fairly sure that there are some millionaires who can attribute their wealth accumulation to the Amway business. But I suspect that there are far fewer millionaires created by the Amway opporunity in North America than your upline would have you believe.

I googled WikiAnswers to see how many people in the US are millionaires. The answer was 1 out of every 125 Americans are millionaires. It did not specify how much income these folks had, nor did it say what kinds of businesses or occupations were likely to make you a millionaire.

But then again, we can make some comparisons of how many millionaires versus various pin levels. 1 out of about 240 IBOs reach the platinum level where depending on your structure, you might earn $30,000 to $50,000 annually. These figures are approximate. 1 out of about 15,000 IBOs reach the level of diamond where you earn about $147,000 annually.

But 1 out of 125 people in the US are millionaires.

Amway Global - Ridiculous Comparisons To The Gym?

One of the defenses I have heard from Amway apologists is a comparison of the Amway opportunity to a gym membership. The defense is that you have to do something to get results. On that point, I agree. Except the comparison is ridiculous as a gym is not a business opportunity. A gym membership is a product/service that one can purchase. It seems that many Amway defenders so deperately want to justify their positions that they come up with silly comparisons.

If the Amway oportunity was compared to a gym owner, wouldn't that be a better comparion? On that point, if you were recruited to be a gym owner, wouldn't you demand to know how other gyms are doing financially? Wouldn't you want to know the likelihood of success if you were to open a gym? Wouldn't you need to know about operating expenses and potential income before you even thinking about buying a gym?

What if you were told that maybe only 9 or 10 out of 10,000 gym owners make enough income to live on? If more than half of the gyms went out of business in their first year, would you still be interested? If the greater majority of gym owners lost money, would you still be interested? If the majority of gym owners lost money, and many lost lots of money, would that interest you?

Wouldn't any investor with an ounce of business savvy look at this gym opportunity and run in the opposite direction?

Amway Global - Businesses Recruit!

A commentor on this blog recebtly left a comment saying businesses recruit. Businesses all need people and therefore, someone basically needs to recruit them. I agree with that. But my entire point is that Amway doesn't pay you to recruit. It is why they were found to be legal on that point.

But oddly, the emphasis of many IBOs is to recruit others. Why is that? Why is it important to recruit downline? Don't you have to make the first circle work first?

My anonymous commentor said I should show me a business that doesn't have people working for them. I have a different take on it. Show me a business where people pay to do the work or work for free.

In Amway, most of the IBOs who are dedicated to the teaching system end up with losses. Their upline gets a cut from their purchases and sales, and someone upline makes a nice profit from selling them teaching materials. Therefore these IBOs are taking a loss month after month. Bascially they are paying their upline to be in the Amway business. It is only when the said IBO "recruits" enough downline to absorb his losses does he start to break even or make a profit.

Do the math. 100 PV gets you a $10 bonus. Monthly tools cost can range from $100 to $500 or more, depending on your upline and level of commitment. 300 PV gets you about a $40 bonus. 1000 PV may net you a $250 bonus. If most IBOs are unable to sponsor a single downline, you can see how difficult it will be to progress.

Maybe you need to start recruiting? LOL :D

Amway Global - It's All About Recruiting?

One of the reasons Amway Global is considered legal is because agents are not paid directly for recruiting others. Some other MLM opportunities were shut down in the past for this very reason. That being said, just because an opportunity is legal doesn't mean that it is profitable for those involved and it doesn't mean that it is a long term sustainable source of income and many would lead you to believe.

What's interesting is that despite the fact that Amway doesn't pay you for recruiting, it is the emphasis of many IBOs, and the emphasis of much of the teaching in some AMOs. This is because coveted levels such as "emereald" or "diamond" cannot be achieved without recruiting downline. These coveted levels are often promoted with displays of lavish lifestyles, thus the desire of many IBOs is to recruit everyone they know in the hopes of achieving these lifestyles. Sadly, very very few will ever attain those lifestyles, and some of the people who do attain them are not able to sustain them.

Unfortunately, much of Amway's spotty reputation is directly due to some questionable recruitment tactics. People are often tricked into attending meetings, or lured into a meeting without being told what the oportunity actually is. In my first brush with Amway, I was invited to a beer bust as a college student and when I arrived, I was greeted by my friend wearing a suit and the white board set up in the living room. Needless to say, I was not impressed and formed a poor opinion about Amway.

So IBOs and information seekers, if you are recruiting others, I would be of the opinion that honesty and openness about the opportunity is the best way to operate. You will still have people turn you down, but at least they won't form negative opinions about Amway and the way you operate.

Amway Global - Prospecting?

Network marketing, own your own business, ecommerce, private franchises. These are some of the common buzzwords that many IBOs have used in the past as a way to get someone curious enough to see the Amway marketing plan. Our group was told not to disclose the Amway name unless directly asked.

I believe this method is still used today, except that I haven't seen any single particular approach recently. I know of one particular blogger has been very active in informing IBOs that they should not be advertising their business on Craigslist. I do see some IBOs still trying to gain prospects on myspace and facebook. Some of these IBOs really need to keep their stories consistent though. LOL One dude on facebook prospected my and said he made $5000 a month in Amway. A month later, he forgot who I was and tried to prospect me again and this time he said he made $80,000a year. When I asked him about the discrepancy, he decided to put me on ignore. LOL

So IBOs, are you honest about what you are trying to sell? Do you hide the Amway name? Are you still trying the curiosity approach? Do you outright lie about the Amway opportunity? Are you prospecting people online? Are you hanging out at Starbucks and at malls looking for "sharp" people?

I find the whole thing funny. And what's also funny is that I did this once upon a time. LOL :D

Amway Global - The Reality?

Some IBOs and Amway supporters recently, and in the past have accused Joecool of planting "seeds of doubt" in the minds of IBOs. Granted, I am a critic of the Amway Global opportunity but it's not like I am telling lies about the Amway business. I am basically telling my story, and what I see wrong with the Amway opportunity, which is primarily the motivational groups such as WWDB, Network 21, and/or BWW.

These motivational groups entice prospects to join Amway, and then encourage the IBOs to subscribe to KATE, standing order, book of the month, attend seminars, open meetings, etc. These materials and seminars are often promoted as "key to your success" or "vital" to your business, yet there is no bonafide evidence that these materials help anyone to build a profitable business. Instead, the vast majority of IBOs end up channeling money into these materials, which makes their uplines wealthy. I see it as a gross conflict of interest very unethical. Yet for years, these uplines have shamelessly emptied the pockets of the downline, all the while pretending to be great leaders and teachers. If these teachings actually led to business success, there would be few critics. Some Amway apologists will claim that most if not all who go diamond and above use the system, and at the same time, disregard the millions of IBOs over the years who used the same system with no results. What I find very humorous is that the Amway Champion himself (IBOFightback) has apparently not achieved anything of significance in Amway, except for his 3% bonus, if even that.

What Amway supporters may call "seeds of doubt", is in reality, I believe an IBO's conscience simply telling the IBO that what is printed on this blog is probably the truth and that what is said here often makes more sense than what upline is teaching.

So IBOs and prospects, ask yourself, are these seeds of doubt or simply awakening your conscience who tells you to think twice?

Amway Global - Why IBOs Fail

It is not secret that many IBOs fail in the Amway business opportunity. The retention rate is poor, and frankly, the compensation for IBOs usually won't even cover the monthly cost of the website fees. So uplines should figure out why so many downline fail and then address it instead of advising IBOs to never quit and keep buying more tools. Based on what I experienced, I would have to say my uplines (who are still around today) didn't care about their downline, which is why we received bad advice such as IBOs had to keep paying for standing orders if your downlines quit.

But IBO failure goes beyond this. In order to sustain a business, you need to establish and build a customer base. Amway's own figures suggest that there is about 1 cutomer for every 4 IBOs. Less than 4% of Amway goods are sold to non IBOs. How can any business sustain itself in that manner?

Many IBOs will cite concentration and quality as the reason for Amway's premium prices. But it is apparent that it is primarily IBOs who see things this way. The public more likely sees Amway products as generic with premium prices. Ironically, IBOs seem to shift to the viewpoint of the general public once they stop being IBOs. Seem that IBOs don't mind premium prices when they believe Amway will allow them to retire early and walk the beaches of the world, but when that dream ends, so does product loyalty.

Hard work and effort doesn't necessarily equate success in Amway and I will explain. Say I was selling Iphones for $50. People would be flocking to me to buy one. I would probably run out of the Iphones before I ran out of customers. The price is great and thus the demand exceeds the supply. Now say I was selling regular cell phones and charging $1,000 for a regular run of the mill cell phone. I may sell one, but more likely my only sale will be to myself as a representative of the cell phone company. There would be no demand, only perhaps an artifical demand by the purchase of $1000 cell phones by the cell phone retailers. This is exactly what Amway IBOs, or sales people are experiencing. People in general don't care about the phytonutrients in double x. They see the whopping price and they buy vitamins at Walmart. As a side note, does the inclusion of phyotnutrients in a vitamin drive up the cost that much? I suspect not.

In any case, I believe this is why most IBOs fail. There are too many disadvantages to overcome.

Amway Works?

The business works if you work it! That's what many Amway enthusiats will claim. I do not believe that is true and I will further explain in this post. Many IBOs who claim that the business works are usually new and are unable to show any evidence that the business works, except perhaps to show a photocopied check from an upline diamond or the like.

Let me make a disclaimer that some people do make significant money from Amway, but most of those folks are tenured diamonds who are almost in an exclusive club. There is only a short list of new diamonds that I know of in the US, and I have heard that even these new diamonds may have had legs in other countries. It would seem that Amway is not growing in the US and Canada. Also of note, Amway did not release figures that are seperate between Amway North America and the rest of their overseas operations.

Ok, so Amway enthusiasts claim that the business works if you work it. Business in its simplest form is selling a product or service for a profit. Yet many many IBOs spend so much of their time doing other things, as advised by their upline "mentors" who sell them training materials that take up much of their valuable time. Listening to tapes/cds, attending functions, reading books, and other training activities not only costs the IBO money, but takes up valuable time in non -income producing activities. Nobody makes sales reading books or attending seminars.
Inviting people to see "the plan" may be a way to help generate volume but with Amway's reputation, even this is a hit and (mostly) miss activity.

Yet IBOs spend almost all of their time doing ese activities (the work) when they could be better off not getting the training and focusing on selling the Amway products and services. Even that comes with a handicap as Amway products as a whole, costs a lot more than purchasing similar or the same products as a big retailer such as Costco or WalMart. It is why most IBOs eventually get discouraged and quit far before the promoted 2-5 year plan.

Few people will even bother to see the plan once you mention "Amway" and for those who are open minded and motivated to register end up having to deadl with a hard to sell opportunity along with high priced common commodities such as soap, vitamins and energy drinks. It's pretty easy to see that the business does not work, even for most of those who actually work it. There are simply too many issues with the business that hanidcaps those brave enough to try. It seems even the fiercest defenders of Amway are unable to provide a shred of evidence that they have actually made a profit from this opportunity.

Amway - Get Rich Quick?

I get a good laugh out of IBOs when the talk about Amway not being "get rich quick". If that was how the opportunity was pitched, then why did you join, knowing that Amway's reputation was less than spotless? Seems that many IBO recruits have some kind of need, such as more income, which is why they join Amway in the first place. They join in hopes of making a few extra dollars, and hopefully the business will bloom into a big one where the money rolls in by the barrel full while you sit on a beach sipping mai tais.

Obviously, Amway must have been pitched as having the possibility of creating wealth in 2-5 years or whatever they show prospects these days. I don't think much has changed over the years. The problem in my informed opinion is that too many IBOs think they can create wealth with their Amway business. The sad reality is that in most business structures in Amway, the money is simply taken out of the pockets of downline ans redistributed to upline. This is done by downline having product loyalty. Product loyalty to Amway and the tools systems.

Many IBOs join to get extra time and money, but instead they give up much time and money from their jobs, which benefits upline. Not counting IBOs who do nothing, the remaining will likely buy their 100 PV, and consume voicemail, standing order, books and functions. It would be rare for an IBO to actually make enough Amway money to cover the cost of the tools, much less make a net profit. But I believe uplines will tell you that Amway is not get rich quick, because they want you yo expect to spend several years in the system, all the while lining upline pockets with tools profits.

On most cases, you will not get rick quickly in Amway. You will probably not get rich slowly in Amway either. It is very likely that you won't get anything in the Amway opportunity except a net loss, especially is you are dedicated to your upline's teaching system.

Amway Global - Join Amway And Profit Right Away?

One of the things that the presenters hit upon when showing the plan was how you had a great advantage in joining Amway because you could avoid overhead expenses and profit right away. Plus they threw in the tidbit about saving money thru Amway.

But it appears that IBOs do not profit right away, moreso if they are on the system of voicemail, cds, books and seminars. What's troubling is that IBOs are taught that they should not profit right away. That businesses commonly take years to profit, and that any profits should be invested into more tools. So the business is promoted as being one where you can profit right away, and then upline changes the mindset of profit into Amway being a long term venture. This is often refered to as a bait and switch technique.

It is common for Amway promoters to target needy folks. People who could use an extra buck or more. Someone who is looking for ways to make more money, but not necessarily by working another job. Thus upline will promote the Amway as low risk, easy to get started and no expenses. Then when an IBO commits, the mantra then changes to long term business, reinvest profits, etc etc.

My upline used to tell us that the promise of money got us in, but becoming better people, helping others and long term firendship is what the business is really about. Really? How many people would join and spend all that money to accomplish these goals? Not that these are bad things, but they are contrary to the pitch of joining to own a business.

If you are involved or considering getting involved, I encourage you to ask your sponsor tough questions about this. To ask where the profits are if you're been involved for more than a month. Don't allow them to shuffle the answer under a rug. If they can't or won't answer you, then you have a big decision to make. Stay involved in a business that is losing money, even though profits were promoted as easy, or keep trusting someone who won't give you a straight answer.

Amway Global Average Income $115/Month?

Amway reported that the average IBO income was $115 a month in 2001. As far as I know, there hasn't been an updated figure. The $115 is not really accurate as Amway disregarded about 1/3 of all IBOs as the $115 per month only included "active" IBOs. Some Amway apologists of course, make ridiculous arguments that someone who asks his brother to buy something is active an thus makes $115 for simply asking a question. Of course we know that to receive a bonus, an IBO must qualify by moving at least 100 PV in volume.

But wait, an IBO who moves 100 PV will likely get $9 or $10. How can an average IBO receive that much income? It is my guess that adding in Amway Crown Ambassadors and other high pins into this figure makes it much higher than the reality for most IBOs. If you look at the 6-4-2 plan, it assumes that all IBOs in that move 100 PV, yet the majority of them only receive the 3% bonus, or about $9 or $10 or so.

How much volume would you have to move to actually earn about $115 in a month, which is average? If you sponsored 4 downline and you and your downline all moved 100 PV, you would receive about $90, and each downline would get about $9, thus your bonus would be $54. (Based on each IBO doing 100 PV, 300BV and you are in the 6% bracket). But if you were to sponsor 5 downline, all doing 100 PV, 300 BV, you would receive about $162, and you would pay out $45 to downline. You would have a gross income of $117 a month.

So if you are able to gain and maintain 5 downline, all move 100 PV and about 300 BV each, you would then be in the 9% performance bracket and you would gross about $117a month. You would be considered average or above.

Things to note: Only 1 in 5 IBOs are able to sponsor even one downline. IBOs who sponsor multiple downlines are likely to be less than 1 in 5. Also, even if you can sponsor 5 and reach the 9% level, which would be a notable achievement in Amway, you would probably still have a net loss when if you calculate in taxes, voicemail, books, cds, standing order and functions.

Still think you can simply "choose" to succeed?

Amway Global - "At Least A Founder's 3%"

Amway's biggest defender usually goes by the moniker of "IBOFightback" or "Insider". He and his supporters often criticize the critics of Amway, citing outdated information and/or experiences. We are often told to check the credibility of the person who is writing. Well, here's an interesting coincidence. Could the David Steadson who is listed here: http://www.amquix.info/steadson_hits_3_percent.html
be the famous IBOfightback?

If it is, then maybe he was right when he said he was at least a founder's 3%?

No, it couldn't be IBOfightback, he is from Sweden. :-)

Amway Global - A Foolproof Way To Earn Income?

So many IBOs talk about Amway being the best business around or the best way to earn income. Their tenacity in defending the business is almost scary at times. But the way Amway is promoted by the motivational groups is no different than the people who want to sell you the secret of buying real estate with no money, or selling you income earning strategies. Many of these opportunities are promoted on infomercials, while Amway functions serve as infomercials.

The major function formerly known as dream nite, now known as winter conference is one where the diamonds show off their alleged wealth. They show videos of nice cars, jet skis, mansions, and other trappings, and then tell the audience they can have all of this and more, if only they will do what upline teaches.

It is like a live version of an infomercial. But what many do not notice about the infomercials (when showing success testimonials) is that it most often says "unique experience", your experience may vary. It is more like Amway than you think. Achieving a sginificant level in Amway, such as Emerald or higher, probably qualifies as a unique experience.

If you really think about it, if someone were really making so much money doing something, why wouldn't they continue to do it instead of taking up so much of their valuable time promoting it? Is it because they make more money promoting it than doing it? I will guess it's the latter and not the former.

Amway Global - Own A Business And Get Paid What You Are Worth?

One of the things I saw and I believe is still taught today, is that Amway recruiters will talk about people's jobs and how you can only earn what the job is worth, and not what you are worth. Then they tell you to join the Amway business as a means to rectify that situation.

When you stop and really think twice about this, you have to wonder. If your employer doesn't pay you what you think you deserve, you are welcome to offer your services to a higher bidder. If you are unable to find a higher bidder, then you either need to increase what you have to offer, or you have overestimated your value as an employee. But at least as an employee, you have a paycheck that you can depend on, and more than likely, you know when your paydays are.

Now you get excited about being a business owner. Are you now paid what you're worth? Or at least, are you on your way to being paid what you are worth? Have you even asked or thought about what you are worth? Most IBOs, not counting the ones who "do nothing". end up moving 100 PV and getting $10 back from Amway. If they are on the system, they are likely to have spent over $100 a month to participate. Are you now "paid what you are worth?". You are in the negative, and even adding some downline is unlikely to change your situation significantly.

When you spend about $300 to make 100 PV, Amway gets paid. When you earn your 100 PV, Amway will give back about $75 in bonus money. Middle men in your upline take about $65, leaving you with $10. Are you paid what you are worth? Who did the work and who got the lion's share of the reward?

Let's say you worked really hard for a couple of years. You finally reach platinum and you earn $50,000 (before taxes). After taxes and business expenses, let's say you net $25,000. Have you now earned what you are worth? A platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs and they net maybe $25,000 to $30,000. Are they paid what they are worth? If you can't answer yes to any of these questions, you have to ask yourself if the whole thing is worth it?

Amway Global - Myth - Shop With Amway And Save 30%?

One of the things I saw at an Amway presentation, and I believe many still tout this, that shopping with Amway will save you 30%. Of course, I have yet to see any price comparisons to verify this claim. In fact, I believe if you made an opposite claim, that shopping with Amway costs you 30% more, that would probably be more accurate. I believe that Amway recruiters make this claim because to the audience, it only makes sense to join Amway because you will save 30%. Unfortunately, it is a recruiting tactic. Simply walk down the aisles at Walmart and tell the audience with a straight face that you will save 30% on average, but purchasing from Amway instead of WalMart. WalMart boldly makes a claim that families shopping there regularly will save $2500 a year, which is more than the average IBO earns. Amway makes no such claim that I know of. I believe this is an LOS recruiting trick.

If you stop and think about it, Amway must charge at least 30% or more on top of their overhead and profit in order to pay the IBO bonuses. I sincerely doubt that Amway suffers losses to pay out bonuses. Add in shipping and the cost goes up. I believe that the save 30% by shopping with Amway is a myth. If not, I challenge IBOs to put forth a reasonable price comparison to prove me wrong.

Amway Global - Why Do So Many IBOs Quit?

Someone posed this question on another blog so I thought I would address it here.
Why do so many IBOs quit? To me, the answer is very obvious. Because what Amway recruiters promote rarely comes true.

Many Amway recruiters discuss a "shortcut" to retirement, fabulous toys, mansions, cars and early retirement. They show an unrealistic model of how Amway works. Just sponsor 6 who sponsor 4 who sponsor 2 and everyone does 100 PV and in 2-5 years you will be a diamond making well over $100,000 a year which will roll in forever while you sit on a beach sipping exotic drinks. Okay, maybe I made it sound a little better than how some presenters show the plan, but still, many prospects really believe they will be financially free in a few years and living on easy street happily ever after.

But once the registration kit is busted, then the new IBO realizes that 100 PV may cost up to $300 a month. Attending meetings and finding people to show the plan is hard, especially when past IBOs may have tricked people into attending a meeting, or lied about the Amway opportunity. The cost of standing order and functions starts to mount. The IBO then starts to realize, that what he/she joined for was more time and money, ironically is what they have less of once they get involved in Amway, particularly if they are participating in a "system" such as BWW, WWDB, or N21.

This IBO then realizes that the good life they though was within their grasp really isn't. Then they quit. Now many IBOs sign up and do nothing. These folks don't usually have a complaint as they got what they put into the deal. But many worked the system hard only to not get any tangible rewards. Some disappear into the nite, and some come back to comment or blog about their experiences.

But the bottom line is that so many IBOs quit because, in my informed opinion, the Amway prices are generally too high, the reputation of Amway precedes itself and makes recruiting downline next to impossible, and the ongoing cost of the system starts to become a drain on the family finances, not to mention the time spent away from family and friends in order to attend meetings, plans, functions, etc.

The system doesn't work, so they quit. It's as clear as crystal to me.

Amway Global - Random Observations About Amway

(This is a re-post)

Observation #1: In general, IBOs are less successful in life than others. That is why they are open to the business and why they can be convinced that there is a shortcut to retirement and perpetual wealth. When I was an IBO, I was not where I wanted to be financially, as I was younger and at the earlier stages of my career. I would not be open to “options” right now.

Observation #2: The biggest zealots/supporters appear to have the smallest businesses. They talk the talk - but no evidence of walk the walk. Also, any discussion about their personal success with the business is limited and shrouded in secrecy or they will make vague references about their level of success.

Observation #3: The business has a bad reputation and cannot be marketed to the general public without some degree of deception. It’s why there are so many testimonials of people tricked into attending meetings (including myself). Being straight forward with information will likely get you a resounding “No thanks”. The opportunity is also saturated. Saturated not meaning everyone is involved, but most everyone in the US has heard and has an opinion about Amway. Name saturation.

Observation #4: It would appear that much upline teaching is not focused on actually running a profitable business, but dedication to the system. It’s why so many IBOs don’t seem to know what a profit loss statement is, and don’t bother keeping one themselves. It’s also why the content of many BSMs is to purchase more BSMs.

Observation #5: IBOs in general don’t seem to have planned out their retirement. They are convinced that the Quixtar opportunity will provide for them when they reach their retirement years. They put down people who are working jobs and investing for their futures. They feel that purchasing function tickets is their investment for retirement. While a fraction of 1% might make some significant money in Quixtar, the vast majority do not. The fact that the majority may not have put forth a Herculean effort is irrelevant in my opinion. The bottom line is that the vast majority will not make an income from this opportunity. To ignore this fact is burying your head in the sand.

Amway Global - 98% Of Americans Over 65 Are Not Living In Poverty!

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/012528.html


"The number of people in poverty increased for seniors 65 and older — from 3.4 million in 2006 to 3.6 million in 2007."


While it is unfortunate that 3.6 million elderly Americans live in poverty, that is just over 1% of the population of the US. That is completely opposite of what some Amway promoters will tell you.

Population Clocks
U.S. 306,880,651
19:08 GMT (EST+5) Jul 10, 2009

Amway Global - Fulfilling Or Chasing A Dream?

http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/quotis-amwayquixtar-worth-the-effort-716571.html


You’re probably asking yourself, “Well, if all of this is true, how can a company that’s so predominant in the American market have survived for all these years by using such deceitful tactics? The answer is simple; they prey on the innocent, the uneducated, and the unemployed, who truly believe that Amway/Quixtar is their ticket out of their current situation. Massive donations to political parties do not hurt either.

So, if you’re considering becoming a distributor for Amway/Quixtar, think about it carefully. Don’t risk losing what you monetarily do not have on a frivolous opportunity. If you really look into it carefully, it’s apparent that the real reason to be in Amway/Quixtar is not to sell Amway products but to sell the more profitable motivational materials (tools) to the distributors that come in underneath you.

In short, those who seek financial freedom with Amway/Quixtar on a 2-5 year plan are fooling themselves. This business becomes a way of life. You breathe it, live it and it consumes every aspect of your life. Do you seriously want to live like that? Unfortunately, the 2-5 year plan is nothing more than a dream and most distributors will lose time and money chasing that dream. Please, do you research and don’t fall victim to the lies.

Amway Global - Why Do Amway Apologist Bloggers Delete Opposing Comments?

A frequent site visitor here named Levi runs a blog about why one might wish to consider a second income. However, he is either afraid, or his blog is pure propaganda. He deletes opposing viewpoints and opinions. Seems that many Amway apologists do not like comments that they view as "negative" on their blogs. I noticed that certain blogs that are run by some higher pins in the business are the same way. They will push their agendas and allow comments that fall into line with their though process, but put in a comment seen as negative. and the comment is not allowed or quickly deleted, even if the post is truthful. It seem that Amway supporters only enjoy their version of the truth. This information control by the pro-Amway camp is a bit troubling.

I can understand IBOs or supporters not allowing a profanity laced tirade, or an off topic rant, but relevent and respectful comments should not be deleted unless the blog author has something to hide or has a hidden agenda. Joecool's blog allows comments, even when they may be negative or opposite of Joecool's viewpoint. I noticed that even Amway corporate blogs will delete some truthful inforamtion, such as the bit of information I received from someone in Michigan that said Amway employees can purchase double x for around $10.00 to $12.00. If only IBOs would be open and truthful, maybe they would not have caused further damage to Amway's already interesting US repuatation.

Amway Global - Investing In Your Business?

One thing that is very interesting to me, is how IBOs seem to think that spending money on cds, tapes or functions is an investment in their business. If I owned a restaurant for example, I would have to purchase equipment such as ovens and grills. If my business does well, I may choose to re-invest some of my profits for perhaps more efficient cooking equipment, or nicer chairs and tables for my patrons, etc. The things I invest or re-invest in makes an immediate impact on my business for the better. Food is served faster, and perhaps the environment is nicer for my customers.

What exactly do IBOs get from cds or attending functions? They likely end up with less money. Attending a function for example, not only costs money, but takes you away from your business for a weekend each month. In what business is it beneficial to spend money and take a weekend away from your business? Only in Amway do upline leaders teach this kind of questionable business practice. It wouldn't seem so bad if upline leaders weren't the primary financial beneficiary of these functions.

Now if an IBO spent time and money creating advertising for their products, or a business gameplan, that would be a reasonable investment of their resources to benefit their business. It is too bad that upline leaders teach bad business practices that end up in IBO failure while they are enjoying financial gains for teaching this crap.

Amway Global - Businesses Don't Turn A Profit Right Away?

Many IBOs defend their continued losses in Amway (primarily due to standing order and functions) by saying that businesses often do not make money in the first few years, perhaps up to five years. This is a myth taught by uplines. I will go on to explain further.

A new conventional business may not make money right away. While that may be true, it is often because the owner has not yet made up his initial investment and may still be building up a customer base. However, once a business opens its doors, they make profits from customer purchases and for many businesses, eventually the customer base is enough to sustain the business.

In the Amway opportunity, many upline will entice recruits to join by saying their is no overhead, little operating costs and whatnot. Therefore, there is no reason why an Amway IBO should be in business for five years without a profit. This is just bullshit taught by uplines so their new IBOs think they are investing in their business or that this is normal, for an Amway business owner to not make money for a few years. This hides the fact that uplines are draining their downline's resources one standing order at a time, or one function at a time.

If you are an IBO or a prospect, there is no reason you cannot make a profit right away. Simply avoid buying training materials and focus on selling product. It is that simple. Uplines who tell you that training and motivation is your priority probably do not have your best interest at heart, regardless of what they might tell you.

Amway Global - Why Don't IBOs Track Expenses?

In my observation of IBOs and the things they talk about, it is apparent to me that IBOs are taught to ignore their expenditures. I believe upline teaches their downlines to disregard expenses. Some upline teaches that "the facts don't matter". It would seem apparent to me, that any real business owner would track their income and expenses. That is how you determine whether you made a profit or not. A business exists to make a profit.

It seems as though too many IBOs don't understand, or are indoctirnated to believe that their Amway business doesn't exist to make a profit. IBOs will justify their lack of profit by saying they learned to be a nicer person, or they learned how to ru a business. If you received a side benefit by running an Amway business, that is good, but is it why you joined in the first place? Would you have signed up to be a nicer person, knowing there would be no profit, and maybe even losses when considering your expenses?

It is Joecool's opinion that uplines teach thei downline IBOs to ignore facts and to ignore their expenses because it keeps them in the "system" where uplines can profit handsomely. Uplines teach their IBOs that functions and standing order are vital to their success, when the exact opposite is usually true. It is more likely that standing order and functions are the reason why so many IBOs lose money. But it is a clever scheme to teach downline IBOs that they are successful by attending a function, or listening to the latest standing order, regardless of their sales and income.

If IBOs were to run their businesses as a business, which includes tracking expenses, most of them would soon realize that their uplines are exploiting them one standing order and one function at a time. Simply do the math and compare your income with your monthly expenses and you'll see. Most IBOs earn nothing or $9 at best. Factor in the system and you will sustain monthly losses. I challenge IBOs to dispute this.

Amway Global - This Testimony Sums Up A Lot!

I recently saw this on anothet blog and it is a very short testimony, but it sums up the ridiculous mindset that IBOs are taught to have by upline.

"I was involved with Amway and then Quixtar for 18 years and never made any money, but think it is a great program because your support team will teach you the secrets of success in anything. "

This IBO was involved for 18 years and never made any money. But he thinks it's a great program? Why? 18 years of time and money spent building a business for no money? Is this what upline teaches you? When I was an IBO, upline taught us that we were indeed successful as long as we were on standing order and attending functions. What they really meant was the IBOs were making upline successful by being on standing order and attending functions.

As far as I know, there is no evidence that standing order or functions helped anyone to achieve the kind of success that the diamonds portray on stage. Of course, IBOs are welcome to prove me wrong.

Amway Global - IBOs Compare Themselves To WalMart?

One thing I used to see as an IBO was the speaker at some meeetings compare the Amway opportunity to a "shopper's club". These may include Costco, Sam's Club and WalMart. I even heard of IBOs prospecting in WalMart. This is sort of redundant, and frankly, IBOs doing this are barking up the wrong tree.

Why do I say this? Because there are some Amway zealots, such as IBOFightback, who make arguments (without bonafide neutral party assessments) that Amway in fact may not save you money, but certainly that Amway may be of superior quality as compared to the big box retailers. Now the quality of soap and vitamins are subjective, and most people are perfectly happy with the goods they purchase (cheaply) at WalMart or Costco at a discount.

Also, the flaw with making the case for quality is that Amway goods are nearly exclusively sold to IBOs! IBOs have a financial interest in purchasing Amway products, thus their opinions are biased, as is IBOFightback's. While I'm sure Amway does have some quality products, the average person on the street shops at Costco or Walmart for a reason. Costco and WalMart sell their goods cheap! Many customers know this and shop at these venues for that very reason!

Thus, while IBOs may be able to argue quality or concentration factors for Amway products, to argue that these same products are cheaper than a big box retailer is silly. I know some supporters will want to refute this claim, but I offer them this. Provide a neutral third party assessment, such as a consumer report magazine write up, that Amway products are better and/or cheaper than WalMart or Costco and we'll have something to discuss.

Until then, it is my conclusion that WalMart/Costco products are much cheaper than most comparable Amway products, and the general public agrees. Amway sales are dwarfed by WalMart and Costco sales. The numbers tell quite a story......

Amway Global - LA Lakers 2009 NBA Champs!

Congratulations to the LA Lakers, 2009 NBA champs! Ironically, they won the NBA championship in the Amway arena. This is a team that may go on to win several more titles. The Orlando Magic had a great season and Dwight Howard is an up and coming star, they too, will have to be reckoned with in the years to come.

Amway Global - A Wife's Testimonial - Amway Does Not Save Marriages!

Note: This is my own perception of my personal experience with the Amway business. If I've had a bad personal experience than that's what I had, I'm not attacking Amway or those in Amway, I'm telling my personal story.

I was in Amway 12 years ago. It was more like a nightmare than a business for me. I got the inside look at the weekly meetings and the grandiose Amway functions. I used all of their overpriced products while my then husband was encouraged to show the Amway plan. (Draw circles on boards trying to convince others to join Amway so they can become super rich).

From the moment I saw the first Amway convention I felt like something was wrong. There was a whole lot of hype, lots of people crying, and crowds of people admiring the millionaires on stage, hanging on their every word, taking notes, following whatever they said. It actually scared me, but not my husband, he loved it.

My husband spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on Amway tools, cassette tapes, videos, books, and meetings. I "the dutiful wife" was told to listen to the Amway tapes over and over again and to follow the advice of the "Amway Diamonds." (Who are he people who got rich through Amway). Only problem is the tapes kept telling me to leave my kids to go show the plan and to keep my eye on the prize. Since my kids are my biggest prize I wasn't willing to leave them to go convert people to Amway.

So my then husband (who is not a salesman) spent many nights out hunting for people to show the Amway plan to. He annoyed many people, but didn't sell the business idea to anyone.

Amway has an interesting and unique system where they basically encourage you to brainwash yourself with the Amway tools. Granted, they are not brainwashing you, you are choosing to do it to yourself. Those who miss meetings, don't listen to the tapes, or don't use only Amway products are looked at as losers and told to try harder. Those who sponsor (get people to sign up), buy all of the tapes, books, etc, are the heroes.

The good side of Amway would be that the people are encouraged to have big dreams, set goals, and to stay positive. They teach great sales techniques, leadership skills, and the power of positive thinking, hard work and determination.

Learning to be a positive go getter doesn't hurt anyone, but spending all your money might. My husband I divorced, being very young and dealing with the added strain was too much.

I have since remarried. The people who are in Amway say it strengthens families, and that you cannot possibly lose money, and when people come out and say that yes, I lost my marriage or yes, I lost money, they tend to attack. I have heard that they do not like it when anyone says anything bad about Amway, but people have a right to their opinions.

I believe that anything in the extreme has the potential to be destructive, but Amway encourages you to go to the extreme, and for some families destruction is exactly what it causes.

Amway Global - Joecool's Experience in Amway (Re-Print)

About JoeCool

Some people have asked me why I am a quixtar critic so I will tell my story.

I had two brushes with Amway. The first time I was in college and a friend invited me to a beer bust. I arrive at the house and voila! It’s an Amway meeting. Needless to say, I sat through the house meeting and I left after the meeting, very negative about Amway.

Fast forward to late 1995. A good friend of mine called and said he was very excited about a new opportunity he was involved with. I agreed to meet with him and when he arrived at my house wearing a suit, I knew it was Amway. Anyways, I bought some stuff from him and told him if he ever made any money in the business, I would look at it again. About two years later this friend calls me. He said he had become a direct distributor and could teach me how to do it and that it was easy. Seeing someone I actually knew reach a significant level made it seem real, that maybe I could in fact do the same.

I went to see the plan again, and I signed up in 1997. My plan was to retail some specialty product to a niche market, and move volume. My sponsor (an old friend) asked me why I would not strive to achieve more. In other words, if I was going to take the time to run a business, why not try for the big bucks, after all, he was direct and could teach me. So I trusted him and signed up for standing order, and started to attend the functions.

In my first month of business, I did my 100 PV. By month two, I had personally sponsored 4 people and I was at 1500 PV. Fired up, got to cross stage as a brand new 1000 pin at the Leadership function. Well, my group kept growing, three months later I was at 4000 PV. I started to think about going direct, “earning time” with the diamond, and how cool it would be to work the doors at the functions. What’s perplexing to me is that despite making some profit from Amway, I did take note that the tapes and functions were taking away all my profits and then some, but upline kept saying the money would be there, just keep building.

All the while I was building the business, my girlfriend was supportive, and she accepted the fact that I had limited time to spend with her but at the same time she was excited to see my business growing. Well, in month 8 of my experience, I had a counseling session with my upline. He sat down and told me that he was proud of me. He did however, have a suggestion that would propel me to direct, and to emerald. I excitedly asked him what that was. He told me to “ace my girlfriend” Fiancee at the time). He felt that I could build the business faster without her and that a lot of girls would be interested in a single ruby or emerald.

It was at that moment when I decided that the business was not worth it. For the last 8 months, I had spent most of my time building the business hard, and I had nothing to show for it. Now my upline is telling (advising me) to get rid of my soon to be wife. Well, I quit about a week later. I stayed active a little bit longer (retail only) to provide to some customers I had.

In the subsequent years, I read more and more about the tools industry being the driving force behind the diamond’s lifestyles. I later discovered Qblog and due to my wife’s fondness of “snoopy”, I took on the handle of “Joecool18”. The 18 was just a number I once had on an email account but I kept it.

My upline was a very close and trusted friend. When he advised me to trust him, I did. I was one of his close “inner circle” IBO’s. My trusted friend was also my physician, who treated me several times. People ask how someone can do what seems silly in this business. Well, in my case you can see why. I bought standing order, plus 5-7 extra tapes each week. I never missed a meeting. I arrived early, left late. I bought extra function tickets. Luckily for me, I saw the light before too much damage was done.

The business is generally filled with nice, motivated people. The problem is that their critical thinking is turned off, because many like me, were probably sponsored by someone they knew and trusted. (People who are murdered are often killed by someone they know as well). The teaching system, if you are not careful, will slowly drain you of resources, and the system does not produce results. For whatever reason, the government has not looked into the motivational organizations. Until something is done, I will do my best to inform prospects about the secrets of the business so they can at least make an informed decision as to whether they should do the business or not.

Amway Global - Myth Busted - Dead or Broke By Age 65

Debunking another myth taught by upline. People aren't broke by age 65. In fact, all of the retirees I know all live quite comfortably, travel several times a year. enjoy golf and other activities. Uplines want people to believe they will struggle in their golden years and the convince you that the Amway opportunity is the only way to avoid it. Check out the facts for yourself!


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/nioa-all032608.php

Economics – More older people enjoy increased prosperity than any previous generation, with an increase in higher incomes and a decrease in the proportion of older people with low incomes and in poverty. However, major inequalities continue to exist for older blacks and for people without high school diplomas, who report smaller economic gains and fewer financial resources.

• Income generally rose between 1974 and 2006. The proportion of older people with incomes below the poverty line went from 15 percent to 9 percent; those categorized with low income dropped from 35 percent to 26 percent; those with high incomes increased from 18 percent to 29 percent.

• Median net worth for households headed by whites age 65 and older was six times that of older black households, although the gap has slightly narrowed since 2003.

• More older people, especially women, continued to work past age 55.

Amway Global - It's Not About Money?

One of the things my sponsor taught our group, after most IBOs were in for a few months, was that joining AMway was not about money. I thought that was very strange because the reason I joined was to make money, and I figured that most other IBOs joined for the same reason. I certainly didn't join to attend meetings and wear suits.

I believe this is a tactic by upline to justify the lack of real income made by IBOs. It is why you hear stories of IBOs "being nicer people", or "coming to God". While these may be nice side benefits, how many recruits would have agreed to become IBOs under these conditions? I know I wouldn't have.

It appears to be a clervely designed scam by the upline leaders. Show recruits flashy cars and suits. Show videos of shopping sprees, golfing and other luxuries that the diamond lifestyle affords you, then tell the recruits that they can have all this, if only they will trust their sponsor and their upline leaders.

These same folks will then tell you that the only way to succeed, is to sell out to the system. The system of cds, functions, books, voicemail and meetings. That if you follow the system, success is all but guaranteed. Yet meeting after meeting, most IBOs begin to notice the same folks on stage, their groups do not grow despite following the system. They usually get disillusioned and quit.

It is why upline will try to get you to buy into the side benefits, in hopes that it will retain you in the business and in the system. Business is about making money. Please think about this very carefully if you are experiencing the same or similar conditions. Feel free to ask questions here on this blog.

Amway Global - WalMart Rocks!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090604/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_jobs

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090604/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_jobs

Thu Jun 4, 12:06 am ET
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – As Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opens about 150 new or expanded stores in the U.S. in 2009, the company expects to hire about 22,000 people for new positions.

Those positions include plenty of cashiers and stock clerks, but the world's largest retailer will also be adding store managers, pharmacists and personnel workers.

Wal-Mart is holding its annual shareholders meeting on Friday, and employees from its stores around the world are spending the week in Bentonville at company headquarters.

Wal-Mart, still the target of criticism from union-backed groups for its pay and benefits, has improved its health insurance coverage and opened it to full- and part-time employees. The company says 94 percent of its employees have health coverage, either through Wal-Mart or another family member.

"At Wal-Mart, we offer competitive pay and benefits and real opportunities for our associates to advance and build careers," Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said. "Job creation is just one way in which we're working hard every day to help people across this country live better."

Other employee benefits include a 401(k) plan, stock purchases and discounts for workers making in-store purchases.

The company has touted its generic drugs program in which Wal-Mart is selling $4 prescriptions for many popular medicines. Competitors, such as Kroger Co., have matched the price for some prescriptions.

"During this difficult economic time, we're proud to be able to create quality jobs for thousands of Americans this year," Castro-Wright said.

Earlier this year, the company shared more than $2 billion with its workers through bonuses, profit sharing and payments into the company 401(k) plan.

Wal-Mart has more than 2.1 million employees in the U.S. and abroad. The company had sales last fiscal year of $401 billion.
___

On the Net:

Wal-Mart corporate site: http://www.walmartstores.com

Amway Global - How Many Diamonds Are There In Amway?

How many diamonds are there in Amway? I don't know. Nobody knows for sure except Amway and Amway isn't telling. I once emailed Quixtar to ask this question and I was told to ask the person who invited me to a meeting. IBOFightback recently wrote a post on his propaganda blog decrying Amway critics for creating an "echo chamber" effect where people searching for information will be mislead about how many diamonds there are in Amway. Of course, he doesn't criticize the corporation for not publishing this valuable and controversial piece of information. He recently wrote a blog post claiming there are about 4000 Amway diamonds worldwide. While that may or may not be true, given IBOFightback's propensity for lying, it certainly doesn't speak about the number of Diamonds in the US and Canada.

On one of the Amway PR blogs, I posed a question (over a year ago) and Anna Bryce of Quixtar (at the time) stated that there were 160 Diamondships in attendance to 2006 Diamond club. Assuming there were some absentees, there might be a few more than 160 Diamonds in Amway. 160+ Diamondships in nearly 50 years of existence is not much to get excited about. Also, in Amway, a diamond is not forever. Diamonds fall out of qualification, probably more often than a new one emerges.

IBOFightback talks about the thousands of people who may have achieved success thru this opportunity. He doesn't mention however, the MILLIONS who may have been harmed by participating in this wonderful opportunity, albeit possibly from a motivational organization and not necessarily from Amway, Quixtar or Alticor. Although the motivational organizations have mostly been allowed to operate freely to cause this harm, and blemish the corporation's reputation.

The point being missed here is that the more diamonds there are, it is likely that there will be more and more people who lose money. Nearly all diamonds that I know of hard sell their tapes, seminars and other support materials. Thus the more diamonds there are, the more downline, and probably more people on the system. The vast majority of people on the system lose money because of the system expenses. A lack of sales to non IBOs almost guarantees a loss for IBOs because the only way to increase volume without sales is to increase downline who then suffer the losses for you. The more diamonds there are, the more lower level IBOs there are, and more IBOs who make little or lose money in order to support these higher pins.

Amway Global - Goofy Stuff Taught By Upline?

A site visitor recently gave me a password which gave me access to an IBO blog. Here is some of the stuff they wrote about. The name was withheld for privacy:

xxxxx xxxxx at 5/5/2008 8:47:08 PM Says:

I built the business single for a while and knew that I could never date or marry someone who wasn't 100% for this business. I had my upline help when I thought a guy may have been more interested in me than the business. Then I met my husband, (q.i.'d him & went to a meeting before agreeing to go on a date.) It was when HE asked ME for more CD's I knew I wanted to marry him! :-) It was a big shift from being the leader of my business to giving him the reigns. I still q.i., show the plan, and do all the same things; he's just in charge now. It's important to be supportive of your husband, but it's also very important to take on an active role. As a single lady, don't settle for ANYTHING less than what you deserve and don't let a "potential mate" be a potential if they're not on board with your dream. Now our business can go twice as fast and I have my warrior!

Here's another gem!

xxxx xxxxxx at 4/27/2008 3:50:17 PM Says:

One of the best things that has really helped me is to stop asking "why" so much. If he asks me to do something or states that this is what we are going to do, I've learned to truly be submitted and only give my opinion when asked!

Amway Global - Former IBO Testimony

http://reviews.ebay.com/The-Problems-I-have-with-the-Quixtar-Amway-System_W0QQugidZ10000000002574505


The Problems I have with the Quixtar/Amway System

I was signed up with Quixtar for 8 months or so, and had a huge problem with everything they are and everything they stand for. In my opinion, and I’m sure many people disagree with me, Quixtar/Amway is one of the worst scams to hit North America… Ever!

1. They Sell Hope to People Who Need it The Most: The recruiters tell you how easy it is, how little time it takes, and how a 6-figure income is just around the corner. What they don’t tell you is how much it costs in the long run, how many tapes, books, etc… you’re going to have to buy, and how hard it is to recruit people.

2. 1 Hour a Week: Yeah right, they glamorize how little time you have to spend talking to people to get them to sign up. My recruiter talked drove 2 hours to get to me, 2 hours talking to me, 1 hour signing me up, and 2 hours driving home. Wow… 1 hour a week, and he’s experienced.

3. Highest Quality Products Available: In what world? These products aren’t any better than the products you buy in stores, I tested the laundry detergent on two brand new shirts and the Quixtar brand faded a lot quicker than Tide.

4. Lower than Costco Prices: In what century? The prices are unbelievably high. When I asked my recruiter why he told me that the prices are a little higher because they save us time and gas money. What?

5. Products not available anywhere else: Only if you don’t know where to look, all the supplements I signed up to receive at discount prices were available online for ¾ of the price Quixtar offered them.

6. Food Products Are Delicious: Nope, sorry, no way. These products were disgusting, worst protein shakes ever, the candy was stale, and the energy drinks tasted like battery acid.

7. They’ll Ship Right to Your Door, Even if you Live out of Town: Wrong again, I live 5 minutes out of town and I had to meet the delivery guy at the bus station. I wouldn’t be upset about this, but my Recruiter promised me that he would make sure the products were delivered to my door.

8. 6-Figure Income: The average salary of a Quixtar IBO is $115 a month. You spend at least $180 a month getting your 20 points, so most members are in the hole $65 every month.

9. Success: This is the main beef I have with Quixtar. The success of the people at the top is dependant on the failure of the people at the bottom. Top level Quixtar members can make up to $150,000 a month, but the majority of people are losing up to $200 a month. That’s what keeps the system in perfect balance.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this read, if you’re looking for more info on the Quixtar “Opportunity” google Dateline Quixtar.
Thank you,

Amway Global - Comments On System Income From A Higher Level Pin?

Joe,

I believe that I have covered this on a couple occasions as an "Anonymous" poster but here again....

By the way, one of the things that gets glossed over, time after time on this site and others, is that, in many organizations the "System Income" is incorporated into the 6-4-2 at the open meetings. Although not specific, for various intangibles based on structure and balance. Amway has been trying to come up with a compensation plan that rivaled the systems bonus plans, in an futile effort to draw more loyalty to the corporation, rather than the teams that IBO's belong to.

Think of Teams in terms of Unions and Amway as the corporation. The Growth Incentive Bonuses, 20K Q12 and 150K & 500K Founder Diamond and Emerald Bonuses are efforts in that direction.

In my organization, and I will also remind you that in an earlier posting, that triggered a girl named Gina to start demanding to see P&L statements and Balance Sheets, that I knew of the system income at the outset and was determined to be earn the right through performance, to participate in the revenue sharing plan.

Breaks and bonuses based on tool flow begin at the Platinum level and go up to greater percentages at Sapphire, Emerald, Emerald with 4 & 5 Platinum legs and then Diamond. Function attendance bonuses begin at Emerald.

It is very possible and in my case true, that an IBO with a properly balanced and structured business will make considerably more in the revenue sharing plan through the team than trough Amway's bonuses. However with the new Amway bonuses, that is not as much of a certainty.

This is not the "big secret" that I believe that most bloggers think they are exposing like Jack Bauer at CTU. It's pretty well known. When the Dateline program hit the airwaves several years ago, I lost 2 people from it. both of those people were perpetual "Founders 65 PV'ers". Most everyone else was reaction was "Oh, we already knew that, because it's in the plan every week"

As I have said before also, the other thing that is ignored in this long running debate, is that every Platinum, Emerald or Diamond, started at ZERO and received no special inside favors to earn their way up the ladder. Totally opposite from corporate America and current state of the economy today.

Look, Amway has it flaws, many of them and the systems have theirs as well, but what doesn't? If you want to really do something constructive, why not focus on those that abuse their privilege while in the system, like the Cincinnati Emerald that had about 10 affairs and ripped downline off with bad business deals and owes more than 100 k to a family that he got to go into kiosk deals and a bridal shop. These are the people that need to be exposed.

May 28, 2009 7:11 AM

--------------------------------------------------------

Joe's commentary: Anonymous, thank you for what appears to be a reasonable and believeable answer. I understand that some systems talk about their system income with IBOs. My bigger issue is that the systems that do talk about system income are not specific about how you qualify and how much you qualify for at various levels. At least I do not know of an IBO who has a written compensation plan.

The even bigg issue, is that there is, as far as I know, zero evidence that the system actually works for anyone. Take my former LOS for example, WWDB. How many diamonds have emerged since I left Amway? A handful? But keep in mind that more than a handful have dropped out since I left as well. If they went backwards, what good is this wonderful system? Same goes for other LOS's in the US.

Amway Global - What Was Your Sales Volume?

I keep on seeing IBOs talk about Amway sales. Amway did about 8 billion dollars in sales for 2008 and last I heard, Amway sales for North America was about 1 billion dollars. That is great for Amway! Many IBOs boast about these sales and certainly, Amway made a handsome profit from these sales.

But IBOs are not Amway. An IBO is a "Independent Business Owner". Amway could do 100 billion dollars in sales but if you did not move volume, you get nothing. So for all the proud IBOs out there - what was your sales volume? Did you actually sell products to customers or did you simply self consume your 100 PV? If you self consumed your 100 PV, you are basically a customer and not a business. If you have donwline who copied your self consumption model, then your group is a bunch of customers of Amway and not business owners.

There are some uplines who teach self consumption, and they call these IBOs "prosumers". I believe if you are getting this advice, it is bad advice. A business needs customers to make a profit. If you are participating in a self consumption model, your ability to make a buck depends on your downline purchases, and your ability to continue to add downline. You are also running a product pyramid if you are running your business in this manner.

So I ask again of IBOs - what was your sales volume? That is really the only figure that matters.

Amway Global + The System = A Negative Sum Game

To explain my blogpost, I will explain a zero sum game. A zero sum game is like a poker game. Say that you have 5 poker players who each bring $100 to a poker game. At the end of the nite, one player may go home with the $500 and the rest broke, or they may all go home even with $100 or other variations. But in any scenario, the total sum of cash the players take home will equal $500. A negative sum game would be perhaps a poker game where each player for example, pays $10 to "the house" before playing, thus the game with 5 players would have the house taking in $50 and the players competing for the remaining $450. In this second scenario, it is possible for all five players to leave the game with less than the $100 they initally came to the game with.

In the Amway global business, the business is run much like a negative sum game with Amway and the AMO's being "the house". Except in this game, Amway and the AMOs get most of the money and fewer than 1% of all IBOs being the "winners". Amway benefits from the IBOs who are taught to consume their 100 PV which is about $300 a month in sale for Amway, and the AMOs make their money by selling motivational materials such as seminars and cds. In Amway's case, at least an IBO might be able to return a portion of their goods for a refund, or they may be able to sell or use their products. In the AMO's case, most IBOs do not succeed as a reult of the tools, and the tools are virtually worthless outside of Amway, despite the fact that IBOs claim the tools teach them valuable principles. This is evidenced by the tools being sold, literally for pennies on Ebay or Craig's List.

In virtually every group scenario you can illustrate, the group as a whole will suffer losses because their sales do not cover the cost of overhead, and do not even cover the cost of the IBO's personal use items. IBOs need their jobs to continue to fund their purchase of Amway products and system tools. It is very very rare that you will encounter an IBO who sells enough product to cover his/her expenses and this is evidenced by Amway's own numbers that less than 4% of good are sold to non IBOs.

My conclusion based on the evidence is that the Amway Opportunity is a negative sum game where IBOs and IBO's jobs make Amway and certain select AMO leaders wealthy while the IBO population lives in poverty while thinking they are successful.

Amway Global - Diamonds, Luxurious Lifestyle Or A Traveling Amway Salesman?

If you have attended a big Amway function put on by one of the Motivational Groups such as BWW, WWWDB, or N21, you probably saw video clip and/or pictures of diamonds living the good life. Waking up at noon, taking fabulous trips, retiring at the age of 30, fancy cars and suits, etc etc. These are all recruiting tools for the Amway leaders. Afterall, the Amway Global Opportunity would not sound quite as attractive for a diamond (or higher) to mention that their Amway business takes up 5o hours a week, that they don't have time to "hang out" with family and friends, or that they have a 30 year mortgage on their homes, and possibly lease or rent the fancy cars that you seem them drive up in at functions. Many IBOs simply assume that diamonds and above has inlimited money pouring in from the Amway corporation.

Based on the average diamond earning just under $150,000 a year, and the diamonds constantly having to travel to do functions and open meetings, as well as working a personal group and helping their platinums legs to maintain their qualifications, a diamond probably spends full time hours maintaining their Amway business. Additionally, there is a need to keep recruiting downline as IBOs quit every day. The moment you stop working, your group is likely to backslide. Even a minor scandle within the group can wipe out an entire leg.

So do diamonds actually live the lifestyle they portray at functions? It is my best guess that diamonds live a decent middle class lifestyle. I believe that a regular diamond, or perhaps higher, but without the founder's designation, probably lives life like a traveling Amway salesman. The only difference being that these folks sell dreams and hopes more so than Amway products. I would guess that contant traveling to and from various functions and meetings can get to be tiring and cumbersome. Also, when you are away from your home base, your personal group may suffer a bit. This can cause great stress if the diamond IBO is borderline on re-qualifying for their current level.

Also, my understanding is that much of a diamond's income comes in the form of an annual bonus, thus a diamond's monthly income may be relatively small, with a lump sum coming at the end of the Amway fiscal year in the form of a bonus.

Does the lifestyle of a traveling salesman appeal to you? If not, re-read this blog post and take a second look.

Amway Global - IBOFightback, Amway Enthusiast and Cyber Bully?

http://www.factnet.org/vbforum/showthread.php?p=319209

Personally, "ibofightback" would by crazy to step out from anonymity because the shear level of cyber-bullying you heap on anyone with an opposing opinion, simply is not worth it. Fortunately for some of us myself included, we easily see you for the angry, abusive, bully that you have become. Sticks and stones Dave, sticks and stones! The fact that you continue to throw poison, doesn't magically make anything you say right. For any reasonable reader, it just continues to make your position weaker!

Bruce

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http://www.backtype.com/anonymous/comment/13044777

Maybe you are unawar of this but your own beloved IBOFB was called a “cyberbully” by Beth Dornan on her Inside Quixtar blog because of disparaging things he posted about me.

--------------------------------------------------

http://amwayglobalinsider.opportunityzone.com/2008/01/15/Cyber-bullies-not-welcome-here.aspx

Amway Global - The 6-4-2 Plan - IBOFightback Shows How Clueless He Is Once Again

I recently wrote a post about how an platinum group, collectively loses money if they are on the system. I beliebe this is true of any group, especially if they are CORE IBOs. Here is the original post: http://thefactsabouttheamwayopportunity.blogspot.com/2009/05/amway-global-analysis-of-platinum-group.html

IBOFightback, (See links below) apparently is a discredited lower level IBO, much like the prolific "Tex". He has been known to lie and spin facts to make the Amway business opportunity look better. When I wrote the above listed post, I most certainly undertstood that an Amway group is fluid, meaning some IBOs sign up and do nothing, some sign up and do a little, and some sign up and work very hard. In any group, you will have a core group of IBOs who put forth the most effort and that is the gist of the post. So it is very likely that a platinum group has well over 100 to 150 IBOs, with some doing nothing, some doing little, and some working hard, with the hard working obviously comprising most of the PV.

But IBOFightback makes absolutely ridiculous comments which I will refute.

IBOFightback ”Because the 6-4-2 simplified model does not reflect a real business”

Joecool says: In what business model, franchise or other does a business show a simplified model that does not reflect a real business? If you were recruited to buy say a McDonald's franchise, would you ask for bonafide real financials or would you be persuaded to buy the franchise based on a "simplified model that does not reflect a real business"? Seems to me only a shyster would present such a model, and only a fool would jump into a business after seeing a presentation which has no basis in reality. (And yes, I was foolish enough to buy this at one time)

IBOFightback goes on to spin some more: "JoeCool here is assuming that every single IBO in a Platinum group is working (and spending) hard building a business"

Joecool says: I fully understand that some IBOs do nothing or little and said so in my comments. It is the recruiting IBOs showing the plan who are showing the "6-4-2 simplified model (which) does not reflect a real business" who are assuming that every single IBO in a platinum group is working and building a business. If it's wrong to assume that every single IBO is building a business and working, why is it shown as your business model? Seems deceptive and hypocritical to me.

So in closing folks, once again it is IBOFightback and other IBOs who are their own worst enemies. They come up with a ridiculous argument once again to try and spin and deflect the obvious truth. That the 6-4-2 or 9-4-2 is a ridiculous way to present the business as in IBOFighback's own words, "Because the 6-4-2 simplified model does not reflect a real business".

My question, why don't IBOs use a real life example to show a prospect? Is the truth embarrassing? Or do they purposely try to deceive unsuspecting prospects by showing them a "6-4-2 simplified model (which) does not reflect a real business"? When the plan is shown, I've have never heard of the presenter qualifying the plan as such.


http://www.amquix.info/ibofightback_lying.html

http://www.amquix.info/insider_revealed.html

Amway Global - Producing Millionaires?

One thing I occasionally hear from fired up IBOs is that Amway works and that Amway has produced more millionaires than any other company or system. Now I am sure over the years, Amway has certainly produced some millionaires. Most notably, the owners of Amway who were listed as billionaires. However, Amway or IBOs wouldn't know how many millionaires were made as a result of the Amway business income, unless these millionaires were giving their financial statements to Amway. I don't believe that is happening. It is far more likely that this is another "myth" taught by some uplines as an enticement to join the business.

Amway's own numbers tell a different story. The average IBO earns $115 a month and the average diamond earns about $150,000. But this alone is insufficient to determine whether or not someone is a millionaire. Also, does the IBO have other bsuiness interests and/or a job? The income from the tools business is mostly a secret thus we cannot make any firm conclusions except to say that there is the possibility that the tools income has likely produced some millionaires. But in my opinion, the amount of millionaires produced as a direct result of being an IBO or an IBO leader is insignificant in the general population of the US.

I have linked an analysis below. Although a bit dated, I do not see anything of significance that would lead me to a different conclusion. If anything, there are fewer millionaire today because of the recent economic meltdown and the downturn of the stock market. But I would imagine that these issue may have affected Amway related millionaires as well.

Link: http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/otherside/tosp16.htm

"How many millionaires are there in Amway? No one really knows. When asked, many Amway distributor will tell you that Amway has produced more millionaires than any other type of business...but cannot tell you how many millionaires have been created. In my mind, that creates a credibility problem. How can they know they've created more millionaires if they don't know the actual numbers?"

Amway Global - Diamond Wealth Is An Illusion?

One of the things I noticed after walking away from the business was how IBOs and higher pins try to create an illusion of wealth. They wear suits to all of their meetings, act as if they are already successful in Amway, as if acting the part will make it so. Some IBOs are taught to fake this success, or "fake it till you make it". I suppose this is taught so prospects will be enticed into looking at the business or possibly joining because they see success and want a piece of the action.

But as time passes, more and more evidence has become available which shows that the diamond level may not be all it's promoted to be. There are stories of diamonds quitting the business, diamonds fighting and suing each other over tools income, and diamonds having homes foreclosed or going bankrupt. A book written by Ruth Carter about a diamond who was her former employer showed a diamond with a gross income of over a million dollars, yet this diamond apparently was broke, living in debt but continuing to portray success while on stage.

What many starry eyed IBOs and prospects see on stage are pictures of the easy life, early retirement, no job, fancy cars and homes, fancy vacations and exclusive things in life. All of these can be achieved by joining Amway and going diamond right? Amway reports that the average diamond earns less than $150,000 and that is before taxes and business expenses. When you sit down with a calculator, it is easy to see that it is virually impossible for most diamonds to achieve what they portray. Amway apologists will claim that their groups don't do this, but basically, the function that is currently called "winter conference" used to be called "dream nite" where the theme was the lavish goodies that diamonds have, and you can have, if only you will build the business.

So why do the diamonds put on this show? Simple, because it's a recruiting tool. People won't want to join if you tell them to work hard, achieve diamond and live a middle class lifestyle. Unfortunately, I believe that a diamond income will mostly provide a middle class lifestyle and not that of a jetsetter. Do the math and it's very clear. Also, one should note that much of a diamond's $150,000 income is in the form of a one time annual bonus, thus a diamond's monthly income might be quite low. Many people don't know this and believe the hype they see on stage.

This blog and this post is to clear up some of the hype and myths behind a diamond lifestyle.

Amway Global - Analysis Of A Platinum Group

Many people who are in Amway, or were in Amway at one time is very likely to have seen the 6-4-2 plan. I understand some modifications may have been made in certain groups but the basic premise of this post will still hold true. An IBO who sponsors 6 who sponsor 4 who sponsor 2 would have a group of 78 IBOs. All told, this group would allow the platinum to earn about $47,000 (before expenses).

The plan assumes that IBOs all move 100 PV. 100 PV costs about $300, thus each month, this group would spend $23,400, or $280,800 annualized. Amway takes in the $23,400 in sales and returns about 33% in bonuses, thus the bonus on $23,400 is
$7722, or $92,664 annualized. These bonuses are returned to the IBOs based on their volume with IBOs receiving various amounts based on their level. The majority of IBOs will receive $9 or $10 and a select few will make some significant money.

Now let's say this same group purchases tools such as standing order, KATE, functions and other system materials. Lets say the average business building IBO spend on average $200 a month on tools. This same group would spend $15,600 a month on tools, or $178,200 a year. NONE of this money is returned to the IBOs, thus somewhere upline keeps ALL of the profit on the tools.

Thus this group spends $23,400 a month on product and $15,600 on tools. That is a total of $39,000 a month a group of IBOs spends on products and tools. Annualized, this same group spends $468,000 on product and tools.

Amway gives back about $7722 a month in bonuses or $92,664 a year in bonuses and the LOS such as WWDB, BWW, or Network 21 gives back zero to the IBOs.

Thus a platinum business spends $39,000 a month to earn $7722, or annualized, spends $468,000 to earn $92,664.

Simple math CLEARLY shows that only a few can receive any significant bonus. Guess what? If this bonus money were divided evenly, it would result in each IBO receiving $99 each, per month. Amway reports the average active IBO earning about $115 a month. There is a minor variance, but this post clearly shows that Amway groups as a whole, cannot collectively profit unless many products are sold to people who are not IBOs.

Some if not most IBOs are taught to "buy from themselves".

Amway Global - Who Benefits From Being CORE?

One thing that many IBOs are taught by upline is to be CORE. CORE is a set of steps designed to make you a successful IBO. I reviewed the steps and I believe that the steps of CORE are far more beneficial to upline than to the IBO himself/herself.

CORE:
1 - Show the Plan
2 - Retail the Products
3 - Tapes
4 - Books
5- Functions
6 - Accountability
7 - Counsel with Upline (Be teachable!)
8 - Buy 100% of your own products
9 – Communikate

Show the plan. Recruitment. This may benefit an IBO, but it also benefits upline more, until an IBO is able to reach higher levels of the business. Keep in mind that the poor retention rate makes this a non stop activity, provided an IBO can even find people to see the plan.

Retail. This may benefit an IBO, but for some reason, some groups are taught not to sell but to self consume products. Also, high AMway prices make this very difficult when a similar or same product can be purchased at a local store for less.

Tapes, books and functions. These all benefit upline financially. Some IBOs claim they learn from these activities but their correlation with finanical success is illusory at best.

Counsel with upline and be teachable. This is where upline outs an IBO on the hook. You are supposed to be teachable and do what upline advises. Yet at the same time, failure is attributed to the IBO and not the upline's advice. In counseling sessions, IBOs may be told to "submit" to upline, or check your ego at the door.

Product loyalty. Buy 100% of your own products. Seems sensible except an IBO doesn't make any products. And IBO is basically a distributor, or middle man and product loyalty to non Amway products makes little sense.

Communikate. A voicemail system. While this may be handy, I find it odd that IBOs do not use the Amway voicemail system which would net an IBO some PV/BV. This is also a big financial benefit to someone in your upline and the IBO is in conflict with product loyalty no? Seems as though you can be in conflict with upline teaching, as long as upline benefits financially by the conflict, as in Communikate.

Amway Global - Amway and Amway Motivational Organizations – A Symbiotic Relationship?

A symbiotic relationship is basically one where two parties receive mutual benefits from each other. It happens a lot on nature. For example, if you’re ever seen national geographic or discovery channel, big sharks often have pilot fish attached to them. The pilot fish eats parasites off the shark, and in return the shark provides the pilot fish protection from other predators.

It is my opinion that Amway and the Amway Motivational Organizations (AMOs) have this type of relationship. I believe that the AMOs such as WWDB, BWW, N21 have been operating with little to no intervention by Amway corporation. There are countless stories of misrepresentations and outright lies told by some of these AMO leaders which has resulted in financial losses by IBOs which may be billions of dollars. Yes, Amway corporation started an accreditation program, but it has no teeth. Even some avid Amway supporters agree that accreditation was/is a joke.

Amway apparently ignores reports of upline leaders teaching unethical and bad business practices, but some of these practices are beneficial to Amway, such as the defacto 100 PV requirement for IBOs, and well as the continual recruitment of new IBOs. These practices by AMOS keep Amway’s sales fairly consistent and keeps Amway profitable. Amway has developed a spotty reputation in North America, because of the antics of IBOs on the recruiting trail. You don’t hear any complaints about IBOs trying to sell products. The complaints are about recruiting practices. People tricked into attending meetings for example.

Amway’s defense is that they cannot control the actions of independent business owners. While this is true to some degree, much of the problems can be traced upline. IBOs didn’t invent the zany anctics such as Amway has no connection with Quixtar, or Perfect water, or other lies about the tools systems. Downline are taught many of these things by upline leaders. I will admit that nobody expects Amway to infiltrate all IBO meetings, but certainly they are capable and can afford to monitor some of these meetings.

Unless something is done to curb abuses, eventually with information so easily accessible, Amway will struggle in North America. It appears to be evident already as I have read about functions being downsized to smaller venues. Some AMO leaders are also apparently falling into financial difficulties. Is the (legal) pyramid crumbling?

Amway Global - Denial Is Not A River In Egypt!

I've read countless accounts of IBOs in denial about their Amway business. For the record, denial is not a river in Egypt. IBOs are not totally at fault though. Upline leaders teach this sort of stuff. IBOs are taught to fake success, or translated, IBOs are taught to mislead prospects into thinking they are successful so they may be enticed to see the plan or register as an IBO.

I believe it is partly why IBOs wear business attire to all of their meetings. You want to portray something that is not. Just as an actor appears on a movie set, IBOs have a need to appear as important businessmen. IBOs make interesting claims as well. I recently engaged an IBO who insisted that his upline swore to him that the Amway business is hard hard work but in the same breath, he tells me that he will be retired by the age of 30 and laughing all the way to the bank while I continue to work when I retire. ?????

IBOs also are in denial about their upline's success. They think that when you go diamond, money falls out of the sky and you have so much that you will purchase mansions and jets in cash. They see a copy of a check and think that their upline diamonds receive these checks every other day. The reality is that a diamond may have a very modest monthly income and in fact, the one large check might be an annual bonus which must be budgeted throughout the entire year!

IBOs and prospects should seriously consider what I am writing here on this post. Look at your own business. Are you actually building volume and downline consistently? If you are not, why not? If you are not, when will it get better? Is your name list still strong after sponsoring new people? If not, your business will be even harder to build than it is now.

Are you actually making a profit or not? Are things likely to get better? Are you taught to ignore facts? Look at yourself objectively and remember that denial is not a river running through the desert!

Amway Global - True IBO Success!

Success. It's something that is talked about quite often in the IBO world. But what is success? Is it going diamond, or is it going platinum? Or is going broke a success? IBOs who drop in to read this article might wonder how going broke can be seen as success. The answer to that depends on what side of the table you are sitting on. If you are profitng from the sale of cds, books, voicemail and seminars, it is likely that you are successful!

But the majority of IBOs who register see the plan. Many drop out without doing anything, but the IBOs that put in an earnest effort are the ones who usually end up getting blindsided by the tools expenses. These are the IBOs who show the plan, get on standing order, get the voicemail, and attend functions. As long as a core group of these IBOs exist, the diamonds are able to fund their lifestyles. Now these core groups have interchangeable IBOs, meaning there will be IBOs who drop out frequently, thus they must be replaced. This is why there is so much emphasis on recruiting and showing the plan, to maintain the core group.

All you need to do is sit down with a pencil and a sheet of paper and you can figure out how much it costs a diamond to live his or her lifestyle. Then figure out how much a diamond actually earns versus the expneses associated with the business. You obviously won't get an exact number, but you can get a pretty good idea. It became obvious to me that most diamonds probably live off tool monies and Amway income is a side thought.

For this reason, a diamond will tell anyone that they are successful. You show up at a meeting or function, you will be called "winners" who are succeeding. IBOs who stay in for years but never sponsor anyone is "successful". IBOs who listen to cds and read books and "awesome". True IBO success may be "not quitting". But if you sit down and really think about what I have written here, one can conclude that participating in the "system" generates success, but unfortunately, that success is not the IBO's, but the upline diamond's.

Amway Global - Do IBO Leaders Run Their LOS Like The Mafia?

http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/amwayblakeyreport.htm

The Amway business has a "family" structure parallel to that found in organized crime. With respect to both organizations, the family orientation is twofold. First, every participant;in the business is considered a member of a "family," led by a particular individual at the top of a chain of command. Second, the business stresses involvement by participant's family members, such that wives and children are drawn into the business to perpetuate their family influence over time. Family dynasties result that may be passed from generation to generation.

The major Amway families do not, in most cases, have a formal legal relationship among each other. All distributors must enter into a distributorship agreement with Amway Corporation to recruit new distributors and sell Amway products and services, but Amway asserts that distributors are independent contractors, involved in their own businesses. Moreover, with regard to the tools business, there appears to be no legal relationship whatsoever between Amway Corporation and the major families - each family has its own tools program that it runs independently of Amway Corporation

The Mafia uses "omerta" and violence for control. Amway has other methods, with similar effect. Distributors must always honor their upline. No negative talk or action is permissible. A distributor who steps out of line is punished. Punishment may start off with being vilified by uplines as a "loser," as "negative," or as "brain-dead" which are typical Amway appelations for anyone who does not believe in the Amway system and the riches that allegedly flow from it. More serious offenders may be dealt with by having portions of their business taken away - e.g. they can no longer appear at rallies, or downline distributors are "re-routed." There are also reports of violence against those who attempt to take action against Amway.

Amway Global - The Facts Don't Matter!

I recently encountered on another blog, as IBO, supposedly at a significant level, who is criticizing the blog author. This IBO says the blog author's recollection of his experience in a function is not valid because the function was not run exactly as she remembers. This is despite the fact that functions are run all over the country and by different diamonds and different lines of sponsorship. These same IBOs get their underwear in a knot if someone says, in a broad generalization, that certain things happen in functions, implying that something might be taught in all groups, in all functions. Well, we know that is unlikely, but by the same token, to claim that certain things are never taught in all functions is not an accurate statement either.

So where am I going with this post? Ironically, I will use the same logic as some upline leaders. The facts don't matter. What's that you say? Yes, the facts don't matter - but not in the same context as some upline leaders.

My point is that whether an upline leader runs a functions a certain way, it matters not, most IBOs will not make money. If an upline leader teaches selling, most IBOs won't make money. If an upline leader teaches buy from yourself, most IBOs won't make money. If an upline leader doesn't push tools hard on their downline, most IBOs won't make money. Amway's numbers confirm this assertion. $115 a month average income (Which disregards IBOs who do nothing), less than 4% of sales are to non IBOs. No matter what your upline teaches you, you are likely to suffer financial losses if you are on the "syatem".

So there you have it folks, the facts don't matter. If you join the Amway Global opportunity and purchase system tools, the facts don't matter, you will likely lose money.

Amway Global - Upline Leaders Held To Higher Standards?

In a recent discussion on another blog, I mentioned that Amway upline leaders are held to a higher standard than the rest of the IBO population. It is fair and it is also because the upline leaders put themselves in that position. Let me explain.

What would you think if the head Pastor of your church stood on the pulpit preaching the good word and talking about morals and then you see him twice a week sitting in a bar getting drunk and speeing through town in his car? Yes, he is human, but he is a leader of the congregation and the people hold him to a higher standard. It's not to say that a Head Pastor is "sinless", never is tempted to sin, or never makes mistakes, but certainly, you would not expect someone in this position to get divorced, or be drunk in public, or speeding around town. Again, nobody is saying the Pastor is perfect, but you expect more from him than a casual attender. Agreed?

So a diamond or higher upline leader who says Amway saves marriages, we pay for homes in cash, financial integrity, personal responsibility, etc. These things are taught in seminars and on cds and tapes, and IBOs are advised to read personal growth types of books. Thus when a diamond leader divorces or has a home foreclosed, it probably raises eyebrows and questions from the downline faithful. These leaders are looked up to and edified, and rarely ever questioned. The diamond leaders teach these virtues and thus, they should be held accountable to their downline.

Are they perfect and expected to never make mistakes? No, but when they do make a mistake, do diamond leaders apologize and admit their errors or do they concoct stories, lies and other excuses to cover them up? Do they simply ignore it and act like nothing has happened? That is the issue and what appears to happen all to often. IBOs should look at these issues with a critical eye, especially if taking upline advice to heart.