I feel for you. Unfortunately, your girlfriend will probably have to snap out of it on her own. It me be good to just be supportive and see what happens. If you speak out against her, the upline might convince your girlfriend that you are “negative” and thus, expendable. A lot of people snap out of it after a few months, but some get hooked hard and stay in Amway for years despite losing money month after month, year after year. A friend of mine has been heavily involved for nearly 20 years and he hit platinum about 17 years ago and he’s been backsliding ever since. It’s sad and in my opinion, a waste of time and a waster of life.

I think its complete crap and a waste of time…the development through his readings have been helpful since they are legit books but the business plan sucks. He say’s he is never going to stop…what do i do??

Another such social cause they like to promote about their business model is that of MASS-EMPLOYMENT for the unemployed.

Though not in legal terms, when you grow enough to have a birds-eye view of the complete business model, you understand that it is not serious business – but a kind of fraud.

You are then filled with disgust at the way the members are duped into the scheme – all with a little dream in some corner of their minds – of becoming millionaires.

The products that Amway (for instance) manufactures are highly in-competitive in an open market both in terms of price and quality. That is the reason why this networked market needs to be created for the sale of these products.

All this is however not to say that none of the people who join these schemes make money.

After all, to make the money what you need is to add people under your network.

If you have been able to just recover (or something more) the investment that you made, what you did was to add your friends or relatives under you.

Likewise, you’ll see that the members under you who recovered their investment also did the same thing.

Some of them also may not have recovered anything at all. That doesn’t make them any more wretched than those who broke-even or earned some thousands of profits.

What you have unknowingly done is that – the group who brought the scheme into your town – you have made them richer by millions.

And all the time you were thinking you were in business, it was just an illusion. You never were in their business at all.

If you are happy and satisfied that at least you could recover your money, you have wrongly forgotten to look at the ones in your network who could not. Wrongly because, after all you are the one who pulled them into the ditch.

In an ethical business model – you grow together. In Amway, you grow because someone else falls.

Unless you sell a lot of products or sponsor a lot of people who move Amway products, you are likely to lose money. If you are attending functions and buying cds, you are likely to lose lots of money.

Secondly, the IBO is expected to attend functions and listen to cds so they can learn that this is a good deal. Ironically, the cost of tools is why most business building IBOs end up with a net loss.

Click my name to see my blog.

Regarding “masses losing their asses”, its true but so is the fact that the masses is generally too lazy to work hard in the business. But hey, if you spend loads of money buying a McDonalds franchise and go under in the first year it must be the stupid franshise that doesnt work and has robbed me of my dignity.

in north america 1.5 million products distributed with 450 exclusive and other market products each having there own lawyers to protect illegal businesses

pyramid schemes are illegal in many countires amway has established itself including north america
charities to red cross and other institues

one of owner and his son served in us has been chairman of us chamber of commerce

your decion it works is right for you and it doesnot work is also right for you. Your choidce man/ladies
any more questions plaese : pankajsallh@gmail.com

How come Amway has so many bad trees?

it was quite interesting to go through all the posts – some in favour and some against the networking marketing specially Amway. Well guys all of you are highly educated people and successful in your lives. Still I would take liberty to tell you a few things. Due to conditioning of our minds we slowly loose the capacity to objectively analyse anything which is out of the box.
The network marketing is a revolutionary concept of product/service delivery.
Often we are introduced to network marketing by the people who are part of some network marketing company. We tend to analyse the concept of network marketing based on little information that we get from such people.

Network marketing provides oppotunities to all without any distinction of sex, education, age etc. to build the legal source of passive income. Most of us ( about 95% of the world population) spend our entire lives working for wrong type of income i.e. active income and teach the same thing to our children.

The problem with us is that we don’t learn to differentiate between the basic character of active and passive incomes. We also make our opinion about anything without analysing it in a rational manner. The network marketing has been given negative publicity by over enthusiastic and ill-informed distributors who try to lure the people by promissing them that they can get rich quick without doing any hard work. Network marketing is a genuine business model which, like any other business, requires consistent hard work to build your organisation. The real advantage with network marketing is that it requires very insignificant financial investment. As a matter of fact,since it is so easy to start the network marketing business, very often people with wrong mentality of getting rich without any hard work join these businesses.

Well, i can talk on this topic endlessly. My friendly advise to you guys is to consider yourself lucky if somebody approaches you with an opportunity. However, you must have basic understanding to differentiate the pyramid schemes from genuine businesses. One simple test is to see whether the company pays you simply for enrolling the people for a high fee or it compensates you based on the turnover of your group. The turnover must come from consumption or retail of products and services. The companies which compensates you based on turnover are genuine business opportunities.

So never mind about making profits and an income. Join Amway to improve your life and attitude? That’s hogwash.

//attended a seminar by Raj Shah and now read the blog and decided to not join//

For you information which information you believe?? its like so many person tell a man that the animal he is having with is a dog and not goat. so he left the goat having with him on the way and the person who were telling it lift it to thier home. Just like ankur. I am telling you the fact. Raj Shah is native of Baroda Gujarat the place where I belongs. He settled in US. he built the business Amway and has retired at the age of 30. His retirement was telecated in popular american news channel.He is running a school in Baroda Gujarat which gives good education totally free to those who can afford study. This is another side of this business. Regarding different style of showing the plan. I know everybody give wrong reporting or reporting based on their own wrong interpretation. No IBO cheat with anybody. They simply say that ” We are using lots of products in our life. We spent lots of money in buying the products. but we could not get anything. To spent money on products is unavoidable. so in amway even if you buy products for yourself the company passes dividond from its profit to the loyal user of the products.Further more if you share the products to few customers you will get profit on it. If you find people who can do the same you are doing. All those person will get benefit what you was getting and consequently as the turnover of your team increases you will get more reward. and this is the business. Each and every corner of our society has this scene. Every traditional company is following the same method but difference in Amway/RCM/mlm and other traditional compamy is that the rights for distribution are sold at higher prices and to some selected and rich persons only in traditional market. but in network marketing this rights of distribution of products is given to common person at virtually no investment.
//one person has told that out of 4500 of kit you will get 2500 worth products and 2000 is given as gift to your sponsor//
Sir please check out the truth. This amount is not circulated. This is what i dont know but, this 2000 is not given to anybody. Complainers dont know what they are complaining about.

Ok god bless everyone.

He just is deluational about what is success and how to achieve it. Take that to the bank.

I wish you become successful in this and achieve more levels.. congrats..

and Salil S

great that you are under Team One.. Wish you all success and Mr. Sajeev Nair is always with us..

Those who are in Amway, Congrats to you all.
And those who criticize this business, i vehemently say that you are losing your lives. Those who don’t dare to take up this, criticize about this. Among the people who criticize Amway, can anyone disprove why it is not a good one?
And i saw someone saying that nobody is going to become Platinum IBO. To all those who agree with that, i say, my UNCLE is a PLATINUM IBO.
So, if you don’t have the guts to do this business, just mind you own way and within few years you will become POOR.. Mark My Words…

Go Amway!!! Go Crown!!!

You may be right in that the internet has many anti amway websites, but are there valid issues being raised on these “negative” websites? I believe the answer to that is yes. That being said, the extent of the problem may be exxagerated by the critics but also, the issues may be smoothed over by supporters. I believe the answer lies in the middle somewhere.

For example, I do believe the blogger that says there is a tools scam. I don’t believe all groups do this, but certainly enough of them do abuse downline to where it’s a concern and to where you can see why there are critics of these systems.

Another issue that I observe, is some of the really higher up crown ambassador types are almost seen as divine entities, yet some of them do not behave in a manner that is consistent with how they are portrayed to downline.

**Not a single one of them gave a negative response to Amway**

Given the thousands of new Platinums over the last 5 years in the US, there’s apparently plenty of other folk not finding it to hard to find open-minded american’s either.

Getting an impression from the internet can easily lead to the wrong impression. Did you know that WordPress, one of the big blog hosts, recently deleted a blog about Amway UK, stating they won’t allow blogs about MLMs? They’re quite happy to post anti-MLM blogs though. Did you know DMOZ, the biggest “directory of websites” on the internet and used by many other directories and search engines, will allow anti-Amway sites to be listed in their directory, but as a matter of policy won’t allow pro-Amway sites. Indeed, rumour has it the “volunteer” editor for the categories is none other than Scott Larsen.

Not forgetting of course that these sites are owned by companies who earn their incomes primarily from selling advertising. And who buys very little advertising? Amway. Who buys a lot? Amway’s competitors.

Throw in the fact that Amway itself used to close down pro-Amway sites and you’re left with a very twisted view of the reputation of Amway if you get it by searching the internet.

You’re experience is probably different, but you are from another country right?

I don’t need to read your story to know that Had ‘em in my own group!

Anyway, overall, maybe IBO’s should screen prospects and not sign up people who are not serious because then they will be less likely to quit or sign up and do nothing. That will help repair the name reputation and improve overall retention.

What do you think?

I both agree and disagree. The problem is there are wwaaaaayyyy too many stories of people like that who after months or even years suddenly *did* take it seriously.

What I’d prefer is that more IBO’s communicate better with the prospects, and do what one of mine just did recently, went to someone she sponsored a couple of months back who was doing nothing, sat down with her, offered her all her money back. She declined, said she still wants to do it, just not yet, and remains registered but has started buying and using more of the products (and is finding she loves them).

I just last night listened to a CD of an old friend of mine (who happens to be my upline in another country). He spoke about someone in his downline who had a bad experience with their sponsor. My friend visited saw them and bought back everything this person had bought. CD’s, books, Amway products, everything. They will not be left with the impression they would have had if he hadn’t done that.

I’ve done several posts on this topic on my site. The majority of people we show the business to are not interested. The majority of people who join the business will end up not doing much with it. Those two together absolutely dwarf the numbers of people who stay in and build a business. They define our public reputation. It’s our job as IBOs, as well as the BSM companies and Amway, to ensure all the people not interested and all the people who “quit” have as positive an experience as possible.

I think that’s a better approach than excluding folk who want to join just because [i]we[/i] think they won’t do anything with it.

Thanks for the information. So your experience is that most who truly dedicate themselves usually make it to higher levels? Why do you think so many people sign up and then don’t dedicate themselves if the reward is truly an easy lifestyle?

BTW, I read JoeCool’s article and he said Amway is not a game of chance. Here’s the excerpt from his blog:

“Although the amway/quixtar business is not a game of chance, you can compare it to the experience of many IBOs who participated in an AQMO system. ”

Based on my observations, that assessment seems reasonable if you look at those who sign up and later quit.

“Everything you do in Amway is up to you and can effect your likelihood of success. To compare it to a game of chance is outright dishonest.”

While this is true, what an IBO cannot control is whether others will join or not. I believe that Amway’s reputation here in the US is soiled because of what some crazy previous IBO’s have done. If you read my story, you’ll know what I mean.

Anyway, overall, maybe IBO’s should screen prospects and not sign up people who are not serious because then they will be less likely to quit or sign up and do nothing. That will help repair the name reputation and improve overall retention.

What do you think?