Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Feeling Sorry For IBOs?

One of the things I recall as an IBO was thinking how sorry I felt for people who were not IBOs because we were all going to be rich and everyone else was a loser. Our upline used to tell us that we were winners - and if you weren't a winner, then obviously, you are a loser. Many times, the term "broke" was attached to the term loser. That was my mindset back then, but having been out of the system more than ten years, I can look back and laugh, realizing that the losers were the ones buying stuff they don't need, stalking people at malls and bookstores, and wasting their time and money on tapes (cds), books and functions.

What goes unnoticed in many cases, is how much time and money really goes down the drain for IBOs who work the system. Your life revolves around the business if you are dedicated and hard core. You are always looking for prospects and people to show the plan to, and you have to rearrange your schedules, or outright skip social or family gatherings because of the neverending number of meetings and functions, many of which teach you nothing about running a profitable business. When I first left the Amway business, I was sort of angry at the time and effort that was wasted, along with the cahs I threw down the crapper.

But after I did finally cut ties with the business and the people associated with it, I got back into a routine of sorts. I focused on my job and after some years of gaining experience and working my way up the corporate ladder, I received some promotions and I am scheduled to be retired before the age of 60 with a decent retirement income and will likely have my home paid off by then. So while I did have to work a dreaded job to be able to retire, pretty much all IBOs are also working a job or business PLUS having to expend their time and money to run their Amway business which has little to no chance of providing a long term stable and significant income. And if I may add, it is the systems such as WWDB or N21 that usually end up costing the IBOs the most money because of things like the functions.

So I will ask the question. Who's the real loser? The person diligently working and saving for their future or the person chasing a dream that is unlikely to materialize? Factoring in the expenditure of time also makes the systems even more costly than it appears on the surface. I feel sorry for IBOs.

7 comments:

4youreyesonly said...

Its funny how I stumbled across this article because I am one of the new IBO's and my gut feeling is telling me to get out. I have been a new recruit for a little over 3 weeks and although I have done extremely well in my 3 weeks, I cant help but feel like I am in way over my head. The meetings are way too many for me. My upline always ask me to bring someone every time we meet and so now i have that pressure. Not only that but almost immediately im noticing that you really shell out a lot of money to get these little bonuses. 150PV is alot of money to spend every month on things you arent really going to use so basically im just stocking up supplies. Im sure that so many people have gone into serious debt trying to live up to the AMWAY quota structure. The thing I hate is how they put down anything else you do, such as I love selling for Avon and have been for the last 3 years, why would I give that up for AMWAY. Now they are telling me that I have to do a grand opening, and attend this function and that function, which is another expense that I dont need nor want. I hate to admit this but I just got someone into the business under me 2 days ago and I dont know how to break the tie with my upline without it affecting his decision to go or stay with them. 2 weeks ago I thought Amway was the greatest but lately after trying to get to know the business better, I feel that there are some things that are very misleading and I immediately see it as being expensive.

Anonymous said...

run, forrest, RUN!

Unknown said...

there are so many things they tell you that turn out to no be what they said. like the partner stores they have arnt really partnerships but mere affiliations. and also they don't tell you that you will be selling "educational" material to your downline because that makes more money. there are just so many hidden facts.I have been with amway for 2 months now and I did my 150 pv. so far. 1st month was because i bought stuff to try it. and the second one because i opened a credit card with gave me pv. i am not buying any more products for pv or spending any money on cds and books. i have only gone to 1 weekly meeting that costs $6 to attend and i don't plan to attend any more because they are the same every week. if i don't get the pv i need from customers i will be leaving it. I am not going to buy my own products haha.

Joecool said...

Yes, they are affiliates. Amway sells their products but not vice versa.

I would guess that buying 150 PV was a lot of money. Likely more than $400. Add that to the meetings and seminars and it sucks your money.

Thisguy said...

Anyone who gets involved with Amway and thinks it is easy money, it is not for them. It has never been sold to me as easy money. There is work involved, lots of work.. but I would rather work for myself and invest money in myself ( buying books , self help, learning, growing) then work for "the man" ( also known as someone who invested in themselves and has employees.) It was offered to my 3 years ago. I said hell no!! SCAM ALERT!!! My friend and his wife bought into the "scam" and now she is retired from nursing ( age 38) and he plans on retiring from his trade in less then a year.(age 41) Does it work? If you ask them.. they would say yes %100. If you asked me 3 years ago.. I would say its one of them scams.. it don't work. Yet I didn't even try it. Ask me today, and I would see that my friends are doing it very well, and I am going to give it my %100 just cause I watched my friends do it. Most they fail, either fail at following system, or have a better idea, or just lack the drive to put the work in and not sit back on the couch. Just sayin.

Joecool said...

Some people do make money in Amway but they do it at the expense of their downline, not because of true customer demand for products. That's why it's a scam.

Anonymous said...

To Thisguy said --

You say your friend is going to retire from his trade, and his wife has retired from nursing.

Tell me this: Have they retired from Amway? Or are they out there still hustling and recruiting and hyping up their down-line?

Retire from the Amway racket, and your down-line collapses in a few weeks. And where's your income then?

Amway is like organized crime -- there is no "retirement."