1. The Amway products are too expensive overall 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 to get consumables and cleaning products. 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 Amway 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. That should be a huge red flag if your upline is teaching you that your Amway business is not about making money. If money wasn't a factor, why do they always show (but not verify) pictures and slide shows depicting untold wealth and luxury? Why do they talk about retiring young? It's all about the 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 IBO who actually succeeds, does so in spite of the system and not because of the system. There is zero unbiased 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. Also, any "success" is also not sustainable. The road to Amway riches is littered with former success stories. There are also many former diamonds/ Why would there be any former diamonds if they could collect residual income?
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 nearly assure yourself of a losing proposition. Do the math and do the research. Your conclusion should be clear.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Amway IBOs "Help" People?
One of the biggest loads of guano my upline used to feed us was that our Amway business was about helping people. That the great thing about the business was the number of people we are helping. I used to wonder how we helped people because anyone who wasn't interested in the business was labeled as negative and were to be avoided. These negative people included many family and friends. Thus we only "helped" people who were in Amway. But is signing them up for Amway really helping them?
I also wondered whether we could honestly say we were even helping people in the Amway business as many of my crossline had been involved before I was and and they had no downline. They faithfully attended all the meetings and functions and did their defacto 100 PV quota each month. I figured they had to be losing money because I wasn't making anything even at higher pin levels than my cross line. I guess even being a dedicated IBO for more than half a year, I maintained some sense of compassion and common sense about things. (I also thought many meetings were a waste of time, money and effort). But I suppressed my common sense because my group was growing and I was being edified as a mover and shaker. It's hard to describe but it's hard not to be excited when your group is growing and being edified. I believe some people live for the adulation and the money is a secondary motivator.
Having walked away from the business, I can honestly say now that the IBOs and upline leaders aren't about helping people. They only want to show interest in you if it will somehow benefit their Amway business. While people spend time helping their communities or churches, or feeding homeless people for that matter, IBOs are busy attending meetings and functions, and finding prospects to brng to the next open meeting or funtion. While people give their time and money to help others, many IBOs are in financial bondage because their involvement with Amway and the systems such as N21, WWDB, LTD or BWW eats up an IBO's time and income, rendering them financially and schedule wise, unable to help some of these kinds of causes. Amway and the systems becomes your life and ministry.
So I challenge information seekers and IBOs to think about this. When your upline leaders or sponsor talks about helping people and helping a cause, what exactly are they speaking of? When you're at a function and your church or neighbors are cleaning up the roadside or painting a school, how are you helping? Some uplines will even tell their IBOs not to tithe to their churches. That they can donate $10,000 checks later. Well, that later rarely ever comes and the money that the churches and charities take in help others immediately, not when someone goes diamond.
So....... Do IBOs really help people?
I also wondered whether we could honestly say we were even helping people in the Amway business as many of my crossline had been involved before I was and and they had no downline. They faithfully attended all the meetings and functions and did their defacto 100 PV quota each month. I figured they had to be losing money because I wasn't making anything even at higher pin levels than my cross line. I guess even being a dedicated IBO for more than half a year, I maintained some sense of compassion and common sense about things. (I also thought many meetings were a waste of time, money and effort). But I suppressed my common sense because my group was growing and I was being edified as a mover and shaker. It's hard to describe but it's hard not to be excited when your group is growing and being edified. I believe some people live for the adulation and the money is a secondary motivator.
Having walked away from the business, I can honestly say now that the IBOs and upline leaders aren't about helping people. They only want to show interest in you if it will somehow benefit their Amway business. While people spend time helping their communities or churches, or feeding homeless people for that matter, IBOs are busy attending meetings and functions, and finding prospects to brng to the next open meeting or funtion. While people give their time and money to help others, many IBOs are in financial bondage because their involvement with Amway and the systems such as N21, WWDB, LTD or BWW eats up an IBO's time and income, rendering them financially and schedule wise, unable to help some of these kinds of causes. Amway and the systems becomes your life and ministry.
So I challenge information seekers and IBOs to think about this. When your upline leaders or sponsor talks about helping people and helping a cause, what exactly are they speaking of? When you're at a function and your church or neighbors are cleaning up the roadside or painting a school, how are you helping? Some uplines will even tell their IBOs not to tithe to their churches. That they can donate $10,000 checks later. Well, that later rarely ever comes and the money that the churches and charities take in help others immediately, not when someone goes diamond.
So....... Do IBOs really help people?
Monday, February 26, 2018
A Business Mentality?
One of the things Amway IBOs "think" they possess, but in reality they are far from it, is "Business Mentality". It is not necessarily the fault of the IBOs. Many are sponsored into Amway by trusted friends or family lacking business experience. They will "submit" to upline as they are advised and will try to learn about the Amway business from them. The problem is that many upline leaders teach self serving business practices such as hard core dedication to their tools system, from which they often handsomely profit. They may also downplay the vital importance of actually selling products to actual customers. Let's examine some of the questionable practices.
"Buy from yourself". If you have a business owner mentality, you only buy from yourself if it's beneficial to your business. Many IBOs talk about ridiculous things like a McDonald's owner would never eat at Burger King. That's totally false. Just because I own a McDonald's doesn't mean I am eating Big Macs every day for the rest of my life. You cannot spend yourself to prosperity. If I sold pens for $1.00 and my cost was .50, and my competitor had a special on the same pens at 3 for $1.00, I'm buying them from my competition. Also, buying from yourself makes you a customer, not a business owner. Many new IBOs and prospects fail to see the flaws in this kind of teaching.
"Ignore facts if you have a dream". This is probably the biggest heap of bull crap taught by some upline. I have seen this spouted in particular by IBOs downline from WWDB and BWW leaders. A business owner studies the facts, not ignores them. Any REAL business owner wants to know how much he is bringing in and how much is going out. That's how you detect the heartbeat of your business. A site visitor named Gina on this site, posted a profit/loss statement from her real business. Naturally, IBOs were at a loss to discuss it because it was foreign material to them. If you are spending more on tools, functions and training than you are taking in, you are operating at a net loss and unless your sales goes up, you will continue to bleed money until you lower your expenditures. The purpose of the training is supposed to help you generate more sales volume. If that isn't happening, how much more training do you really need?
"Submit to upline". Another load of hogwash. Why should someone submit to upline simply because they "sponsored me" or whatever? Why should someone have authority over you and your business simply because they signed up before you? A real business owner would think independently and make business decisions based on facts and numbers, not on the advice of someone upline who hasn't taken the time to assess each IBO on a personal level to be able to give advice on an IBO's "Independent Business", or worse, advice on their personal lives".
"Dedication to the system". Silly advice as well. What dedication does the system have for an IBO? If an IBO succeeds (which is very rare), the system takes credit, but for the more than 99% of people who never make a significant income, it is their own fault if they don't make it. Amway apologists will defend this by saying that many may not have signed up wanting a significant income. While that may be partially true, tell me where people show "plans" designed for the guy who wants an extra $100 a month? The plans shown are always (AFAIK) to go platinum or diamond. There is no unbiased evidence that the systems help anyone succeed in Amway.
IBOs and information seekers, does any of this sound familiar? Is this a part of your experience? If so, I encourage you to ask questions and get more information before proceeding with any more "business" activity.
"Buy from yourself". If you have a business owner mentality, you only buy from yourself if it's beneficial to your business. Many IBOs talk about ridiculous things like a McDonald's owner would never eat at Burger King. That's totally false. Just because I own a McDonald's doesn't mean I am eating Big Macs every day for the rest of my life. You cannot spend yourself to prosperity. If I sold pens for $1.00 and my cost was .50, and my competitor had a special on the same pens at 3 for $1.00, I'm buying them from my competition. Also, buying from yourself makes you a customer, not a business owner. Many new IBOs and prospects fail to see the flaws in this kind of teaching.
"Ignore facts if you have a dream". This is probably the biggest heap of bull crap taught by some upline. I have seen this spouted in particular by IBOs downline from WWDB and BWW leaders. A business owner studies the facts, not ignores them. Any REAL business owner wants to know how much he is bringing in and how much is going out. That's how you detect the heartbeat of your business. A site visitor named Gina on this site, posted a profit/loss statement from her real business. Naturally, IBOs were at a loss to discuss it because it was foreign material to them. If you are spending more on tools, functions and training than you are taking in, you are operating at a net loss and unless your sales goes up, you will continue to bleed money until you lower your expenditures. The purpose of the training is supposed to help you generate more sales volume. If that isn't happening, how much more training do you really need?
"Submit to upline". Another load of hogwash. Why should someone submit to upline simply because they "sponsored me" or whatever? Why should someone have authority over you and your business simply because they signed up before you? A real business owner would think independently and make business decisions based on facts and numbers, not on the advice of someone upline who hasn't taken the time to assess each IBO on a personal level to be able to give advice on an IBO's "Independent Business", or worse, advice on their personal lives".
"Dedication to the system". Silly advice as well. What dedication does the system have for an IBO? If an IBO succeeds (which is very rare), the system takes credit, but for the more than 99% of people who never make a significant income, it is their own fault if they don't make it. Amway apologists will defend this by saying that many may not have signed up wanting a significant income. While that may be partially true, tell me where people show "plans" designed for the guy who wants an extra $100 a month? The plans shown are always (AFAIK) to go platinum or diamond. There is no unbiased evidence that the systems help anyone succeed in Amway.
IBOs and information seekers, does any of this sound familiar? Is this a part of your experience? If so, I encourage you to ask questions and get more information before proceeding with any more "business" activity.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Why Amway IBOs Need Endless Motivation?
I believe that Amway IBOs have approximately a 50% attrition rate for the first year alone. If you look at a 5 year window, I believe the attrition rate is something like a staggering 95%. So what we're saying is that out of 100 IBOs, only 5 will be around in 5 years, or out of 1000 IBOs, 50 will remain after 5 years. This is extremely significant because if you are a business builder, you will need to replace half of your IBOs every single year. For this reason, I am very doubtful that there are IBOs who "built the business right and built it once", who no longer do Amway related work, but still collect significant residual income. I would guess that significant income could be defined as being enough to live a lifestyle in the top tax bracket (for the US) without having to report to a J-O-B.
Now I understand that some IBOs take it personally when I bring up subjects like this. It is because they have been deceived by some upline diamond or big pin who has sold them on a dream of financial prosperity for life if they will only work hard for 2-5 years. I once thought so too, but realized that there isn't a single diamond that I know of who built the business right and walked away to enjoy the beaches of the world while truckloads of money rolls in. Kinda makes you wonder why you see Crowns still working until the day they pass away, and diamonds actually quitting or resigning. I have asked the question many times and it has never been answered. Can anyone name a few people who built their business right and built it once who is currently enjoying these lifelong residuals? Also, if that were a benefit, why doesn't Amway say so? All I hear are crickets when I ask this question.
Instead, you have a constant and endless flow of motivation being sold to IBOs. This motivation comes in the form of cds, books, meetings, functions and other things like voicemail messages. It's sad that IBOs have to continue to pay through the nose for motivation and "teaching" about the Amway business when there are cheaper and more efficient means of communication. For example, why would you need an expensive voicemail system when a facebook group account can disseminate messages to your group in seconds at no cost? It is because the uplines want to extract every possible cent from their downline. Because of the internet, I believe people are starting to figure things out and avoid the systems altogether. I hope Joecool's blog contributes to this.
All the motivation IBOs truly need to stay motivated is to see a net profit at the end of the month. If IBOs actually earned an extra $200 a month, or $50 a month, or $600 a month as advertised, there would be no need for motivational speeches. The IBOs would simply look at the growth in their finances and they would keep going. The poor retention rate is easy to explain. IBOs are losing money because of the system expenses and they lose their motivation to continue. If you are an IBO or a prospect, stop and think for a minute. If you are making an extra $200 a month with minimal effort, would you need functions and other materials to motivate you? Or would you have intrinsic motivation from the profit? All the motivation you will ever need is a net profit. Take that to the bank
Now I understand that some IBOs take it personally when I bring up subjects like this. It is because they have been deceived by some upline diamond or big pin who has sold them on a dream of financial prosperity for life if they will only work hard for 2-5 years. I once thought so too, but realized that there isn't a single diamond that I know of who built the business right and walked away to enjoy the beaches of the world while truckloads of money rolls in. Kinda makes you wonder why you see Crowns still working until the day they pass away, and diamonds actually quitting or resigning. I have asked the question many times and it has never been answered. Can anyone name a few people who built their business right and built it once who is currently enjoying these lifelong residuals? Also, if that were a benefit, why doesn't Amway say so? All I hear are crickets when I ask this question.
Instead, you have a constant and endless flow of motivation being sold to IBOs. This motivation comes in the form of cds, books, meetings, functions and other things like voicemail messages. It's sad that IBOs have to continue to pay through the nose for motivation and "teaching" about the Amway business when there are cheaper and more efficient means of communication. For example, why would you need an expensive voicemail system when a facebook group account can disseminate messages to your group in seconds at no cost? It is because the uplines want to extract every possible cent from their downline. Because of the internet, I believe people are starting to figure things out and avoid the systems altogether. I hope Joecool's blog contributes to this.
All the motivation IBOs truly need to stay motivated is to see a net profit at the end of the month. If IBOs actually earned an extra $200 a month, or $50 a month, or $600 a month as advertised, there would be no need for motivational speeches. The IBOs would simply look at the growth in their finances and they would keep going. The poor retention rate is easy to explain. IBOs are losing money because of the system expenses and they lose their motivation to continue. If you are an IBO or a prospect, stop and think for a minute. If you are making an extra $200 a month with minimal effort, would you need functions and other materials to motivate you? Or would you have intrinsic motivation from the profit? All the motivation you will ever need is a net profit. Take that to the bank
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Amway's Premium Products?
I recently had a site visitor contact me by email to toss insults and exchange views on Amway. He tells me that he is a regular user of Amway's "Perfect Water". Perfect water was presented some years back and IBOs were making all kinds of hoaxes and fake demonstrations. There were all kinds of zany claims and eventually, Amway had to issue a clarification that IBOs should not be making false claims that did not come from the corporation. There were these balance and flexibility tests that people allegedly benefited because of perfect water. It was a sham.
I presume that IBOs refer to Amway products as premium because it gives them a feeling of justification for paying Amway's ridiculous prices. A case of perfect water costs about $48 and that doesn't include shipping fees and applicable taxes. IBOs might pay less than $48 for a case of perfect water, but still, who in their right mind other than dream induced IBOs would be willing to pay that much for bottled water? I can go WalMart or a local retailer and pay approximately $5 for a case of water. Someone can feel free to show what additional benefit someone would receive for paying nearly ten times more for a case of water other than a lighter wallet.
IBOs often claim that buying Amway products are like buying a Cadillac or a Lexus rather than a regular car. The problem with this is twofold. First of all, who other than Amway IBOs think of Amway products as the Cadillac of soaps and household cleaners? Obviously if Amway's products were so great, the market share would confirm that. How many people use Amway laundry soap compared to people using Tide for example? No contest! Secondly, even if Amway's products were the Cadillac of soaps (but it's not in my opinion), the vast majority of people do not care! They are perfectly happy using Tide for their laundry and Dawn to wash their dishes. And they get it cheaper at local stores than IBOs can provide. It seems that only IBOs who have dreams of early retirement and residual income are buying these "Cadillac" products. I don't really know of former IBOs who are hard core loyal to Amway products. Some may exist but I highly doubt that these people are common.
In neutral comparisons such as consumer reports, Amway's cleaners and detergents were rated as basically average with "premium" prices. Maybe that's why Amway IBOs call Amway products "premium"? Because they charge premium prices. As an IBO, I bought Amway products while I thought I might earn residual income. Once I realized the tool scam and quit, I never bought anymore Amway products. It is my conclusion that if Amway products are called premium, it is because thy carry premium prices, but not necessarily because of premium quality. Of course you are welcome to try and prove me wrong.
I presume that IBOs refer to Amway products as premium because it gives them a feeling of justification for paying Amway's ridiculous prices. A case of perfect water costs about $48 and that doesn't include shipping fees and applicable taxes. IBOs might pay less than $48 for a case of perfect water, but still, who in their right mind other than dream induced IBOs would be willing to pay that much for bottled water? I can go WalMart or a local retailer and pay approximately $5 for a case of water. Someone can feel free to show what additional benefit someone would receive for paying nearly ten times more for a case of water other than a lighter wallet.
IBOs often claim that buying Amway products are like buying a Cadillac or a Lexus rather than a regular car. The problem with this is twofold. First of all, who other than Amway IBOs think of Amway products as the Cadillac of soaps and household cleaners? Obviously if Amway's products were so great, the market share would confirm that. How many people use Amway laundry soap compared to people using Tide for example? No contest! Secondly, even if Amway's products were the Cadillac of soaps (but it's not in my opinion), the vast majority of people do not care! They are perfectly happy using Tide for their laundry and Dawn to wash their dishes. And they get it cheaper at local stores than IBOs can provide. It seems that only IBOs who have dreams of early retirement and residual income are buying these "Cadillac" products. I don't really know of former IBOs who are hard core loyal to Amway products. Some may exist but I highly doubt that these people are common.
In neutral comparisons such as consumer reports, Amway's cleaners and detergents were rated as basically average with "premium" prices. Maybe that's why Amway IBOs call Amway products "premium"? Because they charge premium prices. As an IBO, I bought Amway products while I thought I might earn residual income. Once I realized the tool scam and quit, I never bought anymore Amway products. It is my conclusion that if Amway products are called premium, it is because thy carry premium prices, but not necessarily because of premium quality. Of course you are welcome to try and prove me wrong.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The Amway Zombie?
Amway Zombies? Sometimes it happens to the nicest of people and it often happens slowly and subtly. These are the signs that you are becoming indoctrinated and you are likely annoying your loved ones at this point. One thing Amway uplines are good at is indoctrinating their downline. They use clever psychology and get you to agree with them on small things, building up your trust and then when a degree of trust is installed, then they toss in some of the crazy teaching. Many folks quit after seeing through the scam but some bite hard and follow blindly. My former sponsor is still in Amway after 20 years and while he was once upon a time a platinum, he is no longer close to that level. I hope this helps someone:
*You're driven to recruit everyone you know. You may even resort to deception or outright lies to get people to meetings to "see the plan". Before you know it, your family and friends avoid you like the plague. You do this because it's the only way to achieve "diamond" and "residual income". Very little matters to you other than getting people to see the plan.
*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 household products prestigious. You may even argue the quality of energy drinks or about phyto nutrients, something you may not even know about. You'll justify the higher prices of Amway products by talks of concentration or some other means.
*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.
*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.
*Your upline soon becomes your most trusted friend. Your thoughts and feelings are shaped in part by the cds, meetings and functions. You ask upline permission for many personal decisions such as buying a new laptop, a new car, having kids, getting married, etc. As if someone who signed up in in Amway before you is qualified to counsel you on these decisions.
Do you recognize these behaviors? Hopefully you aren't displaying these behaviors.
*You're driven to recruit everyone you know. You may even resort to deception or outright lies to get people to meetings to "see the plan". Before you know it, your family and friends avoid you like the plague. You do this because it's the only way to achieve "diamond" and "residual income". Very little matters to you other than getting people to see the plan.
*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 household products prestigious. You may even argue the quality of energy drinks or about phyto nutrients, something you may not even know about. You'll justify the higher prices of Amway products by talks of concentration or some other means.
*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.
*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.
*Your upline soon becomes your most trusted friend. Your thoughts and feelings are shaped in part by the cds, meetings and functions. You ask upline permission for many personal decisions such as buying a new laptop, a new car, having kids, getting married, etc. As if someone who signed up in in Amway before you is qualified to counsel you on these decisions.
Do you recognize these behaviors? Hopefully you aren't displaying these behaviors.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
The Dangers Of Amway?
A site visitor left this comment on my blog. It shows how chasing an Amway dream can have less than desirable results:
Stumbled across this website while researching Amway. My story starts around 14 years ago. My parents got involved in Amway I was 22 at the time and they recruited me and my girlfriend (now wife) into the 'business' my older bother and his wife joined as well. We went to a lot of seminars and home meetings, met with their Directs constantly was told it was the only way to brake free from working for someone else and to make real money. At the time we were broke I couldn't afford the tapes or seminar entry fees so my parents would pay.
I would make calls to friends and work colleagues and organised meetings, recruited people and thought it was great. My parents became directs and my brother and I were slowly progressing too. As I was only young my influence and life experience I felt held me back and that's when I started asking questions. I could see my parents buying tools all the time and having to buy a lot of product to re qualify as directs every month. There was always a new fad product line as well, makeup, jewelery, water purifiers, air purifiers healing magnets. It looked like one gimmick after another.
I saw the travel costs of going all over the state for meetings, the phone calls etc the straw broke when their laundry door was looked and I couldnt go in there any more and found out they bought 6 air purifiers just to stay directs and didn't want anyone in their downline to know hence locking the room off. I quit and kept on working my job which freed up my time to look at other things. My brother kept working his day job and doing Amway on the side still to this day.
I would not have a clue how much money time and effort him and his wife have spent doing it for 14 years and still are not even close to making a living out of it. My parents quit after about 5 year's they wasted precious time and money on it, they are almost broke at 60 years of age.
The amazing upline we all admired quit as well at the sane time my parents did. They apparently had a strong group below them but I was told it all fell apart. My brother deals with no one that was around when I was involved as they have all left. He is constantly trying to find new people as the turnover is massive.
The ironic part about the whole thing is that I was told it was the only way to get ahead in life to be an independent business owner in Amway. I started a small business of my own in the back bedroom of my house 10 years ago and over time it grew with offices in several states of Australia and this year I made over a million dollars in profit. I think at how ironic it was that I quit Amway and made something so successful, my parents have basically nothing and my brother is still working the same job chasing the same dream he was 16 years earlier.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
The Real Cost Of Amway?
One of the common things Amway leaders apparently do is to disparage people with jobs. Oh, they would say we needed people to wait on our tables and clean our toilets, but in general, jobs were put down and basically the group was told that Amway is their best chance at achieving financial freedom, giving them the ability to flush their jobs. Ironically, IBO's jobs are what funds their Amway businesses. Most IBOs would be out of business within weeks if not for their job income funding their Amway businesses.
The key selling point appears to be the 2-5 years of part time work rather than working a job for 30 - 40 years and then retiring on social security which may or may not be there when you retire. This plants a fear in people about the future and then the Amway opportunity is presented in a positive light because the Amway opportunity comes with a low start up cost. What uplines do not mention is how the opportunity can become a money pit as the monthly defacto 100 PV quota starts to add up. It is my guess that if people only bought items they truly needed, these IBOs would likely move 100 PV every three months, unless they are actively selling goods to non IBO customers. With Amway products being so concentrated and efficient as IBOs claim, why would you need to replenish these products so often?
When an IBO finally agrees to register, it is then that the true, but hidden costs are revealed. Many uplines will introduce standing orders and functions and present these tools as vital to IBO success. Most new IBOs don't know better and feel subtle pressure to conform and give it a try. Some upline may loan some tools to downline in the beginning but eventually, the IBO will be encouraged to be a "serious" business owner who should be purchasing their own tools to loan to their downline and the cycle goes on. There is also the cost of additional cds, books, voicemail and other business related costs that are not mentioned until later which the prospect doesn't necessarily know prior to start up.
If you examine some version of the Amway recruitment plan, you will see that most IBOs are at the 100 PV level, which will reward you with a monthly bonus of about $10 or so. If that same IBO subscribes to the tools system, than IBO will likely be losing over $100 to $250 a month not including the cost of the product purchases. And because many IBOs have been convinced that working a job is so horrible, that they can be convinced that this condition of losing money is temporary and that untold wealth is right around the corner. Sadly, for most, this condition is the norm and even the sponsorship of a few downline, the losses continue to mount. Yet many are convinced that this is better than a job. And this is just the financial cost, not the time and effort spent pursuing a false hope and dream that Amway IBOs and recruiters promote.
Ironically, a job allows people to pay their monthly bills, feed their families and many people enjoy their work and co workers. While upline leaders may convince you otherwise, it is this very same excuse upline leaders use when asked why they are still working instead of walking the beaches of the world collecting massive amounts of residual income. I would encourage IBOs to truly analyze their efforts in Amway and determine if it is beneficial to your finances. In most cases, your Amway efforts ONLY benefits your upline's finances. For most who get involved, the Amway opportunity is not better than a job.
The key selling point appears to be the 2-5 years of part time work rather than working a job for 30 - 40 years and then retiring on social security which may or may not be there when you retire. This plants a fear in people about the future and then the Amway opportunity is presented in a positive light because the Amway opportunity comes with a low start up cost. What uplines do not mention is how the opportunity can become a money pit as the monthly defacto 100 PV quota starts to add up. It is my guess that if people only bought items they truly needed, these IBOs would likely move 100 PV every three months, unless they are actively selling goods to non IBO customers. With Amway products being so concentrated and efficient as IBOs claim, why would you need to replenish these products so often?
When an IBO finally agrees to register, it is then that the true, but hidden costs are revealed. Many uplines will introduce standing orders and functions and present these tools as vital to IBO success. Most new IBOs don't know better and feel subtle pressure to conform and give it a try. Some upline may loan some tools to downline in the beginning but eventually, the IBO will be encouraged to be a "serious" business owner who should be purchasing their own tools to loan to their downline and the cycle goes on. There is also the cost of additional cds, books, voicemail and other business related costs that are not mentioned until later which the prospect doesn't necessarily know prior to start up.
If you examine some version of the Amway recruitment plan, you will see that most IBOs are at the 100 PV level, which will reward you with a monthly bonus of about $10 or so. If that same IBO subscribes to the tools system, than IBO will likely be losing over $100 to $250 a month not including the cost of the product purchases. And because many IBOs have been convinced that working a job is so horrible, that they can be convinced that this condition of losing money is temporary and that untold wealth is right around the corner. Sadly, for most, this condition is the norm and even the sponsorship of a few downline, the losses continue to mount. Yet many are convinced that this is better than a job. And this is just the financial cost, not the time and effort spent pursuing a false hope and dream that Amway IBOs and recruiters promote.
Ironically, a job allows people to pay their monthly bills, feed their families and many people enjoy their work and co workers. While upline leaders may convince you otherwise, it is this very same excuse upline leaders use when asked why they are still working instead of walking the beaches of the world collecting massive amounts of residual income. I would encourage IBOs to truly analyze their efforts in Amway and determine if it is beneficial to your finances. In most cases, your Amway efforts ONLY benefits your upline's finances. For most who get involved, the Amway opportunity is not better than a job.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
The Amway Myths?
I was watching a show on Discovery channel the other night about Sasquatch. It was immediately followed by a show about evidence of UFOs. It made me start to think about these phenomena. It seems like everyone has heard about or knows something about Sasquatch (Big foot) and/or UFOs. There are many documentaries showing pictures and evidence of both, but to date, there is no bonafide evidence that these things exist. You'd think that a body or bones of a Sasquatch would turn up somewhere, sooner or later, or we would find compelling evidence of a spaceship from another galaxy.
It sounds just like stories of people who built a diamondship, then "walked away" from their businesses, retired in the lap of luxury and did nothing while the money kept rolling in. I heard numerous scenarios about this happening, but looking back, all the diamonds kept working and since Joecool left the business, the diamond either kept working, or quit or got terminated. But I never heard anyone name some higher up Amway pin who built a business, and then walked away from it to travel the beaches of the world while hundreds of thousands of dollars kept rolling in. Many have heard about it but nobody seems to be able to name any of these folks. I mean after over 50 years in existence, you'd think some of these folks would exist, especially when it seems to be a selling point of the business for many AMOs.
It is my opinion that Sasquatch, UFOs and retired Amways diamonds (with significant Amway income) are non existent. If these folks existed, there should be at least some shred of evidence of it. The lack of evidence indicates to me that it is either non existent or so rare that nobody can display bonafide proof. I mean there aren't any T-Rexs roaming the earth anymore but fossil evidence proves that they existed at one time.
Keeping in mind that the Amway business has a high attrition rate, coupled with low sales to non IBOs and you can easily conclude that residual and significant income is nearly impossible. An Amway business that is left alone will deteriorate like a sandcastle does as the waves wash it away. You (in theory) could possible walk away from an Amway business for a while and collect some income, but you won't be collecting enough income to live the "diamond lifestyle" as portrayed by diamonds in their functions and open meetings. I'm not even sure that active diamonds can comfortably afford that lifestyle even when building their businesses. There is ample evidence to support my claim. Diamonds losing homes to foreclosure, former diamonds revealing secrets about their income. If you really believe you can walk away from your Amway business and collect untold wealth, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. :-)
It sounds just like stories of people who built a diamondship, then "walked away" from their businesses, retired in the lap of luxury and did nothing while the money kept rolling in. I heard numerous scenarios about this happening, but looking back, all the diamonds kept working and since Joecool left the business, the diamond either kept working, or quit or got terminated. But I never heard anyone name some higher up Amway pin who built a business, and then walked away from it to travel the beaches of the world while hundreds of thousands of dollars kept rolling in. Many have heard about it but nobody seems to be able to name any of these folks. I mean after over 50 years in existence, you'd think some of these folks would exist, especially when it seems to be a selling point of the business for many AMOs.
It is my opinion that Sasquatch, UFOs and retired Amways diamonds (with significant Amway income) are non existent. If these folks existed, there should be at least some shred of evidence of it. The lack of evidence indicates to me that it is either non existent or so rare that nobody can display bonafide proof. I mean there aren't any T-Rexs roaming the earth anymore but fossil evidence proves that they existed at one time.
Keeping in mind that the Amway business has a high attrition rate, coupled with low sales to non IBOs and you can easily conclude that residual and significant income is nearly impossible. An Amway business that is left alone will deteriorate like a sandcastle does as the waves wash it away. You (in theory) could possible walk away from an Amway business for a while and collect some income, but you won't be collecting enough income to live the "diamond lifestyle" as portrayed by diamonds in their functions and open meetings. I'm not even sure that active diamonds can comfortably afford that lifestyle even when building their businesses. There is ample evidence to support my claim. Diamonds losing homes to foreclosure, former diamonds revealing secrets about their income. If you really believe you can walk away from your Amway business and collect untold wealth, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. :-)
Friday, February 9, 2018
A Sucker Is Born Every Minute?
I recently wrote a post called the greatest showman. It was inspired after seeing the movie about PT Barnum called "The Greatest Showman". I was reading up about the term "There's a sucker born every minute". There is controversy about who actually coined that term and it may not have been attributed to PT Barnum. But in either case, it appears to be true, and it is the only reason why Amway and MLMs are not saturated.
Think about it. If Amway infiltrated an island with a finite number of people, eventually, the opportunity will have come and gone with a wake of failures in its path and everyone on the island would know about Amway. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who truly knew nothing about Amway. In the US, Amway has been around since 1959 and most adults in the US have heard about Amway and likely heard something negative. Because Amway is unable to control their distributor force effectively (IMO, this is why MLMs should be illegal), IBOs prospect others with all kinds of misinformation, deception and outright lies. I myself was lied to about Amway at one time.
I heard a diamond say at one time, that Amway is not saturated because every single year, there are tens of thousands of high schools graduating millions of people who are turning 18 and seeking income oppportunities. And likely, these young people are naive about money and finances and more likely to be open to hearing about Amway since it's often pitched as a shortcut to wealth. And thus the term "there's a sucker born every minute" applies here, regardless of whether Phineas Taylor Barnum said it or not.
This is how Amway and other MLMs survive. They must continue to recruit new people because the attrition rate is staggering. Many people get wooed by the hype and the glitz of the big meetings. They join and get started (or they do nothing and quit) and they quickly see that there really isn't a viable opprtunity to make money and they quit. And I might add that young people often do not have resources to build Amway for long if they aren't making money. So people come and go in droves. Without the abillity to continuously recruit new people, Amway and other MLMs will simply wilt.
Yes, Amway and other MLMs count on the fact that a sucker is born every minute (to join), but with some knowledge and due diligence, you don't have to be one of the suckers.
Think about it. If Amway infiltrated an island with a finite number of people, eventually, the opportunity will have come and gone with a wake of failures in its path and everyone on the island would know about Amway. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who truly knew nothing about Amway. In the US, Amway has been around since 1959 and most adults in the US have heard about Amway and likely heard something negative. Because Amway is unable to control their distributor force effectively (IMO, this is why MLMs should be illegal), IBOs prospect others with all kinds of misinformation, deception and outright lies. I myself was lied to about Amway at one time.
I heard a diamond say at one time, that Amway is not saturated because every single year, there are tens of thousands of high schools graduating millions of people who are turning 18 and seeking income oppportunities. And likely, these young people are naive about money and finances and more likely to be open to hearing about Amway since it's often pitched as a shortcut to wealth. And thus the term "there's a sucker born every minute" applies here, regardless of whether Phineas Taylor Barnum said it or not.
This is how Amway and other MLMs survive. They must continue to recruit new people because the attrition rate is staggering. Many people get wooed by the hype and the glitz of the big meetings. They join and get started (or they do nothing and quit) and they quickly see that there really isn't a viable opprtunity to make money and they quit. And I might add that young people often do not have resources to build Amway for long if they aren't making money. So people come and go in droves. Without the abillity to continuously recruit new people, Amway and other MLMs will simply wilt.
Yes, Amway and other MLMs count on the fact that a sucker is born every minute (to join), but with some knowledge and due diligence, you don't have to be one of the suckers.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Amway Tactics?
I will admit I haven't been accosted by any Amway representatives lately. I'm certain they still exist and I'm certain some of the recruiting tactics used back in the day are still used now. When I had my first brush with Amway, I was outright lied to about attending a "beer bust". I showed up at my friend's house ready for some beer and chips and I get stuck in a stinking Amway meeting. I remember sitting in the meeting still ticked off about it and to make it worse, the presenter also spoke about association and how we would be left behind if we don't join because our friend in Amway would have to associate with Away folks, who were destined to become rich. There was no beer to be had so our gang left and went out to a local pub for some beer. That was my first brush with Amway.
My second brush with Amway was a high school acquaintance who saw me working at my second job at the local market and asked if I was interested in making more money. I told him I was doing just that with a second job. I asked if he was pitching Amway and he admitted he was. I asked him if actually made any money at it and he admitted he had not. I told him to come back and see me if he was still involved and making money a few months later. I have never seen him again to this day.
I finally did get sucked into Amway when an old friend of mine joined and prospected me. So I ask him if he's made money and he said no. I also told him to come back and show me later if he makes money. He came back 6 months later and said he was now a direct distributor and making about $1500 to $2000 a month. He said it was easy and he could show me how to do it. Being a man of my word, I saw the plan and I signed up. I was still a bit skeptical but I got in and the rest is history. (My story is on this blog)
But what I saw were dishonest Amway tactics. We were told to give half truths (lies) to prospects. We were told to fake it will we make it (lies) and the upline used all kinds of angles to make Amway seem better than it was. Older but unsuccessful IBOs were told that Amway was more than about money. That we were making lifelong friends and becoming nicer and better people. That were were a small army making the world a better place. (How is the world better when you deceive people to make your upline rich?). We were told that Amway saves and strengthens marriage (even though our upline Diamond got divorced (Wolgamott).
Despite all the tactics and tricks used by our Amway upline, there was little to no success to speak of. Even our former upline Diamond (Harimoto) moved to the mainland (Hawaii is too expensive? Not enough people to recruit?) and it was hard to believe, seeing that he loved the ocean and ocean activities.
Amway sales and revenues have dipped about 25% since 2014 and I can only imagine it will get worse as the antics and tactics used by upline are easily recognizable and ineffective at this point. The internet also made access to information so readily available that prospects can easily find pertinent information and have enough disclosure to make an informed decision about Amway. And that's why Joecool's blog still exists to this day.
My second brush with Amway was a high school acquaintance who saw me working at my second job at the local market and asked if I was interested in making more money. I told him I was doing just that with a second job. I asked if he was pitching Amway and he admitted he was. I asked him if actually made any money at it and he admitted he had not. I told him to come back and see me if he was still involved and making money a few months later. I have never seen him again to this day.
I finally did get sucked into Amway when an old friend of mine joined and prospected me. So I ask him if he's made money and he said no. I also told him to come back and show me later if he makes money. He came back 6 months later and said he was now a direct distributor and making about $1500 to $2000 a month. He said it was easy and he could show me how to do it. Being a man of my word, I saw the plan and I signed up. I was still a bit skeptical but I got in and the rest is history. (My story is on this blog)
But what I saw were dishonest Amway tactics. We were told to give half truths (lies) to prospects. We were told to fake it will we make it (lies) and the upline used all kinds of angles to make Amway seem better than it was. Older but unsuccessful IBOs were told that Amway was more than about money. That we were making lifelong friends and becoming nicer and better people. That were were a small army making the world a better place. (How is the world better when you deceive people to make your upline rich?). We were told that Amway saves and strengthens marriage (even though our upline Diamond got divorced (Wolgamott).
Despite all the tactics and tricks used by our Amway upline, there was little to no success to speak of. Even our former upline Diamond (Harimoto) moved to the mainland (Hawaii is too expensive? Not enough people to recruit?) and it was hard to believe, seeing that he loved the ocean and ocean activities.
Amway sales and revenues have dipped about 25% since 2014 and I can only imagine it will get worse as the antics and tactics used by upline are easily recognizable and ineffective at this point. The internet also made access to information so readily available that prospects can easily find pertinent information and have enough disclosure to make an informed decision about Amway. And that's why Joecool's blog still exists to this day.
Monday, February 5, 2018
The Greatest Showman?
I just saw the movie "The Greatest Showman". I don't usually care for musicals but this is a story about PT Barnum and his circus. He grew up poor and with big dreams, he accomplished a lot (according to the movie). It was an enjoyable movie and the story was twice and at times, a bit touching. But the way PT Barnum was considered a showman made me think about upline. They too are simply showmen, but maybe you could also refer to them as pitchmen. Rather than pitching you a show, Amway uplines are pitching you a business opportunity.
The Amway upline will show up for events in a nice car. Whether they actually own it or not is another issue, but they will play up their entrance, as if the diamond was some kind of star. They get adulation and they are edified and put on a pedestal. They are presented as someone who. Has accomplished great things. My former diamond says on his website that now that he's achieved diamond in his life, he hopes to achieve "significance". I wonder what that means? By exploiting downline and talking them into surrendering their hard earned cash for training that does not work is not anything of significance to me. That just makes them a snake oil sale an or a huckster.
The upline is supposed a be a millionaire (anyone ever verify that) who knows the secrets to the Amway business and they can transfer that knowledge to you if you will listen and participate in all the training they provide. Meetings, functions, CDs, books and voicemail are all supposed to make you succeed. At least it's a part of the show or a part of the pitch. Right? You do as upline says and you can't fail. If you start to doubt, you listen to more CDs or attend more meetings. That will solve all your issues right? All the while as your bank account shrinks, your upline laughs all the way to the bank. They get paid whether you make a dime or lose your house and your shirt. There is no consequences for the upline. The upline in the end is just a showman who is trying to pitch you on the "greatest business ever".
Don't be fooled. Do the actual math and ask your upline tough questions and demand answers. DO not fall for the hype and glitz that is shown at recruitment meetings. Ask your uplin or potential sponsor to show you a profit loss statement or some kind of proof of their business activities. If they refuse or say it's none of your business, then it may not be a good idea to be in business with a showman.
The Amway upline will show up for events in a nice car. Whether they actually own it or not is another issue, but they will play up their entrance, as if the diamond was some kind of star. They get adulation and they are edified and put on a pedestal. They are presented as someone who. Has accomplished great things. My former diamond says on his website that now that he's achieved diamond in his life, he hopes to achieve "significance". I wonder what that means? By exploiting downline and talking them into surrendering their hard earned cash for training that does not work is not anything of significance to me. That just makes them a snake oil sale an or a huckster.
The upline is supposed a be a millionaire (anyone ever verify that) who knows the secrets to the Amway business and they can transfer that knowledge to you if you will listen and participate in all the training they provide. Meetings, functions, CDs, books and voicemail are all supposed to make you succeed. At least it's a part of the show or a part of the pitch. Right? You do as upline says and you can't fail. If you start to doubt, you listen to more CDs or attend more meetings. That will solve all your issues right? All the while as your bank account shrinks, your upline laughs all the way to the bank. They get paid whether you make a dime or lose your house and your shirt. There is no consequences for the upline. The upline in the end is just a showman who is trying to pitch you on the "greatest business ever".
Don't be fooled. Do the actual math and ask your upline tough questions and demand answers. DO not fall for the hype and glitz that is shown at recruitment meetings. Ask your uplin or potential sponsor to show you a profit loss statement or some kind of proof of their business activities. If they refuse or say it's none of your business, then it may not be a good idea to be in business with a showman.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Be Accountable In Amway?
One thing that our Amway upline hypocritically taught the group was to be accountable. It was taught as a part of the CORE activities that were allegedly needed in order for IBOs to succeed. Now I agree that in business, people should be accountable because you can't really have working agreements or trust if someone isn't good for their word. Especially in Amway where people are a large par of the business, you cannot operate on broken trust.
Ironically however, upline seemingly takes a pass on this accountability portion of the teaching. Think about this, people are paying good money and trusting the advice of upline because they believe that they will "succeed" in Amway if they take upline's advice and carry it out. Millions of people have spent billions of dollars on Amway tools and functions. They are told this is the vital key to success. As if upline advice is an oxygen tank and the downline would perish without it. All this while there is no fruit on the tree. The tree is bare. The upline used to say look at the fruit on the tree. I wonder if they use that term these days when the tree is barren?
My old LOS, "Worldwide Group" has fewer US diamonds now than they did 20 years ago when I was an IBO. Divorces and attrition in the diamond ranks have taken its toll. Where is the success that is supposed to be churned out by the foolproof system? Amway defenders like to point out the limited success of "new platinums" while ignoring that there are few new diamonds, and probably fewer diamonds than many years ago. Amway revenues dropping about 25% over the last 3 years suggest that there would be fewer diamonds and high pins if sales and revenues are down. But to this day, not a single diamond or Amway leader that I know of has ever even held accountable for their words. We were told that "core" is the key to success and that following it for 6 months assured an IBO of going platinum. But I know of people who did what upline advised only to fail and suffer financial losses.
Since the Amway leaders claim their tools are fool proof, it seems pretty cheap to push the sales of tools so hard when there is no bonafide evidence that the tools actually work. In a recent post, I pointed out how simple Amway is. That you buy and sell Amway stuff and sponsor downline. With a business that uncomplicated and "simple", there really is no need for continued ongoing training of downline, unless the purpose of that training is simply to provide the diamonds with a nice ongoing income.
Ironically however, upline seemingly takes a pass on this accountability portion of the teaching. Think about this, people are paying good money and trusting the advice of upline because they believe that they will "succeed" in Amway if they take upline's advice and carry it out. Millions of people have spent billions of dollars on Amway tools and functions. They are told this is the vital key to success. As if upline advice is an oxygen tank and the downline would perish without it. All this while there is no fruit on the tree. The tree is bare. The upline used to say look at the fruit on the tree. I wonder if they use that term these days when the tree is barren?
My old LOS, "Worldwide Group" has fewer US diamonds now than they did 20 years ago when I was an IBO. Divorces and attrition in the diamond ranks have taken its toll. Where is the success that is supposed to be churned out by the foolproof system? Amway defenders like to point out the limited success of "new platinums" while ignoring that there are few new diamonds, and probably fewer diamonds than many years ago. Amway revenues dropping about 25% over the last 3 years suggest that there would be fewer diamonds and high pins if sales and revenues are down. But to this day, not a single diamond or Amway leader that I know of has ever even held accountable for their words. We were told that "core" is the key to success and that following it for 6 months assured an IBO of going platinum. But I know of people who did what upline advised only to fail and suffer financial losses.
Since the Amway leaders claim their tools are fool proof, it seems pretty cheap to push the sales of tools so hard when there is no bonafide evidence that the tools actually work. In a recent post, I pointed out how simple Amway is. That you buy and sell Amway stuff and sponsor downline. With a business that uncomplicated and "simple", there really is no need for continued ongoing training of downline, unless the purpose of that training is simply to provide the diamonds with a nice ongoing income.
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