How To Silence A Critic?

 There's been a lot of debate and activity on Joecool's blog over the years.  Amway IBOs come and go. They make interesting and sometimes dubious claims, but they never silence any of the criticism because they never prove their case. Or they make ridiculous claims or analogies such as comparing the Amway opportunity to a McDonald's franchise, or silly comparisons to colleges. The owner of Amway, Rich DeVos said in 1983, something to the effect that the tools business was basically an illegal pyramid. If the abuse of downline IBOs had been addressed back then, there might be little criticism of the opportunity today.  

Instead, it appears that Amway and the AMOs (such as WWDB or Network 21) created a symbiotic relationship.  The AMOs do the recruiting, teach product loyalty and a defacto 100 PV or more quota.  In return, Amway allows the AMOs to operate unfettered and the IBOs are the one who wind up paying.

I once had a discussion with an (apparent) IBO who claimed that Amway has created the most millionaires in the world. When asked for the source of this claim, that same IBO disappeared. Now I am certain that Amway has created some millionaires, but the most in the world? Also, based on evidence and simple math, it appears that most IBOs who participate with the tools systems lose money, so even if Amway did produce many millionaires (which is not verified), then we could also claim that Amway produced many bankruptcies and failures as well.   I might also add that diamonds and other higher up Amway leaders do not show any evidence that they are indeed millionaires so it's just an unverified claim.

Various IBOs have also claimed that because they are successful, that it serves as proof that the system works. But when asked for evidence of that success, or to show that their downline share some of that success, they disappear into the night.

You know what? Sweat shop owners are usually successful. They succeed by taking advantage of their underpaid workers. Basically, greedy tools kingpin diamonds are the same thing, maybe worse because at least sweat shop workers have a net gain, although it may be small. The only difference is that occasionally, an IBO might be able to break through and join the diamond ranks.

Some of the zealous IBOs dared a critic to post a real business profit/loss statement, and it was produced. After that, not a single IBO came forward to post the same, or to even discuss their business income and expenses. Why do IBOs avoid discussion about their business? Is it because it makes you look bad? I'm sure if it helped to prove their points, they would discuss it. Maybe the IBOs who post on blogs have nothing? It appears that the biggest defenders of Amway, do so without any ammunition?

How to silence an Amway critic? Simple, back up your claims and show mathematically how the business can work for the group. It's easier to silence an Amway defender, simply ask for proof that it works.