Amway is a legal company. They were investigated by the FTC back in 1979 and the FTC ruled that Amway was not qualify as an illegal pyramid because they did not pay for recruiting (headhunting fees) and they required product purchases. Also, there is no required purchases, and Amway has a fairly generous refund policy. So yes, Amway is a perfectly legal MLM company in the opinion of the 1979 FTC opinion. What is not true is that the better business bureau (BBB) endorses Amway and the FTC did not "praise" Amway after the 1979 ruling.
However, that being said, doesn't mean that IBOs and IBO leaders can't run their independent businesses in an illegal and unethical manner. For example, if your upline tells you not to sell anything and to simply buy your volume to qualify for bonuses, that is a very questionable practice. If your upline tells you to deceive people about the Amway opportunity or teaches "fake it till you make it", that is also a questionable practice.Amway the company has some standards that they uphold but at times, IBOs or IBO leaders will disregard those standards. New IBOs and prospects at times may not know when their upline or sponsor is leading them astray, which is what prompted me to write this post. If you are taught to "submit to upline", keep in mind that you are an independent business owner and will be responsible for what happens with your business. Too many times, I've seen or heard of IBOs failing and accepting the responsibility all the while following the "experienced" advise given by upline. What is troubling is that many serious IBOs will be paying for advice from upline in the form of functions, seminars, cd of the week, open meetings. Yet when followed advise fails, upline will tell the IBO they are responsible for their own failure. WTF??
Some IBOs I've known stayed in Amway for many years, spent tens of thousands of dollars or more and have not made a cent in net profit. They have been programmed to think that they will succeed if they never quit or that success is right around the corner and they can't quit because they don't want to quit just before the business pays off. In the end, a business is a business and IBOs need to look at their bottom line. If you aren't making a net profit after following the plan and advice mapped out by upline, there comes a point where tough business decisions must be made. Maybe Amway is not the way. Maybe it's time to do something else? Nobody can make that decision except the business owner.
So to summarize, the Amway corporation is perfectly legal but your sponsor or your upline can be running things illegally without Amway's knowledge, which can cause you financial damages. New IBOs and people who are looking into the business need to be aware of these facts. I hope this post helps someone.
If you understand that Amway is a cult (that is, a form of religious belief), you will easily understand why persons stay in it for years and years without making profit.
ReplyDeleteAny religion is established on FIXED IDEAS, meaning ideas or notions that under no circumstances can be questioned or examined or altered. In fact, those ideas or notions have to be so sacred that you will sacrifice anything at all (even your life) rather than doubt their validity.
The Amway religious ideas are crude, but simple:
1. Quitters never win, and winners never quit.
2. Never question your up-line.
3. Persons who will not join Amway are stupid, and also potential enemies to be avoided.
4. Spending money without a return is just a sign that you are investing in your business.
5. Functions are very holy meetings, and if you miss one, that is a sin.
6. Amway products are superior to any other competing product.
7. When you buy Amway products you are buying from your own store.
8. If you quit Amway, that is a sign that you are a loser and a failure.
These are just secular versions of the following belief held by many churchgoers. Compare each one with the corresponding number above:
1. The world is composed of the damned and the elect.
2. Never question the Word of God, or your clergy.
3. Those not in our church are heretics, schismatics, pagans, or disbelievers, and you should steer clear of them.
4. Contributing large sums of money to our church is a sign of your goodness, and you will be repaid in heaven.
5. You must attend church every Sunday, and whenever your clergy tell you that you must.
6. The spiritual rewards of our church are superior to whatever is offered by competing religions.
7. When you give money to our church, you are also benefiting yourself and gaining salvation.
8. If you break away from our church, you will be damned forever.
See how the racket works? It's no coincidence that DeVos and Van Andel were hard-core Dutch Calvinists.
Amway is legal, but so is a three-card monte game.
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