Sunday, February 20, 2005

5 Reasons I Hate Amway (or whatever it's called this week)

#1 Because they lie. They lie about the nature of the company. They pretend to be one thing when they are really something else. When people want to show you the plan, they lie or trick you into coming. They lie about how much effort it takes to be successful. They lie about the economics behind the company, and about where the successful ones make most of their money. They lie to themselves about their motivations and their likelihood of succeeding. They deliberately try to portray a lifestyle of wealth, whether they are actually wealthy or not.

#2 Because every relationship Amway people have is compromised by business. Every friend they already have is now a potential convert, and every friendship they make (or every nice gesture within a friendship) now has two competing purposes. Amway people come up to you and pretend to be interested in you or your hobbies or whatever; their purpose is to invite you to a meeting of "businesspeople" or "entrepeneurs" or "consultants". They call signing someone up "helping someone", as in "If you found 10 people to help..." How do you know who your real friends are if you're trying to manipulate everyone you meet?

#3 Because they worship money. They call it "success" or "security", but it means money, and it's huge for these people. The diamonds and emeralds or whatever are revered by many of the lower echelon. "They're just like regular people!" said one starstruck Amway-ite to me after meeting a diamond at a convention. (That sound is me, gagging.) As if their wealth makes them better than the rest of us, and they're to be admired for not acting like the royalty they supposedly are. The first half an hour of an Amway presentation is about how much money you'd like to make and all the stuff you could buy if you had all the money you wanted.
Glorious, glorious money.

#4 Because they take advantage of gullible, low-to-middle income people. They encourage them to make stupid choices in search of the Amway Money Dream. They fill their heads with unrealistic expectations, and bleed them dry selling them tapes and seminars and conventions. They show up in their fancy cars with their nice clothes and their aura of success, and they flatter and manipulate people into signing up. They "take care" of their downline by calling them, by helping them present the plan to other people, etc. They make them feel important and successful and part of something special, but the main point is to keep them moving product and making ever more converts.

#5 Because it's controlled by Satan.

I think that pretty well covers the main points.

33 Comments:

At Sun Feb 20, 06:32:00 AM PST, Blogger unca said...

But other than that, it's OK, right?

 
At Sun Feb 20, 08:39:00 PM PST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm totally with you on this one.

Hey, have you ever wanted to supplement your regular income, but didn't know how to go about it? Give me a call: 1-800-FRIENDS

-Kire

 
At Sun Feb 20, 11:17:00 PM PST, Blogger Blogball said...

Wow! This really hits home with me. and a grat thing to blog about. I used be a magnet for these guys. In a way I feel for them because they have been sold a boatload of goods from the previous guy and so on and so on. If you are in a desperate time in your life this might sound like the answer to your prayers. I know there were times in my life that this would have sounded like a great thing. I think this is why I don’t like theses guys because they prey on the vulnerable and weak. But I guess their rationality is that if there is one guy out of a hundred that will actually have the tenacity to sell $10.000 worth of products a week then everybody gets richer and so on.

Typical conversation with an Amway Guy:

Amway Guy: Hi I was wondering if you would like to supplement your income by about a Goggle times what you are making now?
Me: Are you by chance with a multilevel marketing company like Amway?
A.G. No, this is not Amway exactly. Why don’t you listen to this tape I happened to have here in my pocket and come to my meeting next Wednesday then you will know all about it.
Me: Are you with Amway?
A.G. Not exactly
Me: Are you with Amway?
A.G. Not exactly
Me: Are you with Amway?
A.G. Not exactly
Me: Are you with Amway?
A.G. Not exactly
Me: No thank you I am not interested.
AG: This is a great opportunity you are passing up just attend one meeting and you will see.
Me: No thanks really.
AG: Well listen to this tape and then tell me what you think
Me: OK but I can’t guarantee I can get the tape back to you.

This for some reason used to shut them up. I always thought to myself if you are so rich from this great thing you are trying to sell me how come you are so worried about not getting your lousy $5.00 tape back?

 
At Mon Feb 21, 07:21:00 AM PST, Blogger unca said...

The only thing I would temper these mostly correct assertions with is that I have known some very nice people who have been Amway salespeople. Mostly these are salespeople who like the product and just try to sell you some of their soap, etc. and are not trying to "recruit" you. I realize that this puts money in the pockets of those at the top of the pyramid (I guess it does, anyway)but at least at this level is seems harmless (although I've never bought anything from them and don't plan to).
By the way, one of the things worse than spending an evening at an Amway gathering is spending an evening with an insurance salesman (IMHO).

 
At Mon Feb 21, 12:11:00 PM PST, Blogger Rob said...

Thx for the comments.
And I agree with unca, I've known lots of nice people who use/sell Amway, but I have serious problems with the way the overall thing is pushed. Perhaps you picked up on that.

I'm not actually even against the MLM model per se -- as long as it's presented in an honest & straightforward way.

If you're selling phones (hi, Stephanie) or vitamins or whatever, I'll listen to you if you say "This is my product, this is the sales model, etc." Just dont' lie to me and try to push my emotional buttons.

Speaking of which:
I was in the jacuzzi at a hotel somewhere (Pittsburgh?) and there were 3-4 others there talking about their day's conference sessions. It was about health/diet products, I think. They used words like "downline", "geneology", etc, so I knew it was an MLM model.
Anyway, I asked them what they did, and after a second's hesitation, one of them said "Well, I guess you could say we're... Lifestyle Brokers" to which the others all nodded happily, and which immediately made me mark them down under "sleazy losers".

 
At Fri Feb 25, 12:59:00 AM PST, Blogger Stephanie said...

Wow! I'm being referenced in a blog comment! :-)

You're right though, most MLM's suck. FWIW, Cognigen I consider to be more an online affiliate program than anything. They don't have those cheesy meetings for one thing. I really hate those damn meetings.

 
At Sun Feb 27, 09:02:00 AM PST, Blogger Dan Agonistes said...

Piggy-backing on unca there are two other things that will not only waste an evening but actually suck a few hours of your life from you.

- Listening to the spiel of the guy selling the deluxe home cleaning vaccum-like thing. This one has the advantage of making you think your home is filthy and that you'll die from all of the particles in the air

- Listing to the water filter guy who tries to convince you you'll die from drinking that bacteria-infected public water

 
At Thu Aug 16, 08:10:00 PM PDT, Blogger Unknown said...

I for one have never been all that interested in MLMs because they work the same way a pyramid scheme works. they only truly help the ones above you. Good Blog, totally agree.

 
At Sat Dec 01, 10:33:00 AM PST, Blogger dr.samal nauhria said...

he guys,people are really earning money through amway!!!lets not get into these discussions bcos it can never help you...if you wanna get the real picture get into amway for 90 days..you have a money back guarantee so theres nothing to lose..its my challenge that your life will change!!!

 
At Sat Jan 12, 11:34:00 PM PST, Blogger Sarah G said...

I just stumbled across this post while searching for an articulation of why Amway sucks. It's such a succinct, well-written, smart post! Thanks for writing it.

 
At Mon Jan 28, 09:23:00 PM PST, Blogger Unknown said...

There are some things I agree with, and some I definitely do NOT... I've never 'manipulated' anyone into a presentation.. whatever business it was for.. if you do, they'll never trust you, you'll never have a stable business, and you're wasting both of your time...

Secondly, it's hardly 'worshipping money'.. When I was over $100K in student loan and credit card debt I was miserable.. now, my stress level is 100x lower.. money doesn't make you happy, it just intensifies who you really are... and if you're a (((BLEEP))), you'll be a BIG, rich (((BLEEP))) ;o)

and that satan thing is just funny..

Are you skeptical/hateful of the entire network marketing industry, or just hate amway?

Here a video I posted on youtube about network marketing scams...

Network Marketing Scam - Brutally Honest Review

 
At Sun Apr 05, 08:18:00 PM PDT, Blogger GoodPeopleJapan said...

http://mlmsurvivor.com/

(And from Bryan's great post #2 is the kicker for me)

Nuff said.

 
At Thu May 14, 06:20:00 PM PDT, Blogger rickard108 said...

Many years ago the late great Bob Hope was a pitchman for amway (note I use small caps). Hope lost a little credibility in my eyes because of that. I loved his push of Chrysler cars although with that company going bankrupt...

My other point is the naming of the Amway (whoops, amway) Arena in Orlando where the Magic NBA team play and at this very moment I write this is playing the Boston Celtics in game 6 of the NBA conference semi-final conference series. I wonder if there was a great deal of controversy about this when they were looking for an arena corporate name?

 
At Thu May 14, 06:26:00 PM PDT, Blogger Unknown said...

Rich Devos (1 of the owners of Alticor - Amway's "umbrella" company) also owns the Orlando Magic... so, no, it wasn't "controversial".. haha

 
At Fri Dec 11, 06:03:00 PM PST, Blogger Truth said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At Fri Dec 11, 06:08:00 PM PST, Blogger Truth said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At Sun May 02, 10:20:00 PM PDT, Blogger Mihai Pruna said...

I have no quality reference on Amway products but I know they are overpriced. The pyramid scheme also known as MLM provides a venue for Amway to sell their overpriced products to IBOs while the kingpins at the top of every MLM scheme associated with Amway make their money from "tools" (worthless CDs of recorded seminars that basically tell you to buy more CDs and so on) and seminars.
It's a symbiotic relationship designed to rip people off and it's no wonder that 99.9% of IBOs end up losing money.
On top of that, Amway/Quixtar/Leadership Team Development use cult-like tactics to brainwash people and also promote intolerance and bigotry (no wonder all the kingpins are neocons).
I dearly hope that the new administration shuts down Amway.

 
At Fri Mar 18, 11:48:00 AM PDT, Blogger Vijaya Sai Molakalapalli said...

Hi friends!!!
One of my Indian friend in US joined Amway...He told me same story "history repeats as His Story". I knew about this company...but he is my friend he started to ask me to fill registration form and arouse my entrepreneurship feelings...soon I decided "I'm going to RUN AWAY from AMWAY!!!Thanx god,,,soon I was trying to find their real tactics..Thanx for this article..It's an eye opener...

 
At Wed May 11, 09:13:00 PM PDT, Blogger Seth said...

I think you are all stupid I love amway.

 
At Mon Jun 13, 02:45:00 AM PDT, Blogger jonelle_jae said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At Fri Jul 01, 03:39:00 AM PDT, Blogger j said...

Their are good things i learned about the Amway business. They have been around for 50 some years. They are about a 9 billion dollars in sales. They have done sponsorships including: Miss America pageants, Frank Lantz, Kurt Warner, Sandra bullock, etc... They are ranked 32 in Forbes magazine I believe, they have the #1 health and beauty companies online. Also according to price comparisons their products are reasonably priced. They are backed by the better business bureau and all business overviews are federal trade commission approved. Facts state at least that amway is not a scam. It is sometimes portrayed as easy but does seem like it will take a lot of work and sacrifice. But definitely not a scam.

 
At Wed Aug 10, 10:05:00 PM PDT, Blogger Art Roberts said...

This is all very interesting reading. I have been around Amway over the years, but always just an observer. One place I worked had been deluged with Amway hype, and it became a firing offense to try to push the business. We did have one employee and his wife who actually did very well with it.

Years back I heard the comment to sell the hope, not the soap.

But, somewhere in all of this, someone has to sell the soap, or no one makes a dime.

I can see the 'retail' side of this as a money maker, but the other side smells...

 
At Wed Aug 17, 01:56:00 AM PDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To address your points respectively,

#1 The person that you may have talked to might have lied but Amway is accredited with the highest BBB rating and the people that are actually successful are wonderful and genuinely care about you when capitalism has taught you to fight your way to the top.

#2 You should absolutely not be shoving Amway down peoples' throats otherwise you are stupid and are a terrible salesman.

#3 Tell me you wouldn't work 15 hours a week to incorporate 3-7k a month. But here's the catch, you have to put effort in :)

#4 In order to hit bonus you need to be moving product. Do you honestly think poor people can move enough product to bonus? Hell fucking no cuz they are broke. However! If you have middle-high class people doing it, it is stupid easy to win.

#5 You are satan because you are misleading people.

To the rest of you that want to make something of yourselves. Good for you and may you be successful!

 
At Mon Nov 26, 06:17:00 PM PST, Blogger benjican2010 said...

I agree w/ nickskinner's comments in defending Amway. This guy knows the success Amway has had over the last 50+ years, so he knocked them to make himself look better, from a blogger's perspective. Bryan is either incredibly idiotic or someone paid him into making these crazy claims against a business he could NEVER overcome or compare to in any way possible. But blogger's have to have something to write about, just nobody in their right mind would agree to his false claims.

 
At Mon Jan 21, 01:07:00 AM PST, Blogger Unknown said...

Hey, are you looking for a little bit of extra income on the side. Something to maybe help out with that mortgage, well let me tell you about my business that I'm looking to expand a bit. But I don't know about you but I hate talking like this, let's set up a meeting and I will tell you about it over a cup of coffee. Let's say Starbucks at 5:30 tomorrow then? Oh you have class, skip it!! Who needs class anyway honestly, this will change your life! Who do you really want to be? Let me change your life tomorrow at that Starbucks!

 
At Sun Oct 20, 05:25:00 AM PDT, Blogger Amway The Best said...

YOU ARE AWESOME. I feel horrible for people that try so hard to make a business look terrible when they should look in the mirror and re-think. I am a believer that if you want something really bad you need to work hard to get it. It will never be easy to obtain freedom that simple.
Well said!!!

 
At Wed Sep 30, 02:11:00 AM PDT, Blogger Unknown said...

Ha, everyone knows....
You continue loving 😍..
.😆

 
At Sat May 14, 10:40:00 PM PDT, Blogger Unknown said...

People who comment don't have written facts with them. They are miserable because they are jealous of people who work hard to achieve their goals.
Miserable are those who shut the opportunity door with LaZy minds.

 
At Sat Jan 21, 11:42:00 AM PST, Blogger Don said...

You are a swindler, amway is for retards and thieves.

 
At Sat Jan 21, 11:43:00 AM PST, Blogger Don said...

Said the scam artist.

 
At Sat Jan 21, 11:45:00 AM PST, Blogger Don said...

You mis represent the whole scam, but thars what swindlers do.

 
At Sat Jan 21, 11:46:00 AM PST, Blogger Don said...

Low information scammers are evil turds.

 
At Mon Sep 02, 05:50:00 AM PDT, Blogger Ricardo Valle said...

The odds of hitting it big in Vegas are better, cheaper, less time consuming and you get free drinks.
My ambot wife has been in the "business" for 12 years and has defered life's pleasures for the "dream".

 

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