Happy Thanksgiving!

 Happy Thanksgiving to all!    Enjoy your families and friends, good food and fellowship.  Joecool will be taking a break until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Until later, I have this article for readers to ponder on:

Amway Is Get Rich Slow?

One of the things upline used to say was that Amway is not "get rich quick". I suppose they say this because most people would more likely think scam if they promoted it that way. (I believe Amway is a scam) Ironic, but when you stop and think about it, 2-5 years, build it right and you have willable, residual income for like while walking the beaches of the world? That's not get rich quick? Or is it more of a disclaimer so that the opportunity doesn't sound "too good to be true"? One thing is for sure, even if uplines tell you that it's not get rich quick, it's obvious that IBOs think they will eventually get rich, even if it's not quick. Amway leaders have said "Amway is get rich slow".

What most IBOs don't figure out quickly enough, is that they are unlikely to even make a profit, let alone getting rich from Amway. How many of these retired Amway people exist? Where are all of these retired Amway IBOs who built a business in 2-5 years and then walked away from their business and will be collecting a significant residual income for many years to come afterwards? I don't know of a single person who has done this and none of the Amway defenders and zealots I have encountered over the years has been able to supply this information either.

I can acknowledge that Amway is a business opportunity and will definitely take some work to be able to achieve something. But thinking realistically, what business could you actually be able to walk away in 5 years and not work again? More than likely that business doesn't exist, whether it's Amway or not. Say you opened a conventional business. There wouldn't be many scenarios where you could walk away after a number of years. The business would still require work and maintenance. But for some reason, people are mislead to believe that you can do this in Amway where there is a high attrition rate and where your business can only expand by person to person, which is quite inefficient.

Sadly, many of the people who are attracted to the Amway opportunity are often young people looking to get more out of life. They are often ambitious but may lack a means to gain wealth, thus the appeal of the Amway opportunity is there. Unfortunately, these nice young people are more likely to end up channeling their hard earned dollars into standing orders and functions which will almost guarantee that they end up with a net loss. The bottom line is that not only is Amway not get rich quick. The more likely scenario is that your involvement with Amway will very likely be not getting rich at all. A net loss is the most likely result. The real life results and Amway's own disclosures suggest that I am spot on.

Dream Night Coming Soon?

 If you're an Amway, or in particular, a WWDB Amway IBO, you are likely going to be offered a chance to attend a function called dream night in the next month or two.

As an IBO, I was a member of Worldwide Dream Builders, or WWDB. We often told prospects, when recruiting, that we were with WWDB and did not mention Amway unless the prospect asked. If the prospect didn't ask, then we didn't tell. Apparently, part of the appeal of WWDB was to appear successful, even if you were not. It is probably why in some functions; we were taught to "fake it till you make it". Basically, the premise was to appear successful until you actually became successful. Sadly, there were very few who were "successful". For most serious business builders, business losses were incurred because of their involvement with business support materials, which is promoted heavily by Amway and WWDB Leaders.

WWDB also schedules a major function called "Dream Night". This function might also be called a Winter Conference. This was a one evening function with a sit-down dinner at a cost or about $65 to $75 per person. A major portion of the function was a slide show of the diamond lifestyle. We saw mansions, yachts, jet skis, sports cars and fabulous trips, jewelry and all kinds of extravagant luxuries not intended for the mortal man. But all of this was yours if only you would follow the foolproof WWDB system. I thought it was real when I was an IBO, but I now wonder if these luxuries were really owned by the diamonds. I suspect they may not have been. The money these diamonds supposedly earned was unlimited, or so we thought. I know that a diamond lifestyle isn't as rosy as they want you to think.

Diamonds apparently must keep working. Even if some of them might collect Amway income for a while, if they "walked away" from the business, attrition would kill their businesses pretty quickly and I believe their lucrative tools and functions income would stop the moment they stopped working the business. Imagine building a big sandcastle. It may look nice for a while but once you stop protecting it, the waves will eat it away and eventually return the sand to the ocean. Just like an unmaintained Amway business. For that reason, I don't know of anyone who built their business to diamond and walked away to retire in untold wealth and luxury.

Anyway, getting back to the subject, I ask this question. How many dreams have been built as a result of someone's involvement with Worldwide Dream builders? A WWDB Diamond apparently had his home foreclosed some years ago.  A prominent Triple Diamond apparently suffered the same fate plus some involvement with bankruptcy.  A Double Diamond is not with his wife or WWDB anymore, along with others.  I don't see many reports of any new WWDB diamonds and in fact, I believe there are fewer diamonds in WWDB now than when I was an IBO. Where are the diamonds? Where are the dreams? Whose dreams have been built? Conversely, I have seen people's finances wrecked with WWDB being a major contributor to that problem.   By the way, the home foreclosures and bankruptcy and other incidents were public information so they can be verified if necessary.

If you are being prospected or seeking information on WWDB or other LOS groups, ask them where the success is. Do not accept pictures of checks or pictures of sports cars as proof. Ask for bonafide financial records like real business owners do. If you need more information, my contact information is on my profile. Good luck!

The Con Game?

 Great Thread posted at scam.com:

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=142975

It is stunning to realize the enormity of this con. Multi-million and billion dollar companies, stock exchange listed companies, companies that put on the facade of being a good corporate neighbor and innocent "business" (cough) next door.

Network marketing is a flawed and unsustainable business model that effectively is fed and supported by those on the bottom. Those on the bottom work a job to fund their product purchases. Those spoils of war then are divided up by the upline and sponsor company. Those on the bottom, who use funds from their jobs (rather than product sales) to sustain the "business", are an ever expanding rotating door of new recruits.

Although the products may be of high quality and slickly packaged, and give the impression that you are a marketeer of these sundry goods...the reality is much different. You are required to buy monthly quotas for personal use and recruit your ass off to gain entry into the promised land. The product you are really selling is a dubious "business opportunity"...your real market is "opportunity seekers".

A real business markets and sell goods and services. They are sustained by real retail sales. They order only what they know they can sell. From what I see all these mlms push recruiting as the ticket to the good life. Products and retailing mean nothing.

Another major difference is a real business owner holds title to his business...something he can sell. In mlm, you own nothing but your small product inventory.

The nature of this false and flawed business model will always have in its wake a vast turnover at the bottom of the pyramid structure. Its the nature of the beast and can be no other way, all math aside. The many "losers and the quitters" and dreamers who hang in there waiting for their ship to come in are those who support the top and sponsor company. There will always be a relentless drive to recruit at the bottom as it has nothing to do with true product retailing to support the business but finding and recruiting opportunity seekers. The emphisis is always on finding new recruits rather than selling product. And indeed, many of these mlm businesses put restrictions on the associates ability to retail the product...which subtly strengthens its true goal of recruiting as the primary revenue stream...not product sales.

These "businesses" (cough again) are predatory and prey on the many by appealing to dreams of luxury and a life of ease, especially those with troubles in their life. The start money is low to get into the "business", which is unlike a real business that takes more sizable seed money, some knowledge and guidance and a real business plan.

Those few that actually make sizable incomes from these schemes must live with the knowledge that their life is supported by the broken dreams, efforts and losses of those on the bottom. They conveniently set aside any feelings of culpability after stepping on the bodies of their fellow man so they can proclaim that they worked hard and made it.

There simply is no parallel between a network marketing model as a "business" and how a "normal?" business really works. I understand this because I own a real business that retails real product.

Network marketing is simply the greatest con game of all time. They should all be shut down.

Conditional Friends?

 You hang out with friends, generally people you like and have similar interests. You have good and bad times, but your true friends are there for you when you need them. You move residences, your friends are there to help you move. They may play a round of golf with you, or watch some sporting events, dinners, backyard barbeques, movies, etc. These are folks you will likely end up retiring with and enjoying your golden years.

But suddenly, you get enticed to join Amway. You see the "chance" to get rich, with a shortcut (not get rich quick, but a "shortcut"). You sign up and your sponsor is your new "best" friend. Most of the people you enjoyed being with think Amway is a questionable venture to get involved in. Suddenly, because of what you have been told or taught, you view these same nice people as "broke" or "losers", simply because they do not share the same ambition of untold wealth working 12-15 hours a week. Suddenly, you friends become prospects, or people you want to sponsor so you start recruiting them. Some may join, but most won't. Suddenly you are immersed in recruitment meetings, functions, and avoiding "negative", which is people and events that do not support your Amway business. Sadly, many of these "negative" people were likely what you previously thought of as "good friends".

Now you are missing birthday parties, barbeques, and other social events. Your social events are now recruitment meetings, seminars and Amway business related events. You are taught that these events (birthday parties, etc.) can be put off and your gratification delayed. You can do whatever you want when you go diamond. (Even though there might be only one (1) diamond out of every ten or twenty thousand IBOs) Your dedication will pay off right? Sadly, for most people, even very dedicated people, all they will see is losses on their yearly tax returns, mainly due to the purchase of cds, books, voicemail and function tickets. But these are your "friends" right?

Here's my take on it. Try missing a few meetings or functions. Stop buying cds and see how many "friends" remain from the business. It is likely that your upline will claim that you walked away from the friendship by slowing down on the "system". If that happens, then you have conditional friends, or fair weather friends. They are your "friends" while you are pursuing the same cause. They are your friends when you are attending functions. Are they there for you in bad times?

A short while after I attended my last function (I was still an IBO, just not a business builder), my dad passed away. Not a single one of my IBO "friends" bothered to attend the memorial service. Not a single one of my IBO friends called or dropped by the home to pay their respects. All of my "real" friends, who saw through the AMO smoke and mirrors called to talk to me and/or attended the memorial service.

Are your IBO friends conditional friends? Mine were.

A Part Time Job?

 Many people pitch Amway as an easy, and somewhat shortcut to riches. It's all over the internet, it's what I saw as an IBO, and I have good reason to believe that many still pitch Amway in this manner. I believe that people want to believe that you can create wealth part time in 2-5 years. IBOs and prospects may be told "it's not get rich quick", but 2-5 years to quit your job and live off ongoing lifelong residual income sure sounds like the pitch of a get rich quick scam. It is what has contributed to Amway's current bad reputation.  

A typical IBO (not counting those who do nothing), according to the "plan" will consume and possibly sell some goods on their way to 100 PV, which will earn them about a $10 bonus from Amway. There might be some profit from sales to customers, but there are also expenses involved in running a business. If an IBO is on the system, then their expenses might run from $100 or so to $500 a month, depending on level of commitment (brainwashing). In the end, a flawed system and generally non competitive pricing and products leads to most IBOs eventually quitting. The vast majority of IBOs on the system will wind up with a net loss, even with a tremendous amount of effort. Seems that effort has no relationship with success in Amway. Based on my experience, deception and lies seem to be a better way to succeed in Amway than by hard work.

But what if someone basically worked a part time job instead of Amway? If someone simply got a 20 hour a week job at $10 an hour (not that difficult), someone could earn about $800 a month gross income, or about $9600 a year. In ten years, even with no raises in salary, that person would have earned close to $100,000 more income. That money, if invested into a diverse portfolio can be the nest egg that would allow someone to retire early, or to retire more comfortably than most. And that salary is guaranteed if you work the hours.  

In Amway, there are no assurances of anything, even if you work 40 hours a week. The only assurance if that you will help your upline earn more than yourself by moving products. If you are on the system, you are basically paying your upline (via tool purchases) for the privilege of boosting your upline's volume. It is why uplines teach you to "never quit" and to be "core". These virtues help assure your upline of profits, but does little for the rank and file IBOs. I write this blog post just to stimulate thought amongst IBOs and prospects. There are better and easier options than the Amway opportunity. If you are reading this, you are looking at one potential alternative. It's your job to decide.

IBOs Or Victims?

 I've heard over the years, many IBOs who failed in the Amway opportunity who blamed themselves for not putting in enough effort, not trying hard enough or not working the system. While I don't doubt that some IBOs don't work hard enough, I cannot fathom that so many motivated and eager prospects simply failed because they didn't work hard enough. I believe IBOs are taught to accept failure as their own.

Uplines will tell new IBOs to trust them and that these new IBOs will succeed if only they will follow the advice of the allegedly successful diamond because they have already blazed the trail for you. Ironically, after many IBOs fail, upline will never take responsibility for the advice they issued that led to downline failures. They then turn the tables on their downline and say that their advice is like a buffet. You pick and choose the advice you need and disregard the rest. That is such a bunch of crap that I cannot fathom downline IBOs buying what they are shoveling. A new IBO places their trust in the diamonds because they have achieved the pinnacle of success but a new IBO is supposed to pick and choose which advice to follow? And then failure is the fault of the downline?

Ironically and sadly, these downline, when they ultimately fail, often end up blaming themselves and just disappear unless someone recruits them again. They are often sponsored by friends and family so you won't see them filing complaints against Amway or the uplines who led them astray. Uplines nearly assured their success if only these new IBOs would buy the training materials and attend all of the functions. But many IBOs work hard and do everything outlined by upline only to fail. It is likely because the system doesn't work. Many financial systems are for sale out there and most of them have very little success. Amway is no different, except that uplines promote their systems as sure fire.

It is however, my belief that many or possibly most IBOs are the victims of fraud in that they are given possibly false positive information about the Amway opportunity. They get involved and find out that the system doesn't work, and then they end up quitting with a loss and them blaming themselves. Brilliant for the uplines who profit but in my opinion, it makes IBOs the victims of fraud by upline. Upline profits whether or not their downline makes a cent. Some upline strongly encourage downline to buy more and more tools, even when they know that those downline have no chance of making money in the Amway opportunity. It makes the IBOs victims and it makes the uplines a bunch of crooks.

Diamonds Appear Wealthy?

 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 and functions business. Frankly, most IBOs would be much better off giving their upline a check for $50 each month and never getting involved in the Amway opportunity to begin with.

Upline earns some income from the movement of products. Amway returns about 30% of their gross in the form of bonuses. Most (active business building) IBOs earn 3% while uplines split up the remaining 27% 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.

Get Rich Slow?

 One of the things upline used to say was that Amway is not "get rich quick". I suppose they say this because most people would more likely think scam if they promoted it that way. (I believe Amway is a scam) Ironic, but when you stop and think about it, 2-5 years, build it right and you have willable, residual income for like while walking the beaches of the world? That's not get rich quick? Or is it more of a disclaimer so that the opportunity doesn't sound "too good to be true"? One thing is for sure, even if uplines tell you that it's not get rich quick, it's obvious that IBOs think they will eventually get rich, even if it's not quick. Amway leaders have said "Amway is get rich slow".

What most IBOs don't figure out quickly enough, is that they are unlikely to even make a profit, let alone getting rich from Amway. How many of these retired Amway people exist? Where are all of these retired Amway IBOs who built a business in 2-5 years and then walked away from their business and will be collecting a significant residual income for many years to come afterwards? I don't know of a single person who has done this and none of the Amway defenders and zealots I have encountered over the years has been able to supply this information either.

I can acknowledge that Amway is a business opportunity and will definitely take some work to be able to achieve something. But thinking realistically, what business could you actually be able to walk away in 5 years and not work again? More than likely that business doesn't exist, whether it's Amway or not. Say you opened a conventional business. There wouldn't be many scenarios where you could walk away after a number of years. The business would still require work and maintenance. But for some reason, people are misled to believe that you can do this in Amway where there is a high attrition rate and where your business can only expand by person to person, which is quite inefficient on a large scale.

Sadly, many of the people who are attracted to the Amway opportunity are often young people looking to get more out of life. They are often ambitious but may lack a means to gain wealth, thus the appeal of the Amway opportunity is there. Unfortunately, these nice young people are more likely to end up channeling their hard earned dollars into standing orders and functions which will almost guarantee that they end up with a net loss. The bottom line is that not only is Amway not get rich quick. The more likely scenario is that your involvement with Amway will very likely be not getting rich at all. A net loss is the most likely result. The real life results and Amway's own disclosures suggest that I am spot on.

IBOs Talk A Good Game?

 Having blogged for a number of years now, I have observed that IBOs talk a good game about retailing, sponsoring and doing Amway business activities. They will tell you to set yourself up with 20 customers, sponsor 6 frontline, show a number of plans and set up certain follow ups with contacts, and doing other activities supposedly to build an Amway business. I find if humorous when these same IBOs start throwing insults or diverting the discussion when someone asks if they are actually making money. Of course, it would be understandable if a new IBO would admit they had not made a fortune as of yet but it seems that even that response is not forthcoming from IBOs.

It seems that the Amway business is simple enough. Buy some products, sell products and try to sponsor some downline in order to leverage your volume with your downlines. IBOs mistakenly believe that you can build it once correctly and that the income will flow into future generations. What goes unnoticed is that IBOs come and go with such a high frequency, that a business generating residual income would be like a sandcastle on the beach. You might build it nice and big but the waves of attrition would quickly turn that sandcastle into nothing. The same would be true of an Amway business. The IBOs dropping out would wipe out your business unless you are constantly replacing the people who quit. IBOs like to talk about Amway sales and how the company is growing in sales, but the Amway sales have no relationship with making IBOs more profitable.

IBOs may also toss in comments about how they are nicer people or how they are improving their marriage because of the Amway business. I often wonder how that can be when functions and meetings take you away from your family and spouse. I suppose it could be because the uplines talk about people being nicer or tossing out lies about Amway and the AMOs saving marriages. I remember a WWDB diamond talking about how WWDB members had a 2% divorce rate while the rest of society has a 60% divorce rate. Ironically, that diamond's marriage ended in divorce. I believe this crap is still taught as a WWDB IBO who blogs, had mentioned this tidbit on his blog last year. I don't believe Amwayers or anyone else has a higher or lower rate of divorce than society but it becomes an issue when uplines teach it and their downlines repeat it.

So it would seem that IBOs talk a good game. They know what to say and how to act, but they're like poker players who are bluffing. If you call them on it, they are likely to fold in their hands because they don't have the goods. It is why many Amway discussions turn into a insult contest, when the IBO suddenly gets confronted with facts that are contrary to upline teaching. It's usually quite funny but I wonder if these folks question their upline or go on their merry way repeating uplines lies? It becomes apparent to everyone but the IBO when they are repeating crazy stuff taught by their upline. Good luck to anyone who tries to build this business against nearly insurmountable odds.

The System Is Proven?

 One of the disturbing things I have noticed about Amway IBOs and IBO leaders is how they will tell downline to trust them. To trust them as they have already blazed a trail. No need to re-invent the wheel. Just ride the coattails of your upline to success. The system is proven. Many Amway IBOs take this to heart and put forth tremendous effort.  They attend all the meetings and functions, buy the tools, attend all of the teaching sessions and do their best to follow upline guidance. Then when they fail, upline will shun them and tell them that the failure is their own. That they are personally responsible for failure.

Now I am not talking about IBOs who sign up and do nothing or never place an order. I do believe that the fact that many IBOs sign up and do nothing brings concerns about how these IBOs were recruited, but I did not recall ever seeing an IBO do nothing and then complain that Amway was a scam or anything like that.

I have found, however, that many people who are critical of Amway and the systems, put forth much effort, did everything they were told, and did not find the success that upline promoted, or in some cases, guaranteed. My former sponsor was still active, last I heard and has been in Amway for over 15 years. I do not believe he has ever gone beyond platinum, and I know that he was never a Q12 platinum. Some Amway apologists might see being a platinum as a bonus, but when you are hard core sold out to the systems, platinum is a break even or make a small profit business. Factor in that time spent by husband and wife and these folks are breaking even or making a fraction of minimum wage. Is this the dream that will allow you to buy mansions with a cash payment?

What is also disturbing is how people will tout the system as responsible for any success but hide the vast majority that the system doesn't help. Sure, some will succeed in Amway, but for every success, there are hundreds if not thousands who fail. And if you consider diamond as the benchmark of success, the failures could be in the millions. As I said, some succeed, but very few in relation to the number who try. Going diamond is probably less common in the US than winning the lottery.

Succeed and the systems and upline take credit but fail or quit and it is your own responsibility. Are these the kinds of leaders or mentors you want advice from? Where's the personal responsibility of the leaders and mentors? There are many stories of IBOs doing exactly what they were advised, only to lose money and/or fail. Where's the responsibility of the leaders? The tools system is win win for the upline leaders with the downlines getting a lose lose situation.

Business Mentality?

One of the catch phrases that IBOs spout quite often is that you need a "business mentality". Those of us who have an "employee mentality" simply cannot cut the mustard in Amway. I find this ironic since the vast majority of Amway IBOs have a job. A job that they NEED in order to pay for their Amway business. A job that pays for their voicemail, cds, functions and books, in addition to the cost of the Amway products. Basically, most IBOs would be out of business almost immediately without their job income to support their Amway business.

Apparently, a business mentality, as taught by AMO leaders, is one that doesn't expect quick profits, despite upline's claim that the Amway business has low risk and low overhead. A business mentality is also one where you reinvest any or all profits back into buying support materials. A business owner doesn't expect to make a profit for 5 years. Many of these claims are taught by unethical uplines and unfortunately, many IBOs accept the teaching and buy into it. They lure in prospects by talking about low risk and the ability to profit right away, but the teaching later changes to reinvesting money into their business and not expecting profit for several years. A bait and switch of sorts.

Now it is true that a business owner might have to think and view things differently than an employee. For example, an employee might do a great job from 9-5 but after 5:00 pm, that employee may be headed home to care for his or her family, or to participate in some exercise or recreation. The business owner might be inclined to stay after hours to finish a job because he or she may have invested much, and will want to make sure that the business succeeds. However, Amway is promoted as part time, do as much or as little as you want, on your own time, when you have time.

It is my suspicion that uplines want their downline IBOs to adopt a business owner mentality, not because they want downline to succeed, but because it instills a dedication to the tools purchases and it also takes an IBO's focus off profits for a few years. Thus, IBOs think they are successful (without profit) if they are listening to standing order, attending all the functions and showing the plan. It is a gimmick used to retain IBOs who are not profitable. If IBOs were actually making money, there would be little need to continue to motivate them with an endless supply of cds and functions. But because most IBOs lose money or make little, the average IBO must be taught that a "business owner" commonly loses money for a number of years, or that they must continue to reinvest their profits in order to succeed.

In posting this, I say to IBOs, just make a profit by selling goods. That is all the motivation you need. Keep track of your bottom line and look at the return on your investment of time and money. That is the action of a real business owner and the real "business owner mentality". Which are you?

Bad Advice?

 In the Amway business, most 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. (I will add that most mentors don't get paid for advice and this is not the same thing as perhaps a football coach who might be compensated) 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 up to 20 years or more 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 in North America 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.

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?

Sasquatch And Amway Retirees?

 I was watching a show on Discovery channel the other night about Bigfoot/Sasquatch. It was followed by a show about evidence of UFOs. It made me start to think about these phenomena. It seems like everyone has heard about or knows something about Sasquatch (Big foot) and/or UFOs. There are many documentaries showing pictures, videos and evidence of both, but to date, there is no bonafide evidence that these things exist.  The pictures and videos aren't always authenticated and some are very likely made up or doctored.  You'd think that a body or bones of a Sasquatch would turn up somewhere, sooner or later, or we would find compelling evidence of a spaceship from another galaxy.

It sounds just like stories of people who built a diamond ship, then "walked away" from their businesses, retired in the lap of luxury and did nothing while the money kept rolling in. I heard numerous scenarios about this happening, but looking back, all the diamonds kept working and since Joecool left the business, the diamond either kept working, or quit or got terminated. But I never heard anyone name some higher up Amway pin who built a business, and then walked away from it to travel the beaches of the world while hundreds of thousands of dollars kept rolling in. Many have heard about it, but nobody seems to be able to name any of these folks. I mean after over 60 years in existence, you'd think some of these folks would exist, especially when it seems to be a selling point of the business for many AMOs.  I would note however, that the selling point does not come from the Amway corporation.

It is my opinion that Sasquatch, UFOs and retired Amway's diamonds (with significant Amway income) are nonexistent. If these folks existed, there should be at least some shred of evidence of it. The lack of evidence indicates to me that it is either nonexistent or so rare that nobody can display bonafide proof. I mean there aren't any T-Rexs roaming the earth anymore, but fossil evidence proves that they existed at one time.

Keeping in mind that the Amway business has a high attrition rate, coupled with low sales to non IBOs and you can easily conclude that residual and significant income is nearly impossible. An Amway business that is left alone will deteriorate like a sandcastle does as the waves wash it away. You (in theory) could possible walk away from an Amway business for a while and collect some income, but you won't be collecting enough income to live the "diamond lifestyle" as portrayed by diamonds in their functions and open meetings. I'm not even sure that active diamonds can comfortably afford that lifestyle even when building their businesses. There is ample evidence to support my claim. Diamonds losing homes to foreclosure, former diamonds revealing secrets about their income. If you really believe you can walk away from your Amway business and collect untold wealth, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. :-)

Doomed IBOs?

 Even though diamonds and big pins in Amway like to show off fancy material goods such as sports cars and mansions, the vast majority of rank and file IBOs will never get close to attaining those kinds of trappings. In fact, once an IBO agrees to get on standing order and to attend functions, that IBO is more than likely doomed for failure. Most business building IBOs don't even make enough income to cover the expense of their voicemail subscription. When you take a look at the Amway business presentation, you will see that most IBOs who qualify for a bonus will earn something like $10 a month. Thus all those lower level IBOs are guaranteed a net loss by participating in the system.

One could argue that simply consuming 100 PV would put you at a loss, except that technically, it's not really a business expense. But it can be a business expense if you are buying products just to familiarize yourself with the products and/or to reach your PV bracket. In other words, if you are buying stuff that you don't need in the name of earning a bonus. I had a fellow cross line IBO who actually went and purchased 1000 PV in a month because our upline diamond had a 1000 pin play day and this IBO had no downline. Thus he likely purchased most of if not all of that 1000 PV by himself.

Because of a spotty Amway reputation and the fact that it's very hard to sponsor downline and get retail customers, most IBOs will be doomed for failure once they sign on to become IBOs. Their problems and financial losses mount and get exponentially worse once they agree to sign on and dedicate themselves to the system. While the system expenses may seem benign at first, IBOs often find that losses can reach or exceed tens of thousands of dollars in a relatively short period of time.

In my opinion, what makes all of this so sickening and somewhat even evil is that an IBO or prospect will be told that the system is proven. That you are practically guaranteed success by following the system. Then after spending thousands of dollars and not making a dime, these same IBOs might be told that they are at fault for not making it big in Amway. That failure is the fault of the IBO. Or that the IBO did not follow the system as prescribed. I know that many IBOs, whether they work hard or follow the system or not, are still doomed for failure because the system doesn't work. There is no bonafide and unbiased evidence of any kind that indicate that the system works. The system only works if you are one who profits by selling the system. The rest of the herd ends up losing money. There is no question about it.

Socialism Arrives In NYC?

 So last night, NYC elected Zohran Mamdani and mayor.  He calls himself a democrat socialist but in reality, he's simply a socialist and a marxist.  His victory speech seemed to reveal a different side of himself that seemed almost a bit scary in my opinion.  He's made big promises like free bus service, rent control, free stuff and city run grocery stores.   He's also promised to fund his spending by taxing the more affluent "white" neighborhoods.  (That sounds racist to me).  He also doesn't believe in billionaires, but then again, if not for billionaires, who will be tax to pay for his pie in the sky ambitions?

He has said he want to eliminate the police and jails, and replace them with social workers.  I wonder who in their right mind would want to be a social worker tasked with handling domestic violence calls and no armed police by their side?   No jails?  So people who commit crimes, even violent crimes will be roaming the streets freely?  The politicians who make these promises don't care because they are protected by an army of armed security.  It's the struggling middle class, working class, and poor who will wind up scared to leave their homes, especially at night.  But at the same time, he was duly elected so the people there will need to live with the results.  It sure seems like the people in Chicago don't like their socialist extremely woke mayor, despite having elected him.

Last time I checked, crooks don't rob banks if cops are parked outside.   Not sure if social workers will be quite the same deterrence.  

NY and Wall Street is the home of capitalism and many wealthy people.  But if a meaningful number of wealthy people leave NY, or if Wall Street moguls take their business elsewhere, the tax base will dry up.  I recall representative AOC prevented Amazon headquarters from relocating to NYC which likely cost the city a significant number of high paying jobs along with tons of tax revenues.  Without wealthy people to pay the bills, where will the new mayor find the cash to fund all of his free stuff?  The cost pf living and taxes are already high in NYC so some wealthy people, maybe a lot of them are likely to leave for tax havens like Florida, Texas and other less tax crazy states. 

This is shaping up to be an interesting social experiment.  The democrat party has a lot at stake.  When Mamdani fails, which he eventually will, how will democrats defend their policies?   "Trump sucks" is not a policy and Trump will be out of office at the end of 2028.   Mamdani swore to "fight" Trump, etc etc.  Since when does a city mayor have enough leverage to fight and win against the President of the US?   But to the radical extreme left, saying you will oppose Trump satisfies the voting base.  The democrat party in my opinion, is at a crossroads.  They are about to cross the Rubicon where you can't be a moderate in the party,  You are either extreme left or you're out.  It is likely to turn into a disaster because most of the US is not in favor of their policies.  

I always hear how Trump is a threat to democracy.  Democracy is doing the will of the people.  Being that Trump was a duly elected president, opposing everything he is trying to accomplish is a bigger threat to democracy than anything Trump is doing, such as closing the border, deporting illegal aliens with an emphasis on deporting illegal alien criminals.  The democrats are even turning on former democrat sweetheart John Fetterman from Pennsylvania because he supports deporting illegal criminals from the US.

NYC got what they voted for, but I believe they will soon have buyer's remorse.

Perpetuate The Scam?

  The Amway diamonds have been laughing all the way to the bank for decades now.  Some diamonds use this to justify their actions as legitimate because surely a scam would have been uncovered and shut down by now   To that I say organized crime is older than the Amway tool scam and is very much alive and well.  So is the Nigerian scam and other similar variations.  The LOS such as WWDB or Network 21 continue to roll on using Amway as their vehicle to peddle ineffective training materials.

The scheme is quite subtle and clever.  They often target younger folks who see their careers just starting thus they have a long journey towards retirement. The diamonds say you will work hard but Amway is a great shortcut to early retirement and possibly untold wealth.  At meetings and functions, they show things to entice recruits into joining and for IBOs to drool over as a reason to press forward. 

The diamonds say they basically hold the secrets to unlocking this secret to succeeding in Amway.  But to unlock that secret you will need to dedicate yourself to the tools and functions with undying loyalty.  They say if you never quit you will eventually cross that finish line sort of like running a marathon.  Sounds like something that most people can do if they just set their minds to it. 

What goes unnoticed is that the ultimate goal is like finding the end of a rainbow.  It will always be seemingly out of reach.  But upline says do not despair, just continue to immerse yourself in the tools and functions and you will make it.  As if consumption of tools and functions alone will make you a success.  Amway for sone, becomes an addiction, like a drug user or someone hooked on smoking.  It’s hard to quit plus you start to think you invested too much to just quit. 

And that’s how the diamonds continue to perpetuate a scam.  They instill a fear in you that quitting makes you a broke loser and that quitting means you have no hope for a good financial future.  That quitting can’t be an option.  But in business, sometimes quitting is the best decision.  Cut your losses.  It doesn’t mean you’ve quit trying to better yourself and your family.  But it might mean you just need a better way to achieve your goals and dreams. There are many better options besides Amway.  You just need to go get it.  

Amway Is A Tough Business?

 There are some folks who try to sell the Amway opportunity as one that works in a good or bad economy. The pitch might be that people need household products such as soap or cleaners in a good or bad economy. While that may be true, in a tough economy, people will be looking for the bottom line, or the cheapest price. That is why Walmart is wildly successful. Walmart's slogan is "live better, save money". Being that Walmart sales exceed 400 billion dollars, it means that one day's sales exceed Amway's annual sales. Clearly, price is important to consumers.

Amway apologists like to cite that not everyone buys a Porsche or a Lexus. While that is true, it is ridiculous to think Amway products are a Porsche or Lexus compared to other household products, and that consumers in general, even care about issues like that. What do IBOs do? Brag that their laundry soap is better than their neighbors. I have the Porsche of dish washing soap? I have the Cadillac of toothpaste. Seriously?

Another silly tactic that some Amway IBOs employ is to drop names such as Robert Kiyosaki, or Warren Buffet, or Donald Trump. The fact of the matter is Robert Kiyosaki makes him money from Network Marketers, not from Network Marketing. Or, he's selling the IBOs books and seminars. Warren Buffet and Trump apparently own MLM companies, thus they also profit FROM network marketers and not from distributing the good themselves. It's a silly argument and anyone with some discernment can see right through it. I even see rumors spread by some IBOs that various movie stars or celebrities are involved in Amway. The truth is that there are some celebrities that are involved with Amway, but typically, they are paid to endorse Amway rather than being rank and file IBOs.

That brings us to whether Amway is a viable business opportunity. Let me put a disclaimer that people who may try to sell goods without participating in the training system might have a chance to make a few dollars, but these folks are quite rare. Many people get drawn into going diamond and chasing a dream. It is why you see big functions and conventions of people chasing dreams that likely won't come to pass. The typical IBO doesn't do much, if anything at all. Out of those who actually put in effort, a fraction of 1% might go platinum and an even smaller fraction of 1% might make some money. Amway's own numbers and the plan shown by many IBOs confirm this. Amway says the average "active" IBO makes just over $100 a month. We also know that it takes about 100 IBOs or more to form a platinum group. We know that many IBOs do little or nothing. That already provides a clear picture that only a small percentage of IBOs can ever reach that platinum level where you might net a small profit, depending on your business expenses.

Factoring in the Amway reputation and you have a very tough business opportunity. Now Amway itself may have done good things, but IBOs themselves have ruined the Amway name. They have lied or tricked people into attending recruitment meetings, or they have called people broke or losers, and even now, there is an IBO who frequents this blog, claiming to be in BWW, that slings muds and name calls this blog author. For these reasons, Amway is a very tough business to succeed in, regardless of your level of effort.

Real Information For Prospects?

 When I was an Amway 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.  And it's designed that way.  The tools are ineffective, but a major profit source for diamonds.

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.  But that figure represents "active" IBOs, bot all IBO.  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.

Buy Your Success?

   One thing I can credit Amway diamonds with is coming up with the most bat sh@t crazy ideas that sound sensible to Amway IBOs but utter madness to anyone else.  One that I heard about was how you can buy your way to prosperity.  Buy your own Amway products and get others to follow and you’ll soon be on the road to early retirement and residual income.   As if anyone got wealthy by purchasing products, much less Amway products.  In debates with Amway defenders, I've asked them to name a single business where you can get rich by making purchases.   The only answers I got was the sound of crickets.

Have you ever seen a store or business prosper when the major of sales are simply to the business owner and employees?   The answer is no because such a business does not exist.  It’s amazing that people actually believe that you can get rich buying from yourself.  But it works on the downline so the diamonds perpetuate the storyline.  And the downline believes it because they want t to believe that it's true. You see men and women in functions with tears in their eyes because they want it so badly to be true.

One thing I saw at a live function was the diamond telling IBOs to ask prospects if they like selling stuff and whether the answer was yes or no, your response would be “great, then this business is perfect for you”.  Of course, actual stories of significant retail sales were rare, and my own experience suggested that sympathetic family and friends comprised most of whatever sales took place and I found myself at times selling items at my cost just so the expenses of moving 100 PV wasn’t all on me.  

The strategy of buying your own stuff seems to work because most people do not like selling stuff and especially not to friends.  But many will give it a run because they are hopeful that Amway will deliver the wealth that upline seemingly promises.  The sad thing about a that dreams of wealth is all you get and there’s very little success to speak of.  From function to function it’s the same old diamonds time and again.  What changes are the faces at the functions because attrition is extremely high and this is another reason why residual income in reality, is a myth.  How do you build an empire when people quit the business left and right?

The diamonds might say they want downline success, but they don’t.  They just want to keep replacing quitters with new members as long as they can churn in new tools and functions subscribers.  That’s the real game of diamonds and that’s why the emphasis of the tools and functions is recruiting new people into the game. It’s an elaborate scheme that prospects and new IBOs don’t see because they have Amway dreams clouding their thoughts.   

Is Amway The Least Efficient?

 I once published some pro-Amway comments about how there's nobody between Amway and its IBOs. When I heard the pitch, pretty much the same thing was said. That Amway could pay generous IBO's bonuses because they "eliminated the middleman". On the surface, this might sound correct, but not when you take a closer look at it. Sure, you may not have a traditional middleman, but you have layers and layers of upline and downline, all of you get a cut from the sale of product, provided they qualify for the bonus.   It's quite clear to me at least, that the Amway system adds middlemen to the process which adds cost to the products, even if upline says the contrary.  

Many big companies advertise their products such as Coca Cola or American Eagle Jeans. These products become household names and practically everyone in the US knows of these brands. Not so for Amway. In fact, the name Amway is often associated with pyramid or scam because of bad or unethical behavior on the part of IBOs. Amway pays for some advertising these days, but I wonder what their return on investment is for their advertising dollars?   Or do they advertise just for the sake of advertising?  WalMart's slogan is "live better, save money".  Amway's is "now you know".  Now you know what?

Amway recently reported a sales increase, but I wonder if that was because of actual growth or maybe it was because they simply had a price increase? I wish Amway was more open about some of the numbers they release but that is another issue. The increased sales by Amway however, means nothing to individual IBOs. Amway's growth is not related to individual IBO's profitability. It makes me wonder why so many IBOs brag about the Amway sales when their individual sales might be zero and they might be suffering business losses despite Amway's success?

So IBOs are basically left going person to person, word of mouth to inform people about their products. In my opinion, the least efficient means of moving product from Amway to the customer. Because so many past IBOs were desperate to sponsor downline in order to achieve a level or to leverage their sales, less than ethical practices were often employed. People tricked into attending meetings, people lied to or deceived about the opportunity. The damage in reputation is enormous. For these reasons, Amway is a tough sell in North America. I believe this would explain why there seems to be more growth in Amway sales in foreign countries. I believe this is because people in foreign countries are not yet familiar with being tricked into attending a meeting, or lied to as past practice in North America. 

Do you want to sell products in the least efficient manner? If so, consider joining Amway?

The Diamond Actors?

 In my opinion, Amway diamonds are nothing more than actors. They portray a role and while they might be envied by their downline, when the lights are turned off, what remains? I believe most diamonds are simply middle-class people portraying lifestyles of the rich and famous. We could debate whether or not a diamond has an easy job. Heck, I could concede that speaking at functions can be better than a 9-5 job, but the volatility of an Amway business can make a diamond live under greater stress than someone with a regular and predictable job.

My former diamond used to live in a middle-class neighborhood, and he told the group that he was buying a property in an exclusive gated community and was going to build himself a nice home. He said his home would be on a hill right above a nice beach where he could enjoy his hobby of spearfishing and the ocean. I don't know if he ever built that home but last, I heard, he is living in the State of Washington. Makes me wonder why he would move there when he was allegedly building his dream home in Hawaii near one of his favorite beaches. (Maybe the cost of living is cheaper there?)

Think of the diamond this way. It is a fact that most diamonds are not Q12 (which means they have diamond qualifications for all 12 months of Amway's fiscal year). A Q12 diamond averages about $600,000 from Amway (source: Amway.com) but only a small percentage of diamonds are Q12. The other average non Q12 diamonds average about $150,000 a year and they augment that income with tools scam income. So, an average diamond might make in the range of $250,000. You may thing they are "rich" but after business expenses are considered, plus taxes and family medical and dental insurance, and other miscellaneous business expenses, a diamond is not financially capable of buying homes in cash, having exclusive golf club memberships and buying Ferraris in cash. What is likely is that a diamond lives a middle-class lifestyle while acting like they are rich. I had a conversation with a former emerald who told me that most of her emerald income (or diamond for that matter) comes in the form of an annual bonus so her monthly income was relatively small.

There might be diamonds who are wealthy. But if they truly are, it is because they are at a level higher than diamond and they are also very likely to have income from sources other than Amway. We know that back in 2009, Greg Duncan a WWDB triple diamond filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Montana and it is public record. He had homes foreclosed. This man stood on stage when I was an IBO and told the audience that anyone who makes a loan is "stupid". I wonder how Mr. Duncan felt when he reneged on his multiple home loans, despite having a triple diamond income from Amway of about $40,000 a month?

For these reasons, I say Amway diamonds are just actors. Some better than others, but in the end, when the lights and shut off, they are not much better off financially than someone with a good paying job. In fact, I have read in several places that truly rich people don't show off their wealth. That is food for thought, isn't it?

The Hidden Costs?

 One of the things upline leaders 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. Some upline might even show a video of someone who walked off their job because they made it big in Amway. 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 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 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 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 also appears to be uncommon.

When an IBO finally agrees to register, it is then that the hidden costs begin to be revealed. Many uplines will introduce standing orders and functions and present these tools as vital to IBO success. Some upline may give you some free cds at first, but eventually you'll be told that a "serious business owner" buys their own. You will also be expected to do the same for your own prospects. 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 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 IBO 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.

Ironically, a job allows people to pay their monthly bills, feed their families and many people enjoy their work and coworkers. 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.

Quitting Is Winning?

 I often see commentary about people quitting Amway and Amway loyalists are quick to call them broke, losers, lazy, lacking guts. Ironically, these same lazy and loser types of people were "sharp" and motivated prospects before they signed up for the Amway opportunity. Someone recently left a comment on my blog about how AMOs should conduct exit interviews with departing IBOs to get to the root of the problems. I think these exit interviews would reveal that people are working hard and applying the AMO teaching, only to lose money,

Based on my years of blogging and Amway experiences, I can honestly say I believe that people quit Amway primarily for one reason. The money isn't there. Amway's own numbers show that the average IBO earns just over $200 a month and that is before taxes and expenses, and that number excludes inactive IBOs. Business building IBOs earn most of the bonuses, but business building IBOs generally have the most expenses, often participating in the system of standing orders, voicemail, books and functions.

When I was an IBO, I did as upline advised and I achieved a fairly significant level (4000 PV), but due to the expenses associated with tools and helping downline, I didn't earn net profit. This is confirmed by a study done by the Wisconsin attorney general some years ago who examined the tax returns of platinume and found that they averaged a net loss of about $1000 a year. While the study was a bit dated, I would suggest it is still very valid as platinums today, have more tools (business building materials) that they are expected to buy from upline. If I made nothing at 4000 PV, anyone with half a brain can conclude that IBOs below 4000 PV and fully participating on the system would end up with a net loss because their expenses would be similar to mine, but with less bonus money.

The bottom line is that people are very likely quitting because they aren't profitable. If people made a few hundred a month with 8-15 hours of work per week, they would continue to run their businesses. But those who work and make nothing or lose money have no reason or motivation to continue. Thus, they simply make a wise business decision and quit. What seemed like a good idea during the presentation simply did not pan out when reality set in. It's also reasonable to conclude that the products are that great because if they were, those who quit would become loyal customers, thus even if the sales force turned over, sales would consistently rise as former IBOs would become customers. It's apparent that most former IBOs do not become loyal Amway customers. In fact, for those who later discover they were lied to or deceived about the Amway opportunity, become critical of Amway instead.

Why do people quit Amway? I think the answer is crystal clear. The quitters are the winners!

A Legal Pyramid?

 Let me start out by saying that Amway appears to be a perfectly legal company, and therefore I am not saying or implying that Amway is illegal. But I believe that the way Amway businesses are run by IBOs, are like pyramids. In most groups, you will have the lowest level IBOs efforts and tool purchases being responsible for the upline bonuses and tools income. Many IBOs are fooled into thinking that the ability to surpass your upline or that you don't get paid to recruit downline makes this a good deal and that they will all be wealthy as diamonds one day.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Unless you have a very rare group where actual product sales to non-IBOs in sufficient to cover the costs of running your business, functions and all, then it is true that the lower level IBO's jobs are likely the source of income for the uplines. How many groups are like that? None that I have ever seen or know of. In fact, how often do IBOs even sell enough products to cover their expenses for even one month out of the year? The groups that teach "buy from yourself" end up doing the most financial damage to their groups because the downline's expenses are then covered exclusively from the downlines jobs, bank accounts, or drive the downline into debt.

I've seen and discussed group structures in forums many times and I can only conclude that tool sales wipe out what little profits/bonuses some of the downlines might receive. Only when an IBO is able to sponsor enough downline to absorb the losses for them will they finally break even or make a little profit. I would guess that the 4000 PV level or platinum is where a dedicated CORE IBO would break even and possibly start to make some profit.  However, a high dedication to buying tools could still turn these levels into losses.  But we also know that most platinum groups have 100 or more IBOs in order to generate 7500 PV. Thus, we can also conclude that less than 1% of IBOs make a net profit. The only way IBOs can earn a net profit at a lower level is to avoid purchasing tools and to avoid paying for functions. Those who get involved in a system such as WWDB or N21 almost guarantee that they will have a net loss.

Sure, my job may have a pyramid structure with the CEO making the most money. But the difference is that in a company, even the lowest paid employee still receives a paycheck and has money at the end of the month. The same claim cannot be made by IBOs. For these reasons, I believe Amway to be a legal pyramid. IBOs and information seekers are free to participate, but I challenge them to sit down and really analyze their ability to make a net profit. In most cases, the analysis won't be favorable. If you are in the US in particular, you may have great difficulty in even being able to discuss "Amway" without getting strange looks your way from others. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Joecool On Vacation?

Joecool will be on vacation for the next 5 days.  I'll be visiting friends and may have difficulty with wifi so I'll just take a handful of days off.   This article is how IBOs are deceived right from the beginning. 

I was thinking about how Amway prospects are invited to see the plan. In many cases, there will have been a bit of deception or half-truths told in order for an IBO to get a prospect in front of the plan. But then I thought about the plan and how much deception was used in the plan itself by the speaker.

In many cases, IBOs and new prospects are deceived right from the beginning. The speaker might make some small talk, and get the prospect to agree on certain issues, such as income tax and insurance eating away at your paycheck, etc. When a prospect hears this, it will make sense, and they will agree and trust the speaker somewhat. After all, the speaker has been built up to be a financial whiz and all. And much of what the speaker says makes sense, at least on the surface.

Then the deception begins.............

The speaker might talk about IBOs saving 30% on products right from the start, which is false. Here's some information debunking that age old myth:
http://www.amquix.info/Save30_myth.html Not only do many products cost more, factor in shipping and handling fees and it's not even close in many cases.

Then the speaker might talk about 98% of people being dead or broke by age 65, which is not true. The speaker might talk about 90% or more of small businesses failing in the first year (which is also untrue). These little factoids (which are untrue) are apparently used to make other opportunities seem flawed in comparison with the Amway opportunity. Readers and prospects really need to do some research and due diligence, and they will easily see through the mistruths.

The speaker might then talk about how the Amway opportunity is cheap to get started and has little or no overhead. But the problem is that many dedicated IBOs will get hosed as their upline will begin to teach them that they need to invest in their business in the form of voicemail, book of the month, standing order and attending all meetings. These expenses nearly guarantee that an IBO will end up with a net loss of income. What's more, upline may teach that this is success! In many cases, the speakers don't care about the prospects. All they care about is getting people signed up and on the system. Sure, they may loan cds to newbies, but once an IBO wants more, they are likely told that "serious" business owners buy their own tools.

So, a question for IBOs and prospects. Is it a good opportunity when you have been lied to or deceived right from the outset?

No Kings?

 I got a kick out of watching some coverage of the "No Kings" rally that took place over the weekend.  I'm an independent voter who leans right.  What I don't understand is the rage and hatred for our current president.  When he was first running for office, I wondered if he was serious because I knew he was rich but I didn't know much else about him.  I tend to vote for policy over personality.  I agree that at times, Trump is brash and unfiltered, but the way he is treated by the mainstream press and others, I almost can't blame him for lashing out at times.  The press pushed so many lies such as the Russian collusion hoax and others.  The democrats who hate "election deniers" don't seem to mind if people deny the 2024 election.  The hypocrisy is amazing.

Trump was tried and convicted of 34 felonies in NY.  I asked someone was who gleeful about this and they could not specify what the felonies were.  As I understand it, an accountant who worked for Trump received an invoice from a lawyer and recorded the transaction as a "legal fee".  Somehow, the prosecutor with the help of a selected and liberal judge somehow turned a misdemeanor which was past the statute of limitations into 34 felonies.  Now the press and other politicians gleefully say the president is a felon.  I believe this case will be overturned but the purpose of bringing the charges didn't succeed since Trump for elected anyway.  

But this no kings issues is funny.  Trump was duly elected by the American people, in a decisive manner.  If you want to talk about democracy, the democrats haven't held a real primary election in many years.  Biden and Harris were not elected in primaries.  They were appointed.  They even tried to remove Trump from the ballot in several states.  How is that for democracy?   Some of the people who advocate for democracy don't even know what it means, just like those who claim that Trump is a King.

If Trump was "Hitler" or a "Nazi" as they claim, do you really believe that you can go on TV in front of a camera and criticize Trump and be alive the next day?  Or the governor of Illinois saying "when the democrats get back in power", they will prosecute ICE agents (prosecute Federal workers for doing their job?).  If Pritzker believed (truly) that Trump was Hitler, there would be no "democrats getting back in power".  He said the lies out loud.

I sometimes wonder if these protests are even organic.  It seems like many protesters were paid, as evidenced by large groups of people leaving the protests at a certain time, meaning their "shift was over".  I could be wrong, but if I am, don't these people have better things to do?  

If so many people wanted to protest "No Kings". why didn't they do it during covid when we were told to stay home (which didn't slow down covid), or to stay 6 feet apart (which didn't slow down covid) or to avoid gatherings (which didn't slow down covid), or to get vaccinated (which didn't slow down covid) and in the meantime, the Kings like Gavin Newsom is not wearing a mask and eating in a fancy restaurant during the beginning of Covid and Nancy Pelosi who wasn't afraid of sneaking around to get her hair done.  In Hawaii, we were not allowed to sit on benches outdoors at the beach.  The covid police would come and chase people away even though being outdoors was likely the best way to avoid covid.   I was accosted by a police officer because I walked into the road briefly to avoid a group of 5 joggers on the sidewalk.  Once they passed, I went back on the sidewalk, and the officer told me I wasn't supposed to go on the road.  I said I wasn't supposed to be within 6 feet of the joggers also.  He took down my name and gave me a warning and said I could be subject to a fine if I did this again.  

My point?  Nothing Trump has done resembles a king but what many governors did during covid looks like they were the leader of North Korea or some other authoritarian regime.

What Do IBOs Know About Business?

 One of the reasons why I believe that people get duped into joining Amway and then quitting or maybe doing nothing is because of the way the business is presented and the way it is actually done. There are many redundant issues that occur and uplines who show the plan will downplay the problems. These problems then surface when an IBO actually tries to build the business and uplines smooth it over by saying things like someone should never quit or get detail-itis or some other bogus thing to get the focus off the problem.

A big problem is that many prospects join Amway because it is promoted as a way to make quick money. I know many people think they can sell some stuff and make a few quick bucks. That's what I thought at one time also. Many prospects are also told that an Amway business has zero or little overhead, unlike a conventional business. However, many IBOs find that starting an Amway business carries a defacto 100 PV minimum requirement. They might be told that you just change your shopping habits, but many individuals and families cannot possibly consume 100 PV unless they are duped into consuming Amway vitamins which they may never have taken before (or needed).  An artificial demand is what is created when this happens.

IBOs who may be somewhat serious about business will also be encouraged to get on standing order and to attend functions. While upline will claim these are optional, they are defacto requirements for those who are interested in building a business with downline. The standing orders and functions can cost a significant about of money depending on an IBO's level of commitment. I would estimate that a somewhat "serious" IBO would probably expend between $150 to $300 a month or more on these "tools". Amounts vary and can be more or less depending on factors such as whether you are single or a couple, and your level of commitment.

So now a new IBO, who is wanting to make a few extra dollars, might be spending between $450 to $600 a month for products and tools, if they are building a business and trying to sponsor downline. Their reward for this will be about $10 a month in the form of a rebate (bonus) from Amway. That is the typical and likely result for the vast majority of new IBOs. Sure, new IBOs have the zeal and excitement to recruit new downline, but that is an overwhelming challenge in North America when Amway's prices are generally not competitive with big retailers, and the Amway name carries a stigma in North America. It is not uncommon for someone to be ridiculed just for mentioning Amway in a conversation, at least in my experience and observations.

The bigger problem is that many IBOs know little or nothing about business, thus they trust their upline, whose advice is often to buy more tools, make family sacrifices to attend more functions and to do whatever it takes to obtain more tools. All the while, some uplines are laughing all the way to the bank with tool profits. Whether an IBO succeeds or not is irrelevant to many uplines, as long as tool purchasing IBOs are replaced.

As the US has somewhat labeled Amway in a negative light, some tools kingpins are feeling the effects. We have seen some diamonds in home foreclosures, bankruptcy and some bigshot diamonds selling off their homes. Maybe just maybe they weren't as wealthy as they portrayed? Maybe they are reaping what they were sowing? Maybe this is the fruit on their tree? Maybe these uplines didn't know much about business?

Chasing After Losses?

  One thing that many Amway IBOs likely suffer from is having invested too much into the business to quit. They may have spent months or even years working the system hard and they start to realize that the system isn't working out or that the business is just not producing the results that were advertised. You see obvious problems in the business, but you reach a very tough fork in the road.  Some people call this ths sunken cost fallacy where it's hard to quit for this very reason.

To quit would mean failure, as presented by many uplines. To quit is to be broke for life. To give up hope. Quitters are failures and are labeled as losers by the Amway IBOs. What hopes do you have of retirement and walking the beaches once you quit? Are your dreams of success shattered? This is a very difficult decision that must be dealt with by Amway IBOs, or maybe even those considering the business. Often the "sunken cost fallacy" plays a role, where you feel that you've invested too much to just walk away. although in many cases, making a business decision to stop is the only way to stop the financial losses.

I encourage IBOs and/or prospects to completely take the emotion out of this decision. Do not think about dreams, walking the beaches and early retirement. Do not think about what you upline may or may not have promised you. Stop and think only about your Amway business and the results that it has produced or not produced. Has your business been increasing towards your goal of financial independence or are you seeing losses month after month? Do the math. Are you on target to reach your financial goals or are you headed towards bankruptcy? Don't think only about what happens if you quit. Think about what happens if you continue. Are there prospects of making a profit or is that next major function around the corner and likely to put you deeper in the hole?

This post is not about encouraging people to quit or to walk from the business. But certainly, business owners should think like business owners and they should make an honest and realistic assessment about their continued participation, especially if their bottom line is red ink. If you are not making a profit now, what will change next month to make things better? If you repeat what your upline advised. your results are not going to magically get better. Use facts to make an informed decision.

IBOs Should Get Real?

Amway IBOs are often young people, sort of motivated at least to retire young and have uber wealth forever and ever.  That's the hype that sucks them into Amway and motivates them to give the Amway business a try.  Many will put in minimal effort before quitting and it's very common in Amway to see IBOs come and go on a regular basis.  Some people give it an earnest effort and put in a tremendous amount of effort.  But alas, in Amway, whether you put in a lot of effort or not, the results are often similar, which is dismal.

I once bought into the lies and hype of the upline and became an IBO myself back in the mid 1990's.  I initially got in because I thought maybe I could earn a few hundred bucks a month extra and ditch the second job that I had at the time.  Thus, I had joined as a "small" business, but my sponsor kept telling me that I may as well get serious and try to make "retirement" kind of money.  So I got fully involved in the business and I actually had some success, sponsoring a bunch of people and moving up the ranks in terms of pin levels.  I peaked at the 4000 PV level.  It was around that time I started to smell a rat and started wondering about all of these big functions as they didn't seem to help my business grow, but served more as a "hype and motivation" type of purpose rather than practical business advice.

It was around then that I realized that I needed to "get real" and understand that running a tiny person to person soap and vitamin business wasn't going to make me wealthy.  In fact. even at the 4000 level, I was operating at a loss, albeit, close to break even until those big functions came around when I needed to fly to the mainland and rent a car and hotel to see a dog and pony show that didn't do much for my business except for eating up my resources and keeping me business all the time.  I also started to realize that rock bands made a lot of money charging $75 for a sold out concert and here we are paying $100 or more for a weekend function.

Despite this I was still trying to achieve higher levels until my sponsor and upline started to want control of my life.  Ask permission to buy stuff, ask permission to date someone and it just got weird how we had "counseling sessions" where my upline would assess hot many standing orders and function tickets flowed through my group but has little concern and sales and other important business details such as expenses. That's where I sort of had my "AHA" moment.   I eventually met with my group, explained the revelation I had and I left the business.  It was a damaging blow to my sponsor and my group all quit except for one person who had become too far indoctrinated.  

After leaving the business, I felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders and I felt like I had reclaimed my life and freedom again.  I didn't realize how much time the Amway business and my sponsor took from my life.  I finally figured this out when I had my "get real" moment in Amway.  I hope this post helps others in a similar position as mine.

  

Amway Or A Job?

 One of the ways that upline diamonds would put down jobs was to toss in the phrase that a job was simply trading hours for dollars. As if it were demeaning to have a job where you got paid for your time. I believe it's all relative. Being that many IBOs are young and maybe working in more entry level types of jobs, then yeah, your hours wage might not be that great. If you earn say $10 an hour, then you might be struggling financially, and it may take time before your skills and knowledge increase to a point where your experience is worth more money. What if you had a job paying $1000 an hour and earned over $160,000 a month? Is that a lousy deal trading hours for dollars?  It's all relative, isn't it?

Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earning less than $100 a month and you spend $200 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus, a platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are likely losing money. How much is that worth per hour?

I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, after all, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the end, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non-IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month grow income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month.

Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profit right away. Instead, IBOs are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case, I would choose trading hours for dollars.

Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!

The Freedom Myth?

 When I was an Amway IBO, I saw my upline diamond driving around town dressed in a business suit. I used to think why does he keep working if he can walk away and collect residual income? My sponsor told me that the diamond only works because he loves and cares about his downline and wants to help them. So, there are two possible scenarios, the diamond is working to help his downline out of a genuine concern, or possibly he is working because he has to! The only difference now is that the diamond works the night and/or graveyard shift, because many IBOs are building the business after they complete their day jobs. **We should also note that my former upline diamond dropped down to the emerald level around 2005 and has since re-established his diamond level. He also moved from Hawaii (he said he loved the ocean) to Washington State and lives in a middle-class neighborhood.

Now Amway has stated that the average (non Q12) diamond earns about $150k a year. That is a decent income, but after taxes and paying for basic expenses such as medical and dental insurance, the average diamond probably lives a very middle-class lifestyle. Keep in mind that a large portion of a diamond's income comes in the form of an annual bonus, thus a diamond's monthly income may be quite small. Yes, diamonds may have other sources of income such as speaking engagements and income from standing orders and functions. But this income depends on the diamond's continued appearances and efforts. Stop "working" and the income stops also.

So is it likely that a diamond is "free"? I would have to conclude that a diamond is not free and may actually have to spend more time maintaining his group than if the diamond simply had a 9-5 job. For one thing, a diamond needs to maintain a personal group to keep qualifying for bonuses. With a poor retention rate in Amway, I am fairly sure that a diamond spends much time recruiting personally sponsored IBOs to maintain this group. Additionally, a diamond must help his six or more groups of downline platinums to maintain their businesses or face the possibility of falling out of qualification. My former diamond dropped down to the emerald level but has since re-qualified at diamond. A diamond must also dedicate time to reward up and coming movers and shakers, to keep them motivated. I got to spend time with my upline diamond when I was considered a promising up and coming pin.

In order to continue to receive tools income, a diamond must also travel to numerous functions and speaking engagements. Although the tools income allegedly doubles a diamond's income, it also adds a lot of expenses, especially if the diamond and his family travel first class to show off the diamond lifestyle.

After breaking down projected income and considering projected expenses, I can only conclude that a diamond probably lives a middle class lifestyle, and probably works as much as a man with a 9-5 job, except that a diamond works nights and weekends. A good portrait of this is shown in Ruth Carter's book (Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind The Smoke and Mirrors). In the book, the diamond had a net income of over $300,000, but lived in debt, could barely pay his mortgage, and was always on the run from one function to the next. Is that financial freedom?

I believe that diamonds may actually be busier at the diamond level than an average Joe who has a 9-5 J-O-B. The difference is that the diamond works the night shift. Is this the freedom you are seeking?

The Reality?

 One of the things that keeps some Amway IBOs going is the "honest reality". What I mean by that is for some IBOs, once you have been in Amway for a while, it can be hard to quit. You were possibly recruited with dreams of lifelong residual income and walking on all of the exotic beaches of the world. Retiring young and spending that time with your wife and family, and Amway friends. To quit means an IBO would have to face the reality that these dreams will not come true, at least not with the Amway business. The fact is that the Amway opportunity probably would not have delivered those dreams anyway. Even a diamond more than likely cannot afford those dreams. In fact, I would estimate that most diamonds, if they flaunt some excessive lifestyle, are near broke or in heavy debt as a diamond income cannot sustain a jet set lifestyle, save for a founder's double diamond or something similar. I believe the prominent WWDB triple diamond bankruptcy shed a lot of light into the finances of an upper-level pin and it wasn't as impressive as I would have thought.

The triple diamond who filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy made about half a million dollars annually from Amway. That's a great income and more than most people earn, but seriously, a half million dollars income is not going to allow you ti buy mansions paid for in cash, or a fleet of sports cars. After paying taxes and business expenses, I'm not even sure someone with that kind of income even lives a worry free life of leisure. And we're talking about a triple diamond, not your average run of the mill regular diamonds who I would safely assume, earns much less than a triple diamond.

But what really is the harsh reality? It's working hard only to drift between 100 and 500 PV. It's finally sponsoring a new IBO only to have a downline quit. It's talking to people about Amway and getting laughed at or getting rejected. It's your upline or sponsor pushing you to do more. Possibly your upline is one who questions your manhood if you aren't working hard enough. It's your upline or sponsor reminding you that a winner doesn't miss functions, especially the major ones. It's staying up late for team meetings or night owls when you need a good night's rest to do your job the next day. It's driving the miles to show a plan, only to have your prospect not show up. It's having to be deceptive about what you are doing. It's skipping functions with family and friends so you can be core to the business.

As IBOs, do you see any of this? I saw some of this during my involvement. While I have not been an IBO in some years now, I still see many testimonies and comments by more current and even some active IBOs to indicate that a lot of this still goes on. While Amway defenders will deny it, I see no reason why any of this would have changed over the years since Amway has made no significant changes to stop abusive uplines. If Amway did make any changes, they are not immediately apparent, and the continuous string of comments and testimonies do not confirm that any clean up has been done.

For active IBOs or prospects, these are the harsh realities that may be attached with the Amway opportunity. Much of it is because of motivational groups such as WWDB, but if you are seeing these traits in your group, ask the tough questions. If you happen to decide that the Amway opportunity is not for you, take heart! There are other ways to achieve your financial goals and dreams and there are more efficient ways out there. Sometimes, quitting something that isn't working is a wise business decisions and sometimes you can lose more by not quitting. Good luck in whatever you decide.