The really insidious part about some of the 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.
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.
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 anniverssary 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 seperate standing orders. Brad Duncen 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.
The more I read about Amway here and at other blogs, the more convinced I am that it is a truly evil and corrupt organization.
ReplyDeleteThe "diamonds" and others up in the Amway hierarchy are selfish and deceitful scumbags, whose only interest is in bleeding the life out of people below them in the pyramid. Brad Duncan tells his down-line that they have to continue buying the standing orders of those further down the line who have quit the business? You gotta be kidding! That's not only an unethical and greed-driven order -- it's INSANE!
But from what I'm reading here and elsewhere, Amway is an insane organization. What's tragic is that the business is run by "diamonds" and those above them who are all obviously thievish criminals at heart.
The U.S., India, and the United Kingdom seem to have found this out. Let's hope the Japanese and the Chinese catch on quickly.
You're right. I believe the "tools" such as tapes were first invented to help tran groups at a distance but greed was planted and the diamonds began to push the system to the point where downline was going bankrupt and losing their homes (I saw several cases as an IBO) Amway's owner Rich DeVos knew this and addressed in in a speech called "Directly Speaking" but when he realized the diamonds could just leave with their groups to another MLM, he backed down and the "tool scam" flourished.
DeleteNow with the internet and readily available information, the scam is hard to hide and people who do due diligence can find information about Amway and make informed decisions.
I just left WWDB 2 weeks ago....i could no longer live a lie....any business that doesn't want you to mention its name is sketchythen they also say"it's not about the business it's about mentors hip" well guess what my mentors are long gone now that I'm out...they are right about one thing they are interested in your financial future(countless times I was told you take you advice from people with fruit on the tree") and not your long term life....can't believe I almost alienated my friends and family to live a lie ...thanks for exposing Amway for what it really is!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! But as for the fruit on the tree comment.... The WWDB folks talk about fruit on the tree but they don't let you see the tree or the fruit. Try asking one of these "leaders" to see their business tax return (not the personals) and see what fruit they have. More than likely they will tell you none of your business or they will show you a copy of someone's check.
DeleteBut you're never get to see the fruit or the tree. Funny how they say to look at the fruit on the tree until you ask to see that fruit on the tree.
When they try to prospect you, they will start love-bombing you, show you their affection, charm and induce you with "positive-thinking". They will be friendly to you at first. They will say things like, I will be with you, I will support you and I will help you when you are in need. They make a lot of promises of hope and dreams.
ReplyDeleteBut once you sign up and join, their mask starts to wear off and their true colors will show, instead of their affection and charm, they will be mean to you, they demand your dedication, they start giving you bad advices, they become uncaring, ruthless and demanding, they will start bitching at you 'til day and night if you don't listen to them or attend to their meetings. What's worse, they won't pay you a single penny (....so this is a job where you don't get paid for your dedication) and when you fail at "your business" your uplinks will just abandon you and rebuke you for not trying hard enough. What happens to those promises they told you?
Yeo, they start out attracting you with money and untold wealth, early retirement. And the when it doesn't happen, they sa that the business is more than money. And for those who don't believe me, try missing a few meetings and see if your upline still "loves" you.
DeleteI almost always read reviews of things before I commit to it. But my co-worker asked me to join an information session and next thing you know, I'm an IBO. It got to a point where I was stressing out over making enough PV, attending info sessions/trainings, buying audios (at $10.00 a pop), and attending team meetings almost 2 hours away monthly. All this stress was affecting my full time job.
DeleteThey are very pushy as well.A speaker was coming to the area and I get a phone call from my up line and I explained I couldn't make it to the event because of a birthday party I had to attend. My up line told me to give the birthday boy his gift the day before the party and attend the event....like who does that? Also every meeting I had with my up line, she was always late, even an hour late to my grand opening in which my family was there in attendance waiting as well. Very disrespectful like your time is better than our time.
Two weeks ago, I decided to end everything with Amway, I couldn't take it. I told my up line that I wanted to put a "hold" on things and I'll let her know when I'm ready to start back up again. She was not happy and didn't speak on it for a while. That Sunday I got a text saying that her and my up line diamond were going to contact people in my list (phone contacts) to get my business going. Why would you want to help build my business now when I stated that I want to be on hold for a while. I told them 3 times not to contact anyone on my list and they kept making excuses...they even prevented me from editing my Google docs sheet (I was trying to erase the numbers). I was mad and disappointed that people would go to an all time low to get a dollar. I eventually told them I was done and they still couldn't take no for an answer. I remember hearing my up line say that when people quit they use their list for their advantage. I truly don't understand why people are like that but I'm glad that weight was lifted off my shoulders.
Thanks for your comment. Amway leaders often give a false vertical alignment which is God first, then spouse, then kids then a job and Amway was 5th. But any conflict that came up like your party, they expected Amway to be given priority. As I said, they peddle a lot of self serving advice.
DeleteI notice that the two Amway shills, Bridgett and IBOFightback, are no longer very enthused about continuing the battle. Bridgett has been pretty silent of late, and IBOFightback has announced that the battle is over, and Amway has triumphed. I guess both of them are no longer getting their monthly checks from Ada, Michigan or from WWDB.
ReplyDeleteThe battle is still very much under way, and we are kicking their asses. It's getting harder and harder for Amway to recruit new IBOs in English-speaking countries,
I saw IBFightback's article. He thinks it's over but cannot explain why Amway's sales are stagnant in the US which is why they did not report North American sales. Amway is relying on foreign countries for their growth because they are basically "saturated" in the US.
DeleteI don't think Bridgette evare made real money from Amway but she got some benefits because she apparently sponsored a platinum.
One of the really crummy things about Amway and other MLM scams is how they encourage you to go into debt. It's not enough for them to just steal the money from your pockets and bank account. I was in another MLM, exact same modus operandi as Amway and one of the things that helped me see through it was when I saw this very timid and shy old man who came in and right away bought in for a large sum of money. He was gone after a short time and realizing just how ruthless and greedy these kind of people really are, so was I.
ReplyDeleteYep, in Amway, they told us to get out of debt, but it was ok to get more debt only if it was to buy more tools or to buy function tickets. Self serving advice that hurts many downline.
DeleteAmway up-lines are almost always pushy, arrogant, and demanding. They really think that your time belongs to them and to the great Amway scheme. This mentality is encouraged by the higher-ups, who know that most IBOs are not particularly independent-minded, and are therefore easy to dominate and boss around.
ReplyDeleteA lot of things are more important than goddamned Amway! If your life revolves around selling soap products, vitamins, and dime-store cosmetics, YOU'RE THE LOSER, not some sane person who works at an honest job. And being forced to attend pointless meetings that are nothing but stupid pep-talks is intolerable. Are you a free citizen, or a slave?
Attending major family functions like birthdays, funerals, weddings and holiday reunions is a requirement if you are a sane and sociable human being. Missing one of these family functions because you have to listen to some fat-assed diamond orate about how great Amway is, and how you have to work your ass off so that he can get more money, is beyond stupid. It's craven and gutless.
The uplines aren't interested in you going diamond because they would have to share tool money with you. What they want is for you to bring in recruits who buy tools so they can make mone. If you and the recruits quit, it is of no consequence to them.
DeleteAnd it's getting harder and harder for Amway to find new recruits here in the U.S. Too many people know the score now.
ReplyDeleteYep, what keeps the market from complete saturation is young people turning 18 each day.
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