### Amway: The Untold Story

## Your Comments, Part 8

(3/96 - 4/96)

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Here are some of the responses I've received to the information on this page. I've left them as is, except for a) removing the names to protect privacy, and b) reformatting them to fit the screen better.

This is a long file...I suggest downloading it to your computer and reading it off-line.

My thanks to everyone who took the time to contribute their opinions.

[NOTE: Some of these messages contain offensive language]

`Dear Sir,`

You know that all of these articles have one thing in common. ME!! I read quite a few, and never realized what was happening. Here I am, trying to build another business, yet profitable, and havn't made one cent in Amway. Will I quit?? Probably not. Because of Amway, my wife and I have been considering a chapter 13 bankruptucy.

We had been involved with Amway since Nov. of 1990. WE STILL HAVE NOT HIT 500PV, NEVER MIND 1000PV!!!!

Don't have the time to talk about MCI, and books, and tapes, and rallies, and.......

I have a closet full of it.

Thank you for your information. What I would like to know is some information about what they talk about that is so seceret, during Progressive Departure. I will do anything to find out, after the different levels are let out; ie, the 1000 and below go, then some secret information, then the 4000 and below, seceret information, and so on.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF THIS INFORMATION.

Sidney,

Thanks for all the interesting stuff on your Amway Web site. I was conned to go to an introductionary meeting last night, on the premise that they had a business opportunity that would help my girlfriend sell her craft works, which she makes in her spare time (they got her phone number from a craft fair a few months ago).

I was immediately angry and skeptical, because of being invited there on false business, but I stayed to hear the presentation anyway - I had traveled for over an hour to get there so I had nothing to loose.

As a natural skeptic, I found it all quite entertaining, putting difficult questions to him, but he made a couple of claims which I would like to check out. He claimed that 70% of the Nissan cars sold in Japan, and 55% of the Fords sold in the US were sold through networking, implying that they were sold through the Amway network. He also quoted the Harvard Business School as saying that the Amway approach is the way that all business will go in the future. Do you think that these three organizations know that they are being used to sell a cult, and do you think they would be happy if they did ?

The organization he was with was called IBS. I came away with an introductionary pack, which the representative will pick up from me tomorrow. Thanks again for all the good ammunition you have provided me with. I'll have some fun tomorrow ;-)

Mr. Schwartz,

As an independent on-looker I stumbled on your site by some stroke of luck.

Could you please tell me why it seems you have it in for Amway and these two people, Yager and Britt. Were you an Amway distributor? Did these people hurt you? The reason I ask is that it appears your information, and I spent over an hour at your site, is riddled with personal attacks, opinoins from unsuccessful distributors, or the people who left to go with another company that is "Just like Amway only Better".

Sir, your credibility is in question if you cannot look objectively at an issue.

Regarding their right to create a business. I have reviewed the plan, fees and obligations as presented by a successful direct distributor who did a very complete and thorough job of explaining that with like EVERY business there is an 80/20 rule. They showed me an SA-4400 brochure from the Amway Corporation which states in plain, obvious type the average income from active distributors was $65. The direct distributor explained that the figure is arrived at by taking the national sales volume PAY OUT and dividing by the number of registered distributors. I have no problem with that.

Most people are just card caring memebers in what ever group they belong to and the rest are like you and seem to feed off attacking the successful people. As an accountant and consultant I found the presentation to be extremely straight forward, the explaination of other suggested materials to be helpful (but not obligatory), and the quality of the products and depth of product offerings to be second to NONE!

I am still at a loss as to why you don't publish both sides of the issues. In addition, I attended a meeting of over 150 people to see the business plan. In the room seated next to me were doctors, lawyers, and other prominant business people in the community. This is what convinced me that I was in a legitimate, ethical business. If Mr. Yager is selling me a tape to help my business for $5 dollars a week, I have the CHOICE to buy it or not buy it. The fact that those people would SUE someone because they bought these tapes is amazingly stupid on their part, not Yager for selling the tape.

Remember the business only costs $135 to start anyway. If I added $5 per week, that would only be an additional $250 - 300 for the year. Now let's add the cost of these quarterly seminars you like to attack. OK, a weekend every three months, maybe $400-500 for a couple if you drive. So we are talking about a business that has an investment of MAYBE $2500 TOTAL.

Please, Mr. Schwartz, don't insult my intelligence or that of these people who YOU are BRAINWASHING. As Amway states, the average Emerald direct distributor made $72,000 last year. Since they have no way of knowing the amount of tapes, books, etc. purchased, this $72,000 must be totally an AMWAY income based on the product-flow. I think that $2500 over the course of a year is a small investment for a $72,000 a year income.

Additionally and finally, what business can you get in in America or the world that has such a proven track record that has LESS costs. For goodness sake, the computer I am typing from costs twice that much just so I could start to consult. You have to be honest with the people, AMWAY is not the problem, Mr. Yager is not the problem, Mr. Britt is not the problem.

The problem is that you did not follow the business plan and want to place the blame on someone else for not doing the work. If I don't make any money ever, which I am certain I will, the Amway business will still work and I won't damage my personal credibility by attacking successful people who did what I didn't yet do !!!!!!

ll Mr.Schwartz,

I must confess i do agree with a lot of the replies to your site, i feel that you must be carrying some major grudge against Amway. I do think you should show some of the positive aspects as well. Your information is dated and there is no mention of people like Jim & Nancy Dornan (Network 21). I would Suggest that you talk to and add information from the poistive side of this business and of the people who's lives have changed for the better. Here in Australia my Diamond has given us hope and encouragement not just in building a business but in coping with some major problems in our life. I am a very successful business man and could retire tomorrow without any income from my Amway business but i choose to do the Amway business because I can help people get a better life. I cannot give them money because that does not give self esteem but I can help them become successful in an Amway business and build a life style they can only ever dream about.

I am a unique in the Amway buiness because I tell people to look at "THE AMWAY BUSINESS" as a means of developing a life style. and then I show them that all they have to do is to change their shopping and shop from their own business. Nothing more than that, if they like the products share the expeience with some others and slowly buildup a network. Over a 10 year period anyone can find just 3 people who are interested enough to go to 21% THATS JUST 1 EVERY THREE YEARS! An Emerald income 10 years down the track is still a very good income, over and above what your JOB pays you. I ask you where is the cult in that? where are all the tapes, books and functions in that? It's the distributors choise! I currently average Aust$4000 per month and I have not done anything special except changed my shopping and shared the concept with others. No SCAM, No tricks, nothing but helping people generate a little more income by changing their shopping. GROW UP ALL OF YOU NON-AMWAY PEOPLE. You don't have to con,trick, by sly or be strange about Amway just accept it does work. If you do it professionally and remain proud to be able to help others get a chance for a better life. YES! I am proud to be an Amway distributor just because I can help others... I hope you will wake up one day and realise that this is a business where people will actually help you without ever gaining one cent and still feel proud to call you friend as you grow to success. Everyone can succeed in this Business but you do need the right people to lead you.... Go and Join up be proud of what is and never be ashamed to say "I am an Amway Distributor" GO DIAMOND... You can... anyone can.... 10 Years? Does it matter? Good Luck

I don't believe alot of the things are actually factual, I believe they are here say. I have been an Amway distributor for eight years and have never done anything with it except buy products, and the products are very good. Sure some people have a bad experience with Amway because of the person that sponsors them but I find it very difficult to believe that Rich DeVos and Jay VanAndel are crooks or cult leaders. I know that they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and if that makes them a cult then I want to be a part of it. The business is built on helping other people succeed and the more people you help the more successful you become. It is not a business for selfish prideful people who want to get rich quick it is for those people who want to develop their character and become better people. My experienc with my up-line is whatever I need whenever I need it He will do his best to help me even after eight years of doing nothing.

I started not to waste my time or money writing you, but I personally know more people this opportunity has helped than hurt. I imagine you think you're helping people. We think we are too. To each his own.

Boo hoo. World watch me cry.

If you choose to lose, that's o.k. No reason to blame someone else for your lack of initiative or fear of failure. If you want something for nothing, you'll guess you will always get nothing. Being what and where you are is o.k., blaming it on someone else--that's makes you the loser. Attacking winners----pitiful!

Your references---weak. I bet there are thousands of lawsuits filed everyday against upstanding citizens. That doesn't make them right. Lot's of losers are trying to make money without an investment---in time or money.

But you wouldn't know anything about that now would you?

Later days. :-(

Mr. Schwartz:

It is a shame you did not stick with Amway instead of deciding to attack it. I believe you would have been very successful, most likely making well into the six figures by now. You have a strong talent for taking a large amount of information, separating out what supports your chosen position and what does not, and presenting your selections in a manner that appears, at least on the surface, to be very rational and open. That's not very different from what the people you are pointing your finger at are doing.

I have some knowledge of your brand of advocacy. As a practicing lawyer specializing in appellate work, that is essentially what I do on behalf of my client, a large municipality in California. So it is not at all difficult for me to recognize exactly what you have done in putting together your page. Since I have done a great deal of research into Amway--and yes, chose to sign up as a distributor--it is easy for me to see your selective presentation of materials for what it is: advocacy of your chosen position rathan than an objective overview of the various opinions held by the people in and out of Amay. You, no more than the distributors and diamonds you condemn, do not want your audience to see either the real truth or your slight of hand.

I hope you enjoy your little venture, which I would personally rename Sour Grapes Page--what your local malcontent doesn't know or won't tell you. I, meanwhile, will continue to collect my monthly checks from my sponsor, my retail profits, and my standing order tapes which I buy because I truly enjoy them and not because my upline makes me (in fact, none of my upline commented in the slightest when I chose not to be on standing order for the first four months I was in, because I wanted to build my profits up higher before dedicating funds to too many business materials). Maybe we will meet someday if one of the completely paid-for vacations Amway sends its distributors on happens to visit the town in which you are sitting in front of your computer.

Enjoy your negativity and unhappiness--it's probably all you will ever have in this life.

Dear Sidney,

Yours was a fascinating web page. I am an Amway distributor and I feel fortunate that I have not encountered the horrors you document. I have always wondered how people could go bankrupt in Amway and your site provided the answer. I am in the Britt organization and I am not yet a "big pin" and although tapes and books are recommended, no one has told me they will not support me if I do not purchase "tools" I don't know when this started but in January this year, the standing order tape contained a form whereby you could terminate participation in the program. There is also a buyback of unopened tapes (100% for 90 days I believe) and a partial buyback of opened tapes (I do not know the percentages) I am not surprised that most people do not succeed in Amway but really is that different from any other venture? How many aspiring actor and actresses become Sharon Stone or Arnold? How many high school atheletes become pros? How many pre med students go on to become physicians? The people who have succeeded in Amway are not "better" than those who failed just as Michael Jordan is not better than the average non professional basketball player. They probably worked smarter and harder than those who were unsuccessful.

There is never a justification for dishonesty, and those you quote who have advocated dishonest practices are to be condemned. I think Amway represents a great opportunity; it does not offer a guarantee.

Sid

my wife and i have been amway dist. for over 7, thats right SEVEN long hard years we are making anywhere from $900 to $1300 a month extra. we could be making a lot more but we have only been plugged into the system enough and have been consistent enought to produce the 9 to 1300 dollar a month range. what you dont seem to understand the this amway opportunity is just that, an opportunity. you dont get something for nothing. is there money made on the tapes,books, & functions,sure there is, so what. have you ever been to any business convention seminar,etc. that it wasnt? your in busi. for yourself, show me another busi. that doesnt require an investment, that doesnt require you to purchase some tools. as for amway being a cult, get real, cult people do what they are told. if you want something for nothing then keep buying those lotto tickets, that right, bet your future on that. keep working for the other guy and see where you get. yes, amway is BRAIN WASHING, the only difference is that i and many other people(just the ones that really want more out of life, and not just money) choose to be brain washed in a positive way. my friend you and many of your angry x-amway people and those vast amount of people that have never been around a possitive atmosphere are just as surley being BRAIN WASHED but in a negative way. its all a matter of choice! every one that i personely know that have no JOB, have money in the bank, have no debt, live a life style that others can only dream (ha ho, i used the DREAM word)have done it though the amway opportuntiy and yes the system (tapes,books,functions,use the products, & show the plan). any- where from 23 years of age and older. was it easy, heck no, thats why you and your followers(cult?)havent been able to grasp what is really going on. yes, i know that amway and the system isnt perfect, and there are dist. who mislead others and do all sorts of wrong things, but show me something this large where you dont have a few bad apples. i am convienced that if a person really checks this thing out and MAINTAINS,as much as possable, a positive attitude, has a DREAM, plugs into the SYSTEM, and is consistent and persestant, will see the truth. there will alway be those who wont, that is one reason why at age 65 only 3% of the people in this country will be broke; dependent on family, government or charity, or still working. just keep doing what everone else is doing. as for me I will CHOOSE to keep doing the very things that you and your people arent willing to do because I know the truth and the truth will set you free. i have many many tapes and books that i have invested in, i have invested in many seminars and rallys and functions. i am still not where i want to be but without the system and my investment of time and money i certainly wouldnt even be knowing where i am going let alone knowing how to get there. no easy is not an option. THANK GOD.

I just submitted a letter to the orlando sentinel concerning the p.r. damage done by individuals to the mcdonalds corporation. The letter, which was published last monday the 8th, spoke of the ability for just anyone who has a chip on their sholder, free-time and extra money to fritter away on an internet homepage can do serious damage to corporate reputations. The beauty of the net is that maybe people will learn to do their own research and begin to think for themselves and stop taking the opinion of indiviuals with little or no experience. I'm glad to see someone with an opposite view of amway from mine. Welcome to america. But I would be remiss if I said that I was not at least frustrated with your perspective. My experience in 2.5 years has been drastically different from the negative, cynical, views that I occasionaly find on the net. I guess it boils down to what someone is looking for when they go looking. Best of luck to ya.

Just want to say that I have enjoyed your site and found it to be very informative and enlightening, especially with respect to the Yager tools situation. I have been in Amway for a year and watched this tools thing and have concluded that it is abusive and a backhanded way of extorting money. But any way, I won't get started on my soapbox..I'm sure you have heard it all. My question relates to the note in the abstract re: tools wanted. I couldn't locate where it was talked about (or rather I got impatient with my modem) so I thought I would just ask. I have two "tool boxes" and a bunch of SOT's and videos I would love to get rid of. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

I've watched my 36-yr-old daughter (who joined Amway 5 years ago) lose her mental and physical health and an excellent job pursuing the Amway dream. She is broke, in debt, separated from her husband, living with her mother in a tiny room with one entire wall filled with Amway tapes & books. She is still a true believer---that riches and glories are just around the corner and that Amway is the ONLY way to make a living.

Is there anything an outsider can do to help her see another point of view? We know the slogan, "don't let anyone steal your dream," which I guess means that one should stay in denial at all costs. For those of you that left, what was the turning point? Did the words of others ever make a difference? Should we just sit back and wait?

Hello. I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the effort you put into your web site.

I hate to admit it, but the info served as a call back to sanity for me. Ironically, I was listening to a Bill Britt motivational tape while reading your web site.

I've been to one open meeting and been loaned a few tapes that I've listend to, so I haven't lost anything (but time) yet.

What scares me is that I noticed several things that seemed funny, but I ignored them because of the huge promised rewards. For example, at the meeting, I had to show my sponsor's business card to get in. A real business opportunity only turns customers away when it runs out of chairs.

In a followup meeting I had with my sponsor and his sponsor, my sponsor brought along a copy of checks made out to some gemstone in his upline. He made a big show of asking his sponsor whether or not he could show it to me. This kind of secrecy just struck me as odd.

One of them also said that he had heard (from Bill Britt's brother, I believe) that Bill donates all of the profits from the ancillary organizations (tools, etc.) to charity.

In a tape by Doug Wead, who apparently (although I've never heard of him) was a special adviser to George Bush while he was in office, the speaker constantly exhorts the listners to "edify the upline". I find it hard to justify edifying anybody just because of their position in an organization.

There's also a lot of praise just being thrown around at random. One tape even tells you that praise is the key to success. It's all so win-win, that it sounds irresistable.

If you initally look at the opportunity with an optimistic eye, you're willing to let these things slip by. Although I don't believe that the existence of class action lawsuits means that Bill Britt and co. are doing something wrong, there's enough doubt cast on the organization to lead me to reconsider.

I believe the Hanrahan lawsuit alleges that two thirds of Britt's income is from tools. This is the kicker for me. The price comparisons are also important.

Anyway, thanks for the information. Were you an Amway distributor at one time?

You guys are doing a great job and are protecting what little is left as far as decency is concerned. Those who are sucking up to the Amway diamonds are either loosers, or in to much denial to see what is going on. Last night I ran into a guy who is and has been hard up for ways to support his family. He was talking like a brainwashed RAH_RAH man and I didn't have the heart to burst his bubble. He was suckered into buying business cards and "told" to get an 800 number thru MCI amway. The really sad part of this is here is a guy who can barely afford to feed his family and he is been told that he going to be a millionaire within the next six months as long as he is willing to spend $400-500 a month on the "tools". The couple who got him into this are former friends of mine who have addapted the technique of "praying" on people who have little or nothing and are telling them that they are going to be rich if they join Amway and anyone who doesn't join are loosers.

These old friends of mine are really sick at this point and I pray for them every night. The are corrupted by the "love" of money and are in deep denial. The poor guy has "wholesale" printed on his card, like amway has anything that comes close to wholesale. Marking up sub-standard products and then offering you back 25 percent is not cool, even at the "direct" level. These "old" friends of mine are really sick and tell people that all of those "old"friends of theirs are "loosers" and that these friends are just pulling them down. The real tragedy is that the people who are going down are these "winners" as they call themselves, are going into bankruptcy fast without knowing it. Probably the worst mistake they are making is "abandoning friendships and going for the greed". They are polluting their minds and souls for the sake of money. The sickest aspect to a guy like me is how these people call themselves christians and how they hide behind the Lord, Jesus Christ and "use" religion as their sole motivating factor of justifying their behavior patterns along this long but tiring race to no-where. What will they gain when they have discovered that they have been had. The "real looser in the whole amway organization is The founders who are to spine-less to do what is right and the fat-boy, Dexter Yager, who has been exploiting people for years. Dexter Yager is nothing more than a common criminal who needs to be put in his place. He is not an entrepreneur, but a crook. A true Entrepreneur is one who offers a true value to the customer and is able to make a bit of money at the same time.

I have also always wondered why checks at "functions" are to be written out to "cash". Chances are that there is some fraud to the government here. If the cash is carried out in suitcases to different "upline" diamond's cars.

If a couple where to take their average $500 a month spent and put it into a retirement investment fund, then they would probably retire sooner with more options than to give it to Dexter"the crook"Yager.

Mr. Schwartz,

I am an eighteen year old Distributor in the business. I have been involved since the middle of January 1996. I was kind of scepticle since I started, but am now one personnal away from being Quick-Silver. (That is Five Personnals and Ten in depth) Reading your homepage has been such a blessing to me. I now feel that going Diamond and beyond is my sole purpose in life. Without your page, I would have never experienced this burn and desire to succeed in this business. Thank you and GOD BLESS FREE ENTERPRISE!!!!!!!!!

Schwartz,

You are doing a great job out there and I think this public forum to rip on Amway is really cool.

Here's to ALL you Morons who are still involved in Amway. Yes I am an EX- AMWAY distributor!!! There are 2700 other MLM's out there which are greater than Amway. Most of them sell products that are usefull and which are competitive in the market place. Competition is a word excluded from the Amway Handbook. Are you guys still selling food/clothes/electronics/etc.etc. at a prices 50 - 100% over the manufacturers suggested retail prices? Even at the "direct" when you get a 25% discount, you are still getting fleeced! And for what? to make the scum at the Top rich? Come on you people, snap out of it!!!

I got out of Amway an discovered after I was done greiving over the Amway friends I lost, that there are some really Awesome companies out there in MLM. I was told by my upline who is by the way still delivering product and tied down to his phone once a week that I was a looser and a quitter when I decided to get out!!! Funny thing is that I got involved with a MLM about two years ago and I am making twenty times the amount of money a month than the guy who told me I'm a looser. I am making twenty times the amount a direct level in Amway is making, again to those of you who have shit in their ears, thats twenty times and none of this ten customer rule B.S. Interesting how this works. By the way he is still buying about $500 a month on tapes, rallies, books, going to the family reunions each year a couple of times a year getting soaked by dirt bags like Randy Haugen and Don Wilson, and Dexter Yager. Folks! This is where these guys are making their money!!! Time to WAKE UP!!! HELLO!!! WAKE UP!!! HINT: OTHER MLM's TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!!!!

An interesting concept is that my co.'s policy is to not sell "tools" to the downline at outrageous prices. Funny that since I joined this Mega-successful MLM, which by the way offers a superior service at a reduced price, I've spent about three bucks a week to share the cost of a hotel conference room and have attended two annual seminars which cost me under ten bucks to attend. Another interesting concept is that I've only spent on the average of 8-9 hours a week attending meetings and "showing the plan" and recruiting. The guy who called me a looser two years ago is spending this amount of time each week ordering product, looking thru the catalogs, writing down the numbers, calling the Amvox to get pumped to get screwed, taking calls from his downline to rewrite the orders, sorting the product in a dimmly lit garage and delivering the damn product, and finally taking the product to another local carrier to get sendt on to out-of-town down-line. Wheeeeeew, I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about it!!! All for good' ol Dexter. Dexter is not a business man, but rather a common thief and a LOOSER who preys on good folks and sells them a dream. One they will never have!!! NOTE THE NEVER!!! BAIL OUT NOW before you screw yourself any longer. Let Amway be a good intro on how not to do MLM. Amway is the hardest and most corrupt MLM out there. Why do they use names such as Dreambuilders, INA, INternet and many others. Because they want you to believe that it's different.

If AMway where such a great organization, then why the hell are these folks so insistant on selling you all the "motivational" crap. Well folks the truth is that if you went down to any regular retail store, you would find out that the "real" cost is 50 -200 % lower than what you have been brainwashed to believe is the true price!!! This is the only reason to keep selling the "tools". By the way Dexter Yager never listened to a single tape or read a single book for the first three years he was in Amway!!! True FACT, call him!!! Just to clarify, ol' Dexter can't read and can't listen cause his ears are so full of B.S(which he is made of) and he ain't hearing nothing!!! 2/3 rds of all of Dexter Yagers Income is from "other" businesses such as the "tools" business he bragged about in forbes magazine. Dun& Bradstreet reported Amway as having made 1.7 Billion last year in 1995, Not 6.2 Billion like they lied about, well now maybe Dun and Bradstreet are lying, Highly unlikely!!! Also Amway is not debt free like they say they are, recent article with Mr.Devos, he stated that Amway is in debt 360 million dollars due to overseas expansion. Also Amwy is not partners with the big vendors, but rather they are just customers who buy the products like other chains and then add in their profit and costs just like any business and add in another profit to make it really expensive to buy. Besides this their food and 99.9 % of the rest of their product line-up is garbage. I wouldn't eat their food if my life depended on it and their coffee is the worst I have ever tasted, just like drinking dirty puddle water with a hint of battery acid aroma added!!! Their foods are, well just look at ol Dexter, he's a real dough-boy!!!

At the rate I'm going with my "better" MLM I'll be richer than 90 % of all the diamonds in Amway within the next year and I still hang out with my old friends and family that I didn't all of a sudden become to good to be around. The main reason your Amway Upline tells you to stay away from people who don't want to be in Amway is because they know that all they have to do is drive you down to the local grocery store and walk the aisles and compare the prices. But Amway calls them "loosers". If you are like me and want out of Amway, then pat yourself on the back, go apologize to all the friends you burned and get going with one or another MLM that is hot, amway is not. Amway has lost it's fizzle and until their prices are competitive, they are loosing daily. FACT, Most of the successful people I have in my downline are EX-AMway distributors that I was able to look and compare objectively. I didn't brainwash them, they just looked at the FACTS and numbers and superior product and took some of their down line with them. The others woke up and bailed out.

Another issue is that Amway doesn't send out 1099's at the end of the year. They expect people to keep track of all that paperwork that gets really complicated after a while, and you know, like my up-line used to say, some things get lost in the shuffle, HE HE HE and poor old uncle sam won't miss that income, by the way, I have been boosting the ecomomy and created jobs and should be exempt from the taxes cause I'm with Amway!

IF YOU HAVE ANY COCKY FRIENDS OR UPLINE THAT ARE RUBBING THEIR MONEY IN YOU FACE, CALL THE IRS ASK FOR A FORM 211 AND FILL IT OUT AND SEND IT IN. THIS IS THE FORM USED TO TURN IN TAX EVADERS TO THE GOVERNMENT, AND BELIEVE ME THESE TAX FOLKS ARE MORE TENACIOUS THAN OL DEXTER WILL EVER BE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT YOUR NAME ON THE FORM, THEN PUT IN A NAME OF A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU SUPPORT WHO WILL GET THE 10% REWARD AFTER THE TAKE OL UPLINES CARS HOUSES JEWELS AND OTHER MATERIALISTIC CRAP. I AM IN MLM AND I PAY MY TAXES AND DO IT BECAUSE I AM A PROUD AMERICAN AND I LOVE MY COUNTRY ENOUGH TO DO THIS AND AM THE OPINION THAT THESE AMWAY FOLKS SHOULD BE PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THEIR TAXES ALSO. Amway folks are also subject to 7.5% self-employment tax and none of the ones I ever met in Amway ever paid this to their state governments. At a recent Family reunion I heard about thru a former ex-amway person, the folks at the door, haugen,wilson,yager group required that folks preferrable with cash or with checks made payable to the order of "cash", to of course reduce the amount of paperwork, Yeah right!!! These scum are going to spending their dream in the federal prison of thier choice and their greatest aspiration in life is going to be giving some big dude some "pleassure", cause tax evasion is under the laws of treason and a crime against the people. By the way if I could fill an arena with 20 to 40 thousand people at $100 a person four or five times a year, then I would be a millionaire and not lying either.

The REAL LOOSERS IN AMWAY ARE YAGER, BRITT, WILSON, HAUGEN and the others who preach the lie!!!!

This has been fun and I hope you all who leave AMWAY enjoy the leave and go on to bigger and better things, for surely I have and If I can do it, so can you!!! I have a superior attitude and superior state of mind. The poor loosers in Amway are not at fault, they seem to have been born that way, they are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves or others. a harsh but true fact. They are also thieves who are getting sued all of the time and I wonder why people are so into this? Personally I don't have time for it, but I hope they who are suing AMWAY will win many times over and after the court system, the tax man will be knocking at their door also to take away the money they have been stealing from folks for years.

Hi! I like your page, especially since it enunciates some of the thoughts I've been harboring for a while. The thing that bugs me is that one of my best friends got me into it, but I don't really want to be in it anymore. He's changed completely...everything is "for the business". We can't do anything that's just for fun...How in the world do I tell him I want out, without looking a like a jerk for wasting his time when he's come a few hundred miles to visit me, and he's been sending me stuff at his cost....it's a real dilemma.

Thanks!

Sydney,

I was directed to your page by some in my downline who thought I might find it amusing. Well, pathetically amusing it most certainly is. But as one of the winners in my organization says, if someone can read through all of this whining and complaining by those who are more interested in the guarantee of existence rather than the challenges of life, than they would never quit because they've seen it all. And you can be sure that they will achieve all the goals that they have set out to achieve in life. So, in that regard, maybe you have done me a favor.

The way I see it, we are surrounded by millions of walking dead; people who have no real purpose in life other than merely to exist. Perhaps you fit in this category? So many people spend their life in voluntary slavery to others, going home to work, home to work, home to work, day after day, week after week, for their whole lives, with nothing to look forward to other than the observance of other people's triumphs and tragedies. They are spectators in life, living their lives from soap opera to sit-com to movie to athletic event, basing their moods and judging the quality of their day on what has happened to someone else.

Now don't get me wrong, I like to sit down and enjoy a good movie or sporting event every once in awhile, but I prefer to join the ranks of those superstar athletes, actors, and entrepreneurs as a participant in life. I refuse to just sit on the sidelines. As the saying goes, "All the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players." So why choose to be a spectator when you can be an active participant.

Entrepreneurs say "to hell with the consequences" and willfully endure failure after failure as they strive to achieve their dreams. The difference between winners and losers is that winners have failed more than anyone else (Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame endured 1007 straight rejections). Winners just keep on charging like a rhino with 3 inch-thick skin, learn from their mistakes and failures, and never quit. Losers quit upon the slightest sign of adversity and crawl into a corner (and spend countless hours constructing their own whine-a-thon page on the internet).

Winners understand that life doesn't come on a silver platter. To live requires continually stepping out of your comfort zone in order to grow as a person. Once you stop growing, you have died. You are just waiting for your body to die and be buried along with you. What is really scary to me is the fact that the cemeteries are the wealthiest places in the world. Just think of all of the unrealized dreams and aspirations buried there, mostly with the bodies of people who didn't have the guts to pursue them. For me, I'd rather die at the age of 25 while in hot pursuit of my dreams than to live to 85, merely existing and contenting myself on being "realistic".

I am convinced that Amway is the greatest business opportunity in the world. It is an opportunity where you may succeed in a very predictable fashion if you follow the proven system set up by Dexter Yager which has been the vehicle to financial freedom for literally thousands of distributors. Name one other business (or industry, for that matter) that can show a Profiles of Success like we do.

However, no one ever said it was going to be easy. In fact, we readily admit during the presentation of the plan that this will be the hardest thing you have ever done. "Hard" because of the rejection and ridicule you take from friends and family who mask their fear that you will actually succeed and leave them behind. In fact, I can guarantee that you shall succeed in this business if you sell out to the system and never give up. The only losers in this business are those who quit. Period.

Think about it, if hardly any money is made on signing people up and your upline can only make money by helping you make money, why would they ever tell you anything that would hurt you or your business? In fact, if your upline can't help you make money, than they are wasting their time.

And about those tools...It amazes me how people feel they should be able to just sign up and have money start pouring in. They feel that they should get something for nothing. Every business requires an investment, so why would you question an investment in this business. For example: A carpenter requires thousands of dollars worth of tools; Most professions require a huge educational investment in time and money, to the tune of $25,000/year for at least four years; Just the sign in front of a Holiday Inn costs tens of thousands of dollars; The average franchise requires an initial start-up cost of $80,000 and then immense overhead forever more after that; and a McDonalds can cost a cool $million just to get started.

Now, contrast that to an Amway distributorship where the "on-the-job-training", tools, and other expenses you need to invest in in order to really move forward fast may cost you, at most, $2,000 - $3,000 per year. And this doesn't include the fact that each of these investments is tax deductible since you are in business for yourself.

But the greatest thing about your Amway business is that once it is built, it's built. You will have obtained a residual income that will continue to pay you whether you continue to work the business, or not. I like the fact that I can secure that can of security for my family, and if I ever want a raise, all I need to do is go sponsor someone else. Have a good day!

Future Crown Ambassador

You seem to be taking great pains and spending much energy on "exposing" the AMWAY that you think you know.

Why aren't you attacking other corporations/MLM companies as well?

Facts are facts. AMWAY has been around the longest, the system that I use is the Britt System. We encourage Christianity, but tolerate other religions as well, including Judaism (sp?), Hinduism, and others that have high, respectable moral values...so what? Would you rather be in business with people of known values, or those that have none at all?

I've made my choice. I have never seen, heard of (except in this page), or been pressured into anything remotely considerable to be illegal, immoral, "mind bending", or questionable.

Perhaps you should compare the success stories to people without a dream, or who are waiting for the social security system to collapse before they get smart.

I wish you luck and good fortune.

Just found your page, and really enjoyed it.

I was recently approached by an acquaintance about a "great opportunity" to get in on a business opportunity. I went to his house and sat through the usual cliches about being my own boss, making easy money on the side with only a few hours a week investment, etc. About 45 minutes through the presentation the word Amway finally popped up.

Almost all of the presentation was about how easy it was, and how much money there was to be made. There was little or no talk of how much it would cost me to get started, or even exactly what all there PVs I would be required to ante up amounted to in real dollars.

The guy is a well-educated, likeable person who seems to be doing very well for himself and his family through his curent job already. He has only been in this for a few months himself.

After researching Amway through outside sources, as well as the Amway material, I declined his offer to join up while thanking him for the opportunity to explain Amway to me personally.

In this, and other experiences with Amway, I have come to notice one alarming trend. That is that everyone I know who has become involved has yet to reap any profits of any sort. Every one of them has done nothing but lose money on the whole thing. Maybe there is some profitability if the whole thing is approached as a fuul-time venture, but this whole "2-6 hours a week " sound like a bunch of horse manure. I also thought that the 2 Amway tapes that I listened to were nothing more than a bunch of cliches and double-talk about success , money, etc. I enjoy motivational material as much as anybody else, but this stuff was really cheesy.

Keep up the good work.

Dear Sid,

I'd like to share thefact that I love what you are doing with Amway. These people are the funniest folks I have ever run across. They ask you to have an open mind towards their MLM non-opportunity and to reject any others.

A few rules for a real success in MLM:

1 Offer products/services that no one else can compete with.

2 Be competitive!

3 Have the ability to get paid for your efforts! Why doesn't Amway pay a flat fee across the board? Well they are banking on people bailing out and wish to make a bucket full of cash while they "m,ilk" the poor suckers who get involved in the mean while.

4 Offer a program that is honest and a co. who is not affraid to let their prospects know in their first sentence that they are Amway. Not many meetings later pulling the wool over peoples eyes.

5 Help people build their business without the coersion of having to buy all these tapes and go to these seminars. They are an insult to the human race and an insult to women in general. Amway wants their women to portray the image of the "dizzy" and "dumb" woman who can't think without her man. I find this very amusing. It's a mentality that stems from the stone age. Women are dumb and men are the gods!

6 A business that plays on peoples economic insecurity rather than on the opportunity concept. It's a business that works on easily impressionable people, good people wo are impressed with big cars, jewels and big homes. Hey folks there are many more things in life that are more important than all of this materialistic stuff.

7 A business that doesn't have a bunch of overly complicated paperwork. Amway expects you to spend hours figuring out PV/BV bonuses and keep track of all kinds of order-form and other paperwork. Amway is conveniently passing the work on to the poor folks who are "trying" to grow.

8 Then most of all timing! Amway is a houshold swear word that everyone knows about. It is simply outdated and is a co. that lies and uses tactics similar to the way cars where sold twenty years ago. They tell you what they think you want to know and sell you a dream, not an honest business opportunity! I went to a business meeting for Amway and figured out that in a 1 1/2 hour I had been told eight half truths and ten direct lies! An Amway expects you to do the same to your friends family and all the people you know! I am laughing so hard right now that I am about to fall off of my chair. Amway has a lot of nerve to expect this.

9 In the last 6 months I have been in MLM (non-amway) co. I have made more money, in less time that an Amway distributor could ever dream of. And I picked my company apart, trying to find something wrong with it and can find nothing

10 I don't neccessarily think Mr. Dick Devos is a bad guy, but I think his judgement is blinded by a bit of greed. I have been reading about MLM's for a couple of years and a lot of controversy is arising about the ethics of Amway and it's representatives, namely Dexter Yager(who is making 2/3rds of his fortune off of tapes and books) and Randy Haugen( who is being sued for using Michael Jackson and Beatles music in his tapes) without permission from the record companies, take a look at the ethics in this. These guys have been blatantly using good people for so long and have become so greedy that their ethics are similar to mob-figures.

My "other" and last thing to say about this co. is that they seem to think people are stupid. They offer "wholesale" products and services that are astronomically marked up and offer no true value. Who cares about the 25% bonus and delivering product to other folks garages.

When I need toothpaste or toilet paper, I go to Costco and pay a third of what Amway sells the exact same products for. Who are these Amway folks trying to fool anyway! The time it takes to look up the numbers in the catalog, call in the order, deliver the check, and pick up the product, I could go back and forth to Costco/Priceclub ten times and I can use these products right now!!!

IF YOU ARE ASKED TO ATTEND ONE OF THESE MEETINGS(RAH-RAH) THEN ASK YOUR FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER TO SEE ALL OF THE CATALOGS TO GO TO WHERE YOU NORMALLY SHOP AND COMPARE THE RAW FIGURE, THE ACTUAL PRICES COMPARED TO THE "WHOLESALE" PRICES OF AMWAY. THEN GO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH, THERE IS A BUNCH OF STUFF OUT THERE, BOTH NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE AND ASK YOURSELF IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS MUCH TIME AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY TO BECOME "RICH". THEY TELL YOU THAT IT ONLY TAKES 5-10 HOURS A WEEK, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT IT BECOMES A SECOND FULL TIME JOB. I HAVE RECRUITED 6 AMWAY FOLKS TO MY MLM, FOLKS WHO WHERE MAKING ABOUT $1500 A MONTH AND THEY ARE MAKING THE SAME TODAY AFTER 3 MONTHS IN A THIRD OF THE TIME, NOT THREE YEARS OF 30 HOURS A WEEK.

AMWAYS biggest flaw in their pitch is that sure if you compare the prices, then you can get a much better deal at your local grocery chain, but they preach that if you get a business volume of lets say $30000 a month going thru your business, then you you will get back 25%. This 25% is going to paid out to all of your down line and they are going to have to pay their down line and so on. So let's say that after 3-4 years you get to this point, so what! You have been spending more money than ever before in your life. So if you are making $7500,- a month, then you still have to pay out 23% of this to the level below you and leaves you with about $800 a month, Wheew!

The FLAW in this logic is that you have to con all of your friends and family to pay extreme prices to get back something in the future and expect them to do the same to their friends and family. Then let's say you get a downline and two years from now after they haven't nade any money, they aren't making any money and they are at their local grocery store one day, they then have a revelation to never again pay as much as they have been for the last two of three years, they then stop buying and the Organization crumbles as well as the "residual income". The ex-amway folks in my organization where really shocked at how low their food costs became after they joined my MLM and will never again buy any thing from Amway, Never.

I hear and have heard the term "looser" used a lot by the Amway folks. They are digging a grave for themselves. I was once called a looser by a auto salesman when I told him the price was over-inflated on a car he was trying to sell to me! My response was, "look who's talking!". He was pissed off at the fact that I wouldn't buy into his bullshit game and I didn't see any extra value in what he was pitching me on! A business that calls people loosers because they don't buy their products/services doesn't stick around for long anywhere. The stats prove that if you are wronged, you will tell 20 folks and if there are 2.5 million Amway folks in the USA, then you get the picture.

If you leave Amway you are opening yourself up to an Awesome opportunity in the MLM world! The only loosers are the ones who are to lost to realize Amway is a thing of the past. With all the folks leaving Amway these days, there will be few left in the long run. That 2.5 million they claim is dwindling rapidly! That residual income is a fantasy and nothing else. The main reason they are so apt to shaming you when you leave them is because they know you will eventually take a few with you when you leave and they figure if they can make you think you are a looser after all the time they told you that you were a winner, that they will destroy you mentally. This might work with 5 year old kids, but even a five yoear old snaps out of it and moves on!

The business world is constantly changing, because change is inevitable, Amway is not changing. In a former job I had, I left for a better opportunity. My boss was sad to see me leave because I had made him some good money as well as for myself. He knew that the job I was going to was better able to pay me more and we remained friends. He is a business man and understands that when an opportunity is knocking that one should get on it. This is exactely what my downline saw with my MLM. Are they happier? Damn skippy they are!!! They had to really OPEN their mind after listening to all the hype In AMWAY.

TO all of you Amway folks out ther, I encourage you to spend a couple hours to research all of the other opportunities out there and take your down line with you, after all they will probably listen to you advice since you are their consultant to making money. Amway is a school of hard knocks and nothing more. Recent Amway news, they are being shut down in CHINA. Why, to many lies!!! MLM is hot Amway is NOT!!!!

Thankyou for you time and dedication you put into building the AMWAY untold story Web page. Even though I don't agree with you dose not mean that I do not believe that you could become a very big distributor in AMWAY. It can take anywhere from 1 year to never to become a DIAMOND distriutor but once you get there you will have at least 1,000,000 income per year.

Dear Sidney:

Both on- and offline, I've spent several hours perusing the information on your pages. As an employee of ICCA, which is a Yager-owned company (ech!), I think I'm in the position to have some real perspective on what goes on with "the business". Allow me to offer my thoughts...

(1) AMWAY, at its core, is not a bad business. I do have relatives who are/have been distributors. Universally, they praise the basic concept behind AMWAY...buy from the company, sell to others. Universally, they revile what things have become over the last twenty years...the selling of "the plan", particularly the Yager plan.

To paraphrase another argument, AMWAY doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt people. I really do think it's the nature of "the business" to attract slimy people who have little more on their mind than money. Which brings me to the second point:

(2) The money issue. All it takes is about 5 minutes of listening to Dexter's bullschtick to figure out that what he's really about is cash. Lots of it. And the more, the better. Moreover, I've found that he's typical of the more successful uplines. These people think of nothing but money. Money money money. Let's be honest...how much do you really need? How much is too much? Sooner or later, there comes a point at which further accumulation is gross excess. Sidney, I have tape at work of a woman bragging at a "function" about her $1500 sheets, $2500 bed-clothing set, 17 pillows, and 11 Christmas trees. I'm no raving liberal, but this is digusting.

Listen to what Dex says...he likes to keep "his people" mentally broke. That is, they should always think they never have enough. And given that attitude, I'd be curious to know how many of them are really happy or satisfied. How many of them (Amway people) really think they have enough? Damn few, I'll bet.

I've seen footage of the Diamonds on their "dream vacations," and to be honest, it seems to me that all they do is think about how to make another buck and make videos of themselves. Boy, that's my dream.

For some of us, Sidney, the measure of success is not the amount in our account...it's the wealth of REAL friends we make, and the contribution we make, both to others' lives and to our society. I don't find, in my experience, that most Amway distributors have much by that yardstick. All they have is money, and while I don't go to church much any more, I do remember what the Bible says about money. Maybe Amway should, too.

Which, again, leads into my next point.

(3) The Christian ethic (or lack thereof). The readiness of Amway people to rattle on about the gift of God in their lives amazes me. I say only this:

(a) money is the root of all evil
(b) devotion to Mammon (as the Old Testament sez), will earn you eternity in hell
(c) Christ, a worthy fellow, was a poor carpenter's son. His followers gave all they had to the poor and took up their cross.

Amway people, where are YOUR crosses? What have you done to ease the burden of those less-gifted than yourselves? If we are not to take God's name in vain, then I truly believe that you commit a grievous sin every time you mention God in your "functions".

How do you answer that? Why is it that you feel so compelled to hide the nature of your "business". You never mention "Amway", only "the business". Distributors never attend anything but "functions". I find all of this terribly suspicious.

Let me quote from a memo circulated by Doyle Yager, Chief Marketing Officer for InterNET Services Corporation (Dexter's main front). The memo was to suggest that all managers and supervisors at ISC attend one of the upcoming "Opens" in order that we should "better understand 'the plan'". I find it instructive that they charge EMPLOYEES $5.00 to attend this meeting. Very instructive. Anyway...

********Quoting********[[Bits in brackets are my comments]]

"These are some things that you should be aware of: do's, dont's etc.

* Please remember that you are a guest and not a prospective distributor; therefore, do not mention the name Amway, Dexter Yager or selling before the Diamond does. The timing of this information is critical to the success of the meeting.

[[I understand this to mean a couple of things. First, that because we are employees, we know the bullschtick routine behind Dexter's scam, and we can't be distributors because we know how to make the big bucks...that is, sell yourself, not Amway. Second, that these people know that Amway will turn off the intelligent people in the room, therefore, don't mention in until they've gotten the stupid ones hooked on a dream that probably will never happen.]]

* Avoid sitting with other staff, it is better to sit beside other distributors and their guests. This will help to keep down any discussion that tends to happen when sitting beside an associate.

[[Translation: We know you think this is crap, so please don't give other people that impression and scare them off before we set the hook.]]

* You may take notes.

[[To be reused as fertilizer this spring.]]

* Return to see "the plan" again to retain and understand more and see a second Diamond show "the plan".

[[After taking your Pepto-Bismol, I presume. How can they stomach all that?]]

*****Quote Complete*****

I think that excerpt says a great deal. In addition, Sidney, I find it entertaining that I, and most of my co- workers at ICCA, think that Amway is (and this time I'll just say it), bullshit. B.G., head of the * Department at ICCA, is a current distributor (he started before coming to ICCA). He admits freely among coworkers that the basic point of the rallies is "brainwashing"...keeping someone up until 2 am with no sleep, then exhorting them to max out every credit card and drain their bank accounts buying books and tapes that likely won't help them. And Sidney, I have seen people do just that. Very scary.

As an aside, let me tell anyone reading this that IF YOU HAVE TO BUY A TAPE OR BOOK TO GET MOTIVATION, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET MOTIVATED!! It doesn't work that way.

At all events, I find that the air surrounding the whole scheme, particularly among the Yager bunch, is one of dishonesty, scheming and fraud. It's unethical at best...at worst, it's just plan greedy evil. Anyhow, now that I sound like some raving Bible-thumper (heck, my only Bible has been in a box for two years...couldn't thump it if I wanted to), I'll wind up.

I've been at ICCA for two years, and by the time anyone besides you reads this, Sidney, I'll be long gone. I'm so disgusted by my association with this bunch of freeloading dirtbags that I'm willing to risk total unemployment rather than sully my hands further.

Another thing about Dex...if he's such a Christian fellow, why does he live in a multimillion dollar palatial mansion on Lake Wylie, while his family lives in a trailer park in Rome, New York? Why does he hardly ever, by his own admission, find time to see his relatives (he has a private jet, for crying out loud). Why does he flaunt his wealth at every turn? I'll tell you my thinking...I think Dexter is ashamed of his roots, and while he never hesitates to talk about what his root are, he always follows up by talking about how he has overcome them (apparently without any concern about who he walked over on the way).

My, but I'm going on. I could say more. Maybe I will later, but I think this says enough. Thank you for taking the time to expose so much about a basically decent company that has been ruined by the very people it sought out. What a shame. And shame on anyone who makes their money the way Yager and his cronies do...by dishonesty and fraud.

(Please, include this text in your home page about Amway)

Sidney,

On behalf of the free press, Congratulation on a job well done! Just a tip to people being approached by Amway aliens, and who need to get rid of them.

- When they ask if you want to retire free of debt? you say " Yes of course, but if I have to join Amway to make it, then I rather die poor".

I have been a distributor for Amway in the Britt line of sponsorship for more than a year. As of yet, I have not experienced any coercion to attend these functions or by the motivational material from the business. All that I was informed of is that I could learn what I needed to know through these materials. These very same materials could be purchased from your local bookstores. I have purchased several of my materials from these bookstores.

The only item that you are unable to purchase from a retail outlet is the tapes. On the other hand, you can purchase tapes which have the same effect from the bookstore.

The Yager/Britt lines of sponsorship does not coerce anyone into buying these materials from them. They merely encourage you to obtain them any way you wish and use them as suggested. They do not say that you have to purchase these materials from there organizations.

I am very upset by the contents of this web page and would discourage you from displaying such information. If I may ask...Are/were you a registered distributor for the Amway Corp.? If not, then you really have no right to display such info.

Amway was built on the foundation of a dream. Amway was built with the honesty and integrity of 2 individuals whose dream is to make the world a better place for all of us.

A fortune is not built immediately. A forutne is not built without troubles. You must reach a level of maturity before you can be successful. You can reach this level of maturity by purchasing materials from non-Amway distributors and practicing the principles discussed in such materials. You must experience troubles in order to be successful and fully appreciate it.

Amway is just hard enough to eliminate those that will not do the work to become successful. Amway and its distributors have developed a system that will bring out the best in champions. If you are tough enough to build a successful Amway business you deserve it. If you do not stick with it, then you do not have the character it takes to be successful.

Even if I were never to make money from an Amway business, I am privelegded to be associated with the finest group of individuals in the world. Amway distributors are the best friends one could possibly have. I have been helped out immensley. I have been helped out as far as my mentality goes. My spirits are up and so forth.

Before the Amway Business Oppurtunity came along I was a trashed individual. I was on drugs and dealing them. I had suicidal tendencies, those have diminished. I am a proud father of a lovely young son. I am proud of the life I lead. The Amway Business Oppurtunity has brought me many feelings of worth. I can honestly say that I am alive and well today because of the Amway business.

If it had not been for Amway I would be either dead or on the streets destroying the lives of your children with drugs!!!

I think you should put up a seperate web page with its own registration on the seperate search engines that let's people know that "Interactive Distribution" = AMWAY!!!

Amway is nothing but a big scam, or it should be known as scamway. My parents have subjected me of this Amway shit for the last few months and i am going insane.your report on the rally scam is so true,if they want you to become successful then why do they charge so much money to see a bull shitter speak on stage.

I MUST ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH AMWAY. I AM AMAZED AT HOW MUCH WORK YOU'VE DONE TO SLAM AMWAY AND AMWAY DISTRIBUTORS. I THINK THAT IF YOU SPENT A FRACTION OF THE TIME YOU'VE SPENT SLAMMING AMWAY, WORKING AMWAY, YOU WOULD BE A VERY WEALTHY PERSON TODAY. I AM SURE YOU MUST THINK THAT IN SOME WAY YOU ARE "SAVING THE WORLD".

I have yet to see anyone of credible business experience condemn Amway's methods of distribution. I challenge you to find me one. I know several successful Amway distributors, and all of them seem to have a keen business mind. If I were to start any business, I would consult these people. Just like if I wanted to know the mechanics of maintaining a web page, I might consult you.

Like many others sending mail to your web site, I have been in Amway. It is true that Amway has cultic recuirment methods and a cult-like atomosphere. Here is a example-One time I went to an Amway function. The men wore suits and the women wore long dresses. Exciting, upbeat music played constantly in the background. I recall the song lyrics-"Some will, some won't, so what?". Another song (popular at the time I went to the function) played was "I want to be rich".

I have nothing against positive thinking. But positive thinking needs to be tempered with realism. The atomosphere at the Amway function was not conducive to reason.

The real shock came when the couple that was my upline scurried to be photographed with thier *direct distributor*. Futhermore, when the direct distributor walked down the hall, several people went ahead to *clear the way*. These pathbreakers were firmly but politely telling people to move out of the path of the oncoming direct in a *very* serious manner.

I can understand people wanting to be photographed with Clinton, Van Halen, Nancy Kerrigan or another celeb. But with thier business partner? This seemed and is, odd. If I behaved like that to my boss, he'd probably send me to a shrink. (I work at a med school). And the sending courtiers to clear the way? That is very *odd* and seems quite cultic.

This story does have a happy ending, though. I got out of Amway before suffering seriously.

I can see why people are taken in by Amway. At the time I joined, I had been running my own tutor business for several years. Therefore I had business experience and (in theory) should have been less likely to be led astray. But I was sucked in.

I think that people join Amway for reasons of community as much as money. While I was in Amway, the Amway people would call me, offering support. At Amway functions, attractive and well-dressed women would talk to me and complement me. For an engineering nerd it was heady stuff, and I'm just a human as anyone else.

Your a wimp, And will not make a difference any anyones life besides your own.

PLEASE PUT THIS EMAIL ON THE NET!!

Today I was approached to join Amway. Having been in twice before I knew what to expect.I played dumb and listened to them ramble on about how easy it is to make money and not once did they mention Amway. Even when I asked if its Amway they were evasive in answering.After further questions by me they did declare it to be Amway.When I told them I was not interested they wouldn't hear of it and tried to get me to sign the Amway application form.

Eventually they gave up trying to get me to join,but was given bussiness cards "incase you change your mine". "I won't,Amway is the biggest scam going,I've been in before,and almost lost my job over it and wasn't earning a cent from Amway". Maybe they should rename Amway -- Scamway with all the Amway rules that are broken!

Keep up the good work with-Amway the untold truth its spot on!

Ha, ha, ha. Very interesting. Unfortunately, you'll continue to have your views, and I'll continue succeeding. By the way, I spend $5 a week on tools. In my traditional business I had an overhead of $20,000 a month. I think it's a fair trade. I wish you the best in your personal endeavors, but I certainly hope you don't succeed in your defamation of Amway.

All I can say is thanks. My hasband & I always felt "peculiar" about the brainwashing part of Amway. Since reading your article & the mail, we no longer feel alone. We have written our direct & emerald distributors & asked for our money back for the Yeager tools which were sold to us under misleading circumstances.

Hi Sidney,

After reading some of the letters aloud to my husband, he started dancing & jumping around, getting all excited- just like an Amway distributor!! He says that the > 50% turnover is just the way the diamonds like it because the new recruits spend a small fortune on "tools" before they realize what's going on and either quit or become "inactive". Compassionate Capitalism?? Hmmm....Like one of the persons we were trying to sponsor said, " We spent a fortune on books & tapes. Get out of it as quickly as you can!".

Mr. Schwartz,

With a sincere heart I write to you about the Amway "cult". Just two and a half years ago I was in the Armed Forces of the United States. I am a combat veteran of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. I spent six years in the service of our beloved country. I am not ashamed to admit that. Just two and a half years ago I got married to another member of the service. We were not the typical American service members. I was an alcoholic. I used many substances that I shouldn't have. I was on the verge of taking my own life and when I drank my wife was in danger of losing hers. One day just two years ago a man walked up to me and extended a greeting, remembering me from Saudi Arabia. He introduced me to the Amway business. I owe my life to him for showing me that I was truly a magnificent creation of God. I know what a skeptic looks for. I was one. As I sat down with this man, as he was showing me the business, I slapped the table and asked him if it was Amway. I was prepared to take his head off his shoulders. He said he did have access to them. I backed down because I realized my ignorance. Now I am no longer ignorant. I know exactly what Amway is: Amway is a service corporation that ties over 600 companies to a large distributor based network. Anything else is mud-slinging by ignorant entities. The network is different, however, in that it deals with people on a more personal level. I truly love the people in my network, upline and downline. I love my country and my Creator. I love you, not what you do, but what you are, a creation that by far diminishes the power of the mainframe that I write this very letter on. I show people that they are somebody, not a mistake of evolution, but a creation of divine beginnings. The hateful comments by some people on your web page are understandable; I know how they feel, I felt the same way about other things, but I found out that I am still in control of my own destiny and no other man will tell me what to believe or what to do with my life. You are a part of something that undermines what our country stands for. What you do produces nothing at all outside of fear. Fear has only one root source and it isn't divine. The fear that you help to instill in people is "cult-like" in its own right. You cannot correctly use the words "cult" and "religion" in the same sentence to describe the same organization. I am not religious, but I do believe that I am somebody. You will not have anything to do with whether I stay or go anywhere else with my life. I don't bite the hand that feeds me. I don't shun those who love me. If you truly find love somewhere in your life, please pursue it. "Man without vision shall perish" says the word of God. That word was here long before you or me. It will continue because it is true. Your information will not continue because it is based on fear and thrives in the very thing that eats away at society in America and other parts of the world: FEAR. May God bless you. He blessed me. I'm sorry I almost gave my life to protect your freedom to hate something and someone so much. If you truly don't like being here in America, I make enough money in my AMWAY business that I'll personally buy you a one-way ticket to where our flag doesn't fly and you can stay.

Very sincerely,

"Soapy"

My wife and I just last weekend attended a amway gathering it was on a saturday in a local school. They started with everone gathering in the theater listing to motivational music which I wouldn't doubt that it had subliminal messages in it. We listened to the speakers then broke for lunch. Our sponsor (we later figured out was told to make sure we were not left alone) drove us to the subway she had a two for one sub coupon (who can refuse cheap food. we then went back to the meeting for the rest of the pin awards and more lectures on how th guest speakers arrived where they were.

I was pumped, and could not wait to get my kit to get started. Here is the funny thing I never wanted to get involved in the thiung untill I went to the meeting. My wife and I were just listing to the plan and didn't think much of it except that the guy showing it was good at it. (pretty slick) anyways sunday night they brought over the kit and we signed the papers and all we chatted somemore and I was pumped I already had six names on my list. Then they left... I had asked at a late supper after the meeting if amway was on the net and the guy across from me said yes and that he would email me the address if i gave him my email address. so I did but he couldn't get his email to work so he had called the woman that my wife works with who was our direct sponcer and new aswell to give me the address. but alas she forgot it at home. so as the left sunday night I said see ya later and that I was going to look up the amway web site. well didn't I snap out of my coma that I had been in when I found your web page here It was on the top of the list when I did a net search. We quit the next day, and my wife had not given them any money sunday night. So she returned the box of stuff. My wifes comment when I started to bring all of the stuff I printed off for her to read was also shock. But she was confused because of how caught up in it all I was. So not only the social engineering that they were teaching at the meeting but some form of mind control had to be used. By half way through the evening I was gone that saturday night. I still am in shock from the whole thing. and the next person that calls me and says " hey john I have some ideas on how to make some money, want to hear about them?" I am going to blast a potable air horn in the phone reciver in hopes of waking them up from there trance.

ps thanks again for providing the information that saved me from making an ass of my self.

Hi,

My name is * and I just took a very in depth look at this sight. I found it EXTREMELY informative. My friends ex-husband was just here last week to settle the property for their divorce that ended up in a "best thing I can do for you" Amway sell. I really wasn't all that familiar with Amway except for recalling a neighbor that sold their products in my neighborhood when I was a kid. I figured I'd do a little research on my own before I looked at their tapes. I am in the process of starting my own business (stained glass) and thought it might be good for sideline cash. I can see the mind control though that is involved in Amway. This guy is all consumed and always in "business meetings" now. I do think low self esteem and the want of feeling like a "big shot" has a lot to do with it. I like the simple life myself, my own mind and nobody telling me they love me but the ones I love! I'm gonna steer clear of this one. Thank you again for this informative sight.

People just don't go around kicking dead dogs, do they? Amway can be anything that you make of it. But I guess that any bad worker is going to blame his tools.

Let's just face it. You didn't and don't have what it takes to make it in this business. That's all that it is, is a business. Amway knows that there's enough to go around for everybody and with the quality of there products they could market them any way they wanted. They could open up stores and advertise. But instead of doing all this they give the opprotunity to there loyal distrubutors. They are doing what most people can only dream of doing. Leading the way in MLM. Why aren't you picking on other MLM companies. Why is your page called "AMWAY The Untold Story" I have joined several MLM companies before even looking at Amway but guess where I am now? Amway is for people with a good ethnic backround, for people that believe that we should be watering our own apple trees instead of somebody else's, for people that are willing to really work just like everybody else for a living and for life, for people that believe that you don't have to a Ross Perot as your father to make it big in life, and for people that prefer to simplify complicated things instead of complicating simple things.

You don't know the first thing about Amway!

The things that I read in you page do have a certain likeness to the National Inquiry. If there is one thing that I have learned in my life it's that there are bad people in every group and that is true even in Amway. I know that some people would rather not deal with it at all because of the fact that maybe their upline wasn't telling them the entire truth when they had there first contacts with Amway. But I just happen to know one such person who was tricked into coming to an Amway meeting and is now a Crown Ambassador Direct Distibuter making well over 50,000 a month. What is that compared to you measley salary?!!!! I would much rather be tricked in to making 50,000 a month than to live your pathetic existince. You may stop some poeple from going into this business but even with all the facts presented it isn't going to hurt Amway. You are really wasting your time! Maybe you should get a real job. You would make a good garbage man or street sweeper.

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