Amway And The BBB?

 I recently saw comments on this blog from an apparent Amway defender. The comments extolled the virtues of Amway partner stores such as Nike and Apple. To be honest, I don't know if Amway actually partners with Nike and Apple but let's say they do. What does the partner store designation mean? All it means is that Amway IBOs get to list Apple and Nike stuff in their catalogues. If they manage to sell any Nike or Apple stuff, they get a commission paid by Nike or Apple through Amway. But of course, because of the IBO bonuses and because Amway needs to make some money on the transaction, the prices of Nike and Apple products in the Amway catalogue cannot compare (in general) to to big retailers or even Internet shops like Amazon.com.

Assuming that Nike and Apple are truly Amway "partners", they have a one-sided partnership. Nike and Apple don't do anything for Amway IBOs except to allow them to sell their products for premium prices on a commission only basis. Meaning is nothing gets sold, Nike and Apple do not have to compensate anyone. It's a no brainer for Nike and Apple. If people sell your stuff for top prices, you pay a commission but if they sell nothing, you pay nothing. It's a great deal for Nike and Apple, again, assuming they really are Amway "partners". Heck, if JoeCool made "I hate Amway" stickers and Amway wanted to be my partner, I would do it too. Nothing to lose and much to gain.

Now, about the BBB. I don't know what Amway's rating actually is because they could be "A' rated in Michigan for example, and not "A" rated in Arizona. The rating has a lot to do with Amway dealing with complaints to the BBB. If they deal with complaints, then they might get a good rating. However, many people are sponsored by friends and family and simply do not register complaints about Amway even if they had a bad experience. But even if they registered, it was likely against an LOS (Line of sponsorship) such as BWW (Britt Worldwide) or WWDB (World Wide Dream Builders) or N21 (Network21). These are for profit third party companies designed to help recruit and train Amway IBOs and who profit even if Amway IBOs lose their shirts. Often these groups are not rated with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Individual Amway IBOs who do bad and unethical things are also not registered with the BBB so their bad behavior would not be rated by the BBB.

Why do you suppose Amway has such a bad name reputation while their IBOs brag about Amway's alleged BBB reputation? IBOs and their training companies are not Amway. It's very possible that Amway would not approve of the things done by individual IBOs or the training groups but Amway for too long (in my opinion) has profited because of the bad behavior of the lines of sponsorship and the bad behavior of individual IBOs who they claim they can't control. Perhaps if Amway cannot contain the bad behavior, they should not be allowed to profit from this bad behavior and should be fined or have restrictions imposed upon them like Herbalife did last year.

I believe I have thoroughly debunked the partner store and BBB myth, but I'm sure Amway IBOs and defenders will be back to raise the issue again soon. LOL