IS AMWAY A SCAM?
October 20, 2012
Is AMWAY a Scam? See what former Amway IBOs have to say below. Add your own opinion about Amway.
Have you ever had a good friend or close relative join AMWAY (Mary Kay, Herbalife, Quixtar, Meleleuca, Shaklee, USANA, nuskin, or other mlm, multilevel or network marketing scheme) and suddenly become the annoying sales zombie from hell?
The question came from a comment left on the post “IS AMWAY A GREAT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY?” thirstyfox claims that Amway/Quixtar is a cultlike scam that makes everyone annoyed with her deluded sister:
My sis was in it once, wasted all her time and in the end made little or nothing.
She got back into it recently against everyones advice. It’s like a cult that turns you against your family so you don’t listen to them. Now she has no time for family, just scamming strangers and wasting her time away with unfullfilled dreams.
The constant meetings are to keep you brainwashed. It’s all a scam and she knows it herself now as she tries to get others in “under her.” Hard to see her as a Christian anymore when she does this, and it’s sad to see all the time she loses when she could be raising her kids.
I’ll never understand how she could be so stupid. I asked her why she got in it last time and she said of course money. Then I asked her what she got out of it and she replied defensivly “I met a lot of very interesting people!” I think that about says it all and if it didn’t work for my sis it won’t work for anyone.
All the BS they tell you about how well this that and the other person did or is doing is all lies so they can get your money. 98% of all Quixtar products are sold ONLY to stupid Quixtar members themselves, yet they go around saying they own a business???
Don’t give them a second of your time.
What do you think? Does Multi-level “Network” Marketing consists of stupid, annoying members selling worthless stuff to other stupid, annoying members? Share your MLM story below.
ARE YOU AN AMWAY IBO OR FORMER AMWAY IBO?
DO YOU THINK AMWAY IS A SCAM?
PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Read more on Amway:
AMWAY Addiction Kills Marriage
Comments
939 Responses to “IS AMWAY A SCAM?”
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Despite all the negativity and the quick get rich many might try to share with you, I have been in Amway for one year, here in the Philippines, and I am from the USA, soon to return home next year, but if you are willing to get out there and make your line of IBOs you will not grow fast and always remember there is a 90 money back guaranty.
There are people who added a few people and later sat back and did nothing but be a consumer and got a check here and there, even if it was little at times, but one that I heard of made it to Silver just by all the work their down lines have done and gets a silver check
One became a silver and three months later became Gold
One of our Americans who was on lots of meds is no longer on most of his meds thanks to a Filipino doctor who supports Amway products.
The only negativity in Amway is in the ones who does not wish to take their time building their IBO lines…the secret is not in selling but in building your IBOs and just purchase for yourselves and if you like to sell maintain at least 10 plus clients.
Keep building your downlines
I don’t slam Amway all the way (no pun intended). They’ve got some cool products, and the prices aren’t unreasonable. I enjoy the energy bars and drinks and such. But would I ever get convinced into being an IBO? NO WAY!
Anonymous says:
December 5, 2012 at 12:23 am
SHARED
RESPONSE
If you like the products you become an IBO, not to be a seller but to obtain of a discount inwhich your membership fee will come back to you plus you will get monthly checks even if it is little it is better than nothing would you not say.
Look at it as investment
1 – you get the discount
2 – you sometimes will get a return from your investment especially if you help other people become an IBO even if all they want is the discount to be a consumer only
John Paul from the Philippines, a discount program (the way you are selling it above) is NOT an investment.
If you really wanted a no-strings discount program, look at Sam’s Club/Costco. No tools or meetings, no uplines to deal with and you get to compare different brands.
Hi All,
Amway is one of the great business opportunity to become financial freedom in life.
Every one knows about Amway but no one knows about BWW. If an ABO plug-in with BWW system,our life will goes to become success in Amway.
An every ABO should remember this.
Regards
Jaipal Reddy
@Jaipai
Please come back and post when you are financially free. Until then you sound like one of thousands of misguided IBO’s who think Amway will bring them financial freedom. I believe you are sadly mistaken.
I think people are not informed. There are Amway Inc, and Amway Motivational Organization (AMO). Amway Inc is a company who is only interested in selling high price, medium to high quality product. AMO is run by diamonds like Yager and Britt. They only interested in downlines buying “tools” tapes, books, functions from them. Amway Inc and AMO need each other to survive. Keep in mind Amway Inc sells products to only members not to outsiders. Amway Inc, is aware of the AMO devious acts but decided to look the other way. AMO has control of the members or downlines. Amway Inc, cannot expel this kingpins, the diamonds who made the bulk of their money off “tools” because these diamonds will take their downlines with them. On the other hand AMO needs the existence of Amway Inc otherwise, it is not a legitimate business of just selling tapes, books, and functions. Ask a diamond if a downline has $100 to spend, should he or she spend it on products or tools, the diamond will say tools because the Diamond makes more money off tools than products. Also, the scheme about all you need to succeed is find six people to join and you are set to retire is a mirage. Statistically, after one year 5 of the six you found to join already left the business and you have to go back out their to do your presentation. Over 80% of the members who joined are either no longer active or left the business within the first 12 months.
I was in Amway two times an both times I got the concept. it’s so easy is why it scares people to join. an it that is to find as many people you can to buy from themselves thats how easy it is. but my trouble was I don’t communicate well under pressure so I never got a line under me.so if you never went to a meeting I would just keep your pens an finger off buttons. I might try it again.now that I’m retired. god bless everyone.
I was an Amway distributor in the early 1980′s. My direct distributor was a full time firefighter and was constantly telling me how rich he would be one day. I only had two customers (including myself) and zero downline. The products were good but very overpriced. They said everything was concentrated to justify it. One day I had to pick up a small order at my directs house. It turned out that he lived in a basement apartment (like all millionaires do, lol) and every consumer product in his place that I saw was made by Amway, He had so many laundry detergent boxes that he made a makeshift chair out of them. Looking back he bought them to keep up his PV/BV. We would go to propaganda rallies at a local hotel that our upline pearl hosting every week. They charged admission at the door, charged for tapes, books (CDs weren’t out then) All were nothing but mind control techniques straight out of the Unification Church playbook. I only lost my initial investment plus several months of my time until I joined the service and got out. BTW my direct (the millionaire) wanted my to sell shoe polish to the Marines. LOL! If you encounter an Amway or they call them Quixtar IBOs today just do one thing………Run!!!!
Hey folks i have seen all the comments but what is thatt i would like to tell is that in any kind of business what is that we need is hard working i have seen many people near by who are very happy now with amway
Income is growing business is building leaving all you pessimistic naysayers behind.
Amway is brilliant.
well amway is no.1 business in the world. even bill gates also talk about amway as superb business concept. i am doing it and i am very happy.
sidharath jain says:”well amway is no.1 business in the world. even bill gates also talk about amway as superb business concept. i am doing it and i am very happy.”
sidharath does reinforce what most of us know: Amway is one of the world’s largest producers of shameless, baldfaced LIARS.
I love how AmBots just spew out this lies as truth, trolling for the attention of the gullible, vulnerable or equally dishonest. I think they say this crap as a test: If someone doesn’t tell them to F- Off immediately they know they have found another potential sucker.
Holding up the truth to an AmBot is like holding a cross in front of a vampire. So here goes:
#1: Amway is nowhere NEAR the number 1 business in the world. At $12B in sales, it’s not even one of the top businesses in the U.S. Produce proof for your statement or apologize and stfu.
#2: Bill Gates NEVER endorsed Amway. Produce proof for your statement or apologize and stfu.
#3: If you are doing Amway and you are happy, you are either a vampire successfully sucking the life out of other people’s dreams, or you are a naive moron being preyed upon by your vampiric upline and will soon be drained dry of money, friends and self-respect.
Some day you’ll look back on your Amway days and say: “The worst thing about Amway was that it made me a phony and a liar. Gosh I miss those friends I annoyed out of my life.”
1st off, you are gonna have people who succeed or don’t succeed in Amway; just like in any other business. Really it comes down to how much work you are willing to put into it. Those who fail in the business either didn’t put as much effort they should of or didn’t give it enough time. No one said it was a get rich quick scheme did they? They will even tell you that.
I have met some great people. I had the honor to shake Wintley Phipps’ hand; The man who has sung for Presidents Jimmy Carter and every President after him, firm servant of the Lord, was there sharing stories about what he has done. Anyway, I’m pretty pretty positive that he is not a liar in any shape or form but he supports Amway.
Joining up has helped me change my way of life from playing video games as soon as I get off work and just accepting my lifestyle to actually do something productive with my life; learning what it really means to be responsible and has definitely changed my attitude and for the better.
On my way to Platinum in a couple of months and I cannot wait! I’m sure if you look on the internet you won’t find people who bad mouth a company >_>
Right?
Left?
Wrong!
The reason you don’t see the higher levels defending the company? THEY ARE BEING PRODUCTIVE WITH THEIR TIME (or enjoying life because they can) and they know it is wasted energy and time to deal with trolls and nay sayers. You can choose to believe or not believe but actions speak louder than words. I’m not saying this to make anyone try to join but to share a story from my point of view.
dear all amway is illigal .dont join dont buy their products .and it is froud. .1%people getting money 99%people loosing it.
Dear giridhar,
Please go and get your high school diploma before you decide to start voicing your uneducated opinions on sites such as this. People are actually trying to get a grasp on whether or not this is a legit business, not to read the typings of first grader.
I have been doing Amway for almost a month now and have made around $1000. I don’t feel guilty at all for building my business because I know that each person I sponsor has the exact same opportunity as myself.
Thanks,
Everyone
Dear “Educated Person” Girdhar is speaking his mind. He’s entitled to his opinion , whether you agree with him or not. He’s obviously had a bad experiencesnd he wants to air this, it is his right. You don’t seem so “educated” after all for your attack on him. He is of Indian decent judging from his name. How well would you be able to write in Hindi
Years ago, back in the heyday of Amway, a semi-friend from high school called out of nowhere and began to schmooze as if we had not been out of contact for a couple of decades. After the schmooze, he said that he wanted to fly out (hundreds of miles) with his wife to where I lived and visit in person, “I am so excited to reconnect with you,” and, by the way, would I gather a dozen friends at my house so that he could meet them, too.
Sap that I was, I thought he was being straight up. Imagine my surprise when he and she arrived, set up a white board, and began what I later learned was the usual Amway go-for-the-throat recruitment blitz. My friends were at least distressed, and some were disgusted. They all left as soon as they could. My friend was displeased, given that none of them had signed up “after we flew all the way out here.” I reminded him that he had kept secret the hard-charging commercial nature of his visit, so what did he expect.
He and his wife continued, with glazed eyes and the hyper-enthusiasm of the fanatic, to regale me with all sorts of promises of riches in short order. One nice touch was when they brought out photocopies of two checks, each for $10,000, and claimed that this was their earnings from Amway last month. Many who read this will not be surprised to learn that a year later, they had abandoned Amway for less glamorous but apparently more remunerative pursuits such as vacuum cleaner sales (him) and day-care attendant (her).
It is difficult to know what to say about all of this, except that anyone who wants to alienate himself/herself from family and friends while wasting time, money, and opportunity, sign up right away.
Blovis
Okay I’ve been reading some of the comments here and I’m looking for some opinions on my case.
So my husband has a friend that is in Amway and he came to us last week doing the demonstration, and talking to us about it and saying how it’s a good opportunity for us, etc.
Anyways, so I was thinking about joining just for the fact that we can get a discount on the products and stuff like that, but either than that I’m not sure.
I wasted a lot of money on Herbalife to later find out the products are good but they also affect your health badly with one of the ingredients in their shake so I got out of it too. So right now I’ve been let down by Herbalife and I see that they are both kind of the same. The guy describes Amway as just telling people the information and Herbalife is basically about selling. What do you guys think? Opinions?
Actually, I knew family friends who had been selling products since I was little and remember them giving presentations at houses, but I was too young to know what exactly a scam was or a pyramid scheme. If anything, my parents only either went to these presentations our of kindness or were fooled into thinking it was an actual get-together. Fastforward to a few months ago. I was a senior in college…….one day a distant friend messages me asking if I’m interested in a catching up. I agreed, and went to meet her at a location on campus. When I get there, I see a friend with her in a cheap looking business suit, which I thought was odd because I thought we were catching up, just the two of us. She knew exactly what she was doing. But, I didn’t want to be rude and let the man give his presentation. But what is Amway? After hearing the man on how Amways products are top notch and are better than everyone elses, how much money I would make, and for $200 I could do nothing, I suddenly had a flashback to these childhood ‘get-togethers.’ I told the man, I am not intereted in pyramid schemes. He and my friend looked at me in disbelief. Then he’s saying he would love to present an opening day at my parents house. I told him I found his persistence of inviting himself to a strangers house is downright rude and insulting. I said no and that’s that. The man was saying,’but are you free Sunday night at 9 PM? We’re meeting at a hotel seminar.’ I told the man that any company conducting business at late night hours on Sunday of all days at a hotel just seems shady. I left, said ‘it’s a red light’ and walked out. My friend had the audacity to even think I’d do this scam. That’s insulting. She has since deleted me on facebook, and I told the man if he kept calling me trying to solicit me for Amway, that I will contact the police. Some people can’t take no. My friend had no business giving away my number to more strangers. Amway employees are all for themselves.
Ahh Awmay, bringing long lost acquaintances/friends together for decades!
@EducatedPerson That $1000 is about the same as someone working full time at minimum wage. What is your profit after expenses? And please back it up with proof and no just a word salad, for your own benefit and ours.
@PrincessDreeeaah In any business you have to sell SOMETHING (a service or goods). If Amway is just selling information, how are they profiting? Just a question to help raise your awareness of their nonsensical responses to objections.
FCUK AMWAY!
hmm. i dont think anybody understand how amway actually works.
i don’t know why there’s so much negativity from amway! I myself am a consumer but not a member I’m still debating because I do want to get the discounted prices and the products are amazing ! that’s all i have to say from my perspective.
I was recruited by an Amway man at my mothers funeral luncheon. Talk about embarassment and humiliation. You have nerve to pass out business cards at a ceremony of mourning. I had no idea who he was so I kindly asked him to leave. Low and behold, it was at a hotel banquet hall that coincedentally housed a pep rally next door. They are all for themselves
Scam is kind of a hard word.
Amway IS multilevel marketing (MLM)
Amway IS a pyramid scheme. (regardless if them using circles)
I sat through plenty of the presentations when my parents were in it. I remember I laughed the first time the guy drew them circles and he kept saying it’s not a pyramid scheme.
I will say some of their products were indeed good. The Sa8 laundry detergent is probably the best you can use if you are on a septic system.
qwertinsky writes “Scam is kind of a hard word.”
What do you call an opportunity wherein people are induced with the promise that they can earn as much as they set their minds to, yet 99.9% of them will not even earn minimum wage for the amount of time and money they put into it.
Hard or not, there’s a word for it: SCAM
Amyway Ibo’s are so full of it thy paint the picture perfect 1st of all they think they have it all they put down in a white board what dreams do you have well duh he very one has dreams and thy ask how much do you spend a month on thing you need a home and etc, what car do want but yeah they be driving ugly ass car and sopposebly there making 2-3 thousand a month and thy focus in there bussines lol a year latter there working milking cow so where all that money they be flashing yeah right 1. They never show you a check (maybe cus it only $20).2 you offer them to buy you something off you right away amyway is # 1. You go to there meeting and they well be jumping up and down oh yeah and worship there up lines they always say they make these much money but thing how money do you make!
Amway is a scam that only naive, or ‘stupid’ people can fall into. Where is it seen that you make easy money and retire at 25? hah. Get a life you morons that don’t see clearly.
There are so many of you yelling at eachother over negative or positive “opinions” and they are just that. why so angry over the situation, 100% any of you “angry or disgruntled” people out there that are so animated about this are past amway ibo’s that could not make it work because nothing was handed to you on a silver platter. WHATEVER BUSINESS YOU GET INTO YOU NEED TO WORK AT IT. what part do you not understand about that??? some are also asking about learning…..get educated about it….from someone IN the business. once your in, there is no dungeon to chain you up….the door is open…..leave if you choose. Everyone runs their businesses differently, if you have been involved with someone who is not a good business partner then of course the experience will be horrifying. Its all common sense…..if you truly KNOW what goes on and not just flack that your “family member” tried to better them selves and had no time to put up with whiney family crap lol………….just get educated over the situation from someone successful. dont?. and continue to be jaded of the business.
You can work as hard as you want and still fail at Amway. The system is set up that way. If there’s 100 IBO’s, they can all work hard but only 1 or maybe 2 will make any money. And if these hard working IBO’s attend functions and purchase tools, it’s possible for 100 100 of them to lose money. Learning skills also doesn’t help you succeed unless those skills are lying and deceiving your prospects. The honest truth about Amway might not be very flattering to prospects.
Bottom line. the products for the most part cost more than comparable or same products at WalMart. You can argue concentration or quality but nobody cares about “premium” bar soap except IBOs. Pretty much the same goes for vitamins. Many should be called urine supplements as they do little for your body and gets peed out/
Amway also has a spoiled reputation which is why people are lied to or sometimes tricked into attending meetings. People who are straight forward can rarely find prospects.
And then, even if you overcome all that and sponsor someone, chances are they will do nothing, not even order products. Most IBO’s will quit within the first year. Under those conditions, how can you make any money, let alone residual income?
I was in and left when life forced me to. I was afraid of rejection cause of the price.
Didn’t know uplines were making so much from tapes, books, functions. When I learned I do everything to discourage anyone from joining blindly. It’s so sad to see “robots” sharing the amway concept and they have no idea how Amway compares to other MLMs. They claim Amway is the best, but have no concept of how “bad” others are.
Recently I asked some one, “how do you reply to this, ‘there is a list of movers and shakers at business for home dot org. It lists about 180 people who get out and into other companies. There are about 20 or more who went from amway into other MLMs….but not one of the 160 plus who never been in amway seem to have the desire to do so.
That should tell any one looking at MLM that amway is not a good option.
Overpriced products. I remember the crappy soy protein and the lecithin.
Useless trainings uplines get money from.
Books they buy in bulk and sell to the naive downlines at full retail cost.
Conventions where they make millions. Don’t believe it? I ask around. The HP Pavillion rents for less than half a million, or so I heard. If full to capacity, it will generate about 3 million. 20K seats times $150. If they pay $10K to every speaker, it will be less than $100K in fees. So that leaves over a million and a half. No wonder they want to make those things every three or four months!!!!!
My former Emerald is BKd. Also Gary Duncan, a brother of Brad Duncan filed for BK as a triple diamond. It makes no sense. Does it?
OMG, Amway is a Hugh waste of time if you have any morals. I’ll tell you it makes me sick that so many of these people call them self Christians. Look, I’m no holly roller, actually just a baby Christian and almost 30.
Amway is wrong! It is nothing but a duplication effort to get as many people as you can to get as many people as they can to buy products to maintain their Point Value.
Little if any of most IBO are sales that are of interest. Always the interest has to be made and its almost always the same, the products are okay, but wayyyy over priced. Why? Because when somebody buys one it has to pay an infinite upline of vampires.
Nobody can argue with this load of junk. Those who work hard succeed at amway. Okay then. Please tell me what’s the work? The work is becoming an unobjectionable voice of promise and reason for your prospects. Because if you play them just right they will feel guilty for wanting to resign. Some just want to be socially accepted and most had financial issues. You’ll find all that out at the “team meetings”. My upline strictly focused on college kids. When I showed up to his house one day early he had somebody sitting there getting the same exact speech I did a month earlier.
The only way to be successful in amway is to have others become IBOs. You can never have a store and sell your products. Even though they say its your business. What a joke. The company forces the process to be kept inside hotel rooms and in private meetings. Never do they want the products to be exposed to the general public. Why? Because they are not that great. If they were somebody else would have spoofed the idea and put it on the shelves. What a load!
Why does amway succeed? For the same reason Honey Boo Boo is on TV. There are alot of stupid people in the world. And you can make a living off of them z
You already have to be making good money to even have a remote chance at selling Fagway products. The money isnt made in pushing products…its in those ridiculous tapes, books, seminars your upline is shoving down your throat. Only desperate and naive people keep throwing money they don’t have at this nonsense. Unfortunately people have to be beyond broke before they realize what a huge mistake they made.
It’s hard to sell Amway. I can go shopping at Von’s and get twice as much stuff than from Amway. Plus when you talk to people about Amway, you get funny stares from people. Kind of like Amway is a bad word or something.
I was recently approached about Amway and came to this post while doing some research. I’m still not entirely sold on the idea, mostly because I’m not sure if I have enough time to invest into launching it. However, that leads me to my first point regarding MLMs: In no way can I generalize, but it appears in some instances that those individuals who label it a “scam” simply misunderstood the IBO concept. It isn’t a “get-rich-quick” scheme. If someone tried to sell it to you that way, then they’re the ones scamming you – not Amway. Like any business, you need to invest time and money into that. That’s why I do agree with those who point out that the successful people in Amway usually had a decent financial cushion to rely on while they were launching their IBO. The couple who approached me about it were completely honest in saying that they were both raking in 6-figure incomes when they first started out with Amway, which obviously lowered their risk. However, if you are great at sales, determined enough to put the time in, and financially smart enough to budget for it (regardless of your current income), I think it has a chance of working. Also, many times it isn’t Amway that’s the problem. It’s usually the mentoring group that wants to assist you in getting started with Amway that make it seem a little crazy. Just be smart, do your research, determine if it’s the right fit for you, and make sure you’re capable of backing yourself up financially in case it doesn’t work out. I feel bad for people who lost “everything” while investing into something like Amway, but Amway is just a manufacturer, not an all-powerful god who came to your property and physically stole everything from you. It was ultmately your choice.
My sister sells Mary Kay, and they’re a little pushy with the whole mentoring and guest speakers and whatever, but she just ignores it. She has a steady clientele, and she simply uses it as extra cash to make her and her family a little more comfortable. You can do the same thing with something like Amway – it isn’t necessarily all-or-nothing :)
Sarah, you are right. Amway is not get rich quick, or get rich at all . Amway doesn’t scam you. It is IBO’s. True, but what does Amway do to prevent this or punish those who do? On the surface, I see nothing. The Amway leaders are smart. They promote that Amway’s not get rich quick so it doesn’t sound like a scam. But in reality, how do Amway diamonds make money? I am fairly sure that many of them make more from functions and cd’s than from Amway. It makes perfect sense because the profit margin is higher on support materials than on Amway goods.
If the real problem is the mentoring group and not Amway, doesn’t Amway have the ability and authority to control these groups? And if so, why hasn’t anything been done over all these years?
My uncle is in Amway for 7 years and he works like an ass.
I swear to god he works 24*7 and even broke every relationships with blood brothers and friends in the name of the business. He even had sent his both children to hostel and all that he cares is about making his business large and even after working so hard he plausibly can’t buy a luxury cars.
dude he’s really annoying and when he comes for a visit to our home I simply visits somewhere else till the moron is gone, what I wanna say is that these sort of ponzi schemes are consequence of capitalism where the people are fooled in the name of becoming millionaire but do these millionaire are worth with no self ego and acting like some dickheads.
these all mlm business should be banned to sustain innovation in the new generation
Amway was a great company. Until they turned away and did nothing to the Big Downlines such as the Britt-Yaeger-Puryear and Worldwide Dreambuilders Organization. Amway was scared they would take their huge downlines and leave.
People have to realize that.
Its these big Distrbutor groups that are the problem. They are run like cults. Its too bad. Some Diamond Directs are nice people. But most of them are shameful monsters. I know-I was in WWDB from 93 to 99.
I have been to a meeting with Amway.
They call you intelligent, use chiseled words and lines to make you think you have great Amway potential.
I wouldn’t call these guys a scam.
And I didnt like their reasoning as to why I should join them.
They came on too hard insisting that I should spend in this venture instead of useless, expensive textbooks at college.
Imagine that!
I didnt like that I would have to spend way more time than I was told at the meeting for maintaining my business.
Plus, im not a big fan of their products. I tasted their chocolate and it was like caramel and dirt.
I personally wouldn’t invest in something I dont like.
And last but not the least i love my friends and family.
I dont want them to compulsorily buy stuff and take advantage of my relationship with them. It would just end up being way too awkward and id end up losing way more than what id bargained for!
There!
An unbiased opinion.
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