IS AMWAY A SCAM?

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• @guest

  I spent about 50 bucks. I feel that I'm getting the most for my money when purchasing products from my website. Its benefiting me because I still get the points which propels my business and the products are great. Not everyone agrees with this which is fine. You get yours and I'll get mine. This business opportunity is just the way I plan to go about getting mine. Its not going to happen over night, its network marketing. That takes time building up a customer base and a properly structured team. I'm not just out to achieve my dreams. I'm also out to help others achieve theirs. You and others have just filtered yourselves out, which is exactly what should happen cause not everyone's made for network marketing.

  I hope you all achieve everything you want out of life because its what the American Dream is all about. Cheers to the New Year!

• I finally decided to search the web after being out of Amway now since February 2011. I was hesitant to do so because I had been told not to so many times by my uplines that there is negative on the internet even about Mother Teresa. That was the "line" that they used to trick me into not doing my research. I am a college graduate with a bachelors degree in accounting and I was taught to always research a company to learn more about them if you are going to be involved with them. Anyways, I am glad that I did because I now realize that I am not the only one who disagrees with Amway and their approaches to "the business".

  A little more background about my situation which I'm sure is not unique to many others who have been in Amway. My girlfriend and I were introduced to this business by a friend of my girlfriend and her husband. From the presentation that was shown to me I thought that it sounded VERY easy to do. I was told that I only needed 3 friends out of my 200 contacts in my phone to want to save money and make money at the same time. That was the first lie that I later found out. First of all, we didnt save any money. We threw away over $7000 and saw under $300 return. How exactly am I saving money? Secondly, IF, IF you get (trick) 3 friends to signed up, you have alot more work to do than that. Try 50 people and by the time u get 50 people involved, 48 of those will have quit once they finally realize that you took advantage of them and weren't straight forward with them.

  So Time went on and I hung around and observed the behaviors of people in Amway and how they talked. I said to myself, I want to be nothing like these people. They all sounded the same to me and it was just a little weird. Finally I realize that they have all been brainwashed how to think, how to spend their money, who they spend their time with, and how they spend their time. Amway with the help of the "EDUCATION" has completely taken control of the lives of many, many naive, weak minded, gullible, ignorant, or too trusting (you fill in the blank) individuals who worship their upline like they are God. Sure I thought it was cool that I knew a millionaire and got to hang out at his house and all, but Im not going to empty my bank account for anyone! How about this line..."You don't make money FROM your friends when they get involved, Your making money WITH your friends". WHAT?!? Last time I checked anyone you sponsor in the business, you collect their business volume from the stuff they buy and get a kickback from those purchases. I believe that's called making money FROM your friends. They have another sneaky tactic that they use to conceal the truth. "You're not making money from your friends, Amway is paying you for driving volume to their website. Ok, Yeah that's still making money from your friends. Im not an idiot and your blender of words and phrases don't have any effect on me.

  Back to November 2010, I got married to my girlfriend I was in the business with and shortly after she became an Ambot as I've heard people refer to it. In February 2011, i had enough of it and decided to cut my loses and get out. My wife didn't share the same thoughts and feelings though because she had been soaking in every last drop of the expensive "Education" we were receiving. Up until the point of me getting out of the business since I had known her, we NEVER had an argument. We were inseparable and much in love. That all changed as time progressed. We started disagreeing and this horrible person came out of her as I never seen before. She physically hit me on 3 occasions and we would fight, mostly her, as I like to be calm and collective. I rather reason things out by gathering the facts and explaining my perspective. Her reasoning went out the door with her mind because everything out of her mouth was something about the business.

  I spent many nights home alone waiting for her to get back from those stupid waste of time meetings. Eventually in October I had enough. We got in another fight and she asked me to leave, so I did! Now supposedly when a woman says leave, that means dont leave in translation, but I took it at face value and left. We are currently separated and in the process of filing for a dissolution. I never thought Amway could destroy a marriage like that, but I've read so many sad stories where has done just that. Like I said, I'm sure my story isn't a unique one, but I just wanted to share in hopes that I can TRULY HELP people steer clear of this plague. Not only will it empty your bank account, waste time you could be living your life and enjoying the company of family and true friends, it will destroy your relationships with the ones you love. These people that were in our business call themselves Christians, yet they can easily let a marriage be destroyed and not even flinch. Greed and lies are all I see in these people!

  I would like to sit my wife down and show her some information so maybe, just maybe she will snap out of it, but I feel like she is so programmed at this point that I won't be able to get her to read it. If anybody actually reads my entire story (I know its long) and has any advice on getting her out let me know. I got nothing to lose at this point since I've pretty much lost the love of my life.

• "DoAsISay" - First of all, sorry to hear about your marriage problems. Regarding your experiences, you claim to have researched Amway, and even been an IBO, but your whole post begins as if you actually have no idea how Amway works. Much of the stuff you claim to have been told sounds like stuff you were told by your sponsor and/or upline, not by Amway. It was *their* "approach to the business" you disagreed with - as do I, and in fact as does Amway, which you can see by simply reading the Business Opportunity Brochure you should have been given when you joined and which you should have been giving to everyone you approached about the business.

  No business succeeds long-term by "tricking" people, whether it be an Amway IBOship or any other venture. Any IBOs operating the way you experienced will predictably fail. Amway itself on the other hand is going in to it's 53rd year.

  Just to be clear *I agree with you* in that what you describe is a terrible way to do business. But that's not how most people operate their Amway businesses, not how I was taught to run an Amway business, and it's not the way Amway wants people to operate an Amway business. Unfortunately you're not the only one to experience it either, it's a common story from those who have complaints. There's a lesson in that both for Amway and the groups doing it.

• IBOFB has no credibility. DoasIsay sounds like he was trained by one of the AMOs. Probably WWDB or maybe even Network 21. Even if he wasn't Taught" by Amway, Amway knows this stuff goes on and they don't do squat. One of their IBOAI members was caught on tape telling people they could make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, with no consequences. They teach you so much crap that your eyes trun brown. Ironically, some groups like WWDB teach you that Amway saves marriages. What a joke. IBOFB is in denial and thinks these kinds of things never happen. He likes to claim that Amway is changing and things are different now. It is testimony like that that provides evidence, no proof that some AMOs as as abusive as ever. Amway accreditation is a joke and the AMO kingpins are still using and abusing their downline.

  IBOFB likes to use that convenient loophole that "it's not Amway". Sorry, but until Amway corrects some of their IBO leader's behavior, it is (rightfully) that the Amway name is associated with pyramid, scam and ripoff.

• DoasIsay, it is sad but there isn't really much you can do. Once someone buys in and believes, it is hard to convince them otherwise. I wish you well. It is also important for you to understand that it isn't your fault.

  It's not the way Amway wants people to run their business but they sit back, say "fiddle dee dee" and do nothing about the groups that conduct business this way. I was in WWDB and this is what happened quite often. It happened in the 1990's and it is still happening in some groups today.

• Joecool, could you please explain how you are privy to Amway' and the IBOAI's internal dispute and disciplinary actions?

  Clearly you must know what happens in private meetings, since you claim there were "no consequences" to someone's statements. (a statement btw, which is true, even if more than a little hyperbolic).

  Please, tell us how you *know* this stuff?

  Or is this perhaps one of things you "know", like your claim I "think these kinds of things never happen", when in the very comment you're replying to I acknowledge they do!

• Amway's failure to ackowledge formal complaints is evidence enough for me that nothing was ever said or done. No to mention the violator has been teaching the same garbage for over a decade. Are you saying Mr. Duncan's actions are okay in your book?

  http://rocketsrants.blogspot.com/2011/09/amway-guys-they-sure-say-stuff.html

  Why you defend Amway and unethical Amway leaders ad nauseum is beyond me.

• BTW, even though the evidence is circumstantial, that evidence is still substantial in my opinion.

• That's all you've got JoeCool?

  A 3 to 4 year old camera phone video of a personal, informal conversation in a hallway, of someone saying something that (a) isn't against the rules (b) been proven possible numerous times and (c) is something Duncan himself has likely done (most qualified Crowns would make over 2 million a year from their global Amway income alone)

  That's something you want Amway to take "formal action" against?

  Really?

• So you're saying that it's perfectly okay for an IBOAI member to be saying stuff like that? And it's okay for Amway to not even acknow;edge a complaint? This is the kind of stuff that makes Amway look like a scam. Is this something you condone? You're as bad as the unethical leaders. You know it's wrong but since it's Amway you defend it.

  Being that much income from these big bigs come in the form of an ANNUAL bonus, it's very unlikely that they make hundreds of thousands a month each month, even though they may imply it. .