Monday, February 29, 2016

The Real Amway Teaching?

I was in discussion on another forum and a comment was made about Amway being an iceberg, because you see the shiny clean ice on the top but you do not see the majority of the iceberg. Or in other words, the diamonds show you the fancy suits, jewelry, cars, mansions, jets and what you don't see is the financial carnage that takes place in their downlines at times. My former upline would tell audiences that they could skip meals to buy more standing orders because you might hear the one thing that could make your business explode.

Sure, on standing orders, you won't hear too much of the unethical and "wrong" teaching, because some of this is monitored by Amway, but it's the night owls and smaller group meetings where the real teaching is disseminated. This is where you are told to practically sell your soul to achieve in Amway. This is where the teaching comes in where you should be purchasing excessive amounts of tools in order to succeed. This is where you are told to never miss a function unless it's for your own funeral. A newbie or casual observer won't see these things but if you ever commit to becoming a business builder, this is likely to become your world.

You don't see the backstage at functions and meetings. Former rubies and platinums have made commentary about the diamonds literally laughing about how gullible the downline are. You don't see the where the cash collected at the meetings and functions go. There had been some past comments about literally, suitcases of cash leaving the premises. If your upline has a mansion and a fleet of nice cars, it's likely that your tools money played a significant part in your diamond obtaining it. A diamond in Amway receives most of their money from bonuses and not from monthly volume checks, thus it is the functions where a lot of their money comes from.

It's a simple conclusion. The tools have a higher markup than Amway products and have fewer beneficiaries to split up the bonus. A $7.00 Amway product might cost $3.00 or so to make and the rest will be bonus money split up by the layers of IBOs. Whereas a $7.00 cd might take 50 cents to produce and only platinums and higher receive any compensation from this srouce of income. But rank and file IBOs rarely ever see a true and transparent picture of this business. It is shrouded in secrecy, just like the underside of an iceberg. I challenge IBOs to be real businessmen and women and ask upline the tough questions about where the money is made. Do not accept rhetoric and anecdotal stories. In real business, schedule C business tax returns are the normal way for verification of business income. If you are going to "invest" your hard earned money into the system to the benfit of upline, you should demand this information.

Would any of you purchase a conventional business from someone without proof that it is profitable? Why would an Amway business be any different?

Friday, February 26, 2016

Why Your Amway Business Is Not Sustainable?

One of the selling points of the Amway business is for people to do the work once and then reap financial benefits for life. Thus the term lifelong residual income or passive income. But that simply does not happen for the vast majority of IBOs. The reason why most IBOs do not have a sustainable business is because their business is not based on sales to genuine customers with a genuine need. Most IBOs themselves will not buy Amway products once their affiliation to Amway is over. Many IBOs are willing to pay the "premium" prices while they believe Amway will make them rich, but when the reality sets in that they are not making money, somehow their loyalty to Amway products goes out the window.

If you are an IBO doing your 100 PV monthly, then your only way to increase volume is to sponsor downline in hopes that they will also do their 100 PV as shown in the plan. And even if you are somehow able to accomplish this and sponsor a bunch of people as shown in the plan, chances are that many IBOs will "do nothing" and of the remaining, some will move 100 PV, but they will likely quit in one year or less. The attrition and failures in Amway make it nearly impossible to build and sustain a group. Even diamonds are working hard to help their downline keep up the volume or they too, will fall out of qualification. Has anyone actually heard of a diamond who walked away from Amway and is collecting large residual checks while doing nothing? IBOs often talk about it but not a single one can name one of these individuals.

In many or possible most cases, IBOs are only selling the Amway opportunity and not Amway products. They sell the possibility or hope that they will build a business, walk away and collect untold wealth for the rest of their lives. It isn't going to happen. Say for example, you sold 100 PV monthly on a consistent basis to customers. These customers will automatically go online and make purchases when they run out of their products. If you are lucky, they will also refer friends to make purchases. But most IBOs do not sell products, they are selling the opportunity. Thus once the business building stops, so goes the product purchases in most cases.

That brings up the next point about why an Amway business is not sustainable for most. The products cost more than most other retailers. That will limit the potential for customers and referals. Amway defenders like to cite quality issues, but most customers who shop online aren't familiar with Amway products and have no way to know whether Amway has quality products or not. That leaves them to decide based on prices. And Amway in general, costs much more than Walmart for the same or similar products. A tough sell indeed and for these reasons, I find the Amway business to be unsustainable. There is no other conclusion that can be made.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Signs That You Are Becoming An Amway Zombie?

Sometimes it happens to the nicest of people and it oftens happens slowly and subtly. These are the signs that you are becoming indocrinated and you are likely annoying your loved ones at this point. While the IBO is under the Amway trance, they probably believe in what they are doing or saying, not realizing that they have become irrational in their zeal to promote Amway.

*You're driven to recruit everyone you know. You may even resort to deception or outright lies to get people to meetings. You may read a script prepared for you by your upline or you may be repeating something you heard on a cd. Before you know it, your family and friends avoid you like the plague.

*You're encouraged to develop an unreasonable, irrational zeal for the products. Even so far as to justify the quality of toilet paper or to call the products prestigious or premium. You may even argue the quality of energy drinks or about phytonutrients, something you may not even know about. You will use canned answers that have been supplied to you by upline or something you heard at a seminar.

*A whole bunch of demands, promises, subtle threats of failure if you don't try hard enough are made in the promotional material and motivational seminars. i.e. If you quit, you are a loser destined to die broke and unhappy. As if Amway is the only way someone can earn extra money or to be successful.

*Because the system is touted as the way you're going to make yourself fantastically rich, you're under pressure to drop any conflicting or competing interests such as your bowling league or golf club. Nothing else in life has importance except for the quest of financial freedom. All activities in your life must enhance your Amway business and have an affect on your financial future. Anything that affects your Amway business must be dropped or you are doomed for failure.

*Your upline soon becomes your most trusted friend. Your thoughts and feelings are shaped in part by the cds, meetings and functions. You end up shunning lifelong friends and/or relatives just because they are not "fired up" about Amway and thus must be avoided.

Do you recognize these behaviors? Hopefully you aren't displaying these behaviors.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Amway's Proven System?

Many uplines and IBOs will talk about their system. More often than not, the various systems such as WWDB or Network 21 will tout themselves as the best, fastest growing, proven, and most profitable. I know that was promoted when I was an IBO and I believe it is still promoted this way. There are many comments on the internet from IBOs and recently former IBOs that indicate that this is true. But let's take a look at these claims.

How does one determine the best? You really can't. The best is an opinion unless there are established criteria on what constitutes the best. Of course, every upline will think their group is the best, but what can factually be derived from that claim? If you are an IBO or prospect of Amway, try asking that question. Based on what do you make the claim of being the "best" group or system? They can say most profitable but unless the diamonds open their books, it is a claim that cannot be verified.

Fastest growing can be proven or disproved. But for the most part, we know that Amway isn't growing by leaps and bounds in North America. In recent years it appears that Amway sales in North America either stagnated or even declined. Amway supporters may cite overall Amway sales going up, but it's reasonable to conclude that the sales have declined based on Amway's own press releases this year. For some odd reason, Amway no longer reports North American sales, but simply lumps everyhing into a global sales figure.

As for any system to be making claims of proven, all these systems have basically done is proven that they are dismal failures. Based on Amway's own figures, we can deduce that less than half of one percent of IBOs ever reach the platinum level. The platinum level is approximately where you might see a small profit or break even. However, if that platinum is CORE. There is some documentation indicating that platinums might lose money at that level. While the study is dated, the expenses associated with being a platinum have gone up significantly since that study (Wisconsin Attorney General) so it can be very possible that platinums continue to see a net loss these days. It's also very visible that there are fewer diamonds in north America today than a dozen years ago or more. Some diamonds have quit and some were terminated. It appears that most new diamonds come from foreign countries where Amway has not yet suffered reputation issues.

Makng claims of fastest growing is also one that can be proven. However, try asking your sponsor or upline for evidence of this claim. Also, is the growth occuring in your area? Are you from the US or Canada? Citing growth in Korea for example, is unlikely to mean anything for the vast majority of IBOs. And even if there is some growth, how does that translate as leverage or an advantage for you? Ask these questions and see what answer you receive, if any.

The system is proven for sure. But it's proven to be a failure. The numbers supplied by Amway clearly back up this claim.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Reap And Sowing Amway Rewards?

One of the things that many prospects and IBOs believe is that they will make an investment of time and money into Amway and that they will eventually get their time and money back in such abundance that they can walk off their jobs, and walk the beaches of the world while living on lifelong residual income, all because of the Amway opportunity. For IBOs and prospects of Amway, I wonder if any of you can actually name even five people who have actually accomplished this? Keep in mind that there have probably been tens of millions of people who also wanted this and tried Amway and the systems, only to find that reality paints a different picture. Over the years I have challenged IBOs to name even one person who built their business to diamond, and then walked away to enjoy untold wealth and a life of leisure. Not a single person has been able to answer this simple question.

Many people they will reap what they sow. While that many sound true, I guess the next logical question is what are you sowing? Are you deceptive when prospecting people to see the plan? Are you having to justify and hide price comparisons that are not favorable? Are you actually selling goods to customers and actually qualifying for your Amway bonus? Do you have a negative opinion (broke losers) about people who don't join Amway or are not interested in seeing the plan? Do you now think your boss and your job are evil? Do you leave your kids at home to attend endless numbers of functions and meetings? You reap what you sow correct?

I wonder what some WWDB diamonds were sowing? At least the ones who had their homes foreclosed, and one in particular was involved in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings? Are they reaping what they sowed? What about the WWDB diamonds who got divorced? What were they sowing? Are IBOs sure about wanting to make the claim of reaping and sowing? And yes, I have my own flaws, but the difference is that I am not on stage proclaiming to be flawless as many diamonds would imply when they speak (and profit from) their tens of thousands of downlines. I am not earning a living by deceiving people and profiting from people I am supposed to be helping.

Are you reaping what you sow?

Monday, February 22, 2016

What The Heck Is A Prosumer?

What the heck is a prosumer? Amway IBOs use the term as if they actually know what they are talking about but “prosumer” is a term used in a book by an author named Bill Quain. I didn’t read the book but I did read summaries and basically, the book is about how consumers spend money and the difference being that prosumers make money while spending it. The book was written and promoted to Amway IBO at a time when a common philosophy among IBOs was to “buy from yourself and get others to do the same”.

On the surface, it may sound like a good idea to an IBO because the fact is that most people do not like selling. So why not buy from myself and get others to follow? What IBOs seem unable to grasp is that buying from yourself makes you a consumer. Nobody is going to buy themselves into prosperity and you are fooling yourself if you think you’ll be the first one. Else. I can consider myself a “prosumer” by using a cash back credit card. But stop and think for a minute. Even getting cash back or being “paid” to shop, I still have less money in my pocket even if I get cash back. Yes, spending more gets me a bigger rebate (or check from Amway) but I will repeat, nobody spends their way to prosperity.

In Amway, you move 100 PV, which costs about $300 a month and you earn a 3% bonus, which is about $10. That wouldn’t be so bad if you truly bought products that you already use and if the products are priced about the same as retailers like WalMart or Costco. But Amway products are not priced to compete. Amway pays bonuses to IBOs in excess of 30% for each dollar they sell. Those bonuses are built into the price of the product, thus Amway cannot compete overall. Now that isn’t to say you cannot get any decent products at a decent price from Amway, but they are too few and far between to make it worth your while overall.

Thus the only way you can really make money in Amway is to recruit. While there is no direct payment for recruiting downline, it must be done to profit because you have little to no leverage on your product volume unless you start to accumulate a big downline. But even if you profit, your downline suffer the fate you once had. Little to no leverage on volume. Why would I take the time and effort and expense to buy $300 worth of good from Amway (plus shipping fees) when I can get the same amount of products at WalMart for $150? Even factoring in the bonus from Amway, I still win shopping elsewhere.

This is where the IBOs like to use the argument that Amway products are of high quality or concentrated. Quality is subjective and to be honest, when it comes to household products and other consumables that IBOs peddle, quality is not a significant factor as much as the bottom line price. WalMart sales of nearly half a trillion annually confirms that price is indeed important, more important than the argument IBOs use for being loyal to Amway products. And in reality, WalMart products are just as good in my opinion.

The prosumer argument is just another silly concept written to try and reinforce the notion that being an Amway IBO is a good idea. Bottom line is you will never ever, “buy your way to prosperity”. Do the math, nobody ever got rich by spending money. If you don’t believe my argument, name 2 people who got rich buy purchasing their own products.

Trading Hours For Dollars?

One of the ways that upline diamonds would put down jobs was to toss in the phrase that a job was simply trading hours for dollars. As if it were demeaning to have a job where you got paid for your time. I believe it's all relative. Being that many IBos are young and maybe working in more entry level types of jobs, then yeah, your hours wage might not be that great. If you earn say $10 an hour, then you might be struggling financially and it may take time before your skills and knowledge increase to a point where your experience is worth more money. What if you had a job paying $1000 an hour and earned $160,000 a month? Is that a lousy deal trading hours for dollars? I think not!

Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earnning less than $100 a month and you spend $200 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus a platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are likely losing money. How much is that worth per hour?

I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, afterall, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the ned, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month gross income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month.

Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profir right away. Instead, IBos are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case I would choose trading hours for dollars.

Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Amway IBOs Think Tax Refunds Are Profit?

One of the things that I have observed over the years is how IBOs are so misguided by their upline. One good example if how 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. Only legitimate business expenses can be deducted.

I believe 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 what 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 clearly 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 thinking and one that does not add up.

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"

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Amway Opportunity Is A Good One?

Over the years I have been debating with Amway supporters, I cannot see what is so great about the Amway opportunity. Are some of these Amway defenders that stupid or dense that they truly believe that a business where one out of a few hundred people might make a profit and most of the remaining IBOs will lose money is a good opportunity? If you do the math, the results are not favorable to Amway/ I'm not talking about people who sign up and "do nothing". Many IBOs sign up and put in a great deal of time, effort and money, only to find out that the system simply does not work (especially in the US) and they make a business decision to quit and/or to do something else.

Of course there are some people who make money in Amway. If nobody made money, then the opportunity would cease to exist. But it is basically exploitation of the downline that accounts for upline success. Thus certain upline make their income from their downline's PV volume, and on tool purchases. I mean even a lottery has winners. Even ponzi schemes and other questionable opportunities have some winners. This is not to suggest that Amway in not legal. Amway is perfectly legal on paper, but the way the opportunity is set up, those who profit, primarily do so at the expense of their trusted downline.

There are no groups that I know of where all the IBOs can win and earn a profit. I would guess that there might be a few rogue groups who only focus on retail sales, and while these groups can be profitable as a group, they are few and far between if they exist at all. This is because most IBOs fall under an LOS such as WWDB, BWW, LTD or N21, and these groups all seemingly focus on recruiting of new IBOs and promoting tools to their downline IBOs. Yes, they may sprinkle in some suggeestions about selling goods, but generally speaking, their "training" materials consist of motivation speeches, feel good stories (whether true or not), and the theme of never quitting while continuing to purchase more tools.

Some upline have the nerve to start teaching downline that their Amway business is not about making money, but to save your marriage, make you a nicer person, or some other diversion to make you forget that you are losing money month after month after month. Some groups even mix in religion and politics into their functions and meetings. As far as I can see, the typical business buildiing IBO signs up, gets some of the tools and attends a few functions, and finds that the products are hard to sell because they are not priced competetively with other retailers, and that a damaged reputation is nearly impossible to overcome. These IBOs realize they are not going anywhere, and they walk away, chalking up the losses as a life lesson. But apparently, many uplines who lied and deceived in the past are continuing to do so today, often just revising history for their benefit (i.e. lying about making any profit on tools).

Many IBOs, prospects, information seekers and critics read this blog. My question is very simple. What is so great about the Amway opportunity? For most, it is just a bad use of time and money. While some may exist, I don't know of a single person who "did the work once" and sat back collecting barrels of Amway money while sipping Mai Tais on the beaches of Jamaica. I see crown ambassadors working as hard today as they did many years ago. Diamonds losing homes to forclosures, a prominent diamond was in bankruptcy proceedings some years back, and a hoard of WWDB diamonds apparently selling off mansions that they allegedly paid for in cash. Is it possible that their lifestyles are simply not sustainable and they are being forced to downsize?

Where is the benefit in the business for the typical IBO? Just as there are some diamonds, there are lottery winners. Displaying a lottery winner doesn't make it prudent to spend your money on lottery tickets. Displaying a diamond's lifestyle doesn't make Amway a good opportunity. While Amway is a business and not a game of chance, the results of either, sadly are eerily similar - that is a few winners and millions of non winners.

What is so great about the Amway opportunity? I don't see it.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Why Amway Doesn't Work?

1. The Amway products are too expensive to compete with other brands. While IBO's claim high quality, that is subjective and for most consumers, Amway products are not well known and seen as generic in nature with a premium price. Many people consider Amway products "satisfactory" or "average". Some people do enjoy Amway products, but overall in the US market, it clearly indicates that price is a factor and people apparently choose Costco or WalMart. Also, person to person advertising is not as effective as national advertising such as Proctor and Gamble. While Amway did some advertising recently, they are too far behind in the game and their spotty reputation precedes them.

2. The compensation plan is very unfair to new IBO's. The new guy does the work but gets only a tiny fraction of the generous bonus Amway pays out. A new IBO who moves 100 PV would get back $10 or so while layers of uplines split up the remaining $90 or so on bonuses generated by the 100 PV. The only way an IBO can increase volume is to sponsor downline and hope that they will also buy into the system and dedicate themselves to moving volume consistently. But this will also fail due to reasons #3 and #4.

3. Amway's reputation is so bad that sponsoring downlline to build a group is nearly impossible. Even getting people to see the plan is a tough sell. It is why building a business without some deception is nearly impossible. It is why many uplines begin to teach that Amway saves marriages, or that you become nicer by building an Amway business, or that the Amway business is about friends and not money. That is a bunch of BS, business is about making money. If not you have joined a social club. People do not get into business to make more friends or to learn to be nicer people. People join a business with the intention of making money. Too bad the vast majority of IBOs end up losing money.

4. The uplines push the tools scam on their downline while they make handsome profits from these books, voicemails, standing orders and functions. What's more, these tools do not help an IBO build a business because of the reaons listed above. In fact, I believe that any IBOs who actually succeed, does so in spite of the system and not because of the system. There is zero evidence to indicate that the system tools have any relationship to IBO success. And most systems are more alike than not, despite what they may claim.

It is for these reasons that I believe Amway is not a good business opportunity for the vast majority of people. When you factor in the system expenses, you almost assure yourself of a losing proposition. Do the math and do the research. Your conclusion should be clear.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Amway Diamonds - Con Artists?

One of the things that Amway diamonds remind me of is a con artist. Now why in the world would I say that? I say that because in my opinion, it is absolutely true. The diamonds stand on stage, showing off trappings of wealth to lure prospects into the business. They then sell them "tools" or training and prmote the tools/training as the key to success. Then when the prospect fails, they say the prospect didn't work hard enough or they didn't do things exactly right. I was an IBO and I did what my upline advised, I had eagle parameters and I still did not have a net profit even at the 4000 PV level. I highly doubt anyone could honestly claim I didn't work hard enough or I didn't do things right. I would have had a net profit but by upline diamond wanted me to re-invest the money into tools - because they are con artists. Yes, I was partly culpable for listening to them but was I supposed to question and argue with someone who allegedly had achieved the pinnavle of success in Amway?

Over the years I have been blogging, I have had contacts with some fairly high level IBOs (platinums) who told me stories of backstage conversations where the diamonds basically refer to the audience as hopeful suckers, knowing that these folks are going to fail. But still they have the nerve to stand on stage and try to sincerely sell hope in the form of cds, books, functions and voicemail. And the audience believes it because deep down, they want to believe that you can work hard for 2-5 years and retire young with money pouring into your bank accounts. Who wouldn't want that? But the diamonds know it's a lie, but they still promote that next function or meeting as if you can expect to strike gold when you attend.

I cam from WWDB (World Wide Dream Builders) and while some groups might be slightly different, they are mostly alike as these groups are for profit companies that sell training to Amway IBOs for a profit and they make a nice profit, even if all the IBOs lose money. There is no evidence that these tools/training does anything to help IBOs succeed. In fact, I believe that anyone who succeeds in Amway, does so in spite of the tools, not because of the tools. When you think about the Amway teaching, most of their "core" steps involve actvities that cost you money instead of making you money. Some of the teaching I heard in meetings involved how long you can put off paying your rent/mortgage and other bills before you would be in trouble. I suppose the diamonds wanted you to spend your last dollar on tools. One diamond said your family could skip a meal to buy more cds because that cd cold contain the one thing that propels you to diamond. These flks were shamelsss and would take you last cent if they could. Two of my crossline IBOs had some difficulty in Amway and they followed upline advice. One couple ended up in chapter 7 bankruptcy and the other couple had their home foreclosed.

While the diamonds have nice suits and nice smiles, you have to wonder whether they actually believe the very teaching they profess on stage. One thing that Amway confirmed was that once you achieve diamond, they recognize the diamond pin forever, even if you no longer qualify. Thus some diamonds might be selling you training and functions and they may not even be a qualified platinum, let alone a diamond. Some old timer diamond from the 1980's such asthe Duncans might have high rankings today but really, they built their businesses in the days prior to the internet and social media. How does that qualify them to teach today, unless they can prove that they are still qualified as diamonds?

In my opinion, prospects and information seekers need to be careful when someone is trying to get you in the business because the diamonds can give you a smooth story and make the business sound "simple" and "doable" but in reality, Amway products can be difficult to sell other than to sympathetic family and friends. And sponsoring is difficult in the US where saturation has likely occured.

But beware of the diamonds, who look and seem sincere, but are more like con artists trying to sell you on a business that you are unlikely to make any net profit, much less earn untold and limitless wealth. At least if you read this blog post, you can detect some of the angles that Amway IBOs use to lure people into the business.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Quitting Amway Is Winning?

I often see commentary about people quitting Amway and Amway loyalists are quick to call them broke, losers, lazy, lacking guts. Ironically, these same lazy and loser types of people were "sharp" and motivated prospects before they signed up for the Amway opportunity. Someone recently left a comment on my blog about how Amway Motivational Organizations (AMOs) should conduct exit interviews with departing IBOs to get to the root of the problems. I think these exit interviews would reveal that people are working hard and applying the AMO teaching, only to lose money,

Based on my years of blogging and Amway experiences, I can honestly say I believe that people quit Amway primarily for one reason. The money isn't there. Amway's own numbers show that the average IBO earns just over $200 a month and that is before taxes and expenses, and that number excludes inactive IBOs. Business building IBOs earn most of the bonuses, but business building IBOs generally have the most expenses, often participating in the system of standing orders, voicemail, books and functions.

When I was an IBO, I did as upline advised and I achieved a fairly significant level (4000 PV), but due to the expenses associated with tools and helping downline, I didn't earn a net profit. This is confirmed by a study done by the Wisconsin attorney general who examined the tax returns of the top 1% of IBOs in the state and found that they averaged a net loss of about $1000 a year. While the study is a bit dated, I would suggest it is still very valid as platinums today, have more tools (business building materials) that they are expected to buy from upline. If I made nothing at 4000 PV, anyone with half a brain can conclude that IBOs below 4000 PV and fully participating on the system would end up with a net loss because their expenses would be similar to mine, but with less bonus money.

The bottom line is that people are very likely quitting because they aren't profitable. If people made a few hundred a month with 8-15 hours of work per week, they would continue to run their businesses. But those who work and make nothing or lose money have no reason or motivation to continue. After all, many people got into Amway to make extra money, not to wind up with a net loss. Thus they simply make a wise business decision and quit. What seemed like a good idea during the presentation simply did not pan out when reality set in. It's also reasonable to conclude that the products aren't that great either because if they were, those who quit would become loyal customers. Even if the sales force turned over, sales would consistently rise as former IBOs would become customers. It's apparent that most former IBOs do not become loyal Amway customers. In fact, for those who later discover they were lied to or deceived about the Amway opportunity, become critical of Amway instead.

Why do people quit Amway? I think the answer is crystal clear. The quitters are the winners!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Amway IBOs Fake It But Don't Make It?

One of the things I was taught as an IBO was "fake it till you make it". My understanding was that you were to act successful, even if you had not yet achieved your desired level. By faking success, I suppose you had a better opportunity to prospect other potential IBOs than by showing the reality. Broken down to its purest form, this is deception. To attract others to an opportunity where you are deceptive is less than honest, which I suppose describes my former WWDB upline leaders. What is also sad though, is that I believe this may still be taught. Part of this is evidenced by IBOs wearing business attire to all meetings.

I guess this should not surprise people who know about the Amway business because I believe that diamonds also embellish success as well. WWDB used to have, and still runs a major function called "Dream Nite". This is a function where the diamonds will parade on stage while showing a slide show of all the lifestyle you can achieve at the diamond level. Do what they do and you can have what they have, is what they teach. But can you really?

For one thing, new diamonds in the US or WWDB for that matter probably earn in the range of $200K to $250K a year when you factor in the Amway income and the income from tools. While that seems like a great income, factoring in taxes and medical and dental insurance and the kind of life style that diamonds portray with fleets of cars and mansions and gaudy jewelry and clothing, and you can easily see that diamonds are very likely playing a game of "fake it" as well. It is why I believe many diamonds are actually in debt and/or living month to month financially, just like the working stiffs they criticize in functions. I have heard testimonies and read comments about how IBOs saw their diamonds actually living in very average homes and at times, renting fancy cars and things to show off because their income likely cannot sustain the lifestyles they portray. A prominent WWDB triple diamond apparently went through bankruptcy proceedings and another had their home foreclosed a handful of years ago. . It is all adding up to what I suspect. That diamonds at best live middle to upper middle class lifetyles. Not that this is bad, but it is a far cry from how the diamond lifestyle is dishonestly portrayed. Take away the tools income and the picture would not be pretty, in my opinion.

So IBOs and diamonds can fake it, but I suspect that many of them NEVER "make it".
And if I may add, teaching this and doing this "fake it" is less than honest.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Guaranteed Success?

One of the things my upline used to say was that success was guaranteed if you were participating in the system of standing orders, voicemail, books and functions. And I suppose to some degree, it is completely true. However, what the downline IBOs don't realize is that the success is only guaranteed for the people who profit from selling the system. Because the system materials carry a higher profit margin than the Amway products, your upline gets to profit from your Amway volume, and then get an even bigger profit when you buy voicemail, standing order and function tickets from them.

Amway had reported that an average diamond earned well over 100K. A nice income, but not an income that can sustain the lifestyles portrayed at Dream Night or other big functions. However, add in another $200,000 a year or more and that "diamond lifestyle" looks to be a bit more attainable. The sad thing is that so few people ever reach the diamond level in the US, and even those who reach that level are often unable to sustain it. I believe the diamond club function in Hswaii for US/Canadadian diamonds had a total of 160 diamond-ships. Pretty sad for a business that has been around for so long. I also wonder how many fewer diamonds there might be today? It looks like Amway sales in north america has slipped in recent years so it's reasonable to believe there would be fewer diamonds. I wish Amway would just publish the number, but they don't so we are left to speculate and make educated guesses.

New IBOs nearly guarantee themselves of losses if they buy all the business building tools. The newbie IBOs who move 100 PV get about $10 in bonuses. That doesn't cover the cost of their voicemail, let alone the other tools. And since most IBOs are unable to sponsor downline, these IBOs are filled with dreams that will never come true. It is why the attrition rate is so high. Logically speaking, if IBOs were making money, they would stick around. But since most are losing money they quit. Also, IBOs who were deceived or lied to about the tools, will often quit and have ill feelings towards Amway. The Amway Answer Blog recently wrote an article saying they do not turn a blind eye to these abuses, yet we continue to see and hear of IBOs who were deceived by upline. I believe the only solution is for Amway to provide the training and tools. Less conflict of interest that way.

If you are seeking information or are being prospected to Amway, make sure you do thorough research and ask questions. If you hear that success is guaranteed, ask for proof, such as a business tax return (schedule C). Slide shows of mansions and cars are not proof of wealth or success. Keep in mind that the purchase of tools only guarantees success for the tool sellers, not the tool purchasers. I invite as usual, anyone to prove me wrong.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Amway's Broken Dreams?

One of the things Amway promoters use to entice prospects into joining is to get them to think about financial dreams and goals that they would like to accomplish. After all, who wouldn't want to be retired at age 35 and walking on the exotic beaches of the world? Or who wouldn't want to live a life of leisure and excitement with unlimited barrels of cash rolling in to finance all of the fun and frivolity? Of course most people get excited by this. Sports cars, mansions, jetskis, exclusive vacations are all the lure of what Amway promoters use to entice recruits to sign up.

Sadly, the things that people get excited by, or the things that people join for, often become less accessible because of people's involvement in Amway. Not necessarily due to Amway itself, but because of the leach organizations that attach themselves to the Amway business. These organization will promote their materials as the key to success in Amway, but in reality, these organizations reap handsome profits while basically bankrupting the downline IBOs. What is also sad is that the system does not deliver the success that is promoted. Less than one half of one percent even reach the platinum level, which is allegedly the level where you break even or make a small profit. According to stats issued by Amway, .26 reach platinum, or about 1 out of 400 IBOs. That's nothing to brag about is it?

During my tenure in the business, uplines taught us to buy all the materials. Books, standing order tapes/cds, functions, and other materials. In fact, in addition to standing order, upline wanted IBOs to purchase an additional 5-7 tapes or cds each week. Afterall, you should be listening to new material daily right? In fact, upline wanted people to "invest" or spend all of their income on these materials. In an open meeting setting, a diamond said that your family could skip a meal to get another tape/cd because the information was so valuable that you might hear the one thing that propels you to diamond. Almost as if buying a tape/cd was like some lottery ticket.

And sadly, some IBOs did go "all in". They bought tools like there was no tomorrow. In my crossline, there was a couple who went bankrupt and a couple whose home was foreclosed. Now was this financial difficulty all due to their involvement in Amway? I don't know, but certainly, buying hundreds of dollars of materials on a monthly basis can certainly contribute to someone's financial problems. And these IBOs did this on upline's advice. Thus upline advised this even when they likely knew that these IBOs were in financial difficulty. If they would tell you to starve your kids, then surely they will not be concerned about your other issues. I also sat in a function where a diamond taught about how long you can put off paying a mortgage before foreclosure would occur. Probably so people could go in hock to attend a major function.

It is a sad thing indeed when uplines will try to sell you dreams. What's worse is when they are actually selling you broken dreams.

Monday, February 8, 2016

No "Negative" In Amway?

One of the silly things many IBOs are taught is to avoid negative. I believe this is taught today by uplines and it was certainly a point of emphasis even in my days as an IBO. The upline diamond would say that the world of full of negatives and that we as people take in too much of these negatives. Therefore, the IBOs were told to avoid television, newspapers and other forms of communication with the outside world. The group was also told to avoid people who speak negatively about Amway. For this reason, many people have considered Amway groups such as WWDB or N21 as cultish or cult-like. (information deprevation or information control).

I can agree that you surely don't want to only take in negatives as it can wear you down eventually, but not seeing the news or reading about current events in the paper simply makes you apathetic and uninformed. For example, wouldn't you want and need to know if there was a deadly storm heading your way? I live in Hawaii and we occasionally have hurricanes. Avoiding news could be very detrimental to your family and home. If you lived in the midwest of the US, wouldn't you want and need to know if a tornado was headed your way? Do you avoid the doctor because his assessment of your health might not be "positive"? For these reasons, I believe that many Amwayers walk around wearing a mask with a false smile, trying to overly positive.

Another important thing that many IBOs cannot distinguish is the difference between negative and the truth. If your wife asks you if her new dress makes her look fat, the truth might be that the new dress indeed makes her appear fat. That answer may be uncomfortable for you to deliver, but the truth is the truth. The truth at times can be positive or negative but it is still the truth.

Most IBOs earn less than $100 a month. That is the truth. Most IBOs lose money if they participate in functions and standing orders and such. That is the truth. Most IBOs will never even sponsor a downline. That is the truth. Most IBOs, filled with motivation and dreams, will never see those dreams fulfilled. That is the truth. Many upline diamonds, who advise IBOs to purchase tools and attend functions, and fill the IBO's heads full of dreams, make significant incomes from the sale of tools and functions. That is also the truth. In a 1 year timespan, approximately 50% of IBOs will quit. That is the truth.

Is it negative to tell the truth? Or can IBOs not handle the truth?

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Amway Island?

Imagine an a city or island with 100 adult residents. One guy gets sponsored into Amway from a cousin in another area off the island. Well, the island residents are a pretty tight knit group so the one IBO immediately sponsors his six best friends and eventually, all 100 island residents. They are all dead serious about the Amway business so they all work hard, but because everyone is an IBO, they can only self consume 100 PV each. Thus the 100 IBOs move 10,000 PV each month. The group as a whole generates about 30,000 BV and the group receives $7500 in bonus money from Amway. Of course, the first IBO sponsored is now a platinum receiving most of that money with the rest of the group receiving smaller bonuses.

Being serious IBOs, they all get standing order, books of the month, and travel by air to functions. They pay on average about $250 a month for their Amway training/tools. Thus the group pays about $25,000 a month for the training that will one day allow them to retire and quit their jobs. The island community is losing a net of $17,500 ($25,0000 in expenses minus the $7500 in income generated from Amway) from their local economy each month. However, there is one resident IBO who is making a nice income urging everyone one. Let's evaluate the group.

The platinum IBO is making a nice income and will also receive a $20,000 bonus at the end of the year. His 6 downline friends make just about enough to break even (approximately 1000 PV) or lose a little. The rest of the residents have lost collectively, over $200,000 ($17,500 a month). The guy who owned the local grocery store went out of business and all the entertainment related business closed up because the residents had no disposable income to spend money on anything except for Amway related activities. Eventually they all quit, including the platinum because once his group quit, he too, began to lose money.

Now Amway defenders will cry that this could never happen, but it shows that even if you could get everyone in the US to join, this scenario is what would more than likely, happen. I believe the Amway name and reputation is for the most part, saturated in the US. Nearly everyone will have heard the Amway name and/or will know someone who had a brush with Amway. Because of the tool peddlers such as WWDB, BWW, or Network 21, there are likely millions of people in the US who ended up with a bad experience, perhaps tricked into attending a meeting, or lied to about something related to Amway.

While this story is fictional, it is what I believe would happen if there was a city/island where everyone joined the business. It is what happens today. Few people benefit at the expense of their downline. And as usual, it is the tools that drive people to lose money - on Amway island, or anywhere else.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Returning Amway Stuff?

When I was recruited into Amway, one of the catch phrases was that you are now a business owner. It sounds cool to be a business owner, but in reality, it appears that IBOs are simply salesmen for Amway who are afforded no guaranteed wage or any fringe benefits. In fact, many Amway salesmen do Amway a favor and go out recruiting other salesmen for Amway without any compensation. It makes sense though, because to attain levels of significance, you need to have downline. While it is possible (but nearly impossible) to reach platinum and even ruby without downline, any levels higher will require you to have downline.

So as an Amway salesman, you have no minimum sales requirement. That may seem like a good thing but many uplines will impose a defacto 100 PV requirement for "serious" IBOs. If you are planning to sponsor someone, your upline will likely tell you that your donwline will duplicate your efforts, therefore the 100 PV "requirement". 100 PV will cost about $300. While it is possible to sell some products, it would seem that most IBOs simply buy their own goods and do not sell to non IBOs. It's puzzling to me that so many IBOs argue about Amway's superior quality of products, yet so few former IBOs continue to use Amway products at all once they are not IBOs and even those that do, would rarely ever attain 100 PV. So much for that argument.

What many IBOs do not realize is that their upline diamonds are also salesmen. In addition to moving Amway volume, they will be selling you voicemail, standing orders, premiere club, functions, book of the month. All of these materials brings in a higher profit margin than Amway products. Thus it would only make sense that your upline salesmen would want to sell tools more than Amway products because it has more profit. Where this gets shady is when your upline tells you that they have your best interest at heart or that you virtually cannot succeed without these tools. Imagine your reaction if a vacuum cleaner salesman told you that he has your best interest at heart and that you cannot possibly clean your home without his vacuum. In an odd way, that is exactly what is happening when you purchase tools from upline. What's even worse is that the tools rarely ever work out for the IBOs who buy them. What if you bought a vacuum that didn't work? You would return it for a refund. What if the salesman said you can't return it because you used it?

I find it odd that IBOs accept this BS from upline. That you can only return unused tools. You should be able to return a product because it didn't work! Did that standing order actually help you to sponsor new people? Did you sell more products because you attended a function? Whether a tool is used or unused should not matter. You should be able to get a full refund if the tools didn't work. If not, IBOs who cannot return tools should complain to Amway and the better business bureau, and file formal complaints. Many IBOs simply quit and walk away, giving the tool sellers a break. If the tools don't work, you should return them on that basis and demand a refund. If I bought a product at Costco or WalMart and the product did not work or I was not satisfied, I can return it no questions asked. I challenge IBOs and former IBOs to do this with their products and tools.

Monday, February 1, 2016

The Amway Reality?

I heard a great comment from someone on a related Amway blog. Basically, he said if IBOs were so successful, people would just naturally be attracted. And that's true! Where I live, the local electric company is an attractive place to work with a good salary and benefits package. When there's a handful of openings, you might get as many as 6,000 people applying for these positions. When the federal government hires for the post office, you get thousands of applicants for a handful of jobs as well.

But nearly all IBOs have no success and must justify their positions. The common ones are how Amway products are concentrated, or they have magical ingredients in their vitamins. It is my position that if these products were so good and the opportunity actually produced successful IBOs, there would be no need to be deceptive about the products or opportunity. The products could easily be marketed. In fact, customers would be seeking IBOs to find the products and there would be lines of people waiting to see the opportunity.

Instead, IBOs themselves are the primary consumers of Amway products. Many IBOs are deceptive when inviting people to see the Amway plan. Some prospects are outright lied to when recruited for the Amway opprtunity. The curiosity approach is still used by many, because mentioning "Amway" is more likely to get you funny looks than genuine interest. If what I am writing is not true, why do IBOs need to deceive people? Why don't some IBOs open their books and display the financial success they claim to have? Why so secretive? Why aren't there hoards of new diamonds and emeralds each month? Instead, you mainly hear of the Amway growth in foreign countries. Most likely because the Amway name and reputation has not yet been soiled as it has in the US and Canada.

In the US, I see primarily the same old diamonds who were in control of the functions and systems from more than 12 years ago. In fact, factoring in diamonds who quit or dropped out, I believe there are fewer diamonds now than when I was an IBO. Some of these diamonds also had some apparent financial difficulties. The opportunity is far from how it's promoted. Success speaks louder than words, and where North American Amway success is concerned, the silence is deafening!