### Amway: The Untold Story

## Your Comments, Part 19

(11/96 to 12/96)

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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]

`I have been in amway for about 4 years. I'm not doing this as a business anymore. we went at it for about 3 years . Functions, tapes, the works.I did learn some things about sales, marketing, motivational books etc. I was a non -reader before amway. now I'm allways reading some kind of book.I'm still in network marketing because I believe it to be a great opportunity.Anyway the text concerning cults was interesting to say the least. Amway seems to be a good company, we still buy their products.But, in concren with the meetings and tapes I will agree it can have some strong affects on you.When I finally decided to not pursue amway as a business I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off my chest.This business had put strains on me & my family I had never experienced.I was made to believe that AMWAY was the only way I would ever make it, that's what I hate the most.Most of my 3 years was wasted time because they know the rules of the game and I did'nt. So like so many I failed.I don't blame AMWAY, but the big shot distrubutors I do! Those who know the statistics and lie to you! I'm still in a home business but we are in control and we are experiencing true freedom & happiness in our pursuit to be full time employed in our business. So good luck to all of you!`

Dear Mr. Schwartz,

I was recently approched by an Amway Distibutor, He actually tracked me down. He bumped into me in the store and intorduced himself as "Darren", I gave him my name and he asked where I worked, not thinking about it, because I live in a smaller town. I told him. He then called me at work, and wanted to meet with me. He told me that he was looking to higher someone for his business. I agreed and set up our first meeting. I listened to the tape he mailed me (which was very broad). He then showed me a movie. I asked at the beginning of the movie if he was from Excel. He stated, "No" I am generally a negitive person who doesn't believe in fate, and easy money. I let the movie go and not until he was about to leave did he tell me he was from Amway. I could just kick myself for not calling an end to it then and there. I told him I would research his company and come back with a response. Thanks to your home page I know what that response will be. I see him tomrrow morning, at eight in the morning. I will present him with everything I learned, and ask him to please leave. Thanks for all the hard work you have done. And thank you for making it available to all of us.

SATURATED??? The facts say NO....the Amway business is far from being saturated since only about 1 or 2 percent of the U.S. population are distributors.

However, based on my five year stint in the business, Amway is closer to saturation than most of you fear. To really look at saturation, you must look at those who have either been in the business or know enough about the Amway business that they would have no part of it...such as myself. And the funny thing is, most distributors face this fact every day, but are in denial.

How many prospects have said to you, "No thank you" or worse? How many people look at you as though you are the Anti-Christ as soon as the word Amway is uttered during the plan? How many family members, friends, co-workers try to avoid you when any subject remotely resembling business comes out of your mouth?

Sure, only about 2% or so are in....but that's because the other 98% know better.

I was recently in the process of becoming an Amway distributor i.e. was approached by a sponsor ---- given some tapes ----- and then more tapes ----- and the more tapes and books etc ---- went to an "open" meeting and was invited to a function in Cleveland (I didn't attend the function).

I must admit that the system sounded like a fairly good way to start a business and I almost purchased a starter kit. However, as I was listening to one of the dozens of tapes they give you, I noticed that the tone of the tapes was changing. Speakers on these tapes were basically implying (and in some cases actually saying) that you should not associate with people who reject the "plan" and they were further implying that if one chose not to pursue the business, one was a loser.

I also found the some of the statements in the various books they supply to be somewhat disturbing --- almost cult like. I absolutely hated not being able to get a straight answer to honest questions like Who buys the products?

It then occurred to me that in order to succeed, I had to become evasive, elitist, generally dishonest ("fake it until you make it"), and generally have a treasure chest of pre-fab answers like "oh that will be covered on one of the tapes". Since they suggest starting with your friends and family...this left a bad taste in my mouth since I just could'nt see myself being that evasive with family and friends --- shows no respect.

Finally, there is no real "value added" to this business. Sure, there are a few mediocre products, but the demand for these products is not real but is created by people chasing the prospect of easy money. The demand was there as long as the illusion continued.

Having said all that, I think a distinction needs to be drawn between Amway itself and the off shoot lines of distribution. From my limited knowledge, it appears that the "Yeager" line really pushes it's motivational material which generates substantial income ---I have a problem with this. However, I don't think you could blame Amway itself for these kind of tactics. Amway's contract with a distributor stops at buying and selling the products. I know it's hard to separate the two, but I think it's only fair to acknowledge where the questionable tactics originate.

Hi, fellow former Amway distributor, and member of the Class!

I was a distributor from January thru September, all of 1995, so I am a member of the class. (In Yager's downline.) I lost over $300 in the purchase of tapes alone. And Amway wants to give me a coupon so that I can purchase their soap & other "goodies" at Distributor price? Come on, get real! I am so glad that I am not affiliated with that ludicrous organization anymore.

P.S.: I read on your page that the hearing was set for November 15th. What happened? Did the judge reject the settlement agreement? (We can only hope.) EMail me back & let me know.

i have left the amway business after 2 years, along with my sponsor who has been in for the same length of time. we have been trying to find some way to get back a small portion of the thousands of dollars we were bilked out of (i maxed-out 3 credit cards) on tapes, products and britt rallies. I have two boxes of tapes and im sure he has twice as many.

i would also appreciate if you could share any info on the kickbacks that the directs and and above get for selling tapes to their groups. i heard from one ex-pearl that for every dollar he made from amway, he made $20 from tools, etc.

thank you for fighting the good fight!!

Hello !

I just went to a meeting about becoming an Amway-distributor...

THe man who was gving the presentation was very convincing but I stll have doubts ..

In that way, I want to thank you fo setting up a site about Amway so I can retrieve more information....

to criticize: is nothing more then a justification of ones own failures.

AINT IT GREAT

Get a life Sid!

You must truly be a person who likes to take advantage of other people and never has offered a hand to others to help them in any way. I sure am glad that someone like yourself has taken the time to truly misrepresent information in an interesting and slanted view about Amway. It really is a shame. If you spent as much time helping people better themselves rather than spend time creating... very confusing propoganda without information to back-up your claims and views. Anyone can take any amount of information and chop it up in pieces and make it say anything they want to say. I do have to say you have done a good job of keeping the real skeptics who read this trash out of the Amway business. Because if they had to come to the place of ... if it is in writing ... it must be true... internet, they should stay broke and be a whimp and keep their wife working. I bet you have your wife working too dont you? Be a man... let your wife carry the responsibilities of generating income for your household... obviously you cant cut it. And you probably would rather sit back and hope something like a million dollars would just fall out of the sky and into your lap... oh... better yet... from the lottery.... or, I know.. the government will take care of you. Right! I hope your trash is wiped of the internet.

This message is directed to those involved in AMWAY......... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR (so called) "POSITIVE" INFLUENCE ON CERTAIN MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY WHO ARE CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN AMWAY. You have lead them to believe that myself and other members in my family, "ARE GOING NOWHERE IN LIFE WITH THEIR 9 TO 5 JOBS", and that "THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING OF THEIR LIVES, BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING SO HARD AT BECOMING DIAMONDS, and we aren't". (geez, I wonder where they got those words from, it couldn't have been from one of the AMWAY "FUNCTIONS" OR "RALLEYS") POSITIVE THINKING?????? I DON'T THINK SO!!!! SINCE WHEN IS PUTTING OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED IN AMWAY DOWN, POSITIVE THINKING??????

NO, I am not an unhappy person who thinks negatively all the time. NO, I am not someone who has tried the "plan" and doesn't like it or think it's a scam. I'm just someone's SON, someone else's BROTHER, and someone else's FRIEND, who can't understand the attitude change in people AS SOON AS THEY JOIN AMWAY! Hearing negativity from people involved in AMWAY, directed towards people who ARE NOT INVOLVED, kind of makes me feel sad.

....AND ANOTHER THING..........there are two sides of every coin and while some things may be POSITIVE for some, THERE IS ALWAYS AN OPPOSITE NEGATIVITY DIRECTED AT OTHERS. So, let me ask you AMWAY NUTS this........ ARE YOU THINKING AS POSITIVELY AS YOU THINK YOU ARE, or is someone you know distraught about your "so called" POSITIVE thinking, because either you may have quoted the wrong "AMWAY TAPE, BOOK, OR RALLEY SPEAKER"?????

ONE MORE THING............ I may not be rich, nor live in a huge mansion, nor drive the most expensive car, and maybe I never will, but SO WHAT!!! In my world, however small it is, THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT ARE ABSOLUTE TRUTH AMONG FRIENDS AND FAMILY! For fuck sakes, there is enough bullshit, deception, lying, and corruption out there. I THINK POSITIVELY, BUT I ALSO HAVE MY OPINIONS. AMWAY CORP. IS NOT TO BLAME HERE, it's the FUCKING MANIPULATIVE BITCHES AND BASTARDS involved in the business WHO INFLUENCE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY to do things like PUT OFF FAMILY FUNCTIONS FOR AN AMWAY MEETING, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN TOLD THAT "YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD, TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL". Ok, it's no lie, but there is a point.

YOU TELL ME YOU AMWAY PHREAKS.......... Why is it that all of your POSITIVE THINKING HAS BROUGHT OUT SO MUCH NEGATIVITY IN OTHERS????? ONE EXAMPLE IS SID'S PAGE and quite a few responses here. (GREAT JOB BY THE WAY, SID)

THERE'S ONE THING I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND ABOUT AMWAY PEOPLE.... HOW COME THEY HAVE AN ANSWER FOR EVERY QUESTION? ARE THEY THAT KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD? BOY 'O BOY, ARE THEY EVER SMART! CAN I JOIN, CAN I PLEASE? WILL I BE AS SMART IF I JOINED?

If you think Sidney Schwartz and the rest of us NON-ACTIVE AMWAY MEMBERS are childish, or stupid, or whatever other excuse to yourself for ignoring us is, why does it interest YOU GUYS TO COME HEAR AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY??? HUH? IS IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW AMWAY IS ALL THAT SID SAYS OR ARE YOU NOT QUITE 100 PERCENT SURE ABOUT IT ANYMORE? WHY RESPOND TO "SUCH CHILDISH NEGATIVE REMARKS" Why even read this? Shouldn't you be out showing "the plan to someone right now?" WELL ZIPPIDY DO DA, HOP TO IT THERE, PARTNER!!!! (Bunch of inconsiderate degenerates) I HOPE YOU ALL MAKE IT, RIGHT TO THE TOP! GOOD FOR YOU! GO AHEAD, TAKE A CHANCE ON LOSING THE ONLY FRIENDS AND FAMILY YOU'LL EVER HAVE. YOU CAN HUG YOUR NEW CADILLAC AT CHRISTMAS TIME OR YOUR NEW AMWAY BUDDIES. I'M SURE THEY'RE AS GOOD A FRIEND AS THE NEXT, AND MORE SO A GOOD FAMILY MEMBER.

Thank you Sid and all other voices on the other side of the Scamway wall.

Are you already making money in Amway? Happy with your position is Life? Well, good for you! AS FOR THE REST OF YOU AMWAY HOPEFULS........... We are just trying to help you guys out. That's all. What if, by chance, you do not succeed with Amway? You'll have wasted a lot of time and effort by putting on those meetings, showing people "the plan" and YES WASTING MONEY ON BOOKS, TAPES, AND RALLY TICKETS! Sure, you can compare the expenses to tuition fees for school or some other sort of training. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?.........SCHOOL HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LOT LONGER THAN AMWAY AND I'M SURE THE SUCCESS RATE IS MUCH HIGHER. If you are currently a grad and are out in the job market, JUST CHANGE FIELDS AND USE YOUR LEARNED SKILLS SOMEWHERE ELSE. My attitude.......if you have what it takes, you can go out there and make it on your own. YOU DON'T NEED TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY ON AMWAY "TOOLS". Put it in a good education, take a small business course, try your own business on the side, not someone else's. "BUT AMWAY IS MY OWN BUSINESS", you say. YEAH RIGHT, WHAT A JOKE! I'm talking about REALLY GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS. Study the markets, see which ones are doing well, GET IN ON A PIECE OF THE REAL ACTION. I'M TALKING PRODUCT PEOPLE!!!! Sell your own product and make 50 to 200 percent of the sale. That's what marketing is really all about. Or build something, or invent something. YOUR IMAGINATION IS ALL IT TAKES!!!!!

YES, I HAVE A PLAN THAT WILL WORK BETTER THAN ANY AMWAY, QUORUM, MELALUCA, AND ALL THE REST OF THE BLOOD SUCKING LARGE NETWORKS, AND I'M HAPPY TODAY, NOT 2 TO 5 YEARS FROM NOW! ARE YOU HAPPY SHOWING THAT IDIOTIC PLAN EVERYDAY? ARE YOU REALLY WILLING TO GIVE UP ALL YOUR SPARE TIME TO DO IT? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE HASSLED BY OTHERS WHO THINK AMWAY IS A JOKE? COME ON, THINK FOR YOURSELF, BE REALISTIC! OPEN YOUR EYES, USE THE KNOWLEDGE YOU'VE ALREADY LEARNED FOR YOURSELF, WHERE YOU ARE MAKING THE BETTER PART OF THE PROFIT AND NOT SOMEONE ELSE! YES, THAT'S RIGHT, AMWAY UPLINE'S ARE MAKING ALL THE MONEY DURING YOUR FIVE YEARS OR MORE OF APPRENTICESHIP! IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO FIGURE THAT OUT. DON'T GIVE ME ANY CRAP ABOUT HOW YOU MAKE FRIENDS, YOU CAN GO TO THE PARK OR THE 'Y' AND MAKE FRIENDS FOR FREE. (and those will be real friends, not just people who pretend to be, like AMWAY JERKS) DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO BE A BETTER PERSON BECAUSE OF AMWAY AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU, YOU ARE THAT PERSON ALREADY! DON'T TELL ME ABOUT DREAMS, OR MAKING SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFE, OR GETTING SOMEWHERE, OR SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR RETIREMENT, BECAUSE IT'S ALL A BUNCH OF BULL! THE REAL REASON YOU JOINED IS BECAUSE YOU NEED THE MONEY!!!!!! AND YOU CAN MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN! MOTIVATION????? MOTIVATE YOURSELF!!! IF THE MORTGAGE OR BILLS AREN'T ENOUGH TO MOTIVATE YOU, THEN WHAT IS? AMWAY AND A BUNCH OF CLOWNS RUNNING AROUND SCREAMING "GO DIAMOND!!!!"? I DON'T THINK SO.

Like I said before, I have a plan and it already worked for me. It's pretty simple and has been proven successful, probably by your mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousin, whoever........get a job, even if it's for min wage, pay the bills, think smart about where you put your money, invest small amounts here and there, wherever you find a good deal and could easily sell it and not lose anything, take up a hobbie on the side, like fishing, boating, fixing up stuff around the house, or cooking, and then work with what you feel comfortable with. Learn new things and/or expand on basic knowledge you already have. Use the old noggin, open your eyes, look around at other successful people who have made it by doing something on their own. NOW YOU DO IT. There's only one catch and that is you won't be successful if you're not happy with yourself. I'm talking truthfully happy, not just a false belief that you will be happy down the road if you give up your happiness today.

THAT IS HOW I SEE AMWAY. You gotta bullshit your way to the top and I don't see how anyone can be happy, thinking about all the little guys you've tried to manipulate or take advantage of on the way up. All the faces you've had to put on for the "show". I guess they forgot to mention that didn't they. YES FACES FOR THE "SHOW", you know.....as in "SHOW THE PLAN". The next time you're alone in the car, alone in the can, or in your office at work, you think about that. Think about the people you have to screw to make it big. If you're OK with it, then continue with AMWAY. If you're not, do your friends, family, co-workers, and yourself a favor and find success elsewhere. I did my part, I tried to help. The rest is up to you. Give it some thought, before you do anything.

Take Care Everyone and Thank You for your insight Sid

I read your article on cultism in Amway as a reference for my research paper on cults. Amazing stuff. Keep up the good work. As society becomes engrossed by mass media and psychological pitches, it is important that we become more vigiliant. Educate the masses....

Let me ask you something, have you ever been an Amway Distributor?

First off, Amway-Bashing is nothing new....it's been going on for 37 years. Incidently...that's how long it's been around.

Second, Show me one multi-billion dollar company that does not have a Class Action Suit filed against them somewhere for something and I will call them a liar to their face...in person.

Third, relating to the telling you how to raise your family, treat your kids...etc point.

Yes, your job tells you how to raise your children by telling you what time to get up, what time to go to bed, when you can take vacations, how much your time is worth to them, how much money your going to have to spend on your children, hell, they even tell you when to move in some cases.

For instance, let's say that John Doe works for the XYZ Corporation (Both names obviously fictional) in Dallas, Texas, then one day they decide, without consulting John Doe, that they want him to work in the San Diego, California Branch. Do you think they are going to care whether or not John likes the situation? NO. They will tell him something like 'either you move to California or find another job'.

Fourth, everthing in Amway is OPTIONAL. The only non-optional part is the purchase of the kit and the yearly renewal fee. EVERYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL! You do not HAVE to buy tapes or books or videos or even the products. You do not HAVE to sign up new distributors.

When you 'sign up in Amway' what you are doing is purchaseing your own business. If you open a Restaurant, do you HAVE to buy food? no, however, if you do not buy food your restaurant will not make any money. it's the same with Amway. Just like in ANY OTHER BUSINESS it takes money to make money.

I'm new on the Internet, but I do find it interesting that at the bottom of your information page you do at least have the courtesy to label your information as 'opinion.' That I find credible.

I would be interested in the reasons behind your very angry, "Gee, I thought you folks might want to know.' attitude toward the Amway corporation. Philanthropic or just personally profitable? It does make for good copy and fame on the tube here- particularly for those who 'tried and failed' in Amway. As human- beings we do so like to find reasons to blame others for our lack of success. Has this immersion in Amway allowed you more time and money? I think somehow this crusade is profitable for you.

Well this is very interesting stuff but there is one catch. Did you have a dream or goal to work through the shit in life and not be a whiner and complain about the little things in life

Mr. Schwartz:

Great work on your Website. You may have saved me a great deal of trouble that deep down inside I knew was coming. You see, my wife and I have recently decided to become Amway distributors. I have been in a family business for 15 years and that business is successful but we were lured into Amway by the prospect of making an extra $1000 or so a month with very little effort. (My wife's older brother who we very rarely see because he lives about 800 miles away helped sponsor us).

We invited several of our closest friends to our home four months ago for a meeting without even knowing what we were in for. One of my best buddies got in based on my telling him there was no way to lose anything. We didn't lose anything and neither did he. But, we did not gain much either.

Little by little we were told that you need to listen to tapes to succeed. I obliged and bought 5 tapes and then we traded back and forth. We also bought 3 of the much publicized Business Trends videos along with an audio tape of called "How to build your business with the Business Trends 2000 Video" or some such name. The audio tape suggests calling people you know and admire and telling them you want to drop something off for them. The technique used is to place "value" on the video tape and don't leave it with them until they promise you to watch it within the next 24 to 48 hours. To avoid questions, it suggests to leave your car running in the prospects driveway with a small child in the car as an excuse that you can't talk about it now but you will call them the next day. And above all don't let on that it is AMWAY.

Like a fool, I tried this several times and each time I retrieved the tapes I had the distinct feeling that the "prospect" did not even watch it. (This was probably good as I see it now). My brother in law told me that anyone who didn't watch it just wasn't interested in improving their life.

He has also been trying to get us to go to a fuction in Kentucky in January '97 so we can be around successful people in the business. This will give us the "belief we need to succeed". So I'm supposed to lose two workdays traveling and several hundred dollars to go to what I believe will be a big "Pep Rally". He even told me that people get "SAVED" at these things and in fact he was recently "SAVED". I'm starting to think this is some kind of cult.

I do not feel comfortable with the whole sponsoring method used. I have been in my own business for quite some time and have been successful because my customers have grown to trust my knowledge and reliability.

This process is not to my style or liking and when it was suggested that, "We are looking for successful people like you. You should take this opportunity to your customers and show it to them", that is when I really objected. How the hell am I supposed to sponsor people who trust me into a business that I can't even tell them the name of?

I don't feel as though I have been ripped off or anything. I have made plenty of bad business decisions before and I expect I will still make more in the future. But I do feel that the process used is misleading and to a degree dishonest. For example, I thought $200 BV meant $200 in sales. Wrong. Not even Close.

I also believed that buying "WHOLESALE" from major companies like Panasonic, General Motors, CocaCola, Fugi, Ralph Lauren and other several hundred or several thousand top name brand manufacturers meant at least 35% or 40% discount. Wrong again. More like 11% to 17% off of the catalog price which is marginally competitive to begin with. When you add the shipping in, most of these items could be purchased at the local Walmart or K-Mart for less. Oh yes but, "Everything is delivered right to your door". As the Church Lady would say, "HOW CONVENIENT".

You know what I think is really sad about all of this? All of the AMWAY core line products and the RDC products as well as the cosmetic line are actually very nice products and are a very good value in our opinion. But due to the way the "PLAN" has been marketed, I think Amway has suffered a temendous loss of respect. Especially here in Pennsylvania where the recent lawsuit has attracted so much attention from the press. Everybody I have talked to about it is negative once they find out it is Amway. Part of this may be because people feel that they were deceived when asked to a meeting.

One more thing about the tapes that we object to. As more tapes come, they seem to get more nasty and pushy. Many recent tapes have suggested that if your friends don't like AMWAY then those people are not worthy of your friendship. And anyone who is not in is "either stupid about making money or they didn't understand the plan". One even said that if they don't get in they are "retarded about our business". (Work is needed on political correctness here).

We were perfectly satisfied to buy products at the wholesale price before we discovered all of this. As of right now, we are considering not to buy anything from this company unless they change the way they do business.

I have been an Amway distributor in New Zealand for about 3 months. I also own my own business. Far from being brainwashed, I looked at the business for 6 months before I got in. The figures check out (I have further education in economics.) I don't always order book of the month, I don't go to every seminar, but I do buy tapes which I consider to be relevant to both my businesses. So far IDA (part of the Yager system) has helped me with business techniques, confidence and attitude (not that I thought I had a particularly bad attitude beforehand). I think that the world is full of cynics that want something for nothing. The Amway plan is a 2-5 year plan, possibly even 10 years. They make no attempt to hide the fact that it may be hard work, and I think that many (but not all) of the people who get in and then get out don't subscribe to this work ethic.

With the benefits here in NZ I get over 3c per litre off my petrol (that saves my registration fee each year), plus a whole host of other benefits such as cheaper healthcare, cheaper tyres, flowers, and in April 97 2% cheaper interest rate on my Visa card, plus a reduced mortgage rate all of which save me over $250 per year without me even doing anything (the joining fee is less than $100).

I consider myself to be a balanced person. I am not a Christian, or any particular religion for that matter; I am also not atheistic. I didn't get into Amway because I was desparate for friends. I got into Amway because it checked out. I am 22 years old, I have my own home, and I consider myself reasonably successful. I have seen other MLM systems before and rejected them because they don't have the products, the training and the organisational support. I think that 497 of the Fortune 500 companies who deal with Amway would have researched into the integrity of Amway before considering dealing with them. That's my 2 cents worth, plus another cent for good luck.

May you make the right decision. You can either work for 45 years, or take a chance in Amway and possibly be financially free in less than a decade.

I have been cruising Amway-related pages on the Internet gathering material for a scholarly paper -- my little bit of self-induced psychotherapy after a former student attempted to recruit me. It is amazing how much passion is provoked on both sides. I'm also starting to wonder if some Amway sponsorship lines have a policy of harrassing people like you, Russell Glasser, and other debunkers by sending endless streams of Amway success stories. Having immersed myself in this material in order to write about it, I am starting to feel nausea every time I read another, "You poor loser, if you'd had what it takes to succeed in Amway, you wouldn't be wasting your time doing this." What kind of people invest their time in attending essentially the same seminar over and over, claiming they've learned something from it every time? After two run- throughs, I can recite the "showing the plan" spiel from memory, right down to the drawings, statistics, jokes, and where you make a mistake so the audience sees you as human. Why view it again?

Another striking feature of the controversy is that there are several people who are willing to devote considerable personal time to getting the word out about problems with Amway. I disagree with your detractors who say that you're wasting your time: as St. Augustine puts it, if falsehood has eloquence on its side, someone had better get up and put some effort into speaking for truth. As you wade through the electronic flamers, bear in mind that there are many of us out here who appreciate both the information itself and the example you set by being willing to make a special effort for ideas that matter. Thank you! --

You know one thing about the internet, is that it allows us all freedom of expression.

Amazing this conquest you've started to "dispose of Amway". I don't suppose you realize that Amway's distributors are not "taught" in the system by AMWAY, they're taught by the people who sponsor them. If you want to you can "Get an Amway distributorship", pay the fee and sell until your shoes fall off. You won't have to sponsor anyone, listen to one tape, read one book or go to one meeting... and you know what.. you won't do too bad.

The mark-ups on their products are comparable to Spiegel's and I don't see the catalog operators at Spiegel's getting the difference between retail and wholesale.

You can say whatever you want this is a free country and I dare you to post THIS letter on your website.

I was a woman with no self esteem, stuck in the restaurant industry because of medical disabilities, making a mediocre living, hating myself and the people that I worked with/for. I swore like a truck driver and had no morals.

I've been an Amway distributor for eight months. It's cost me much less than the head shrinkers my parents sent me to and finally I've grown into a mature woman. Thanks to the tapes and the books (How To Win Friends and Influence People is hardly "cult type" reading) I have learned how to become social and to survive in today's economic world.

I didn't bother to read the baloney that you have in your segments, because I don't care. How much does the average Amway distributor make? About $6 to $36 a month, depending on how hard they work. How much does the average waitress make $20 to $100 a night, depending on how good her service is. How much does my upline charge for a 3 day 2 night seminar in a posh hotel with 2 breakfasts and a dinner? $575, for me AND my husband. How much did the software company that I use the most want for their 2 day seminar? $800, no meals, not even refreshments. Yet I would've accomplished the same attending either. Knowledge on my current field, by successful people in that field, and association with others who are doing the same thing I am.

It seems to me that if I'm attending a Microsoft Seminar and Bill Gates is speaking about his new book, there's a good chance I'm gonna wanna buy it? No? Well, wouldn't it be "enterprising" of Mr. Gates to have his book on site, available to all those attending IF THEY WANT to buy it? I'm not going to buy a tape from a band I didn't enjoy. I'm not going to buy a book from a speaker I didn't agree with. Because I have a choice. Noone in the Amway corporation is even AT these functions.. just distributors. All of us in the same boat as assembly workers at GM, except we have the opportunity to make more than $4.25 an hour... they don't.

Just because you couldn't hack it in the real world as a human being, what gives you the right to sling mud at the very people who change the lives of tens of thousands of people every year?

Did you know 29 people went to the Diamond level in 1996? That means they are millionaires and they'll never have to work for someone else another day in their life? Were they lucky? I don't think so and if you've ever read The Magic of Thinking Big, you wouldn't either (but I suppose that guys been ripping off the 100's of corporations that he consults to for over 10 years). Yes there were over 2 million distributors in Amway and only 29 went Diamond, but how many people did you make a millionaire of this year? Ed McMahon and his prize patrol can't top those numbers!

Call me what you want, 'brainwashed', 'cult-ivated'. I know who I am now and even if I quit this business tomorrow (by the way after 8 months I'm still only getting $6 checks from the company) I am a richer person "inside". I am a woman that my husband adores and my family respects and my children look up to. I wouldn't have gotten that from the restaurant business. But I did find it with a little help from "Amway" distributors.

They told me not to "bother" writing to you. You wouldn't care and all I was doing was "fueling your fire" (they being my biological family, by the way), but the first time I hit your site you stole a bit of my dream. Now, eight months later I watched my Emerald reach the Diamond level and sell his dental practice and I watched my sponsor reach the 4,000 level in sales. You stole my dream for eight months and put that "doubt" in my head. When I went to this convention and saw a room set with enough elaboration and care you'd think the man's daughter was getting married, the sound and the lights were comparable to a concert, the hotel was phenomenal and over and above my $575, I spent $20 the whole weekend, on souvenier's of Nashville to bring my family. The guy who wrote the books for sale probably did real good, too. His name is Robert Barnes and he wrote a book about raising a responsible child. He gave me many ideas I'd never thought of before, spoke words that (are all in his book) I've longed to be advised, as a "future" parent and if I never went to the convention, yet saw his book for sale at Barnes and Noble, one look at the cover and I probably would've bought it. So yes, Dr. Barnes probably did real well this weekend, but so will my children for the rest of their lives because of what he taught me in a couple hours. I suppose Danielle Steele is a cultist too, she's sold over a million books to people who love to be entertained. If you don't like violence on TV... turn it off. If you don't like the way Amway distributors get motivation, don't be one. If you don't have a life, run a website.

Oh I've gone on enough here. Just wanted to say "Hey!" If I wanna sell Mary Kay, ya think she'll come teach me for free and hand me products and hope for the best? I don't think so.

$6.8 billion in sales last fiscal year, even with your website running. 2nd largest privately held corporation in Japan (even beat Microsoft). I think after 37 years they're probably running comparable to Walt Disney World as far as law suits, which ain't bad considering Walt's dead. You wanna talk about a scamming corporation that "pretend's it devotes so much to it's employees..." keep your eyes on Disney's full time statused employees. By the year 2010 there probably won't be any. All part timer's (that way they don't have to pay benefits...) But after 37 years of success, and continuous growth, with the founder being honored with The Horatio Alger Award, I think one of the 72 countries that Amway does business with, or maybe some lawyer from one of the 2,000 name brand manufacturers that sell their products through Amway.... I think someone would've been smart enough by now to close down an illegal pyramid operating solely on the foundation of ripping off distributors. Heck, they nailed Jim and Tammy Faye. I think by now, they would've nailed Amway.

To each their own. But I've found my way....

Amway Distributor and a richer human being for it.

PS: I'm already a smoker, so I don't need any flames...

For me it started as a business proprosition. It has now become a source of new friends that I can trust and enjoy live with. In no way of I LOST any of my OLD friends because of my AMWAY business. Because of my personal growth, due to the mentorship that I have alloewed in my life, my personal relationship skills have improved tremediously. Yes there are some Bad distributors in this business, yes like also where i work. I know that sounds like a pat AMWAY Cliche, But I have also been a participating member of Alcoholics Annonmous for the last 10 years and as in AMWAY there are some BAD (and maybe thats the wrong word)people there too. As in life generally ALWAYS check the FRUIT of the TREE before EATING.

THank you, for allowing me to express these thought in an open forum.

Sidney,

Great info. on Amway. I'm a person who can appreciate what you are doing. I've been involved with Amway and lost some friends over it. It wasn't a good thing.

At the moment, I'm am in a two month old MLM that includes the internet and looks very promising. While talking to people this past week, someone said they'd sit down and listen to me if they could show me their "Network 21" business. Would you know if this is another one of those "code" cover-up names for Amway?

Thanks for your help!!

So I got contacted yesterday. Unbelievable. I'm in * in the local mall and this guy (of course, trying to be very personable) says "So...you looking for the perfect gift?" Although from that instant I knew exactly what he was up to, for some reason I didn't jump down his throat. This is especially odd since my nightmare--now thankfully completely behind me--started with a contact at the same mall last holiday season. I should've said "Why yes, actually I'm looking for a book about the outrageous distortions, half- truths, and scripture-twisting tactics used the Bill Britt Motivational system in order to soak millions of dollars annually out of well-intentioned and otherwise-respectable young professionals. Do you think you can help me? Hey, you look really familiar..."

Anyway, I didn't. He actually did look familar b/c he is a member of the organization (Miller-Covington- Lyons-Marcus) that my ex-group (Newball-Godwin) was plugged into. Of course he didn't recognize me-- when Spamwayers are in "contacting mode" or "the zone" or whatever, everyone looks the same. Just another card in the deck. But you already know that.

Anyway, I think that the reason I had some restraint was that I actually felt genuinely sorry for the guy. He obviously was not a big pin b/c his side of the conversation was very forced. I gave him no openings (e.g., "boy I hate my commute", "there's NEVER enough money", etc.) and I'm sure this frustrated him. Again, had I been in a bad mood, I probably would've baited him (You know, you're right?! My wife and I both work 80 hours a week and never see each other. Our bosses are jerks. I often find myself wondering why I'm building someone else's dream rather than driving a HUM-V all over the beaches of the world. Do you know of any businesses that might interface these elements with the tenets of prosperity theology?)

I actually told the guy my name as I was making a break for the door (Five minutes of "yeah, that's really neat...my Dad has a PhD...hey, where ya goin', I haven't established a common bond with you yet..." were more than enough). If I get a call on Sunday night, I'll laugh my head off!! Any suggestions for fun responses when he tells me "You seem like a pretty sharp guy...I have my own business consulting firm here locally and am looking for a few key people to help expand my practice..."

I'm actually considering telling him that I know exactly what he's up to and give him a few words of warning from one "sharp, young guy" to another. However, I know how such comments are received when one has "sold out" to the system. ("Sorry, I prefer to take advice from rich people who can tell me how to get rich, rather than broke people who can tell me how to stay broke.") I made these same comments the first few time I read your page many months ago. I'd love to spare another human being the pain that the Britt orgainization can dish out. I'll tell ya my own story another time...

Keep up the good work--this page and the rapid proliferation of others like it perform an invaluable public service that, for whatever reason, the FTC and BBB are unwilling to provide at this time.

One final and funny note. Did anyone notice the recent downfall of Emerald direct Louis "Woody" Jenkins? I'm dead serious when I say that at Britt Spring Leadership, Mr. Jenkins was touted as a shoo-in for U.S. Senate from Louisiana and a serious future candidate for President. Last month, the shoo-in lost the Senate election to Democrat Mary Landrieu. Jenkins is still crying about the results, demanding a re-re-re-count, etc. Landrieu was quoted as wishing Jenkins would "get a life." Considering how difficult it must be to lose an election to a Democratic woman in the Land of David Duke, I guess it's back to the malls for Woody..."Hey, you look really familiar...did you vote against me in the last election?..."

Happy Holidays!!

This is for all of you Amway defenders who say that they are Christians:

If you are a Christian, you probably own a copy of the Bible.Just for a goof, look up 1 Timothy 6: 6-10. Then tell yourself, just one more time, how happy you are, and much you love Amway because it has made you so much closer to God.

Then, if you're feeling really adventuresome, take a quick peek at some of the Ten Commandments, particularly the first one. Then give yourself and your money, be it a little or a lot, a GREAT, BIG, HUG!! After all, YOU'RE THE BEST, AND YOU DESERVE IT!

Sidney,

I'll have you something soon. Thanks again for such a good website. It was very refreshing to me to find it earlier this year when I was going through the "transition". I thought maybe I was the only one who couldn't figure out why this business wasn't so great after all.

After reading practically all of the responses you've received, it really is amazing how congruent the themes are. I hope you enjoy my response. I have tried to be as objective as possible as to what acutally happened to us. There's a lot going on with the "system" that is very subtle, yet very blatant. However, if you've been "blined by the light" you will never see it.

Thanks for the material, I am doing research after being approached by a DIAMOND. Looks like I have a bunch of reading and again thanks for a look at the other side of the story.

Schwartz,

I gotta tell you, super job. I have read a good bit on MLMs and love your page. I have never been burned by one of these scams; I just had a recent opportunity to sit in on a meeting of another MLM. I Practically wet myself I was laughing so hard. But it also saddens be to see people so easily duped. One of the "top sellers" kept saying, "You don't have to be smart to do this; look at me." The only thing I could think to myself was, "You got that right, mister." But, unfortunately, a lot of people are lured by these ridiculous claims. I happened to read a rebuttal comparing MLM to franchising successes such as MacDonalds. Take a marketing course, zombie; or, better yet, use your brain. If franchising worked at all like MLM then everybody and his dog would own a MacDonalds. Anyway, great job. Recognize the kind of thinking you are up against. And, most of all, bring a change of underpants.

Sidney,

I have also noticed that a lot of people question your motive for doing this; calling you names, questioning your ability, spelling many words incorrectly and using poor sentence structure, etc. In support of you, I have this to say to those few "successes" out there. It is likely that well-meaning Mr. Schwartz here is attempting to protect others, at whose expense you idiots will likely profit, from you, the avid, business savvy MLM clergy member. People, you are profiting from human loss; no, not entirely true, you give them hope and you make them pay. A fair deal? Perhaps... but when you screw someone and they give you money, that usually makes you a whore.

Sidney, I don't care what you do for a living, but I do know when you are old, retired, and perhaps broke, as the fanatics suggest you will be, you will at least have wealth in the many true friends you have managed to keep over the years, and the wealth of a healthy conscience. I admire that.

If you ever need anther friend who won't try to sell you anything and would even buy you a cup of coffee, you got it...

Sidney,

Never at a loss for words, I have one other observation (then I'll let you get back to work). People often say, "How can you judge without all the facts?" To this I have this joke

Two guys are walking along and they spot something on the ground in front of them, so they stop.

"What is it?" Asked one.

"I don't know; it looks like shit."

"Can you be sure? Touch it."

So the other does touch it, and says, "It sure feels like shit."

The other says, "Are you sure? Smell it."

So the other does, and says, "Well, it sure smells like shit, too."

I don't know says the other. "Taste it."

So the other guy tastes it. "Yuck! That's disgusting!"

"Well, apparently you are right, then. It is shit."

"Boy, it's a good thing we didn't step in that!"

Sidney,

Sorry, I just could not let this one go....(you can put all these messages together if you want to post them)

If Amway is a 6.5 Billion dollar company and there are 2.5 million members.

6,500,000,000 / 2,500,000 = 2,600

That is not taking into account that only a percentage is given back to the distributors. Now, I know this is somewhat simplified (but then so are they), but I know of no job where even the lowest employee cannot earn a living wage.

I enjoyed your page very much.

Watch out for the typos!!!

There are missssspellings everywhere!!!

Not good!!!

Dear Schwartz,

I was looking for some information on Jewelway when I discovered your website. The link told me everything I need to know. I appreciated the stories from people who had experienced Amway but was quite stunned by some of the responses of current representatives. Why should they be so angry that people are telling their stories? Is it guilt? I have a theory that these reps have been so conditioned to succeed that when they don't, instead of questioning the Amway system, they question themselves. I know. I have a friend who is a distributor and he is constantly putting himself down because his business isn't as successful as he thought it would be. He blames himself and sees himself as a failure, to the point of making himself ill. He needs his network like a drug. My husband and I have not seen him or his wife in over a year. They do all of their socializing with their network friends. I mourn the loss of this friend and blame the Amway system. About two years ago, he called us and asked if they could drop by for a visit. We looked forward to seeing them and catching up on old news. When they arrived, they were both dressed in suits,and immediately started setting up their easel. My husband and I were both stunned. They continued preparing while making small-talk, I couldn't speak. They then proceeded with their presentation. I was furious. Not because of the presentation - we would have listened out of respect for our friendship and to encourage them - but because the visit was under false pretenses.We were friends of theirs and felt used. Is that what Amway teaches? Pray on your friends and family. If this is such a great business to be in, for all of your reps out there, why must you hide your motivations? If this is such a great business, why are you not proud to promote it? My husband and I got over our feelings from that visit and forgave them their actions. We made an effort to continue the friendship and when we did meet, we made a point not to discuss Amway. Unfortunately, because these friends are so well entrenched in the movement, we had very little to talk about. It's been over a year now. We talk on the phone every now and then. Last we heard, she was unemployed and he was working for a small electronic shop. "How is your other business going?" I asked. "Slow...but we haven't had much time to devote to it lately." But they had just bought a new 1996 Saturn. "Wow, things must be going great for you!" I said. "No...not really. But you know, image is everyting." That just about says it all.

Thanks for your site. I wish my friends all the luck in the world. They don't deserve to be manipulated in this way.

Hi Sydney ! I've been a distributor for about 6 months, successful I'm told by my upline because I've personally sponsored 9 already and have a group of 24 below me. This means that I am being paid at the 21% level already and am actually quite happy with the money I'm making. The interesting thing is, not knowing anything about all that's posted here, I personally BANNED all tapes and books from my upline into my organization. I was being billed weekly for the "tools" that were sent to all my downline-without my knowledge or permission-and I refused to pay the bill. I also BANNED all pressure from "them" into my group for the seminars and the rallies. Having owned my own very successful business for over 10 years now, I instinctively knew these "tools" were wrong, uneccessary, and very obviously making someone rich at our expense. I believe AMWAY can work !!! Not for the average person who expects to do nothing....believe the hype without question....and see the MEGA-BUCKS roll in; But for the person who is willing to work hard at any business or any venture, and grow with their business as it does. I'll be talking to you more as my experience develops but I would like to suggest you add a live Chat-line to this site....I think it would benefit a huge number of people...Good job on the Non-partisan presentation here (for the most part).

I can't believe you would actually believe that Amway is a cult. Nothing that I have heard or experienced has been detrimental in any way to my mental, physical or financial health. I have not been forced or coerced into doing anything I don't want to do or feel uncomfortable doing. For me and the people I have spoken to that are interested in Amway, this is a way out of the rut we are in due to an overwhelming increase in inflation and stress from our jobs. We are simply opening our own businesses and taking charge of our futures. The suggestions made from people (Diamonds, Emeralds, and Directs) who are making decent livings through Amway are not forced on us and are merely guidelines that we can follow in order to help us to be as productive as we can. I would rather hear about and learn from the mistakes and suggestions of others who are successful in the field I have chosen, the same way as anybody in any new job would. This is not something that has taken over my life and isolated me or my friends and colleagues from our families and friends. I have done extensive research in various libraries on Amway, and not everything I have heard has been good. However, my full time job also has its bad points and that didn't stop me from taking that job, either. Obviously you don't have what it takes to be your own boss and make as much money as you desire and put your mind to; otherwise you would have seen that everybody involved in this business is here to help, not hinder, and you would have followed through with your initial reaction that Amway is an opportunity to acheive financial freedom. I take from Amway the information that I need to make my business grow. Nothing more and nothing less. If I can't afford a function, I don't go. I have someone who does go show me notes they may have taken in case something they wrote might apply to me and my business. Anyone who is so weak as to fall to the pressures of another's suggestions, whether they seem good or evil, needs serious help from professionals in the psychiatric field. Thank you for your time.

Compiled by three very happy Amway distributors.

One of the more irresponsible claims from distributors is the positive impact that building an Amway business has on marriages.

Just within the last year, two marriages in the INA diamond leadership have failed (Diamonds Roger & Gail Sitcler and Crowns Leif & Bev Johnson). Apparently, Roger sowed one too many oats.

Talk all you want about PV, SA8 and seeking out suckers in the bookstores & car washes of America, but leave the marriage counseling to the experts!

Im not sure if you are trying to give people the information or give them a reason to not do the business. Before I got involved, I had never heard of the Amway Corporation. I had never had a negative thing to base my choices on. I feel that was the real reason I joined and have been running my own business for over two years. Sure, I've heard the negative, but that will not make me quit. I've heard negatives about almost every company out there and most of them by the employees that work for them. I don't see them quitting in the near future. When I got involved, i figured that I could help myself and my family pay some bills, etc. This was the goal and it has come true, every day it gets better. People that talk negative about the support system should remember that they are spending over 40 hours a week in their jobs when we spend about 1/5 of that a week to create. Im sure the owners of their companies that enslave them would tell them that it took a lot more than that to get them started. The point being.... This is a REAL BUSINESS and not just some hobby. Obviously you have to give a little more than 40 hours a week, you have to give your heart and about 5-10 hours.

I JUST HAPPENED UPON YOUR WEB PAGE AND I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT A PERSONS LIFE WOULD BE SO MEANINGLESS THAT THEY HAD TO FILL IT WITH SOMETHING LIKE WHAT YOUR ARE DOING. MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN AMWAY DISTRIBUTORS FOR JUST OVER A YEAR AND HAVE MADE ALREADY MADE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR OUR STARTER KIT AND "TOOL BOX" SEVERAL TIMES OVER. IF THE COST OF THE TOOLS AND OR THE PRODUCTS ARE TOO MUCH FOR ANYONE TO HANDLE THEN I RECOMMEND THAT YOU OR ANYONE ELSE NOT BUY THEM, BECAUSE IT IS PEOPLE LIKE THAT THAT GIVES THE HONEST PEOPLE IN THIS BUSINESS A BAD NAME. A NOTE ABOUT THE TOOLS, SEMINARS AND FUNCTIONS...I PARTICIPATE IN ALL THREE ASPECTS OF THE BUILDING PROCESS...IF YOU HAVE EVER PUT A ROOF ON A HOUSE THEN I BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL AGREE THAT TRYING TO DO THAT JOB WITHOUT A HAMMER (OR AIR NAILER) AND NAILS WOULD MAKE THAT JOB NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE...IT IS THE SAME IN THIS "BUSINESS", TRYING TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION WITHOUT THE PROPER "TOOLS" IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE, AS A MATTER OF FACT I DON'T KNOW ANYONE ABOVE THE DIRECT DISTRIBUTOR LEVEL THAT DIDN'T USE THE "SYSTEM OF SUCCESS". THIS BUSINESS IS NOT FOR JUST ANYONE, THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS. 1)THE DESIRE TO SUCCEED! 2)THE WILLINGNESS TO DREAM! 3)THE FAITH IN YOURSELF (THAT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE)! 4)THE ABILITY TO LEARN! 5)THE INTELLIGENCE TO KNOW WHEN SOMEONE IS TALKING OUT OF FAILURE AND NOT SUCCESS!!! 6)THE WILLINGNESS TO TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THIS BUSINESS, NOT FROM THOSE WHO DIDN'T WANT TO SUCCEED BUT INSTEAD FROM ALL OTHER RESOURCES...IE, SOME OF THE CORPORATIONS INVOLVED, THE MICHIGAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT(WHO HAS INVESTIGATED THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS FOR MANY YEARS AND HAS DETERMINED AMWAY TO BE VERY SOUND AND LEGAL). THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS. WHEN I TALK TO A PROSPECTIVE NEW DISTRIBUTOR I INFORM THEM OF ALL THAT I REQUIRE BEFORE I WILL SPONSOR AND ASSIST THEM IN BUILDING AN AMWAY BUSINESS. THE TAPES, BOOKS, SEMINARS, RALLIES AND FUNCTIONS ARE ALL COVERED BEFORE ANY APPLICATIONS ARE SIGNED. MY STAND ON THIS ISSUE IS THAT I CANNOT AND WILL NOT HELP ANYONE WHO IS NOT GETTING THE SAME INFORMATION THAT I AM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY CAN'T FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO SPONSOR THEM, IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT MY TIME IS TO VALUABLE TO THROW AWAY ON A LOST CAUSE. (THE TOOLS ARE NOT PRODUCED OR DISTRIBUTED BY THE AMWAY CORP., NOR DOES THE CORP. MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THEM.). IF A PERSON UNDERSTANDS WHAT IS REQUIRED OF THEM IN ORDER TO SUCCEED IN THIS BUSINESS BEFORE THE SIGN THE APPLICATION, THEN THEY HAVE NO ONE BUT THEMSELVES TO BLAME FOR THIER FAILURE. IT IS REALLY HUMOROUS TO READ SOME OF YOUR POSTINGS FROM THE NARROW MINDED, ILLINFORMED WOULD BE SAVED IN THE KNICK OF TIME PEOPLE, AND HOW THEY ARE SO GRATEFUL TO YOU AND THE OTHER FORMER FAILED DISTRIBUTORS OUT THERE WHO ARE DOING NOTHING MORE WITH YOUR TIME THAN SITTING AROUND COMPLAINING. MY EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR TYPE OF PERSON IS THAT NORMALLY YOU DON'T REGISTER OR VOTE, BUT YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT, YOU DON'T CUT YOUR GRASS BUT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL THE BUGS, YOU DON'T MAINTAIN YOUR AUTOMOBILE BUT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT BREAKING DOWN (IT'S THE MANUFACTURERS FAULT), YOU DON'T REQUIRE STRUCTURE AND DISCIPLINE IN YOUR HOME BUT YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR KIDS FAILURES, YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CARE FOR YOURSELF OR OTHERS AROUND YOU TO BUILD AN AMWAY BUSINESS SO IT'S THE CORPORATIONS FAULT....SOUND FAMILIAR TO ALOT OF YOU AND YOUR EX- DISTRIBUTORS...I THINK SO. NOW JUST A QUICK NOTE TO THOSE WOULD BE CHRISTIANS OUT THERE. YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL YOURSELVES CHRISTIANS AND THEN TO ATTACK OTHER PEOPLES BELIEFS AND DREAM. I BELIEVE THAT DAVID CORESH(?) CALLED HIMSELF A CHRISTIAN TOO. I READ ONE REPLY THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION, IT REFERED TO THE BIBLE, SAYING THAT A RICH MAN COULD NOT GET TO HEAVEN...AND IF YOU READ JUST THAT VERSE IN THE BIBLE, I SUPPOSE THAT YOU COULD GET THE SAME MEANING AS THAT PERSON...HOWEVER, THE BIBLE ALSO STATES THE IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO "LAY UP TREASURES FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN"...AND THERE ARE OTHER INSTANCES OF WEALTH IN THE BIBLE AS WELL, SO YOU - QUOTE UNQUOTE - "CHRISTIANS" BETTER READ A LITTLE FARTHER THE NEXT TIME YOU CHOOSE TO USE SCRIPTURE AS A WAY OF STEALING HOPES A DREAMS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. THOSE PEOPLE WHO TRIED TO BUILD THIS BUSINESS FOR A YEAR OR TWO (OR LESS), I BELIEVE THAT WHEN YOU WERE SHOWN THE "PLAN" YOU WERE INFORMED THAT IT WAS A 2-5 YEAR PLAN, NOT A 1-2 DAY PLAN, AND YOU WERE ALSO SHOWN A SYSTEM THAT REQUIRED YOU TO DO A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF WORK TO AQUIRE THE STATED LEVELS(NOT TALKING ABOUT TOOLS), AND YOU JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE BELIEF LEVEL OR THE DRIVE TO DO IT. YOUR UPLINE OR SPONSOR CANNOT DO IT FOR YOU BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST YOU(AS STATED DURING THE PLAN). SO IF YOU CAN'T OR DIDN'T SUCCEED IN THIS BUSINESS, YOU HAVE TO BE EXTREMLY STUPID TO THINK THAT SOMEONE WOULD BELIEVE THAT IT WAS THE CORPORATIONS FAULT. BUT I GUESS THAT YOU NEED SOMEONE TO BLAME FOR YET ANOTHER FAILURE IN YOUR LIFE. OPEN YOUR EYES AND GET A CLUE!!!!!!!!!!

My husband and I signed up about three years ago. You go to one rally you have been to them all. Though I have seen some good personal changes in my husband and some of the products are very good, I also see a whole lot of *& %^$%//! My husband is a really good man and if I tell him anything that seems even remotely "negative" he throws back at me that I beleive he is a loser and can't do it. Is this a positive Christian message these people are trying to send. For that matter, having a lot of money and a ridiculously lavish lifestyle is suppose to make me a better Christian. What Bible are they reading??? I have a wonderful marriage in every way except for this amayism. My husband is spending thousands of dollars to "make it happen". For a brilliant man I really can't see how he can't see the con. Thank you for your page.

I was a former Amway distributer who ended up falling flat on my face. When one of my friends told me about his new business I thought that it was to good to be true. So I thought that I would go to a meeting and find out what all the exitement was all about. After giving it some thought I decided that I would give the plan a try after all it only cost me $150 to join. Once I got the kit and looked over everything there was to see, I felt as though my friend had betrayed me and tricked me into joining a cult! The higher level distributors sucker people into joining a losing battle where only a few people who have the time and money suceed. Anyways, much to my suprise, the Amway products cost a fortune and the quality is about average in comparision to other products. I found it impossible to sell any of the goods at the suggested retail price. Thus I made almost no profit. Infact I lost hundreds of dollars because the products were so expensive that I could not sell anything that I ordered. I think that Amway needs to look over their prices compared to their compition if they wish to suceed in the future. Also a major change should be placed upon the distribution of products. For example a customer ordered a camera from one of my catalogs near the beginning of October so that she could have it for thanksgiving and Christmas. However it took fourteen weeks for her to recieve her camera and once she got it she did not want it anymore because she bought the same camera before Christmas and saved twenty dollars. Amway should change its system so that customers can recieve thier products directly through Amway instead of the product being bought and transfered several times by distributors higher up on the pyramid than you. finally the last thing that I did not like about Amway is the fact that the distributor must pay expensive prices to attend meetings, rallies, support material, products, catalogs, and one must have plenty of free time. Before anyone decides to join Amway, do a little research. If I would have done research I would have never had joined in the first place!

Ive read some of the info that's been written about Amway on your page. All the negative is directed at Amway and what a bad experience the had with them bad Amway guys. Have any of you been to Amway in Ada? Met the founders and talked to them About the bad things Amway did to them? No, I didn't think so, Because all you had was a bad experience with an individual who didn't know any better or was truly a shady person. I have had bad experiences at the local AM PM, Sears, 7-11 but I kind of figured out it wasn't the Corp. that was bad it could have been the person that I was dealing with. You Want high prices go to one of the aformention stores. Now as far as law suits doesn't everyone have the right to get one? I've got one and It's by my x she is after back child support one small thing she forgot to tell DSHS, She left me with the children (thank God).Now this is just an example of what can happen when one is involved with the wrong people. Things Happen. I have had only good experiences with the Amway Corp. and everyone involved. I have never insisted that anyone buy anything they could not afford.(oh its 180 day 100% money back as stated in the last Newsgram) or would not benefit them and or their business, but then I only suggest to them what has worked for me and has worked for countless others the final decision is up to them. And as far as going broke buying tools, this is a retail business didn't anyone think of selling product to pay for their business expenses? Wow this really is a no brainier sell make profit help others sell make profit help them help others sell and make profit Shoot sounds like fun SW SW SW SW SW. Say I can understand why you could be bitter if someone took advantage of you and you good nature but just be mad at him not the Amway Corp. They do not condone the actions you have stated here in fact you might find that in your rules of conduct section of your bussiness manual ( you did read that section?). Don't worry I wont blame you for what my x wife did even though she did blame you I know for a fact It was all her doing not yours ( you get it yet?).

MY WIFE AND I LIVE IN QUEENSLAND (AUSTRALIA), WE HAVE ONLY JUST RESIGNED OUR DISTRIBUTOSHIP FROM AMWAY, AFTER NEARLY THREE YEARS. IF ONLY I HAD OPENED MY EYES EARLIER, LISTENED TO MY WONDERFUL WIFE, BUT I WAS CAUGHT UP IN THE SYSTEM. THAT IS THE SYSTEM OF I.D.A......TAPES, BOOKS, SEMINARS, FUNCTIONS ETC...IT WENT ON AND ON. I HAD SUCH A BELIEF FROM OUR SPONSORS, THAT THEY CARED AND LOVED US AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE SO ROSY, JUST BELIEVE AND USE THE SYSTEM. HOW WONDERFUL THIS WAS, $6.00 A WEEK FOR A TAPE - $4.00 A WEEK FOR OPEN MEETINGS - $12.00 A MONTH FOR A SEMINAR - $90 - $120 TWICE A YEAR FOR A MAJOR FUNCTION...(YES YOU HAD TO BE AT THE FUNCTIONS, YOU NEEDED IT, YOUR FAMILY NEEDS IT, IF YOU WISH TO SUCCEED THEN YOU HAVE TO BE THERE......NO MATTER THE COST TO YOU FINANCIALY, OR PERSONALLY).

WHEN I STARTED AMWAY, I HELD A GOOD MANAGEMENT POSITION IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, AND CLIMBING FUTHER UP THE LADDER, STUDYING FOR MY DIPLOMA IN HUMAN RECOURSES MANAGEMENT, ATTAINED MY WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY ACCREDITATION, A MEMBER OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT. BUT MY SPONSOR IS A PROFFESIONAL BANKER....I SHOULD LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS. AFTER THE FIRST TWELVE MONTHS (MY OUTGOINGS FAR EXCEEDED THE INCOMMINGS IN AMWAY/I.D.A.). I STEPPED DOWN FROM MY MANAGEMENT POSITION, TO A LOWER POSITION, AFTER ALL I NEEDED MORE TIME TO SHOW THE PLAN, MOST OF ALL I WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO ATTEND MORE FUNCTIONS AND SEMINARS. THE SECOND YEAR YES IT GOT WORSE, MY STRESS LEVEL WENT UP, I DID NOT HAVE TIME FOR MY FAMILY, I DID NOT LISTEN TO MY WIFE. OUR FINANCIAL STANDING WAS NOT LOOKING THE BEST....BUT I BELIEVED YES I BELIEVED....WE ARE GOING DIAMOND!!!! BUY MORE TAPES! AND MORE TAPES! AND MORE TAPES! YES I WAS IN DEEP, I BELIEVED, I WAS ANOTHER SUCKER ON THE LIST, THE NEXT IN LINE.

NO MATTER WHO I TALKED TO, THE ONLY SUBJECT WAS AMWAY AND I.D.A....BUT NO- BODY WOULD KNOW THAT UNTIL I GOT INTO THEIR LIVIN ROOMS AND HOUSES TO SHOW THE PLAN. YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN A TWO - FIVE YEAR PLAN AND YOU CAN BE FINANCIALLY SECURE. BE YOUR OWN BEST CUSTOMER...THE ONLY TIME I EVER HEARD PRODUCTS OF AMWAY MENTIONED, WAS WHEN YOU COULD NOT AFFORD A TAPE OR GO TO A SEMINAR, THEN GO SELL SOMETHING (OH! REALLY! WE CAN DO THAT?).

MY WIFES BIRTHDAY, I HAD ARRANGED SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL FOR HER. A MAJOR LEADERSHIP FUNCTION WAS ON THE SAME NIGHT....OH YES DID I GET HASSLED, BECAUSE I THOUGHT MORE OF MY WIFE THEN GOING TO THIS LEADERSHIP FUNCTION. THE HARRASEMENT WENT ON FROM PHONE CALL FROM OUR DIRECTS, LECTURES FROM OUR DIAMOND DIRECTS. THE WHOLE PLOT STARTED TO SMELL, SOMETHING WAS NOT RIGHT....YOU CARE FOR SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT THEIR CHOICES AND DESISIONS IN LIFE, YOU CARE ABOUT THE LOVE THEY SHOW FOR THEIR FAMILY.

MY WIFE TRIED TO TELL ME SO MANY TIMES, WHAT WAS HAPPANING, MY LIFE WAS AMWAY AND I.D.A., MY FAMILY CAME SECOND. I WAS DRIFTING AWAY, YES I WAS, MY FAMILY WAS ALWAYS THEIR, I HASSLED MY WIFE TO ATTEND THESE SEMINARS AND FUNCTIONS. BUT I GUESS SHE HAD MORE BRAINS, SHE WAS NOT IN THE CULT! NOW YES WE HAVE RESIGNED OUR DISTRIBUTORSHIP, I FINALLY SAW THE LIGHT, I WOKE UP TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I QUESTIONED MY UPLINE DIRECTS, THE ANSWERS WERE NOT IMPRESSIVE.

MY FAMILY LIFE IS BACK TO IT'S WONDERFUL LOVING WAY, I LOVE AND THANK MY WIFE FOR BEING WITH ME AND KNOWING THAT I WOULD COME WHEN I WOULD SEE THE TRUTH. MY CAREER IS BACK ON PATH.....NEXT YEAR (1997) I ENTER INTO A HUMAN RECOURSES MANAGEMENT POSITION WITH THE SAME COMPANY, MY STUDIES ARE AT FULL BORE CATCHING UP, YES EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL IN OUR FAMILY. THE ONLY BLACK HOLE LEFT, IS THE FINANCIAL SITUATION. $9,000.00 TO PAY ON OUR CREDIT CARD....WHAT A FOOL I WAS. WE WILL REACH THE TOP, I WILL SEND POSTCARDS TO OUR EX-DIRECTS. BUT IT WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH AMWAY OR I.D.A.

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WHAT EVER COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN - IF YOU ARE INVITED TO A BUSINESS MEETING.....ASK ONE QUESTION - IS IT AMWAY? IF THE PERSON DOES NOT ANSWER YOU STRAIGHT BY - YES IT IS, OR NO IT IS NOT. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

PEOPLE IN AMWAY, WILL SAY THIS IS NONSENSE (I SAID IT), I AM TALKING FROM EXPERIENCE. I AM PAYING THE CREDIT CARD, I HAVE A GARAGE WITH MORE TAPES THEN I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH, I HAVE ATTENDED MORE SEMINARS AND FUNCTIONS THEN HAD HOT BREAKFASTS. YES I WAS ONE OF THEM........BUT NOW I AM SO HAPPY.....ALL I CAN SAY IS, TO MY WONDERFUL SWEET WIFE, THANKYOU FOR BELIEVING IN ME, THANKYOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.... MY SWEET WIFE.....I LOVE YOU BULK!!!!!!!!!

THANKYOU FOR YOUR TIME.........................................

I found your web site and though I think The site itself looks good I must make a comment.

I usually ignore trivial ravings from whining people but I will not let someone cut me down as a Amway distributor who also is a Christian.

I have been a Amway distributor for nearly 4 years. I am not rich because I have not put the work in. This is a biblical principle. I do have many friends who are also Amway distributors. Some of them have become rich because they DID put in the work...this is also a biblical principle.

Why is it that most folks idea of materialism starts where their income stops? If ANYONE that can access the WWW ever judged someone as materialistic for being rich, they should agree to a world wide judgment base on that same standard and see what happens.

Materialism is the placing of possessions or certain situations as first in ones life. Like working 80 hours a week because one wants to, forgetting that they have a family at home. Or spending 30 or 40 hours a week on a computer on the net. Or spending 30 or 40 hours a week in front of a TV. Or wanting money so bad that we forget to be a servant and have a servants heart (unlike most other MLM).

Don't ever call me materialistic because I want to better myself financially.

The people in this life that work hard and serve others will always be the successful ones. It is these principles that attract money. However, the people who don't wish to work hard and don't wish to become servants to others and don't wish to change will always be the ones that whine and complain about where they are financially and call others materialistic just because they make more money.

I have read "the dirt" about Amway. I hear the things others say. But my personal experience with the Amway business is that they will achieve their goal of being most admired very soon despite misleading information like you have here. Weather I become financially free in the Amway business or not is 100% up to me NOT them but regardless I will continue to support one jam up company!

Great page!!

Dear Mr. Schwartz,

I found your website while researching this thing called Amway. It seems that everyone I know is either invlved in it or knows someone that is involved in it. Let me say right out of the chute that your website has helped me to re-confirm that my own first impressions of this thing are correct.

Recently, my wife's friend L had invited us to go with her to see this guy speak on Amway and how it all works. I had "heard" of Amway in the past and that was about the extent of my knowledge of the organization. Everyone that I had ever met in the past said that their experience with it was to say the least; negative and don't even bother to get involved. Later, I was pissed at myself for skipping a workout at the gym to hear this stupid speech.

I am of conventional wisdom but at the same time because of my past experiences in life I have learned not to take anything for face value because, hey -- I "could" be wrong (remeber-people actually held firmly in past times that the Earth was in fact "flat").

This meeting was very uncomfortable to begin with, meeting strangers and all; but I proceeded. I was very blunt and informed the gentleman that was speaking that I did not need a pep-rally, that I wanted to know how this system worked. He was very good with words and almost succeeded at diverting most of my questioning -- but I was once part of a Governmental Agency that trained me to be a VERY good at reading people and that is something you can't learn from an Amway movtivational casette. I was not easily redirected but to save my wife from embarassment, I let him go on.

I asked him to explain in detail how the system worked. He said that I should listen to the tapes. I asked him if I was not satisfied with the program could I get my money back. He said, "listen to tapes". Do you see where I am going? I won't be brainwashed, my will is too strong for such novice acts from wanna' be predators or leeches that would love to open up a money-vein in my arm.

My final question to this man was if Amway is so great why has my friend D been in it for so long and recieves a check for only $17.00 a month. His answer mad me want to punch him. He actually had the balls to say, "well, he must not be following the program correctly". D is the most kind hearted person you could ever want to meet. I think however at times he is a little too gulable. D poors his every free minute into promoting his business and he is an EXCELLENT Social Chameleon with people (rather like myself). And if any one person could make this thing work, he could. But it doesn't work. It's kinda like those commercial for the Military, you know the ones...Be...All That You..Can Be/ or how about this one, Full Speed Ahead: Hey Jimmy drives a Nuclear Submarine....really Bob, that's cool. Meanwhile poor fucking Jimmy is peeling potatoes in the ships galley and being raped by all the fruitcakes that Clinton want's to let in that Military.

In Washington, we call it: "Purposeful Disinformationization". It means if you ask where the alien ship landed and I say that's classified information and I can't give that to you, then you get a leak that it is in area X, you go there and try to locate it. All the while I was the one that leaked that information to you to send you away from what was really going on. JUST LIKE AMWAY DOES.

Great website bro! Keep it running please as I will tell all future Amway blood-suckers to go to it and be enlightened.

As a burned twice ex distributor I believe someone has to do something to stop the terrible things that this company does. I have watched my family and friends get the royal shaft. The lies told by others presenting this is intollerable. I was somewhat stable at the time I was suckered in for the second time. To make a long story short I noted that the people who were easiest to con were those who had nothing. I myself was able to sponsor in 5 couples who were in serious financial trouble using the get rich techniqe. The problem is as I noticed most all of the people I saw were just that, Financially unable to purchase the basic needs of life and here is this business brain washing the little money they had so they would attend all the hullabaloo...

I saw people divorce, I saw people get evicted, I saw people loose cars and renig on loans.

My spouse was drawn into the cult and it almost came between us when I bailed out Even then I recieved phone calls telling me to forgo my financial commitments so she could attend functions ect.

This has to be stopped.

why waste your time and money building a website which delas with and obvious scam. did you fall for all the hype?

Thank God somebody is telling it like it is! I have recently been accused of defamation for suggesting, in a newspaper column I write on business, that some mlm activities are probably illegal. I was beginning to think that maybe I'd gone too far. Now I think maybe I didn't go far enough.

From: Rob Newton < rnewton@ice.co.uk>
To: schwartz@teleport.com
Subject: Amway

My Sister and partner have given me 'the plan' and, without obligation, I said I would consider and look into it further. The untold story has helped me make my decisions.

1 Don't start. The dream of being rich didn't realy appeal, and certainly not by lying and cheating others. The ideal of being worthy to humanity is far more rewarding.

2 To help my sister find contentment with what is acheivable and not to chase an impossible dream.

Thank you again for this site

Rob Newton (if you attach this to Your Comments section I need no protection and would be happy for other British 'would be' Amway'ers to contact me for advice/assistance)

I's taken a look around your site, and as a new Amway distributor, I'd like to know if you are ever going to finish your "Introduction and FAQ" section so that we can hear about your experiences and why exactly you put this page up. Most of the other Anti-Amway pages have these. Or would you just be to scared that your page would lose it's ratings if we found out the "True Story of Sidney Schwartz and the Amway Corporation?"

Sidney,

I just read your complete work on Amway. I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you put into this thing. My husband's brother, his son, and my sister's daughter have really gotten caught up in this Amway thing.

My husband was having major surgery and while I was waiting for him to come out of the operating room, his brother "signed me up". I signed up just to get him to leave me alone!

I did look at the catalogs when they came in after being told that I could buy from myself at wholesale.....what a joke. I have five children and am on a budget. My husband is a Southern Baptist Pastor. I own a mortgage company and originate home loans and work from our home. I can't believe how anyone can look at the prices in the catalogs and think that they are saving money.

I'm concerned about my niece and her husband. This has become their religion. They are in their early twenties and joined Amway three years ago shortly after they married. She works at a bank and he is a manager at a Taco Bell. He has a master's degree in business and could probably find a much better position if he wasn't so consumed by Amway. He's prone to depression and has worked so hard to "make it happen". The tragedy is in the fact that they may never reach "diamond" and will feel like it is their failure. I wish they could redirect their time and investment into some other venture. As hard as they work they deserve more.

My husband's brother has been in sales for many years and his son in the Air Force. They eat, sleep, and breathe Amway. A normal conversation about anything with them is impossible. I just hope they eventually come to their senses.

Well, enough about all that. Again - thanks for your work on the internet. I will be referring a lot of folks to it.

Dear sir, I was approached already for a couple of weeks by one of my former subordinate, and she did not want to tell me over the phone what is it all about. She just said a business proposition which will be expanding to the Phillippines soon. Finally I grant her an appointment on 24 Dec 96. And she start blaberring about the million of dollars things, with an eloquent wordings, reasonings. Never during the first 1 hours she told me this is Amway. Being respectful I listen, and in my mind already I suspect this is a MLM. She later joint by her up-line / sponsor (?) who work before for Citibank here. Then they left me a tape, which typically like one of those peptalk rally.

I am lucky enough to have access to the Internet, and thanks God that I found your site. I am very concern the way they motivate people specially in these developing countries. I dont want to see my countryfellow become a materialistic person, so many in this life need to be taken care too. And I feel Amway and the other MLM also hitting the right mass psychological button and here with out any government watch dog or private watchdog like CU they will have heaven. I think they will reengineered the values here.

Thanks for making the effort to have this page, I hope that you keep it objective and unemotional. Pls help those people who get blinded with the myriad of calculation and show the real cost. By the way, they also mentioned that Coca Cola is using their network for their distribution purposes.

Dear Sidney,

My name is T and I live in Holland. I've been reading artikles on Internet about Amway and for me that's very encouraging. My sister is with Amway for about three years now. In the beginning I thought it was very innocent, something like tuppaware. But it's getting very frightening. My sister is acting "possesed". There was a time that she didn't speak of anyting else. After a few arguments - I was getting fed op with it - we now avoid the subject. But sometimes I try to warn her about what is happening. But she won't lisson. She only get's mad. She has changed a lot. She only talks about money, about the car(s) she's going to buy later, and the house with a swimming pool, and that she'll never have to worry about money ever again. And somehow she think's this has something to do with freedom. I have a job "from 9 to 5" and she call's me a workslave! I love my sister very much and I wonder if there is a way to convince her that Amway is'nt what she thinks it is. I've also been searching for criticle sites in Holland about Amway but have'nt found any yet.

Hello Sidney,

I will tell you all about my experience in Amway. I got involved in Amway about 2 years ago. I was fresh out of college when a co-worker of mine approached me (or should I say Ambushed by Amway). Two months later, I was in the business. I became one of the fanatics. I was "core". I attended all functions, ordered a lot of products, tapes, books, etc. I learned to break out of my shy mold and became a "contacting machine" (that's where you supposedly go into a zone and start to contact every living being on the planet). Anyway, I reached the 1500 pin level shortly after one year in the business. I am no longer in the Amway business now because of several factors. One of them is that I got married. I also had a chance to read your site. It was during that transitional period just before my marriage that things began to dawn on me about this business. A cross-line buddy of mine approached me shortly after my marriage about another "business opportunity". Now being open-minded and also he being my friend allowed me to let him present his business plan to me. Another factor was the transitional period before my marriage. This allowed me to CLEARLY think about entertaining another business proposition. You see, in Amway, they tell you that no other business out there is good enough for you. The big pins, especially Britt, would stand on the pulpit and shout out that "Amway is the biggest and the best. We don't even know who is in second place". I believe that statement and statements like that led me and countless other Amwayites to scorn other businesses. Try contacting an Amway distributor about another business opportunity. It's the hardest thing to do in the world.

After listening to my friend make his pitch about his new business, I couldn't sleep that night. This new Network Marketing business made a lot of sense, didn't have the hype factor like Amway has, focused on retailing a lot, low monthly requirements and meetings, and had a high profit margin, compared to Amway. I took a chance with this new company, and I can attest to you today that after 6 months of doing it I am very close to quitting my job. My distributor force is triple what I had in Amway and the profits have increased 6 times more than what I made with Amway.

The moral of this story is that Amway distributors need to open their ignorant eyes and see what else is out there. For the first time in history, Network Marketing is producing more millionaires a year than Real Estate. Amway did $3.9 billion in 1993, $5.3 billion in 1994, $6.3 billion in 1995, and $6.8 billion in 1996. Their increase is dropping even though they are running to other countries to try to expand. They may be doing 8% annual increase, but that is Internationally. I would bet my December bonus check that their National annual increase is in the negative range for 1996! Open up your eyes, Amway distributors or potential Amway distributors. Look around you. Amway is only doing 10% of what the rest of the Network Marketing industry is doing. Pretty soon, they will only be doing 5, 4, 3 percent, etc. Get with a program that is at least 4 years old, doing $40-50 million annual revenues, and has a distributor force of over 40 thousand distributors. This is where, with hard work, you will definitely succeed. God bless you all.

SIDNEY,

JUST A QUICK COMMENT FOR YOUR AMWAY INFORMATION SITE. I AM NOT NOR WILL I EVER BE INVOLVED WITH AMWAY. HOWEVER, A RELATIVE OF MINE DID BECOME INVOLVED... TO MY DISBELIEF. I THOUGHT HE WAS MUCH TOO INTELLIGENT FOR THIS SCAM, ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING MONEY IN AN AIRPLANE SCAM. AS FAR AS AMWAY BEING A CULT, I AM NO CULT EXPERT. HOWEVER, THEY DO DEFINATELY INFLUENCE AND TO A CERTAIN LEVEL DOMINATE YOUR LIFESTYLE. THE FAMILY MEMBER I AM REFERING TO HAS CHANGED TO A HUGE DEGREE. HE PRAISES THE AMWAY WAY... HOW GREAT THE PEOPLE ARE, HOW SUPPORTIVE THEY ARE, ETC ETC. GREAT, BUT WHERES THE PROFIT YOU GOT INTO THIS BUSINESS FOR ??? IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT AND FAITH, GO TO YOUR CHURCH.... NOT AMWAY. I KEEP READING THE COMMENTS FROM AMWAY DISTRIBUTORS SAYING HOW AMWAY IS A BUSINESS, THUS YOU WILL HAVE EXPENSES... IF AMWAY IS A BUSINESS, WHAT RIGHT DO THEY HAVE IN PROVIDING SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AND ADVICE ?? MAYBE THE TERM ECONOMIC CULT SHOULD BE APPLIED ??? AMWAYS IS MLM, A PYRAMID.... YOU CAN NAME IT BUSINESS NETWORKING OR WHATEVER OTHER CREATIVE NAME THEY CAN COME UP WITH.. BUT YOU ARE DEPENDING ON THE PEOPLE YOU RECRUIT... (IE SUCKER IN) TO MAKE MONEY. SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE SOMEONE HAS TO SELL PRODUCT. THIS IS A MLM... A "DIRIVITIVE" BUSINESS IF YOU WILL. THE VALUE OF THE BUSINESS IS DEPENDENT ON THE UNDERLYING OPERATIONS. SURE, THE TOP LEVEL AMWAY "EXECS" ARE MAKING MONEY... BUT VERY FEW OTHERS ARE. CURIOUS HOW WHEN APPROACHED BY INDIVIDUALS RECRUITING FOR AMWAY WHY THEY DONT MENTION THE NAME OF THE COMPANY THEY ARE INVOLVED WITH ISNT IT... REASON - ITS A SCAM AND MOST PEOPLE KNOW IT !! AND THE RECRUITER WANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MANIPULATE YOU INTO THINKING YOU JUST FELL INTO A GREAT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE YOU START THINKING STRAIGHT AND REALIZED YOU ARE BEING SUCKERED INTO THE AMWAY WAY. ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES FROM MY RELATIVE IS HOW AT THEIR MEETINGS, THEY MANIPULATE INFORMATION. HE TOLD ME THAT BILL GATES SAID AMWAY IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE. I THOUGHT I HEARD HIM WRONG AT FIRST, BUT THIS IS WHAT THEY HAD TOLD HIM. BILL GATES NEVER SAID AMWAY IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE. BILL GATES STATED DIRECT MARKETING IS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE, IE - THE INTERNET. AMWAY IS NOT DIRECT MARKETING... AMWAY IS MLM. DIRECT MARKETING IS SELLING FROM THE MANUFACTURER DIRECTLY TO THE END CONSUMER. AMWAY DOES NOT DO THAT... THEY MANUFACTURE.. BUT SELL THROUGH DISTRIBUTERS.... I HARDLY THINK BILL GATES THOUGHT AMWAY WAS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE... BTW - IS MR. GATES A DISTRIBUTOR THEN ??? DIDNT THINK SO. THIS CHRISTMAS... I STOPPED BY TO VISIT WITH THIS RELATIVE WHO WAS STAYING WITH ANOTHER OF MY RELATIVES... THEY HAD BROUGHT BOXES OF FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD GOODS (SOAP, SHAMPOO.. ETC.)... ALL AMWAY.. I WONDER IF ANYONE IS BUYING THESE PRODUCTS OTHER THAN THE DISTRIBUTORS ?!?!?!? WHAT A RIP OFF... I PARTICULARLY LIKE THE COMMENT FROM THE INDIVIDUAL ACCUSING YOU FOR THE BLAME OF SOMEONE COMMITTING SUICIDE BECAUSE YOU PUT THIS AMWAY SITE UP AND THUS "TOOK AWAY" HIS/HER LAST HOPE. IF AMWAY IS THEIR LAST HOPE... THEN EVERYONE SHOULD BE PRAYING FOR THIS PERSONS SOUL. IF YOU NEED GUIDANCE... GO TO YOUR CHURCH AND LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF.. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR FINANCIAL GAIN... EDUCATE YOURSELF AND GET A BETTER JOB OR START A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS - DONT START A SCAM.

AN INDIVIDUAL WHO BELIEVES IN INDIVIDUALS, NOT THE AMWAY SCAMS WHO MANIPULATE INDIVIDUALS AND DOMINATE THEIR LIVES.

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