I've been blogging for many years now and one of the conclusions I have made is that there really is no defense for debating the merits of an Amway business when the IBO is participating in a system such as WWDB or Network 21. I have no issues with IBOs who sign up and sell actual products to non-IBO customers, but these sales oriented IBOs are very rare. Most IBOs who are entrenched in a system are often focused on sponsoring downline because that is the only way an IBO can achieve certain levels such as emerald or diamond. The emerald or diamond level is the goal of many because it is allegedly the level where an IBO can "walk away" and enjoy barrels of cash rolling in for the rest of their lives. I find it ironic that even crown ambassadors keep busy schedules and have not walked away into a quiet life of retirement and uncountable amounts of money. Instead, Crowns such as Ron Puryear, Bill Britt, and others just died on the job.
In general, it would take about 100 IBOs or so to make up a platinum level business. That's 1% at best and even less when you factor in IBOs who do nothing or IBOs who start and quit. In my estimation, a very dedicated hard-core IBO would lose money, or only begin to break even or make a little bit of income at the 4000 PV or platinum level. Of course, your business structure would be a factor in determining how much you can earn. Sponsoring width gives you more profit and sponsoring depth allegedly gives you some stability. Thus, you could reasonably argue that about a fraction of 1% of IBOs break even or make a little bit of income. What real businessman would even consider opening a business where your chance of making a profit is less than 1%? Yes, you can argue that Amway is a business and not a game of chance, but a prudent decision also factors in your chances of success.Other factors that would make Amway unattractive is that the products are priced higher (in general) than comparable or the same products that are available at people's local retailers. Yes, Amway folks will argue quality and concentration factors, but those arguments are simply justification for the higher prices. The vast majority of people are satisfied getting cheaper prices at Walmart. Also, IBOs are restricted from advertising their goods, thus are relegated to person-to-person advertising, which is probably the least effective methos of getting the word out. Higher prices and unfamiliar products results in what many groups have - IBOs who "buy from themselves" in order to earn their bonuses. Also, any bonus that is earned by most IBOs is just a partial refund on having overpaid for a product. Not to mention unless you are at a higher level in the business, your upline(s) get most of the bonus, whether they helped you or not.
Yes, it is possible for some people to make some money in Amway. Yes, some people do make some good money from Amway. It is not possible for all IBOs to make money unless they are selling products to non-IBOs and we know that most IBOs don't sell anything or sell just a few items to others. We also know that the tools systems generally eat away any small bonuses IBOs earn and leave them with a net loss. For the truly dedicated IBOs, the losses can mount into thousands of dollars and more.
Can someone make a living with Amway? The answer is that it's possible but not likely. But as to whether the Amway business and associated tools is a good idea? For that there is no defense.
2 comments:
The only persons who make a living in Amway are those who manage to convince a lot of other persons that THEY can make a living at it. And 99% of those other persons are losers who will not make a dime.
Not sure how I came across this thread but it was a good read. Little about me: 2012ish I came back stateside after some "fun" in the Indo-China region working for Uncle Sam. My than GF tells me "we" started a business. I was what in the world did she get us involved in. Mind you, every time I leave & come back its always some new fade she gets herself involved to fill that void of me being gone. Be it a new exercise machine, diet program, or new friends, this was nothing new. So I went along with it. I never heard of Amway until she talked my ear off about how we could retire young and travel the world. In one ear out the other. It wasn't until I attended a local convention with loads of young kids dressed in suits listening to some other well dressed couple on a stage talking about their "rags to riches" story. I was still a pessimist and didn't jump into the deep end. However, I went along with it. Attended few more meetings. I had always prided myself for my ability to look past the surface and extract the demon from within. Be it in people or in this case, business plan-it hooked me. I was under the World Wide Dream Builders (WWDB) group with ample training resources, Communicate, audios files, books, assortments of business building tools galore. Cost well over $100 per month. The business plan, the people, the glitz & glamor of the life we all wanted being promoted by those that have gone before us and found success was very very effective brain washing tool. As I look back now, this business feeds off of new IBOs. I was spending money I didn't have buying resources, paying for tickets to attend conferences, flights, hotels etc. Every meeting, conference, convention attended was a fresh dose of brainwashing. It is a very effective tool to keep people hooked, drinking the koolaid, dressing and talking the same lingo. In the end, I left my ex-GF, if I had not, I would still be slinging Amway rags to riches story to other unsuspecting strangers. I don't hate the experience. I enjoyed it. I didn't like talking to strangers or telling little while lies about what it takes to succeed in this business. Most of all, I hated how much time, money, and TIME it robbed me thinking if you put in the work, someday I will succeed. Only in American can one believe in something based on very small percentage of other people' success. Sadly, I never got past hitting GOLD on the performance chart. Back than, GOLD was hitting 3 months of Platinum level qualifications. I'm not glad I did it, but I glad I got out of it & have the experience for good bar story. Oddly, when I was knee deep building the business, my biggest fear was making a pitch to someone who was already pitched by someone else. Since getting out, ironically, I have yet to be approached by another Amway rep. I will say one thing: I did like most of Amways products even though it was above market for similar item, it was high quality.
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