Winners And Losers?

 One of the things that my Amway upline taught, and I believe is still taught today in various groups is that winners join Amway and losers do not. Or that you were a winner because you were doing something to better your financial future and those who didn't were losers. or broke minded. Of course the upline who said this had no knowledge about those who were not in Amway. Some of them may already have been financially sound or may have been doing something to better their financial future. I'm not sure why these uplines, who promote "positive", had to resort to calling people losers simply because they did not agree that Amway was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

In many games or sporting events, there will be someone or a team that wins the game and someone or a team that loses the game. Losing a game doesn't make you a loser and certainly, a team that wins the game would not say the losing team were losers. Can you imagine a sports team's coach taking the podium after a game and saying his team won because the other team was a bunch or broke minded gutless losers? That would never happen, yet we see that frequently in the Amway/IBO world. The owner of Amway, Rich DeVos had once said in a recorded message that just because people do not agree with you (paraphrased) about Amway, does not make them losers and that IBOs should not call people losers.

In all of this, people's jobs are also criticized. That a job stand for "just over broke" or "jackass of the boss" and other blurbs. Many IBO's goals and dreams consist of ditching their job so they can sleep all day and live a life of luxury. Ironically, it is most IBO's jobs that continue to produce income so they can pay their bills and feed their family. It is also an IBO's job that funds their Amway and training expenses such as product purchases and functions and voicemail, etc. Without having a job, most people could not even join Amway or pay for any tools. Sadly, most IBOs won't make any money in Amway either, and will have to continue to work at their jobs. I do not believe that someone earning an honest living working a job is a loser. Ironically, the folks calling people losers are often not even netting a profit from their Amway business!

Yes, in this business or the sports world, there will be winners and there will be losers. The question is whether you are the one who is allowed to be the judge of who is and who isn't. I would also suggest that IBOs are completely shutting down potential future business by their behavior. What if I went to a store to purchase something but the item was not available on that particular day, so I don't purchase anything and leave. As I leave, the store owner says I am a loser for not buying something there. Will I go back? Very unlikely. If an IBO truly sees themselves as a store owner, all prospects should be seen as potential business, whether future or present. If your upline tells you that people not interested are losers, you should ask him how much cash he's netting from Amway. You might be surprised at the answer!

The Scam?

 Before I signed up to join Amway, I was invited to see "the plan" at an open meeting. The speaker seemed to make sense about running a business to make money and how you and make money and save money by being involved with Amway. Except that he misrepresented the Amway experience. The speaker said you save 30% on goods by shopping with Amway, which is a lie. You can save 30% shopping with Amway if you pay the distributor price instead of suggested retail, except that the distributor price is much more expensive (on average_ than paying for the same or similar products at a retailer like Costco to Walmart. Anyone who does an honest price comparison can easily see that this is true. Walmart buys from the manufacturer and adds their markup and sells to you. Amway does the same, but they "generously" pay a 30+ % bonus to IBOs and that bonus is included in the prices thus Amway has to charge much more than a Walmart or Costco to cover the bonuses.

Then the "scam" comes in. The diamonds and bigshots in Amway say "anyone" can go diamond, get rich and walk the beaches of the world while getting wealthy beyond belief. And all you need to do it subscribe to their teaching system consisting of voicemail, books, CDs and seminars/functions. Join and subscribe and do what you're advised, and you're nearly assured of success. It's a lie. There is ZERO evidence that the system helps anyone succeed. Upline will say everyone who succeed is on the system. While that might be true, there are millions of people on the same system who fail. It's like saying everyone who wins the lottery has a ticket while disregarding the millions of people who get on the system and fail. People fail because the Amway compensation plan is designed that way. The multi-level compensation plan assures a majority of failures.

So, the Amway business has people joining in the hopes of riches, but they are basically chasing the end of a rainbow. You can see it and chase it, but you will never get it. Looks at the diamonds in the US. Some of them died while still working and some got divorced. But the vast majority of Amway diamonds are the same old diamonds from the 1990's and there are very few new diamonds. If the system actually worked, new diamonds would be churning out regularly, but they aren't. And they can't right now because Amway sales from 2014 to now is down about 25%. Amway went from 11.8 billion to 8.8 billion last Amway fiscal year. Without new virgin ground to exploit, Amway is saturating and shrinking.

Overall Amway is a scam in my opinion. They sell false hopes and false dreams under the guise of running a low overhead business and then the diamond turns around and sells useless tools that only help the diamonds. The success is not there. The "fruit on the tree" that some diamonds used to talk about is not there. In my opinion, Amway is just a big scam run by diamonds so they can make their fortunes selling tools. I welcome and dare anyone to prove me wrong.

Amway's Mentors?

 Over the years, I have received various emails from Amway IBOs and prospective Amway IBOs asking for my opinion and advice on whether to join Amway or what I thought about Amway. I never tell anyone directly that they should not join or join, but I offer them my thoughts and experiences and allow them to at least make an informed decision about Amway and the Amway systems such as WWDB, BWW, LTD, Network 21 etal. Many people are not familiar with these systems, and the system leaders are typically diamonds and above and although they do not present actual current credentials, most people assume they are wealthy beyond belief and should be worshipped and given the utmost respect.

However, I have seen chinks in the Armor. I saw a triple diamond file chapter 7 bankruptcy some years ago and lose homes to foreclosure. Another "lesser" diamond in WWDB also lost a home to foreclosure. A very valid question I have is how they can lose homes to foreclosure when they cry out on stage that diamonds pay cash for everything? What is also stunning is that the triple diamond only made $40,000 a month. Now that's a great income but is that what you would think a triple diamond would make from Amway? How can you afford mansions and jets and a fleet of sports cars, paid for in cash, when you earn about the equivalent of minimum wage in the national football league? The answer is you make additional money by selling your downline voicemail, CDs, books and seminar tickets, along with charging them for meetings and other events. More on that to come.

Amway leaders often present themselves as "mentors" but mentors in a pure sense don't make money from the people they mentor. For example, my grandfather teaching me to have character or to be a good man would be mentoring. Someone charging me for voicemail or books and CDs and making money even if I lose my shirt can hardly be considered a mentor. I would say that person is a paid consultant who has no accountability for my results in Amway. As far as I know, no Amway upline has refunded money because you lost your shirt following their advice. I hear stories at times about people losing a lot of money and while they can return seem Amway products, I don't hear many stories about refunds from the "tools scam".

And that's the worst part about the Amway "mentors". They have never been held accountable for the massive numbers of people who have spent money in WWDB, BWW, LTD or Network 21 and didn't make money despite doing everything their "mentors" or upline leaders advised. Also, there is no documented evidence that the system of books and CDs and seminars do anything to help IBOs make money, unless you're selling these materials. My advice to Amway prospects and potential IBOs - Beware of Amway "mentors".  

As a plus, the new FTC ruling against Amway, WWG (WWDB) and LTD will prevent the sale of tools and functions to new IBOs.  This Amway story is going to get interesting going forward.

Negative Cashflow?

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

Then when an Amway supporter is cornered with this information, they will switch gears and start to defend quality versus price. It's all very predictable.  Honest question for IBOs. Why do you use KATE instead of the Amway voicemail system? Amway pays you to shop there, your upline profits from and does not pay you to use KATE. (It's because upline diamonds created their own voicemail system because it's more profitable than the Amway system.  So much for product loyalty and shopping at your own store?)

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

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

Upline Teaching?

 Below is an excerpt from an apparently newbie IBO in Britt Worldwide (BWW). Note how they are taught that they must ask upline before doing their work. This IBO also talks about not having to use his brain, just follow your upline’s advice. Submit to the leaders. Follow the system and success is guaranteed. Right, and Amway apologists have the nerve to deny that this stuff still goes on? I suspect it is more common than Amway defenders will admit.

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http://greatdealmway.blogspot.com/2009/08/bww-system-and-get-success.html

*3 Cardinal rules

A. never pass negative advises or rumors to your down lines.

B. you must ask to your up lines before going on your first work.

C. never ever go bad with anyone’s self motive, money and family members.

*4 powers

1. Unity: unity is most powerful aspect. Do work in unity.

2. Power of submission to your work, up lines and customers: you must understand that you do not need to use your brain in this business. Just follow your leaders and submit yourself to them.

3. Power of spoken words: try out this simple but effective formula to gain success in your life. Speak out regularly about what you want in your life. It should be for this business, for family, for country or anything you want. This will reduce the negative energy and will create positive energy around you.

Do best and follow this system. Success is guaranteed!

CORE - The Upline Teaching?

I'm reposting this article about CORE because if you see the steps of CORE, the alleged recipe for Amway success taught by many groups, you'll see that many of the steps taught by upline are now going to be prohibited by the very recent FTC ruling against Amway, WWDB and LTD.  No more CDs/audios, books, functions, communikate (voicemail) and possible the buy 100% of your own products, depending on what they are.  Amway will be monitoring sales, and I believe the FTC ruling says sales with be audited by an independent monitor.   This will be very interesting times.  

Amway leaders often refer to CORE as their steps to ensure that an IBO will succeed. But in my informed opinion, CORE will guarantee failure. Here's a breakdown of CORE and why it doesn’t work. Here are the CORE steps. Some groups may have variations of CORE, but this is generally what many groups use:

1 - Show the Plan (10-15 per month)
2 - Retail the Products (10 customers @10 PV each)
3 – Tapes/cds
4 - Books
5 - Functions (attend all)
6 - Accountability
7 - Counsel with Upline (Be teachable!)
8 - Buy 100% of your own products
9 – Communikate

Many upline will tell you that your success is nearly 100% guaranteed if you follow these steps for 2-5 years. Some Amway enthusiasts will tell you that 6 months of this activity will nearly assure you of a platinum level business. Certain steps are within the IBO’s control, such as reading every day and listening to cds, and attending functions. It is also easy enough to be accountable, counsel with upline, buy your own products, and use KATE (voicemail).

Here’s where an IBO’s efforts will break down. Showing the plan and retailing products. And remember, if you cannot do these steps then you are not considered “CORE” and your upline will likely tell you that it is your own fault and that you simply haven’t been CORE, therefore you did not achieve success. There is some truth in this but let me expose the system in a different angle.

Amway has a spotty reputation in the US. I don’t think anyone can dispute this fact. Therefore, for the vast majority of people, being able to show the plan 10-15 times per month is a nearly impossible task. If you are able to do this, you are a really good salesman or a good liar. In this scenario, the IBO is already successful, but not because of CORE, but simply because the IBO has the gift of being able to convince people into seeing the plan. But for many IBOs, they may contact hundreds of people and not be able to get anyone to see the plan. Even IBOs who follow upline advice on how to contact will probably not be able to show 10-15 plans per month. Thus, this IBO, who is doing the work, will not be able to succeed. The system will blame the IBO, but the reality is that the IBO has too big of a disadvantage to overcome.

Secondly, with high prices (on average) and with a spotty reputation, most IBOs are unable to retail products. Thus, most IBOs are unable to sell products, therefore they are not CORE, therefore upline will blame the IBO for failure.

What if an IBO contacts 1000 people and cannot get 10 people to see the plan? Upline will claim that IBO is not CORE and therefore it is personal failure of the IBO. IMO, the only reason why upline can claim that CORE works is because in order to do the CORE steps consistently, you have to already be at a certain level of success. The vast majority of IBOs cannot and will never be able to reach that level.

That is the myth and the deception that many uplines will use to attract recruits. That each IBO can do the CORE steps. When only a fraction of 1% ever reach the level of platinum or higher, the numbers strongly support what is written here. Apologists are welcome to try and prove me wrong, but they can't.

The Fallout From The 2026 FTC Action Against Amway And WWDB/LTD?

 In case anyone's been sleeping the last few days and missed the FTC announcement, it's posted on this very blog a few days ago.  Basically, Amway, WWG (WWDB) and LTD were fined $225 million dollars for deceptive and misleading business practices.  More guidance will be forthcoming from the FTC, according to their announcement.  I'm curious but will be trying to follow up on the FTC guidance.  But IMO, some of the details from the FTC ruling will be devastating to the AMOs.   I say this because the FTC ruling restricts the diamonds/AMOs from selling tools and functions to new IBOs for the first year.

Not being able to sell tools to newbie IBOs is likely to choke out the diamond's tool business.  I say this because Amway's own disclosures suggest that a significant number of IBOs don't last a full year before they quit.  And in my own experience, the diamond's and platinums are always rushing to get new IBOs on standing orders and functions.  More than likely because the diamonds livelihoods depend on new IBOs signing up, regardless of whether they stay in the business or not.  It seems as if new IBOs are expendable, so there's a push upfront to sell standing orders and function tickets to new IBOs and prospects while they might still be excited about Amway.

By restricting sales of tools and functions for the first year, the diamond's income from tools and functions will be almost non-existent.  It's possible that there will be no more functions at sports arenas or convention centers.  I had heard that Amway venues were already shrinking over the years since I left Amway, and I can only imagine things will get worse.  So how will the diamonds cope with a significant decline in the tools business?  In a previous post, I theorized that the diamonds could try to get IBOs who have been in business for more than a year to foot the bill for their groups.  But if say a 1000 PV IBO or 2500 PV IBO isn't even making a net profit, having them pay for their downline to attend functions would just put these folks out of business as well, especially if they were already starting to doubt the foolproof business.  

I suppose the diamonds could try to move their groups entirely to another MLM, but that could be risky because the diamonds have already sold Amway as the financial savior for their downlines, and a new MLM could easily collapse if not enough sales are generated.  Some diamonds had done this in the past.  I recall some groups moving to an MLM called "Xango" at one time in the 1990's or so but Xango didn't last.   So what to do?   While the diamonds might still be assuring downline that everything is ok, I'm pretty sure that they are hitting the panic button behind closed doors.  

There will be more fallout and other things I haven't thought of, but I believe the FTC ruling could spell the end for at least some of the diamonds, especially the ones who have a diamond pin but aren't actually qualified anymore.