How To Get Wealthy?

 One of the things that many Amway IBOs do not understand is where the upline diamond profits actually come from. They think they will obtain passive residual income but most do not understand how it works or where the money comes from. What most people see instead, is a photocopy of an upline's check, or they may see upline driving a nice car or something like that. They do not understand how the business works and the fact that there are two businesses at work. The Amway opportunity and the tools (business support materials) business. Frankly, most IBOs would be much better off giving their upline a check for $50 each month and never getting involved in the Amway opportunity to begin with.

Upline diamonds (or higher ups) earn some income from the movement of products. Amway returns about 33+% of their gross in the form of bonuses. Most (active business building) IBOs earn 3% while uplines split up the remaining 30% of the bonus. Not such a great deal when you think about it. Also, most IBOs overspend on Amway products. They are not simply replacing what they normally buy. If they did, then there would be tons of former IBOs continuing to move 100 PV or more. Instead, when an IBO quits, they either buy nothing from Amway anymore, or they may use a few products here and there. The opportunity and the way it is promoted simply creates an artificial demand for Amway products. If the products were so great, why then after 50 years of business, why the Amway sales aren't going through the roof if former Amway IBOs get hooked on the products and keep buying them? The answer is that they typically stop buying once the "dream" of residual income ends.

Then you have the tools business where IBOs don't even get a measly 3% of the profits. Uplines keep all of the tool profits. Also, the tools have a higher profit margin than Amway products. While this may seem acceptable on the surface, keep in mind that the tools are inefficient. There is no unbiased evidence that I know of that suggests that the tools create a natural progression of IBOs from 0 PV to diamond. I cannot name more than a few new diamonds in the US since I left the business in 1997 or 1998. And even if there were some new diamonds, I believe there were even more who quit or left Amway for other reasons. One might wonder why a diamond would quit in the first place if there really was residual passive income involved.

So where does upline profits come from? Simple, it comes directly out of the pockets of downline. If IBOs actually sold products, then some profits would come from sales and customers. Instead, most Amway sales are simply made from upline to downline. And virtually ALL sales in the tools business comes from upline to downline. Thus many IBOs spend $250 to $300 a month on products and get back $10 if they reach 100 PV. Then you factor in the $100 to $250 monthly that IBOs typically spend on tools. Suddenly that cheap or no risk opportunity doesn't sound so cheap. And try working it for several years and IBOs can easily rack up tens of thousands of dollars of expenses or more.

That's where upline profits come from folks. Do the math, most IBOs truly would be better off giving upline a check for $50 a month and doing nothing else.

My Best Interest At Heart? Or Total BS?

 The really insidious part about some of the Amway LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are cutthroat businessmen with nice suits and nice smiles. They are disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray. On the surface, you may think this is true, but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog and some other bitt of information I am privy to. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary.

As an IBO, the diamonds would tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some crossline IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. I know of an IBO who did just that. He quit his job to attend a major function and got into all kinds of financial problems when they got back to real life. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an "investment into your business". This is scary advice and why I maintain this blog.

Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy 5-7 extra cds (tapes) every week (or more). To be core, you needed to listen to a cd (tape) each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day right? Couples were told to buy their own separate standing orders. Brad Duncen even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order.

In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my crossline did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?

Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are ruthless businessmen who will take your last dime if you allow them to.

The Amway Psychology?

 The Psychology Behind The Presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time And Money, The Key To Freedom?

 Time and money. When you control both, you are financially free. At least that's how the Amway business was pitched to me as a prospect. It made sense at the time. If you have enough money, then you don't have to have a job and go to work every day. Having enough money allowed you to control your time. It sounded like a great deal to sleep late every day and not have any financial difficulties. It sounds so simple. Join Amway, 2-5 years and there you are. But can anyone name a diamond who did the 2-5 years and walked away to enjoy financial freedom? I can't think of a single one. I did see diamonds and crowns quitting or dying on the job.

But for most people, joining Amway (and the systems)ironically robs you of what you desire most. Time and money. For those wanting to build a business, you may be told you need to invest in your business, and while that may be true, I do not believe there is any bonafide evidence that can support the relationship between the investment of time and money into the Amway business and earning a significant income. Many people have invested years and thousands of dollars (or much more) into the business only to end up with nothing or massive losses. My sponsor was a physician who spent many days away from his practice (lost income) and his oldest child (son) probably didn't see him very much since he was out showing the plan every nite. You can make more money but you can't ever get back lost time.

Diamonds give the appearance of being filthy rich with nothing to do but golf and go shopping but we are now seeing evidence that diamonds may not be all that. Home foreclosures, bankruptcy, former diamonds speaking out, diamonds moving their groups out of Amway, diamonds possibly selling their homes and downsizing. I believe that there are possibly many - a - diamond who is in financial difficulty and they have not escaped the tough economy as they may have implied in a meeting. Many Americans are living in debt. Why would diamonds who show off a lavish lifestyle be any different? Seriously, think about this very carefully.

Also, if diamonds were so free and filthy rich as they like to portray, why don't any of the bigger pins ever walk away from the business and live on the beaches of the world that they like to talk about? Why are they always attending and running functions? I am guessing that most of them are working these functions - because they have to. I suspect that some of these diamonds are in debt trying to portray a lifestyle that they truly cannot afford. A diamond lifestyle seems to be one of luxury and excess But can a few hundred thousand dollars a year provide that? It's clear that even many professional athletes who make bank, wind up broke or in debt within 5 years of retirement. Maybe that's why diamonds can never retire. But they pretend to "love" their downline and keep working?

If you are joining Amway to gain more time and money, I urge you to make sure you are keeping track to see if you are gaining time and money, but if you look carefully, you will probably find that what you desire more of, is what you actually have less of. That is, time and money.

Better Than Amway?

 One of the humorous things that IBOs say on my blog is if Amway isn't such a great deal, then why don't we offer a better solution? I guess it's not enough that there are facts and experiences posted here so that information seekers can find and make informed decisions about joining or not joining Amway, but we must also suggest better options? Well, I will offer some. While I am not advising anyone to listen to my thoughts, nor do I think you should act on what you read what's here without doing your due diligence and your own soul searching, here are my opinions on what may be better than Amway:

1. Be a better steward of the money you already have. Many people have enough income but simply channel too much of it to things they don't need. A daily $5 cup of starbucks for example. Disciplined saving and investing.

2. Get a second job and set aside a portion for saving and investing. You will not only have more discretionary cash, but also more to be able to set aside for your golden years.

3. Start your own small business. The biggest issue with Amway, in my opinion is the endless supply of training that uplines sell. It causes most "serious" IBOs to end up with a net loss. You can find a niche product and sell it on ebay or craigslist, unlike Amway products. Another type of small business might be something like learning to do minor household repairs or installing hardwood flooring. These kinds of services are quite common and can be lucrative.

4. Do nothing. Since most business building IBOs lose money, doing nothing, although comical, actually makes you bette off than losing money because of functions and standing orders.

5. Spend more time with your family. Ironically, many IBOs have this as a goal, but actually spend less time with family and friends because of Amway related activities.

There you have it folks. There are some ideas of what might be better than spending your time and money participating in the Amway business and the Amway motivational organizations. While these are only ideas, only you can decide what is best for you and your family. In whatever you decide to do, I wish you well.

Fake Diamonds?

 One of the things I distinctly remember being taught at a function was to "fake it till you make it". This was to give the impression of being successful. It was said that you are going to be successful because of Amway so you may as well act the part. I believe this is taught today as well. Amway IBOs like to make an impression on prospects so the want to appear successful. It is also a part of why IBOs wear suits. They want everyone to be under the impression that they are in a multi million dollar business. Guess what? WalMart is a multi billion dollar business but their employees don't wear suits!

What I find really interesting about this is that I honestly believe the biggest fakers are probably the diamonds. In the past several months, all over the country, there were functions called "Dream Night". A function with a sit down dinner where the diamonds and other Amway heroes show off slide shows of mansions, jets sports cars, golf club memberships, fabulous vacations, and shopping sprees. I honestly believe that many of the diamonds are the biggest fakers out there. A diamond income, which seems big, and supplemented with tools income, most likely cannot sustain the lifestyles portrayed in these functions. Simple math bears it out.

A diamond income (non Q12), even with tool income might be $250 or $300K. While that may seem huge compared to a working stiff who earns %40K or $50K per year, keep in mind that a diamond business has many expenses. How much do you think it would cost a (diamond) family of four (4) to travel to say 5 or 6 functions, first class? Four people flying first class say from Hawaii to California would cost over $1000 per person, round trip. A diamond who speaks at functions would make several of these flights each year. Thus this particular business expense (if the diamond flies first class) would eat up a significant portion of a diamond's income. Keep in mind that the $250 or $300K I spoke about is before taxes and business expenses.

Then, much of that diamond income goes to taxes and business expenses? I challenge IBOs to sit down and figure this out. After taxes, medical insurance and business expenses are taken into consideration, I would guess that a diamond lives a very ordinary and middle class lifestyle. Amway advocates will argue that this is without a 9-5 job, but an Amway business needs constant attention as IBOs up and quit every day. Some who do sign up never do a thing. Replacing IBOs is a never ending task. It is why you do not see or hear of any diamonds who "walked away" to collect residual income forever and ever.

Here's another take on fake it till you make it. Isn't this simply lying and hoping you will one day succeed?

The Struggle Is Real?

 There's been much debate recently over the issue of IBOs selling products. Now of course in the IBO world, there are going to be some IBOs who are exceptional at selling products and possibly in foreign countries where Amway has not spoiled their reputation as it apparently has in North America, it might be possible to sell some products. But the experience of a typical IBO probably cannot be one where products flow to customers regularly. Now I do not wish to debate the merits of whether or not downline are considered customers as that is an endless and pointless debate because the bottom line would be that uplines are making their income on the backs of their downline, thus confirming the appearance of a product pyramid. Aside from downline, it would appear that the remaining customers are mostly sympathetic family and friends who buy a few token products.

But why do rank and file IBOs struggle to sell Amway products? Surely Amway has some decent and some good products. But in North America, Amway's goods are generic in nature but sell at premium prices. So unless you are convinced that their quality is that great for the price, the average Joe is simply going to buy a similar product at WalMart or a Costco. Also, when you must justify and explain to potential customers that you actually provide a better value due to concentration and/or cost per use, it not only becomes labor intensive, but confusing for the average consumer. Add in the past reputation of the Amway name being associated with a scam or a pyramid and you have an extremely tough sell.

Partner stores are often used by IBOs to bring name credibility but I wonder how many of these products are actually sold to customers? I suspect that very few products are sold because the price is not that competitive and because many consumers, like myself prefer to touch and feel certain products before making a decision to buy. Even with a money back guarantee, customers don't want to be bothered wuth returning something via the mail. Also, the term partner store seems odd because Amway IBOs sell partner store goods, but "partner" stores don't sell Amway products. The relationship is not a two way street, in other words.

Also, while Amway recently started to market their opportunity and goods with national advertising, I believe the advertising is more of a retention issue. IBOs can say "see, we're on TV, we must be credible". I believe it may be too late in North America. In the past. IBOs would say they had greater bonuses because Amway saved money on advertising. Thus IBOs engaged in the most inefficient manner of moving products. They did it person to person and in the past, door to door. The reason why super bowl commercials are so expensive is because they can reach tens or hundreds of millions of people worldwide. But basically, Amway IBOs to sell the products and the opportunity, must do it one person at a time, and they must also overcome the many negative opinions that North Americans have about Amway. Amway sales have been tanking since 2013. Amway revenues have gone from 11.8 billion at its peak in 2013 and dropped each year with 8.6 billion in 2017 being the most recent numbers.

But it is for these reasons that IBOs probably cannot move many products except to some family and friends. In what REAL business can you make a sustainable living, much less fabulous wealth by selling some goods to family and friends? I can't think of any, and you are seriously mislead if you think you can do this with Amway products and earn untold wealth and riches.

The Real Business Of Amway Diamonds?

 I have been reading some ongoing debates about whether the system income for higher pins is more than their Amway bonuses. I believe the systems such as BWW, WWDB, N21 or LTD, does generate more profit for upline than the sale of Amway products. How the system income is divided though, is still a mystery as it doesn't appear that there are bonafide written contracts explaining how tools income is split up among the higher pins. There is also the debate of whether diamonds themselves or their "corporations" receive the profit, which is laughable as a defense.

But it's very easy to determine that more income is made from the system than from Amway. If you move $100 worth of Amway products, Amway will pay about $33 back in the form of bonuses. These bonuses will be split among the Amway IBOs (middlemen), depending on your level. On the other hand, if your group bought say 20 cds at $5.00each, the system will profit about $90 as cds cost about 50 cents to a dollar each to produce in bulk. Some Amway apologists will cite the fact that some groups sell cds for $2.50 or $3.00. While this is true, there is a "member's fee", such as WWDB premiere club, which must be paid. And when you add in the member's fee, the profit for the system is the same or possibly higher! Even when you factor in the system employees, you can easily see the math and determine where the real money is made.

If you buy a major function ticket for $125, the cost of that function might be in the neighborhood of $25 to $30 per attendee, so the system may generate $100 profit on a $125 sale. I believe the smaller functions such as open meetings, books and voicemail have smaller profit margins, but still overall, it's easy to conclude that the profit from the system is greater than profits generated by moving Amway products. I might add that the sales on these functions are often made in cash, thus who knows if the diamonds are even paying the IRS taxes on these sales.

The only question is how much each individual earns. I have "heard" that platinums get a discount on the sale of standing orders and cds, but I have never heard of a platinum sharing any profit for functions, voicemail, or any of the other materials. This is puzzling to me as I believe the platinums do the most work in the system, helping downlines. The platinums are the backbone of the system but unless they break through and become a higher level, they earn pennies for their efforts.

So for the lower level IBOs, if you move $300 in Amway sales (Approximately 100 PV), you will receive about $10 or 3% while upline enjoys the rest of the $90+ in bonuses from Amway. And then when you purchase and move tools volume, you receive nothing and some of your uplines enjoy all of the profit. While I don't see any problem in upline making a profit for selling training materials, I see a problem in the fact that the tools are ineffective. So few IBOs progress to levels where an actual profit is earned that the use of tools cannot be justified. Amway supporters will point out the new platinums emerging each year, but do not mention the platinums who do not re-qualify and platinums who outright quit because they are bleeding money.

Based on my observations, I can only conclude (quite easily) that there is substantially more profit from the sale of support materials for upline to enjoy, and I can also conclude that the support materials are ineffective in training downline IBOs so they can progress to higher levels of the business. But as PT Barnum once said, a sucker is born every minute.

Return On Your Amway Investment?

 So many IBOs are taught that they need to invest in their businesses. The investments however, aren't on equipment, employees, rent, or on advertising. In a typical Amway business, the investments that uplines often refer to are voicemail subcription, standing order, website fees, seminars and books. In many cases, an IBO keeps on investing in these materials without making an assessment on whether or not the investment was worth the money or if they are actually generating more business as a result of the investment.

I find it ironic that many Amway recruiters will hype the Amway business as one of low risk and little or no overhead. But when an IBO starts to get truly interested, suddenly an investment of money is vital to the success of their business. IBOs get caught up in the excitement of starting a business and they pour money into their shiny new Amway businesses, often without understanding the purpose of the investment, because they are following the advice of their experienced uplines. Eventually, most IBOs will realize that they aren't making money so they stop building the business and eventually quit. This is confirmed by the fact that over 90% of IBOs do not last 5 years and less than half of registered IBOs last even a full year.

For most, they will never recoup even their first month's worth of investments, even with a honest and earnest effort of building the business. Most IBOs never even make enough income to cover their voicemail bills. It is sad that uplines dupe their faithful followers into believing that their tools will help them succeed as IBOs. There is ZERO unbiased evidence that voicemail, functions and other materials do anything to help an IBO to make a substantial profit from the Amway business. It is my educated opinion that training materials sold by uplines have the exact opposite effect. The training materials and functions suck money out of an IBO's business and goes to the upline in the form of support materials profits.

For most IBOs, there is little to no return on their investment. What has voicemail or a standing order done for your business? Ask yourself an honest question. What tangible result have you seen in your business as a result of attending a function or listening to a standing order? If there was any result, is it a one time phenomena or are the functions resulting in continued growth of downline and business volume? Even if you did see a small increase in volume for example, was it enough to justify taking a perhaps out of town trip by air and hotel expenses just for a small volume increase? Do the never ending standing orders result in your downline and volume growing or simply your bank account shrinking?

Any real business owner will look at expenses and make sure that any investments into their business results in more customers or more revenue. If not, then that expense is shut down and other options looked at. Since many IBOs don't have any customers or very few customers, is it worth your time and money to attend functions? Is standing order increasing your monthly volume or bonuses? This is not to persuade IBOs to quit, but simply food for thought so that IBOs will truly use their "business mentality" and decide for themselves if support materials vis a vis an "investment" in their Amway business is paying off or not. If not, you are enjoying a hobby called Amway. Hobbies cost you money, but they rarely make you money. Is Amway a business or a hobby?

Diamond Hypocrisy?

 Now that the internet is so accessible, information flows freely and some of the dark secrets of the Lines Of Sponsorship (LOS) have been exposed. Also, as times passes, it is becoming clear that a bunch of upline leaders are major hypocrites, apparently motivated by greed and personal gain. I believe this trend will continue as well. It appears that these same leaders have managed to get around Amway's accreditation guidelines, which appears to be toothless.

Many upline leaders appeal to their audience by talking about how the Amway business can save marriages. I remember sitting in an audience when some diamonds spoke about how couples who build the business have a less than 2% divorce rate as compared to the national figure of 50% or so. One major reason cited was the financial stress that J-O-B people had (not enough cash). But now we see some upline diamond leaders getting divorced and in some cases, no explanation is offered, as if the missing spouse was beamed up by aliens. Many leaders simply revise history or deny that certain events happened. Some leaders just pretend nothing happened and it seems like IBOs are very forgiving, thus no real accountability has ever been applied to upline leaders.

People also found that some diamonds make a lot of money from tools. When I was an IBO, we were told very clearly, that nobody made profits from tools. That profits went back into the functions to make them better and cheaper. (Has any function gotten cheaper in the last 12 years?) In fact, when I was an IBO, I was told that WWDB was a non-profit entity, which was a bold lie. I will admit that upline later changed their story to WWDB was a for profit company, but nobody kept profits, thus the channeling money to make events better and cheaper. Again, when have events ever been cheaper?  Now I don't think that events should be run pro bono, but the leaders should be transparent about it rather than the lies and shroud of secrecy that often accompanies talk about tools and tool income.

Some upline leaders also spoke of how utterly stupid it was to take out a loan as the banks make so much money off the interest. We now see some of these very leaders having their homes foreclosed! Some of these diamonds were the very ones who said they pay cash for everything, including their homes and cars. It is not in the hopes for these folks to suffer, but it is exposing the lies and deception that leaders used to entice IBOs to join and to purchase tools that were supposed to help IBOs to attain the same lifestyle as the diamonds. However, rather that more diamonds, I believe WWDB and some other LOSs, at least in the US, have fewer diamonds now than 15 years ago. Where's the evidence of success? 

What's even more amazing is how the hypocrisy of some of these leaders are exposed to downline and the downline simply ignores it and continues to follow blindly without an explantion or questioning the leaders after the incidents are exposed. 

IBOs should ask their leaders questions when these kinds of issues arise. And you should think twice if the answer you receive is silence or deflections.

Amway In A Closed Society?

 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.

Unattainable Dreams?

 One of the things that get people excite about joining Amway is the big talk about dreams. My former LOS, WWDB, still has a big annual function called "dream nite". At dream nite, the diamonds will display a slide show with pictures of mansions, sports cars, jets, jet skis, vacations, golf outings and other fabulous goodies that will get people excited. For many, the prospect of not having to work 9-5 while still having cash roll in is enough to convince them that Amway is the greatest thing since sliced bread was invented. But who is attaining these dreams? Certainly not the rank and file IBOs.

The problem is that the diamonds are simply filling prospects and starry eyed IBOs with false hopes and dreams.

While some people may attain some of these goals and trappings of wealth, the vast majority, probably more than 99% of people who come and go through the business, end up in failure and most with a loss of money. Even those who put forth heroic efforts often find themselves at a loss after several months or several years of effort. I suspect that many diamonds themselves, cannot afford the luxuries they show off. There is evidence of this happening. Several diamonds have had homes foreclosed, a prominent triple diamond was in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Former diamonds have come forth and explained that their income came mainly from tools (audios and functions) and that Amway income wasn't that much. Some diamonds have resigned or quit, which debunks the myth of lifelong residual income. Some diamonds even took their entire groups and left Amway for other MLMs. So much for Amway being the best and providing lifelong residual income.

It is a sad thing indeed, that so many innocent prospects and IBOs have been deceived by shady upline leaders into thinking that in a short time frame, they will be purchasing homes in cashm retiring before the age of 40, and "walking the beaches" for the rest of their lives. In fact, I don't know of any diamonds who have done just that. It appears that crown ambassadors and others are all still working! Why aren't there people going diamond and then "walking away" to live a quiet life of luxury unmatched by any other opportunity?

Maybe it is a big lie or a myth? IBOs are basically dedicating their time and money to chasing an unattainable dream?

Are Diamonds Wealthy Or Broke?

 I recently read an article on what constitutes wealth. Some say an annual income of $100,000 would make them wealthy, some say assets exceeding $4 million would do it, and some estimated that $2 million would make them "rich". Of course, everything is relative and someone earning $25,000 a year would think that $100,000 a year is wealth, etc. College students might think $40,000 a year is awesome because many have little money to begin with. I'm sure someone like Bill Gates would not consider $4 million to be astonishing. It's all relative. If you are content with what you have, you are likely relatively well off already.

But let's talk about Amway diamonds. I say diamond because it is basically the pinnacle of success. It is the crowning achievement of the 6-4-2 plan (or other variations) that many groups show. The average diamond (non Q12 - the norm) earns about $150,000, according to Amway. Now $150,000 sounds like a lot of money to young people or to those with lower wage types of jobs, or those who are just starting out in their careers. But we also know that diamonds earn income from the sale of tools. Some groups advertise (verbally) that someone might earn $100,000 a year from the tools/speaking income.

Let's be generous and say the diamond earns $300,000 a year from Amway and tools income. Income tax and medical insurance for the family will eat up about 40% or more of that right off the top, leaving about $180,000. Fantastic you might say? Well, a diamond certainly would live in a million dollar mansion, which would give you about a $6000 a month mortgage or $72,000 a year, leaving $108,000. (Although many - a - diamond pays for their homes in cash) Fantastic right? Well, diamonds are constantly traveling to various functions, flying first class and staying only at 5 star hotels right? So an average of 1 trip per month with a family, first class and a 5 star hotel would probably cost about $10,000 or more per trip, or about $120,000 a year, now leaving $8,000 for this diamond's yearly budget. A good diamond with a family surely consumes 300 PV per month for household goods, or about $900 a month or about $11,000 a year, leaving debt for the rest of the year. A good diamond is often a Christian who would faithfully tithe 10% of his income, or about $30,000 a year, leaving the diamond with more debt (or they don't give to charity). Then there's monthly costs to pay for their electric and utility bills, gas, car payments, meals and entertainment.

Yes, some expenses may be slightly higher or lower, but what I am trying to illustrate is that even an above average diamond with tools income is more likely to be broke than wealthy if they live the lifestyles portrayed at functions such as dream night or other major functions. Do the math. It is unlikely that diamonds pay cash for everything and it is unlikely that fabulous lifestyles can be sustained on a diamond income. There is plenty of evidence out there. Diamond's homes foreclosed, diamonds behind on income taxes, a prominent triple diamond in bankruptcy proceeding, many diamonds selling off their homes in a bad real estate market.

I truly believe that it is quite possible for many diamonds to broke or in debt trying to portray a lifestyle of wealth and fortune.

Tips For Amway Prospects?

 One thing that I was unaware of as an IBO was that our uplines were massively profiting from our tools purchases. I was in WWDB at the time and I was told very clearly that nobody made money from the tools and in fact, I was also told that WWDB was a non profit organization. Both of these statements were bold lies told by WWDB leaders and they have never been held accountable. We were told that upline cared about us and our success, thus they spent their own money to fly to functions to teach us how to succeed. Turns out they were all lies.  Shameless lies.

Eventually, the internet and other media made it impossible to cover up these lies and uplines finally admitted that they profited from tools. However, it looks like they downplayed the magnitude of the tools profits. I believe some upline may have made most of their income from tools, especially leaders who may have fallen out of qualification. Now days, the upline admits they make some profits from tools, but there is still a great deal of secrecy in the tools business. What makes the whole thing ironic is that the uplines allegedly are not supposed to entice Amway prospects into joining by using the tools money as a draw, but at the same time, they are told that tools are vital to their success. Uplines also show off trappings and lifestyles to attract recruits, but I believe that these trappings were likely obtained with tool income. Tool income has a higher profit margin than Amway products and fewer people are in the pay plan so it makes perfect sense.

I wonder how many prospects or IBOs would be fired up about buying tools if they knew that their uplines might not currently be qualified at the level they claim to be, and knowing that the uplines will make a ton of money whether or not you make a cent as an IBO? Also, some uplines are shameless in pushing the tools on downline. Sure they might cut the newest guy a break and loan them some cds, but once that IBO decides to start building downline, they are likely to be told that a real business owner buys their own tools, or that a business owner needs to be a leader and purchase extra tools for their downline.

How would you feel if your upline was touting themselves as a financial genius but in the background, their homes are foreclosed or they have other financial difficulties? What if your upline touts their morals and you find out they are divorced or getting a divorce? What if your upline said Amway saves marriages? Your upline certainly won't say they are perfect, but conversely, they should be held to the highest standards if they are using their status to be able to sell tools and make large profits. This is something too many prospects are blind about.

Crabs In A Pot?

 A funny story told by my Amway uplines, and apparently still told today is the story of the crabs in a pot. That crabs will prevent other crabs who want to escape the pot by pulling them back in or pulling them down. The story goes that people in the working world also do this, by stepping on others to get ahead. I've never actually seen for myself if crabs actually pull each other down if one of them tries to escape a pot, but I suppose it might be true. I do know of some people who will do anything to get ahead and they can be ruthless. Some of the most ruthless are Amway diamonds, who might tell you to spend your last dollar on a cd/audio or to attend a function because your business could benefit. Or to have you family skip a meal because that Amway training material is so vital.

But the people who are willing to sacrifice others to get ahead do not appear to the the majority, but the exception. Many people are willing to work a career job and maybe over time, they move up the corporate ladder. Many people do this without having to "pull people down" in order to succeed. I believe this crab in the pot is just another ploy by uplines to get IBOs to think that their friends and family, by warning them of the potential perils of Amway, are just crabs pulling you back into the pot. It simply isn't true. Think about it, why are there so many negative stories and experiences floating around out there about Amway and the tool systems? Why is there a lack of new success continuously emerging fro Amway? Why do diamonds quit or walk away from the business under unfriendly terms? Where are all the people who retired and walk the beaches of the world? Why do crown ambassadors keep working, seemingly until they pass away?

Maybe the success you think there is in Amway simply doesn't exist. Let me repeat. Maybe the success you were led to believe exists in Amway, just isn't there. Amway's been around more than 50 years. Why can't anyone name a dozen or so people who built their Amway business once, and built it right, then walked away, collecting significant residual income since? I wonder why Amway doesn't advertise this as a benefit of being an IBO?

Speaking of crabs in a pot. Ever wonder why all these virtuous diamonds break away from their beloved mentors to form their own groups? Ever wonder why there are countless issues of diamonds suing diamonds over tool income? If the money coming in is uncountable, why can't these diamonds come to a peaceful agreement? Why use lawyers which many diamonds talk about as evil because lawsuits are often about getting something for nothing.

Maybe it is the diamonds themselves who are crabs in the pot, all pulling each other down whenever one of them is on the verge of success?

Your Upline Mentor?

 The really insidious part about some of the LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are cutthroat ruthless businessmen with nice suits, and disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray. On the surface, you may think this is true, but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary.

As an IBO, the diamonds would tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some cross line IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an investment into your business.

Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy extra cds every week. To be core, you needed to listen to a cd each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day right? Couples were told to buy their own separate standing orders. Brad Duncan even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order.

In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my cross line did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?

Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are ruthless businessmen who will take your last dime if you allow them to.

How Diamonds Dupe Their Downline?

 In my informed opinion, Amway is a huge bait and switch scam run by the diamonds. The crowd sees the diamonds as someone to be worshipped. They arrive to standing ovations when they appear to show the plan and/or to speak at a function. The diamonds speak of untold wealth beyond the reach of most people. They show slide shows of fabulous trips and events that they attend and possibly golf outings and other fun things that are associated with people who have money. The diamond often has some sports car or a nice sedan such as a Lexus or Mercedes. And all of this alleged wealth comes from Amway. Just join and get the secrets to wealth from the diamonds and you too will be living in fabulous wealth. 2-5 years, build it right and build it once is what I heard.

But it's a bait and switch scam. They show you wealth and speak of their large incomes (without verification of course) and people tend to believe what they are told. The diamonds claim to have the key to the secret of success. All you need to do is get plugged into their system and you are nearly assured of success. Right? Listen to those diamonds. They are the pinnacle of success and all you need to do it copy what they have done. So simple even a dog can become a platinum. All you need is 2-5 years, do it right and do it once and you're set for life.

So you subscribe to their system of voicemail, books, standing orders (audios/CDs), meetings and functions/seminars. In the teachings, the theme seems to be similar. Never quit, and the answer to most Amway problems are to consume more tools and functions. If you are struggling and losing money, the solution seems to be to invest more in tools and functions. It's like a struggling business spending more on overhead without simply trying to increase sales. This is why so many IBOs quit, because they struggle to make sales and/or to sponsor downline. Despite all of the teaching and tools and seminars, it is apparent that very few IBOs make any profit.

What people don't see is that the Amway business itself is just a shill for the real business. Amway IBOs unknowingly recruit prospects into Amway thinking they can make a fortune in Amway. In the meantime, the diamonds are raking in the dough by selling monthly subscriptions for voicemail, books, audios and meetings and seminars. Additionally, the diamonds put on a "major" function each quarter where they can make possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single weekend. I believe some diamonds make way more income from the tools and functions than from Amway. A diamond is a lifetime achievement so someone could qualify diamond for 6 months, never qualify again, but still make a nice living from speaking honorariums and selling other tools. The tools business is the real business. The Amway business is like a "front" to conceal the real business, much like the Italian restaurant is a front for the mob. The restaurant is a legal business that helps conceal the illegal activity. And that my friends, is the Amway bait and switch scam.

Freedom At Last?

 Financial Freedom! That was one of the major battle cries when I was recruited for the Amway business. You gain control of time and money by creating residual or passive income. That is true financial freedom. You wake up at noon, no job, and just do whatever you please, whenever you please. I remember the speaker saying that broke/unemployed people also had freedom, but it was different because they were broke and could not afford to go golfing or do other activities that required money on a regular basis.

I am assuming that this is still the case for many IBOs. Of course, upline leaders may toss in a disclaimer that you don't get rich quick as an IBO, but the pitch apparently still contains the financial freedom and residual income theme, based on my experiences with IBOs. IBOs still think they will be rich. Also, 2-5 years sounds like "get rich quick" to me.

But hey, financial freedom would be a great thing, don't get me wrong. Who wouldn't want to be 35 years old with enough cash to never have to work again? I mean I could spend some time imagining how fun that would be. It would also be fun to imagine what you would do with all the cash if you hit the powerball lottery as well. But for the starry eyed IBOs, I simply have a few questions for you to ponder. A few realistic questions that you should be asking yourself. The answers to these questions will tell you a lot.

1. Who in your group or upline truly has achieved financial freedom? Have you seen their financials or simply a display of wealth such as mansions and fancy cars? Mansions and fancy cars could just be a massive pile of debt. Not too long ago, there apparently were diamonds who had their homes foreclosed, and a triple diamond who was in bankruptcy proceedings. Find out if anyone in your group/upline has actually achieved the success that they are using to recruit you. Also, if they are financially free, why do they work at function after function? Traveling and speaking might not be a traditional job, but it is still work, nonetheless.

2. Even if you find someone who is retired and golfing everyday because of Amway residual income, ask yourself what the likelihood is that you will be able to achieve the same results. If diamonds are still working, what chance do you have of success if you are new or experienced in Amway, and have few or no downline. More than likely, your chance of winning the lottery will be greater than your chance of achieving a significant residual income from your Amway business. Also, I don't know of any Amway retirees who built their business once and walked away with any significant residual income from Amway. Do you?

Amway And Integrity?

 I used to follow the blog of a WWDB IBO named "Shaun". He used to run the blog called "Expeditions Of Truth" http://expeditionoftruths.com/..  The blog is not running as Shaun has now quit Amway (imagine that?  He swore he would be a double eagle ruby making will over 100k.  What could possibly go wrong?)    He was an avid Amway defender at one time, even frequenting this blog to comment and to insult me.   But I digress.

He seemed to think that not only is he in business with people full of integrity, he also thought that he was going to retire in November 2011. Is this now August 2019?  While I think doing business with people of integrity is a good thing, I also know of many successful people in business who are ruthless. So are Amway and in particular, WWDB people full of integrity or are they just as ruthless as other business people? Does it matter? In my opinion, it doesn't matter except for the fact that WWDB people seem to think that they have integrity filled leaders.

Well, lets look at some of these leaders. Back in the 1990's, the current batch of WWDB leaders swore that nobody made a profit on tools. Nobody knew the truth at the time. We now know that this was a lie. Is this integrity? We know that Greg Duncan was in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Not paying for your obligations is integrity? We know that Greg Duncan and David Shores had homes foreclosed (Public information). Is that a move filled with integrity? With the tons of money Duncan and Shores make, couldn't they have made an effort to pay off their debts?

If you look at a blog linked to this one "Rocket's Rants", there's a Youtube video of "crown" Brad Duncan telling rank and file IBOs that they can make "hundreds of thousands of dollars" a month. First of all, I wonder if Brad Duncan has achieved this himself, let alone any others? Even if someone had achieved it, it would be illegal or unethical to portray that kind of success as achievable to a a prospect.  

Brad Wolgamott used to talk about how WWDB had a low divorce rate. Is it full on integrity for WWDB leaders to separate or divorce when they talk about integrity and how Amway and WWDB saves marriages? What about Dean Kosage? Another divorcee? Are they full of integrity? What say you Shaun Guthrie of WWDB? What about Howie Danzik whose website doesn't mention that he was once married to Susan? Is it integrity to say you built the business as a single when Howie previously built the business with his former wife Susan?

Amway's owner Rich DeVos acknowledged in a 1983 speech that the "tools" were likely a pyramid scam and Amway did nothing after sales dropped following some attempts to clean it up. Is that an integrity move? I don't know but it sure seems as if WWDB and Amway have issues where integrity is concerned.

Dream Stealers?

 Some debates over Amway recently churned up some accusations once again about critics being "dream stealers". I thought I would address this but first I wanted to print the definition of a dream from dictionary.com:

dream  
[dreem] Show IPA noun, verb, dreamed or dreamt, dream⋅ing, adjective
Use dreams in a Sentence
–noun
1. a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
2. the sleeping state in which this occurs.
3. an object seen in a dream.
4. an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.
5. a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.
6. an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream.
7. a wild or vain fancy.
8. something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence.

–verb (used without object) 9. to have a dream.
10. to indulge in daydreams or reveries: He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working.
11. to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually fol. by of): I wouldn't dream of asking them.

–verb (used with object) 12. to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision.
13. to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose.
14. to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often fol. by away): to dream away the afternoon.

–adjective 15. most desirable; ideal: a dream vacation.

—Verb phrase
16. dream up, to form in the imagination; devise: They dreamed up the most impossible plan.

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Based on these definitions, I do not see how it is possible for anyone to steal a dream. This dream stealing verbiage is just more upline propaganda designed to get IBOs to shut off their critical thinking skills and to blindly commit themselves to buying more standing orders and function tickets, whose profit goes into the pockets of your beloved upline leaders.

I believe #6 is the most appropriate definition for an IBO. A long term goal. But if an IBO's long term goal is retirement and riches, they should analyze their involvement in the Amway business and determine if that is the appropriate vehicle to achieve their goals. For the vast majority of people, this is not the appropriate vehicle and facts confirm this. It's a matter of whether or not an IBO was told to ignore the facts by his/her upline.

Is There An Amway Quota?

 Most LOS groups that I know of, use 100 PV as the benchmark when promoting the Amway business. Many groups also teach that you simply "change" your shopping habits and you can easily reach 100 PV. This teaching creates an artificial demand for Amway products and I believe that Amway sales would take a huge dip if not for this teaching. I also am of the opinion that for this reason, Amway had/has done little to reign in LOS abuses of downline.

100 PV is roughly equal to about $250 to $300 worth of products. Of course your cost may vary, depending on whether you purchase a lot of CORE Amway products such as laundry detergent, and nutrilte vitamins. For many people, the 100 PV benchmark is seen as the minimum for a business building IBO. The problem for many is that Amway products are not competitively priced, thus it is a hard sell. If I can buy the same or a similar product elsewhere for a fraction of the price, I will. And most consumers feel the same way.

It is why some LOS groups adopted the "buy from yourself and get others to do the same" philosophy. Since most people do not like selling, and because of the high prices of Amway products, simply telling prospects to buy from yourself made the concept palatable. The problem with buy from yourself is that it reaches the borders of being illegal, in my opinion. That is because in a buy from youself environment, the only way for an IBO to make a profit, is to recruit downline to benefit from the volume rebates. That is because there is no outside customers to bring in cash from outside the circle of IBOs.

What makes this issue even worse is when you have LOS groups such as WWDB creating an even greater problem with programs such as eagle. If 100 PV is an inflated demand for Amway products, incentive programs such as eagle make it worse. How can a single person reasonably be expected to move 200 to 300 PV when most of it is personal consumption? The upline leaders use these programs as an incentive for downline IBOs, but in turn, they benefit financially by having more downline volume, as well as potentially enhanced tools sales by dedicated downline IBOs.

I challenge any IBO or prospect to take a close look at your Amway purchases. Are you truly just changing your shopping habits and achieving 100 PV or are you buying things to give away, or buying things that accumulate somewhere? Unless IBOs are selling half of their purchases, they are probably overbuying Amway products. I believe it is simply because of upline teaching which creates a defacto 100 PV quota and an artificial demand for Amway products. I challenge you to examine this closely and make your own conclusions.

My Job Is A Pyramid?

 One of the things I take issue with is how Amway uplines will create an us versus them mentality in the business. Thus friends and family who care about you suddenly become "negative" and association with them should be limited or cut off completely. In some cases, people are discouraged from excellence in their jobs or professions because it takes the focus off of their Amway business. What I was told was to do my job, but my radar should always be on for new prospects. Some cross line IBOs turned down promotions at work because they did not want to have to work longer hours or take the focus off of their Amway businesses.

In some cases, the speaker at open meetings or functions will put down people's jobs. A commonly used acronym was J-O-B = "Just Over Broke". Some leaders also would say that my job was a pyramid because you will never earn more than the boss. A completely ridiculous comparison because someone's job has no relationship with how people view the Amway business (i.e. an Amway pyramid) and in a job, every employee gets paid and has a net gain at the end of the month. Not true in Amway. If IBOs only use KATE for example, an IBO at 100 PV or less will already be at a loss, and that is not considering any other expenses that IBO may have. And while a job may have a hierarchy, or chain of command, the business owner and CEO or manager earns their salary from customers, not directly from the pockets of their employees.

Some uplines will laugh about people's jobs, stating that they wake up at the "crack of noon". What these same uplines may not tell you is that they wake up at noon because they are up at 3:00 in the morning doing nite owls for their groups and looking for recruits. These same uplines possibly can't do much with their downlines since their downlines mostly tend to have 9-5 jobs. An Amway diamond still has a job, but they work the graveyard shift because the mainstream world works during the day. The part about waking up at the crack of noon is because your upline diamond has to sleep in since he's working the overnight shift.

So if you are of the opinion that nobody should criticize the Amway opportunity or IBO behavior, maybe uplines and IBOs should not criticize family and friends who disagree with or are not interested in the Amway opportunity. And maybe the same uplines and IBOs should not criticize people who choose to work jobs. Don't most IBOs rely on their jobs? More than likely their Amway income is not sufficient to even pay for their Amway business related expenses, let alone anything else. It is most often someone's job that winds up supporting their Amway business, which is truly ironic.

Earn More Than Your Sponsor?

 One of the silly defenses that Amway supporters use to defend their business is that it must not be a pyramid or it must be legitimate because you have the opportunity to earn more than your sponsor. While many downlines in fact do earn more than their sponsors, it's likely because about half of all IBOs quit in a year or less those who stay for even a year, when you factor in the business expenses for those who are on tools, the reality of suffering business losses also causes people to exit the business. It's not that hard to earn more than people who quit. But even at that, someone who quits is often better off than IBOs who continue because those on the system are losing money.  But when most IBOs do little or nothing before quitting Amway, earning more than your sponsor is utter meaningless.

An IBO at the 100 PV level will earn about $10 in bonus income from Amway. If they are attending functions, buying standing orders and voicemail, they will operate at a loss. Thus, unless their business grows each month (highly unlikely, even if they do as upline advises) then they will suffer losses each month and those who quit will be better off. It is why I have stated that doing nothing or staying home and watching television can honestly be better options than joining Amway and the systems such as WWDB, N21 or BWW. It is why reasonable people can conclude that working for minimum wage, even a few hours a week makes you better off than joining Amway and the systems.

The defense that someone can out earn their upline is silly. The true benchmark of this statement would be for a new guy to start a business, and in 2-5 years, out earn someone like Bill Britt. It will never happen because upline has direct influence over the fortunes of their downline, even at the diamond level. It is why you have seen diamonds quit, or split from their upline to start their own training systems. They cannot affects change from downline, without upline consent, thus the breaking away from their "mentors" or leaders. At times there have even been lawsuits over the tools income. Do people really sue their mentors? Don't diamonds teach you that suing people is wrong? That you don't get something for nothing?

You can surely out earn your sponsor. All it takes is for your sponsor to quit. However, your sponsor quitting might mean you don't out earn your sponsor. See my example above. Taking losses is not out earning someone. Keep in mind that everyone in Amway is equal. You are all unpaid commissioned Amway salespeople, bound to Amway's terms and agreements. You don't own your downline. You don't really own much as an independent business owner. You can out earn your sponsor, but that means squidly diddly when your sponsor makes nothing or takes a loss. Come back and chirp when you out earn your upline diamond. Do I hear crickets chirping now? :-)

Go Visit A Diamond?

 Some blog visitors have in the past, and recently, advised me to go and visit with a diamond or a platinum. That spending time with someone in the business would give me a different perspective. I'm not sure what my visitors thought I would accomplish by doing this. As an IBO, I spent countless hours with my upline platinum and on many occasions, my upline diamond. My honest opinion is that they were just average everyday people who made their living in a different manner than most. Their homes weren't fancier, they didn't drive special cars, they didn't have the kind of material wealth that's often portrayed in functions and meetings. and that's fine.

What I would challenge prospects and IBOs to do is just that. Ask to spend time with your upline platinum and/or diamond. You are likely to find ordinary people with ordinary lives outside of the business. So many people think that the upline platinums and higher live in the lap of luxury and it's not true, unless they are living beyond their means. I do believe that many upline leaders do live beyond their means. It is because showing off material wealth is a vital part in attracting and retaining IBOs. You show them material wealth and get people to dream about achieving the same thing in order to sign them up for Amway and the associated tools and training business. Sadly, the vast majority who register and attempt to build an empire will end up quitting, and most of them, especially the ones who attended the functions will end up with a net loss, even if they put in extraordinary amounts of time and effort. Sure, some people may eventually achieve higher levels in the business but they are the exception and not the rule.

In normal and in real business, one way to prove your results is to open your books and show your financial details. Your upline of course, will tell you that it is none of your business, but if you are being asked to invest your time and money into a business opportunity, you have every right to demand this information. If your prospective sponsor refuses to supply this information, it should be a red flag that they have something to hies. It seems that many IBOs embellish their income claims or try to change the discussion. They may even produce a photo copy of an upline's bonus check, but that proves nothing. What prospects and IBOs should demand is a profit and loss statement. It would give an idea of what expenses someone can expect as an IBO and what kind of income can be expected at various levels.

Joecool has no reason to visit a diamond. But I would certainly say that IBOs and prospects should do so. You might be surprised to find that a diamond is not "all that" when you see them up close and personal.

Your Amway Expectations?

 One thing that many Amway promoters don't like to talk about is what your realistic chances of success are. I will define success as Diamond because that is what the outcome of the 6-4-2 and 2-5 year plan. Of course you may be able to earn some income at lower levels, but my understanding is that diamond is where the real money from Amway and the tools start rolling in. And I can also understand why people promoting Amway do not discuss your realistic chances of winning. After all, lottery promoters do not show you the millions of losers, they only parade the winners in front of you.

Many people, including Amway enthusiasts will agree that many IBO do little or nothing. Some people never even place an order or make any attempt to do any business. For the purpose of this article, I am not speaking about these folks. I am talking about people who actually put in some effort to the business. This is about people who actually invest time and money into this business.

For many people who want to make an earnest effort, they will purchase and hopefully sell a few items with the goal of reaching 100 PV. For that effort, you will receive approximately $10 from Amway and whatever profit you might have earned by selling products. Here's the catch. You will likely need to pay website fees in excess of the $10 you earn from Amway. For the more dedicated IBOs, you may be payin for voicemail, standing orders, book of the month, and possibly attending functions. These expenses will exceed your income month after month unless you are able to increase your volume by selling enough products and/or sponsoring downline who buy and sell products.

Because Amway has to include the IBO bonuses in their prices, the products come at a premium price. Thus sales to non IBOs are relatively low. Without sales to non IBOs, the only other way to generate more volume is to sponsor people who will buy and sell products. But due to past unethical IBO behavior, getting people to see the Amway sales and marketing plan may be a challenge. Also, most IBOs are unable to sponsor a single downline.

Some Amway enthusiasts will claim that if you do their CORE steps for 2-5 years consistently, that you are likely to succeed. Sound easy, but becaue of the factors I have identified, some of these steps are impossible to do consistently. It's not like walking a mile each day where you have control of the step. People will likely fail in showing the plan and sponsoring others because they cannot find enough people who are willing to see an Amway plan. Many, possibly most other IBOs can and will do certain steps consistently such as listening to a CD daily and reading a success book. But because of a spotty reputation in the US, IBOs will very likely fail to be able to show enough plans to succeed.

Your realistic chance of success? My informed guess is less than 1 tenth of 1 percent. That's the likelihood of going diamond. Your chance of going platinum? My informed guess will be about 1/4 of 1 percent (1 in 400: Source Amway.com). If you think you can beat those odds, go for it. For most people, it might be wise to look into other opportunities.

Amway Sustainability?

 One of the selling points of the Amway business is for people to do the work once and then reap financial benefits for life. 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. Amway products are generally priced higher than competitors because the Amway "bonus" is built into the price. Ultimately, IBOs wind up self consuming the majority of their own products and hoping to recruit others to do the same.

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. Because the vast majority of Amway IBOs make nothing or lose money, often because of the tools system, there is no motivation for most to continue in the business because there is no stream of income, but a stream of expenses that never ends.

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. And upline uses your hopes and dreams to sell you tools. That's the real business of the diamonds.

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 referrals. 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 those reasons, the Amway business is not sustainable.

Walking Away?

 One of the things that many IBOs mistakenly believe is that they will build their Amway business and then they will have the ability to "walk away" from the business while the income continues to flow in. I believe if there was such an incredible benefit such as lifelong residual income that could be achieved from Amway, I'm fairly certain that Amway would advertise this as a benefit of being an IBO. But Amway does not. It is very likely that your LOS such as WWDB or one of the others will promote this benefit while telling you that your best chance to achieve it is by subscribing to their "system".

One thing that goes unnoticed all too often is that there seems to be nobody who is actually retired and living off the efforts of having built a big Amway business once upon a time. Seems that even the crown ambassadors still have busy lifestyles running from function to function and participating in other business related activities. While many of these leaders may claim they love their downlines or some other bunk, it is my belief that these leaders keep working their Amway businesses for one reason only. That is they need to keep working in order to keep the income flowing in.

The diamond lifestyle that is often portrayed may seem like a great goal or dream to achieve, but the fact of the matter is that a "diamond lifestyle" cannot be sustained on diamond income. The average diamond, according to Amway, earns about $150,000 a year. While that may seem like a great amount of income, it's not nearly enough to sustain the kind of lifestyle portrayed by diamonds. Even if that income is supplemented by income from the sale of tools, you can't fly your family around the country first class to do all kinds of functions and still end up with much leftover to own fancy homes and cars.

If I deposited $1000 in the bank and never touch the money, the bank would pay me a certain amount of interest each year, guaranteed. That is residual income. In Amway, you can basically earn income in two ways. You can sell products for a profit, but there are problems with this. First off, Amway products in general are more expensive than local retailers. It is why you hear so many justifications about quality and concentration, because you are hard pressed to argue cost. Secondly, you are severely restricted from advertising, thus selling can be difficult. The other way to generate more income is to build a downline in hopes that the downline will help you to leverage your volume. But then your downline will have the same problem that you had in moving products. That being said, even if you achieve some level such as emerald or diamond, your business will immediately begin to fall apart once you stop working because attrition will take its toll. It is why there are hoards of "former" platinums. If platinums are not sustainable, then neither is any other level.

There are many many instances of diamonds quitting, resigning, or falling out of qualification. People come and go in this business every day. Do you really think you can bank on retirement and residual income under these circumstances? If you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you.

Is Amway An Iceberg?

 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, care, 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.

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 source 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 benefit 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?

The Unwinnable Amway Game?

 When people see the Amway plan, it sort of makes sense. You need to find six people to go direct, in 2-5 years and you have residual and willable income for life. You are then financially free and can spend your days walking on exotic beaches while checks keep coming in. This is what lures many prospects to take a better look and maybe even test the waters and give Amway a shot. After all, who wouldn't be interested in financial freedom and the ability to fulfill some of your ultimate dreams? Only a fool would turn down such an opportunity right?

While Amway looks good on paper, too many things derail this plan for financial freedom and untold wealth. Over the years I've been blogging, I've challenged Amway supporters to name a couple of people who are financially free and walking the beaches while income rolls in. Very predictably, nobody has identified a single person who achieved some high level in Amway and is sitting back relaxing while money keeps coming. We even see crown ambassadors passing away while still working the business.

So why can't IBOs achieve what they aspire to? Because in my opinion, the odds are stacked against them. Sure, a rare individual might go diamond but the occurrence is very rare and almost as rare as winning the lottery, even though Amway is not a game of chance. I will go and list the reasons why IBOs are playing a game they can't win, even though they think they can. That is the sad part, that the upline is motivating downline to "never quit" even though they will "never succeed".

The system is set up for very few to succeed. Even in the common 6-4-2 plan where everyone did enough to earn a bonus, there is one person at the highest level with 78 downline who earn less. In real life, most IBOs do little or nothing. At Amway.com, you can see income disclosures that show how few people reach the higher levels. It's a tiny fraction of 1% that reach the higher levels. Even reaching platinum is a lofty achievement and platinums might not even see a net profit due to business expenses.

Business expenses such as product packs, catalogs, cds, books, voicemail and functions add up to significant expenses in the course of a month. If you're hoping to achieve financial freedom, you'll be expected to participate in the teaching system and more than likely, these expenses will be the reason for your business losses. Beware of upline who encourage you to go in debt to purchase training.

The products in general are not competitive. Sure, the Amway IBOs may give you some pitch about products being concentrated or of high quality but let's face it, consumers don't care about high quality soaps and household cleaners. There is nothing wrong with the similar products that you can purchase at Target or WalMart at a fraction of the cost. When your products can't compete on a level playing field, on what basis do you expect to sell these products? For that reason, many IBOs become "self consumers" and wind up with no actual customers.

Amway's reputation is soured. Most people know or know someone who had a bad experience with Amway. Due to past IBO behavior, people have developed a negative view of Amway. People being tricked or lied to in the past may have contributed to this issue. Add that to the fact that so few people actually make money turns this business into an almost insurmountable challenge. Even those who achieve often find themselves out of qualification shortly after.

For these reasons, my conclusion is that the Amway opportunity is a game that IBOs simply cannot win, even for those who learn from upline and put forth tremendous effort. And the longer you play. the bigger your losses become. Do your due diligence before undertaking any business opportunity.

Paving The Road To Disaster?

 When I saw the Amway plan, it was presented sort of as a road to riches. Yes, the presenter was careful not to say it was "get rich quick", but 2-5 years is relatively quick when compared with working 40 hours a week for 40 years as the business plan was shown to us. And while some exceptional people do achieve diamond, there is a massive trail of IBOs who suffer losses, some of them staggering. In our own group, I know of at least one couple who lost their home following upline advice, and another couple to ended up filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy. I must state that the bad advice leading to bankruptcy and foreclosure most likely came from upline leaders. I also know of a gal who quit her job to attend a function, faithfully following upline advice from WWDB. It took her a while to recover from that bad advice. 

So what is the experience of many CORE IBOs? I'm not talking about those who "do nothing", but IBOs who actually make an effort. Well, if they do their 100 PV, then they are spending about $300 a month on Amway stuff and dedicated IBOs will typically spend about $200 a month or more on average for tools. This is for a single person. A couple or family would be expected to do more, thus spend more. So for these 100 PV IBOs, they will expend about $500 a month or more and get back maybe $10. Of course if they were not in Amway, they would still have some expenses for household goods, but not anywhere near $500 a month. 

Over the course of a few years, these expenses add up and can become staggering losses. Hard core IBOs might expend even more. The only way a rank and file IBO can gain relief is to sell products (which is difficult given the prices and the Amway name reputation) or to sponsor downline who wil then suffer some of the losses for you. It would be my estimate that an IBO might break even at about the 4000 PV level. However, at 4000 PV, you might have significant expenses associated with running a group, such as showing distance plans for your group.  

Over the years, I would suspect that millions of IBOs have come and gone through the Amway opportunity, and probably lost billions of dollars. But many of those who lose money think they are successful, because many upline will edify those who buy tools, regardless of IBO results. After a few months, if your group and PV are not growing consistently, it is highly unlikely that you are headed for success. 

IBOs and newbies, are you on the road to riches or financial disaster? Keep in mind that a net loss is not success, despite what you upline mentor may tell you.