A system designed for failure.
The Internet is full of stories of former IBO’s who’ve lost thousands of dollars. Some of these people have also lost their homes and their families and their sanity. The Amway business opportunity sucks in IBO’s with dreams and hope and spits them out financially and emotionally devastated.
Every now and then a story emerges of an IBO who actually makes money in Amway.
Well we all know how they make money - by walking over their victims and scamming them into spending a lot of money buying Amway products and tools. I do recognize that occasionally someone in Amway earns a few hundred dollars a month. I don’t even want to think of the amount of money they had to fork out to make a few hundred a month or the countless hours spent bullying others to sign up with Amway or buy their products, attending meetings, and wasted time spent with their upline.
And then I get to thinking if you have what it takes to make hundreds of dollars a month in Amway, can you imagine what kind of money you’d be making as a legitimate business owner where you don’t have to scam and lie to people. There are all kinds of business opportunities out there some with little start up costs and others that are huge investments in purchasing a business and buying inventory and marketing.
Recently I visited a friend and she told me her sister had someone on a bicycle roll up and offer to clean up her yard or do her gardening I’m not sure which. I can tell you that I’ve been to the sister’s house a few times and house and garden are neat as a pin so its more likely Mr. Man-on-the-bike was offering gardening services rather than clean up. Its not like she has abandoned vehicles and appliances stacking up in the back yard! He came with a letter of reference and charged $250. Seems a little high to me but sister was agreeable to the price and set him to work. I say $250 is not bad for a few hours work especially since he’s on a bike and not carrying his own tools so he must use the homeowner’s tools. His overhead is real low. Oddly enough the town he lives in is about a 20 minute drive from the sister’s house, so that’s some bike ride. Anyway he did a good job and sister was very happy and thought the $250 was a good deal. She even drove him home.
So in one day this guy on a bike makes more money than the average IBO grosses in two months. He has no overhead costs. Not even vehicle gas and insurance. He works less hours for more money than an IBO does.
That’s just one example of going into business for yourself. Surely if an IBO is driven enough to earn more than the Amway $115/month average they’d be able to figure out a business where they don’t have to lie and peddle shitty overpriced products.
Here’s an article that visitor Connie directed me to called 1,357 Ways to Make More Money than in MLM! http://mlm-thetruth.com/tools/ways-to-make-more-money-than-in-mlm
The article also states what us former IBO’s know to be the truth particularly with Amway - 99.9% of participants in an MLM lose money. So for the tiny percentage who actually make money at MLM take the author’s advice on one of those other business opportunities and you’ll be making good money at a legitimate business opportunity, setting your own hours and your own prices. No scamming or lying required. And best of all you’re no longer associated with a company that has a scummy reputation.
Better than Amway? Sleeping on the couch. Watching the Simpsons, pandhandling, working part time for minimum wage, walking the neighborhood and looking for spare change on the ground. All much more lucrative than Amway.
ReplyDeleteEven my newpaper delivery guy makes more than most Amway reps.
Hey I found 12 cents on the sidewalk yesterday!
ReplyDeleteEverything is better than Scamway!
Any so-called 'business/income opportunity,' but without significant regular sales to the public, is an economically-unviable fake in which ill-informed participants have been peddled infinite shares of what can only be, largely or entirely, their own finite money.
ReplyDeleteObviously, there are a couple of common-sense questions that determine whether any alleged 'commission-related direct marketing scheme / business / income opportunity' has been economically viable and, therefore, authentic and lawful (under universal criminal legislation concerning theft, misrepresentation and fraud, rather than under diverse national legislation concerning pyramid / money circulation schemes):
1. Has the alleged 'business/income opportunity' generated significant and sustainable external revenue via its alleged 'distributors' regularly retailing products, and/or services, directly to the public for a profit?
2. Have the alleged 'business/income opportunity's' instigators been withholding the key information that their alleged 'direct sales revenue' has mainly derived from an endless-chain of constantly-churning, insolvent victim/customers who have been arbitrarily and falsely defined as 'distributors' in order for the instigators to hide their criminal objectives?
Thus, it beggars belief that the bosses of major, US-based, organized crime groups like 'Amway' have never been required by federal, or State, law enforcement agencies to make any form of disclosure concerning the above common sense questions. Yet the highly-revealing answers to these obvious questions have always lain in the hands of federal and state revenue services.
In plain language, how is it possible that, for decades, US law enforcement agents can have been so dim that they never thought to approach the US tax authorities and ask them:
How many US citizens have actually paid income tax on alleged 'profits' deriving from their participation in countless, alleged 'commission-related direct marketing schemes/ business / income opportunities?'
Conversely, why have US revenue agents never approached US law enforcement agents to tell them that:
In our opinion, due to an effectively 100% absence of declared net-profits from countless, alleged 'commission-related direct marketing schemes/ business / income opportunities,' there has obviously been a major, ongoing fraud/racket taking place right under all our noses?
The comparisons between this absurd, ongoing situation and the Bernie Madoff affair are quite remarkable; for how was it possible that, for decades, SEC officicials could have been so dim that they never thought to approach stock market officials and ask them:
How many of Mr. Madoff's countless, alleged 'profitable trades' on behalf of his alleged 'investors' have actually taken place?
Conversely, why did stock market officials never approach SEC officials to tell them that:
In our opinion, due to an effectively 100% absence of trades (profitable or unprofitable), Mr. Madoff's alleged 'constantly-expanding $50 billion hedge fund ' is obviously a major, ongoing fraud/racket which has been taking place right under all our noses?
In all of this, perhaps the most worrying feature has been the effectively 100% absence of the mainstream media; for financial journalists could, and should, have found answers to all the above common-sense questions many years ago, but they too apparently never thought to ask them.
David Brear (copyright 2011)
It's kind of amusing how they sneer at people with J.O.B.s as "losers". When in truth, even at minimum wage those "losers" are making more money a month for less of their time than the IBOs. And a good portion of those J.O.B.s provide benefits like retirement and/or health insurance. Not with Amway. And when your boss at a J.O.B. calls you in for a meeting, he doesn't charge you a fee at the door, nor does he expect you to drop everything after hours to attend. Also, a J.O.B. doesn't stay in business only by expecting all their employees to stock up their closets and garages with their products.
ReplyDeleteWith Amway, you can only go so far keeping up... depending on how much money you had in your bank account before you joined so you can drain it and how much you can charge on your credit cards before you've reached the limit. That's the "perfect system"? The greatest "business opportunity"?
IBOs like to defend Amway by pointing out how long it's been around as "proof" of how great it is. I would counter with the Mafia has been around for a really long time, too. But I would hardly want to brag about their methods of operation.
~Dave
The security guard of my friends apartment building. He'd work a decent reg office job and do the security 3 nights a week for 12/h. Sets his alarm every 2 hour and walks around the building a tiny bit for 5mins. I think he works 20 mins the entire night.
ReplyDeleteDavid - thought provoking. I think another of my readers Peter Reilly has touched on some of the Amway tax issues in his blog. Common sense seems to go out the window when the upline puts vision's of dollar signs in prospect's eyes.
ReplyDeleteDave - ambots are brainwashed to become arrogant and sneer at people with jobs. My husband and I have a business and I haven't worked a job for an employer in years. But its something I wouldn't discount for the very reasons you've mentioned - steady money coming in, health benefits, and pension.
ReplyDeleteAvon has been around 75 years longer than Amway and brings in more annual sales and seemingly without the rage directed to it that Amway gets. That's what happens when you offer good products at good prices. Why do IBO's try to hide the fact that Avon cosmetics are more desirable to women than Amway's cosmetics to the point where even Amway recognizes this and tried to buy Avon about 20 years ago.
Colin - that security job sounds like a decent secondary income except it must play havoc with sleep patterns!
ReplyDeleteAnna-Probably does ruin some of his sleeping pattern. But compared to prospecting everynight of the week & meetings. Might be a better deal doing the security guard job.
ReplyDeleteProbably gets more sleep than the average IBO anyway.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog i went to Wendys for a burger. Two early 20s young men dressed in suits where showing the plan to asian lady(seems new to the country). One was taking notes cause he's learning how to show the plan. I watched them for awhile cause it's still entertaining. One mentioned this is a get rich slow type deal. I remember trying to control my laughter. I knew right away they where part of some mlm because nobody is dressed in fancy suits at 1am at a burger joint lol.
ReplyDeleteColin - you should have warned her off that its a scam. Our Platinum often said to prospect new immigrants because they're willing to work harder. I don't know about that logic but we're talking about someone who doesn't make a lot of sense anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnna- i heard there arent many anti amway/mlm sites in other languages. Maybe that's why it's better for them to target foreigners. That and targetting students who never heard of mlm or amway.
ReplyDeleteFoumd this on facebook where he's downline from dan yuen wwdb. Page might not be up for much longer but mainly immigrants or foreigners. Guess they are the new targer for the cult leaders. Shows the people who are attending some meeting.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234652466572767
Colin are you saying that ambots have the power to turn back time?
ReplyDeleteWow, this piece of writing is fastidious, my
ReplyDeleteyounger sister is analyzing these kinds of things, so I am going to tell her.
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Great article, and I have to agree there are better ways to make money than joining an MLM program where you need to recruit others to make money on overpriced and overhyped products... one way I make money is refer people to the product they originally wanted, but by giving them a much better price :) Win/Win/Win!
ReplyDelete