The Truth About The Amway Global Opportunity

Why Amway IBOs Fail?

2012-01-29T01:04:00.000-08:00

It is not a big 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.

More Amway Commentary?

2011-12-27T09:33:00.001-08:00

Joanna says:
27th December, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Hi All,

I started reading this blog back in 2009 I think. I was searching the web for information about AMWAY because a close friend of mine had become involved and was pressuring me to join too.

In those past years not one person in her group has made any money from AMWAY. But they have a lost a lot of important things that can’t be counted, friendship and self-respect. My friend was no idiot and she wasn’t lazy. She put everything into it. For nothing!

The only people who make money in AMWAY are the people who sell the CD’s, Books and Functions.

I think this will be my last post here. My friend has quit, she is my friend again and AMWAY is in the past.

I hope that anyone considering of going into this so called “buisness” because someone promised them “financial freedom” think really really hard. If it worked why can’t they say “I am an IBO with AMWAY and I am rich and personally gaurantee that you will rich be too”

Results are all that matters and all I saw were a lot of unhappy people pretending that were doing great when the opposite was true.

Amway Tax testimonial

2011-12-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.quatloos.com/Q-Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=694

"I met with a prospective tax client a few years ago. Combined, they both made pretty good money but, upon reviewing their prior returns, I noticed they also had a Schedule C that showed $6k-$7k loss year after year (about 7 years in total). Their prior preparer had warned them about the hobby loss rules but they had insisted they had a profit motive because they were eventually going to be making lots of money. I asked if this was Quixtar. They said "yes" and how did I know that. I told them the large losses year after year were a good sign. They didn't seem to get it. While the IRS hadn't noticed their losses (yet), they state had. While, the state wasn't denying the losses, it was asking them to review the hobby loss rules. I told them that they needed to quit this and they seemed offended. I told them where the people at the top really made their money (the tools) and they wouldn't believe me. They claimed that "no one makes money on the tools". They were well brainwashed. They had an canned answer for every comment I made. The cultlike brainwashing had done its job. Needless to say, I lost them as a client but I couldn't let them go on every year like this without saying something and besides, it was approaching April 15th and they were really really disorganized.

Earlier this year, I did talk our receptionist out of Quixtar. She is only 22 and had never heard of Quixtar or even Amway for that matter. I asked her if her sponsor was trying to get her to go to seminar. She said "yes". Apparently, there was one the next weekend that she "had to be at" (according to him) and it was about 500 miles away. He and a few of his prospects were going to roadtrip. She called him and quit. Well, at least I saved one.

The higher ups at Quixtar really don't want their downline to be successful. There is so much money made on those seminars that, if the downlines started actually being successful, they would stop coming."

Former Amway IBO Testimony?

2011-11-29T16:42:00.001-08:00

I was approached to join Amway in January 2003. At the time all the talk of ‘financial freedom’, ‘sacking my boss’ and ‘throwing away my alarm clock’ was just what i wanted to hear. The man who showed me the business plan referred to the business as ‘Y2K’ and made no mention of Amway. I went home with my head full of dreams about fancy cars, yachts, private jets and all the material things in life. I signed up the next day and within a couple of weeks had signed up most of my family. The Monday night meetings became a meeting point for my family and friends; I signed them all up!

For the next three years, i effectively worked two jobs. During the day i worked my usual job as a real estate agent and then at nights I went to meetings, cold called potential prospects and showed the plan to potential clients. I dropped introductional tapes, books and then cd’s all over the city. I bought products that I still havent used just to make up my monthly quota of points. When i was getting close to the 21% bonus level for the first time, i was strongly encouraged by my upline to buy an air filtering machine, using approximately $2,000 of money that i didnt really have, just to hit this target.

This pattern continued for three years and i really didnt advance in the business. Slowly my family and downline drifted out of the business, as success eluded them. My wife got sick and tired of showing the plan and going to endless meetings, all for little result. It put a serious strain on our marriage. When i started to falter, my upline would arrange a ‘dream session’ and i would go hard again for another three months or so. Finally, i missed a Monday night meeting. There was an outcry the next day, with all of my upline ringing me to try and remotivate me. By then, in about April 2006, I had had enough.

During my time in ‘the business’ (as it is referred to) i spent at least $10,000 on mostly worthless junk. I accumulated thousands of tapes, cd’s, motivational books and attended hundreds of meetings, seminars and dream nights. I also showed the plan to hundreds of prospective clients. The largest monthly cheque i ever received was about $160, most were a lot smaller than that. I never made a profit. Every month i spent more than i earned.

Five years after i left the business and all of my downline and a lot of my upline have left Amway. Some diehards are still going and good luck to them. God knows how they keep going.

Looking back, I was totally sold on the idea of being a multi-millionaire and having all of the material things in life. I was convinced that Amway was going to provide that. I believed the stories of fantastic wealth derived from short periods in the business, but never directly saw any evidence of it. The most successful couple that we saw have now been in the business for over 18 years and are still not diamonds. I am told that they are still out showing the plan and going to meetings after nearly two decades since first joining. They must have the strenth of Hercules and the patience of Job. Good luck to them.

Since leaving the business I have re-built most of the relationships that were damaged by my over zealous recruiting attempts. I now enjoy just having one job and being able to go home at night and just watch tv on the couch or relax with friends. No meetings to attend, no book of the month to read, no plans to show and no downline to worry about and try to keep motivated. One thing i do have though is a whole garage full of old cleaning products……

Amway Myth - IBOs Sign Up Just To Buy Products?

2011-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

One of the myths perpetuated by IBOFightback aka David Steadson is that a lot of IBOs only sign up with Amway and they exclusively buy Amway products with no intention of building the business. Therefore, the poor results of Amway business owners are actually much better because as IBOFB seemingly claims ad nauseum, that these folks are a success because all they want is the ability to buy products. IBOfightback recently mentioned this on another blog. Of course that makes me question IBOFB's truthfulness when in the past, he said he was making efforts to build his business again. Secondly, it makes me wonder why he has decided to self proclaim himself as Amway's savior when he in fact is only involved as a customer.

How would anyone actually know why someone signed up for Amway? If most sign up and "do nothing" as steadson claims, what about the rest? Even if you were to analyze the business opportunity based on "business building" IBOs, the rate of success is a fraction of 1%, using platinum as the target. The Amway compensation plan is designed that way. In the
6-4-2 plan, which is commonly used at open meeting or at home board plans, shows a group of 79 IBOs, all serious enough to move 100 PV. Well, there's 1 platinum in the bunch and lost of lower level IBOs. I know there aren't any real groups organized like the 6-4-2, but if these IBOs were all on the tools system (functions, cds, etc), then most of these IBOs would lose money. The platinum would likely be the only one with a net profit if these were all "serious" and "dedicated" IBOs. Let's qualify that serious and dedicated is someone who attends all functions and meetings, included major functions, is on standing order, voicemail, book of the month, and invests in other related training materials.

I know there are some people who are IBOs who stopped building the business but remain as customers. But there folks are likely a small percentage of the IBO sales force. This can be confirmed by the attrition rate that Amway has. While nobody can know an exact figure, simple math and common sense would indicate that someone who can get similar products for a fraction of the price would likely abandon their Amway loyalties in favor of WalMart. If you can't see that, you still have soap in your eyes.

Amway Is Growing - You Heard Joecool Say It!

2011-11-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our friend Shaun over at WWDB Expeditions Of Truth posted a new article about Amway growth: http://expeditionoftruths.com/2011/11/08/updated-amway-statsfed-presented/

Some of the details:

Figured I’d post a few slides shown by Amway at our recent FED conference. There are some naysayers out there saying business is slowing down, or business isn’t growing in North America, however here are some stats from the horses mouth as it were showing otherwise.

■New IBO Applications +12%
■PV per Engaged IBOs +8% (I’ll assume engaged = active)
■New IBO PV +7%
■$50 Fast Track +30% (Fast Track program is now a full time program and has expanded)
■First year renewal rates were +2%
■Highest qualification growth rate for the US since 2003

********************************

Joecool's commentary: Okay, so I am no longer of the opinion that North America Amway is shrinking. What I find a bit odd is that Amway stopped reporting North American sales seperately from Global sales (Because Amway was shrinking in North America???) But what do these figures mean?

Does it mean that today, IBOs register and do something? Or do most people still sign up with the vast majority "doing nothing"? Are IBOs more profitable? Not necessarily. I read recently that the "average IBO income" increased, but Amway did not clearly delineate how they arrived at the number. Maybe they just discounted more "inactive" types of IBOs in their calculation? Maybe they actually paid out more bonuses? However with their compensation plan remaining the same, I would venture a guess that the rate of IBOs going platinum is still a fraction of 1% which makes Amway at best, a questionable business venture. Maybe the Amway sales increase is simply from their significantly raised prices on products and shipping?

So Amway is growing. It's great for Amway and the DeVos and Van Andel families. How does that translate for IBOs? Are you making more than $10 a month? Have you sold products for a profit? Have you made net profits or are you reinvesting all your bonus and more to attend functions and buy tools? Amway might be growing but that doesn't do anything to suggest that IBOs as a whole are better off.

WWDB Expeditions Of Truth - Congratulations To Shaun, Latest Amway Retiree?

2011-10-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Looks like our friend Shaun will be retiring next month. See the comments. Congratulations Shaun!

http://expeditionoftruths.com/2010/08/30/our-next-goal-my-freedom/

Our Next Goal – My Freedom
Posted by Shaun

Today Lindsay experienced her first Monday where she didn’t have to go into work for money. She was pretty pumped to not have to wake up to the alarm clock. She really did plan her day today and had a great day doing the things she loved and starting the P90X program. I’m looking forward to the nutrition portion and some of the fitness part. I plan on doing some more running along side Lindsay’s getting into shape. A great side benefit of her freedom!

So what’s next? My Freedom, I cannot wait to join my wife so that both of us do not have to wake up to some stupid alarm clock. It’s also I think when people will actually look at us and take us serious that you can actually be successful in this business. I would never ever put our family in jeopardy and when the time comes to make that decision to step away from my job you better believe I’ll be counselling, thinking about it and making my own decision that’s best for our family. It will be a great decision and one we plan on making Late Fall next year. We will be working hard towards that and 2011 will be an amazing amazing year.

I can vividly imagine my freedom day right down to the last details. What’s awesome about that is we will have at least one child by then and I’ll also be home to spend time with him/her which is one of my biggest goals is to be around with my kids and see every moment of their lives. Its a huge goal and not one many parents can say and it’s worth fighting for. I’ve seen a glimpse of that kind of family with Kyle and Erron where Kyle is a professor for the UofS and he gets a lot of time off because of the school season. He is an amazing family man and is one father I look up to outside of my family. I think everyone could learn a few things from the Andersons. So kudo’s to you guys for raising the family you do.

I want to have that great family life, like I said it’s important to me, it’s worth the fight and we will make it happen. Step 1 was to get Lindsay free, and we’ve been able to do that with this business and the association. Step 2 is to get me free so that we can be together and raise an awesome family.

Amway Updates The Average IBO Income ?

2011-10-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

IBOFightback and company are celebrating because Amway reported that their North American sales are up and that Amway is apparently growing the the US and Canada. While that is certainly nice for Amway, what does that mean for the rank and file IBOs? Actually, it means nothing in the big picture of things. Oh, and as a side note, Amway has updated their average income statistic. Amway reports that the averahe income of an active IBO is now $202 a month.

While $202 is a nice increase from the previously reported $115 a month income that Amway reported in 2001, the corporation still doesn't give enough information for people to accurately decipher what the number actually means. The lower tier IBOs (i.e. 100 PV) still earns about $10 a month for their efforts. IBOs on the system and below 1000 PV are still very likely suffering net losses if they are attending functions and buying the other system materials.

Amway also reported that there were 1222 new platinums. While that may seem impressive, keep in mind that is a platinum is approximately 1 in 200 IBOs, then the emergence of more platinums just means there are more low tier IBOs who are likely losing money. The compensation plan makes everything very predictable. If about one half of one percent of people are platinums, even if the whole world signed up for Amway, the number of platinums would likely be - one half of one percent.

While the alleged growth might be nice for Amway the corporation, it doesn't mean that the rank and file IBOs are more profitable. All it means is that the Amway apologists have something nice to talk about, even if they may not have gotten any positive benefit out of it.

Amway Ruined Me?

2011-10-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/will-amway-make-you-annoying/

■Shekhar on October 8th, 2011 7:59 pm
My marriage has ended. I have no more savings. My rooms are full of products I cannot use. I am in financial ruin and I have no money to retire with.

Amway has ruined me. I should have listened. I was so sure this would work out.

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

What say you IBOFightback? You support a business where this kind of testimonial is common and then you make it worse by saying people like this didn't work hard enough or didn't follow upline instructions carefully. Come on IBOFightback, get out of your rathole and explain why this guy didn't make it. I dare you. *crickets chirping*

Fake Wealth?

2011-10-06T16:08:00.001-07:00

http://www.rgj.com/article/20111004/NEWS13/111004010/Infomercial-pitchman-Don-Lapre-commits-suicide-Arizona-jail

PHOENIX -- U.S. Marshals said Donald Lapre, a Phoenix-based infomercial pitchman, was found dead in his cell Sunday at a federal-contract facility in Florence, Ariz.

Lapre was being held on fraud charges linked to his vitamin-selling business. He was arrested in Tempe earlier this year.

Lapre was found about 8:30 a.m., unresponsive in an apparent suicide, said Matt Hershey, supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal.

Officials refused to say which Florence facility Lapre was in and did not immediately know if he was alone in his housing cell.

Prison officials gave lifesaving measures until Florence police and paramedics arrived, said Hershey.

Lapre was wanted by law enforcement after he failed to appear at his U.S. District Court arraignment in June on 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, promotional money laundering and transactional money laundering. A federal grand jury indicted Lapre on fraud-related charges for promoting his vitamin-selling business, Greatest Vitamin in the World of Phoenix. The indictments alleged that the business signed up 226,794 people who were promised lucrative commission checks for selling vitamins and recruiting others to the business.

Customers and investors spent nearly $51.8 million, but only 5,000 victims were paid about $6.4 million in commission, according to a statement released in June by the U.S. Department of Justice. Lapre collected at least $2.2 million from the business from 2004 to 2007.

Officials did not detail how Lapre may have killed himself, and said they likely would not release the name of the facility in which he was held.

Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice stated Lapre may have suffered from anxiety and depression and warned that he may have had suicidal thoughts.

"We are not yet releasing how he might have injured himself. More likely tomorrow there will be more information," said Hershey.

Lapre is perhaps best know for his informercials urging people to buy his "Making Money" package and get rich by placing tiny classified ads in national newspapers. The informercials became such a pop culture fixture that they were once spoofed on "Saturday Night Live."

BS On "Truth About Amway"?

2011-09-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

I call BS and a friend of mine who is a dentist confirmed my thoughts:

http://www.thetruthaboutamway.com/amway-myth-if-the-products-are-so-good-why-do-so-few-new-ibos-renew/comment-page-1/#comment-7121

ibofightback
Aug 3rd, 2010 at 09:43
Sounds like nothing more than a coincidence to me. I’ve had more than one person tell me their dentist has commented on how much better their teeth are after swapping to glister.

Reply
xs energy rocks
Feb 27th, 2011 at 18:41
I agree, many people that I have asked to try glister have loved it. They tell me stories how their dentist can really see a difference in their teeth.

Reply

Amway Meetings?

2011-09-12T11:06:00.001-07:00

A recent comment:

Comment:
Here is my experience with amway. I got involved with it because of a very close friend of mine. I went to several of the meetings, watched people draw circles, and was promised that I could make a truckload of money. (Their words, not mine).

I went to two "seminars". The first time, just before the seminar started, I went to find a restroom. A man standing in front of the restroom door asked me in a loud and unfriendly voice what I was doing there. I told him I needed to used the restroom. He answered, again loudly, for me to hurry it up.

The seminar felt like a revival meeting gone bad. They played uplifting (cheesy) songs and did a lot of whooping and hollering. The same dumbass who yelled at me before the meeting told everyone in the audience that he loved everyone there. To top it all off, the ONLY refreshments at the end of the seminar was water. Nothing else. Nothing else from the nouveau riche and big spenders.

The other time was at a community center. The speaker was extremely boring. And yet, the promoters made this seminar sound like I was going to have an audience with the Pope. The wife of the boring speaker also got up and said, and I quote: "I don't know how many of you are Christians, but I really prayed a lot about this." Here I was, the only Jew in the audience and she made it seem that only her lot had the monopoly on prayer.

As I have low blood sugar, I went to find a drink. I found a soda machine, but it was blocked by a woman who told me that the machine would make too much noise and interrupt the meeting. I told her that I pitied the poor schmuck who would deny me a drink, and I put my money in the machine anyway. I immediately left.

My friend would often give me lists of books and let me borrow tapes. The books were pedestrian at best and the tapes - at $5.00 each - were of the poorest quality. I listened to an voice mail from "Dexter Yeager" the former beer truck driver who made it big as an "amway distributor". I may as well have listened to Tony Soprano.

So, what is MY dream? I will be no one's foot soldier ever again.

Straight Up Amway Comment?

2011-09-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

(Emphasis mine)

27.I want to reference comments 7 and 8 previously, as they seem to be the culmination of an interesting exchange between the reasonably informed and articulate of both camps. (We can very safely ignore the drooling and implanted newbie-sentiments of currently indoctrinated cult members posting on this site in the interests of balance and lucidity)
ibofightback, how can you face yourself in the mirror each day? Are you partaking in a mental excercise where you gain sick satisfaction from countervailing logic and arguing that black is white in order to demonstrate some half arsed, twisted, academic/intellectual superiority? Or do you have too much to lose NOT to adopt a defensive stance towards the patently indefensible?

I do actually have some retrospective knowledge and valuable input, having been involved in the early 90′s thankfully to a limited extent, but long enough to peel back the wafer-thin, highly polished veneer to reveal the rank, stinking underbelly of the AMO’s (Amway Motivational Organisations) and the “mechanics” of this finely-honed bait and switch deception. I reached my conclusions 20 years ago, and they are totally consistent with the views of antoverlord. The only thing that astonishes me is that this monumental, actually evil and truly inhuman SCAM/CULT is still extant in 2010, given the overwhelming and compelling evidence that exists to inform and enlighten. Start the ball rolling with “Merchants of Deception” by Eric Scheibeler by all means…

To continue (given the wearisome reality that it is a near impossible task to raise a congent argument to offset the bovine, obdurate and obtuse spoon-fed ignorance as exhibited and recycled by the assimilatees within this cult

FACT Almost everyone in Amway loses a great deal in terms of life-energy, time better spent, money (depending on how long they stick with it before wising-up) and self respect. The percentages are a matter of record and these people cannot be generalised as losers.

FACT In terms of the sum total of human misery, disilliusionment and loss Amway is (probably) the vilest organisation blighting the face of the planet, effectively sanctioning the activities of the Motivational-Tool toting kingpin IBO thieves, whilst distancing themselves from direct involvement. The dynamics of this decades-long deception are a fascinating study in itself. How many BILLION man-hours have been wasted, and how many BILLION useless miles driven merely to increase the throughput of overpriced GUNK to the obscene enrichment of a handful of truly wicked,greedy and manipulative individuals? I have heard “successful” Diamonds BRAG about driving 90,000 miles a year to SHOW THE PLAN. Leaving aside the environmental impact, within a year or so the income dried up as the attrition rate (never discussed) followed the laws of mathematics to the inevitable conclusion. Yes Guys and Gals, the power of duplication can actually be slowed and reversed…and a damm site quicker than it takes to build.

Go figure, as they say.

Comment by Steve H. | February 28, 2010

Amway, BBB, and Dun & Bradstreet Reports?

2011-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

From Amway themselves:

https://www.amway.com/en/support/business-support/Business-rules-of-conduct

Better Business Bureau Membership The Better Business Bureau (BBB) does not permit the use of its name in connection with advertising for products or services. The BBB name and symbol are federally registered service marks and, hence, using its name or symbol without permission may violate federal law.

You should not use the name or seal of the BBB in any printed materials that go to the general public or in advertisements, nor should you represent or imply to the public, either orally or in writing, that Amway or its products or services are endorsed by the BBB.

This includes asking a prospective IBO or registered customer, or other customer to call the BBB as a reference. Such a request is viewed by the BBB as an implied endorsement, which is impermissible.

IBOs who are members of a local BBB may display membership plaques,certificates, or decals in their offices that are issued by the BBB for this purpose. They may also notify their downline IBOs, through a bulletin or letter that goes only to IBOs, of the fact that they are a member of a BBB.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB), of which Amway is a member, has provided a fact sheet about Amway to more than 140 local BBBs. Thus, local BBBs that are members of the CBBB are prepared to answer questions from the membership or the general public about Amway.

Local BBBs that are not members of the CBBB can secure such data from the West Michigan BBB, which maintains current information on Amway.

Dun & Bradstreet Reports Dun & Bradstreet financial reports are not to be used in the course of registering new IBOs. This report pertains only to Amway's creditworthiness and is not meant to be used as an investment rating. The business opportunity is not an investment security. All Dun & Bradstreet financial reports are confidential and reserved for the exclusive use of their subscribers. Although you may indicate Amway's soundness when registering others into the business, using Dun & Bradstreet reports for such purpose is prohibited.

Comment About Joecool?

2011-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

An exchange with IBOFB, followed by the comment?

http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/will-amway-make-you-annoying/

■Joecool on August 13th, 2011 6:07 pm
IBOFB: “Where, aparent, did anyone ever saying anything about making money without work?”

Any group that promotes the residual income and building it once apparently does so.

I’m fairly certain, based on the UK actions, that NETWORK 21 was doing this.

■ibofb on August 13th, 2011 7:22 pm
Working hard for years and years so that you’ve developed a business that might deliver a level of residual income is “no work”?

Really?

As for UK, you clearly didn’t bother following it. The case against N21 was dropped, and if you read the BERR case, and know the peoples whose names are mentioned, you’ll see why. The examples given of people making money? All were network 21. The examples of deception given? None were network 21.

But hey, since when did you let a little thing like facts get in the way of making a claim.

■mike on August 15th, 2011 3:41 am
To ibofightback:

Your being critical of Joecool is way off base and reeks of somebody who is jealous of all the valuable information he has provided to the direct sales income opportunity market in trying to prevent people from falling for a scam like Amway. I’ve been associated with Joe for many years – going back to our days together as posters for the quixtar blog (hosted by Eric Janssen) – and can vouch for this man’s honesty, solid reputability and on target analytical capabilities thru investing his time and effort to a cause – all free of charge – just because he doesn’t want to see others being unfairly taken in by a multi-billion dollar scam like Amway.

IBO, the only thing you need to “fight back” against is your own gullibility and stupidity, not to mention your very arrogant attitude exhibited on this board.

Amway Recruitment Stories?

2011-08-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Posted July 3, 2011 on Scam.com

I was talking to a friend who lived in Maryland, he told me that once he was conned into an Amway convention ** a friend of his...the convention was in Richmond Virginia.

This was a three hour ride away...at least...traffic can make it four. The fellow was real ambigous, 'it will be a great show, motivational speakers, singers, music...' He asked if it was some religion, he even asked if it was Amway...his 'friend' said no.

I don't think this is funny, I think it is disgusting to do this to someone.

It was years later I ran into another Amway guy that told me that was taught to him, don't say Amway before the meeting, they call it hiding the ball, you are doing them such a favor with the opportunity it would be a shame for them to miss the presentation.

This is the kind of crap that gives MLM a bad name....and I'm not pleased to know it still occurs.

Amway Offices Raided By Police In India?

2011-08-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.patrickpretty.com/2011/08/07/reports-amway-offices-raided-by-police-in-india-media-outlets-say-news-photographer-covering-police-action-was-detained-by-amway-staff/

BULLETIN: Multiple news organizations in India are reporting that police have conducted raids at nine Amway offices in India amid allegations of cheating and money-chain fraud. Early reports say that a news photographer covering the raid was detained by Amway India staff and that the photographer’s camera and baggage were seized by the staff.

The photographer was released after news organizations protested the reported actions of Amway’s staff, according to IBN Live. At least two police organizations participated in the raid, and an Amway office at East Fort in Thrissur was “sealed” by police, according to the IBN report.

Early reports suggest that a PR disaster that goes beyond the headlines generated by the raid may be shaping up for Amway. Not only was a photographer reportedly prevented by Amway staff from taking pictures of the police action, according to an early report in the Hindustan Times, the staff also claimed that police had “harassed” Amway distributors into “giving complaints against the company.”

Amway India denied any cheating had occurred, according to early reports. The company, according to its website, is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S.-based Amway Corp. of Ada, Mich.

==========================================

In reading the comments, it looks like IBOFB has obtained another fake personna "Kevin". LOL

An Excellent Amway Explanation

2011-08-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

I worked Amway for a while, back in college. I have to say that, while a few do indeed make some good money---at least for a while---off the business, the real money doesn't come from the products sold; the real money comes from the "pyramid": basically, you getting other people in, who in turn get others in... ad nauseum. Basically, it's the business version of a chain letter.

Sure, if you can collect ten dollars from a thousand people, you end up with $10,000. The problem is, in order to do it, you are presenting it as though all of *them* can *also* get ten dollars from a thousand people... and while you're at it, selling them their "kit", promotional tapes and materials, motivational speaker materials, etc. So what happens in the end is that you don't dump in ten bucks, you dump in anywhere from a hundred to a thousand (depending on how fast you get out, and if you go to a "conference" with hotel stay, gas money, etc.)... so right off the bat, you've got to get a ton of people in who will put in at least a hundred bucks each, just so you can recoup your losses... because you only get a small percentage from each of them---your recruiter gets a piece of their money, and his recruiter, and so on, and the company gets their piece, too. So, if you make ten bucks off everyone you recruit, you've gotta recruit ten people just to make back your first $100 YOU put in. Let's say you manage that, and in turn, each of them recruits one person, from whom you get 5 dollars per... so now you've made $150... but in the meantime, you've also put more money into travel, more stuff for your kit, more more more etc.

Very few people have the sheer charisma to recruit hundreds over the course of a year. In the end, the bulk of the money those "diamond" distributors make comes from folks who have tried it, put money and time and dedication and enthusiasm into it... and end up leaving, worse off than they were before.

The higher ups do two things that ultimately trip most people up:

1. They tell you that if you *really* believe in the products, and *truly* work hard, you'll make it big.

2. They tell you that anyone who's washed out simply didn't have the right attitude, the right enthusiasm, they didn't work hard enough, they didn't want it badly enough... etc.

The reality is, most people don't have the charisma, and sooner or later, most people realize that if they're making money, they're making it off lying to other people about *their* chances in the business. For some, that doesn't matter... but for a lot of people, it leaves you feeling like you just conned your grandmother out of her savings bonds... even though you got conned as well.

The promoters make it seem like "believe it, work for it, and it will come" is the magic formula. They play on your dreams and your misfortunes. If believing and trying hard were all there is to it, then a whole lot more of them would be successful. The fatal flaw is in the pyramid/recruiting system itself, because sooner or later, someone has to pay the price... and often it's you, your friends, your family, and whomever else *you* persuaded to join up.

Feel free to show this to your friend. He will likely counter with their prepared idea: my viewpoint comes from sour grapes, because I "didn't make it" with the company. (They think of everything in trying to hang onto recruits for as long as possible.)

Something that *might* reach your friend is this:

Has he ever participated in a school sale: candy, oranges, stationary, wrapping paper---the kind of thing that schools, bands, and clubs do to raise money? Very likely he has. Ask him to think about how many kids actually sold enough to win the bike, or the skateboard, or whatever grand prize was offered. Ask him how many only managed to sell a little bit, and how many had to hit up every relative, neighbor, and parents' coworker they could in order to sell even a decent amount, for just that one promotion. Then ask him what happened when those kids had gone to everyone they knew, their parents knew, their families knew, and every neighborhood they could hit... where did those kids go after that?

Eventually, in that kind of thing, with enough people trying to sell something, you run out of people to ask. What happens then? How do you find more? What happens when, out of every fifty people you ask, maybe only three take you up on it? How many people does he actually know? Most of us only know maybe 10 to 50 people to ask something like this of in the first place... what happens when there's no one left to ask?

There's a reason companies that manufacture products sell them through stores, or through the internet, or catalogs---you don't have to personally know people to sell them your goods, and ALL you're selling them is your goods. People seek out the stores, websites, etc. because they *want* or *need* to buy something, AND because the method of purchase is convenient and requires the least amount of effort on their parts.

Pyramid sales, on the other hand, aren't just selling a product, they're also selling what amounts to a membership---and a lot of your income depends on recruiting new members yourself... which depends on "personal" interaction and sales. Not to mention, it requires a lot of effort on people's parts... even if it's just in delivering product and collecting money from folks who will buy the product, but won't join up.

Let's put it this way: it's lots easier to go buy laundry detergent at the grocery store, than to contact someone, place an order, pay for order, and wait for delivery of order. I go to the store, I get my stuff (along with lots of other things offered), I pay, I go home; done deal. It takes me maybe an hour at best, start to finish. Purchasing through a pyramid distributor takes a whole lot longer... and I might not remember I need detergent until I start doing laundry; so do I wait the week for it to come in, or do I drive up the street and get it at the grocers? Doesn't matter that your soap is better than what's on the shelves---the sheer inconvenience and time involved make it the less-desirable option.

Is Amway An Economic Sinkhole?

2011-07-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

http://tim.2wgroup.com/blog/archives/000608.html

First, a definition: Positive economic activity is that which makes more wealth in the world. To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, it "moves lower-valued resources to higher values". From our discussion above, it's activity which makes a bigger economic pie with more for everyone to eat.

Imagine we start with nothing, except that you live on a lot full of trees, sticks, and vines; I live on land covered with rocks and flint. We trade, do some work, and -- viola! -- we now have axes for ourselves and to sell to others. We're all just a bit richer, and our lives, just a bit better. We can trade with the fruit-people and eat. And we can chop down a tree or five, build shelters, and get inside, away from the cold. We're all richer, fewer of us are dying from exposure, and life is better all around.

We have made the world a better place.

Now consider Quixtar: In Quixtar, there are basiclly two kinds of economic activity. The first is that people buy a lot of stuff from Quixtar corporation. But this isn't generally a significant improvement, since people already had ways of buying similar or identical stuff -- either online or up the street. So the addition of that activity doesn't change the overall economic picture much. Nobody's really getting anything they didn't get before.

(But some of your money now gotes to Quixtar's owners, rather than the owners of your neighborhood stores, or Land's End, or whatever.)

BUT, the product costs must be increased slightly in order to pay bonuses back to the "uplines" who signed up each consumer. So, looking only at this part of the equation so far, people are generally paying more and getting less because of those bonuses. So that's a net negative effect. That part of the economic world is worse.

Now, what about the results of the upline payments? Well, this certainly generates some activity, too, doesn't it? The net effect of this activity is that IBOs, in order to position themselves to receive these payments at some point in the future, run around trying to contact their friends (and strangers), and spend their time, and their friends' time, telling them about this great new opportunity.

There are two things I'd like to note about this:

(1) Such meetings seemed designed to give as little information as possible. This means that people who are accustomed to knowing the cost of things before they buy them have to spend a lot of time, as I did, doing research in order to find out all kinds of things their sponsor already knows, but won't tell them -- or things their sponsor doesn't know, but really should.

(2) Then there are a lot of repeat contacts. Because the come-on is often mysterious, and doesn't mention the word "Quixtar", a person actually has to sit down with the sponsor to find out if it's Quixtar again. ("Oh, this sounds like Amway...")

Looked at as a whole, this is a very inefficient way to get the word out about Quixtar. A billboard sign and a few ad on TV would do the job much quicker and more cheaply and efficiently. (Why this is not done is explained here.)

So what value does all this activity generate? None! What new food or invention was available because Stacey called me to tell me about a "business opportunity"? I would have eaten lunch anyway, that day, but wouldn't have wasted the gas to drive to a lunch meeting I didn't enjoy. I might have just driven around the block a dozen times for all the difference it made.

Marketing, sales, and talk, on their own, don't make the world wealther. And this activity is all about talk. Remember, in the previous example, wealth (in the form of the flint axes) was actually created. But none of this activity creates wealth. It just burns it in a very inefficient manner.

In the end, the vast majority of Quixtar IBOs will drop out without ever having broken even. But consider what they could have done: If they really, really enjoyed it all, then it was no worse than a vacation. But if they could have worked elsewhere, then the world is definitely a poorer place, and we are without whatever contributions they might have given us with those hours.

(Imagine, for example, they'd decided to do community service instead. We'd have more, better playgrounds. Or imagine they'd done landscaping -- people in town would have had slightly better selection and quality when they wanted to landscape their yard.)

So, looking at the whole of Amway activity, nothing of significance is produced.

Double X Vitamins?

2011-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this eye opening review:
Emphasis mine.

http://www.blog2success.net/review-amway-global-double

Let’s look at their flagship product… Double-X. No, it’s not the name of a late-night movie, it’s the name of their multivitamin.

You’re supposed to take all three pills, twice a day. Once in the morning once in the evening. Sounds delish. It is beyond me why they can’t just be like Costco and let you take one tablet per day in the morning for all your vitamin needs, but whatever. I’m not Nutrilite.

Unlike other leading multivitamins, a single serving of DOUBLE X is what you need your vitamin to be – 12 essential vitamins, 10 essential minerals, and 20 plant concentrates, giving you the antioxidant power of tomato, blueberry, broccoli, cranberry, pomegranate, and more. The B vitamins found in the NUTRILITE DOUBLE X Multivitamin unlock the energy in your food, and Double X contains more B6 and B12 vitamins than Centrum® Performance and One-a-Day Active® combined! In a clinical study, NUTRILITE DOUBLE X was shown to improve blood nutrient levels to provide your cells with the energy they need to support a healthy heart, brain, eyes, skin, bones, and immune system.

Hm… do you see a contradiction? In the directions, it says to take the three tablets twice daily… however, it says “a single serving of DOUBLE X is what you need your vitamin to be.” So why take it twice daily if a single serving will do the trick? Furthermore, most vitamins I come across are single servings daily. Also, look at the %DV of a single serving. Most of them are well over 100%, so why take it twice? The ones that are less than 100% are ones that you will get regardless unless you eat chalk for breakfast lunch and dinner.

Now, to tie it all up… the cost. Double X? $75 retail price for 1-2 months of consumption. Let’s say 2 months. So average cost of $37.5 / month.

Centrum Silver? Drum roll please… we have a whopping twenty bucks for 220 capsules… That’s almost $3 / month. Even if it’s two capsules per day, it’s $6 / month.

Get Paid What You Are Worth?

2011-07-18T11:25:00.001-07:00

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?

Is Network 21 (Amway) A Joke?

2011-07-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

http://lukehimself.net/?p=135&cpage=19#comment-3567

Heman on July 5th, 2011

Hi.

I was foolish enough to attend the Canberra, Australia winter conference for Network 21, which cost me $170 plus fuel, food expenses.
The whole event was a joke, it was like a massive hypnotic session where “established” IBO’s would show case there holidays, cars just to further a)suck in the young one’s to train more suckers out there or b)put off people in the process.

People where dressed in there suits and Tie’s, gowns and dress just to add the glitz of the success. Noone was ever friendly except for those on your team or upline who only looked at you because your worth $$$$$$$$..

The number 1 guy for the whole weekend was Massimo Bini, who showcased his good life by ripping off others.

After that weekend went past, I now have cancelled all my associations with Amway, Network 21.

Beware it is a SCAM, I just had to pay a fortune to see the real light.

Never again AMWAY.. you losers.!!

Debunking Some Amway Arguments?

2011-07-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

From another forum:
Quote:
The majority of volume comes from the two major brands of Nutrilite and Artistry, both of which are generally cheaper than the competitors.

Not true. They are, in fact, far more expensive. Let's take Nutrilite: Their vitamin C tablets (300 tablets) cost -- are you sitting down? -- $52.49. Compare this to, say, Shoprite's vitamins which cost (for 100 tablets) $3.95, or about one fifth the price of Amway's stuff. This 5:1 price difference is typical of Amway products. Amway lies and says it's due to the products "superior quality" -- their Vitamin C is "natural" or "organic" or whatever (yeah, like the molecules give a flying duck!) But the truth is that it is more expensive because ca. 70% or so of Amway's sticker price is payments and commissions to the "uplines" in the pyramid. Except for, perhaps, other, even more expensive pyramid schemes (I presume that's who you mean by "competitors"), Amway's products are ludicrously overpriced.

Quote:
The majority of Amway's members are not in the US. Amway is a business, not a job.

Actually, It is a job. Amway reps are salesmen whose sales pay for their upline, their upline's upline's, and so on, comissions -- just like a saleslman in a store pays for his boss, his bosses' boss, etc., salary. It is only a "business" in one sense -- you don't get paid. Unlike salesmen in stores or other places, Amway folks work on full commission, get no salary, health benefits, or anything else. Heck, they don't even need to be fired if they stop selling -- they fire themselves by not renewing. It's no wonder their bosses, the "upline", love them so much. They work for them for free!

Quote:
Like any startup you will generally work for little or nothing for months or years to reach decent profitability.

Not really. Startups finally become profitable IF THEY SELL ENOUGH PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC. Amway folks only become profitable if they GET ENOUGH PEOPLE BELOW THEM IN THE PYRAMID. Nobody cares about the product -- it's just an excuse that officially makes the pyramid legal. It's not as if anybody except for Amway drones, brainwashed by their "upline" to be "team players", actually buys a $52.49 bottle of vitamin pills -- of which $40 or so is pure commission to the upline, the upline's upline, the upline's upline's upline...

Quote:
The rest of your "analysis" is based on this false assumption it's a job. Please compare to starting an running a business, with all the attendent strengths and weaknesses.

WHAT strengths?
It is a business selling incredibly overpriced products, where nobody has any contractual guarantee of any territory, and in which you are very strongly encouraged to RECRUIT YOUR OWN COMPETITION. If Amway were a business where the goal was to make money selling products, it is a suicidal business plan -- it's as if McDonald's priced their hamburgers at $100 a piece, and encouraged every franchise owner, not to sell hamburgers, but to recruit every customer to open another McDonald's next door in order to "join the great opportunity".

Amway's pricing and strategy of recruiting make it crystal clear that it isn't a business, but merely a pyramid scheme where the real, indeed the only, money is found by getting people "under" you to buy tons of overpriced stuff so you'll get a comission... just like YOU paid tons of money to YOUR upline buying tons of overpriced stuff so HE'LL get a comission.

Self Made Millionaires?

2011-06-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Financial-Advice-Gleaned-From-nytimes-3488361631.html?x=0

PAUL SULLIVAN, On Friday June 24, 2011, 1:03 am EDT
WHEN I started writing this column almost three years ago, one of my goals was to figure out what the wealthiest Americans knew and pass along those lessons to middle- and upper-middle-class readers.

Recently, I put that idea to the test, spending the afternoon in a Manhattan town house with eight wealthy men who are all members of an investment club called Tiger 21. I was there to hear an unvarnished critique of how my wife and I save, spend and think about money.

Each of the 180 members of Tiger 21 has a net worth of at least $10 million, pays $30,000 in annual membership fees and commits to spending one day a month with other members. Nearly all of them made their money — they didn’t inherit it — and most are men.

I had asked to sit in on one of the group’s signature sessions, the portfolio defense, but a few weeks ago, the members invited me to be in the hot seat. I jumped at the chance. Beyond looking at how money is invested, the portfolio defense is intended to force members to discuss their wealth in the broadest terms.

I had heard horror stories. One member was told he needed to lose a lot of weight if he was going to get people to invest in his new fund. Another was chastised for telling his children that he had lost his money in the financial crash so that he would not have to talk to them about his immense wealth.

Michael Sonnenfeldt, the founder of Tiger 21, used the term “carefrontation” to describe what happens in a portfolio defense. The assessments are meant to be direct, unsettling and possibly painful to hear, Mr. Sonnenfeldt told me. But the goal is to get members to think differently about what they are doing with their investments and about everything in their lives that is affected by their wealth, from their family to charities.

“It’s not meant for the faint-hearted,” Mr. Sonnenfeldt said. “This is a process that some people could clearly find offensive or discomforting.”

What I experienced was rough, but it was also thought-provoking. The value to me — and to anyone given a similar opportunity — was that the members challenged everything about my assumptions on saving and spending. Here’s some of what I took away.

OUR MISTAKES In the week leading up to this, I worked with Joel Treisman, an executive coach and the chairman of one of Tiger’s 17 groups, to gather up all of our financial reports.

I was confident that the group would think my wife and I were in good financial shape. We save a good percentage of our income. We don’t have any debt beyond mortgages and a car payment. We probably spend a bit too much on food and pet care, but we don’t run up credit card bills to do it.

The members were warm and welcoming as we filled our plates with poached salmon, grilled asparagus and buffalo mozzarella from the buffet. But as soon as we were seated, it was all business. And I was immediately on the defensive. There were two big surprises but also blunt advice and some thoughtful questions about our portfolio.

First, the surprises. The group agreed that we did not have enough life or disability insurance. We both have insurance that would cover about three or four years of earnings if one of us died. This seemed sufficient to get past a few years of sorting things out. The group disagreed. Going from two incomes to one would mean a radical rethinking of our life.

We needed more sizable policies to give us the freedom to sort through things. Though we both carry disability insurance, the policies are old and do not reflect our current income. They would also cover only 50 to 60 percent of our old base salaries. The members thought we should buy individual policies to add to this.

The second surprise was about our savings. We have been saving about 15 percent of our post-tax income. Alan Mantell, a lawyer who made his money in real estate, development and investment, said the issue was not how much we saved but how we thought about spending.

“You need to ask, ‘What can I afford to spend versus what do I need to spend?’ ” he said. We could be saving more money for retirement — or in case something bad happens — if we cut back on things we did not really need, he said.

All the members agreed that we should sell our vacation condominium. “You need to become more liquid,” said Thomas Gallagher, the former vice chairman of CIBC World Markets. “If something bad happens, it’s easy to get rid of a dog walker; it’s hard to get rid of a house in Naples.”

Florida real estate is in a sad state, so I asked what they would do with an offer that was less than our mortgage?

“Take it,” Mr. Gallagher said. “Write the check and be done with it.”

As for our portfolio of stocks and bonds, the questions were more basic. Leslie C. Quick III, whose money came from Quick & Reilly, the discount brokerage firm, looked at our investments — 50 percent in equities, 34 percent in fixed income, 12 percent in commodities and real estate and 4 percent in cash — and wanted to know how our investment manager had done in the bear market. He also thought we should ask our adviser how he balances the risks in our jobs against those in our portfolio.

OUR SOLUTIONS Because I had parachuted into Tiger 21 for one meeting, I was taken aback by the group’s brutal honesty. I walked out after three hours in a daze. Over the next couple of days, though, I concluded that the members had made some great points.

Some solutions were simple. We can increase our term life insurance for comparatively little money — $1 million of term life costs about $700 a year. Individual disability policies cost more. Barry Lundquist, president of the Council for Disability Awareness, said the yearly premium would usually be 1 to 3 percent of a person’s salary, but the payout would still be limited to a percentage of that person’s income.

As for our portfolio, I put the questions to our adviser, K. C. King of Emerson Investment Management. I liked that he did not sidestep the bear market question: Emerson’s portfolios did better than the benchmarks in 2008, but they lost value like everything other than cash, gold and Treasuries.

Where I took comfort, though, was in how he thought about our portfolio. “We’re very mindful that what we’re managing for you and most of our clients is their core portfolio,” Mr. King said. “If someone said from the Tiger group that this is fairly conservative and you’re not taking big swings, we’d say you’re right. This is the portfolio that we’re trying to keep for your daughter’s education and into your retirement.”

The issue that Mr. Mantell raised about spending is the thorniest one. My wife and I are under no illusions that having a condo in Florida makes financial sense. Trimming spending in other places is easier: Walking the dogs ourselves, for instance, would save $100 a week or $5,200 a year.

In the end, though, there are such radical differences between the wealth of the Tiger members and most Americans that some of their advice could not apply.

Mr. Sonnenfeldt estimated that 90 percent of Tiger members had paid off the mortgages on all of their homes.

They also tend to view money as something to preserve rather than accumulate. Mr. Sonnenfeldt said members spent about 3 percent of their wealth annually, which allowed the principal to continue to grow. But at the $10 million entry level, this would mean $300,000 a year.

Perhaps most important, none of the members became rich by eating out less. They became rich by working in industries that paid extremely well or by building businesses that they later sold.

Still, what was best about the session was that no one pulled any punches. Their honesty forced us to think hard about the assumptions we were making. Yes, it was difficult. But really, who wouldn’t want advice from those who have made it?

Funny Thoughts?

2011-06-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

I had some thoughts about the Amway opportunity this morning and it made me chuckle as I was thinking. Imagine going to the bank for a loan and when asked for income verification, you show the loan officer a copy of a check you received a year ago. Or better yet, show the loan officer a picture of your home or your car and ask the bank to consider that as proof of collateral. You would likely be escorted out of the bank by a security guard. Or imagine showing the loan officer the 6-4-2 plan when applying for a business loan. You'd be laughed out of the bank.

But IBOs are recruited with these tactics. They are shown pictures of mansions and fancy cars. It implies that the upline diamond has attained these trappings with income they receive from Amway. Then the 6-4-2 plan or a similar version will be shown as a very simple and manageable way to achieve these pipe dreams. Looking back, I fell for it and believed it could be done. I also believed that my diamond was free when the evidence suggested otherwise.

I always wondered why the diamonds were always out showing the plan to people and why they could walk away from their businesses and live in luxury, but none of them opted to do so. Since the thought of doing nothing while money rolls in is a dream, why doesn't anyone choose that option? Of course, the IBOs will claim that their upline diamonds choose to work and help downline out of the goodness of their hearts, but now I can see that it is far more likely that diamonds keep working because they have to.

The attrition rate in Amway is significant, thus anyone who would choose to walk away might have income for a while, but attrition would turn the business into nothing very quickly. A diamond's stability is only as solid as are his platinums. We know that it is very very common for platinums to drop out of qualification or to quit altogether. And if platinums can drop out in a blink of an eye, so too can a diamondship. I believe my former diamond doesn't have any of his originally qualified platinums who still qualify, and I believe most of them have quit. Try taking that to the bank.

Anway, just sharing some of the funny thoughts I had this morning. Hope you have a good one!

Amway Is Number One!

2011-06-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

I saw this anonymous comment today on another Amway forum and could not resist reporting it. Absolutely hilarious! (Bold emphasis mine)

http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/will-amway-make-you-annoying/

Anon on June 9th, 2011 7:00 am

“I don’t really want to debate just throw some things out there”

In other words, I don’t really want to have to consider another viewpoint, you should just drink the Kool aid like I did

“1. Why should shekhar tell you how much he’s making”

Shekhar is promoting Amway as a moneymaking opportunity but he’s never made a profit. We just want to see how much we can lose each month like you and Shekhar”

“Amway is the #2 in making millionaires. (#1 is microsoft)”
Amway is #1 at making up bogus claims and getting naive Ambot zombies to repeat them as fact. Seriously, where did you get that bs.

98% of all amway products are purchased by their Ibos and the other 2% by their mothers. According to research the average ibo has an IQ just 12 points above clinical retardation. 10% of all ibos are killed each year by irate neighbors, exfriends and spouses who just can’t take it anymore.

See how easy it is?

Time To Fire The Coaches?

2011-06-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Every time a professional sports season ends, we see losing coaches fired. It's very common as the goal is to win, especially when team owners expend millions of dollars to achieve the goal. If a new coach takes over a really poor team, he is ususally given some time (a few seasons) to effect positive change. Eventually, that coach is expected to win or at least be competing for a championship. If not, that coach will also eventually be fired as well.

In Amway. there are many diamonds and above who have been around for more than ten or twenty years. They have been selling their systems for many years. making handsome profits which they use to fund their "diamond" lifestyle. But where are the success that make it a worthwhile investment? There are fewer new Amway diamonds in North America than there are powerball lottery winners. While Amway is not a game of chance, it seems that a game of chance with overwhelming odds produces more success than the Amway business opportunity.

While Amway zealots and supporters like to cite all the new platinums, keep in mind that platinum is the level where you break even or make very little profit. Only a platinum who is not on the system is likely to have a nice profit. A fully dedicated system platinum expends so much to run and maintain the group, plus their own system expenses that it's easy to conclude that platinums do not make enough where it's worth all the time and effort. A platinum couple would likely net more money working part time minimum wage jobs. And even with the emergence of new platinums, unless Amway is growing by leaps and bounds (not likely in North America), then new platinums are more than likely simply replacing old ones who do not qualify anymore. With such instability at the platinum level, how can anyone "walk away" and collect income while sitting on the beaches of the world?

So is it time to jettison some of these upline leaders/teachers? Millions of IBOs come and go through the business within a handful of years but the number of new diamonds (North America) can be counted on my fingers. It is not possible that all the motivated and ambitious IBOs end up lazy and incompetent to the point where notable success is a tiny fraction of 1%. Surely the system mush be broken of ineffective. A coach cannot continue to lose and blame the players. Sooner or later, someone must examine whether the coaches are effective or not. In the case of the Amway business, I'd say the coaches (diamonds) are miserable failures. The facts are there, it's a matter of whether you believe the facts or not.

The Diamond Illusion?

2011-06-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

One of the things I noticed after walking away from the Amway business was how IBOs and higher pins try to create an illusion of wealth. They are told to 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. It is why many aspects of functions are about attaining wealth, quitting your job and showing off the diamond lifestyle.

But as time passes, more and more evidence has become available which shows that the diamond level (and higher) 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, 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. The diamond was appearing to be financially successful but had overdue taxes, credit card debt, and littelt equity in their (mortgaged) home.

What many 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 have what they portray. Amway apologists will claim that their groups don't do this, but basically, the function that is currently called "dream nite" is 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 illusion they see on stage.

This blog and this post is to clear up some of the illusions behind a diamond lifestyle. It is very likely not what you think it is.

Amway Myths About The BBB

2011-05-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

So many IBOs continue to perpetuate myths about the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and other factors as evidence that Amway is a good opportunity. What does the BBB do? What does the BBB say about their ratings?

http://www.bbb.org/us/Business-Accreditation/

If a business has been accredited by the BBB, it means BBB has determined that the business meets accreditation standards which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB accredited businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.

BBB Code of Business Practices represents standards for business accreditation by BBB. Businesses based in the United States and Canada that meet these standards and complete all application procedures will be accredited by BBB. The Code is built on the BBB Standards for Trust, eight principles that summarize important elements of creating and maintaining trust in business.

BBB accreditation does not mean that the business’ products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business’ product quality or competency in performing services.

Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.

**As far as I know, Amway has a satisfactory rating from the BBB. What so many IBOs do not take note of is that a good rating from the BBB has nothing to do with the viability or profitability of the Amway business opportunity. IBOs should also note that they as "independent businesses" are not Amway. Why uplines continue to perpetuate this fallacy is puzzling to me.

How To Become A Millionaire?

2011-05-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Amway isn't listed as one of the factors. LOL The diamond lifestyle also doesn't match what the article says:

http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-112626-9481-5-5-easy-steps-to-becoming-a-millionaire?ywaad=ad0035&nc

1. Only Marry Once
According to "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D and William D. Danko, Ph.D, the average millionaire is married with three children. The wives of these millionaires are good budgeters and most often described as even more frugal than their husbands. Interestingly, according to Stanley and Danko's survey, half of these wives do no work outside the home and of those who do, they are most likely teachers.

One upside of only marrying once is avoiding the costs of divorce and of subsequent weddings. The cost of a divorce depends on many factors including income, attorney fees, court fees, and the assets a couple has and how they are divided. The average wedding cost in the United States in 2010, according to The Wedding Report.com, was $24,070.

2. Live Off One Income
One of the advantages of having a life partner is the potential to pull in two incomes. If you are able, consider structuring your set expenses based on only one income, and save what comes in from the other income. Doing so strengthens your financial position in two ways: In case of an emergency or if one partner loses their job, you will not only have less set expenses to cover, but you will also have built up your net worth as a safety measure.

3. Choose the Right Career
According to The Millionaire Next Door, "self-employed people make up less than 20% of the workers in America but account for two-thirds of the millionaires." The book goes on to list an average of 45 to 55 hours spent working per week, so by no means is this the self-employed fantasy of playing golf while your business grows.

The idea of the "right" career can encompass a myriad of factors. Ideally, this would be a career you enjoy, otherwise you likely won't be putting in the dedication required to be successful. The right career would also coincide with overall working trends, or at least not work directly against them. For example, starting a career in typewriter manufacturing may be something you are passionate about, but it would likely suffer due to the current technological trends.

4. Put Your Money in Appreciating Assets
According to Stanley and Danko, the millionaires in their survey invested nearly 20% of their realized household income each year. Nearly 20% of the household's wealth is held in "transaction securities such as publicly traded stocks and mutual funds" and the millionaires tended to rarely sell their equities. Only a very small number of the millionaires surveyed had ever leased a car; few even drove the current year model. Half of those surveyed had lived in their homes for more than 20 years, which, as the authors point out, means they have likely enjoyed "significant increases in the value of their homes."

The end result? These people put a financial priority on assets that will make them money, from their homes to their businesses.

5. Don't Live the Millionaire Lifestyle
Warren Buffett's frugal lifestyle (especially relative to his net worth) is the go-to example for this point. The average value of the surveyed millionaires' homes was $320,000. The bottom line is, those who spend their money on non-appreciating assets cannot put that same money in an asset that will net them a return and increase their wealth. If it is important to you to build your financial worth, stop spending it on new cars, toys and clothes. (The Oracle of Omaha has a net worth in the billions, but his lifestyle is not as rich as you may think.)

The Bottom Line
Becoming a millionaire is easier than ever. While this is a dream that will take work and discipline to achieve, it isn't as far out of reach as you might think. Be smart with your money and before you know it, you'll be able to count yourself among the world's wealthier citizens.

Ten Plain Truths About Amway and MLM

2011-05-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.falseprofits.com/Americanscam.html

Ten Plain Truths

1. 99.9% of all people who join Amway/Quixtar and other multi-level marketing schemes like it never earn a profit. The losses are so large that these schemes cannot be called a legitimate "business opportunity."

2. To get people to join a MLM scheme in which nearly all will lose requires deception. The promoters do not tell the truth.

3. The people at the top hide basic facts from recruits such as average income, actual costs of doing business, drop out rates, and how much of the total bonus money they receive. They also do not reveal the source of their money, most of which comes from selling "training" materials. Often, their income is from recruits in other countries.

4. Very little of the MLM products are ever actually sold to consumers. The people who buy these products do so as part of investing in a "business opportunity." The business is therefore not "direct selling." It is actually about promoting a bogus business opportunity.

5. More than 50% of all people who join these schemes quit in the first year. Trying to make money from recruiting is therefore a long and costly effort. When a person starts out to build a 'downline" they are already at the bottom of someone else's very large downline. Only a tiny few can ever be at the top.

6. Those few that start at the top of the scheme or who climb to the top make their money directly from the losses suffered by all the latest recruits.

7. The training and motivation seminars, books and tapes are a secret business run by the top promoters of the scheme. Buying tapes and books does not increase a person's chances for success. It only adds to the losses.

8. The people selling the books and tapes are not necessarily successful in the MLM business. Rather, they make most of their money selling the recruitment materials. Claims that they are successful and that the business is a "great opportunity" are false.

9. The schemes recruit more and more people every year, but also many quit. So the scheme can run for many years before it must find other areas with more people to recruit. The longer is operates, the more people it has harmed.

10. The main reason the government of the United States does not investigate these schemes for deception and unfair practices or for running pyramid schemes is that leaders of these schemes contribute huge amounts of money to the politicians' political campaigns. Consumers, therefore, must look out for themselves. Just because a particular MLM such as Amway/Quixtar is not prosecuted by the government does not mean it is legitimate or that you will ever make any money from it.

Contact: Robert L. FitzPatrick

The Debt Free Illusion?

2011-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things our upline taugnt the downline IBOs was to get out of debt. Nobody can argue that consumer debt is good. Everyone should strive to be debt free, save for your mortgage perhaps. But my former (WWDB) leaders, I believe taught people to get out of debt only because they wanted downline to have disposable cash to purchase tools. It was obvious by their teaching.

Debt was bad. I heard Greg Duncan speak (at a function) about how stupid it was to make any loans because the banks made their living off the interest. Ironically, Mr. Duncan apparently had interest only loans in his name several years ago, when he was in bankruptcy proceedings.

But the theme was to get of debt, but it was okay to "invest" in your Amway business and it was okay to go into debt if if meant that you were buying standing orders or buying more function tickets. The underlying message I get from that is that the leaders don't truly care about your financial situation, just that they want you to focus your spending on thei personal interests.

This gets dicey when IBOs might get the impression that they should cash out their 401Ks. or sell their homes to reduce debt. The long term collateral damage from this kind of advice might bring ruin to some families. Some IBOs may even be in more debt because of advice from their sage upline, but will simply shrug it off and lie about their finances. I can confirm this by the teaching WWDB has or had, which was to fake it till you make it. Meaning you give the appearance of success, even if you don't have it. Or in other words, give the illusion of being debt free.

Interesting Amway Comment?

2011-05-02T12:06:00.001-07:00

This was a response to an IBOFB comment. Enjoy!

27.I want to reference comments 7 and 8 previously, as they seem to be the culmination of an interesting exchange between the reasonably informed and articulate of both camps. (We can very safely ignore the drooling and implanted newbie-sentiments of currently indoctrinated cult members posting on this site in the interests of balance and lucidity)
ibofightback, how can you face yourself in the mirror each day? Are you partaking in a mental excercise where you gain sick satisfaction from countervailing logic and arguing that black is white in order to demonstrate some half arsed, twisted, academic/intellectual superiority? Or do you have too much to lose NOT to adopt a defensive stance towards the patently indefensible? I do actually have some retrospective knowledge and valuable input, having been involved in the early 90′s thankfully to a limited extent, but long enough to peel back the wafer-thin, highly polished veneer to reveal the rank, stinking underbelly of the AMO’s (Amway Motivational Organisations) and the “mechanics” of this finely-honed bait and switch deception. I reached my conclusions 20 years ago, and they are totally consistent with the views of antoverlord. The only thing that astonishes me is that this monumental, actually evil and truly inhuman SCAM/CULT is still extant in 2010, given the overwhelming and compelling evidence that exists to inform and enlighten. Start the ball rolling with “Merchants of Deception” by Eric Scheibeler by all means…
To continue (given the wearisome reality that it is a near impossible task to raise a congent argument to offset the bovine, obdurate and obtuse spoon-fed ignorance as exhibited and recycled by the assimilatees within this cult

FACT Almost everyone in Amway loses a great deal in terms of life-energy, time better spent, money (depending on how long they stick with it before wising-up) and self respect. The percentages are a matter of record and these people cannot be generalised as losers.

FACT In terms of the sum total of human misery, disilliusionment and loss Amway is (probably) the vilest organisation blighting the face of the planet, effectively sanctioning the activities of the Motivational-Tool toting kingpin IBO thieves, whilst distancing themselves from direct involvement. The dynamics of this decades-long deception are a fascinating study in itself. How many BILLION man-hours have been wasted, and how many BILLION useless miles driven merely to increase the throughput of overpriced GUNK to the obscene enrichment of a handful of truly wicked,greedy and manipulative individuals? I have heard “successful” Diamonds BRAG about driving 90,000 miles a year to SHOW THE PLAN. Leaving aside the environmental impact, within a year or so the income dried up as the attrition rate (never discussed) followed the laws of mathematics to the inevitable conclusion. Yes Guys and Gals, the power of duplication can actually be slowed and reversed…and a damm site quicker than it takes to build.

Go figure, as they say.

Comment by Steve Howarth | February 28, 2010 |

Amway and Lying?

2011-04-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

One of the things that got me upset after I left the Amway business was the amount of lies and deceit used to attract IBOs, and to keep them in the business. My first encounter with the Amway business was being invited to a beer bust that was actually an open board plan at someone's house. I later attended a meeting and eventually sign up when a very good friend of mine had gotten in and had qualified as Gold Direct (at that time).

As an IBO, I was told that NOBODY made profits from tools. I was also told that WWDB was a non profit organization. Both were lies and to date, as far as I know, not a single WWDB leader has been held accountable for these lies. Other questionable statements were "we don't make pennies until you make dollars", and that upline truly cared about us, and that's why they put on functions. At the time, nobody really knew that some uplines might have been making a living off tools and not from Amway.

Things changed a bit later, with the advent of Quixtar, but then more lies came from many IBOs, such as Quixtar is not Amway and is not even related in anyway. Seems that tricking people into meetings has never changed over the years and still occurs today. There are pockets of IBOs who are ethical, but they are the exception and not the rule. We also saw the perfect water fiasco where IBOs were selling $48 cases of water that allegedly had magical powers, only to find out it was mostly a hoax and Amway finally stepped in to stop some of the wild claims.

The there's the age old lies told about IBO income. I recently had a conversation by email with an IBO who swore that he made $1000 a month from Amway and he said he would shut me up by sending me a PDF copy of his check. Well, none came and he blocked me from contacting him. Now I don't doubt that people can earn $1000 a month from Amway, but the cost will be a bunch of downline to eat losses so you can earn that magical check. Trying to get a straight answer about income from most IBOs is like decpihering hyroglyphics at times.

If you are usinng deception as part of your recruitment process or using other deceptive practices, then you may ask yourself what your prospect will think if and when they discover the truth? This may be why Amway IBOs drop out like flies, where more than 60% of IBOs drop out the first year. I have just touched the tip of the iceberg by the way, I may have to do a follow up blog post to cover more on this interesting topic.

How To Retire As A Millionaire?

2011-04-25T10:04:00.001-07:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/112585/start-with-10k-retire-millionaire-marketwatch?mod=oneclick

The 7% solution: Let money and time work for you, no matter your age.

The millionaire next door could be you.

All it takes is money and time; it always does. But what this really means is you have to save money over time, and that's where so many of us struggle.

Reaching age 65 with $1 million saved requires strong discipline and sustained effort. You need to recognize the importance of starting early and putting money away regularly. But even if you don't have as much time, you still have options other than a last-ditch Hail Mary pass.

More from MarketWatch.com:

• Key Strategies to Boost Your Retirement Savings

• Higher Tax Rates Loom for 401(k) Savers

• Bucket Strategies for Retirement Will Stick Around

It can be done -- even if you start with just $10,000.

"Whether you're 25 or 45 or even 55, you've got to start somewhere," said Nathan Dungan, founder of financial education firm Share Save Spend.

Call it a 7% solution. Assume a 7% inflation-adjusted return from a portfolio of U.S. and international stocks, bonds and cash -- not overly aggressive, but an expected return that requires taking some risk -- and living well within your means.

"In order to save, you have to understand your spending," said Eric Kies, a financial adviser with The Planning Center, an investment manager in Moline, Ill. "Build some awareness of where you are now, where do you want to be, and what are you willing to do to get there."

Of course there will be bumps along the road -- potholes, even, that challenge your resolve. The financial markets love to shake and stir individual investors; don't give up, because it may be hard to get back in

"It's less about where the money is invested and more about your ability to be disciplined," Dungan said. "Ask yourself, What is realistic? What can I achieve? The best savers don't have magical thinking about money. They're honest with themselves."

25 Years Old: Starting Out

Forty years is a long time. So long, in fact, that it's easy to put off saving for the future. There are bills to deal with, college debt to pay, stuff to buy, vacations to take, a career to build.

Savings -- sure, but who has money for that? Indeed, one of every three Americans between the ages of 18 and 33 have no personal savings, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. What's more, 53% of this age group has zero in the way of retirement savings.

They're missing out, big time. If a 25-year old with $10,000 invested $320 a month at a 7% annual compound rate of return until they turned 65, they would wind up with $1 million.

"There's a reason why Albert Einstein called compounding the most powerful force in the universe," said Jonathan Guyton, a principal at investment manager Cornerstone Wealth Advisors in Minneapolis.

Whether or not Einstein really said this, the math speaks for itself. At 7%, your money doubles every 10 years.

If saving a few hundred bucks a month seems daunting, rest assured it only gets worse. One way to make the job easier is to rely on your job -- specifically investing in your company's 401(k) plan and enjoy whatever contribution match your employer offers. Think of it as free money.

Don't have a 401(k)? Open a Roth IRA if you qualify, and automatically deposit money into it from your bank account to get tax-free growth.

35 Years Old: Early Innings

Ten years later, the price of waiting has been high. Not as costly as it will be, but tough enough. Instead of $320 a month, you're looking at saving $775 a month to turn that $10,000 into seven figures at a 7% annualized return.

Don't beat yourself. Just save. Funnel money into your 401(k) so you're not dipping into your own pocket for the full amount. Take the Roth IRA route if you can. By now you may have a young family -- so do it for the kids. Show them you not only can make money, but also know how to handle it.

"Children can be extremely good motivators to good financial habits," said Eleanor Blayney, consumer advocate for the CFP Board and a wealth adviser in McLean, Va. who specializes in financial planning for women.

Teach the kids sound money habits, and teach yourself at the same time. Said Blayney: "It induces you to be financially smart."

45 Years Old: Halfway Home

At 45, you're likely established in your career, with a decent salary. You may own a home, and the kids are thinking about college.

It's good you're making money, because you'll need to add $1,850 every month to that $10,000 base in order to reach $1 million in 20 years.

"There's a greater sense of urgency; your window for taking advantage of time is starting to close," Dungan said.

Yet one in four Americans between the ages of 46 and 64 have no retirement savings, the Harris Poll found. Another 22% have retirement savings mostly in bonds and savings accounts.

With so little saved at this point, you would do well to reevaluate your expectations for retirement. Are you saving and investing accordingly? You may have to weigh the purchases you make today versus a stable retirement.

"Now's your chance," Blayney said. "Don't blow it."

55 Years Old: Winding Down

At 55, the amount needed to reach $1 million with a $10,000 bankroll is both comical and sad: $5,700 a month for 10 years.

Maybe you've been living paycheck to paycheck, and life has been good. You've got a nice house, a fancy car -- but no savings.

In short, you have a big hat, but no cattle. The millionaire is next door, and he isn't knocking.

This is your moment of truth. You may not become a millionaire, but you can live like someone who is on the way to being one.

Here's how: Cut expenses, save what you can, and work longer.

"If a client is in their mid-50s and hugely behind, we start to focus on lowering expenses by paying off debt, restructuring debt, or lowering housing costs," said Guyton, the Minneapolis financial adviser.

"If that change lowers their expenses by $1,000 a month, that's more beneficial than helping them accumulate an extra $100,000," Guyton said. Indeed, cutting $12,000 a year from expenses equates to what roughly $175,000 in assets would produce at a 7% yield.

And take care of your health, Guyton added. You're going to need it in order to show up at work.

"It's a whole different matter when you have to stay on the treadmill," Guyton said. "We don't mince words. We try to make it manageable and realistic, but there are some options that aren't on the table anymore."

Comment By IBO "Robb"

2011-04-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, i'm amazed at the lack of intelligence (and proper spelling and grammar - i know, i don't capitalize so i'm a hypocrite) on BOTH sides of this argument. first, a little background - i have a degree in chemical engineering and graduated first in my class. just saying this so you know i'm not an idiot.

Your comment: "You're buying products. That's not a form of making money. And you'll be spending way more for each, on average, than you ever will have before. Get it straight: You're simply becoming a consumer of a line of products and tools; Amway and the AMOs will make a healthy profit from all the cash you send them."

Answer: Yes, much like WalMart, McDonald's, Walgreens, Starbucks, etc. will make a healthy profit from all the cash you send them. The only difference here is that by buying Amway products, I'm not paying for advertisements. Amway never claimed to be a non-profit company - yes, they make money. if you don't like that, then grow up - it's business.
Second, my wife and I have tracked our product spending over the past several months, and we are NOT spending any additional money on Q products vs. what we spent before at other stores/restaraunts/etc. In fact, we're at the 12% bonus level, therefore getting 12% more back that we EVER did at those other places. oh, and our personal use (as a couple) is at 250PV, without spending any EXTRA money over what we used to spend...

And on the saturation idea, do your real world numbers mr. calculator... we are actually falling behind population growth, not overcoming it as you like to suggest. saturation is a complete myth. why are we falling behind? because 1) not a large percentage of people are seriously building an Amway business and 2) a lot of those who are use horribly vague and ineffective presentations. my sponsorship rate is over 50% (and climbing)... learn how to show a plan, and even the ones who don't become involved will have a positive idea of what Amway does.

And on the pyramid thing... geez, this one is so annoying... EVERY company pays a small cut the people who are responsible for getting a product or service into your hands. here, some of those steps have simply been replaced by other active IBO's. what we do is no different in concept than when an engineering firm owner hires 10 engineers (or contracts them) to go work on projects. he tell them "i'll pay you x% of each project you complete" and he keeps the rest... the only real difference is that Amway is a completely level playing field for everyone who gets in, whereas the owner of the engineering firm is always making the most amount of money... that's right, we're MORE FAIR and BETTER than most business payout structures. i create volume personally and contract out the rest. i pay people who create volume for me, they can do the exact same, and because of this they can pass me tomorrow! this can happen because if the volume that leg creates is greater than my entire group volume (minus leg A) then he makes more money than i do!!!! and don't say "well there's always someone at the bottom," because the de-saturation that is happening proves that they are either at the bottom by choice or because they are incapable of showing the plan to someone.

so why don't you try to go shut down walmart, starbucks, target, microsoft, etc. for their pyramid schemes? in reality, they are MUCH more like one than we are.

Robb

Amway IBO Comment?

2011-04-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

All you negative people make me laugh!!! DO you relized that you work for a living? Do you relaize that you work for SOMEBODY? Do you realize you will not make more than your boss in the "position" you are at? Will your boss ever make mmore than his boss? Will anyone make more than the owner, president, or CEO of the company YOU WORK for as an emplyoee? I didn't think so.

Let me ask you this, why does a muti-billionaire like Robert Kiyosaki whom wrote New Yorks best selling book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" talk nothing but great things about Quixtar, Amway, Etc. The reason he does, is because he like that we are being shown how to become business owners, not sales peolpe. You will never get ahead in the E-Quadrant which is the emplyees status, or the S-Quad which is the sel-employeed people. They make a lot of money, but thier time belongs to someone else, and their is no gurantee that you have a job or brick and mortar business the very next day.

I wish these thumb-sucking negative weenies would get out of their pitty party and do something in life to help themselves and families instead of sucking the life out of positive go-getters that want the best for their families, and other families with this great opportunity from Quixtar.

Negative people are the bucket of crabs analogy. Have you ever seen a bucket of crabs that are miserable in eachothers company because they are confined, restricted, limited, have no FREEDOM? Then one day 1-crab out of 20 or 40 crabs looks up and sees opportunity when he sees the sky and the light, where there are no limits, the crab heads way for the top of th bucket and just as the crab reaches the top and sees and smells freedom...the crabs below reach up and grabs the crab that wants better than the ugly situation its in down there and pulls him right back into the misery.

Anyone who is reading this, put yourself in that crabs position, do you want life to pass you by and take you down, when you want to live life to its fullest for the better of yourself and your family ? Are you Man or woman enough to do what ever it takes to give your family and yourself your freedom?

JOHN - Silver in Amway

Save 30% By Purchasing Through Amway?

2011-04-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

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. Where else would Amway get the money to pay those bonuses? I'm sure Amway is npt operating at a loss. Amway must charge more on average because the IBOs constitute layers and layers of middlemen which must be paid. This contradicts what some uplines show in their presentation where they claim that Amwa eliminates the middle man in the distribution process. More likely the opposite is true where they add more middlemen and cost more, whereas a store like Walmart will deal directly with the factories and obtain the best possible prices for their customers.

Walmart will match any advertised price for the same product in their stores. So if you see Walgreens selling a product at a certain price, you can get Walmart to match that price if you show them the printed ad. Try that with an IBO or with Amway and see your results....

IBO Expenses?

2011-03-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

The actual cost to register as an IBO, I believe is in the neighborhood of $50. Many motivational groups such as BWW or WWDB or others, may have different costs because of product samples and/or tools included in the signup process. But aside from the cost of registration, what does it cost an IBO to run a Amway powered business? Many, if not most IBOs probably sign up thinking they will make money right away, only to find out that ongoing costs easily turn small profits into losses. Some of the costs I will display are optional, but often promoted as mandatory. Listed below are monthly costs:

100 PV = $300
KATE (voicemail) = $20
Website fees + $20
Standing Order (Tape/cd subcription) $42
Extra tapes/cds (two per week) $56
Book of the Month $10
Functions/Major functions (averaged out) $125
Monthly Open Meeting $8

These somewhat minimal estimates of monthly expenses add up to $581. Were you informed that a business building IBO would have to spend in the neighborhood of $600a month? Would you have been interested if this were disclosed? I woudn't have joined if this was disclosed to me. These costs are actually lowball estimates if you are a hard core IBO. These estimates would run you about $7000 a year. In five years, you may have spent $35,000 to build a business where you have a fraction of a one percent chance of making any real money. Are these the kinds of probabilities you can live with? Couldn't you find better investments of your time and money?

What could you do with an extra $7,000 a year? What could you do with an $35,000, say 5 years from now? Buy a car in cash? Take a dream vacation? Put a downpayment on a home? The possibilities are almost endless.

The average active IBO earns less than $1,500 a year.

Do the math!

Paid What You Are Worth?

2011-03-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

Questionable Upline Advice?

2011-03-09T11:52:00.001-08:00

Looking back at my IBO days, I can now laugh at some of the weird stuff we did and believe it or not, I have reason to believe that my old LOS, WWDB still teaches some of this and some other major groups also teach it. I believe some of these practices were the reason why some people refer to the Amway business as cult or having cult like qualities. If you recognize some of these practices, you might be in an unethical group and you should ask your upline the tough questions and possibly reconsider or reprioritize your involvement in the business.

Submission to upline was one of the things we were told. Our group was told that upline would never purposely lead us astray so we should trust them and never try anything without checking upline. Afterall, upline had experience and probably had all the answers. Some of this checking upline included asking permission to get married, buy a car or a home, or even something as small as purchasing a camera. The upline said maybe someone upline might have advice on how to get a good deal on a camera so no harm in checking upline before making a purchase. It is my guess that upline didn't want your disposable income being spent on anything other than standing orders and functions.

Late meetings. Our upline was into late meetings, many occuring after midnight. I suppose it was a show of loyalty and dedication to the upline and the system. In reality, it made most people angry at their jobs because they had to wake up early to go to work. For me it made me mad at our upline because the meetings taught us nothing of substance and it just made us tired. Our upline used to talk about time being important but it was never important enough to make him show up on time for his own late night meetings. Another cult like factor - sleep deprivation.

Secrets. Anytime we asked about how much income uplines may have been earning, we were either told it's none of our business or shown a photocopy of a 5 year old bonus check that someone upline may have received. Our proof that the business worked was upline showing off pictures of sports cars and mansions. Of course we now find that some WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed, and one prominent triple diamond had some dealings in bankruptcy court. Looking back, I suspect that many diamonds have mortgages, which would be nor problem except that these leaders scoffed at the sutpidity of having a loan. That diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. My former sponsor still lives in a run down rented home beause he won't purchase a home unless he's got the cash. My former sponsor is a physician so I find his position on buying a home preposterous. His oldest child, a son probably grew up deprived of his parents because of dedication to the system and the functions.

Losing money is success. Many times, our group was told that losing money was a sign of success. It was success because we were investing in our futures. That the business really is not about money but about friendships. I suppose upline taught this because everyone was losing money so it was nice to hear that success was around the corner, and that we were all nicer people and on our way to success if we just attended more functions and bought more standing orders. People who sold off some of their personal property were edified if they did so to attend a function. Obviously these folks were not advised to run their business within their means. Upline even said that going into debt was okay, but only if the debt was to invest in the business or to buy extra function tickets.

While some of these practices seem bizarre, I believe it is because the upline advice was self serving and meant to channel their downline's dollars into tool purchases. It is the only conclusion I can make. What's your conclusion?

Amway - Friends For Life?

2011-03-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

You hang out with friends, generally people you like and have similar interests. You have good and bad times, but your true friends are there for you when you need them. You move residences, your friends are there to help you move. They may play a round of golf with you, or watch some sporting events, dinners, backyard barbeques, etc. These are folks you will likely end up retiring with and enjoying your golden years.

But suddenly, you get enticed to join Amway. You see the "chance" to get rich, with a shortcut (not get rich quick, but a "shortcut"). You sign up and your sponsor is your new "best" friend. Most of the people you enjoyed being with think Amway is a questionable venture to get involved in. Suddenly, because of what you have been told or taught, you view these same nice people as "broke" or "losers", simply because they do not share the same ambition of untold wealth working 12-15 hours a weeek. Suddenly, your friends become prospects, or people you want to sponsor so you start recruiting them. Some may join, but most won't. Suddenly you are immersed in recruitment meetings, functions, and avoiding "negative", which is people and events that do not support your Amway business.

Now you are missing birthday parties, barbeques, and other social events. Your social events are now recruitment meetings, seminars and Amway business related events. You are taught that these events can be put off and your gratification delayed. You can do whatever you want when you go diamond. (Even though there me be only one (1) diamond out of every ten or twenty thousand IBOs) Your dedication will pay off right? Sadly, for most people, even very dedicated people, all they will see is losses on their yearly business tax returns, mainly due to the purchase of cds, books, voicemail and function tickets. But these are your "friends" right?

Here's my take on it. Try missing a few meetings or functions. Stop buying cds and see how many "friends" remain from the business. It is likely that your upline will claim that you walked away from the friendship by slowing down on the "system". If that happens, then you have conditional friends, or fairweather friends. They are your "friends" while you are pursuing the same cause. They are your friends when you are attending functions. Are they there for you in bad times?

A short while after I attended my last function (I was still an IBO, just not a business builder), my dad passed away. Not a single one of my IBO "friends" bothered to attend the memorial service. Not a single one of my IBO friends called or dropped by the home to pay their respects. All of my "real" friends, who saw through the AMO smoke and mirrors called to talk to me and/or attended the memorial service.

Are your fellow IBOs really "friends for life"?

Save Money, Live Better?

2011-03-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

It's what WalMart is about:

http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/8123.aspx

Sam Walton said it best,
“If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.

Saving People Money So They Can Live Better
Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton, our founder, envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Walmart.

Today, more than 40 years later with operations in 15 countries worldwide, we continue to deliver that promise to families around the globe. It’s the focus that underlies everything we do at Walmart.

And for the millions of customers who shop in our stores and clubs around the world each week, it means a lot.

Save Money
We know that price matters to our customers, whether they live in the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina or Japan. That's why we offer the best quality merchandise at the lowest prices in all our stores, from school supplies, to household items and top quality groceries.

We also look at savings that go beyond the prices you see in our stores. For example, we are working with our suppliers to introduce more energy efficient products that can save customers money for years to come.

And because every Walmart store or Sam's Club is designed to reflect the local community, our customers know they will find the lowest prices around on the products that match their lifestyle.

Live Better
Saving money is a means to helping our customers live better. By offering the best possible prices on the products our customers need, we can help them afford something a little extra.

Whether it's a grandmother who can buy her grandchildren a special gift because she saved money on her prescriptions, or a young family saving money to buy their first home, we see our mission come to life every day.

We also see opportunities to help people live better beyond the walls of our Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations. That’s why we support causes that are important to our communities, like education, and why we are working hard to do our part in protecting our planet and conserving our natural resources for generations to come.

It’s the reason why we joined with Mercy Corps and USAID to help small farmers in Guatemala, and it’s the reason why you see Fair Trade Coffee on the shelves at Sam’s Club. By working closely with our communities and suppliers, we can reach beyond just our customers to help improve the lives of people around the globe.

Saving people money so they can live better is at the heart of everything we do, and these are just a few examples of the many ways we bring that mission to the community each and every day. Simply put, helping people live better is more than something we do -- it’s who we are.

Amway Critics, Amway Defenders?

2011-03-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ever since the "tools scam" in Amway was exposed by the internet and further confirmed by Dateline and previously by 60 Minutes in expose's, there has been a sort of "internet war" between Amway critics and defenders. The defender's mantra is almost always "we don't do that", which I find ironic, because often, these same defenders admit they are from the more abusive of the lines of sponsorship. While I admit there may be some "rogue" IBOs who focus on selling product, they are the rare exception and not the rule. Most IBOs belong to an LOS who sells tools such as cds, voicemail, seminars/function and other support materials. In the past, uplines lied and denied that they made any tools profits. Now that the lie has been exposed, the IBOs seemingly have just forgotten about this and gave upline a free pass while uplines continue to display a lack of transparency about the tools business.

I will also acknowledge that Amway may have tried to make some changes to clean up some of the abuse, but at the same time, many of the changes appear to be cosmetic and meaningful changes are not apparent. Take accreditation for example, what did it truly accomplish? Not much in my opinion.

The most hard core defenders of Amway act like internet trolls at times, setting up alerts and dropping uninvited into conversations whenever the word Amway comes up. The weaker defenders of Amway will drop into a conversation and will disappear in a flash once they get schooled by the facts. One good example was someone denying that diamonds spoke about buying homes in cash. When other commentators confirmed hearing this claim, the Amway defender tucked tail and ran. The more elusive defenders of Amway will try to get a critic to defend an extreme postion, or will try to say that critics paint too broad of a picture. For example, when you say upline, why refer to all upline. A valid point, but when making a defense, these same defenders will paint all of the upline as "rosy" by saying things like "we" don't do that, implying that not a single person in the LOS does that, which is almost always false.

But the most important thing that information seekers should note is that Amway defenders have something to gain by defending Amway. Amway defenders may have something to gain and may even lie and cheat to make Amway look good. Some diamonds in the past even made ridiculous claims just to sell their "perfect" water product. Amway critics have nothing to gain. Some of us do this only because there are many injustices placed upon the masses of downline, and not only did the upline get away with past offenses, many of them continue their practice of bilking their downline for personal benefits. They prop up someone's dreams and when the person buys in, they sell them tools and profit, regardless of what happens in the end.

How many people actually achieved their dreams as a result of attending functions? How many people benefited from standing order? How many people got rich from voicemail? Seems like only the ones selling these tools benefit from them.

How Much Do You Value Your Time?

2011-03-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

As an IBO, I used to wonder how much my upline valued my time and efforts. Afterall, I wasn't an employee of my upline but sometimes it felt like we were unpaid employees with high demands and high expectations. To be honest I don't think the uplines value your time at all. What's more, they said in meetings and functions that Amway was a 24/7 endeavor if you were serious about achieving.

I thought it was odd that they would speak about vertical alignment. That God was #1, spouse was #2, family #3, job #4, and amway #5. Oddly enough, anytime something interfered with Amway, we were expected to skip it or rearrange our schedules to fit in the Amway meetings. One of my crossline has arranged for his wedding more than a year in advance. It probably took a lot of planning and arranging. Well, sure enough, a regional function (not even a major function) took place on the weekend of the wedding and I remember the couple scrambling to rearrange the wedding for fear of not being CORE.

It was okay to call in sick or even quit a job as long as it was to attend a meeting or a function. I remember a function where a diamond said to quit your job if your boss won't give you time off to attend a function. He said you can always get another job. Sadly, I know of at least two people who did this and more than likely regretted it later.

The upline leaders also said it was okay to build the business at night because your kids will be sleeping and won't remember you missing when you take them to disneyland as a diamond. That's all fine and dandy. How many diamonds have been popping up in the US lately? You really think your kids won't remember your absences later on in life? The leaders call it delayed gratification but in reality, some border on neglect and those IBOs who hang in for a long time might have years and years pass without any success and their kids will be the ones who pay.

More than likely your uplines don't value your time. If they did, they wouldn't do so many activities (at your expense) that takes you away from your family. I remember our uplines even had contests where the winner got the honor or driving the diamond to the airport! Wow, so you work hard to achieve something and your prize is to take more time away from your family to be an unpaid chauffeur for the upline!

How much do you value your time?

IBOs, How's Your Cashflow?

2011-02-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

As an IBO, I mostly had a negative cashflow, primarily because ofthe tool purchases. Tools are generally standing orders, voicemail, functions, and other meetings, and books. While some will argue the value of the tools, it is still apparent that the tools are the main reason why the vast majority of IBOs end up with a net loss at the end of the month.

Because most IBOs are unable to generate enough sales, they end up purchasing most of their own sales. With a lack of sales, an IBO can only profit in turn, by recruiting (sponsoring) downline to leverage volume. Of course, when you finally have enough downline, they are taking the losses in order for you to profit. In this model, Amway's opportunity can be seen as questionable from a legal standpoint. While Amway defenders cite the 1979 FTC ruling, that ruling found that Amway was not a illegal pyramid because of their sales requirement. I believe that groups operating primarily as a "buy from yourself" concept are doing so illegally.

But what is concerning and scary is how IBOs seems to disregard to justify their negative cashflow. You move your 100 PV. If you are typical, that 100 PV is mostly from your own consumption and you end up with a 3% bonus, which is about $10 a month. If you are attending functions, buying books and standing orders and using voicemail, you have a negative cashflow. You will likely be taught to justify this as an investment into your business. What I find ironic is that prospects are often told that the Amway opportunity has little or no overhead. Then when you get started, you are told that a business owner needs to invest in their busines.

Investments into a business would be okay, except that it is a rare thing for any of these IBOs to recapture their investments and turn a profit. For most, they will realize this and quit, or hang on and lose tens of thousands of dollars over a number of years. IBOs and prospects should lok at things objectively and ask themselves honestly, what is my business cashflow like? Am I funneling my job income into this business (moneypit) or are there real prospects of turning a profit? If your motivation hangs on a dream and a prayer, maybe you need to sit down with an accountant and truly analyze your business profit and loss statement. If you don't know what that is, you need to find out right away!

My Job Doesn't Pay Me What I Am Worth?

2011-02-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

One of the things I observed and I believe is still taught today, is that Amway recruiters and IBOs 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.
Sadly, many will join and end up with a net loss, even after putting in an honest effort.

When you stop and 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 $90 in bonus money (30%). Middle men in your upline take about $80, 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?
Would you have joined knowing that out of $90 in bonuses you generated, for moving 100 PV, that your uplines would get most of the bonus? What happened to their saying of do the work and get paid? Or are the uplines saying "you do the work" - "so I can get paid"?

Let's say you worked really hard for a couple of years. You finally reach platinum and you earn maybe $40K or 50K (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? Is Amway paying you what you are worth?

Where Are The Diamonds?

2011-02-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

How many diamonds are there in Amway? I don't know for sure. Nobody knows for sure except Amway and Amway isn't telling. I once emailed Amway to ask this question and I was told to ask the person who invited me to a meeting. An Amway supporter once 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 wrote a blog post claiming there are about 4000 Amway diamonds worldwide. While that may or may not be true, given this Amway supporter's propensity for lying, it certainly doesn't speak well about the number of Diamonds in the US and Canada. Nobody seems to be able to name at least ten new diamonds who came out of North America in the last 5 or six years.

On one of the Amway PR blogs, I posed a question (several years 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 North America. 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.

Some Amway supporters talk about the thousands of people who may have achieved success thru this opportunity. They don'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 cds, 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.

Where are all the diamonds? Are they hiding? Or becoming extinct?

Amway Sales Up For 2010?

2011-02-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amway-parent-grows-to-92-billion-in-2010-116396994.html

ADA, Mich., Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Amway's parent company, Alticor Inc., reported sales exceeding $9.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2010, a 9.5 percent increase over sales of $8.4 billion in 2009. The 2010 performance results mark Alticor's 10th sales increase in the last 11 years.

Amway said growth was fueled by strong 2010 results in China, the company's largest market, as well as healthy gains in India, Korea, North America and Latin America.

The company, which is privately held, does not generally release individual market sales or disclose profitability.

"Our message of free enterprise and individual opportunity continues to resonate across markets and across cultures," DeVos said. "We're proud to help entrepreneurs take the first step towards business ownership, and to support them with brands that are becoming better known every day."

The company announced that category sales of NUTRILITE approached $4 billion, attributed to overall growth in the category as well as increased visibility for NUTRILITE in 2010. Major campaigns included "Color Yourself Healthy," a global awareness program that promoted the benefits of plant ingredients for optimal health. Global sponsorships focused on major sports teams and well-known athletes continue to build brand awareness for NUTRILITE.

ARTISTRY skin care and cosmetics led beauty category sales for Amway. The company cited a successful launch of ARTISTRY Intensives Renewing Peel, the first product in a new Intensives line of skin care products designed to provide professional results at home. Masstige brand beautycycle™ successfully launched in Europe and Australia, targeted to consumers who are looking for high-quality skin care and cosmetics products containing natural ingredients.

Brand building continues to be a significant focus for Amway around the world. "Our distributors are realizing the benefits of our global investment in building our brands," said DeVos. "It is easier for them to sell products that consumers already know to ask for by name." To increase consumer access to its brands, Amway expanded its physical presences across the globe to complement its direct selling business model.

The company also unveiled a new Amway brand identity in 2010, highlighted by the opening of the Amway Center, home to the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Orlando Magic, which became the first high-profile venue in North America to showcase Amway's new brand identity.

Operationally, the company took steps to evolve into a true global enterprise – leveraging technology to improve supply chain efficiencies, help distributors run their businesses more efficiently and gain consumer insight vital to developing strong customer relationships. Said Van Andel: "We are a global business, with 90 percent of sales outside the U.S., and we are taking necessary steps to support customers worldwide."

Amway Or Working At McDonalds?

2011-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

When you visit the Amway Global blog, they have a section I believe called "by the numbers". When you click it, it takes you to "Thisbiznow" and shows the average income of "active" IBOs to be $115 a month - and that's after disregarding about 1/3 of the IBO sales force as they are not "active". I believe that this figure is based on a 2001 survey done by the corporation (And Amway supporters complain and bemoan critics for not having current information).

One of the things I often hear from Amway supporters is a comparison of Amway and franchises. (McDonalds in particular). First of all, unless I am mistaken, Amway is not a franchisor, and their salesforce (IBOs) are not franchise owners. This is simply a trick used by some lines of sponsorship to make you feel nice and important (I guess). So there is no valid comparison between an IBO and McDonalds. If Amway were franchising businesses, I am sure they would tell you so.

But let's look at one very telling comparison between Amway IBOs and McDonalds. In Hawaii, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. If someone were employed at McDonald's for $7.25 per hour, and they worked 5 hours per week, or 20 hours in a month, their gross income would be $145.00! That's more than 30% more than an average IBO receives from the Amway opportunity! For you average IBOs out there - want a 30% raise? Get a 5 hour per week job at McDonalds! Go Big Mac!

Anonymous From Scarborough Canada Entertains Joecool

2011-02-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

My of my regular readers here knows that there's an anonynous cowardly blogger from Scarborough Ontario Canada who has left threats and insults on my blog almost ad nauseum. I gave him my contavt information but he was too chicken to contact me. He is apparently a low level IBO who has a entry level job in a bank. Here's a humorous set of comments he recently left ony my blog. Enjoy!

Anonymous said: "That's why you didn't make the kind of money you were hoping to make. When I registered a thought came to my mind quite early on; instead of me finding 6 people who find 4 who find 2 each, why don't I just find one person who will find 6 people who find 4 who find 2 each? After-all, I still get 7500 PV and 50K/year!!! Sadly, as I found out, in doing so, I would net out only about $700/month instead of $5700/month. Structure is the key baby! BIG DIFFERENCE! So, I got serious about it and went for my 6 people! Did it all go just as advertised? No, but I earn a good $4000-4500 per month. Do I plan to stop here? No! I plan to go 100K/year by December 2011. So remember, business structure is vital for profitability. Stop whining and get to work!"

Anonymous said: "My Amway expenses are WAY FAR from wiping out my monthly Amway earnings. Or are you referring to my general, every day expenses? If yes, then there really is nothing to argue about. The same can be said about anyone whose job income also equals my Amway monthly income. For your information, I make almost twice as much from Amway than any other job I ever had."

Anonymous said: "Buddy Joe, my J.O.B was from 9 in the morning till 6 in the evening, Monday to Friday, working as a customer service representative. I was making about $2360/month. So don't you think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, $4000/month from Amway isn't a little bit, JUST A TINY LITTLE BIT, MORE than $2360? So what if I earn $4000/month you ask? Buddy Joe, I think that you're aware of $4000 figure being TOO REAL TO YOU, it's just that you were nowhere near that and now you're bitter about it. Why am I there and you aren't? Don't know and don't want to know. All I see is your bitterness and complacency. So shut up!"

Joe's commentary: So my anonymous friend in making $4000 a month from Amway? Of course he provides no evidence and not even an anecdotal explanation of how he makes $4000 a month. Of course, $4000 a month isn't much when you still have to pay for medical insurance and your other business expenses. Not to mention, I earn a lot more than that from my job. But anon from Canada, thanks for your entertaining tirades! I truly enjoy what you add to my blog! :-)

The Motive Behind "The Plan"?

2011-02-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

I’m not sure whether this plan was carefully crafted out or whether it just evolved, but the way some uplines show the plan is cleverly designed to suck people into their systems. If you aren’t aware or careful, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the presentation. The presentation if full of deception and I will try to point out these items in my analysis.

The speaker may talk about how he once thought he was “doing okay” in life. That he was making a living and able to meet his financial obligations. But he thought there might be more. One day he saw the plan and it changed his life. He did not realize he had gotten into a rut of going to work and going home every day and looking forward to his 2 weeks off each year. (This is relatable for many) That time and money are so important in life. Control of time and money is the key to success. Many people have lost of money but work all day and nite. Or people have time but are broke and can’t do much. The speaker might mention dreams or goals such as having an extra $500 a month or more. What would you do for an extra $500 a month. What about an extra $50,000 a year? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the wife stay home with the kids instead of leaving the family to go to work? Like the “Leave it to Beaver” days? (This gets the women excited)

The speaker will likely mention something about the economy and how prices always go up. The speaker may mention the 4 “I’s” that suck money out of your paycheck. The four I’s are Interest, Income Tax, Insurance and Inflation. The speaker may talk about how the government will take their cut and so on until you get yout “net”. The speaker may mention how so many Americans are dead or broke by age 65, and that social security will collapse. (This instills fear in many people).

The speaker might also go on to mention how so many marriages are falling apart in the US because of financial stress. That couples work so hard that they have no family time and it hurts marriages. That people work so many hours these days that they are married to their desks. The “manager” of the office is the first one there and the last one to go home. That despite all of this work and effort, people are falling into debt. Credit cards maxed out, loans, trying to keep up with the Joneses. (Many people can relate to this)

But now, because he was looking for opportunity/open minded one day, he saw an opportunity. This opportunity changed his life and can do the same for you! The speaker now wakes up at the crack of noon. His wife stays home with him and the kids. They take nice vacations and they do what they want when they want. (Of course, who doesn’t? But is this true?) The opportunity takes advantage of the internet and allows you to leverage your time and money so that you can create a residual walk away income. (But nobody walks away do they?)

This is approximately the point in the presentation where they mention “Amway” At this point, the speaker will defend Amway, stating that if you can make money, does it matter.? If you can save money, does it matter? The speaker may go into the product line and mention partner stores and will likely show a 6-4-2 plan or a variation of it. In every case, they will show a best case scenario, not what is likely. Many prospects will leave thinking “all I need is six”. They don’t understand how unlikely it is to sponsor six platinums and there is no mention of the retention rates, the income most IBOs can expect, and firm questions will be deflected to the prospect’s inviter. The speaker may also discourage you from speaking to friends and family as they may have a bad experience but the diamond is successful and knows more about Amway than your family and friends.

Joe’s commentary: So the speaker becomes very relatable from the start. His situation in life will be like many in the audience. He will talk about doing okay,. But wanting more or looking for more. He talks about debts and many in the audience will also relate. They get people to think about dream cars or vacations. He talks about walk away income, but doesn’t mention that very very few ever make significant money and apparently, not many actually walk away either. They say you will make money and save money by doing the business. It’s hard to argue against that,.except most people will not make money or save money. In fact most people, if they participate fully or partially in the training system, they will lose money. For the dedicated IBOs, many of them LOSE LOTS OF MONEY. The plan is crafted out to sound sensible and relatable, but many IBOs will give it a try and shortly after, will realize that the system doesn’t work, that the reputation of Amway IBOs is soiled and sponsoring people or even getting people to see the plan is a barrier that most people simply cannot overcome. At least if you know what’s going on, you may be able to avoid the trap.

Tax Time - IBO Profits Go Up?

2011-02-14T16:48:00.001-08:00

One of the things that I have observed is how IBOs are so misguided by their upline, that they think that their business losses, which result in a tax refund is somewhat like a profit, or that they are getting a free pass with the government footing the bill for their standing orders and functions. In the past, IBOs have been audited and had many business deductions disallowed because the tax department ruled that they were not truly running a business, but participating in a hobby called Amway.

I know that most IBOs are deducting the cost of their training materials on their taxes, but the issue at hand is whether the training materials are resulting in increased sales for your business. If you are running a "buy from yourself" business, then there is a strong possibility that your expenses may not be valid deductions come tax time. If you are not selling products to customers for a profit, then there is a chance that your expenses are not valid deductions. It would be sad indeed to be audited at tax time a few years after you have been an Amway business owner, only to find out that your expenses are not valid and that you may owe tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes.

Another apparently common mistake of IBOs is to think that their business expenses are basically free from the government because they may end up with a tax return. Your expenses are deductible from your taxable income. Thus if you had $10,000 in business expenses, your return would depend on your tax bracket. If you are in the 15% tax bracket, then $10,000 in expenses would get your about a $1,500 tax return, depending on other deductions you may have. But IBOs get duped into thinking they made a score and now get back $1,500 when they may not have had a refund in the past. Obviously in this case, the IBO would have been better off saving the $10,000 and never getting involved in Amway. Some IBOs proudly proclaim their refunds as basically a windfall, almost like it is a profit. That is truly scary.

Folks, there is no free ride. If you are spending money on legitimate business expenses with an intent to make a profit, then there is nothing wrong with that. But if you are traveling to conventions hoping to learn the secret of sponsoring more downline, you could be walking on thin ice should the IRS ever decide to audit your business. There have been many cases in the past where not only did IBOs lose their shirts due to the business support materials they purchaed, but they got double whammied later when the IRS disallowed tax deductions, leaving them in financial ruin. I truly hope you aren't on that path.

Check out this link:
http://www.apollowebworks.com/amway/irs.html

"TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT have always been areas of abuse. Sections 162, 262, and 274 are always applicable and sometimes Section 183. Since most of the travel is primarily to attend social gatherings for entertainment and motivational purposes, any real business purpose is suspect. Unless the taxpayer can show that attending seminars, meetings, etc., meets the requirement of Section 162, the travel should be disallowed. Amway people have been unable to show that attending these meetinqs increased their sales. The agendas of these meetings appear to be primarily for entertainment, socializing, and listening to motivational speeches. The meetings have nothing to do with promoting the sale of Amway products to the general public. In fact, Amway distributors are specifically warned aqainst mentioning either Amway or selling when recruitinq potential downline people. Since it is not likely that the taxpayer will increase his sales by attending these functions, then there is not a reasonable business purpose for the trips"

Amway Diamonds - Traveling Salesmen?

2011-02-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

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 clips 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 Opportunity would not sound quite as attractive for a diamond or higher) to mention that their Amway business might take up to 50 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 see them drive up in at functions. Many IBOs simply assume that diamonds and above has unlimited money pouring in from the Amway corporation. And many IBOs think that diamonds do not have to work. That diamonds work out of love for their downline. I believe nothing could be further from the truth.

Based on the average diamond earning just under $150,000 a year (gross), and the diamonds constantly having to travel to do functions and open meetings, as well as working a personal group and helping their platinum legs to maintain their qualifications, a diamond probably spends full time hours and then some, 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. There are many stories of this happening. If you really believe people can walk away from Amway and collect tons of money while doing so, I challenge you to name some of these nice people.

So do diamonds actually live the lifestyle they portray at functions? It is my best guess that diamonds live a 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. But the diamonds travel because they must. In order to earn some of their tool money and honorariums for speaking, they must continue to work the functions. The diamonds are traveling salesmen. They sell the Amway opportunity, they sell you tools and motivation and they sell you dreams and hopes. Sadly, very few reap the rewards promoted by the diamonds. In fact, in the US and Canada, it sppears that the diamonds are becoming extinct.

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. Thus a diamond bonus must be carefully budgeted ro the diamond can easily get into financial difficulty.

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

IBOs Need To Modernize?

2011-02-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things many Amway defenders like to use in defense of Amway is that critics are outdated. That experiences that are a few years old or older and are no longer valid. Yet when you examine the Amway opportunity, not much has changed. At least in North America, IBOs are still deceptive about presenting Amway to a prospect. Many diamonds who ruled the Amway world in the 1990’s are still around teaching today, with a few new diamonds emerging. The emphasis for many IBOs is still to sponsor people and not on selling Amway products. Most business building IBOs are told they need the system to succeed. If Amway enthusiasts are going to say that someone’s experience no longer applies, at least state what is different.

In fact, I will cite some specific items that could greatly reduce the cost of running an Amway business and can be done with great efficiency. Of course none of these would ever be fully implemented because the upline leaders would not be able to profit from them as they do now. If you still use voicemail and other costly tools, try asking your upline why they don't modernize and reduce IBO cost? I bet they feed you BS if you ask this.

Why does anyone need voicemail now when Amway is a web based business? Get rid of KATE and replace it with free email. Heck, with Facebook, your entire group could receive inportant messages and respond. These are free, but uplines keep using outdated technology that costs their downline money. Why? A leader can very efficiently and without cost, send a message to all downlines with one punch of his keyboard. Everyone has access to a computer either at home of by internet café’ or by laptop or iphone. This could save an IBO possibly more than $30 a month plus charges for excess minutes. In fact this would be an upgrade to the current KATE system.

Even standing orders can be streamlined to mp3 messages or some kind of email based transcript to get information to downline. It doesn’t have to be free for those who believe that upline should be paid, but it would eliminate the need to pick up the material from your upline and it would be able to greatly reduce the cost to IBOs. Why do uplines use the most inefficient means of communication? Because it gets them the most profit?

So I will contend it is my opinion that Amway leaders are either outdated themselves or simply refuse to make technology upgrades because they make a nice profit charging downline for these outdated materials. I truly hope IBOs will take this post to heart and ask upline these tough questions. I would truly like too know the answers.

Are You An IBO Or A Misled Customer?

2011-02-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

Many people who register to distribute Amway products are taught to "buy from yourself". Of course using the products you sell is a good idea because you gain familiarity with the products and you may be able to explain and promote the products. However, one of the issues with this is some IBOs are taught to use the products exclusively without selling products to others. This makes them customers and not IBOs. It is also a potential violation of Amway rules, which apparently, some uplines conveniently ignore.

Buying products is not a business activity. A business exists to sell goods and services to customers for a profit. That's it, plain and simple. Any other activities that you engage in such as listening to a tape/cd, attending a function or reading a book, might be educational in nature, but it is not a business related activity. This is key. Many IBOs are foold into thinking that attending functions is business, or that listening to standing orders is businesss. It is not. Only selling products or services in an attempt to profit is a business activity. Uplines have perverted the IBO's thinking and thought process.

Many many IBOs are mislead by upline into thinking that simply buying their own goods is a means to succeed in Amway. One somewhat prolific but grossly mislead IBO (Tex) thought that he can buy his way to prosperity. He is dead wrong and his results prove it. Buying from yourself is a technique used by upline because many people do not like to sell. Therefore, they are told to sell to themselves. Of course, you are now a customer and not a business owner. And - any profit made from the buy from yourself model is coming out of your own pockets. You are just fooling yourself.

If you are being taught to "buy from yourself", almost exclusively, you may want to step back and analyze your profit/losses and see if you are accomplishing what is shown in the "plan". IBOs who engage in the buy from yourself philosophy are basically building a product based pyramid. Keep in mind, are you a misled customer or an IBO?

Statement From A WWDB IBO

2011-02-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

The compensation plan is untouchable and uncomparable to anything else I've been shown. Most people that try to prospect me some other business model just do not have the stability and security and financial statement and most importantly integrity of individuals on purpose as our company has. Which is why I only show this to and work with those who qualify.

For your research, I'd reccomend several websites:

www. thisbiznow. com (What our partners are saying)
www. quixtarfacts. com (the answers you need as you consider this opportunity)
www. quixtarnewsroom. com (company news you need to know)
www. wwdb. com (username:guest / password:dream)
www. alticor. com (more about our parent company)
www. amway. com (your link to a global business opportunity)
www. iobai. com (the official site of Independent Business Owners Association International)

I cannot be quoted, but figures depend on group volume ran. A Ruby may earn around $10k-15k a month running approx about $20K-$50K of business dollars monthly through their personal team of people with the 2008 comp plan. Every year the comp plan is restructured and increases for all independent business owners. There are additional bonuses and incentives to be eligible for along the process.

Keep in mind: edibles and consumables are renewable when used up and you can make a lot of money with them.

I dont want to waste my time just to peek a person's curiosity about what I do and what I'm in. I'm very serious about what I do, this is not something people do as a side hobby, and I work with thousands of successful individuals that also feel the same.

Those questions and much more can be answered and fully explained by being shown the full business plan. I dont show it to people unless they qualify and earned their right to.

Perhaps you can correct me, but you've already given me the impression you didn't want to see it. I respect you, however I dont know you well enough as a potential business partner to share the business with. If you're serious about really giving it the respect of being looked into, I just may reconsider.

P.S. I did a follow up on this IBO and apparently she has left WWDB and Amway.

IBOs Must Lose Money!

2011-02-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

Most IBOs who get involved in the Amway opportunity lost money. IBos and critics have debated this issue for years, but the fact is that IBOs lose money, because they must! For the sake of this discussion, let's disregard IBOs who sign up and do nothing. Those who sign up and do nothing get exactly what they put into the business. Let's instead, talk about the IBOs who put in some work, and purchase and use training and tools from the upline.

If you analyze the common 6-4-2 plab or any variation, the "2s", or bottom layer is the majority of IBOs. They are at the 100 PV level, thus the typical IBO at that level is moving 100 PV, and getting a bonus from Amway of about $10 a month. These IBOs will also be spending possibly several hundreds of dollars a month for training and tools. The next layer up of the "4s" will earn maybe $40 to $50 a month, they also spend up to hundreds of dollars a month on tools and training. It is very likely that the platinum is the only one who might clear a small profit in the end.

IBOs will justify their position by claiming that they will eventually go platinum, and eventually go diamond. Really, for those in the US or Canada, can you actually name even a dozen new diamonds from the last several years? I believe there are fewer diamonds now than a few years ago as it appears that Amway is shrinking in the US and Canada. But for those who cling to the notion that they will go platinum or diamond, here's the counter point.

For every platinum, there will be typically be up to a hundred or more IBOs downline losing money. Therefore, if there emerged 10 new platinums, then it is likely there are a thousand or more downline losing money. The more new platinums you have, the more people exist who are losing money. And let me be clear, they are losing money because of the training and tools. The training and tools are just a drain on IBO resources and the training and tools do very little to help IBOs learn to run a profitable business.

My conclusion is that IBOs lose money because they have to! The system of products, tied together with tools and training guarantees financial losses for more than 99% of those who participate. It is well known to everyone, except, apparently to the IBOs. I hope this blog post helps.

IBO Failure?

2011-02-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

It is no 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. There was even a standing order that confirmed this nonsense at one time.

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? And the solution to bad sales in Amway is to open more stores? Ludicrous!

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. Seems 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. I believe that most IBOs who quit, will never buy another Amway product again.

Hard work and effort doesn't necessarily equal 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.

Sounds Familiar?

2011-02-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

I'll post two made up speeches. Figure out which one sounds more like your diamond. I laugh when Amway defenders claim their diamonds talk about renting homes and being conservative. I have never seen or heard of a diamond talking like that.

Hi gang. I'm so fired up right now seeing you all. You are all winners, doing whatever it tales to get it done! You see, every single one of you can be on stage, and having what I have, if you do what I do. And I will tell you how to do this business! I own some mansions in Whitefish Montana. Of course I paid cash for these mansions because people who take out loans are broke or stupid! I have a fleet of sports cars, all paid in cash and I'm thinking about buying a jet next year! man this business is so simple, all you have to do is copy me!

Or is this one more likely by a diamond?

Hi gang. It's great to see all of you in the audience. I hope none of you are here unless you can truly afford to attend. you know, a diamond lifestyle is great, but not flashy. I have to rent a home because i am living below my means until I can afford a nice home. I buy second hand cars to save money. You know we have to be fiscally prudent. I'm here to teach you about how to build your business and how to make wise financial decisions regarding your Amway business. You should not buy tools unless you can afford them.

So which speech sounds like an Amway diamond? I know which one. So do you!

The Seeds Of Doubt

2011-02-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Some IBOs and Amway supporters have accused Joecool and others of planting "seeds of doubt" in the minds of IBOs. Granted, I am a critic of the Amway 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. Obviously, the flaws and problems are many or there would be fewer critics, and Amway would likely have a better reputation in North America. The root of the problem, I believe, is the motivational groups that sell tools.

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 and similar blogs is probably the truth and that what is said here often makes more sense than what upline is teaching. If the truth is negative then so be it.

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

Invest In Your Amway Business?

2011-02-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

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. It becomes a direct benefit for the business owner to make that investment. In Amway, those benefits are very questionable.

What exactly do IBOs get from cds or attending functions? What do they get from standing orders and night owls? 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 practices. It wouldn't seem so bad if upline leaders weren't the primary financial beneficiary of these functions. Ironically, it is the uplines exclusively who make the most bucks out of the 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. I hope IBOs and information seekers are able to recognize this and avoid getting into a losing situation.

The Cost Of Being An IBO?

2011-02-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

The actual cost to register as an IBO, I believe is in the neighborhood of $50. Many motivational groups such as BWW or WWDB or others, may have different costs because of product samples and/or tools included in the signup process. But aside from the cost of registration, what does it cost an IBO to run a Amway powered business? Many, if not most IBOs probably sign up thinking they will make money right away, only to find out that ongoing costs easily turn small profits into losses. Some of the costs I will display are optional, but often promoted as mandatory. Listed below are conservatively estimated monthly costs:

100 PV = $300
KATE (voicemail) = $20
Website fees + $20
Standing Order (Tape/cd subcription) $42
Extra tapes/cds (two per week) $56
Book of the Month $10
Functions/Major functions (averaged out) $125
Monthly Open Meeting $8

These somewhat minimal estimates of monthly expenses add up to $581. Were you informed that a business building IBO would have to spend in the neighborhood of $600 a month? Would you have been interested if this were disclosed? I woudn't have joined if this was disclosed to me. These costs are actually lowball estimates if you are a hard core IBO. These estimates would run you about $7000 a year. In five years, you may have spent $35,000 to build a business where you have a tiny fraction of a one percent chance of making any real money.

What could you do with an extra $7,000 a year? What could you do with an $35,000, say 5 years from now?

The average active IBO earns less than $1,500 a year. Never mind the social cost of missing family gatherings, your kid's ball games and other fun things.

Do the math!

IBOs Lie To Succeed?

2011-02-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

In my personal experience and even now, I see evidence from IBOs that lying is still a big part of the script for those who are recruiting new IBOs. A business built on lies is a house built on a shaky foundation.
If your upline has lied, did you simply ignore and overlook it? Did you see slide shows of wealth as "proof" that Amway works? Do you know if your upline actually owns any of that stuff and is it typical or simply some exceptional diamond who has trappings but tries to imply that alll diamonds and big pins have all of those goodies?
Some of the lies:

We don't make any money until you do

We don't make money from tools

Save 30% by becoming an IBO

The business is easy

All you need is six

Diamonds pay cash for everything

Jobs are for losers

98% for people are dead or broke by age 65

95% of small businesses fail in the first year

**Have you heard any of these statements? Have you been fed lies or half truths (lies)?

If these statements sounds familiar, it may be a red flag for you. I urge you to at least verify any questionable claims made by upline or by those recruiting you into the business. Get bonafide proof of financial success. While uplines may say it's not your business, it certainly is if you are being asked to trust the upline leadership and to follow their advice. You should know how successful your uplines are and whether or not following them is indeed worth your time, investment and efforts. If your upline dodge your questions, you should think twice.

Why So Many IBOs Quit?

2011-02-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

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. They show the best case scenario. not the likely outcome. It's like showing only the lottery winners.

Many Amway recruiters discuss a "shortcut" to retirement, fabulous toys, mansions, cars and vacations. 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 Questions And Answers

2011-02-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

Question: What are the chances a person can start from scratch and become a Diamond?

Answer: A tiny tiny fraction of 1%. I might add that achieving diamond and maintaining diamond are two separate issues.

Question: Why are tapes/cds, books, and meetings common in this business?

Answer: Because upline allegedly wants train downline via these tools,
The sad reality however, is that many upline make far more income from the sale of these tools and meetings than from Amway.

Question: Do tapes, books, and meetings offer value as well as a money-back guarantee?

Answer: Supposedly they do, yet for some reason, yet you see the items sold for pennies on the dollar on ebay. You also do not see a steady stream of successful results from those who use the system/

Question: Are prices for your products offered on Amway.com competitive?

Answer: Generally, Amway prices are not competitive with Walmart or other big stores because Amway must overcharge their cost by about 30% or so in order to pay out their bonuses.

Question: What makes the Amway Independent Business Ownership Plan legal while some businesses perceived to be similar are illegal?

Answer: Because Amway has products moving and there is no actual payment for recruiting. It must be noted though, that many IBOs make little or no effort to sell stuff, and much emphasis is on recruiting.

Question: Should a business dispute occur with another IBO, what options do they have?

Answer: To quit or go through a company arbitration process.

Question: I’ve heard rumors that I have to “follow the system” (listen, read, and attend) to get help from my upline. Is there any truth to that?

Answer: Technically, this is optional, but many many uplines will make it a defacto requirement. i.e. Tools are optional but so is success.

Question: I heard some Emeralds and Diamonds have quit their businesses. Is that true?

Answer: This is true. And some who quit admitted that as much as 90% of their income came from selling tapes/cds and tickets to meetings

Question: What is the difference between "the system" and "the business"?

Answer: The system is basically a secret but more lucrative business than the Amway business.

Question: Is one IBO organization or group better than another?

Answer: Just about all organizations claim they are “the best”. If you base “the best” on their miserable results, they are more similar than not.

Question: How much money can I really earn? How fast?

Answer: The average IBO, according to Amway, earns $115 a month and that is gross income for “active” IBOs. After business expenses, most IBOs have a net loss.

Question: Am I “in Amway” or am I really an "Independent Business Owner"?

Answer: You may be called “independent”, but in reality, you are more like a commissioned sales person.

Question: When I search Amway on the Internet, I find some negative stuff. What's up with that?

Answer: Because the vast majority of people make nothing or lose money. Many people were lied to when recruited. Over the years, you develop a bad reputation that way.

Question: Is the business plan today as valid as it was 20 or 30 years ago?

Answer: You are more likely to fail these days, unless you are only interested in buying and selling a few products. This is because the system expenses nearly guarantee net losses for most IBOs.

Question: Am I required to hold certain beliefs to be accepted?

Answer: no you are not required, but some “tools” organizations push religion and politics at meetings, which is against corporation rules.

Question: Odd as it may sound, I’ve heard some rumors that Amway Global/Quixtar is a cult. Is there anything to that?

Answer: Yes, many compare the Amway meetings to a cultlike atmosphere.

You're In Amway Or You're A Loser?

2011-02-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

One of the things that Amway owner Rich DeVos once said was that you should not call someone a loser just because they don't agree with you about the Amway oppportunity (not verbatim). I find this so ironic when simple math bears out the fact that an average business building IBO is losing money. How did I conclude this? Well, Amway reports that an average IBO earns about $115 a month gross income. This figure excludes IBOs who sign up and "do nothing".

A business building IBO who subscribes to standing order, attend functions, open meetings, has voicemail and reads a book a month has expenses that exceed $115 a month, therefore an average business building IBO is losing money. But ironically, these same IBOs who are losing money mistakenly believe that everyone else is a loser. I remember when I was "gung ho" about Amway, I used to think the same way. I almost felt sorry for people who weren't in Amway, as if IBOs have the secrets to life anf finances unlocked and those who say "no" are simply dooming themselves to financial disaster in their golden years.

I believe that uplines used the term quitter, failure, or loser as a subtle means of applying pressure to prevent IBOs from leaving the business. Nobody wants to leave thinking they have suddenly gone from being a winner to being a quitter or loser with no hope in life. I believe this strategy also contributes to Amway's reputation issues. I know that prospects have also heard this term in the past. In fact, I recall an online dialogue where an IBO was prospecting someone online and was very courteous until the prospect declined the invitation to be sponsored. Just like Jekyl and Hyde, the IBO starts calling the prospect a broke loser who wouldn't have accomplished much anyway. Talk about damaging the reputation and basically taking away any future chance of doing business with that prospect.

It is more likely that you are a loser because you're in Amway than not. Prove me wrong if you disagree.

Amway Pays Me To Shop?

2011-01-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

One of the silly arguments some Amway enthusiasts and IBOs 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 WalMart 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. Also, it would appear that less than 1% of IBOs ever reach the 25% level so those IBOs are not common, and many who reach that level are unable to maintain the level.

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 your 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. Not only would you save a lot of money, you can get cashback using American Express or Discover. "Live better, save money" is Walmart's slogan. What is Amway's? So now you know? LOL

Another Possible Way To Earn More Than IBOs?

2011-01-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

Start a blog! Joecool's blog currently gets about 250 to 300 site visitors per day, although I run my blog as a public service (no profit). Start your own blog and start earning!

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/111747/ways-to-make-extra-money-in-2011?mod=oneclick

The anonymous blogger behind Lazy Man and Money defies his site's name. He works about 14 hours a day on weekdays and then puts in nine hours on Saturday and Sunday. But his hard work is paying off -- his blog earns him enough to support his lifestyle; back in 2008, he estimated his annual earnings at around $30,000. But it's tough for part-time bloggers with full-time jobs to keep up with all the demands of a lucrative blog. "There's simply a lot more [to do] than what the average reader sees," he says.

Even if the blog itself doesn't generate a six-figure salary, it can lead to other money-making opportunities, such as consulting or speaking gigs. Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life has carved out a successful niche as the expert on personal finance and technology in Silicon Valley. While she says she didn't earn much during the first six months of her blog's life, she received her first $100 check from Google AdSense shortly after that point, when she was getting around 600 unique visitors a day. She now earns money from her blog-related consulting, as well.

Signs Of A Pyramid Scheme

2010-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-34739_20942-208400--,00.html

Use Common Sense and Consider These Tips

The pyramid scheme disguised as a multi-level marketing opportunity is not always easy to spot, but is just as much of a scam as the chain letter. Here are some tips to consider before participating in a multi-level marketing program:

Avoid any program that focuses more on recruitment of new people rather than the sale of a product or service to an end-user consumer. If the opportunity for income is primarily derived by recruiting more participants or salespersons rather than by selling a product, the plan probably is illegal. Several courts interpret greater pressure on members to sponsor new recruits than to market company merchandise as evidence of an illegal pyramid.

Be skeptical of plans that claim you will make money through continued growth of your "downline" -- the commissions on sales made by new distributors you recruit -- rather than through your own sales of products.

Be cautious about specific income or earnings claims. Many programs boast about the incredibly high earnings of a few top performers ("thousands per week" or a "six figure income"). The reality is that most of the people recruited into the organization are not making anywhere near those amounts and most actually lose money.

Beware when presented with "testimonies" from other distributors. These "success" stories rarely reflect reality.

Be cautious about participating in any program that asks distributors to purchase expensive inventory. There are horror stories of people with a basement or garage full of merchandise that no one will buy.

Make sure the product or service offered by the company is something you would buy without the income opportunity and the product or service is competitively priced. Illegal pyramid schemes often sell products at prices well above retail or sell products that are difficult to value, such as health and beauty aids, new inventions or "miracle" cures.

Never sign a contract or pay any money to participate in a multi-level marketing program, or any business opportunity, without taking your time and reading all of the paperwork. Talk the opportunity over with a spouse, knowledgeable friend, accountant or lawyer. If you feel that you are being subjected to high-pressure sales tactics or are not being given enough time to review the details, go elsewhere.

When questions are raised about pyramids, comparisons may be made to corporations where there is one person at the top who makes the most money. What they fail to state is that corporations do not seek to recruit an unlimited number of employees or pay employees based on recruiting new employees.

Beware when the products or services are simply vehicles for recruitment. The products may be gimmicks and/or overpriced, but even high quality products may serve as a cover for recruitment activities.

Your Responsibilities:

If you decide to become a distributor, remember that you are legally responsible for the claims you make about the company, its product, and the business opportunities it offers. That applies even if you are simply repeating claims you read in a company brochure or advertising flyer. If you decide to solicit new distributors, be aware that you are responsible for any claims you make about a distributor's earnings potential. Be sure to represent the opportunity honestly and avoid making unrealistic promises. If those promises fall through, remember you could be held liable.

If you join a pyramid scheme disguised as a multi-level marketing program, your decision will affect not only you, but also everyone you bring into the program. Many people devote a substantial amount of time trying to market these worthless ventures. Ultimately, if a multi-level marketing opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

FOR GENERAL CONSUMER COMPLAINTS, CONTACT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION

If you have a general consumer complaint, please file a complaint with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at:

Consumer Protection Division
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909

517-373-1140
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll free: 877-765-8388
www.michigan.gov/ag (online complaint form)

Why People Quit Amway?

2010-11-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

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.

The Average Income?

2010-11-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

In 2001, Amway published that the average active IBO income was $115 a month and did not factor in taxes or business expenses. What I'm curious about is why Amway hasn't updated this information. It's humorous that Amway defenders like to condemn critics by calling them outdated but don't mention that Amway themselves should update important information. I also believe that the $115 a month figure is inflated because diamonds and above are factored into the figure.

Using the 6-4-2 plan that many IBOs use in recruiting downline and estimating the PV/BV and bonus money that can be extracted from a 6-4-2 group, the average income is about $75 to $85 a month. Thus, the average income as displayed by Amway is actually above average. In the 6-4-2 plan, the majority of these IBOs make closer to $10 a month, which doesn't even cover that IBO's voicemail expenses.

So for IBOs and information seekers, you should ask how likely you are to even make $115 a month. Then factor in the projected expenses of running an Amway business and see if your chances of making a profit are realistic. Far too many people get involved and then they are taught that they are successful even if they lose money. I believe it is a technique by some uplines who just want to retain these downline IBOs so they can keep selling them standing orders and function tickets.

Amway On 60 Minutes - Soap and Hope?

2010-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

A classic transcript of Amway featured on 60 minutes with Mike Wallace. Seems like not much has changed even after all these years:

http://hunza1.tripod.com/amway/60min.html

WALLACE:
Soap and Hope is the story of Amway. Amway, short for "The American Way", is a national phenomenon. It got it's start as a shop-at-home company dealing mostly in soap and soap products and has now become a one and a half billion dollar a year enterprise. But there is more to Amway than soap. What they're really selling is HOPE. The hope of getting rich beyond your WILDEST dreams. Others insist, however, that Amway is just a clever marketing scheme to enrich a few lucky people. Whatever it is, it has gotten a million people into selling soap and it begins with some old-fashioned motivation.

DEXTER YAGER:
I'm not a god. I'm not somebody to worship. There's a big difference between worshiping and LOVING. Some people are gonna love me because they wanna do what I'm doin'. I'm not one of a kind. Anybody can do what I'm doin'. They've just gotta want ta.

[cut to a man and woman walking through a park]

WALLACE: [voice over] But CAN anybody? Nancy and Valiss Johnson of Conway South Carolina were Amway distributors for 8 months when they finally QUIT. They say not only didn't they MAKE money, they ended up losing money for all of their efforts.

[cut to Nancy Johnson]

NANCY JOHNSON: Uh, when you go to these rallies you have to PAAAY to get in 'em. You have to PAAAY your expenses to GET there. You have to get off of your REGULAR work to get there and that's a lot of money going OUT just for some motivation to come back in.

[cut to shot of distributors entering function]

WALLACE: Beyond that, people who want to make it in Amway are told to buy the books and tapes and other motivating tools [shots of distributors buying books and tapes] that will teach them how to do it. The marketing these items runs into the millions of dollars a year. And that cash goes not to the Amway Corporation but to the high level distributors who run these rallies - paid for by the hopeful Amway novices who come to those rallies by the thousands.

[back to Nancy Johnson]

NANCY JOHNSON:
And then when you get back home and you knock on the door, it's slammed in your face each time you say Amway because people are SICK of hearing it.

WALLACE:
Why then do so many people go to work with Amway?

NANCY JOHNSON:
Well, there are plenty of weak people that you can convince 'em that you can do most anything while you've got 'em under your spell.

[cut to Scenes at a Rally]

FEMALE #1: I would like to make $500,000 a year.

MALE #1:
We're exCITed. We're goin' straight to the TOP.

FEMALE #2:
People WANT something better in LIFE than what they've GOT.

MALE#2:
I wanna be a pilot. I wanna travel. I wanna have more vacation. Than my company gives me after 10 years.

WALLACE:
And so you think Amway can DO that?

MALE #2:
AbsoLUTEly.

[cut to closeup of FTC document regarding Amway]

WALLACE:
But IS it that EASY? The FTC, the Federal trade Commission asked that question when it investigated Amway on charges that it was an illegal pyramid operation.

[cut to shots inside Amway manufacturing plant]

And while the FTC had come to the conclusion that Amway is NOT a pyramid because the money in Amway comes from selling real products. The FTC DID say that Amway misrepresented the kind of money that could be made by the average distributor. But the FTC isn't the ONLY skeptic about Amway.

[cut to shot of Bruce Craig, assistance Attorney General from the state of Wisconsin]

CRAIG:
We're charging them with deceptive business practices because of the use of those hypotheticals because they so vary from what we feel is REALITY.

WALLACE:
[voice over] Bruce Craig investigated some examples used in Amway literature. Examples that said that Amway distributors could make in excess of $1200 a month. Money that some Amway distributors could be earned with just a few hours a week. But after looking at the average income of the 20,000 Amway distributors in Wisconsin, Craig came to the conclusion that such a claim was outlandish.

[to Craig] Surely, SOMEbody's making that kind of money.

BRUCE CRAIG:
Yes. That's correct.

WALLACE:
How many? Percentage wise.

BRUCE CRAIG:
About one percent.

WALLACE:
[voice over] Amway DID make the disclaimer that $1200 a month was ONLY hypothetical but that still doesn't convince Bruce Craig.

BRUCE CRAIG:
If the figure of successful distributors was 1 out of 5 as opposed to 1 out of 100 we wouldn't be in court right now.

WALLACE:
[voice over] And, Craig says that even the distributors who, on paper, earn an average of $14,000 dollars a year in Wisconsin actually earn a lot LESS. How much do they actually make?

BRUCE CRAIG:
After business expenses, a net income of minus $918.

WALLACE:
WAAAAIT a MINute! The direct distributors who make a gross income on average of over $14,000 wind up losing almost $1000 after business expenses?

BRUCE CRAIG:
On average. Yes.

WALLACE:
Can you make $1200 a month on 6 to 8 hours a week?

(RICH) DEVOS:
Not that I know of.

WALLACE:
[voice over] But if the founders of Amway are painting a realistic picture of just how much work it takes at least some of Amway's distributors in the field say something quite different.

[cut to couple sitting at kitchen table]

[voice over] Bill and Julie Greenwood had 120 distributors beneath them in Amway and Julie Greenwood says that she and Bill routinely painted a pie-in-the-sky picture of how easy it is to make to the top and that their sponsors counselled them to keep that story going.

JULIE GREENWOOD:
It was an outright LIE!! Because we weren't doing it [succeeding] ourSELVES! And Bill said "What I wanna do is, in my meeting, I wanna tell the people just how much time it takes, I wanna tell them just how much money it takes to build a successful business" and they said "Well, Bill, you can no longer work with your group if you're gonna tell 'em those things." Bill said, "But they're the trUTH!" and they said "But people don't need to KNOW those things."

Amway Global - IBO Expenses Exceeds Income?

2010-10-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

So many IBOs are loyal to their upline but unknowingly get duped. They think that they will all be successful and living in the lap of luxury by following the system and upline advice. However, simple math proves that the system of voicemail, standing order, books and functions are just leeches on IBO resoirces and guarantees that the IBO group as a whole cannot make a profit. Even those who work very hard and do what they are told are hard pressed to earn a profit.

Here's the premise. Let's look at a group of 100 business building IBOs. They all do 100 PV like loyal soldiers. So 100 PV = roughly $300. 100 IBOs would then spend $30,000 a month on Amway products. Since Amway pays about 32% of their take back as IBO bonuses, 30,000 BV would generate about $9,600. If everyone split this up equally, it would be $96 each. But it doesn't work that way. Uplines somewhere get a cut from these bonuses so most IBOs will get about $10 and the upper level ones will get more, based on their personal group volume.

Now since these are the business building IBOs, they are expected to be on voicemail, standing orders, book of the month and functions. Of course, indivudal circumstances will vary, but many IBOs on average will spend between $150 and $250 a month on these various tools. At $150 a month each, the expenditure would be $15,000a month spent on tools to earn $9,600. If the group is a bit more hardcore and spends $250 a month, then the group would spend $25,000 a month to earn $9,600.

This continual system of expenses exceeding income systematically drains the IBOs of their resources and the upline continues to enjoy their luxuries at their downline's expense. How long can any business last with expenses exceeding income? It is for this reason that I believe upline leaders also teach their downline that they are nicer people or better spouses, because it takes the focus off the losses or gives the IBO a justification for the continuous net losses.

IBOs, and prospects should think about this message carefully. Keep track of your income versus expenses. A business exists to make a net profit. If not, why are you in business to begin with?

Amway Global - Go Broke Fast?

2010-09-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Many people join the Amway business because they believe that they will get rich in doing so. Upline will tell their audiences that they will not "get rich quick". I believe they do this as a disclaimer so that people don't believe this is some scam that is too good to be true. Obviously, many people have the idea that they will evnetually get rich if they will only follow upline advice and do what they are told. On the surface, the Amway presentation looks reasonable and makes sense. Basically, it is sold as make money and save money. Sound easy enough and who wouldn't want to make money, save money, or both?

But what's not told to prospects up front is that in order to work the system, you will need to be a leader and a good example for your downline to duplicate. Thus you will be expected to move at least 100 PV each month. 100 PV costs about $300 a month and a leader or serious IBO will be expected to be on voicemail, standing order, and book of the month, as well as attending functions which may include out of town conventions requiring airfare and other trave; expenses. I believe the average dedicated IBO would spend between $200 and $300 a month on average, on these tools. Thus an average business building IBO will spend about $500 to $600 a month in order to become a business building IBO.

$500 or $600 a month in expenses might seem reasonable for a business owner, except that you were likely told that the Amway business has little or no expenses. What would you have said if you were told upfront that you needed to come up with $6000 to $7000 annually to participate in Amway? Sure, you get some products with that expense, but more than likely you will also end up with many products you may not need, nor would you have used some of these products if not for your involvement in Amway.

Typically, IBOs don't last for long, but a bunch of IBOs do put in a few years of earnest effort before they realize that Amway is not going to deliver their dreams. After 2-3 years, it's possible that you may have "invested" over $20,000. If you are under 30 years of age, do you realize what $20,000 invested can do over the span of say, 30 years when you would likely retire from work? Even if you didn't invest it, couldn't that $20,000 fulfill some of your dreams? A new car, a dream vacation, maybe a down payment on real estate? Sadly, many uplines will lure eager young people into the Amway business and their seperate tool business. They will con them into giving up their resources so they can chase a dream that won't materialize.
Then when the IBO wakes up and quits, they are shunned and labeled a loser or a quitter.

IBOs and prospects often think they will get rich in Amway. But for most, especially those caught up the the teaching systems, they are far more likely to go broke fast.

"Tex" Countersuing Amway Global?

2010-09-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

http://texsquixtarblog.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 2, 2010
ONLINE CALL FOR CO-PLAINTIFFS AGAINST AMWAY!!!
If you were an IBO within the past 4 years, and would like to recover your lost Amway Tool Scam money, contact me to join my lawsuit against Amway.

Just email me at hawaiianibo@yahoo.com.

If you want to discuss the issues, use the "TALK TO TEX" option in the left column of this blog.

The more people who join, the greater profit each of us will make, so inform anyone else you know who qualifies about this opportunity as well. Sort of like network marketing!!!

Amway Global - Tricked Into A Meeting?

2010-08-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Looks like IBOs do a good job of soiling Amway's already battered reputation?

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/amwayquickstar-c96965.html

On weekend while we went shopping, my husband and I met this person by name Ram Yellamanchi. He started a conversation with us with regards to a product we were looking at buying in the store. He inquired about my husband's nature of job and later phoned us that next day trying to inquire if my husband can spend few hours after his work for his company. We asked him if it was network marketing like Amway, he said he didn't even know what network marketing is and mentioned it was not Amway.

We asked him about his companies website and nature of job and told him if we find it interesting, we might think of it. That next day he phoned us a dozen times asking us to attend a seminar his senior team lead was giving. It was at sheraton. We asked this guy a million times about the nature of the job and stuff, he told us that his companies website is yellamanchalis.com.

When we phoned the hotel to find out what exactly the seminar was all about, we were told it was an e-commerce seminar.

Later when we went in there, we were taken by surprise to see that it was indeed Amway. It was such a waste of time and the most disgusting part is that the guy lied to get us to that seminar.

I have friends who work for Amoco and we order stuff through them and we liked the products too. Sadly because of people like Ram, the company loses its reputation.

Amway Global - Just The Facts Please?

2010-08-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

When I was first recruited for the Amway opportunity, I was tricked into attending a meeting. My second brush with Amway wasn't due to trickery, but filled with lies. One of my upline outright lied. Stood on stage and told the audience that nobody made a profit from tools. Some uplines wanted control of their downline's lives. Let's look at some other facts:

Most IBOs quit in less than a year
Most IBOs never sponsor a downline
Almost all IBOs who purchase tools end up with a net loss
Average IBO earns only $115 a month (including diamonds who drive the average up)
Some diamonds make more money from selling tools that from Amway
Some diamonds are not qualified but still rake in tool profits
Amway's name is soiled in North America
Most Amway products are sold to IBOs and not customers
There are few new diamonds in North America (some groups are shrinking)
Some diamonds lost homes due to foreclosure
A prominent triple diamond was in bankruptcy proceedings

Amway Global - What The FTC Says About MLM

2010-08-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Multi-Level Sales

The FTC released a Consumer Alert regarding Multi-Level Marketing Plans in 10/1/2000. This information is provided under a cooperative agreement between the Better Business Bureau and the U. S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has prepared this information.

"The Bottom Line About Multilevel Marketing Plans"

Multilevel or "network" marketing plans are a way of selling goods or services through distributors. These plans typically promise that if you sign up as a distributor, you'll receive commissions - for your sales and those of the people you recruit to become distributors. These recruits sometimes are referred to as your "downline."

Some multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. However, others are illegal pyramid schemes. In pyramids, commissions are based on the number of distributors recruited. Most of the product sales are made to these distributors - not to consumers in general. The underlying goods and services, which vary from vitamins to car leases, serve only to make the schemes look legitimate.

Joining a pyramid is risky because the vast majority of participants lose money to pay for the rewards of a lucky few. Most people end up with nothing to show for their money except the expensive products or marketing materials they're pressured to buy.

If you're thinking about joining what appears to be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan, take time to learn about the plan. What's the company's track record? What products does it sell? Does it sell products to the public-at-large? Does it have the evidence to back up the claims it makes about its product? Is the product competitively priced? Is it likely to appeal to a large customer base? How much is the investment to join the plan? Is there a minimum monthly sales commitment to earn a commission? Will you be required to recruit new distributors to earn your commission?

Be skeptical if a distributor tells you that for the price of a "start-up kit" of inventory and sales literature - and sometimes a commitment to sell a specific amount of the product or service each month - you'll be on the road to riches. Often consumers spend a lot of money to "build their business" by participating in training programs, buying sales leads or purchasing the products themselves. Too often, these purchases are all they ever see for their investments.

Your Responsibilities-
If you decide to become a distributor, you are legally responsible for the claims you make about the company, its product and the business opportunities it offers. That applies even if you're repeating claims you read in a company brochure or advertising flyer. The Federal Trade Commission advises you to verify the research behind any claims about a product's performance before repeating those claims to a potential customer.

In addition, if you solicit new distributors, you are responsible for the claims you make about a distributor's earnings potential. Be sure to represent the opportunity honestly and avoid making unrealistic promises. If those promises fall through, remember that you could be held liable.

Evaluating a Plan-
The FTC suggests that you use common sense when evaluating a multilevel marketing opportunity and consider these tips as you make your decision:

Avoid any plan that includes commissions for recruiting additional distributors. It may be an illegal pyramid.

Beware of plans that ask new distributors to purchase expensive products and marketing materials. These plans may be pyramids in disguise.

Be cautious of plans that claim you will make money through continued growth of your downline, that is, the number of distributors you recruit.

Beware of plans that claim to sell miracle products or promise enormous earnings. Ask the promoter to substantiate claims.

Beware of shills - "decoy" references paid by a plan's promoter to lie about their earnings through the plan.

Don't pay or sign any contracts in an "opportunity meeting" or any other pressure-filled situation. Insist on taking your time to think over your decision. Talk it over with a family member, friend, accountant or lawyer.

Do your homework! Check with your local Better Business Bureau and state Attorney General about any plan you're considering - especially when the claims about the product or your potential earnings seem too good to be true.

Remember that no matter how good a product and how solid a multilevel marketing plan may be, you'll need to invest sweat equity as well as dollars for your investment to pay off.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad."

Amway Global - Never Quit! Maybe IBOs Need To Reconsider?

2010-08-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

One of the things my upline told our group, and I believe it is still taught today, is that you should never quit. Now it isn't Amway the corporation who is teaching this, it is the upline LOS leaders who teach IBOs to never quit. For those who may be seeking information or are being prospected as an IBO, I will translate "never quit" for you. What your upline means by "never quit" is "if you stop buying training materials, I will lose valuable income that pays for my mansions and other luxuries that I lord over you at functions". While it is not a verbatim translation, that is what the underlying meaning is likely to be.

In many businesses, there comes a time when a real business owner will quit, cut their losses and start another business or find some other vehicle to earn a living. A real business owner might also determine what is costing him the most money and can be expendable, and reduce those expenses to make a profit. In most Amway businesses, losses are directly attributable to the purchase of support materials and training such as voicemail, standing orders, functions, books, etc. Most IBOs, if they simply purchased products they needed and sold a few products, would likely make a profit.

IBOs should consider rejecting upline advice if they are following that advice and there are not profits, especially when you consider that some uplines are profiting from your purchase of support materials.

It is a conundrum though, when upline tells their faithful downline IBOs that they should trust upline as they have their best interest at heart. They may also tell the downline that they will succeed if they listen to upline advice and do the work. Ironically, when things go wrong, upline will say you should be a business owner and discern what is helpful or not helpful advice. What a pile of poo these uplines are pushing. They are telling downline to listen to their sage advice and their valuable experience and then avoiding any responsibility for bad advice ot advice that doesn't work by saying the new IBO should disregard what doesn't work. If that's the case, why should the downline buy any support material? How would a new downline know what advice to use and what to disregard?

If your upline tells the group to "never quit", maybe you should reconsider.....

Amway Global - The Problem With Amway Defenders?

2010-07-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

There is a big division between critics and defenders in the Amway business. I believe that critics play an important role in providing information to the information seeking public. Some promoters of the opportunity are less than honest about what they present and in fact, discourage prospects from seeking more information. It is true that a "rogue" critic who may just be mad at the world may not provide that factual information, but many critics are simply sharing their experiences so others may see the hazards and problems that plagued their experience, and prospects can look out and possibly avoid these same pitfalls.

There are a few supporters, in particular, one who has made it his personal mission to defend Amway, apparently pro bono. But these supporters, are they truly helping the cause? These Amway defenders set up google alerts so they can be notified each and everytime someone writes something about Amway. When there's new information posted, they drop into the blog or forum to quickly "clear up" what they consider to be misconceptions about Amway. In some instances, these so called defenders such as IBOFightback or Bridgett, drop into a conversation unwanted. They drop into an established online community to set them straight about Amway. Instead of setting anyone straight, they simply tick off a host of online community members who are now 100% sour on Amway.

It is my opinion that the Amway defenders like IBOFightback and Bridgett do more harm to the Amway name than good. Imagine you are sitting at a bar with some buddies and someone brings up Amway into the discussion. Some guy across the room comes running over to your gang and says you are all obviously wrong and misled about Amway. Do you invite the guy over to talk with you or punch him in the nose? I'm not saying they don't have a right to publish their own blogs and stories, but to drop into an established forum and trying to "set them straight" is like an unwanted house guest. Ironically, they are currently whining about some potential damage caused by critical statements about Amway but completely ignore how much personal and financial damage has been done to people by untrue positive information about Amway, such as the ability to retire before the age of 30 with lifelong residual income. Who is accountable for that damage?

Amway - Is Lying Just Part Of The Business?

2010-06-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Amway Global - The Truth About Tools Profits?

2010-06-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.perrymarshall.com/45/amway-tapes/

#47

I was an Amway distributor from 1980 to 1982, and then again from 1987 to 2003, when I just decided to not renew. My organization was large enough for me to stay home for almost 5 years taking care of my parents and family.

Unfortunately, the truth in the matter is, the tool system is the most important, and most profitable part of the operation. Amway sanctioned the tools business by not forcing its end. As an accountant, I was the tax guy for several of the bigger people in the NY area. I was amazed to see that 60%-80% of the NET income that they were earning was from the tools and functions, not from the movement of products through the organization. Speakers were paid to speak, in cash. I know, because I hosted 100’s of these meetings in the NYC area for many years, and spoke at some of them. As the host It was my job to collect the door proceeds, pay the hotel/room bill, and then give the remaining cash in an envelope at end of meeting to the speaker. Sometimes these dollars were in excess of $ 500.00. The statement that they left their families for the good of the team is nonsense. They did it for the benefit the extra $ 20-30k in “tax free” cash flow. Directs earned $ 1.00 from each tape sold as a monthly standing order to their teams, larger Pins, earned from 1.50 to 3-4 dollars per tape. Tapes cost $ 6.00.

The whole business revolved around functions, where the tapes were made. The standing order tape of the week, (sometimes a double) WERE the recordings from these same meetings. We were told we needed to be on standing order so we could have the access to the upline help. Not on standing order, not at functions, kiss the upline by by.

As I saw what was going on, and seeing the huge expense I and my people were going through, I decided that it was not in my best interest to continue with the lies, and stopped attending functions. I still bought products, and even kept getting tapes via mail. Quixtar transfer killed much of our NY volumne, so income dropped quite a bit. They talk about the relationships. Well, my immediate upline was someone that I knew when I was just 2 years old. Our mothers were best friends for decades, and we spent a lot of time together in our grammer school days.
When my mother died, I was out of business on paper for about a year or so. NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN MY UPLINE ATTENDED THE FUNERAL/WAKE, NOR DID THEY EVEN CALL. Including my old friend, who grew up with me and my family. Her excuse “I could not get a second vehicle to travel there”.

Amway Global - 1 in 125 US Citizens Are Millionaires

2010-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

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. This is before taxes and business expenses are considered. These figures are approximate. 1 out of about 15,000 IBOs reach the level of diamond where you earn about $147,000 annually. This is also before considering taxes and expenses.

But 1 out of 125 people in the US are millionaires. It sounds like most Americans have a better chance of becoming a millionaire (without Amway) than they do of becoming a platinum in Amway.

Where Is The Success?

2010-05-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

So many IBOs pass through my blogs and they make claims of success. But where is this success? Why aren't there hoards of former IBOs who are collecting residuial income and walking the beaches of the world? Why are crown ambassadors still working all of the functions? Why do so many IBOs make income claims and then disappear when asked for some evidence of their alleged success?

I mean if you look at a cross section of your community or country, there will be retired postal carriers, retired government workers, retired airline employees and a host of other occupations. But as far as I know, I don't know of any former Amway IBOs who have retired in full or even in part because of income they passively generate thru Amway. It might also be noteworthy that Amway the corporation does not promote residual or passive income. This is hype generated by the lines of sponsorship and a way to recruit new IBOs.

I believe that Amway sales in the US has been declining based on the figures that Amway had reported. Thus there is less money going out to IBOs and more than likely, fewer IBOs in the US, and therefore, very likely, fewer big pins.

So I ask, where is the success? Why are former IBOs who collect residual income so rare that noone I know can name even one person who is out there walking the beaches of the world while Amway checks keep rolling in? Wouldn't these folks be as common as retired postal workers or retired airlines employees? Why are they so rare that it almost seems like an extinct population? Where is the success? Maybe there is none?

Joining Amway Is Not Like Joining The Gym!

2010-05-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

One of the feeble 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. Gym owners don't care if you sign up and do nothing, just as upline leaders don't care if you succeed, as long as you keep buying tools from them. A gym owner could not sustain his business if everyone actually worked out every day, and a diamond leader probably doesn't want a lot of new pins breaking because it would take away tool profits.

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? The fact that Amway defenders like IBOFightback use this weak and feeble defense shows just how desperate they have become. They have no defense against facts so they resort to weak anecdotal stories with no basis in reality. It may be why the Amway business appears to be shrinking in the US. The truth cannot be hidden any longer.

Amway Global - Go Platinum, So You Can Lose Money?

2010-04-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

I read about an investigation conducted by Bruce Craig, attorney general (at the time) of Wisconsin. He concluded that the average platinum in Wisconsin (in the 1980's) lost an average of $918 per year. Granted the study is now a bit dated, but even though Amway bonuses may have gone up, the prices of Amway products and the prices of functions and other related expenses have also gone up, therefore we can reasonable conclude that if a platinum lost money back then, it is quite possible that it still happens. In fact, due to the heavy emphasis on the use of cd's KATE, functions and other tools that cost money, I would guess that a platinum's losses could be much more today! Not that much has changed over the years that would lead me to a different conclusion. In fact there are more tools and expenses today that did not exist many years ago, such as website fees and we also have a more expensive voicemail system now than some years back.

I have seen many testimonials from former platinums who said they lost money or perhaps, broke even at best. I was at a pin level with recommended parameters, and I was at break even/small losses. I was not privy to, but have also read of additional functions and expenses once you reach the platinum level and above. One such function is/was Go Diamond Weekend. In the book "Merchants of Deception", it outlined a very expensive cruise that upline put on and profited handsomely from it. It seems that almost every upline does allows them to profit from downline.

Based on my understaning of tools expenses and some believable testimony, I can reasonably conclude that it is quite possible for a platinum to lose money, mainly due to system expenses. If you factor in the cost of products, IBOs can expend a lot of money each month. The products are not a business expenses, but then again, how many "former" IBOs buy any Amway products? And if there are some former IBOs who buy product, how many of them buy 100 PV's worth? Apparently, the business itself creates an artificial need for Amway products.

IBOs who are checking out the business or who are new, should take this information and think about it. If platinums make little or possible lose money, is this truly a viable business option for you? Also, keep in mind that only a fraction 0f 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum. Can you overcome these odds? Can you build a platinum business without the system?

It is possible, but highly unlikely.

Amway Global - Panhandling More Lucrative Than Amway?

2010-04-06T12:21:00.001-07:00

I just happened to come across this article. It is about panhandling. Based on Amway's "average" income of active distributors, it appears that panhandling might also be more lucrative than becoming an IBO. $10 to $130 in 5 hours shows some potential. Averaged out, that would be about $65 in 5 hours and about $260 in 20 hours. That is more than double of the average income of an active IBO! Of course these results are not scientific, but since we are talking about averages, we can speculate can't we?

http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/11/25/News/Peddling.For.A.Pretty.Penny-3561405.shtml

Sexton and Mathew "Huggy" Miller, 21, both said they asked anyone for money, but said it always brought varied results. Some people would give as much as $5 to $50 at once. "You can make anywhere from $10 to $130 in five hours," Miller said. Sexton generally stopped once he hit $20 because it was usually all he needed.

Amway Global - Life At The Top?

2010-03-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Go diamond! That is the battely cry of many thousands of IBOs who participate in a system. These starry eyed IBOs want to be on stage as diamonds so bad that the cry thinking about it. The truly believe that they will be there one day and that they will be the objects of adoration like the diamonds they currently worship. The diamond lifestyle is portrayed as fabulus wealth. They show scenes with mansions, fancy sports cars, jets and other indulgences that most people only dream about.

But the problem is that most downline IBOs don't realize how the diamonds attain these goodies. They think that Amway just rolls in barrels of cash to diamonds. That the money rolls in an will never stop. It is why you hear the term "walking the beaches of the world". This is because many IBOs think they will go diamond, walk away from their business and Amway will keep delivering these barrels of cash, month after month, year after year. Sadly, you don't see or hear of any diamonds engaging in these kinds of activities. Instead they are busy flying around the world rushing off from one meeting to another and continuing to recruit new IBOs. It is because about 2/3 of IBOs never even last a year in the business. Anytime you stop working, your income will shrink, and eventually dwindle down to nothing.

But sadly, IBOs also do not realize that for many diamonds, the lifestyle comes from their dedication to KATE, standing orders and functions. It is these streams of income that will fund the toys that diamonds show in their slideshows. Think about it, you sell Amway products and get a percentage back, but you sell a cd that costs about 50 cents to produce, and sell it for $7.00, that's over 1000% profit!. Or, upline may sell you a cd for $2.50, but have you pay $49 for the priviledge of buying that cd for $2.50. They also make a lot of money on functions as convention centers and city owned arenas can be rented cheap or even free in some cases, if the conventions will fill the city's hotels with visitors.

I believe that for these reasons, the Amway business is slowly shrinking in the US. People know the deal and aren't signing up. In order for there to be more diamonds, you need to have more and more people joining Amway. Because information is easily available, prospects find out the truth and either don't join, or they join because they think they are heroic enough to overcome overwhelming odds. I believe there is now ample evidence that "life at the top", or diamond and above is not all that. Diamonds are getting divorced, having homes foreclosed, going bankrupt, getting in debt, and some quit or resign. (So much for that lifelong residual income claim)

For those aspiring to go diamond, be careful, life at the top may not be all that you think. $150,000 to $200,000 may seem like a fortune compared to what you earn, but try minusing half of that for taxes and medical insurance. Then see if you can buy a mansion in cash, own a top model Mercedes Benz, and some other goodies. What you'll find is that you will simply have higher limits on your credit cards which might still be maxed out and you will have to pretend to be wealthy while living
bonus check to bonus check.

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

Amway Global - Go Platinum Then Go Broke?

2010-03-17T13:00:00.001-07:00

I read about an investigation conducted by Bruce Craig, attorney general (at the time) of Wisconsin. He concluded that the average platinum in Wisconsin (in the 1980's) lost an average of $918 per year. Granted the study is now a bit dated, but even though Amway bonuses may have gone up, the prices of Amway products and the prices of functions and other related expenses have also gone up, therefore we can reasonably conclude that if a platinum lost money back then, it is quite reasonable to conclude that it still happens. In fact, due to the heavy emphasis on the use of cd's KATE, functions, books, websites and other tools that cost money, I would guess that a platinum's losses could be much more today!

I have seen many testimonials from former platinums who said they lost money or perhaps, broke even at best. I was at a fairly high pin level with recommended parameters, and I was at break even/small losses. I was not privvy to, but have also read of additional functions and expenses once you reach the platinum level and above, such as go diamond weekend.

Based on my understanding of tools expenses and some very believable testimony, I can reasonably conclude that it is quite possible for a platinum to lose money, mainly due to system expenses.

IBOs who are checking out the business or who are new, should take this information and think about it. If platinums make little or possible lose money, is this truly a viable business option for you? Also, keep in mind that only a fraction 0f 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum. Can you overcome these odds? Can you build a platinum business without the system? It is possible, but highly unlikely.

More food for thought, IBOs claim that platinums start to share in tool profits, but can anyone explain why platinums only share in profits from standing order and not all the other varieties of money making tools that upline peddles?

Amway Global - Statues Of Critics?

2010-03-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

I recently heard a humorous comment from an Amway defender asking where are the statues of critics if they know so much about everything. I had to chuckle and ask myself, where are the statues of Amway diamonds? There aren't any that I know of. And why would there be? I mean think about it, what has a diamond accomplished? They have done nothing of note. They are only legendary because that's what IBOs have been taught. These diamond leaders mean squadoosh outside of the Amway business.

Have diamonds invented a cure for cancer, or have they achieved something of greatness? The answer is no, all they have done is achieve a level in a multi level business. And if I may add, they have achieved it in many cases, by deceiving and or outright lying to their downline. Instead of a statue, some of these diamonds should be sitting in jail for fraud.

A critic is often just simply sharing an experience or pointing out the obvious, which is that Amway is not a good opportunity as some diamonds would have you believe. And if you sit and think about it, an Amway diamond or an Amway defender has something to gain by duping their prospects and downline. A critic gains nothing.

My only goal in running my blogs is that I hope to inform information seekers so if they still decide to join Amway, they do so with full diclosue that it may not be the greatest business opportunity as they may have been led to believe. The facts speak for themselves. The average active IBO earns just over $100 a month, and the average figure is inflated by some bigger diamonds pins. My guess is that the median income of an IBO is probably less than $35 a month. And that income is instantly eaten up and more, if you are an IBO on the "system".

Amway Global - Uplines Are Outdated?

2010-03-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

One of the things many Amway defenders like to use in defense of Amway is that critics are outdated. That experiences that are a few year old or older are no longer valid. Yet when you examine the Amway opportunity, not much has changed. At least in North America, IBOs are still deceptive about presenting Amway to a prospect. Many diamonds who ruled the Amway world in the 1990’s are still around teaching today, with few new diamonds emerging. The emphasis for many IBOs is still to sponsor people and not on selling Amway products. Most business building IBOs are told they need the system to succeed. If Amway enthusiasts are going to say that someone’s experience no longer applies, at least state what is different.

In fact, I will cite some specific items that could greatly reduce the cost of running and Amway business and can be done with great efficiency. Of course none of these would ever be fully implemented because the upline leaders would not be able to profit from them as they do now.

Why does anyone need voicemail now when Amway is a web based business? Get rid of KATE and replace it with free email. A leader can very efficiently and without cost, send a message to all downlines with one punch of his keyboard. Everyone has access to a computer either at home of by internet café’ or by laptop or iphone. This could save an IBO possibly more than $30 a month plus charges for excess minutes. In fact this would be an upgrade to the current KATE system.

Even standing orders can be streamlined to mp3 messages or some kind of email based transcript to get information to downline. It doesn’t have to be free for those who believe that upline should be paid, but it would eliminate the need to pick up the material from your upline and it would be able to greatly reduce the cost to IBOs.

So I will contend it is my opinion that Amway leaders are either outdated themselves or simply refuse to make technology upgrades because they make a nice profit charging downline for these outdated materials.

Amway Global - Why Is Amway So Divisive?

2010-03-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

One thing that seems pretty clear about the Amway business opportunity, it is ver divisive. I believe it is this way because of how uplines advise or teach their groups. Amway is often promoted as a way of life. That anyone who disagrees with the Amway opportunity is the "enemy", so to speak. I don't mean that literally, but in some cases, it gets pretty close. It isn't that uncommon for IBOs to shun friends and family members simply because they disagree with whether or no to be involved in the Amway business.

A lot of IBOs are taught to "avoid negative" which may also include friends, family and even news in general. They are to fill their heads with only positive information coming from upline's meetings or standing orders. (And they wonder why some people call Amway a cult?) Often, IBOs will be told that they are winners for being in Amway, so obviously, those who don't join Amway are "losers", or "broke"?
Then conversely, some IBOs might be called Ama-robots because they repeat what they hear on tapes and it sounds like a tape recording.

In no other business, even other MLM businesses do you see such a presence of online critics and supporters. More often than not however, I see critics posting factual information and Amway apologists attacking the critic rather than the information. Also common is for IBOs to make income claims that are hard to believe. Then when called on their bluffs, these IBOs disappear or start the name calling. Other supporters might try the drive through method of jumping into a blog, calling everyone a liar and then disappearing. The worst Amway trolls though, monitor the internet with google alerts or other mechanisms and seek out any discussion on Amway, and then drop into the discussion, whether wanted or not. They disrupt peaceful online communities thinking they will get the group to change their minds or opinions about the Amway opportunity.

Rarely are solutions ever discussed. I have in the past, offered real and viable solutions, but of course, none are ever considered by the other side. But I have yet to see any Amway supporters do much more than to critisize and attck those who disagree with their business.

Amway is a controversial topic. But the real question should be why that is so?

Amway Global - Passive Residual Income, An Amway Myth?

2010-03-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

I recently had some discussion about the Amway opportunity and the ability for IBOs to build a stream of passive residual income. I would say that it's possible but highly unlikely. For one thing, how many diamonds or corwn ambassadors for that matter have "walked away" from Amway to jetset to beaches around the world?

I believe it is nearly impossible for IBOs to achieve this dream of income flowing into thei bank account after they leave Amway. I believe that this doesn't happen because most IBOs do not build a repeat customer base. On an Amway corporate blog, it was admitted that less than 5% of Amway goods are sold to non IBOs. Repeat customers, with a genuuine need for goods and services can lead to the possibility of repeat or residual income.

IBOs are trying to build an income that is dependent on keeping IBOs flowing through their business. But that is flawed since less than 1/3 os IBOs last only a year, and the vast majority of these same IBOs are gone in less than 5 years. You cannot build and maintain a business with residual income when people are coming and going. You would need a consistent customer base and a genuine need for these products and services.

I believe that the low sales to non IBOs, coupled with the fact that former IBOs do not appear to remain as loyal customers once the "dream" has faded away is a telltale sign that residual passive income from Amway is simply a myth that is used to promote the business. Why would any diamond ever quit or leave the business when he or she could simply collect check and bonuses month after month, year after year. I believe it is because there is no residual income as IBOs like to claim.

Amway Global versus A McDonald's Employee?

2010-02-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

When you visit the Amway Global blog, they have a section I believe called "by the numbers". When you click it, it takes you to "Thisbiznow" and shows the average income of "active" IBOs to be $115 a month - and that's after Amway disregarded about 1/3 of the IBO sales force as they are not "active". I believe that this figure is based on a 2001 survey done by the corporation (And Amway supporters complain and bemoan critics for not having currect information).

One of the things I often hear from Amway supporters is a comparison of Amway and franchises. (McDonalds in particular). First of all, unless I am mistaken, Amway is not a franchisor, and their salesforce (IBOs) are not franchise owners. This is simply a trick used by some lines of sponsorship to make you feel nice and important (I guess). So there is no valid comparison between an IBO and McDonalds.

But let's look at one very telling comparison between Amway IBOs and McDonalds. In Hawaii, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. If someone were employed at McDonald's for $7.25 per hour, and they worked 5 hours per week, or 20 hours in a month, their gross income would be $145.00! That's more than an average IBO receives from the Amway opportunity! For you average IBOs out there - want a 30% raise? Get a 5 hour per week job at McDonalds! Go Big Mac!

Amway Global - A Typical IBO?

2010-02-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

An IBO or an “Independent Business Owner”. Most people involved in the Amway business refer to themselves as IBOs or ABOs, which is an Amway business owner. While this is all good, what does it mean to be an IBO/ABO? It would appear to me that the title is just a trumped up title with little meaning. An Amway business for the vast majority, has no equity. You don’t own your downline, and you probably don’t have much inventory. Your business basically exists only on paper, and if you are like most other IBOs involved in a system, then you are operating at a loss when you factor in business expenses.

For the average person, losing money would cause people to question the system or to make a decision to quit and walk away from the business. I believe this already happens and the theory can be confirmed by the fact that the Amway business doesn’t retain their IBOs. At the end of the first year, you already have about 2/3 of IBOs quitting or not renewing. This indicates to me that the products and the opportunity do not have enough value to maintain the interest of those who sign up. It makes perfect sense. You have presentations where they show how you can earn great riches in a short period of time, and basically retire and walk the beaches of the world. People sign up in the excitement and quickly realize that the business doesn’t produce what was advertised.

Amway is not the only opportunity like this. Many financial gurus sell financial systems promoting an easy path to success, or at least a shortcut to wealth, rather than a more traditional method of working a job and savings for retirement. But looking at the big picture, jobs produce a far greater number of comfortable retirements than Amway or any of these other financial systems. Working a job for 30 – 40 years doesn’t sound appealing, thus these shortcuts appeal to the masses. However, unfortunately, the masses cannot possibly succeed together. A rare individual with exceptional skills may overcome the barriers to succeed at times, but they are few and far between, and likely leave a trail of financial disasters along the way.

I would venture to say that most IBOs are honest, hard working and motivated people. They strive for a better life as most people do, but get lured into the possibility that there is a shortcut to long term success. And while some exceptional and rare people can make the flawed system work, the vast majority of people cannot. Unfortunately, by the time people discover this, they have already invested time and money into the system. At that point, it becomes a tough decision as to whether you press on, hoping for the business to pan out, or to stop and cut your losses.

Fortunately for me, I realized what was happening, and I made a decision to stop. My damage was minimal as compared to some other testimonies I have seen. I blog to help prevent others from falling into the trap.

Amway Global - Eagle or Double Eagle?

2010-02-19T12:56:00.000-08:00

EAGLE:

Signed counsel sheet to upline diamond
300 PV Personal use & retail, 200 PV for singles
6 legs at 100 PV or higher
5 legs on standing order
3 legs attending major functions

DOUBLE EAGLE:

Signed counsel sheet to upline diamond
500 PV Personal use & retail, 300 PV for singles
12 legs at 100 PV or higher
10 legs on standing order
6 legs attending major functions

======================================================

These are the parameters for eagle and double eagle (WWDB).
For eagle, a single may have to spend or sell $600 a month or more and a couple, up to $1000 to do eagle parameter PV. Double eagle would be $900 to $1500 for that PV requirements. Since many groups do not emphasize retailing, these IBOs would have to load inventory to qualify. With all the tool movement, I can see why uplines would want to edify an eagle or a double eagle. Upline can make tons of money on an eagle or double eagle group.

If you take all of the expenses into consideration, and look at these parameters objectively, you can see that eagle and double eagles are running their businesses at a loss. But hey, you get recognized at functions right? All you need to do is sponsor some people and spend between $1000 to $2500 a month on products and tools and you too can become an eagle or double eagle.

Is this what IBOs are striving for?

Amway Global - Are You Moving On?

2010-02-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

I know many IBOs get excited and sign up for Amway. They see the possibility of getting wealthy and they think they can do it. That's about the time when the Upline will advise this IBO to get involved in the system. A serious business owner needs tools and tools are vital to your business. Even though there is no requuirement to purchase tools, many IBOs really have no choice when they hear things like "tools are optional, but so is succees", or "nobody has ever made it without tools but you can try to be the first". It's a defacto requirement for many IBOs, especaiily newbies who don't know better.

But even with tools, most IBOs don't even sponsor a single person, and even more disturbing, many IBOs never sell a product to customers. Some don't even try. And some uplines teach IBOs to be "prosumers" or to self consume the products.

So a very simple question for IBOs. Are you moving on? Are you getting direct value from the valuable tools? Are the tools resulting in sponsorship or at least product sales? If you attend a function for $110 and you cannot sell anything or sponsor downline, then you for no return on your investment. I know some IBOs justify themselves, claiming that tools made them nicer or some fluffy statement like that, but a real business owner would consider that a POOR investment in terms of their business. Did the standing order do anything for you? As an IBO, I constantly heard that giving away tapes/cds is sure to sponsor people. I did not witness, not even once, that a tape or cd sponsored someone. I'm sure it may have happened, but it's probably so rare that it's insignificant.

IBOs, are you moving on? If not, why not? Are your tools working or are they just an expense eating away at what little you may be earning? Are any of your crossline moving on? Are there more people quitting than moving on? Look around yourself and take note. I was once there, I just didn't notice. I hope this post serves you well.

Amway Global - IBOs Use Soap, Upline Sells Hope

2010-02-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

The title of this blog post pretty much sums up what many IBOs apparently experience. Many groups or factions of IBOs teach a self consumption model. While leaders on stage will mention selling of products, it is not emphasized in smaller groups where the "real teaching" takes place. Thus many IBOs primarily self consume Amway products and talk about the "prosumer" concept. Many IBOs get lured into the Amway opportunity by dreams and aspirations of getting rich. Some IBOs deny this, but clearly, if someone said you can join Amway, work hard and end up broke, that would not attract many now would it? I know when I was pitched the plan, my sponsor said it would be easy to reach platinum. I didn't know the likelihood of reaching such a level, and I worked as hard as I could.

But what escaped my attention in the beginning was the side business where the real money was made. That was in the sale of tapes/cds, books, and function tickets. When I was an IBO, we purchased voicemail from Amway, not from our upline. We also did not purchase website fees from upline as we still had call in and pick up. Thus uplines likely make even more income from support materials than ever. While the support materials are promoted as tools, they are cleverly used as "hope". You need motivation, listen to a cd. You need to get fired up, attend a function. My former sponsor claimed that being plugged into the system was your lifeline to success. I believe that is still true today. It is the "hope" of a better life that gets people to sign up for the Amway opportunity and it is that same hope that keeps an IBO going, even when they are losing money month after month.

IBOs continue to hope that success is "right around the corner" or that the business will suddenly turn when they hear that one thing from one of their inspirational leaders. It is my informed opinion that this cling to hope ideal, held by many IBOs is what keeps them in the business longer than a normally rational person would. It's because many IBOs are taught that the only way to fail is to quit. To quit is to give up hope for a better life. It's simply not true.

For many IBOs, quitting is a wise business decision. Your hopes and dreams are not ended. You simply find another way to achieve them. Contrary to what you have have been told, Amway is NOT the only way to achieve your goals. Look at your bootom line. You won't achieve your dreams by losing money afterall.

Amway Global - You're A Winner!

2010-02-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

One of the funny things was how our upline would call all the IBOs "winners". Now obviously, an upline has to be positive an upbeat in this people type of business. But a neutral observer would probably be literally rolling on the floor laughing when you saw the reality of the business. You sign up for Amway and you are instantly labeled as a winner. You buy some products and you are a winner! Buy cd's and attend meetings, you are a winner! Part of the problem however, is that these same uplines will imply that people who are not a part of Amway are "losers". I often heard that if you are not a winner, then.........

But it is clear to me (now) that the positive reinforcement is just a part of upline's retention efforts. Call your downline winners, and then there is subtle pressure for people to stay in and "never quit" because then they would be considered "losers" if they left the business.

But this is a business isn't it? A business exists to make a profit and most IBOs who participate in Amway end up with less money than they start with. Even disregarding all the IBOs who "do nothing", still only fraction of 1% makes any money if they are in a system of voicemail, functions, standing orders, books and other support materials.

So if you lose money, are you a winner? If you have been in the business for a few months and cannot sponsor anyone, are you a winner? If you cannot get anyone to see the plan, are you a winner? If you cannot sell any Amway products, are you a winner?
If you never quit and lose money month after month and year after year, are you a winner?

Your upline has probably explained the definition of insanity to you.