Amway/Network 21

[Josh McGee]

I have been with Amway for about 8 months. Yep! I get the same reaction when people find out that im with Amway too, and its always the same old sentence, which is that some relative of theirs hasn't done so well - in most cases I bet they didn't put a solid effort in after the first month of joining.

I am making good progress, but you gota stick at it and keep it up. If I was you I would just ignore the remarks you are getting and focus on building your business. If people have a negative perspective on Amway then its going to be tough to sponsor them, so move on.

[Rob Hepple]

I have had quite a few people say to me that "they know people who have lost money" through the Amway business. Most of them, when I ask them for the people's names get some sort of amnesia and say they can't remember the person's name. The one who gave me a name that I duly contacted said that it was a load of bull, they hadn't said they had lost money. They moved to another network they perceived to be easier and lost money there when it turned out to be an illegal pyramid scheme. I have yet to find anyone who can honestly say they have lost money.
More than 95% of conventional businesses, that people invest large amounts of capital in, close up within the first 10 years of operation. In other words, if you start a conventional business, according to statistics, you have better than a 95% chance of losing your money. That is serious risk! No one will point this out to you, which is fact, but they suck stuff out of their thumbs or pass on second hand "opinions". If you really understand this business and you've done your research, there is nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Go for it and don't listen to second hand stories.

[Josh McGee]

So Will, how have you gone since you have first started this thread?

[Zaxisus]

I am not involved with Amway anymore. I gave it a try for a year, but it started interfering with my "real job". I told my upline that I will have to become less active for a while and not attend all the meetings etc, and they became funny about it. I started feeling like a complete failure, so I cancelled my membership(?) when it expired at the end of 2009. The last time I spoke to my sponsor was in June/July last year when I couldn't attend the WES. To this day none of my upline has even contacted me to find out why I cancelled.

I still believe it's an good concept, but it did not deliver what it promised. I would have had to put in twice as much time and money to get half the rewards of my real job. It wasn't worth giving up my evenings and weekends with my family.

The products are absolutely amazing. I have a colleague who is still involved with Amway (in a completely different "pipe"), and I buy my products through her at the moment.

To whoever is involved with Amway, good luck. I'm sure if you're willing to put in the time (and money) it will work out for you.

[harvey999]

Hi Lew.
Whoever introduced you to the business, stick close to him/her and follow the business system. There are negative people out there and you'll find that they are people who have either failed to build the business and dropped out or they have formed an opinion based on some other uninformed opinion. There have also been some bad people who also got involved in the Amway business and caused some problems and they were removed from the business. Amway does not screen anybody coming into the business, giving everyone a chance to improve their lives. So, if you want to assess this business properly, do it from the inside. You cannot lose any money because the 90 day 100% money back guarantee on the products also applies to the business. In any business decision you have to base it on facts, not uninformed opinions. On the 6,7 & 8th of November we are having a Weekend Seminar at Gallagher Estates that is going to be attended by thousands of people. This seminar happens every 4 months. At this one 3 new "Diamonds"(there are already 5 diamonds) are going to be recognised for their achievements, plus new Emeralds plus Golds and Silvers and scads of lower achievements. That is where you can do all the research necessary to see the true picture. Always remember that the people who give bad advice will never step forward help you to provide for your family or lifestyle.

"Negative" in Amway jargon means "you're skeptical".
You have every right to be.
Start looking at books by former participants who reached high levels in the N21/Amway legal pyramid scheme, for the truth.... you will find it..
these guys are highly skilled, TRAINED, and CLEVER- especially dealing with criticism from any angle.
Make up your own mind, but with the RIGHT information... there is stacks on the Internet...

[harvey999]

Here is the most recent i could find:

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Merchants of Deception: An Insider's Chilling Look at the Worldwide, Multi Billion dollar Conspiracy of lies that is Amway and its Motivational Organizations

[Christine_Sutherland]

I just advise people to do the same due diligence when they're assessing a business which uses the leveraged model, as they would any traditional business.

The problem with Amway, as I see it, is that the people who're making any decent money are not making it on actual product volume. They're making it on commissions from sales of motivational/training material that downline are required to buy in order to remain qualified.

This is not what gets represented to people and it's not a business that is driven by consumer demand for products. Essentially the business exists on enforced sales to downline of products they would not otherwise wish to acquire.

This violates more than 6 points of due diligence for anyone wishing to build a network marketing business.

[Rob Hepple]

"Negative" in Amway jargon means "you're skeptical".
You have every right to be.
Start looking at books by former participants who reached high levels in the N21/Amway legal pyramid scheme, for the truth.... you will find it..
these guys are highly skilled, TRAINED, and CLEVER- especially dealing with criticism from any angle.
Make up your own mind, but with the RIGHT information... there is stacks on the Internet...

The starting point in checking any business is to speak to the successful people. Failures, people who quit or people who have been thrown out of any business will aways find ways of justifying why this happened. Almost all of them fail to look at themselves first before levelling criticism at the business they were involved in. Let me also qualify 'almost all'. Let me say from the outset that there have been people that have been involved in dodgy and illegal businesses and have had every right to complain but that is certainly not the case with N21 and Amway.
As for pyramid scheme, that is so yesterday. I work for a national estate agency. If ever there was a pyramid scheme, this is it. The guy who owns it is really sitting pretty. He has 6 directors under him. They have about 150 franchise holders under them. The franchise holders in total employ about 2000 agents. Every sale that takes place, a portion of it filters all the way up to the top man who absolutely creams it. Can any one of the agents make more than the top man? Never. In the Amway business, the one who builds the biggest network is the one who makes the most. The man that starts today and goes and builds the biggest business can make more than the person who started 50 years ago. That is the most equitable system in the world.

[murdock]

a couple of years ago i was invited to one of many network 21 meetings which i have attended...but 99% of the people are no longer are involved in it...you will have to believe me i dont plan on naming all the people on a public forum.

i decided this morning to contact one person who i believed would make it if anyone was gona make it because he owns a company and whenever i spoke to him was so sure of himself and because he put in the effort like running any company.

at the meeting you always meet people who are so called successful from it...but i have always thought yeah right...well today i finally know someone who is still at it and told me it is working for him...in fact he tolf me it is booming...they have even opened shops at various locations in kzn...mmm

the deal was that if he was still doing it after 2 years i would join him at a meeting...looks like i will be going to a meeting because he has been doing a lot longer than 2 years.

[Dave A]

The problem with Amway, as I see it, is that the people who're making any decent money are not making it on actual product volume. They're making it on commissions from sales of motivational/training material that downline are required to buy in order to remain qualified.

Woah there... blatantly misleading on a couple of levels.

First, purchases of support material does not contribute to qualification level in Amway (except that it should help you be more effective).

Second, you're not going to get commissions on the support material sold unless you have built a big enough downline moving product volume!

I can accept a "complaint" that the top performers are receiving money for more than just the Amway product sales, but to classify their Amway income stream as trivial by comparison is blowing that point out of proportion.

[Rob Hepple]

Thanks Dave A. Well said. Before any comments are posted people should do their due dillegence and not rely on heresay.

[harvey999]

Pls someone in the know clarify?

I'm confused! Pl see below an excerpt from an article on the web.
It looks like bad news, but maybe I'm missing something?
Perhaps somebody who is NOT reliant on hearsay can find a hole on the logic?
Thanks!

"According to Amway, their annual sales amounts to about $7 billion and there are 3 million distributors. Thus, the average distributor's sales amounts to about $2,333/yr. If 30% of that is profit, the average distributor makes $700/yr. Klebniov claims that the average income is $780, but the average distributor buys $1,068 worth of Amway goods himself and also has expenses such as telephone bills, gas, motivational meetings, publicity material and other expenses to expand the business. "The average active distributor sells only 19% of his products to non-Amway affiliated consumers," according to Klebniov. "The rest is either personally consumed or sold to other distributors." In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month. No such labels are required in other countries, but the facts are clear. Most people who get involved in Amway will not make money."

[Rob Hepple]

I'm confused! Pl see below an excerpt from an article on the web.
It looks like bad news, but maybe I'm missing something?
Perhaps somebody who is NOT reliant on hearsay can find a hole on the logic?
Thanks!

"According to Amway, their annual sales amounts to about $7 billion and there are 3 million distributors. Thus, the average distributor's sales amounts to about $2,333/yr. If 30% of that is profit, the average distributor makes $700/yr. Klebniov claims that the average income is $780, but the average distributor buys $1,068 worth of Amway goods himself and also has expenses such as telephone bills, gas, motivational meetings, publicity material and other expenses to expand the business. "The average active distributor sells only 19% of his products to non-Amway affiliated consumers," according to Klebniov. "The rest is either personally consumed or sold to other distributors." In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month. No such labels are required in other countries, but the facts are clear. Most people who get involved in Amway will not make money."

Instead of assuming this article this quote is what the Amway business is all about, go and check it out from the inside. It takes some WORK, like any other business.

[harvey999]

Checking on inside

Instead of assuming this article this quote is what the Amway business is all about, go and check it out from the inside. It takes some WORK, like any other business.

Thanks for the reply Rob.
I have been to some of the seminars. And checked out what I can get access to directly from N21A on the web. The problem is that any information directly from N21A, is either (1) VERY vague on the actual sales figures etc or (2) contains endless repetitive stories about successful couples.
So... I have to rely on information from elsewhere.. hopefully from this site or objective sources like Wikipedia.
I seems that you are on the inside?
SO, please could you address my question, simply, openly and directly?
That's why I put the question on this forum!
Look forward to your view about the specific figures.
Many thanks

[harvey999]

PS In response to your post that "I'm assuming" this is what Amway is "all about", pls read the original again carefully. I was asking a QUESTION.. purely from ignorance, and hoping for some help from an informed person on this forum. It sounds like an N21/A standard reply to me! "Go check it out on the inside.. it takes WORK"