I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends or family get involved, and what happened.
>I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
My aunt. She did quite well with it. It depends on your location and your circle of friends. They're a legit company, although I don't know how they operate these days. In the old days, they had a lot of unique products and they built a loyal following.
In the interest of full disclosure, a roommate of mine was the son of a top exec at Amway, from Ada, Michigan (Amway's home), and we never had to pay for cleaning liquids when I was in college. <g>
In article <A7OdnZ46cNxHK23XnZ2dnUVZ_sKdn...@giganews.com>, ignoramus23...@NOSPAM.23290.invalid says...
>I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me >recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full >of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
>This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have >always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete >scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering >joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends >or family get involved, and what happened.
Yep, They tried it for a couple of years then I never heard anymore about it. They never got the Mercedes or the mansion they had taped on the refrigerator to keep themselves focused on the goal. At least many of the products are pretty good. But you can only sell so much soap to your family and friends, and being successful in Amway means you need an ever-growing network of new converts, each 'tithing' to you. Selling the products doesn't get you much.
Ignoramus23290 wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
I had a mate ask me along to an "opportunity" and it turned out to be Amway, surprisingly I knew the guy doing the sales pitch as well. It struck me at the time as being a standard pyramid selling scheme and I wouldn't touch it but I also valued friends and family too much and am not inclined to be a salesman anyway. I did buy a small sample of stuff and it did work well but was expensive. I can see how if you get in at the beginning, at the top, you might make considerable money, but after its run for awhile you'd just piss your friends off selling them stuff and getting them to sell to others and so on.
I understood that pyramid schemes were illegal, so not sure how Amway differs, not involved anyway.
Ignoramus23290 wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
LOL I'm not really trying to disparage you but your employer is little different. Ironic? Perhaps. Salient? Definitely......
>I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
If it was any good, wouldn't everyone be doing it?
>I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
My experience has been mixed, over the years several people have applied various degrees of deceit in attempts to get me involved in selling Amway and only 1 that simply offered to sell me products. We did buy a few things and were happy with them. It's like anything else in life you have to work long,hard and smart to be successful...there is no free lunch. I'm not interested in any biz that needs to trick or pressure me into participating.
In article <4af0bd9e$0$2480$db0fe...@news.zen.co.uk>, David Billington <d...@djbillington.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>I understood that pyramid schemes were illegal, so not sure how Amway >differs, not involved anyway.
My first wife used to be an Amway distributor.
Amway's not a pyramid scheme, because there's an actual product being sold, and you *can* make money just from selling the stuff. You don't have to recruit other people in order to be profitable. If you don't, though, you need to put a lot of long, hard hours into selling in order to be anything more than minimally profitable.
On 2009-11-03, Ed Huntress <huntre...@optonline.net> wrote:
> My aunt. She did quite well with it. It depends on your location and your > circle of friends. They're a legit company, although I don't know how they > operate these days. In the old days, they had a lot of unique products and > they built a loyal following.
Ed, not to question what you said, but how do you know that she did well. Amway distributors are notorious for lying about their incomes.
> In the interest of full disclosure, a roommate of mine was the son of a top > exec at Amway, from Ada, Michigan (Amway's home), and we never had to pay > for cleaning liquids when I was in college. <g>
> On 2009-11-03, Ed Huntress <huntre...@optonline.net> wrote: >> My aunt. She did quite well with it. It depends on your location and your >> circle of friends. They're a legit company, although I don't know how >> they >> operate these days. In the old days, they had a lot of unique products >> and >> they built a loyal following.
> Ed, not to question what you said, but how do you know that she did > well. Amway distributors are notorious for lying about their incomes.
She was my aunt. <g> She didn't get rich, but after my uncle died, it kept her afloat, and somewhat better. She just sold the stuff. She was well-known and well-liked, which gave her a good clientele to start with.
>> In the interest of full disclosure, a roommate of mine was the son of a >> top >> exec at Amway, from Ada, Michigan (Amway's home), and we never had to pay >> for cleaning liquids when I was in college. <g>
"According to Amway, their annual sales amounts to about $7 billion and there are 3 million distributors. Thus, the average distributor's sales amounts to about $2,333/yr. If 30% of that is profit, the average distributor makes $700/yr. Klebniov claims that the average income is $780, but the average distributor buys $1,068 worth of Amway goods himself and also has expenses such as telephone bills, gas, motivational meetings, publicity material and other expenses to expand the business. "The average active distributor sells only 19% of his products to non-Amway affiliated consumers," according to Klebniov. "The rest is either personally consumed or sold to other distributors." In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month. No such labels are required in other countries, but the facts are clear. Most people who get involved in Amway will not make money."
> Ignoramus23290 wrote: >> I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me >> recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full >> of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
>> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have >> always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete >> scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering >> joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends >> or family get involved, and what happened.
>> i
> LOL > I'm not really trying to disparage you but your employer is little > different. > Ironic? > Perhaps. > Salient? > Definitely......
> -- > John R. Carroll
Not grokking that. Does Iggy work for another MLM cult?
Tex had written this in response to http://rittercnc.com/metalworking/Re-Amway-206720-.htm : The biggest economic driver of Amway is not the Amway products, it's the tool scam. The upline makes SEVERAL TIMES more from the tool scam than Amway, and about 99% of the IBOs operate at a net loss. See the details on my blog, I suggest you start here: http://tiny.cc/IonD1 Be sure to sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/amway/
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On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:54 -0600, Ignoramus23290
<ignoramus23...@NOSPAM.23290.invalid> wrote: >I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me >recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full >of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
>This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have >always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete >scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering >joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends >or family get involved, and what happened.
>i
It's the sort of thing that really only works in the large cities. In rural areas you just can't get enough of a "downpipe" to make it worthwhile. The big money is in having so many "below" you...
> I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
The last time I looked into it, their cleaning products and concentrates were almost a good buy, but made up a very small fraction of the product line. To keep your numbers up enough to keep your distributorship, you basically needed to buy all your household items from them, but everything other than the cleaning products, and maybe their vitamins was massively overpriced and bottom tier quality/ features (home electronics, etc.). It may not be strictly a pyramid, but the playing field isn't level, either. Just smile, shake your head, and walk away.
In article <A7OdnZ46cNxHK23XnZ2dnUVZ_sKdn...@giganews.com>,
Ignoramus23290 <ignoramus23...@NOSPAM.23290.invalid> wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
Ignoramus23290 wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
My mom sold Amway for years, but only to a few neighbors that liked the fact she didn't try to "build the downline". Her sponsor was a gem.
I had a couple that I felt were friends call me some 25 years ago, inviting me to dinner to discuss a business proposal. I was mildly surprised when instead of heading to a local restaurant, they chose to drive nearly 25 miles to some steak house. Nice dinner and conversation, and just as I'm about to ask when they intend to start talking about the proposal, they tell me it's time to head to the meeting. Which turned out to be another 25 miles further from home. Turned out to be a big Amway meeting. Yes, you can make big bucks in Amway, but you really ought to try and attend one of these meetings and see if it's the sort of thing you want to involve yourself in. The folks running things seemed a cross between patent medicine pitch-men and old time religious revival preachers, with money being the apparent object of worship. My by now former friends kept me there until 11pm and outright turned on me during the hour drive home. How dare I enjoy a dinner and evening with them and not sign up!
I did sign up under another friend years later, just so I could buy the products at cost. I like the products btw. Well, ol' Bob soon went back on his "I'm low key about this" approach. Kicker was knocking on my door at 12:30pm (yeah, that's after midnight...) to hand me a brochure for a Mercedes 190 and telling me how good I'd look driving one!
You can make money, and lots of it. Maybe. To have a shot at doing so, you will have to make it your total lifestyle. Forget about machine auctions, fixing and making things, etc. Your social life will come to revolve around your upline and downline.
Sounds like I'm knocking it. Not really. It's just not my thing. I'd be surprised if anyone active in metalworking here is also heavily into Amway...
Ignoramus23290 wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
Mostly suckers. I met a guy (Brig Hart, you can look him up) who made $50 million by suing Amway. See http://www.amquix.info/aus/hart.htm for instance.
The gist of the thing is all the double diamonds or whatever they call the top of the pyramid make HUGE amounts of money be selling training videos, which often go for $1000 a set, to the rest of the "associates". All the people downstream are pretty much required to push these videos to all THEIR downstream. He was pretty successful with Amway, but realized the people above him were making fabulous incomes from HIS hard work selling the videos, and not cutting him in at all! Various state attorneys general have investigated Amway, and most of them say that none of the rank and file ever make ANY money at all with it.
My mother in law got into Mary Kay, and she now has $50,000 of stuff she was forced to buy to stay in the program stored in her beasement and all over her house. My daughter brings over cases of the stuff and has garage sales just to get rid of it.
My wife got involved in Brig Hart's newest venture, Monavie, some kind of rainforest berry that is supposed to be the fountain of youth or whatever. They sell it in a big green wine bottle for $40 (if you are a member). Yeah, that's right, $40 EACH bottle! How can you not make money putting a liter of fruit juice in a glass bottle for $40? So, my wife has spent some $3000 or so on the glop - she believes all the crap they tell you, and has made me drink the glop and it's done nothing for me. Oh, yeah, one of the formulas gave her headaches! Gotta be great stuff, right?!? Anyway, it is another MLM (Multilevel Marketing system, ie. Ponzi scheme) and as usual, unless you are the first 10 people in, you can't make a buck unless you work an 80 hour week. Brig Hart has the personality to just walk up to people and you think you've known him all your life, but that is rare. (Note I don't call it a gift, I think it is a common trait among professional con men!) They give you a debit card that they are supposed to deposit your commisions in, but nobody ever gets any. There are all these insane restrictions that prevent you from ever cashing in. Like, your downline is split into the "right leg" and the "left leg". You have to have your two legs equal, or you lose all your commisions. AND, you can't transfer somebody from one leg to the other, you have to ADD a new member to balance your legs. And, if you have $1000 in commisions that are pending something, and you don't bump your sales up another notch, you lose it all. And so on..... Some people have told me that most of this organizational stuff comes straight from Amway, too.
The Amway products seem to be pretty good, but a $40 bottle of shampoo, or a $30 bottle of vitamins is just insane. I can't believe my wife laps this stuff up, she is SO gullible. She goes to this health food store, and they also have all these $30+ vitamins, too. "Oh, but this is better for you!" Look on the label, and it is all biotin this and biotin that. Check with a chemist, and some say there is no such compound. (Used to be ALL of them would say that.)
On Nov 3, 3:03 pm, Ignoramus23290 <ignoramus23...@NOSPAM.
23290.invalid> wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
I got the Mercedes! Well, I bought the Mercedes.
About 15 years ago we bought a 1983 300SD. We were the third owner. My business partner was from Detroit and when I showed him the name of the first owner he said he was sure that was one of the founders of Amway. We still have the car.
> I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
My mom was involved in Amway for a while. I will ask her. From a product side it was just another private labeler. Since she owned a country store I never saw the wisdom of her being involved in Amway. Everything she sold with an Amway label she sold with a trade label in the store. Like being in competition with yourself. It was like being in competition with yourself, and the agreement prohibited her from putting any of the product on the shelves in the store.
I never asked her about the down line side of it, but the guy who came to sign her up was a sleazy snake oil salesman, and the down line was all he cared about. I would have thrown him off the property physically had I the choice.
> I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me > recently and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full > of expensive things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends > or family get involved, and what happened.
> i
I have had several friends that tried to get me to sign up, a few for Amway and a few for some other outfit that worked on a similar basis.
What I do is to say "Gee that sounds wonderful, but I am a bit skeptical, so here is what I am going to do. I am going to sign up after you can show me it works by showing me your tax return next year and when I see that you are paying taxes on $75k in profits from the Amway thing then I will be convinced that you might have something. heck because we are friends I might even buy some soap from you if you have something special."
For some reason no body that was hyped up on this has ever taken me up on the deal.
--
Roger Shoaf
About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then they come up with this striped stuff.
On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:54 -0600, Ignoramus23290 wrote: > I have a friend from school days who joined Amway. He called me recently > and told me some gibberish about how I can live a life full of expensive > things without working if I join Amway.
> This is not the first time I have heard about that company and I have > always been of the opinion that either complete suckers, or complete > scumbags, or often both, join Amway. I am obviously not considering > joining that sort of an enterprise, but I wonder if anyone had friends or > family get involved, and what happened.
I knew a guy who sold Amway stuff out of the trunk of his car, so to speak.
I have no idea how he did money-wise, but nobody's gonna do that stuff at a loss.
One consolation; it's not a Ponzi scam because the end customer actually gets product, albeit at an inflated price.
I guess it would depend on how good of a salesman you are.
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