Amway "Commissioned" Salesmen?

Amway business owners often refer to themselves as "IBOs" or an independent business owner. They often mistakenly associate themselves with the corporation, as if they were part owners, when the reality is that these IBOs are just commissioned sales people with no fringe benefits. It's a great deal for Amway as an IBO must pay to register with AMway. The IBO must move products at their own expense (Even buying their own brochures from Amway) and if they don't move a minimum amount of volume, they still get nothing from Amway. Amway has all the advantages. IBOs pay to join Amway and then the IBOs at their own expense move some products. Amway only pays if product gets sold or at least self consumed by IBO.s Basically any company could thrive under those conditions.

Because IBOs are often taught product loyalty from their upline, an IBO often purchases much more than they sell, and some IBOs sell nothing. Some upline teach self consumption where an IBO just purchases enough to meet the minimu volume requirement to earn a bonus. Some IBOs have explained how they skirted the system which requires some outside sales to actual customers. Amway probably doesn't care (and I don't blame them) if IBOs skirt the sales rules. Amway still makes the sales and the IBOs are stuck with the cost of 100 PV (or more).

When you really break everything down, an IBO is just a commission only sales person with no benefits (from Amway) and most IBOs make little or nothing, and the vast majority of IBOs who attend functions and pay for other tools end up with net losses because their bonuses cannot cover the expenses that they incur in running their businesses. Most people do not recognize this at first when they get involved and think they are simply "investing" in a business and their financial future. I fell for this when I was an IBO, but even as a growing "mover and shaker" IBO, I was not making the income that upline told me about. When I started to question them, their response was that the money will be there if I keep going. I asked why the money wasn't there as they advertised? They gave me no good answer and I started to realize the scam. I got out shortly after that, but sadly, my sponsor is still active more than 20 years later and I believe he is losing a ton of money.

So while the Amway folks will promote the business as glamorous and may show you a great lifestyle and financial freedom, these are the rare upper tier of IBOs. They rely on hoards of downline buying products and tools to support their lifestyles. But what many prospects and and current IBOs don't realize is that thay are simply commissioned Amwa sales people and nothing more. People just don't realize that these diamonds are no better or worse than the general public. They do not walk on water and in fact, if IBOs reall knew what a diamonds financials were like, they might be shocked. Diamonds (I suspect) are often living from check to check (like many people) and may be living in debt (i.e. Greg Duncan's bankruptcy). But it's not what diamonds portray. Diamonds portray a fabulous lifestyle but who knows what their lives are really like? Nobody knows because diamonds will show off slideshows of their lifestyles but they won't reveal their actual financials. It's because that information is likely not very flattering.