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Help: Amway Corporation

Amos 14 Sep 11 - 04:51 PM
Q (Frank Staplin) 14 Sep 11 - 03:30 PM
Bonzo3legs 14 Sep 11 - 05:19 AM
GUEST,999 13 Sep 11 - 08:16 PM
Q (Frank Staplin) 13 Sep 11 - 07:38 PM
GUEST,999 13 Sep 11 - 07:17 PM
Q (Frank Staplin) 13 Sep 11 - 07:01 PM
lefthanded guitar 13 Sep 11 - 02:47 PM
SPB-Cooperator 13 Sep 11 - 12:18 PM
gnu 12 Sep 11 - 02:21 PM
Stringsinger 12 Sep 11 - 01:12 PM
Q (Frank Staplin) 11 Sep 11 - 02:08 PM
Bonzo3legs 11 Sep 11 - 02:03 PM
Q (Frank Staplin) 11 Sep 11 - 01:40 PM
saulgoldie 11 Sep 11 - 10:15 AM
Deckman 11 Sep 11 - 09:11 AM
Joe Offer 11 Sep 11 - 01:45 AM
ChrisJBrady 22 Apr 11 - 12:29 PM
ChrisJBrady 22 Apr 11 - 12:27 PM
GUEST,999 22 Apr 11 - 12:11 PM
artbrooks 22 Apr 11 - 08:13 AM
JohnInKansas 22 Apr 11 - 08:05 AM
EBarnacle 27 Aug 09 - 04:59 PM
Ebbie 27 Aug 09 - 04:56 PM
Joe Offer 27 Aug 09 - 04:44 PM
Bonzo3legs 27 Aug 09 - 04:31 PM
open mike 27 Aug 09 - 11:16 AM
Stringsinger 27 Aug 09 - 10:55 AM
SPB-Cooperator 27 Aug 09 - 10:27 AM
Maryrrf 27 Aug 09 - 10:21 AM
Deckman 27 Aug 09 - 09:11 AM
SPB-Cooperator 27 Aug 09 - 09:10 AM
SPB-Cooperator 27 Aug 09 - 09:08 AM
Julie B 09 May 01 - 08:22 AM
GUEST 08 May 01 - 04:59 PM
Kim C 08 May 01 - 02:02 PM
Frug 08 May 01 - 05:12 AM
English Jon 08 May 01 - 04:44 AM
Big Mick 05 May 01 - 11:14 AM
Phil Cooper 05 May 01 - 09:46 AM
Mooh 05 May 01 - 09:25 AM
Rick Fielding 03 May 01 - 08:43 PM
M.Ted 03 May 01 - 07:56 PM
Deckman 03 May 01 - 07:04 PM
English Jon 03 May 01 - 05:42 AM
Boab 03 May 01 - 03:45 AM
Sandy Paton 02 May 01 - 07:09 PM
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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Amos
Date: 14 Sep 11 - 04:51 PM

Their products are pretty good. Their corporate structure, not so much.


A


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Sep 11 - 03:30 PM

Jes' good ole entrepreneurship. Not too original, some of the old sky pilots were pretty entrancing too.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 14 Sep 11 - 05:19 AM

The powers that be in Amway were like some raving USAian religious sect.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: GUEST,999
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 08:16 PM

Dang. That's the same site I said to Google to. Shoulda known you'd have that base covered.

I'll gi'e it a listen, too. Maybe . . .


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 07:38 PM

My link has the two Pat Boone songs, one may listen to them, but the lyrics are hard to catch. I was hoping someone had already posted them or for an online site with posted lyrics.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: GUEST,999
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 07:17 PM

Google

Amway classic sound bytes

You'll find some there, Q.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 07:01 PM

I put Amway in filter, looking for a thread on Amway songs, but that brings up Tramway threads. "Amway" in quotes brings up zilch.
Amway in Search yields mostly below the line threads, but no songs.

Is there a thread on Amway songs? I linked a source in this thread, but I was hoping someone had posted lyrics to Pat Boone's sendup.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 02:47 PM

Interesting to hear this- years ago a cousin I barely knew contacted me with her Amway business, which I politely declined to be part of. I know of a friend's daughter who seems to be making some money selling Mary Kay, but only part time and you need a LOT of customers. I also have a musician friend( who I also hadn't heard from for months, is that a coincidence? lol ), who suddenly called me up and tried to enlist me in selling Fuller Brush products- also sounded like a pyramid scheme to me, tho I believe their products are decent enough.

I bless your Socialist dad for his principles -there are too few people out there who put principle before profit; and btw I am half tempted to buy a dulcimer from him myself . BUT I think he should raise the price a little above cost, why can't he make some money off his craft?? Maybe you can convince him to go 25% or 50% higher- they would still be reasonable and he would have a retirement business. Or may be he can even offer some kind of sliding scale, for those who can pay what they can afford, and those who can pay more. Good luck to dad, he sounds like a fine man.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 12:18 PM

I had a client who let a successful business slide down the drain with the hope of making a fortune with Amway. Income before 5K-6K/month, after £11/month that is £11, not £11,000.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: gnu
Date: 12 Sep 11 - 02:21 PM

One of the engineering students at uni was an Amway salesman. Good cover fer sellin dope. Maybe he was just a multi-tasker?


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Stringsinger
Date: 12 Sep 11 - 01:12 PM

Now Amway is a real Ponzi scheme. Also very reactionary politically.
It's as American as the Third Reich.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 02:08 PM

Pat Boone did a couple of Amway parodies. They can be heard at the site I linked.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 02:03 PM

I did the accounts of Amway UK Ltd back in the 1980s. It was run by an arrogant prat called Liam I remember. I'm glad they went bust.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 01:40 PM

There are many Amway songs, "I Am Amway" is a recitation classic.

"I Am Amway" by Paul Harvey is superb. Chases the moths out of my pocketbook !

Glorious Amway

May have been posted before, But some of the songs are gems.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: saulgoldie
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 10:15 AM

Pyramid...enriches those st the top...heavy evangelical component...

As SINSULL said earlier, "run fast and run far."

Saul


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Deckman
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 09:11 AM

Joe ... my respectfull admiration grows! bob(deckman)nelson


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Sep 11 - 01:45 AM

This thread was reopened by Spam, but the devil made me post a message. There seems to be a religious aspect to many of these multi-level marketing schemes. The sales meetings, particularly, have the feel of a religious revival. We used to rent our Catholic church hall out for Amway sales meetings, but we decided to drop them because their almost-religious materialism conflicted with our way of thinking. They seemed to be an aspect of born-again Prosperity theology (health and wealth gospel), a Christian religious belief whose proponents claim the Bible teaches that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians - that seems to me to be an aberration of Calvinism. All those people with their fancy clothes and fancy cars made us feel creepy. That stuff didn't seem to fit with our food locker, of which we were very proud. If you were to guess that I was one of the primary opponents of renting to Amway, you might be right.
-Joe-


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 12:29 PM

Sorry - blue clicky here:

http://www.rickross.com/groups/amway.html


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 12:27 PM

Check out a fairly definitive expose of Amway / Scamway at:

http://www.rickross.com/groups/amway.html

http://forum.rickross.com

Take care.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: GUEST,999
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 12:11 PM

Someone I worked with tried to get me into Amway years ago. I listened to the spheel: your dream circle, your fondest wishes, what you envision it would be like to be just ticketyboo.

My answer was Farrah Fawcett to all three and I left.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: artbrooks
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 08:13 AM

Another reopening of a 10-year-old thread.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 08:05 AM

A next door neighbor at our previous home dealt in Amway and was apparently quite successful with it. He quite obviously had been at it for some time, and had at least a half-vast tribe of sub-tier dealers who trooped in and out regularly to pick up products and deliver "his cut." So far as I know he did no direct selling on his own (but may have still been recruiting).

My observations are that the products are, in most cases, of "usable" quality, if you're not too fussy about the results. It is extremely unlikely that a person can make more than "occasional pin money" from selling them, and only those who recruite lower tier sellers are likely to make even moderate income from the deal.

IF YOU ARE RECRUITED by anyone below the highest level, your recruiter's cut of your sales must pay his recruiter's cut of your sales, who must pay ... on up the line. As with any Ponzi scheme, the only ones who can possibly profit are those who got there first.

Except under unusual and very fortuitous conditions, you are not first in line.

One "analysis" a few years back derived the postulate that to have a net positive cash flow over a sustained period, each tier of a branch in an Amway "nework" must be a minimum of 30 to 40 percent larger than the tier above it. If your "recruiter" has recruited 50 people to work for him/her, you (and each of his other 49) will need to recruit at least 65 to work successfully for you. And to be successful for more than a very short term each of your 65 "workers" must recruit an additional 85 people to sell the stuff for them.

One might get by with fewer active "workers" but the drop-out rate for your "less successful" business will demand that you continually recruit new replacements for the ones who give up.

At the time, it appeared that this analyst had obtained fairly specific information about the Amway program, and in particular about their "revenue sharing" cuts and distributions. His calculations did appear to be "real math" and not just guesswork. (The article appeared in a "newsletter" from an established investment firm as advice on career planning, sent to me because they hadn't yet figured out that I had nothing to invest that met their minimum account restrictions.)

A second observation, without intent to be disparaging, was that about half the "agents" who visited my neighbor on Amway business appeared (in casual conversation) to be "intelligence impaired," although none were obviously dysfunctional in non-challenging situations. (I don't think I would have cared to try to explain even a very simple tax return to any of them, as they appeared unable to grasp much past "change for a quarter.") One must suspect that his recruits came mostly from "populations" he had identified as most easily recruited(?).

Unless you are peculiarly adapted to accepting what appears to me to be a "cult mentality" and being a "true believer," I'd think you'd be at least as well off renting a booth at the local flea market and raiding trash bins for something to sell.

But I've never believed that I'd be much of a saleperson, so I may have an odd view of it all.

John


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: EBarnacle
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:59 PM

Stringsinger, We can discuss MLM's on Saturday. They are not ALL scum but Amway certainly has a high percentage of them.

I am involved with one of them. The good ones fill an important niche. They take on good products and recruit a sales force for products which are good but are not breaking through into the larger market.

The one I am with is good but is losing focus by bringing too many unrelated products into their line. All I do with them now is pass the products to my friends at my price and use them myself.

The owner of the company has told me that, to maintain the MLM structure he has to invest less than 5% of the retail price of the product in product.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Ebbie
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:56 PM

FWIW, this thread isn't labeled BS because back in '01, there was no BS. (Yeah, right:)


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:44 PM

Gee, I haven't heard about Amway in years! I think they operate on the same principle as Boy Scout popcorn and Girl Scout cookies: sell an ordinary product at an inflated price, taking advantage of the buyers' friendship and sympathy - not a total ripoff, but definitely taking advantage of friendship and trust.

-Joe-


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 04:31 PM

I used to do the accounts of Amway UK Ltd in the 1970s. It was run by a bunch of absolute shits hell bent on screwing folks. They were based in Milton Keynes, I was given some free samples - some sort of drain cleaner if I remember.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: open mike
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 11:16 AM

Since a few others have posted about what multi-level marketing they are into, i will say that i help to distribute a product--Water filters. These are solid carbon block units which attach at the point of use. I am a firm believer in their efficiency and my work as an independant distributor is basically a service to others who feel that their water source is not as clean as they would like. I have been drinking water right out of a stream for many years, and having a filter in the line that is guaranteed to remove chemicals, giardia cysts and other impurities is a real bonus. If any of you drink bottled water, with a 5 gal. jug in your house that you have to refill
you may find that having a filtered faucet by your tap is more convenient!


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Stringsinger
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 10:55 AM

This belongs in the BS section. Amway is a Ponzi scheme.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 10:27 AM

That was very close to the meeting I went to.

The presenter was talking about making choices ... about getting nowhere in life or making a success by signing up to Amway.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Maryrrf
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 10:21 AM

I attended (unknowingly) an Amway meeting years ago at the invitation of a colleague. It was like an evangelical 'revival' meeting and every tactic in the book was used to persuade the attendees to sign up, including intimidation, enticements (speaker flashing diamond rings, wearing expensive suit, talking about his yacht, etc.- "Why would anyone be so stupid as to NOT want this opportunity???"). It was presented as an opportunity to make money without doing anything - once you get sales reps working under you you just sit back and collect a percentage of their sales... I was disgusted and simply told the person who had 'invited' us that if I'd know it was Amway I'd never have attended the meeting.

I've known some people who made money from Amway but they were not afraid to be obnoxious and intrusive, they worked at it all the time, including buttonholing people in fast food restaurants, elevators, etc. and trying to suck them in to the scheme, and they were obsessed about it and relentless. I know more people who signed up and got burned.

Not a reputable organization, in my opinion.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Deckman
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 09:11 AM

I've always felt that Amway is nothing more than a pyramid scheme. It skirts the law by VERY close margins. Bob(deckman)Nelson


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 09:10 AM

and shouldn't this be BS?


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 09:08 AM

I lost a major client to Amway who went from having a £5,000+ per month turnover, and rather than continuing to promote his business, put all hos energy into Amway... in one month earning £17.

I went to an Amway recruiting session and my jaw dropped. The sales pitch wasn't far short of psychological bullying - my feedback was just one word evangelic.

What Amway fails to mention is that turnover is related to the extent of the sales person's social network, and if that network is converted to salespeople instead of customers, then once the overlaps are accounted for, there isn't that much more potential to earn.

I have a very simple get-out mind-set.

Imagine that the entire population est 60 million become sales people, and 10% of the population buy on average 1 product/month? Hopw much does each sales person earn on average? And conversely, if they are not among the very very few at the top of the pyramid, how much more could they have earned putting their energy into their own viable innovative business idea?

You might gather I am not a fan of Amway, they cost me £4,000 a year.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Julie B
Date: 09 May 01 - 08:22 AM

...Wonderful thread! Surely Pyramid Selling is just another form of 'chain letter'? If someone tries to involve you in one, it's pretty obvious that they're interested your money rather than your friendship. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. I was horrified on the two occassions when I was unexpectedly approached (once by a previous next door neighbour and once by a singing teacher!). Needless to say, I declined their offers politely and firmly, but naturally my relationships with these people were never the same again (the neighbour had a marriage break-up and moved, and I got a different music teacher!)

Julie


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: GUEST
Date: 08 May 01 - 04:59 PM

Some interesting info re Amway's activities in Canada. FYI, they were levied the largest fine for fraud (25,000,000) in Canadian history.Click here


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Kim C
Date: 08 May 01 - 02:02 PM

I don't think there's any such thing as get rich quick. Several of us have mentioned that even with a reputable sales company, there's still a lot of work involved if you want to make the big bucks. As they say, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Has your dad ever thought about marketing kits and/or instructions for how to build dulcimers? Could be a way for a little extry income without having to build the whole instrument.

What does your mother want to do? She could work with him, or do her own thing.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Frug
Date: 08 May 01 - 05:12 AM

Yes Jon I think thats a fair summing up. Unfortunately the people in the lines become either a victim or worse they become part of it. When my brother was approached it was an old friend that did it and when my bro' suseqently saw the light and dropped out he lost that friendship because his 'friend' stood to lose an income because of it . That's they way it goes. Hope your folks take the right decision. As to get rich quick schemes don't seem to have any about me at present but if I find one I'll let you know. I was interested in the fact that yiour dad made appalachian dulcimers. Has he thought of trying to make this more revenue productive? Maybe if he made a stock up and costed them properly and tried to set up either a realtionship with some music shops or touted them round the festivals he might be able to generate some income. Develop his own web site for marketing?????


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: English Jon
Date: 08 May 01 - 04:44 AM

Just to let you all know,

I've passed this info onto the family elders, which caused considerable interest. Anyway, I have registered my concerns. The trouble seems to be that the actual people in the lines are really perfectly normal and O.K. it's just that the system is insidious and manipulative.

So. I've told them I think it's a lemon. Anyone got any suggestions for an HONEST get-rich-quick scheme? ;)

Thought not.

Cheers...

English Jon


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Big Mick
Date: 05 May 01 - 11:14 AM

I can't say it any better than my dear friend Kath (Which reminds me........when you coming home and how come I haven't heard from you??????)........has said. She hit it exactly. Years ago I used to make the tapes of Rich and Jay's motivational speaches for sales to the distributors, read that saps. Took me about 2 months to realize what these vultures were all about. Just recently a friend of mine that worked for them for 30 years was let go in a massive layoff. These are people that devoted themselves to this company for years and were rewarded with an unceremonious dumping in order to preserve the profit margins so the DeVos's and Van Andel's can maintain their lifestyle.

Kath, it cracks me up how much we think alike. I was speaking before a committee meeting on the naming of all of these structures and I wondered out loud if it was harder for DeVos to give his millions, or the father who donated $15 for each of his kids to put their name on a little plaque in the hall. Who had made the greater sacrifice? I mentioned that I thought we sometimes honor the wrong heroes.

Mick


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 05 May 01 - 09:46 AM

I had a significant other who sold amway cosmetics, and I never saw it pay the rent. She tried to get me involved, but I never would take the bait. Drug dealers sell PRODUCT too, and only the ones selling to the ones selling to the ones, etc, make any money there either.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Mooh
Date: 05 May 01 - 09:25 AM

Frankly, I'll disagree with some posters here.

I've twice been grazed by Amway. Once when someone foolishly referred them to me and I had to practically threaten violence to get rid of them. The second time when someone "donated" cleaning supplies to a job I was working at the time. I found the supplies to be of poor quality and difficult to work with. There's no wonder that Amway hasn't cracked the big markets for such things, the products I saw were crap.

Any company that contributes almost two million dollars to Bush wouldn't get my business anyway.

Hope they stay out of the music business.

Mooh.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 May 01 - 08:43 PM

Sadly I've known several people over the years who although fine folks were naieve enough to believe that pyramid scams (no matter what they get called every few years) were the answer to their financial needs. They eventually lose their friends and fill in those spaces with other "pyramid people". How sad that your nearest and dearest have come to you because of commerce alone. Please, stay away from these things. Especially the ones with totally disingenuous titles like "Woman Helping Women". They prey on folks trusting nature.

Rick


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: M.Ted
Date: 03 May 01 - 07:56 PM

One of the charming little points that always endeared the Dutch Reformed types to me was their take on the Calvinist work ethic (lets not blame Calvin for this, when he was cleaning up Zurich, he could have never imagined where it all would lead), which essentially says that your worldly success is a reflection of your virtue--didn't sell enough of that Amway soap? Must be that you're not spiritually pure enough--


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Deckman
Date: 03 May 01 - 07:04 PM

Again, I'm astounded at the relevence of mudcat. I'm on the Board of Directors of a small business group. We often have to wrestle with difficult issues regarding various businesses. One of our Board members wants to ban multi level groups. I've been pushing for more information, the pros and cons. And here comes this wonderful mudcat thread. Thankyouone and all. CHEERS, Bob (deckman) Nelson


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: English Jon
Date: 03 May 01 - 05:42 AM

Great stuff... Thanks everybody. I'll pass all of this on. Ultimateley they'll have to decide for themselves where they want to go with it, if at all.

I hadn't thought about "party funding" aspects of the company, I take it the Republicans are like our Conservatives? I.E. far right? If so, that should put my Dad off...

Oh well. Many thanks everyone.

Cheers, Jon


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Boab
Date: 03 May 01 - 03:45 AM

Amway---good products, I tried it, dropped it when I realised my life was being taken over for little return by just about the rightest of right wing Republican organisations in the U.S.of A. I'll bet President-non-elect Bush is grateful for a big financial boost from "the Company". Let's talk about music!!-----


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 02 May 01 - 07:09 PM

We were invited to sing at a neighbor's "presentation" party when they became Amway distributors. The meeting opened with everyone holding hands and singing "God Bless America", followed by the impassioned inspirational pitch. These neighbors worked very hard at it, and were, for awhile, extremely successful with Amway's multi-level scheme. They sold the nice home they had and bought a very expensive estate a few miles up the road. They bought a fancier car. Their dream lasted for a fair number of years, and then their bubble burst. They had to declare bankruptcy, lost the fancy home and car, and one might even say they lost a lot of friends. They are now living in a small condo in a nearby town. Politically, they were Amway compatible, but the scheme failed them.

If your father's a good, old-time Socialist, warn him away from this super-patriotic, super-right-wing, super-religious bunch. To succeed in the business at all, he'll have to compromise his beliefs and values.

Sandy


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Alice
Date: 02 May 01 - 04:04 PM

John, there are many reliable sources of information on the reasons why your parents should not join Amway. Here are some sources that you can provide to them so they can read it for themselves. One of the many problems with Amway and some other MLM types of recruitment is that it often uses some of the same thought reform/manipulation techniques that cults use - getting people emotionally hyped up in a group atmosphere where the pressure of the group makes them conform to the agenda, promises of success if you do what they tell you and threats of failure if you don't, getting you hooked before you are fully informed about the facts, etc. Here are some online sources of information:

CLICK HERE FOR A PAGE THAT LINKS TO ALL OF THE SITES IN THE FOLLOWING LIST

By the way, my mother got into Amway thinking it would help her make some money when she retired. When my parents died, half of a basement room was filled with her inventory of Amway products. (I tried them, and frankly I thought they were poor quality and overpriced.) My mother had signed me up as one of her down line distributors, and after her death I contacted her customers to see if they wanted to purchase products. EVERY single one of them said they didn't really like the products, and they had only bought them because they felt sorry for my mom. That is all too common a reason people buy the products. They feel like they are obligated to "help" the friend or relative that is trying to make a business of it. All too often, people destroy relationships when they try to recruit the people they know into the business.

CLICK HERE FOR A PAGE THAT LINKS TO ALL OF THE SITES IN THE FOLLOWING LIST

MLM Inquiry and Analysis:

What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing? - An insightful and intelligent inquiry into the MLM business proposition.
http://www.whatisgood.com/nwm/ - Dr. Jon Taylor of the Consumer Awareness Institute has posted a most excellent analysis of the similarities between MLM and illegal pyramid schemes.
Multisense: - A set of penetrating questions from an MLM insider, useful no matter which MLM you may be associated with.
Multilevel Marketing: True opportunity or false promises?A conversation with Robert FitzPatrick by Ravi Dykema, Editor - Jan./Feb., 1999 edition of NEXUS, Colorado's Holistic Journal, features an in-depth interview with False Profits co-author, Robert FitzPatrick, on the perils and pitfalls of MLM and why so many in the New Age community fall prey.
The Dark Side of MLMs by Ravi Dykema - A courageous editorial from the publisher/editor of NEXUS, one of the country's leading holisitc journals
The Doctor Will Sell You Now: Medical Doctors Pushing MLM on Patients: The feature article of the July 28, 1999 edition of New Times in Broward/Palm Beach Counties, Florida, exposes the marketing practices of the MLM company, Rexall, which is recruiting medical doctors who in turn recruit their patients. False Profits is referenced and co-author Robert FitzPatrick quoted. Writer is Harris Meyer.
http://wheel.ucdavis.edu/~btcarrol/skeptic/mlm.html - A rational/scientific look at the philosophical issues surrounding the MLM industry.
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mlm.html Website of Stephen Barrett, M. D. focusing on the questionable claims and sales tactics of MLM companies that market health-related products. Dr. Barrett studied more than 100 MLM companies that market various health products. The site provides examples of dubious products and sales claims from seven well known MLM companies as well as an evaluation of the MLM business model.
http://www.timesunion.com An excellent investigative overview of the MLM industry by business writer, David Orenstein, is available in the August 17, 1997 edition of the Times-Union newspaper in Albany, NY. False Profits co-author, Robert Fitzpatrick, is cited as one authoritative source in the articles. Times Union charges a small fee for downloads.
Equinox Charged as Pyramid Scheme by FTC and Five States FTC Charges Equinox Equinox Article - A journalist examines the Equinox recruitment tactics

Sites that Evaluate, Expose and Report Personal Experiences with Amway, the Largest MLM:

Behind the Smoke and Mirrors - A powerful, compelling new book about the corruption of the Amway distribution system in which upliners make huge profits selling so-called training and motivation materials to unsuspecting downliners. The book is authored by a 14-year Amway veteran who has seen it all and has the courage to tell what she knows. A behind the scenes exposé. Anyone thinking of being an Amway distributor must read this. Also a valuable book for those millions who lost money, time, or direction pursuing the Amway dream machine.
"Little White Lies" - A detailed analysis of the profit opportunity in Amway/Quixtar. This site challenges the very first premise of Amway marketing that Amway distributors "save" money when they buy Amway products. It outlines a financial picture of losses incurred by distributors in the Amway program of each distributor recruiting 6 more who each recruit four and those each recruiting one (6-4-1).
Amway, the Other Side of the Plan - Critical analysis of the Amway sales economics. (mirror site)
Jeff Probandt's "An In-Depth Look At The Amway Business" (This link is to a "mirror" and contains all the same data.)
The MLM Survivors Page - A courageous exposé of deception and myths in the Amway Distribution Channel. Also valuable as a source for current news about Amway lawsuits and other MLM distributor protests.

Government/Regulator Advice and Info:

Profits in Pyramid Schemes? - Information and activities of the Federal Trade Commission relevant to the MLM industry.


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: KathWestra
Date: 02 May 01 - 03:47 PM

I grew up in Amway-Land. Amway was founded in a garage in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its founders were two Dutch Calvinists (did someone mention Calvinism???) named Rich De Vos and Jay VanAndel. They made many millions of dollars on their venture. They are huge contributors to the Republican Party. They lobby on behalf of corporate polluters. They are a virulently anti-union, family-owned, privately held corporation (read, their books are not open to scrutiny). Big Mick can probably contribute tales about the anti-union stuff. Half of the public buildings -- museum, concert hall, etc. -- in Grand Rapids are now named after either Van Andel or De Vos. (When I go home to visit my Dad, I joke about the time they'll just rename the city after one or the other of them.)

The thing about Amway that I find so personally distasteful is the way their higher-level distributors (the "diamond" and "platinum" guys) paint a "streets paved with gold if only you'll sign on" picture for the newcomers -- who are almost invariably working class folk who are desperately looking for a way to supplement an inadequate income. Their promises, as so many have commented earlier in this thread, are empty. And they have an insidious way of blaming the failure of the system on the people who fail to achieve the promised affluence. The Amway sales culture has a particularly pernicious resemblance to a nasty religious cult -- people who sign on are pressured not only to buy product, and to recruit their friends and relatives, but to listen to inspirational tapes by DeVos, attend inspirational retreats, read inspirational books by DeVos, etc. If you don't buy into the whole package, then you're dubbed a failure who really wasn't serious about tapping into the promised land. So in addition to your inadequate income, you're saddled with the stigma of being labeled an Inadequate Person.

I consider Calvinism to be one of the ugliest of organized religions: unforgiving, judgmental, and quick to blame anyone who doesn't fit in or follow its program to the letter. It does not surprise me at all that Amway sprung in its perverted way from this church.

I echo all of those above who said: STAY AWAY!


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Subject: RE: Help: Amway Corporation
From: Margo
Date: 02 May 01 - 03:45 PM

ACTUALLY, legally, Amway is NOT a pyramid scheme. A true pyramid scheme by definition HAS NO PRODUCT to speak of. Amway corp. has wonderful products. I am signed up with Quixtar (the online shopping service) where I get my Amway products. They come right to me.

The big beef people have about Amway is the practice of sucking people in without mentioning it is Amway. I HATE that. If I was to be a business builder (which I'm not) I would tell people about Quixtar and say up front "the best thing is, you can get your Amway products without being an Amway distributor."

I tried the business building thing. Here are IMHO the difficulties with it:

NUMBERS GAME: Like any sales position, you have to talk to a lot of people before you find anyone who wants to get in. Not all of those who get in will want to build a business (myself point in case: I just buy for myself). So you need to stay motivated and believe in yourself to continue onward and keep looking for people.

TIME COMMITMENT: It's like a real estate agent at everyone's beck and call at all hours. When you make appointments to show the Amway plan you need to do it when it is convenient for your prospect. And you have to be able to follow up later. That's where I had difficulty. I have a family, and not that much free time.

MOTIVATION: A seasoned sales person is used to a lot of "no's". But for someone who hasn't done sales, it can be very discouraging. There are organizations along with Amway (separate from Amway) that help with motivation, but you really do get exposed to a lot of hype. If you get too hyped up, it turns your prospects off. You have to find the happy medium.

Just because it isn't for me, I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying. It is a real experience. All the best, Margo


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