One of the things Amway promoters commonly use to entice prospects into joining is to get them to think about financial dreams and goals that they would like to accomplish. After all, who wouldn't want to be retired at age 35 and walking on the exotic beaches of the world while sipping mai tais? Or who wouldn't want to live a life of leisure and excitement with unlimited barrels of cash rolling in to finance all of the fun and frivolity? Of course most people get excited by this.
Sadly, the things that people get excited by, or the things that people join for, often become less accessible because of people's involvement in Amway. Because of the leach organizations that attach themselves to the Amway business, many IBOs get their bank accounts drained and wind up quitting with broken dreams. These organizations such as WWBD or BWW will promote their materials as the key to success in Amway. But in reality, these organizations reap handsome profits while basically bankrupting the downline IBOs. What is also sad is that the system does not deliver the success that is promoted. Less than one half of one percent even reach the platinum level, which is allegedly the level where you break even or make a small profit. That's nothing to brag about is it? Where's the fruit on the tree that upline leaders speak of? The tree is barren.
During my tenure in the business, uplines taught us to buy all the materials. Books, standing order tapes/cds/audios, functions, and other materials. In fact, in addition to standing order, upline wanted IBOs to purchase an additional 5-7 tapes or cds each week. Afterall, you should be listening to new material daily right? In fact, upline wanted people to "invest" or spend all of their income on these materials. In an open meeting setting, a diamond said that your family could skip a meal to get another tape/cd because the information was so valuable that you might hear the one thing that propels you to diamond. Almost as if buying a tape/cd was like some lottery ticket.
And sadly, some IBOs did go "all in". They bought tools like there was no tomorrow. In my crossline, there was a couple who went bankrupt and a couple whose home was foreclosed. Now was this financial difficulty all due to their involvement in Amway? I don't know, but certainly, buying hundreds of dollars of materials on a monthly basis cas certainly contribute to someone's financial problems. And these IBOs did this on upline's advice. Thus upline advised this even when they likely knew that these IBOs were in financial difficulty. If they would tell you to starve your kids, then surely they will not be concerned about your other issues. I also sat in a function where a diamond taught about how long you can put off paying a mortgage before foreclosure would occur. Probably so people could go in hock to attend a major function.
It is a sad thing indeed when uplines will try to sell you dreams. What's worse is when they are actually selling you broken dreams.
I had a crossline who went bankrupt and it WAS due to Amway and their being coerced into buying enormous numbers of tools. Also our Emerald would give you a stack of function tickets with vague info about when you had to return either money for them or the tickets themselves. After getting stuck with tickets that I sold at discount outside a function, I learned to press hard for a firm deadline to return tickets and money.
ReplyDeleteI had a downline who lost their home for the same reason. My "wonderful" upline Emeralds said they saw potential in this couple and offered to work directly with them. Great, we thought. But we learned again they were coerced into big tool purchases and when they missed one meeting due to illness, the Emeralds cut ties immediately. Of course they were supposed to go to a meeting with a 104 degree fever and infect everyone else.
We got out 20 years ago and 10 years ago my husband I divorced. To this day I haven't been contacted again about Amway and dammit I wish someone would because I'd love to unload on them. Yeah, they'd call me a loser but only after I told them I went Platinum without listening to one of those stupid tapes. And we only went Platinum because the Emerald needed our leg to hit Emerald. We had a higher non-Amway income than they did as Emeralds and lived in a nicer house and drove nicer cars because of our J-O-B-S, and they resented that so ours was always a very strained relationship. We'd have more downline at a meeting than their other legs but we were never asked to speak from stage. So much spite from people who were supposed to be such wonderful Christians.
Keep preaching the truth!
The "Christianity" in Amway is totally bogus. It is based on the "prosperity gospel," which teaches that if God loves you you'll become rich, and if He doesn't you'll always be a broke loser.
ReplyDeleteThe Emeralds, Platinums, and Diamonds in Amway are so naturally vicious and nasty that it's amazing they are able to maintain any down-line at all.
ReplyDelete