Justifying Failures?

 Many companies have critics. Amway defenders are quick to point this out. Walmart may have hurt small businesses, maybe they don't have the greatest compensation. Microsoft may have faulty software or whatever. It's funny but I don't see Walmart or Microsoft employees writing on blogs and calling their critics losers or acting like cyber bullies. Seems these bigger companies just do their thing and ignore criticism, yet these companies are very successful.

Corporate Amway Global has some blogs and they are mainly about Amway and Amway related stories, employees and the like.

But various IBOs have taken it upon themselves to defend Amway. Sometimes it has been done in less than ethical manners. For example, Amway biggest champion, IBOFightback, has been referred to as a cyber bully by more than one website, and has more blogs about Amway than Amway. His reason for so fiercely defending Amway is still a mystery because he said he is not compensated by Amway or Alticor, or by any motivational groups. He has admitted that he is not even active in building a business, therefore he is not making any significant money from the Amway compensation plan.

What makes this interesting is the tactics that IBOfightback and many of his fellow IBOs employ. They will attack the credibility of the critic or try to discredit someone by saying their experience is not valid, or their experience is too old to be counted, even when IBOFightback himself (apparently) hasn't done much in Amway since 1998. In some instances, defenders resort to shameless lies to defend Amway or product schemes such as perfect water, and then get mad when critics point out the antics. It appears that IBOs are their own worst enemies because IBOs themselves are guilty of most of what critics point out.

It is my informed opinion that many IBOs defend Amway because they were enticed by Amway upline leaders into believing that facts don't matter, that the dream is alive, that success is around the corner. Many IBOs see their $9 bonus checks and they have to justify themselves in order to claim success, to keep hopes alive that they will cross stage as a new diamond. To not defend their IBO brethren is to admit failure. It is why much debate here is about IBOs analyzing their business and tracking profits and expenses. If IBOs are losing money and pretending to be successful, they are simply justifying their mediocrity and failure.

Joecool's Challenge To IBOs?

This is a re-post of a former popular thread.   I challenge any IBOs to take me up on in and let us know the outcome.  I doubt we'll hear anything but crickets........

 I have heard many stories and testimonies about how some people (usually newbies) have this incredible belief in Amway, their sponsors and their LOS, such as WWDB or Network 21. Being that many, possibly most Amway IBOs are sponsored by a friend or family member, means that there is an inherent trust in the sponsor or upline. If that were not true, then we would likely see many more complaints about Amway and/or the uplines and lines of sponsorship.

But an important facet of being an IBO is to have a dream. Don't let "naysayers" steal your dream, is what many IBOs are told. But what is that dream? Is a dream (a long-term attainable goal) or a wish such as winning the power ball lottery? Many prospects and IBOs want to succeed. They are willing to work hard, and are very dedicated, I would say that these folks usually will end up failing, not for lack of effort, but for a flawed MLM/Amway system that cannot possibly reward more than a few. The famed 6-4-2, 6-4-3 or some other variation of the plan will illustrate that only 1 in 100 or so can be "platinum". And that's with nobody quitting. Factor in attrition and "do nothings" and it might be 1 in 200 or many more who can reach platinum. Even if the whole world signed up for Amway, that fact doesn't change.

Do you really believe in Amway and your line of sponsorship such as WWDB or Network 21? If you truly believe in Amway and your mentors, I challenge you to do one of these things. If you can't or won't, then I question your level of commitment. I question your belief. I'm not here to steal your dream. I am just challenging you to test your belief and commitment to your own cause.

Take your 6-4-2 or 9-4-2 or 6-4-3 plan to a loan officer at a bank and show them the plan. (Hey, it will help you be CORE by showing the plan) Ask the loan officer for their opinion of the plan and see if you can get a business loan based on the Amway plan. If not that, try seeking the advice of a real millionaire (Someone who has a net worth of a million bucks) and see if they think the 6-4-2 or other Amway (version) plans can work and whether they think Amway is a good idea. Heck, try asking your church Pastor. My church Pastor said Amway had too many false hopes and promises to be considered a viable business option.

Another consideration is to ask a successful business owner what they actually think about Amway and the 6-4-2 plan. I think IBOs would be shocked by the answer.

How strong is your belief in Amway? Strong enough to take my challenge? Or will you ignore this and go on fooling yourself?

Upline Responsibility?

 In the Amway business, many active Amway IBOs are advised to trust upline. To think of upline as a coach or a mentor. These upline mentors or coaches are supposed to have your best interest at heart and they will guide you to success if only you will be open to learning. Many uplines, including my former uplines used to coin the term "copy" or duplicate. If you can do that you will be successful. Even the simplest of people can copy. The upline may crack a joke about getting thru school by copying. Thus, many IBOs follow exactly what their upline advises them to do.

But then uplines turn the responsibility away from themselves. Many Amway defenders will also claim that downline should not simply follow the advice of upline. They may make a ridiculous claim that standing orders and functions contain advice that must be discerned. That information is like a buffet. You pick and choose what you need and discard the rest. If you are a new IBO or prospect, let me tell you that is a load of guano (crap) that is being heaped on you. Your upline is touted as having experience and wisdom in the Amway business, which is why you are paying good money for voicemail, books, cds, and functions. So why would their advice be something you pick and choose? How would a new IBO know what to pick and choose?

Imagine hiring a guide for a trek in the wilderness. The guide is supposed to be an experienced outdoorsman, perhaps an expert. So, if he recommends that you eat certain plants or fruits, you trust that he is going to guide you right. Imagine eating something that made you sick to your stomach, only to have the guide tell you that he just points out plants and fruits and you have to discern which is good for you and which is not. You would fire the guide and tell everyone you know not to use that guide anymore.

But here we have these "systems" such as Network 21, WWDB or BWW that have been "guiding" IBOs for many years, and yet in some cases, and the number of diamonds are negligible. Sure, there are many new platinums, but many tool consuming platinums have been found to be losing money or making very little money for their efforts. What's more, it would appear that Amway is losing ground based on sales. One can reasonably guess that any new platinums that break are simply replacing the volume for a platinum that no longer exists or a platinum that no longer qualifies. My former upline diamond appears to have all new qualifying platinums from the time I was in the business and here's the kicker. My former diamond had 6 downline rubies. As far as I know, none of these rubies are qualified as platinum anymore, although I have heard that some of these are still active.

Uplines also program their downline to take responsibility for the failure. Thus, you have IBOs who did everything that was asked of them, only to fail. Yet these IBOs often blame themselves for their failure. It is my opinion that former IBOs who did everything asked of them only to fail should file a formal complaint against their LOS with the better business bureau. Amway defenders like to think that a lack of formal complaints means that the system works when clearly, there is no unbiased substantial evidence to suggest that the system works. It looks like some succeed in spite of the system, not because of.

The catch in all this is uplines skirting responsibility for the outcomes of those they "mentor" and profit from. IBOs should ask if upline really cared about their success, why do you have to pay for any help that you receive from your upline diamond?

What Is A Mentor?

 In the Amway business, many active IBOs are advised to trust upline. To think of upline as a coach or a mentor. These upline mentors or coaches are supposed to have your best interest at heart and they will guide you to success if only you will be open to learning. Many uplines, including my former uplines used to coin the term "copy" or duplicate. If you can do that you will be successful. Even the simplest of people can copy. The upline may crack a joke about getting thru school by copying. Thus, many IBOs follow exactly what their upline advises them to do.

But then uplines turn the responsibility away from themselves. Many Amway defenders will also claim that downline should not simply follow the advice of upline. They may make a ridiculous claim that standing orders and functions contain advice that must be discerned. That information is like a buffet. You pick and choose what you need and discard the rest. If you are a new IBO or prospect, let me tell you that is a load of guano (crap) that is being heaped on you. Your upline is touted as having experience and wisdom in the Amway business, which is why you are paying good money for voicemail, books, cds, and functions. So why would their advice be something you pick and choose? How would a new IBO know what to pick and choose?

Imagine hiring a guide for a trek in the wilderness. The guide is supposed to be an experienced outdoorsman, perhaps an expert. So, if he recommends that you eat certain plants or fruits, you trust that he is going to guide you right. Imagine eating something that made you sick to your stomach, only to have the guide tell you that he just points out plants and fruits and you have to discern which is good for you and which is not. You would fire the guide and tell everyone you know not to use that guide anymore.

But here we have these "systems" such as Network 21, WWDB or BWW that have been "guiding" IBOs for many years, and yet in some cases, and the number of diamonds are negligible. Sure, there are many new platinums, but many tool consuming platinums have been found to be losing money or making very little money for their efforts. What's more, it would appear that Amway is losing ground based on sales. One can reasonably guess that any new platinums that break are simply replacing the volume for a platinum that no longer exists or a platinum that no longer qualifies. My former upline diamond appears to have all new qualifying platinums from the time I was in the business and here's the kicker. My former diamond had 6 downline rubies. As far as I know, none of these rubies are qualified as platinum anymore, although I have heard that some of these are still active.

Uplines also program their downline to take responsibility for the failure. Thus, you have IBOs who did everything that was asked of them, only to fail. Yet these IBOs often blame themselves for their failure. It is my opinion that former IBOs who did everything asked of them only to fail should file a formal complaint against their LOS with the better business bureau. Amway defenders like to think that a lack of formal complaints means that the system works when clearly, there is no unbiased substantial evidence to suggest that the system works. It looks like some succeed in spite of the system, not because of.

The catch in all this is uplines skirting responsibility for the outcomes of those they "mentor" and profit from. IBOs should ask if upline really cared about their success, why do you have to pay for any help that you receive from your upline diamond?

Attack The Messenger?

 Recent comments on this blog have been quite interesting lately. Some heated, some inflammatory and some just silly. But what many Amway defenders fail to understand is that I am simply sharing my experiences and observations. I feel that is serves as an information highway for prospects who are looking into the Amway business. When I was in the business, the internet was not quite as accessible as it is now. Thus, this blog is an easy way for people to gain information about my experiences in Amway.  This allows people to make informed decisions and to possibly avoid problems that I experienced firsthand as an IBO myself.

Information seekers are free to ask questions, or even dispute what I have written. I do not disallow comments that are pro or con with regards to Amway. I allow both sides of the story to be expressed here. I moderate comments to prevent spam and sabotage, which I experienced in the past.  Joecool's blog has had millions of visitors since its inception. It's clear that my message is getting out there. But I say that commentators should question the message and not the messenger.

Quite often I see people leaving comments that I am lying or wrong, but the comments never seem to specify what is wrong or inaccurate about what I am writing. Plus, how can my experience be wrong? It's my experience and that has been confirmed by the many other bloggers and by current evidence that is available on other websites on the internet. For example, I still see (in particular, WWDB) IBOs talking about buying homes in cash, and how the world has a 60% divorce rate while WWDB members have a 2% divorce rate. Where do IBOs get this garbage? They are taught this crap by WWDB leaders. And guess what? IBOs pay good money to learn this crap.

The truth is that Amway people and the world probably have the same divorce rate, but it surfaces as an issue because IBOs make these silly claims. It's also ironic that some WWDB leaders who spoke of buying homes in cash had homes foreclosed and one of them was in bankruptcy proceedings recently. A WWDB leader who said that Amway saved marriages is now either separated or divorced. These same leaders at one time SWORE that not a penny of profit was made from tools and function sales. We now know the truth and these leaders were never held accountable.

That is the truth. Attack the message, not the messenger.

Cash Flow?

 One of the things I am hearing about right now by Amway supporters is the concept that Amway pays you to shop there. The problem with this statement is that many IBOs see this rebate but do not calculate the fact that you can still have a better bottom line simply by purchasing a product elsewhere. For example, if Walmart started some kind of cash rebate program, would you quit Amway and shop at Walmart?

Then when an Amway supporter is cornered with this information, they will switch gears and start to defend quality versus price. It's all very predictable.  Honest question for IBOs. Why do you use KATE instead of the Amway voicemail system? Amway pays you to shop there, your upline profits from and does not pay you to use KATE.  (KATE - CommuniKATE, a voicemail system set up by upline to make more money rather than using Amway's version of voicemail, called "Amvox")

One of the biggest problems with especially new IBOs is they ignore negative cashflow. And I cannot really blame them. They are usually sponsored by someone they trust, and they are often taught to ignore facts or taught that they are investing in their business, just like a real business, even though when recruited, they are told little or ZERO risk. Thus, an IBO who intends to make a profit will generally get set up with a website and some other materials. While the cost may not be exorbitant, these few materials already exceed a new IBO's income unless they actually go out and sell some goods or are able to sponsor downline who sell and buy products. And the more dedicated an IBO is, the greater the chance is that the IBO's negative cashflow will be larger. When you start to add in standing order and functions, the cashflow gets more and more negative and there are many testimonies of massive debts built up by IBOs in a few years or less.

What's ironic is that many IBOs incur these debts at the advice of their upline, or if you will, "mentors". Many uplines will teach IBOs to "never quit". It is my guess that uplines will make blanket statements like never quit without knowing an IBOs circumstance. Just as a statement like you "need" to attend a certain function, or you need standing order. No assessment of an IBO's business or personal circumstances. It appears that uplines are simply interested in making a sale for their BSM business. You may ask why should a diamond assess a downline's business before issuing these statements. I ask why should downline call them "mentors". In the meantime these downline suffer negative cashflow from their Amway business. Ironically, some upline teaches that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Attending functions and listening to standing orders while losing money each month is that same insanity.

The Appearance Of Wealth?

 One of the things that many IBOs do not understand is where the upline 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. 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.

Upline earns some income from the movement of products. Amway returns about 32% of their gross in the form of bonuses. Most (active business building) IBOs earn 3% while uplines split up the remaining 29% 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 need for Amway products. If the products were so great, why then after 50 years of business, that IBOs sell less than 5% of their goods to non-IBOs, making IBOs the primary and possibly the only consumer of Amway products?

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. While this may seem acceptable on the surface, keep in mind that the tools do not work. There is no unbiased evidence that I know of that suggests that the tools create a natural progression of IBOs. 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 $500 to $600 a month on products and get back $10 if they reach 100 PV. Then you factor in the $150 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.

That 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.

False Claims Or Outright Lies?

 One of the things that is so common on this blog and others is IBOs passing by, making big income claims without a shred of evidence. IBOs will tell you that it's none of your business, or that what they earn is not reflective of what you might earn. I believe it's very relevant. As a prospect, I would want to know what the typical IBO might earn. If I were going to open a Subway franchise, I would want to know what my likely earnings would be. In Amway, they only show you best case scenario and not what is likely or typical. Of course, this is to make the opportunity more attractive than it really is in hope of getting you to sign up.

Look at a recent comment from an anonymous blogger from India:

"Hi i wish to tell you that i am a scientist and full time into research. I have the time for my hobbies like bowling, horse riding etc. But the big news is that i am also at emerald level in Amway. Now what do you have to say about that Mr Joe(un)cool?????????"

If you'll notice, the commenter is basically saying he has a full time job, but enjoys his hobbies all the while running an emerald business. Then he also tosses in a minor insult towards Joecool while he's at it. Now we know there is documentation that many platinums do not make any money (net), therefore, an emerald likely doesn't make that much from Amway. I'm sure a decent job will net you more money than the average emerald.

Also, I call BS on this claim. Someone who is emerald would likely be burning the midnight oil churning out new IBOs to maintain the business and trying to push towards diamond. I'll give the anon one thing. the name of Amway hasn't been completely ruined in India as it basically has been in the US and Canada. But I'll toss in one more thing. An emerald, even if making a net profit, likely has several hundreds of downline who are losing money because of functions and other tools that ironically, are designed to help an IBO succeed.

I wonder why IBOs are taught to be deceptive.  Why can't they speak honestly about Amway and what they earn from Amway? Is it against Amway rules or do the uplines want to hide something that is painfully obvious? I know that WWDB, my former LOS, taught IBOs to "fake it till you make it". Translated, that meant to lie about your Amway income and to make yourself look successful, even if you had no money to put food on your table.

So which is it? False/inflated income claims or outright lying? You decide.

My Debate With An Amway Drone?

 I apologize for the length of this post but it's actually quite humorous and I will also post the link in case you wish to follow along or perhaps leave your own comments. The classic Amway defense is used here, including unsubstantiated income and lifestyle claims. He also calls me a liar but never identifies what I'm supposedly lying about. Enjoy!   (This post is a bit dates at this point, but still humorous!

https://amthrax.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/penn-and-tellers-verdic-on-mlms-bs/#comment-48347

Malachy:

“, FAILED system”?? Yeah. Right. 8 billion annually no sticks no dent. 60 merchant partners and double digits growth in North America these past 2 years.
(Oh yeah. And #1 selling nutritional supplier world wide. Aha. )


Joecool

8 billion annually. Down more than 25% from 2013 when Amway did 11.8 billion. No debt? How do you know Amway has no debt? That’s an old talking point that was proven wrong in the past if you know how to use google. And #1 selling nutritional supplier worldwide is a HUGE lie.
The #1 selling nutritional supplier in the world is Nestle. In the Americas alone they exceed 40 billion. You are just repeating lies that uplines tells without verifying for yourself. More than likely you are repeating income claim lies from upline as well.
Nestle: https://www.nestle.com/investors/annual-report

Malachy:

Nobody went black or lost their homes BECAUSE OF AMWAY. (Gee by your logic maybe Greg (Duncan) couldn’t afford the tapes books & travel to all those functions?
Dude Matt (Tsuruda)was making $90,000 a month as an EDC.
He probably makes 4-5 times that now

Joecool

It’s not how much you make, but what you do with it. $40K per month and (Greg Duncan) winds up bankrupt?

Malachy:

FYI there are 3500 college players who graduate or declare for the draft before they graduate. Know how many are drafted in the entire NFL? 254. That means there’s only a 7% chance of getting drafted
Then there’s several walk ons who are undrafted who show up to training camp. Then you have OTA, mono camp, training camp, and preseason in which 90 or so men all hope to make the roster (of which there are really less than 50 possible openings in a maximum 53 man roster (a half a dozen maybe ten or so of which are already taken by the superstars like Tom Brady or Beckam or Gronk.

So it’s about a 3% chance of even MAKING a roster, and that doesn’t guarantee the big money but only minimum scale if you’re on the practice squad.

Then there’s the chance of getting injured ending a season (or a carreer)
Average length of an NFL carreer? Less than 7 years.

And how much money do you make after you leave, quit, get cut, or injured out of the NFL?
Zero (except maybe some pension depending on how long you played & what money you made. )
Tracey Eaton had to play a preseason game with a flu & high fever, just to prove himself make the team. At Arizona.
Know what happened after he left the NFL with $300,000 on the bank & had to try & make it as a stock broker?
He ended up $400,000 in debt & had to sell his house!
Thank God Wolgamott came along & he asked Wolgamott how he managed to sleep in every day & be rich.

Now they are free as diamonds & have a beautiful high rise condo in Seattle and paid Cash for a second home on the river.
Eaton makes more money than he ever made in the NFL & is not subject to injuries, age, or roster cuts
Yeah we know all about the odds.

(Then there’s also Superbowl champion Tim Foley in Miami, Hal Greer from the NBA and numerous other world class championship athletes who make their living from amway or endorse the nutrilite Brand. (see Kurt Warner- another walk on who had what it takes in character & went from walk on back up quarterback to Superbowl champion. Yeah. He believes in nutrilite & amway)
Not everybody who plays the game is a winner or a champion. Only those who got what it takes (which obviously you didn’t!)

Joecool
July 30, 2018 10:00 am
7% is a whole lot more success than Amway IBOs. A platinum is allegedly where you start to break even more make a small profit, depending on your commitment to the system. A platinum is already in the top fraction of 1% of IBOs. What serious business owner prospect would want to join and opportunity where the likelihood of success is so low?
Arena football players know the deal before they sign up. They are not signing up because someone told them about residual income for life if they play arena football.

Again, how do you know what Tracy Eaton makes? Did he show you his financials? You have no idea but you keep making those kinds of claims. All you are saying is that he lacks integrity and is able to sell people on lies to make his living. 2-5 years, walking the beaches is a lie. One that has serious consequences for many who get involved.


Malachy:

woww. Once again you demonstrated a difficulty understanding (or paying attention to) what people actually say.
If 7 % get drafted that doesn’t necessarily mean they will make the roster by end of preseason and if they do make the roster half of them will NEVER make a million a year

Many have ENDED up broke after being retired (average carreer is less than 7 years and they don’t pay you or even guarantee your salary if you’re not playing. Many get injured and most contracts have team friendly incentives that only pay based on how many snaps you play in the year.)

Tracey Eaton lasted a handful of years after busting his @$$ to make the team during preseason only to end up broke & having to sell his house after retirement. None of hos NFL income was secure or willable to his children

Now he makes more than he did in the NFL and it’s all willable to his children and most of it is passive ongoing income streams.

He paid Cash for his second home. (did you?

Joecool

I understand completely. But anyone who gets drafted receives at least a signing bonus of about $100k or more, even if they fail to make the team.

Most Amway IBOs make nothing and if they attend functions, almost all of them LOSE MONEY.
Tracy Eaton can tell you he paid cash for his home. I paid cash for my home. See how that works? Talk is cheap. Greg Duncan also said he paid cash for his homes. Then we see foreclosures. Guess what? Homes that are paid for can’t get foreclosed.

“None of his NFL income was secure or will-able to his children” Total bullshit. All of his guaranteed income could have been secured and will-able to his children.

You know why Amway diamonds might quit or resign but they never “walk away? They have to keep working the business. Most Amway IBOs do little or nothing and quit. If you stop building your Amway business, people will continue to do little or nothing and quit. You cannot build a sustainable income where the attrition rate is so high unless you are constantly working it. The never quit that upline teaches applies to the upline as well. If they quit, their business will fall apart faster than a cheap Amway suit.

Malachy:

Name one example of an NFL contract which says they continue to get their bloated salary after they’re no longer able to play?
No such thing! It’s all based 100% on their own ability.
Amway isn’t based on ability. It’s based off an asset which continues to generate revenue and therefore earnings for you or your beneficiaries
Ever hear of an “integrated Diamond”?
(Oh. I’m sorry. So now Georgia Lee (Puryear) no longer gets any income since Ron died? )
Better tell Jim to go get a job ha.

Joecool

So why don”t diamonds walk away and retire? Because their business will crumble apart once they stop working. In Amway, you need the ability to recruit and lie to recruits so they will sign up and buy Amway stuff and tools and functions.
I don’t know. Georgia Lee didn’t show me (or you) her financials so I don’t (and you don’t) know what or if she’s still making money from Amway.
You do know that Amway diamonds invest in other things besides Amway right?

Malachy:

I’ve never been lied to by anyone in the Amway company or WWDb. You on the other hand lie all the time & make up stuff to support your excuses why you quit. LOSERS do that & we don’t do that in our family.

Joecool:

What have I lied about? I share my personal experience. Whether you like it or not is another story but these are not lies.

You make up all kinds of stuff. You quote income from people you don’t know. You pretend to know how much income and expenses the diamonds have. The truth is you don’t know.
You bought into the lie that buying from yourself can turn into profits.
You still haven’t answered why not a single diamond walked away to enjoy residual income. Instead, they are on the job until they pass away. That’s not freedom.

Amway College?

 One of the really dumb things that some Amway defenders do is to compare the teaching of WWDB or Network 21 (for example) to a real and legitimate college education. Some people even go as far as to encourage young people to skip or drop out of college so they can focus on Amway. That makes me really upset to know that these upline leaders so greedy for a dollar that they would encourage a motivated young student to basically risk their future to build an Amway business where you have a fraction of 1% of making any real money and possibly less than that percentage of keeping and maintaining it.  

There is plenty of documentation available to show that college grads earn more than non college grads. I believe the difference on average was about $1000 a month more in favor of college graduates. While not all college students graduate, the rate is about 50%. College grads also earn about an average of $50,000 or more to start. According to Amway, the average IBO earns $202 a month or less than $1500 a year. The Amway earnings are gross, thus IBOs on the system (functions, standing orders) are probably ending up with a net loss. Try feeding your family with zero dollars or with a net loss of income.

While there may be some value in some of the material provided from upline to downline, it doesn't seem to translate into net profits. Thus, an intangible benefit that an IBO might receive from his/her Amway education can likely be found elsewhere, without having to run a losing business. Imagine a scenario where two people apply for a job. One candidate has on their resume, a degree from the University of Washington. The other one says they have four years of education from Worldwide Dream Builders. Which candidate is more likely to get a serious look? Do IBOs believe that the stuff they learn at functions is substantial enough to compete with a real and accredited college? If so, then they are likely to get laughed out of the room if the need to compete for a job.

Or how about using the 6-4-2 plan to get a business loan from a bank? What do IBOs learn that can be applied to something outside of the rose colored world of Amway? I find that uplines who get young people to funnel their education dollars towards WWDB or some other system instead of finishing college is a crime. I hope that information seekers find this information before they get persuaded into believing some of the lies told by some upline leaders. I find it ironic though, that many of these same leaders send their kids to college. Hypocrites?

Lying IBOs?

 Just about everyone has heard or experienced some Amway horror stories. Stories about being tricked into a meeting or being deceived about the opportunity. The Amway name omitted when presented with the opportunity. Outright lies at times. Usually, these things happen when IBOs are on the recruiting trail. They are so desperate to find downline that they will do anything to get a prospect, not thinking that deception will almost ensure that nobody wants to do business with you. There are countless stories of someone being tricked into an Amway meeting. My first brush with Amway was just that. I was invited to a "beer bust" in college, only to find out that I was at an Amway meeting.  I walked into a room and there are people in suits.  Now that's a bit odd.

But why do they do it? I believe because uplines still teach it.  They teach fake it until you make it. Claims of untold wealth, residual income, easy life. Think of this. Has a single diamond ever disclosed their actual income so people can see if their claims support the lifestyles they portray? In the past, some diamonds due to court proceedings, had to disclose their earnings. While nice incomes, it was nowhere near enough to support the "cash" diamond lifestyle that the big pins show off. The cash lifestyle that the diamonds often brag about is a myth. If you do the math, you can easily discern this.

Many use $100 or $200K as the pinnacle of success, but many do not realize that after taxes and business expenses, that doesn't leave enough for more than a middle-class lifestyle. I suspect many diamonds are in debt trying to show off a lifestyle to recruit hopeful downlines, I certainly don't believe that diamonds pay cash for everything as many of them claim. I also believe that many diamonds actually live in debt trying to portray a lifestyle that they can't afford. Many in the US live in debt. Why would diamonds be the exception?

So why do Amway IBOs lie? I believe it's because they have to. The truth would not be enough to attract recruits into Amway. The average IBO makes pennies and those on the tool system lose money. The products are not competitively priced and so even the products must be boosted up at times with false claims (i.e. concentration, etc.). I believe IBO's lie about Amway - because they have to.

Million Dollar Business?

 So many Amway IBOs mistakenly believe they will work for 2-5 years, own a million-dollar Amway business and retire from their jobs then walking the beaches of the world while cash rolls into their bank accounts. Sadly, most IBOs won't get anywhere near to the dreams they were sold as prospects in the Amway business. This in my opinion, is the crime in all of this. To fill someone's head with false dreams and hopes and then profit off them by selling them tools that will not help to fulfill those dreams. In fact, the cost of tools is what sometimes leads to financial ruin for some IBOs.  All the while, upline is showing off trappings and luxuries that they likely obtained with tool money rather than Amway money.

The fact is that most IBOs will never sponsor a single downline and many IBOs will not even have a single customer. What kind of business can become wildly successful and profitable without a lot of customers? It seems that only in Amway and some other MLM offshoots do we see this warped teaching of buying from yourself as a means to become successful in a business. Many people, desperately wanting it to be true, will buy in and give the business a try. Then after a while when progress stalls or it becomes painfully obvious that things aren't working out as promoted, they get discouraged and quit. Most IBOs quit and never complain, partly out of shame, or perhaps these former IBOs don't want to complain about the friends and family who sponsored them.

I would challenge prospects to go and look at a million-dollar business. Go to the mall and see what some bigger businesses look like. Does your Amway business resemble it in any way? Do you have customers in proportion to a million-dollar business? Heck for that matter, does your upline diamond really have what looks like a million-dollar business or is their real business selling you standing orders and function tickets? It would appear that standing orders and functions are a million-dollar business. Many unsuspecting IBOs are the customers of the tool and functions. Unfortunately, there is no unbiased documented evidence that the tools do anything other making your upline wealthy.  Therein lies the scam in all of this.  

When prospects finally realize that there are 2 businesses operating side by side, the Amway business and the tools business, then you can finally understand the scam behind the whole operation. 

Real Freedom?

 Financial Freedom! That was one of the major battle cries I heard constantly when I was recruited for the Amway business.  You simply gain control of time and money by creating streams of 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.  But diamonds in stark contrast, live in luxury without a care in the world, we were told.

I am assuming that this is still the case for many Amway 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 suspiciously like "get rich quick" to me.  The upline however, downplays the get rich quick to avoid skepticism and the thought that the whole thing might just be a scam. 

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 power ball 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 Amway group or upline truly has achieved financial freedom? Have you seen their financials or simply a display of wealth such as pictures of 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 chapter 7 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.  If you need to be somewhere at a particular time, and doing it for money, you are not free.  Of course, upline claims they do this for "love", but turning the tables on upline, how many would go to function after function if they didn't get compensated?  I doubt there would be a single one of them who would do it pro bono.

2. Even if you find someone who is retired and golfing every day (I don't know of any) 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?

Believe!

 One of the things my upline taught us ad nauseum was that we needed to have faith in our business and in our upline. That we needed to believe that we were going to be successful. IBOs are told that they should act successful even if they are still working their way up the ranks in the business. It is why they ask (require) IBOs to wear suits and business attire to all meetings and functions. This is one of the weird quirks about the business in my opinion. I live in Hawaii, and I remember a function they held in the middle of July in a high school auditorium and there was no air conditioning. I think my suit needed special cleaning because it was completely saturated with perspiration.

Anyway, with this part of the year, soon, if not already, there will be tens of thousands of IBOs shuffling off to a function called family reunion, or in some cases, summer conference. The tickets are about $250 to $300 or so and might require travel plus hotels and rental cars depending on where you live. What IBOs are often unaware of is that many venues will allow you to run these conferences for greatly discounted prices. The rest of that ticket prices goes directly into your upline's pockets. Anyway, the function will feature slide shows of mansions, yachts, jet skis, sports cars, fabulous vacations and other trappings of wealth. The speakers will generally be the same old diamonds and/or emeralds. WWDB has very few new diamonds and emeralds so if you've been around for a while, you see the same old speakers function after function.

What many IBOs don't realize is that this display of wealth is just that. There is no bonafide evidence to indicate that these diamonds actually own all of those toys and goodies. The diamonds probably won't verbally confirm it either, because these toys and goodies may not really be owned by them. It could be rented, or maybe some upline crown ambassador may own the mansion, but IBOs will assume that these trappings of wealth are common once you reach diamond. As an IBO, I never actually knew how much a diamond really earned. I just assumed it was a lot because we were shown all of these luxuries and just assumed all diamonds had these kinds of lifestyles. It was certainly implied that all diamonds were "free" with fabulous lifestyles. But I now suspect that diamonds live middle class lives although you could try to argue that they don't have to work 9-5.

If I posted a picture of a mansion and a jet and said I owe it all to my earnings as a blogger, people would cry foul, that I am lying or making things up. And they would be right. Well, I would guess that many diamonds are doing the very same thing if they appear on stage and implying that they have jets and mansions and a fleet of sports cars. As I said, someone may own a mansion and/or a jet, but to imply that this is a part of the typical diamond lifestyle is a stretch. The evidence is there. Some diamonds have lost their homes to foreclosure. My old LOS diamonds (WWDB) taught us that diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. Now confirmed as a blatant lie. Who knows what else they may have misrepresented?

I ask IBOs and prospects who may be attending any big and hyped function, to watch with a critical eye. What is being implied with the display of wealth? Analyze if those luxuries can be purchased with a diamond income ($150,000 plus some tool income). Ask yourself if this lifestyle is truly sustainable? Ask yourself if you can live with yourself if deception is a part of earning your diamond lifestyle?

Why People Believe?

 Many IBOs cannot be convinced that Amway is not the best opportunity in the world, because they want to believe the lies/deception that is often used when they are recruited. They want to believe that 2-5 years of part time effort will result in lifelong residual income and that they will be traveling to the beaches of the world while cash keeps rolling in. They want to believe that they can ditch their (often) less than adequate jobs. They want to believe that a part time soap business will make all of this possible. The people (upline) who claim to have everyone's best interest at heart will sell them a proven system of success and all they need to do is follow the steps to success.

Many people sign up for Amway and do absolutely nothing. They may not ever order or try products. But these folks do not complain about Amway and the expenses they may incur are minimal. Most do not even bother to seek a refund on their starter kit. It makes me wonder why these folks even bother to sign up. Although, there are stories of people being pestered into registering. Anyway, the part where this business gets dicey is when people register and do put in an earnest effort, only to end up with financial losses. Sometimes the losses are in the tens of thousands of dollars. You get squeezed for a couple of hundreds of dollars a month and after a few years of effort, you can find yourself drowning in debt, even after doing everything your upline advised. The fact that uplines don't disclose their business financials speaks volumes. Former uplines who have come forward have shown that most of their income was from hawking standing orders and seminars, and not from Amway sales as they would imply.

I bought into the hype at one time. I believed the lies. I believed my upline that no profit was made from tools. At the time I was an IBO, I too, wanted to believe that I could work part time for 2-5 years and ditch my job. That I would retire at the age of 35 and live in luxury forever. I wanted to believe that. But having reached the 4000 PV level, the precipice of platinum, I also realized that I had no profit. I sat down and did the math and realized that there would be little or no profit at platinum. I came to the realization that a second job would have suited me better. I finally quit when I realized this, along with my upline wanting total control of my life. But I hung in as long as I did because I wanted to believe that Amway would be the vehicle that delivered my financial freedom.

Having dropped out of Amway, my life quickly got back to normal. Friends that I had avoided returned to my life. My disposable income increased, and my cash flow was positive once again, now that I was no longer obligated to purchase tools. I also noticed years later, that the same old leaders on stage were still working as hard as ever, and none of them had taken the option to retire and walk the beaches of the world. Perhaps these leaders also want to - or have to believe in Amway because they have already invested too much time and effort to call it quits and start something else. I wanted to believe, but the fact is that people were not succeeding. People were not getting free. What I saw was home foreclosures, bankruptcies and financial struggles made worse for people because of Amway and the tool systems. And apparently, these same issues apply to the diamonds. Do your research and you will likely find the same conclusion that I did. That Amway is an impossible dream.

Endless Motivation?

 I believe that Amway IBOs have approximately a 50% attrition rate for the first year alone. If you look at a 5 year window, I believe the attrition rate is something like 95%. So what we're saying is that out of 100 IBOs, only 5 will be around in 5 years, or out of 1000 IBOs, 50 will remain after 5 years. This is extremely significant because if you are a business builder, you will need to replace half of your IBOs every single year. For this reason, I am very doubtful that there are IBOs who "built the business right and built it once", who no longer do Amway related work, but still collect significant residual income. I would guess that significant income could be defined as being enough to live a lifestyle in the top tax bracket (for the US) without having to report to a J-O-B. 

Now I understand that some IBOs take it personally when I bring up subjects like this. It is because they have been deceived by some upline diamond or big pin who has sold them on a dream of financial prosperity for life if they will only work hard for 2-5 years. I once thought so too, but realized that there isn't a single diamond that I know of who built the business right and walked away to enjoy the beaches of the world while truckloads of money rolls in. Kinda makes you wonder why you see Crowns still working, and diamonds actually quitting or resigning. I have asked the question many times and it has never been answered. Can anyone name a few people who built their business right and built it once who is currently enjoying these lifelong residuals? Also, if that were a benefit, why doesn't Amway say so?

Instead, you have a constant and endless flow of motivation being sold to IBOs. This motivation comes in the form of cds, books, meetings, functions and other things like voicemail messages. It's sad that IBOs have to continue to pay through the nose for motivation and "teaching" about the Amway business when there are cheaper and more efficient means of communication. For example, why would you need an expensive voicemail when a facebook group account can disseminate messages to your group in seconds at no cost? It is because the uplines want to extract every possible sent from their downline. Because of the internet, I believe people are starting to figure things out and avoid the systems altogether. I hope Joecool's blog contributes to this.

All the motivation IBOs truly need is to see a net profit at the end of the month. If IBOs actually earned an extra $200 a month, or $50 a month, or $600 a month as advertised, there would be no need for motivational speeches. The IBOs would simply look at the growth in their finances and they would keep going. The poor retention rate is easy to explain. IBOs are losing money because of the system expenses and they lose their motivation to continue. If you are an IBO or a prospect, stop and think for a minute. If you are making an extra $200 a month with minimal effort, would you need functions and other materials to motivate you? Or would you have intrinsic motivation from the profit? All the motivation you will ever need is a net profit. Take that to the bank

Amway Makes You "Nicer"?

 Many Amway IBOs "think" they have become nicer people as a result of their association with other IBOs and because a part of the system they are with advises them to read self-help books. They are also taught that as a side benefit of the Amway business, that they are nicer people. Of course, many IBOs mistakenly think that they started a business not to make money, but to become "nicer".  The teaching typically evolves into things other than making money, which is the purpose of a business in the first place.  

I certainly agree that some people can benefit from positive books and association with others, but for many, it is not a genuine "nicer" person, but simply a phony persona that is put on in order to recruit potential Amway downlines. That is how my former sponsor appeared to me. Because I had known him for a long time, the "nicer" looked as phony as phony can be. There are many examples of phony niceness that some IBOs profess. Even Amway's biggest defender (IBOFightback) was apparently called a "cyber bully" by an Amway corporate blogger and some others for making disparaging comments about those with opposing views. Others have resorted to calling people broke or losers simply because they did not agree that Amway was their savior.

On this very blog, there are comments, I assume by IBOs, that make implied or subtle threats. Some of these comments are not subtle at all. In fact, in my blogging experience, it is usually the IBOs and Amway defenders that resort to name calling. I suspect that is because the facts are on the side of the Amway critics. For example, it is a fact that most IBOs never make a dime, even if you don't count the ones who "do nothing". If you look at system IBOs, then the vast majority never make enough to pay their voicemail expenses.

Even the coveted diamond level appears to be a facade, especially seeing some diamonds quit, resign and simply walk away from the business without the lifelong passive income. A prominent triple diamond's bankruptcy some years back revealed some financials, and it wasn't all that impressive considering the size of his business plus longevity in the business.

So IBOs, are you a nicer person? Is it evident by your words and actions? It doesn't appear to be very clear to me.

Good To Know?

 When I was an IBO, my upline used to advise us to recruit people who had a financial need or young people who were open minded as they may not have preconceived ideas about Amway. When I was recruited, I was not where I wanted to be financially as I was in my 20's when I first got recruited by my sponsor. I believe that this is still common practice today, to look for people who are in need and then offer Amway as a solution. Sadly, Amway and the tools systems will more likely become a problem than a solution for the vast majority who try.

In my opinion, this is why some people defend Amway so fiercely. They accept Amway as their solution for long term financial stability and to admit that they were in error is difficult as it would not only expose the error but would leave the IBO as not having that "hope" of long-term financial freedom. It's hard to admit you got fooled or scammed and some people will dig in and press on, hoping that success will eventually come. Hope is a powerful thing after all. However, for most, it is false hope that is pitched in recruitment meetings and functions.

Many prospects see big dreams when the diamonds parade on stage with designer suits and talk about waking up at noon and enjoying a lifestyle chock full of luxuries. It's almost like dreaming about hitting it big in Las Vegas or winning the lottery. I can't fault prospects for wanting some of these things. I know I certainly had some of these same dreams when I was an IBO. The problem is that Amway is highly unlikely to be the vehicle that delivers these dreams. For most, a second job along with saving and investing will bring more long-term success. The problem is that people don't like to wait for the long term and Amway is presented as a short cut to success.

The sad reality is that some (maybe most) diamonds are simply putting on a show, like a illusionist or a magician. Diamonds may indeed earn a six-figure income, but after taxes and other expenses such as medical insurance, a diamond is very likely to live a very middle-class lifestyle. Now I'm fairly sure that a crown ambassador type may have a million-dollar income, but these Amway crowns are very rare, and the ones who exist have been in the business for a long time. There is not much chance of any new IBO coming in and achieving that level. In fact, as time rolls on, it seems that more diamonds drop out due to divorce, better MLM opportunities or simply quit. It is apparent that long term residual income is a myth. Why do crowns seemingly keep working (or die on the job) if they could "walk away" and live a life of luxury with no worries?

Amway reports that the average IBO earns $202 a month. I believe that number is also questionable as "most" IBOs (as shown in 6-4-2) actually earn more like $9 or $10 a month. Is this what you are signing up for? Don't forget about the ongoing expenses for tools and functions which results in net losses for most who get involved.

Amway prospects can benefit by knowing this before signing up.

Build It In Your Spare Time?

 One of the myths that our upline used to, and likely still perpetuate is the silly claim that you can build an Amway mega empire on 8-12 hours per week.  The speaker would say you you can build an Amway empire in you "spare time".  This IMO is the hook that gets people interested.  I'm venturing an educated guess that this number is used because while it still represents time, it is probably less hours than working a part time job. But let's take a closer look at this 8-12 hours per week.

If you listen to one (1) cd/audio per day as recommended by upline and read one of their "success" books 15 minutes each day, you already close to nine hours of time used and neither of these activities produces any income for your Amway business. In fact, both activities cost you money and produce no tangible result and no income. If you spend another 15 minutes a day contacting people, you are close to 12 hours per week. Where will you find additional time to show the plan and to expand your name and contact list? What about servicing customers, at least for IBOs who actually may have some customers. If you spend 8-12 hours of non income producing activities, how will that turn into financial freedom? The answer is simple. It doesn't. That activity primarily benefits your upline diamond who profits from selling you cds/audios or function tickets, or voicemail.

What about attending meetings and functions? These are also non income producing activities. It's no wonder the vast majority of IBOs don't make money. Their upline has them running around participating in activities that produce no income for their businesses. Ironically, there non income producing activities such as listening to a cd, produces a lot of income for certain uplines who produce and sell them. To me, it is just an elaborate game of bait and switch played by upline. Attending functions and meetings are promoted as learning activities but again, how does it benefit an IBO to spend money instead of making money?

You sell the prospect the dream of financial freedom. You tell the audience that that Amway is their best chance. You tell them that you can help them and that the tools of the business (standing order, voicemail, books, functions) are the key to their success. Those who are serious enough to commit to the system likely won't quit without making some effort and will allow uplines to earn some nice profits before these downline eventually realize they aren't profitable and quit. Because many IBOs are sponsored by family and friends, you don't see many formal complaints about the business. Most people chalk it up as a life lesson and do not complain or file complaints.

But IBOs and information seekers, do not be fooled into thinking that you will create a financial empire by working 8-12 hours a week in your spare time.  Look at your return on investment and/or your profits and losses at the end of the month. What you will see is a consistent net loss because of the system and no profit, also because of the system.

Boiling A Frog?

 I heard a story about how someone boils a frog in some Amway function many years ago.  The story goes that they slowly warm up the water until the frog is relaxed and then when the frog is relaxed and muscles all soft, you turn up the heat and boil the frog. Amway leaders once told this story to describe how we as people, become complacent in life and how we can get into a rut. We relax and slowly, the bills add up and next thing you know, you're working harder than ever, but living in debt. And by then it's probably too late and you can never catch up - unless you join Amway of course. Amway is the answer to life's financial problems.  The irony of course, is that most people are much worse off (in the end) than if they never joined Amway at all.

That's because we live in a society where keeping up with the Joneses and consumerism with no delayed gratification is prevalent in US society. Your friend buys a new car, and you not only want a new car, you, probably want a better one than what your friend bought.  It's very common in the US, which is why so many Americans are living in debt, paycheck to paycheck. That doesn't make anyone a bad person, but it makes you a paycheck away from financial disaster. Many people who join Amway are young and possibly working at more entry level types of jobs and far away from conventional retirement.

I went to a retirement planning seminar some years ago and saw that many people don't or won't even have $100K saved up for retirement. It's a sad state of affairs and one that isn't likely to change anytime soon. I hope our readers here keep that in mind and plan accordingly. And ask yourself honestly, is Amway going to help that situation or not? Losing money certainly doesn't help your bottom line.  It certainly isn't going to help your retirement plans if you aren't profitable in Amway, and the vast majority of IBOs are not.

But what does this have to do with Amway? Well, what Amway leaders are doing is boiling frogs. Or, if you will, boiling their downline. They get you to relax and trust them and then suddenly, you need to be a serious business owner, attending ALL seminars and buying ALL tools. They'll also lure you into commitment by showing you pictures of their alleged diamond lifestyle. They might show you a copy of someone's bonus check, but they won't show you a profit loss statement. They'll show you a picture of a Ferrari, but won't show you the ownership papers. They'll show you a mansion, but not the mortgage papers they signed. I believe the diamonds show an illusion of wealth.  Who knows what a diamond's worth actually is?  I say this because portraying an uber wealthy lifestyle is not cheap.

The diamonds will likely make you think they are financially free, living on their terms with no financial worries in the world when the reality may reveal a very different picture. When you consider that a diamond who might earn $500,000 a year is worshipped. But when you factor in taxes, business expenses, medical insurance, etc, what's left is not a jet set lifestyle, but one closer to middle class, where you need to keep working. You could argue about how hard a diamond's "job" is, but having to be somewhere at particular time to earn money is not financial freedom. And if a diamond's bonus checks were to stop, they would be in deep trouble soon after. In other words, not much different than someone with a 9-5 job.  Also, a regular (non Q12) diamond likely earns maybe $150,000 to $200,000, with some augmentation from tools income.  But after taxes and business expenses, you aren't flying your family of 4 to functions first class, nor are you buying homes in cash, unless that diamond has income and resources that are not Amway related.

So IBOs are actually the frogs being boiled, one function or one cd at a time. They just don't realize it.

The Money Pit?

 I've been blogging about Amway for a number of years now and I've learned quite a bit about Amway and how the system works. It is my absolute conclusion that the vast majority of IBOs lose money because the system consisting of standing order, book of the month, voicemail and functions are a money pit. The system can never be satisfied. It must constantly drain money out of IBO's pockets in order to sustain itself along with the lavish lifestyles that some diamonds and upline leaders like to portray. Sadly, the system is promoted as the key to IBO success, but the reality is that the system is the very reason why so many IBOs suffer net losses. IBOs often do not realize that they are systematically being drained of their money because it is done one standing order or one function at a time. What some uplines do to disguise this is to start teaching that the Amway business is about investing in your business, lifelong friendships, or making an IBO a nicer person, etc.

Let's look at some system components. Voicemail is absolutely unnecessary. With email, text messages, twitter (now X), or even Facebook to transmit messages for free, it is ridiculous for IBOs to pay for a technologically outdated means of communication. The functions are also a waste of money. With telecommunications, there is no need for so many meetings and functions. These functions, especially the ones where air travel and accommodations are needed set back many IBOs financially and they never recover. While I agree in general that open meetings are more effective in person, these are generally regional and not cost prohibitive as out of town functions. Standing orders are generally recorded at functions so when that happens, IBOs are paying twice to hear the same information. Book of the month I don’t have too much objection except that some of the books may be basically propaganda promoting the AMOs and the systems. The ones that talk about success principles are generally okay. But overall, I believe the return on investment is poor and, in many cases, a group of IBOs will actually spend more on tools than the number of bonuses generated from Amway.

Uplines avoid the discussion of scam by talking about the opportunity being hard work. Thus, IBOs don’t get the idea that it is too good to be true. Meanwhile they are often strongly encouraged to be on the system. Some IBOs are shunned if they don’t purchase tools, which might be against Amway rules. However, the shunned IBO might be better off because the ones who do invest in tools often find that the system is simply a money pit where money goes in and nothing comes out. As far as I know, there is zero unbiased evidence that the system produces any tangible results. If you in the US, you might be hard pressed to find newly emerging diamonds. Sure, there are some new platinums, but there is evidence that system platinums make very little or lose money, and many of them are not able to maintain that level of volume. The system is basically sucking money from the IBOs and channeling them to certain uplines, probably the ones who show off their new sports cars and fancy suits. Does this appeal to you?

Residual Income?

 One of the things that got me interested in the Amway business was the talk about lifelong or even generational residual income. Residual income is something that keeps coming in even if you don't do anything. For example, if you put $100 in the bank, you would earn interest every month. The problem is that $100 would only get you a few cents each month and it would not be enough for you to retire and enjoy the trappings of wealth. But what is a reality is that you will not achieve this in an Amway business, unless you are one of a tiny fraction of 1% who can overcome incredible odds.

The IBO retention rate of Amway IBO is about 50%. Many IBOs last less than a year and only about 5% of IBOs last more than a few years. Thus, any hopes of "residual income" is unlikely. You cannot get repeat customers and downline when they are quitting faster than you can recruit them. And certainly, you can conclude that you cannot receive residual income when you cannot retain IBOs. In fact, I don't know of any IBOs who have ever "walked away" from their Amway business to enjoy residual income. Have you even wondered why diamonds and crown ambassadors are still working and none of them have quietly retired? I would guess that they don't retire because they cannot. Once you stop, more than likely your income stops. A diamond lifestyle would take a lot of income to maintain. Thus, how can someone walk away and expect to sustain their lifestyle? The answer is obvious to me. You can't walk away and retire. It is probably why even crowns, and all the diamonds continue to work busy schedules. I highly doubt they are working because they "love" their downline.

It's no secret that diamonds earn income from the sale of standing orders, voicemail and functions. But once you stop appearing at functions, I do not believe you would continue to share in tool profits. Also, Amway has a requirement of "side volume" in order for an IBO to receive certain bonuses. How can you maintain a level of side volume without being active and recruiting IBOs? My upline said your downline will do what you do. If you "walk away", so will your downline. The only way for your Amway business to survive is to keep working. Sometimes I wonder if the diamonds even have a plan and enough savings and investments to actually retire someday?

Breaking down a diamond's income is basic math. Even a $250,000 annual income isn't that much when you break down all of the expenses associated with a diamond lifestyle. The diamond lifestyle is an illusion of wealth. One that looks flashy, but I am not convinced that these diamonds are living large behind the scenes. Many professional athletes end up broke within years after their playing careers are over. These athletes earn much more than Amway diamonds. The difference is that diamonds can keep working while pro athletes cannot. But the common denominator in my opinion is living a lifestyle that your income cannot sustain. I hope you see the similarities. To me it is crystal clear.

Recruiting?

 What does the HR department is a company do? Recruit? That's what I was told when a diamond speaker was trying to downplay the fact that so many Amway IBOs are focused on recruiting. If you've ever been accosted by a zealous and probably new Amway IBO, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. Newly sponsored IBOs often have the motivation and zeal to try to recruit anyone and everyone they know. They are trying to achieve what upline has told them is needed to accomplish their "dreams". Afterall, nobody is going diamond or even platinum without an army of downline right?

But upon closer inspection, you can see the real problem. I mean if I as an IBO could simply sell tons of products for a profit, then my focus doesn't have to be on recruiting, but simply on sales. But over the years, I've unsuccessfully challenged IBOs and Amway defenders to name 1 or 2 people who has sizable Amway businesses sustained primarily by sales and not by recruiting an army. Of course, nobody has even been able to give me an answer. And that's because Amway products are generic in nature but premium in prices. It makes it a tough sell when your friends and family can get far more product and value at a retailer at a fraction of the cost of Amway products. Try doing an open-minded price comparison and you'll easily see what I mean.

For these reasons, upline developed the concept of buy from yourself and get others to do the same. People generally do not like selling things anyway so it makes sense that a concept of buying from your own store makes the Amway business seem more palatable to the masses. Of course, the problem with this method is that you end up focusing on recruiting and you've turned Amway into a pyramid scheme. Look at the recent FTC vs. Herbalife. They found that a majority of sales were not made to actual customers but appeared to be made to the distributors themselves. Herbalife is required to track these sales now and it's yet to be seen how this FTC injunction will impact Herbalife long term.

But if you're a prospect or an IBO and focused on recruiting, then you are likely doing so because you too, are unable to sell Amway products just like all the critics claim. Oh, I've heard stories of people having hoards of customers but nobody has ever shown evidence of such nobody can answer why the "diamonds" seemingly have large groups of downline "buying for themselves". Like the mysterious "Amway retirees" that no one can identify, nobody has been able to identify a few successful and sustainable Amway businesses that relies on product sales primarily. It's because the majority of groups are basically focused on recruiting and running pyramid schemes.

Am-Way To Retirement?

 One of the things Amway leaders commonly do is to disparage people with jobs. Oh, they would say we needed people to wait on our tables and clean our toilets, but in general, jobs were put down and basically the group was told that Amway is their best chance at achieving financial freedom, giving them the ability to flush their jobs. Ironically, IBO's jobs are what funds their Amway businesses. Most IBOs would be out of business within weeks if not for their job income funding their Amway businesses. The upline gets people to dislike to even despise their jobs. I remember an upline saying if you wouldn't do your job for free, then you don't like it that much. But to that, the same can be said about Amway right?

The key selling point appears to be the 2-5 years of part time work rather than working a job for 30 - 40 years and then retiring on a pension or social security which may or may not be there when you retire. This plants a fear in people about the future and then the Amway opportunity is presented in a positive light because the Amway opportunity comes with a low startup cost. What uplines do not mention is how the opportunity can become a money pit as the monthly defacto 100 to 300 PV quota starts to add up. It is my guess that if people only bought items they truly needed, these IBOs would likely move 100 PV every three months, unless they are actively selling goods to non IBO customers (which is not that common IMO).

When an IBO finally agrees to register, it is then that the hidden costs are revealed. Many uplines will introduce voicemail, standing orders and functions and present these tools as vital to IBO success. Most new IBOs don't know better and feel subtle pressure to conform and give it a try. Some upline may loan some tools to downline in the beginning but eventually, the IBO will be encouraged to be a "serious" business owner who should be purchasing their own tools to loan to their downline and the cycle goes on.

If you examine some version of the Amway recruitment plan, you will see that most active IBOs are at the 100 PV level, which will reward you with a monthly bonus of about $10 or so. If that same IBO subscribes to the tools system, then IBOs will likely be losing over $100 a month not including the product purchases. And because many IBOs have been convinced that working a job is so horrible, that they can be convinced that this condition of losing money is temporary and that untold wealth is right around the corner. Sadly, for most, this condition is the norm and even the sponsorship of a few downline, the losses continue to mount. Yet many are convinced that this is better than a job.

There's no retirement in Amway. Over the years, not a single Amway defender could name and provide evidence of a single person who built Amway and walked away to enjoy massive residual income. Diamonds are forever in that they work forever, never retiring because if they stopped working, their income would stop. And if I may add, portraying a diamond lifestyle is a very expensive endeavor. There is apparent no Am-Way to retirement.

Ironically, a job allows people to pay their monthly bills, feed their families and many people enjoy their work and co workers. While upline leaders may convince you otherwise, it is this very same excuse upline leaders use when asked why they are still working instead of walking the beaches of the world collecting massive amounts of residual income. I would encourage IBOs to truly analyze their efforts in Amway and determine if it is beneficial to your finances. In most cases, your Amway efforts ONLY benefits your upline's finances. For most who get involved, the Amway opportunity is not better than a job. Be careful!

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 explanation 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.

Bait And Switch?

 I believe Amway is used as a bait and switch scam by the diamonds and other higher up pins. They show off luxurious lifestyles, mansions, sports cars, jet skis and other displays of wealth. Most of us familiar with the pitch have heard the lines before. 2-5 years, part time effort, built it right, build it once. Do what we did, and you can have what we have (quotes from a diamond). Early retirement, making major purchases in cash, financial freedom. I mean, who wouldn't want that? Apparently, many do and are willing to give Amway a shot, even if they think their chances might not be good. I believe the same reasoning goes into increased purchases right before the Powerball lottery numbers are released.

But the insidious part of the Amway business is that the diamonds lure people into the business under the pretenses that "anyone can succeed" or that everyone can succeed, but only if you follow their foolproof "system" consisting of cds, voicemail, books, seminars and what some call "the core steps". What is really disgusting about this entire process is that so many good and talented people have come and gone through the system, only to fail, despite doing what they were advised or told to do by upline. My former sponsor for example, sponsored over 100 people and was uber hard core for many years. He peaked at platinum (non Q12) and fell back and has never reached that level again. It definitely was not due to a lack of effort or not doing things right.

My sponsor was not alone. I did what was advised and went up to 4000 PV, only to find that there was no net profit. I wised up and got out of the business shortly after that. The truly sad thing is that many people hang onto Amway because they feel like failures if they leave or that they have no other hope of financial success without Amway. This is also a byproduct of upline teaching that most of us have no chance to be financially successful without Amway. Ironically, the vast majority of people would be no worse for wear or better off without any brush with Amway. Most people snap out of it quickly, but some people bite hard like my former sponsor, who is still toiling away after more than 20 years. What's worse is my sponsor was/is a physician and he is probably farther away from financial freedom than most people is a similar occupation.

So in summarizing the scam, the diamonds lure people into Amway with great displays of luxury and wealth. They say that anyone and everyone can possibly achieve the same by following their system and by participating in their tools system (cds, books, seminars). What ticks me off is that these hucksters claim all the credit for any tiny amounts of success, but blame anything less than success on the individual. They'll call it personal responsibility. These diamonds are liars and cheats. They have never been held acocuntable for the failures of even the most earnest of IBOs who followed their system. The excuse being that the IBO did not work hard enough or they didn't do thing exactly right. That is total BS.

The vast majority of people fail in Amway because Amway is designed that way. Their common 6-4-2 plan consists of 79 IBOs. One is a platinum and the rest are not. When you consider that these 79 IBOs are all active and receiving bonuses, this is not a realistic group. A more realistic group will be 200 or more downline IBOs. Many doing little or nothing and the rest scraping up enough PV to make someone a platinum. Thus one of of two hundred is one half of one percent. That's about the going average of success for someone reaching platinum, and this was confirmed on Amway.com. Imagine the rate of success for diamond? Itls a tiny fraction of one percent. And that's just to reach diamond, not to maintain it.

Come join Amway and get rich. That's the pitch. The reality is the diamonds and above are getting rich selling their downline training on how to success in Amway. A classic bait and switch scam. The tools business is the "real" business with higher profit margins than Amway products and less people sharing in the profits. Amway is just the front for the tools business to exist. I believe this post clearly explains how Amway is used as a bait and switch scam. Beware!

Most Do Nothing?

 I saw some discussion in the past, and some people were debating the average income of Amway IBOs and how $202 a month as reported by Amway is a lot of money considering most IBOs do little or nothing. Well, that $202 a month average income survey is dated at this point. Somewhat laughable when Amway defenders like to hang their hats on the possibility that Amway critics claims are outdated. Maybe Amway defenders should complain that Amway's own information is old and outdated. I wonder what updated numbers would reveal? And even smaller average income?

Also, what many people are not aware of is that the average income figure as published by Amway, excluded IBOs who did nothing. It only counted "active" IBOs, although Amway's definition of active can leave you scratching your head. Amway describes active as someone who attended a meeting or attempted to sell products. However, we know that unless you actually sell something, you won't make any money and certainly attending a meeting takes resources away from you and is not a way to earn money in Amway. Let me also add that Amway diamonds are also a part of the average income, so the "average" is very likely inflated by the six-figure income of the diamonds, although the average income excludes Amway bonuses.

To me, the biggest question is why do so many IBOs get interested enough to sign up and then do nothing? It is my informed opinion that there are several reasons why this happens. I believe that some IBOs are such pests, that their prospects sign up just to get their IBO sponsor to leave them alone. While it may not be common, I believe it happens. Also, I believe some IBOs go into shock when they see the prices of some products. This will cause newbies to realize that the business is nearly impossible before they even get started. Or, a new IBO will go and talk to family and friends about Amway and will get shot down because in North America, just about everyone seemingly had, or knows someone who's had a bad experience in Amway. Sadly, the experience may not be a result of Amway the corporation itself, but of unethical IBOs who may lie, cheat or trick people into attending meetings. Some IBOs actually get started but soon realize that that Amway opportunity along with the systems such as N21, WWDB or BWW, simply becomes a money pit with the tools and system expenses exceed the monthly Amway income. A few IBOs will bite hard and stay dedicated for a few years or more. Many of these IBOs end up reporting losses that may exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

Sadly, many IBOs and prospects are recruited by family and friends. Thus, even if they quit or have a very bad experience, they just quit and disappear. Folks generally will not file complaints with Amway or the Better Business Bureau (BBB). So IBOs, even if you did little or nothing in Amway, if you got ripped off or treated unethically, you may want to consider filing a formal complaint with Amway or with the BBB. So why do so many IBOs do little or nothing? I believe the answer is crystal clear. Most IBOs do little or nothing because it's not worth the effort for most as very few IBOs will ever attain any kind of significant income. In fact, doing nothing is likely to get you a more favorable result than someone who attends the functions or who subscribes to standing order.