It appears to me that Amway sales in the US have gone down. Globally, Amway sales declined to 9.5 billion after hitting a high of 11.8 billion a few years ago. However, if Amway didn't have expansion in China and India, I wonder what their sales would be like? I do not believe there has been signifcant growth even in the days of "Quixtar". I believe that mist Amway sales are simply to Amway IBOs who are taught "buy from yourself" or "be your own best customer". IBOs purchasing products is not a problem, unless they are purchasing more than they actually sell, especially in light of the recent FTC vs. Herbalife settlement.
Many IBOs and Amway defenders claim that Amway products are simply the "best". Some even go so far as to call Amway product superior to big box retailer's products. In the past, some unbiased reviews of Amway products compared to name brand had some Amway goods rated as average, some were very expensive, and some were satisfactory. Of course, quality is subjective and it certainly seems that whether or not one is an IBO determines that quality. But retail consumers have spoken. Price is an important consideration. WalMart proves this.
But here's the definitive question. If Amway products are so good, why do former IBOs rarely continue to buy them? I mean Amway sales would continue to climb steadily each year if former IBOs kept buying products. And here's another angle on all of this. If some former IBOs do purchase Amway goods, I would bet that they do not purchase 100 PV or more each month as they do when they are IBOs. It would appear that uplines are able to manipulate or create an artificial demand for Amway products amongst the active IBOs. This is a point of contention between Amway defenders and Amway critics because an artificial demand toes the line on legality issues.
There are tens of millions of former IBOs. There are less than 200 qualified diamonds in the US. I believe there are more lottery winners than qualified diamonds. But if there are tens of millions of former IBOs and hundreds of thousands of current IBOs why aren't the Amway sales consistently growing? I believe it's because Amway IBOs are the primary consumers of Amway products and former IBOs are not. And because information is easily available on the internet, prospects who are approached an easily google up Joecool's blog or other sites full of information and make an informed decision. I believe that is partly why sales are down in the US, because recruitment and sponsoring of new IBOs is down.
So if Amway products have such great value, why don't most former IBOs continue to purchase them?
Joe, you have hit the nail on the head. Amway is all about ARTIFICIAL DEMAND.
ReplyDeleteIn-house purchases of Amway products by IBOs ("buying from your own store") constitute the vast majority of Amway sales. And those sales happen not because of customer desire, but because of up-line pressure to meet a certain quota of "sales."
This isn't real selling, where you need to capture a market of interested consumers who'll keep coming back for a product that they like. Amway is fake selling -- such as forcing yourself to buy inventory that you don't really need or want or have a ghost of a chance of selling to others. It's a false selling that is driven by hype and pressure.
And yes -- when IBOs leave Amway they certainly don't continue to purchase Amway products. If they did, Amway would be one of the biggest and most profitable companies in America. IBOs purchase Amway products not because they like them or want them, but because they are trying to please their up-line, develop a big PV, or "duplicate" somebody else's success.
Amway is still a great opportunity in the world. Yes we loss 1.5 B most that loss was in China but we invest heavy in India. Amway product are terrific if you use them right they last a time to a educated consumer.
DeleteIBO's buy products because they believe that doing so will evertually make them rich and financially free. But once people realize that they aren't going to achieve anything with Amway, they stop buying Amway products. When their dreams of untold wealth fades away, so goes their desire to purchase Amway products.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know the loss was in China? Amway doesn't report sales by individual markets.
ReplyDeleteLenzie, you are an idiot.
ReplyDeleteA "consumer" is simply someone who buys a product and uses it. Nothing more. Got that?
OK, then a consumer doesn't need to be "educated." If he likes a product he'll keep buying it.
The silly phrase "educated consumer" is just Amspeak for someone who has been brainwashed to buy Amway products even though he doesn't really want them or need them.
Don't try to pull your Amspeak bullshit here, Lenzie. It doesn't work at this blog.
Joe, they have to make these bold claims because they are despearate to clear their garage full of amway products.
ReplyDeletebut toothpaste and neutralite product are really good.
ReplyDelete"Nutrilite" is a totally fake vitamin, created back in the early 1940s and flogged by Van Andel and De Vos for several years before they got in trouble with the FDA over it. Then they dropped Nutrilite and started "Amway" for the selling of soaps and cleansers, which were not subject to FDA examination.
ReplyDeleteAfter many years, and with the control that Amway bought via bribery of government officials, Van Andel and De Vos figured it was safe to flog Nutrilite again. That's why it's in the Amway inventory.