I've changed my policy concerning email. I get a lot of email that I get either thanks me for having the web-site up or bashes me for having it up. I am now just displaying peoples stories.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent, etc.
...Looking at these numbers, you have approximately 2,500 distributors making more than $16,488 and approximately 2,500 distributors making less...
Interesting. But of course you know these averages factor in people who are members to buy the laundry products. All I know is that at the Emerald qualification level, I make a damn site more than 50k/yr and it aint from tools! Anyway, your numbers are obviousy off. 4920 qualified DDs in US and Canada?! You obvioulsy weren't in Atlanta last year! the attendance at the Free Enterprise Weekend was in excess of 75,000 and the entire floor of the Georgia Dome, which had far in excess of 4920 chairs on it, was completely filled with qualified DDs ... and those were just the ones willing to travel to Atlanta and spend a couple hundred dollars
...and $16,488 per year at DD?! Not if you build it right. Mine at DD was more than that to start with considering profit sharing and 4% bonus. Many DD's have been at DD for years. They're way above 7500pv. It all depends on how you qualify. Is it all in one leg? That's pretty stupid ... or is it in 10 legs ... much smarter. Why build it wrong? Why skew your chances of success by factoring in the results of those who don't follow directions? Why not just be at the top end of the scale. Did you make Cs in college? ... or did you make A's? I made A's. Not because I'm smart but because I did what I needed to do to get A's. I had to work harder than many but I did it. It is no different in this business.
Anyway the original guy's statement was that more people make in excess of $50k/yr in Amway than in any other business. Look at the book the Profiles of Success. It doesn't have the Emeralds in it. Most Emeralds make in excess of double that $50k/yr. Some emeralds make $300k/yr. The Profiles of Success book only had Diamonds, Executive Diamonds, Double, Triple, Crowns ... Hundreds of diamonds and a few Emeralds for each diamond. How many companies do you know that have that many people making that much money. If you put some of your energy into building an Amway business instead of knocking it, you might be in my position. I assure you, my income is not any less than six digits.
I was decieved by a guise saying that I would be working with computers, software and working with Fortune 500 companies. The guy had the gall to call me at my workplace saying that I seemed very knowledgable in computers and that he would like to meet with me. I figured I might get some type of programming or network building job instead he tried to convinve me that this Amway crap would be my ticket to financial freedom. I am only 18 years old and believe that only working 10 - 15 hours a week to make 2 to 3000 dollars a month seemed quite fishy if not illegal. Your page confirmed my suspscions. He even talked me into going to a meeting the day after we met. Is there some type of Place I can check this out or report this to? I would feel better making money doing things I want to do. Secondly, he showed me all these extravagant houses, large checks, and expensive cars. Someone has to be losing money for these people to be making so much and I feel that I do not want to become a victim. I'd rather work 60 hours a week earning 30,000 a year doing something I like.. computer programming. Once again thanx for this informative site. The Internet rules..
Dear Sir,
My name is * and I am inquiring about a multilevel scheme some of my relatives are entering into. I suspect it is AMWAY and I refuse to go their meeting as I was suckered into one many years ago. Have you heard of the InterNET Services Corporation? They have a distribution system with the new name of "Interactive Distribution". Of course my relatives refuse to confirm that it is AMWAY unless I go to one of their meetings. I actually teach a Career Awareness course to middle school students and I know what it takes to succeed. I do not wish for my wife or my relatives to be suckered into this "scheme". Please let me know if you have any information about this "company".
Thank you for a wonderful web site. Amway is supposedly coming to South Africa in the next 6-9 months, being brought here by Australians operating with Network 21. The meetings so far have been excellent and tapes and books have been made available. However, they tell us only 10 products will be made available at first - is that sufficient to maintain a business? Also the crime here is of unspeakable proportions, a rape every 6 minutes, 10-15 murders per day and 15-20 carjackings per day. Is this going to affect the distribution process, or is that Amways problem per se? Surely one should take all problems into consideration. We have the worse postal service in the world, and courier companies get carjacked regularly. Your opinion would be most appreciated. Also, to reach Diamond over a 2-5 year period, surely all the products should be available and not just 10?? Once again, excellent site and I would be delighted to hear from you.
Just a short note to thank you for the time and effort you have put into this site to inform people of what Amway is really all about. The more I learn of this organization, and the more I see how it effects people and relationships, the more I realize how important it is that this information is available.
We know of a man who is a DIAMOND, and acts like he is a millionaire. However, what all his "downline" don't realize (I'm sure) is that he sold the house he had (prior to quitting his job and "doing" Amway full-time) and now has to live in a rental unit and had to borrow money from a family member to buy a used car. That doesn't sound like a millionaire's lifestyle, does it? " FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT" is something they take very seriously in this business. Just because someone is dressed in an expensive suit does not mean they are rolling in money! Distributors should always remember, too, that they are taught to "fake it", so why do they assume that they are not being "faked" to by their uplines?!
Like all cults, Amway has robbed its followers of their ability to use logic and reason. I agree heartily with the person who wrote you a message regarding his intent to put on a website about the damage Amway's cult-like tactics cause...which is really even more of an issue than the financial losses; because without the power it gets from being able to brain-wash its followers it wouldn't be able to convince these people to hand over so much money on useless tapes, videos, functions, etc. And they would be able to see how ridiculous it is to think buying Amway's own products instead of any other kind (like Proctor and Gamble, God forbid!) somehow profits them (with what? A $6.00 cheque each month?!). To anyone thinking clearly it would be obvious that only Amway profits from this...certainly not the pathetic little distributors who are so desperate to achieve their "dreams" that they are alienating everyone who really does matter in their lives.
I find it very interesting to see an Amway distributor's reaction to any questions or criticisms aimed at Amway. If you were talking to someone who worked at IBM for example, and mentioned you had read a really interesting article on some questionable business tactics, etc. involving their company, wouldn't it be logical and probable that this person would be curious as to what you had learned. They would probably want to see the article, too. Yet with Amway they are so well trained (or brainwashed) they refuse to even talk about anything negative you may have seen. They do not want to see what has been said and will not discuss it. If you do not like a particular product it is seen as a personal attack against them. (Is it really worth giving up a friend or family's relationship because they don't want to buy Amway toothpaste from you?!)...yet they are told this just proves that person was never really a friend of your's in the first place.
It would all be hilariously funny if it was not so scary and destructive. Keep up the good work. I know this company has been around a long, long time and with their skillful manipulative techniques it will probably be around for many more years to come. But if you keep on top of this situation perhaps some people will be saved from the damage Amway is more than capable of doing.
Thanks for the response to my e-mail message regarding your site. I was interested in the info you passed along regarding P & G's lawsuit. My sister told me she can clearly recall how her grade 8 teacher (this is quite a few years ago now) told her whole class that they should go home and tell their parents not to buy any P & G products because he knew for a fact that this company promoted Satanic worship, etc. and the symbol on their products proved it...gee, I wonder what other "business" he did in his part time?!
Glad to hear that the website on cults will be up and running soon. I really believe it is important to give this matter as much attention as possible. I have a degree in Psychology and have studied quite a bit about this subject. Scary stuff!! People may be inclined to think that if these Amway distributors are naive or stupid enough to believe the ridiculous things they are told about this "business" and refuse to listen to people trying to warn them about the truth, that they deserve to lose their money, time, etc. But when you start to really understand how incredibly powerful cult-like psychological influences are on a person's mind you realize how victimized these distributors really are in some cases. Amway does not seem to be an amateur in "brain-washing" techniques by any means.
Are you familiar with Charles Paul Conn? He has written several books on Amway and professes that he is not involved in this company at all but is just writing what he believes to be the truth from an outsider's perspective. Right!! I have never seen more blatant propaganda in my life...However, in my opinion, the worst part is that this "author" has a Ph.D. in psychology. Now, who better than someone with this credential to know the most effective psychological manipulations? I have read two of his books and realized immediately what he was doing. First, he gives the same rags to riches stories that the tapes, videos and functions pound into everyone's psyche.
(An interesting sidenote to this fact however: in both of the books I read, "The Possible Dream" from 1977 and "Promises to Keep The Amway Phenomenon and How IT Works" from 1985 he used the same people for examples of the rags to riches stories. Now these books were published eight years apart and the second was not a republication of the first. It was a separate (though same brainwashing propaganda) book meant not to be a rewrite of the first. Now, out of the millions of distributors Amway has, why was it not possible to come up with updated examples of success stories to match the updated information Conn was giving?! Also I have found that the one example given for a success story from Canada (Janz) was used in both books (as all the others were also repeated). They apparently became "Crown Direct" in 1972 and were written about in the 1978 book, and again, as stated, in the 1985 book. Interestingly enough, however, on Amway's own Amway Canada's web site it states: "TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF AMWAY's MOST SUCCESSFUL CANADIAN DISTRIBUTORS:" and there is only one name mentioned...guess who?! The same MR. and MRS. JANZ from 1972!! In the last 25 years there have been no other success stories worth mentioning from Canada??!!)
Back to Charles Paul Conn's writing: the most disturbing thing about his method of brainwashing, to me, was how he interwove reputable people's quotes (be they politicians, writers, sports figures, etc.) that had nothing whatsoever to do with Amway, (they were usually stated at least 100 years ago) but because he would bring their name and words into a paragraph directly related to Amway it sounded like people such as Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt were personally endorsing Amway and its ways.
It is such a blatant psychological manipulation (oh, well, if Abraham Lincoln thought it is ok it must be!!). Conn's books ,by the way, are for sale to "empower your downline" on UPLINE RESOURCES CATALOG ONLINE EDITION ..but of course he was just an outsider who has nothing to do with Amway!!
Anyway, thanks again for the info you sent. I feel quite passionate about this topic because several family members are now involved in Amway and the more I learn about all of this the more I am fearful for them. The main frustration I have is that it seems like the more you try to reason with Amway distributors (by showing them facts, etc. to back up your points) the more defensive they become and refuse to discuss anything negative about this organization. It still is amazing to me that they seem to trust people they have just met (or just listened to on tapes or at functions) more than family or friends they have known all their lives! But that is how a cult works!
Keep up the great work!
I'm not tearing you down or attacking you persnally. I'm just questioning the spirit in which you have created your web site. Yes I did visit a couple of the sites you mentioned, and I don't dispute the facts. Fortunatly or unfortunatly I have not crossed paths with an Amway distributor spewing all the things you say they do. Actually, I think the things that the Amway Corp. are involved with seem to be worthwhile such as Easter Seals and other Charities. I'm sure if you researched any MLM or large business with a sales force you will find unscrupulous people saying and stretching the truth to enhance their product. I'm sorry if I offended you personally, but I just think you come across a someone who take is very intent on running down the Amway business. I would not care if it was Mary Kay or Avon it's just the tone of your web site that I was questioning. If you put as much energy building your Amway business as you do running it down because it doesn't work you might be one of those millionaires. It's just a thought. Have a nice day.