It Sounds Good?

  Having blogged about Amway for 30 years now, I have observed that Amway 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 Amway IBOs or anyone else has a higher or lower rate of divorce than the rest of 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 often turn into an 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.

Ruthless?

 The really insidious part about some of the Amway LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are cutthroat ruthless businessmen with nice suits, and disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray. On the surface, you may think this is true, but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary.   (The blog was call "Expeditions of Truth" and the fired-up blog owner has now quit and is doing other things)

They may even claim moral superiority such as using religion as a basis for building the business. I heard some leaders say "Amway is a God pleasing business". Really? God likes lying and exploiting others? I would beg to differ. They might tell you lies such as Amway and/or WWDB IBOs have a lower divorce level than the world. They may tell you a bunch of unsubstantiated details. I urge IBOs to verify and confirm claims like these.  How do splines know who gets divorced?

As an IBO, the diamonds may tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some crossline IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions, and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an "investment" into your business. 

Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy extra cds every week. To be core, you needed to listen to a cd each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day, right? Couples were told to buy their own separate standing orders. Brad Duncan even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order. 

In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks, so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my crossline did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor, and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?

Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are cutthroat wolves in sheep's clothing who will take your last dime if you allow them to.

Sharp Prospects?

 One of the things taught to our group by upline was to recruit "sharp" people. And in general, I agree that many/most IBOs were sharp people. Most of them young, nice, motivated and wanting more in life. Certain Amway defenders wrongly claim that I am against Amway and IBOs to a degree where I am maniacal against them. I am not. I recall that most of my group and my crossline were mostly educated and had decent jobs. We all hoped to achieve the dream of walking away from our jobs and living in luxury. We got the idea that it was very reasonable and achievable if only we did as upline advised and immersed ourselves in the "system", which in my case, was WWDB. We were told that WWDB had much fruit on its tree and at the time I was an IBO, that appeared to be true.  But the key was to subscribe to all of the functions, audios and books and teaching.

However, at the time, we did not know that some/most/all WWDB leaders made significant income from selling us tools and functions.  You see, we were lied to and speakers at major functions told the audience that nobody made a cent from tools and that upline makes pennies only after you earn dollars. We now know that this is not true and that these speakers were lying.  What's more, these leaders were never made accountable for their lies. They just revised history and acted like nothing happened. Sadly, many downline IBOs simply accepted the explanation and continued to buy tools and functions. Currently, the WWDB tree is getting barren, with little "fruit". There are very few new diamonds from WWDB in the US, and some of their more apparently dynamic leaders have left WWDB to start their own systems. Thus, it looks like WWDB is left with the same old tired speakers today, as the ones who were around prior to my involvement with Amway.

But what's puzzling, or maybe not, is why aren't there more successes if many, possibly most IBOs are "sharp" people? Surely large groups of smart and motivated people can accomplish much, but for whatever reason, they are unable to accomplish much in Amway and WWDB. In fact, many of these sharp people cannot sponsor a single downline and have difficulty in selling Amway products. After many years of blogging and analyzing the Amway opportunity, my conclusion is that Amway products are priced too highly and cannot compete with similar products on the open market. Sure, Amway defenders will cite quality or concentration as reasons why Amway is competitive, and in some cases, Amway is competitive, but the general public doesn't care, they just want cheap stuff, and Walmart fulfills that need better than Amway. It leaves the majority of Amway sales being made to active business building IBOs. Apparently, the artificial need to buy Amway goods disappears when the diamond dream disappears.   How many former IBOs move 100 PV because of the great value?

Also, the zany and sometimes deceptive behavior of past and some present IBOs gives the Amway name a bad reputation, making it difficult to get anyone to see the plan, and sponsoring becomes nearly impossible. It is for this reason, I believe Amway is growing in foreign countries and not in North America, where saturation has occurred. When you factor in all of these variables, it is easy to conclude that large groups of sharp people fail is not because they are not capable, it is because the Amway opportunity comes with so many handicaps that even sharp people cannot overcome them. It is why so many former IBOs, including myself, have done quite well for themselves after leaving Amway. Did I learn some things about business while in Amway?  Yes, I did learn some things of value, but I also learned that I was lied to and deceived by WWDB leaders and for that reason, my blog continues......

Everyone Starts At Zero?

 The Amway business is a level playing field. At least that's what my upline told us when I was an IBO. That everyone starts at zero. While that is somewhat true, there were other factors that existed, that most IBOs did not know about. That factor is the possibility of PV manipulation. I believe that groups that are not on direct fulfillment (Groups still calling in and picking up) are able to transfer PV around. Thus, certain groups or favored downline could be manufactured into higher pins. I believe most groups are currently on direct fulfillment, but I did confirm about less than a year ago that some groups still are on call in and pick up, but usually for tools and not Amway products.

But let's examine the concept that everyone starts at zero. While this aspect may be technically true, certain people are simply better at selling, or better and more adept at socializing and talking to others.  So, while your PV count may be zero, the skills needed to start and run a business is not a level playing field for most. I believe uplines state this to give prospects the idea that everyone has an equal chance at succeeding in Amway. I just cannot believe this to be true. Even current diamonds, while having achieved a certain level, probably could not "start at zero" and build a diamond ship again.   WWDB tried this some years back.  The diamonds were told to set the example and build another diamond business outside of their current diamond business.  Well, as far as I know, not a single existing diamond at the time was able to do it and the entire thing was forgotten and never mentioned again.
 
Thus, when you really think about it, the "old timers" of the diamonds should actually be given less credibility than the newer ones. Do you really believe that a diamond or higher pin who built his business in the 1970's or 1980's can really teach people in 2026 how to build the business in a way to address people in 2026, and the fact that the business is internet based as opposed to the old days.

It is easy to stand on stage, tell people how great you are, show off alleged material wealth and then tell prospects that everyone starts at zero and that anyone can build the business. I do not believe that it is true. I also strongly suspect that very few (if any) of the current diamonds would be able to "start at zero" and build a new diamond ship here in the US, where the reputation and shrinking sales would be handicaps too great to overcome for the vast majority of prospective IBOs.  How can you build a business and approach prospects when many or most people have a negative view of Amway due to previous IBO behavior or unethical behavior?  

Capital Flight?

Some months ago, I wrote an article about the newly elected (at the time) NY mayor Zohran Mamdani.  In a recent event, he filmed a video clip about his proposed tax on expensive second homes in NY as a means of generating revenue for the city.  He has already failed to deliver on some of his promises such as free bus services for New Yorkers.  Some people have pushed back on these taxes because people who own these expensive second homes because these residents will basically receive nothing in return and because they likely spend only part of the time in NY and therefore, they do not even use as many day to day services as regular citizens.   

In this most recent turn of events, the mayor filmed his video in front of a billionaire's second home.  That billionaire is the head of the Citadel.  A big company that provides thousands of jobs in NY and the head of the company already pays high taxes and donates a lot of money towards charitable causes in NY.  And rather than backing down about the video, the mayor doubles down.

It is a fact that the top 1% of New Yorkers pay nearly half of the taxes in NY.  And the bottom half of New Yorkers pay less than 5% of the taxes.  So, in a socialist regime, you just take more and more.  If anyone believes that this taxing of a second luxury home will be the "be all end all", they are sadly mistaken.   Cutting spending is not politically popular so politicians think rich people are an endless ATM machine for them.  And I might remind people that in 2022, the NY governor went on TV and told rich people, republicans in particular, to leave and go to Florida.   Now she's asking them to come back and pay taxes to NY.  Fat chance.

Then in California, the politicians have put a wealth confiscation tax on the ballot (this allows politicians to blame the voters).  This new tax would basically tax billionaire's "unrealized gains".  So if someone is wealthy because of stock holdings and real estate, they would have to sell these assets (and pay taxes on the gains) to have enough cash to pay the tax.  And effectively, this is a 7-8% tax because selling off 5% of your holdings won't be enough to get 5%.   Now if you have only 1 billion, that tax would be 50 million plus the taxes on the sale of your assets making the bill 70 to 80 million dollars.   California and NY are already leading the country in affluent people leaving to other states because of excessive taxation and regulations.   Billionaires are usually smart people and surrendering 70 to 80 million for nothing in return is a piss poor investment.  And 70 or 80 million is if you have 1 (one) billion dollars.  If you have 2 billion, then your bill is effectively 140 to 160 million.  

This is where capital flight takes place.   The ultra rich people move to Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Florida.   Do you think 70 or 80 million can pay for you to move and get a nice place to live elsewhere?  Not all billionaires will leave, but it doesn't take all of them to leave to create a budgetary disaster in California or New York.  For the record, this wealth confiscation was already tried in Europe and so many wealthy people moved that the countries who tried this repealed the law.   Now I see that even the Seattle mayor has flippantly told the wealthy "bye" in her city.  

Socialism works great until you run out of other people's money to distribute.  But these folks win elections by appealing to many young people who are possibly in entry level jobs or are lazy and are enamored by the idea of free stuff like universal income, health care, etc.  The bottom line is the politicians are so inept and greedy that they don't realize they are killing the golden goose.  California has one of the largest economies in the world, but with their taxes and regulations, if the Tech Giants in silicon valley were to leave, California would be burnt toast.  

The Root Of Many Evils?

 Over the many years of Amway's existence, their reputation in the US and Canada has tanked. And it's not all due to Amway the corporation itself, but rather Amway IBO leaders who teach and condone unethical behavior. Of course, I don't know of any significant measures that Amway has taken to discipline some of their wayward IBOs, but that's another story.

During my blogging career, I've seen young people who were discouraged from attending college so they could build an Amway business. I've personally seen people go bankrupt and lose their homes because they followed the advice of their all-knowing uplines. Sure, people have some responsibility for their actions, but I feel as if some of these kinds of actions by some IBOs and IBO leaders is predatory and focuses on people who can least afford to funnel money into the business and the leech teaching systems such as WWDB or Network 21.

I've seen ridiculous product claims such as people claiming that bottled water could cure ills and make you athletically superior. Of course, this water costs about $50 a case when you could buy 8-10 cases of water at Walmart for the same price. They claim superiority in their vitamins without unbiased scientific evidence to support their claims. Perhaps that is why the Amway vitamins seemingly are consumed nearly exclusively by IBOs themselves.

Despite claims by Amway supporters and IBOs that things are changing in Amway for the better, there is plenty of evidence that nothing has changed. Outrageous income claims. I thought the Dateline show in 2004 exposed some crazy stuff with an Amway IBO leader claiming that people could earn $250K per year with a part time effort, but then my friend Rocket (fellow blogger) finds this gem with an IBOAI member and crown ambassador in WWDB/Amway claiming you can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month: http://rocketsrants.blogspot.com/2011/09/amway-guys-they-sure-say-stuff.html

I wonder if that diamond himself even makes that kind of money?   Ironically, his triple diamond brother wasn't even close to that when his chapter 7 bankruptcy papers were exposed a few years ago.

So to Amway prospects and apologists, the Amway corporation itself may be perfectly legal and clean, but the root of many evils comes from Amway uplines and AMO leaders. It is for this very reason that many get turned off just at the mention of the Amway name. Amway can stop them, but will they?

The Real Pitch?

 Many or possibly most people have experienced some kind of pitch by an Amway IBO sometime during their lives.  My first Amway pitch was an invitation to a beer bust while I was in college. I arrived at the meeting expecting beer and pizza only to see people in suits giving a presentation. They spoke about how you could generate income by eliminating the middleman from product distribution. Creating efficiencies was a way to generate money and Amway was it. On the surface, it can seem as if everything the speaker said made sense, although real life practice doesn't bear it out.

Sell and use consumables. Consumables need to be re-purchased so obviously it is a good way to run a small business. What wasn't discussed was the higher prices of the products/consumables. What many people do not see is that Amway's generous bonuses have to be built into the price of the products. For this reason, Amway cannot compete with big retailers who don't have to add salespeople bonuses into their prices.  And big retailers have the leverage to squeeze out the best prices because of the volume they move.

But if you look beyond all of this and still think Amway is a good opportunity, then the real Amway pitch comes in. People get excited about working part time, 2-5 years to earn willable and residual income which will allow someone to retire early and leave a legacy to future generations. This is the point where the Amway presenter makes the pitch about people needing training.   By the way, Amway does not allow the use of willable and residual income.  If it were trye, Amway the corporation would be using these terms in their business disclosures.

Then you'll be told need tools. After all, a carpenter can't build a house without tools, right? So many people who think Amway will make them rich, start to invest in their "tools". Sure, the Amway functions and some other materials can make you feel good or motivated, but in the end, the tools are supposed to help you generate sales and to increase your business revenue. What goes unnoticed in many cases is that the Amway tools are the reason for an IBO's net losses. The upline will justify this by telling stories about how success is right around the corner or that you should never quit and you will eventually make it.

All of this rhetoric from Upline is nice, but people who don't quit have no assurance of making it. Look at the fruit on the tree is what IBOs are often told at meetings and functions.  Sounds rosy, but in the end, my former LOS, WWDB, I believe has fewer diamonds now than when I was an IBO 30 years ago. My former sponsor was still active in Amway after 25 years (not sure about now) and he's not even a platinum. You don't see many new diamonds except for in foreign countries. To me, this is evidence that Amway is saturated and there is little chance of future success. This is why there are mostly tired old diamonds working until they pass away. If the diamonds were so "awesome", why aren't all of their kids and close friends also in diamond club?

The answer is that the Amway pitch can sound good, but it doesn't work. From 2013 to now, Amway revenues are down.  From a peak of 11.8 billion in 2013 to lower levels now, unless I'm mistaken.  I believe Amway is a sinking ship.