Post: #1

Before I go into this, if there is already an Amway thread maybe someone could point me to it because I couldn't find one.

Anyways, I was recently approached by a co-worker about selling stuff for Amway. We sat down an hashed it out, and it sounded pretty interesting to me.

From what I gathered it comes down to this-

1. With Amway's help, you set up a webpage for you through Amway. Anytime someone wants to buy something from you, they access the Amway products through your Amway domain.

2. When they buy stuff, they buy it at retail cost, and you get "points" which amounts to the difference between the wholesale and the retail prices.

3. At the end of the month, Amway tallies up your points and gives you a check for the equivalent amount of money, plus bonuses that you can get for crossing certain sales thresholds.

4. You get extra bonuses for bringing on other people to sell stuff through their own domains. They come under your umbrella, and you get more points when they get more points. This seems to be the big multiplier, the difference between hundreds a month or thousands a month. The more people you have selling under your umbrella, the bigger your bonuses and overrall points totals get.

They sell all kinds of stuff, from Nutrilite supplements to house cleaning stuff. Even make up. I was pretty impressed.

The concept sounds pretty straightforward to me. Your earnings are tied directly to the amount of effort you want to put in. Get a few customers and make some bar money, or go all out and make shit loads. No sales goals or anything like that. Some of the "success stories" are obviously pretty crazy, like dudes retiring in their 20s and 30s, and while an outlier, one dude made 100k in a month.

If legit, it sounds like a pretty easy way to make some side money. Talk to people about the products, get them to buy the stuff through your website. House cleaning stuff and make up for mom, supplements for your buddies, all that fun stuff. Possibly get friends in on it too to rack up the affiliate bonuses. It would be awesome to have side money, even if I never go crazy like some of the success story people did.

They want $164 up front to start for samples and stuff like that, which is supposedly refundable if you decide to bow out after a couple months.

But, as always, there is that feeling that "it sounds to good to be true".

Has anyone here had any experience with Amway? Was it easy, hard? Is it worth the time and effort?

I know they used to have a pretty shady rep and a weird corporate culture, but it seems that if all I have to do is sit back with my own domain, sending people here and there while getting a small cut, I don't see anything bad about that.

Post: #2

Quote:You get extra bonuses for bringing on other people to sell stuff through their own domains. They come under your umbrella, and you get more points when they get more points

This is a pyramid scheme, I would make sure to do a ton of research before jumping into this.

Look into start up fees, reoccurring fees and all of the other fine print

Post: #3

"I thought this was going to be a thread about banging door to door saleswomen" - El Mechanico

Post: #4

(07-22-2012 05:04 PM)flyfreshandyoung Wrote:  4. You get extra bonuses for bringing on other people to sell stuff through their own domains. They come under your umbrella, and you get more points when they get more points. This seems to be the big multiplier, the difference between hundreds a month or thousands a month. The more people you have selling under your umbrella, the bigger your bonuses and overrall points totals get.

Well that's kind of the rub, isn't it?

Have you looked into the math behind what percentage of the top guys' earnings come from sign-ups, and what percentage come from actual product sales?

If it's mostly sign-ups, then it's fair to say you got yourself a disguised pyramid scheme here.

It's possible that these guys have cleaned up their act, but I doubt it.

All these multi-level-marketing things are pretty much scams if you ask me.

Post: #5

This is the same thing as Quixtar. Just google amway scam or Quixtar scam. It's a scam. Do not get involved. I've been to a Quixtar intro pitch meeting after talking to some dude in a parking lot. He gamed me well (no homo), in retrospect.

After I heard the sales pitch I realized what it was. It can be seductive, because they have it well refined, but it's no good.

Post: #6

If you have a hustler's mentality, fuck Amway.

Go into sales.

Amway is sales.

Very low-stakes sales.

IOW, if you have what it takes to make cash doing Amway, you have what it takes to make real money in sales.

Post: #7

(07-22-2012 05:41 PM)Menace Wrote:  This is the same thing as Quixtar. Just google amway scam or Quixtar scam. It's a scam. Do not get involved. I've been to a Quixtar intro pitch meeting after talking to some dude in a parking lot. He gamed me well (no homo), in retrospect.

After I heard the sales pitch I realized what it was. It can be seductive, because they have it well refined, but it's no good.

Yeah.

The dudes at Primerica in my city almost got me.

The way they did it was really brilliant actually.

I was about 19 at the time.

I was looking for a job, and I was determined not to work at a call center or fast food joint, so I started looking only at ads that seemed like they involved working in an office or from home.

I found one on a government-run job board that contains mostly legit opportunities; somehow, this one fell through the cracks.

They advertised this thing as a job, not a business opportunity.

They had a really nice, professional looking office, and when I went in there, I legitimately thought I was going in for a job interview.

it wasn't until they started talking about signing up other salespeople that I started getting a weird feeling.

Then finally after I asked a bunch of questions they started going on and on about how this isn't a scam, and showing me pictures of people in the program who'd become millionaires, and I was just like "haha, no thanks."

But honestly, I know smart enough people who've gotten sucked into these things, and I even know some who've had success with them (it's not a scam in the sense that you can't win, just that the structure of the business requires most of its participants to lose money... if you're a good salesman you can still win).

Anyway these things really suck, and even if you succeed with them it's not a good situation, because you're involved in a ponzi scheme, which just isn't a way to live.

Post: #8

(07-22-2012 05:04 PM)flyfreshandyoung Wrote:  They want $164 up front to start for samples and stuff like that, which is supposedly refundable if you decide to bow out after a couple months.

What you just heard was the longest sales pitch ever for $164 of cleaning supplies.

The only real sales that are ever made are to new "salesmen"

think it through - who the fuck buys cleaning supplies from a door to door salesmen? Walmart and Amazon have all that on lock down.

Totally different question here but where are you from that you've never heard of amway before??

I kinda thought everyone knew about that shit.

Post: #9

(07-22-2012 07:34 PM)reaper23 Wrote:  

(07-22-2012 05:04 PM)flyfreshandyoung Wrote:  They want $164 up front to start for samples and stuff like that, which is supposedly refundable if you decide to bow out after a couple months.

What you just heard was the longest sales pitch ever for $164 of cleaning supplies.

The only real sales that are ever made are to new "salesmen"

think it through - who the fuck buys cleaning supplies from a door to door salesmen? Walmart and Amazon have all that on lock down.

Totally different question here but where are you from that you've never heard of amway before??

I kinda thought everyone knew about that shit.

I hadn't heard about it until a couple years ago, when my experience with primerica led me to look into this "industry" a bit more. It got a lot of publicity in the 80s and 90s but it's not as big today.

Post: #10

(07-22-2012 07:34 PM)reaper23 Wrote:  

(07-22-2012 05:04 PM)flyfreshandyoung Wrote:  They want $164 up front to start for samples and stuff like that, which is supposedly refundable if you decide to bow out after a couple months.

What you just heard was the longest sales pitch ever for $164 of cleaning supplies.

The only real sales that are ever made are to new "salesmen"

think it through - who the fuck buys cleaning supplies from a door to door salesmen? Walmart and Amazon have all that on lock down.

Totally different question here but where are you from that you've never heard of amway before??

I kinda thought everyone knew about that shit.

I'm pretty uninformed on the issue that's why I asked.

That being said it wouldn't be door to door unless I wanted to do that. Which I'm not

Post: #11

(07-22-2012 07:30 PM)Andy_B Wrote:  

(07-22-2012 05:41 PM)Menace Wrote:  This is the same thing as Quixtar. Just google amway scam or Quixtar scam. It's a scam. Do not get involved. I've been to a Quixtar intro pitch meeting after talking to some dude in a parking lot. He gamed me well (no homo), in retrospect.

After I heard the sales pitch I realized what it was. It can be seductive, because they have it well refined, but it's no good.

Yeah.

The dudes at Primerica in my city almost got me.

The way they did it was really brilliant actually.

I was about 19 at the time.

I was looking for a job, and I was determined not to work at a call center or fast food joint, so I started looking only at ads that seemed like they involved working in an office or from home.

I found one on a government-run job board that contains mostly legit opportunities; somehow, this one fell through the cracks.

They advertised this thing as a job, not a business opportunity.

They had a really nice, professional looking office, and when I went in there, I legitimately thought I was going in for a job interview.

it wasn't until they started talking about signing up other salespeople that I started getting a weird feeling.

Then finally after I asked a bunch of questions they started going on and on about how this isn't a scam, and showing me pictures of people in the program who'd become millionaires, and I was just like "haha, no thanks."

But honestly, I know smart enough people who've gotten sucked into these things, and I even know some who've had success with them (it's not a scam in the sense that you can't win, just that the structure of the business requires most of its participants to lose money... if you're a good salesman you can still win).

Anyway these things really suck, and even if you succeed with them it's not a good situation, because you're involved in a ponzi scheme, which just isn't a way to live.

Thanks for the feedback, hombre.

Post: #12

I know a married couple that is making bank selling Melaleuca.

They own a salon, so they are always pitching their customers.

You need that sort of set up to make real cash.

You also need to shamelessly sell your friends and family on that.

If you're gonna be that shameless, again, just do a straight sales job.

Every man should work in sales, anyway.

Sales, finance, and certain hustler areas of law (think "scummy" plaintiffs/personal injury lawyer), or computer programming.

"Why do you rob banks?"

"Because that's where the cash is."

Working a normal gig dooms a man to a live of khakis and polo shirts.

Post: #13

Thanks for the input, fellas. If there are no recurring fees or anything of that nature, it might not be a huge deal.

It still doesn't sound like a bad idea if I'm just getting friends and family to buy stuff off there instead of where they would normally buy. It could be a decent way to get some side cash. Making it big with Amway probably takes a lot of work and dealing with the bullshit you guys mentioned.

Post: #14

My brother used to sell amway. That setup is very religious, and the salespeople have all the fanaticism of true believers.

But here is where the whole thing falls down. They claim the higher prices are justified by the products being "concentrated". Bullshit. Soap doesn't have sawdust in it - you can't have concentrated soap. It's all soap.

In fact if you study cleanser, handcream, shampoo and toiletries making you'll be surprised to learn that the business is not about manufacture at all - it's about marketing. It's all the same shit, and the cost of materials and packaging is a small fraction of the retail cost.

If you want to sell soap, you could very easily start your own MLM, and brew your own products in your kitchen sink. Next time you are at an amway meeting, hijack it and hand out business cards and form a cooperative.

Post: #15

Don't do it.

I met with an Amway guy who made over a million per year. He was completely honest with me because he had almost nothing to lose because I would be about seven levels under him.

The main thing you need to know is that barely anyone sells anything. It's true. You don't get rich this way. The IBOs all buy stuff from there own stores. When they buy something, the person above them gets a cut of the sale. Therefore you need to have a lot of people under you in order to make decent money.

So forget about sales. The main goal is signing people up- which is not easy to do. You can't be completely honest with them. If you told them what I'm telling you then they wouldn't sign up. People sign up and then realize its a scam. Then they try to scam other people to compensate for their time and money. It's not a healthy cycle.

Also it's a cult. Your 'team' will schedule meetings where they will talk about strategy to sign up more people. They have their conferences and sales material they will push you to buy.

I truly believe that if you can get rich off Amway, you can get rich off doing anything.

Post: #16

(07-22-2012 10:09 PM)xsplat Wrote:  My brother used to sell amway. That setup is very religious, and the salespeople have all the fanaticism of true believers.

But here is where the whole thing falls down. They claim the higher prices are justified by the products being "concentrated". Bullshit. Soap doesn't have sawdust in it - you can't have concentrated soap. It's all soap.

In fact if you study cleanser, handcream, shampoo and toiletries making you'll be surprised to learn that the business is not about manufacture at all - it's about marketing. It's all the same shit, and the cost of materials and packaging is a small fraction of the retail cost.

If you want to sell soap, you could very easily start your own MLM, and brew your own products in your kitchen sink. Next time you are at an amway meeting, hijack it and hand out business cards and form a cooperative.

This is a very good idea. When I first moved to North America, I joined a lot of these meetings anxious to get it popping and found out it's all shite.

I think I will get some kind of business I think I can move well and hand out cards when I get there. Usually, you get a lot of people there that have a dream and the leaders there willing to leech off their need.

Well bring something authentic and farm the cats from there.

Post: #17

Just do it. you were gonna do it anyways.

don't waste people's time here.

Post: #18

I briefly joined ACN. Its also multi level marketing

Someone mentioned its nit about the product but about signing people up. True.

Weekly meeting eating up your time. True

Harassing EVERYONE you meet to sign up and how amazing it is. Prepare loose many friends who will avoid you at every opportunity

Now, you sell someone shampoo. In order to make money, you call them the next month and ask them if they need more. What if they shaved their head.? This y won't need it anymore. How are you going to make your next buck? Hustle to sign more people up.

It's not a pyramid. But, the time/energy :reward ratio is low.

Buy a taxi plate instead

Post: #19

I passed on it.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I plead total ignorance of MLM stuff until now and you were very helpful in explaining the many downsides.