I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks, taking a tour through Japan, Korea and Thailand. No Amway income or freedom needed. All funded by my own person investments which allows me to travel frequently and pretty much anywhere I want.
The post below is the original post on this blog. It was written in 2009. But the details still apply today. I'll see you all in 2 weeks!
Recently, I've had comments left here, some deleted and some published, with IBOs and/or Amway supporters calling me names, and accusing me of "bashing" Amway. I believe that these folks are misguided. If you carefully read my blog posts, many are not about Amway the corporation, but are aimed at the abusive practices of certain AQMOs, or the groups that sell their system of tapes, cds, books, KATE, and functions. I believe that Amway the corporation is somewhat culpable as they did not reign in the abusers, but still, it is certain LOSs who teach bad business practices and give IBOs bad advice, which incidentally, costs the IBOs money.
Joecool officially quit Amway sometime in 1998. The name quixtar was already floating around. I quit, got on with my life and basically forgot about Amway. But more and more, I discovered that my upline leaders had been liars and had seriously misrepresented the business. I am from the era where upline leaders told us that nobody made a cent from the tools, which is now known as a lie. They told us that diamonds pay cash for nearly everything, which includes homes. We know that is a lie. Based on what I heard about my sponsor, I believe it is still taught as my sponsor, who is a physician, is still renting a small home in a rural area on Oahu. I started to participate on Quixtar blog to learn more about the tool scam, and I started blogging to be able to help others learn about what I had discovered. My blog gets about three to four thousand visitors each month, although there are many repeat visitors. I have helped many people over the years who benefited by the experiences and information that I have shared. I do not receive any financial compensation for blogging.For those who call Joecool a loser, let me talk about some things I have accomplished in life sine I quit Amway. I received several promotions at work, and recently started a new job where I was offered a pretty nice salary. I own my home (I did not pay in cash, LOL). I bowled a 300 game, made a hole in one, and ran several marathons. I'm just an average middle class citizen in Hawaii. I started Joecool's blog in 2006 or so. My old blog has been deleted as the host did not maintain the site well and I eventually got hacked and sabotaged. I started this current site on blogger in late 2009.
I am not here to "steal" anyone's dream. I am not here to "bash" Amway. But Amway, the business opportunity is one where most people do not make money to begin with. Add in the expenses for tapes, cds, voicemail and functions and you have almost a 100% chance of failure. Yet some upline leaders will promote Amway as a easy shortcut to retirement with a surefire chance of success if you dedicate to the system. But the system does not work. There is no bonafide evidence that the system works. This is what Joecool's blog is about - primarily the systems and its problems.
2 comments:
I’m glad to see pyramid schemes are increasingly under pressure in a way they simply were not only 20 years ago. I was in Amway for about 15 months, but did virtually nothing with this “business”, if you can call it that. Back in 2006, and having graduated university, there was not much of a plan as to what I was going to do with my life, and this weird pyramid scheme that “isn’t a pyramid scheme!” appeared and provided a framework that I felt I needed at that time.
I was barely active but I did go to seminars and read books. Yes, they were pricey, as you pointed out. There was, oddly, actual value in some of this stuff, which is why people get into cults in the first place. One of the best books was "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason, which was, ironically, about the need to spend money wisely. The dynamics are such that they only show the good, attractive parts to get you in, but then the real control over your behaviour, information, thoughts and emotions (BITE) set in.
Eventually, the whole thing became boring to me, but the motivational stuff was what kept me intrigued. People who are hard workers with an interest in improving themselves are the types that get sucked in. However, the prospect of having to hound and harass people into buying soap powder and energy drinks was of zero interest. I tried retailing this stuff but there was simply no market for it.
Of course, when the words of some guy on stage eventually wear off - and wear off they do - you’re faced with the reality of trying to sell products and propositions to people who don’t care. Selling the dream about a financially free future only really works if you continue to persuade people, which I imagine is exhausting.
My story and video are in the link if you're interested to know all the details. I actually witnessed the implosion of Amway in the UK in 2007. Now THAT is something worth hearing about, because nobody ever thought something like that was possible. We were all told Amway was the only path to financial security when it is in fact the total opposite. Seeing Diamonds have their contracts terminated shows this ain't no "independent business".
Darren makes a crucial point: Amway products SIMPLY DO NOT SELL to the general public, at least not in any way that is comparable to well-known brands.
When I was in Amway, I complained to my immediate up-line sponsor that despite my efforts no one really wanted these Amway products. They were perfectly happy with the less expensive stuff they were using.
The answer he gave me goes to the heart of the Amway racket. He said "I have found that the best way to sell Amway products is first to sell the Amway plan to your potential customers."
In other words, Amway products can't stand on their own merits -- you first have to propagandize your customers to sign up as IBOs by preaching to them how great the Amway opportunity is.
When I realized this, I understood that Amway is all about hype and hope and hysteria. It is a big fantasy festival, posing as a business.
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