Amway is one of the most known MLM companies operating for more than 60 years.
They have independent business owners (or IBOs) all over the world.
I’d bet, you know someone who has been involved with Amway, or at least a friend of yours friend.
It would not surprise me, that you have been contacted by a classmate you have not seen for 10 years, offering you a great business opportunity.
This is usually how it begins – the probability that he/she is involved in MLM is high, and maybe with Amway as one of the largest (if not the largest) companies within the MLM industry
But how the distributors are doing? Can they make a decent living? What is the percentage of distributors who “made it”?
We are about to find out that less than 50% of all distributors are active with an average gross income of around $200 per month. That does not sound like a lot.
Do people within Amway lose money?
Does it mean that Amway is a scam?
Or a pyramid scheme?
We are going to learn more about this company from a business standpoint.
The list of Amway products is huge, so we will briefly mention some of them but the purpose of this article is to show you whether joining Amway is a good business opportunity for you or not.
Disclaimer
I am not associated with Amway, I am not a distributor. This review has been researched with information available in the public domain.
Any kind of conclusions and/or recommendations are opinions and may not agree with all persons.
Amway Overview
Name: Amway
Website: www.amway.com
Price to Join: $100 + Price for products
Recommended: No as a primary source of income (It is probably OK as a hobby).
What is Amway?
Amway is direct selling or in other words, an MLM company selling health, beauty, and home care products.
It is considered the largest MLM company in the world, with more than 3 million independent business owners (IBOs) in more than 100 countries.
Amway (American Way Association) has been founded in 1959 by 2 high-school friends, Jay van Andel and Richard DeVos.
Before Amway, they both were working for a company called Nutrilite as distributors. They built up a team of more than 5,000 distributors.
Later, Jay and Richard left Nutrilite and with the best recruiters, they decided to launch a new company known as The American Way (Amway).
They both passed away, Jay in 2004 and Rich in 2018.
Today the company is based in Ada Michigan and the current SEO is William S. Pinckney. (MLMs headquarters is usually in Utah, just like for 4Life or Rain International)
The revenue of Amway and its sister companies (under Alticor) is $8.8 billion as of 2018.
No wonder, Amway has around 20,000 employees and as already mentioned, more than 3 million distributors all over the world.
The complex above is the Amway headquarters which is comprised of 80 buildings and 3.5 million square feet (0.325 square kilometers, which is more than 80 acres) of office and manufacturing space.
4,000 people are working at Amway World Headquarters.
And of course, they have their building in major cities around the world as well.
According to the Amway page, they have more than 750 physical locations around the world. Amway’s top ten markets are Korea, China, the USA, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, India, Russia, Malaysia, and Italy.
Amway got so big, they now own even a hotel called Amway Grand Plaza.
Is Amway a Pyramid Scheme?
I would like to explain what is the difference between legit MLM and pyramid schemes.
Theoretically, a legit MLM has a product in its portfolio, so the company generates income from selling these products.
A pyramid scheme does not offer any products at all and it solely generates income on a recruiting basis.
Needless to say, all MLMs have roots in the Pyramid schemes (as it is described in this article: MLM Vs. Affiliate Marketing). The reason is that recruiting remains the best way how to earn money within any MLM.
This is where the understandable confusion comes from.
But to be clear about the pyramid scheme you can have a look at the following video on how to spot such a scheme:
So, Amway technically is not a pyramid scheme, and I understand why many folks call it that way. The reason is that Amway also heavily relies on recruiting.
The company has a long history and the top management developed a great process, training, or techniques, on how to train people so they become good recruiters.
Of course, it all depends on the personality and the individual approach, but when it comes to recruiting some methods might be on the edge…
I know for a fact that the IBOs are “recommended” to study motivational literature and use such sources to get whatever they want.
It almost seems to be that they abuse these self-development books and sources.
There are cases in that upline acts like a king – in other words, members are often suggested to never question upline.
Upline is always right and you ought to do what he/she says.
This kind of environment is not for everyone and it goes beyond Amway – People within Amway mock people who leave Amway.
It looks like a cult.
Nevertheless, Amway (despite it is not technically a pyramid scheme) was involved in a class-action lawsuit, back in 2007.
Amway agreed to pay $56 million.
What is the Price to Join?
Registration fees are up to $100, regardless of where you are located.
This fee has to be paid every year.
In the US, on top of that, there is an additional fee of $62, which includes the starter kit with marketing support.
The registration fee varies depending on the country you are located in, but it is never more than the mentioned $100.
Every IBO can purchase a product kit for $100 (actually $99.99).
In fact, newbies are talked into buying this Kit since they get $245 of full-size products to test and many samples to share. It also consists of:
- 10 small catalogs with business and product information
- training materials
- quality brands
- marketing support
You are provided with all this so you can start to offer them right away.
Good thing is that this is a refundable fee within 60-180 days in case you feel Amway is not your cup of tea.
Products, That Amway Offer
Generally speaking, their products are not bad. People like these products even though many of them are a bit more expensive than their competition available in regular stores.
Amway offers a lot of products and they are divided into 4 major categories:
- Home
- Personal Care
- Beauty
- Nutrition
Each category has its subcategory so let’s just mention a few of them.
1) Nutrition
In this category, you find a bunch of vitamins and supplements, weight management, energy products, and so on.
For example the Nutrilite Double X.
It is said that this is a multivitamin of the future.
This is packed with minerals, and vitamins to support a healthy heart, brain, bones, and immune system.
It contains natural plant ingredients “from every color on the phytonutrient spectrum” (phytonutrient = a substance found in certain plants, which is believed to be beneficial to human health and help prevent various diseases).
Ingredients:
- Vitamin A, C, D, E, B6
- Thiamin
- Riboflavin
- Calcium
- Iron, Zinc, Selenium, Copper,
- etc.
It is recommended to consume 1 multivitamin tablet, 1 multimineral tablet, and 1 phytonutrient tablet twice a day with meals.
Note:
The statements have not been evaluated by the FTC and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
The price for Nutrilite Double X (which is for 31 days) is $71.00
2) Beauty
There are 3 subcategories you can choose from:
- Fragrances
- Makeup
- Skincare
Let’s take the Artistry brand – Artistry Hydra-V Fresh foaming cleanser
This cleanser leaves skin refreshed and comfortable so it looks healthy.
It is a soap-free foaming gel that removes excess oil, makeup, and dirt.
It is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. This product is dermatologist and allergy-tested.
Use twice a day – in the morning and evening.
The price for 4.2 fl. oz (125ml) is $25.
3) Personal Care
In the personal care department, you have 3 sections:
- Bath and Body Care
- Hair Care
- Oral Care
We can have a look at the G&H Protect+ Concentrated Hand Soap – 1Liter.
This soap is developed and manufactured using an exclusive technology that helps neutralize strong odors and besides cleansing, it also leaves hands hydrated and smooth.
- Dermatologist and allergy-tested
- Dye-free, sulfate-free, and wheat-free
Soap protects skin with a blend of white tea, natural minerals, and extract from bilberry.
1 liter of this soap (33.8 fl. oz.) costs $26.
4) Home
This last major section has 7 different categories:
- Air Treatment
- Cookware
- Dish
- Disinfectant cleaners
- Laundry
- Surface Cleaners
- Water Treatment
Let’s check the last one – the eSpring Water Purifier.
This water treatment system can be attached to the standard kitchen faucets using a device that just screws onto the existing faucet.
It has been constructed from safe materials and claims are backed by test data. It allows the beneficial minerals to pass through (such as magnesium, calcium, etc)
It supposedly improves taste, odor, and water clarity.
This U.S. patented carbon-block filter and UV light effectively remove more than 140 potential impurities.
This particular model costs on the Amway site $1,250.00.
I have found very similar models (also Amway products) on Amazon for a cheaper price.
Officially it is not allowed to sell Amway products on Amazon.
But, in my opinion, the IBO’s who bought it to distribute it could not find anyone who would buy it, so this IBO just decided to sell for a lower price to get at least some of the money.
It probably happens quite often, even it is against Amway rules.
Here is another example from a different category.
It is always suggested to check other sources for example Amazon since you can find the same product for a much lower price.
For example, this Artistry Exact Fit costs $40 at the Amway site whereas on Amazon you can get it for almost half of it.
This is not always the case and many products are cheaper directly on the Amway site. Nevertheless, there is no harm in doing a bit of research first.
How Can You Make Money with Amway?
Success is very rare with any MLM and unfortunately, that applies to Amway as well.
There are 3 ways of how you can make money.
1) Retail
Your earnings depend on how much you sell. Meaning you buy products from Amway and resell them for retail price. The difference is your earnings.
2) Bonuses
This is also called a performance bonus.
It is a combination of the point value and business volume. Every Amway product has a certain number of points.
To get a bonus you must qualify for it. And the minimum number of points is 100. On top of it, you must get results in a 3 percent business volume bonus.
3) Build your team/downline
All MLMs have fancy words for recruiting.
The bottom line is that there is no way to make money unless you recruit people who will recruit other people, so your earnings come from the sales of all the people below you.
Amway Income Disclosure – Not Fully Disclosed?
The truth is that the majority of IBOs are not making any money and a big percentage also lose money.
Unfortunately, Amway does not reveal the earnings of their IBOs. The Amway US only reveals the average monthly gross income for active IBOs.
It is something over $207 per month or CA$186 in Canada.
The full income disclosure is available in Amway UK only (and only from 2015 as this document is issued in March 2016). It is called the Amway earnings disclosure statement.
Let’s do a little comparison.
Here is a graph comparing all US workers vs. the Amway representatives:
From the graph, it is obvious that 99% of Amway representatives earn under the US poverty guideline.
Only 0.01% earn over $66,000.
Many IBOs have started with the illusion of a side income.
They do not sell enough to make a profit, so they attend seminars and training which they pay themselves out of their pocket.
The seminars cost thousands of dollars, so here is one of the reasons why many of the distributors lose money.
It is not always about money, right?
Well, that is right.
I have found out that Amway suggests ending the relationship with people who criticize Amway. One would think that many of the IBOs are brainwashed.
If you do some research you will learn that people lose friends because of Amway.
They just “disappear” (not literally but from their former life; they burn the bridges behind them).
In Many MLM meetings and conferences, one can feel almost a cult-like atmosphere and without doubt, a lot of former IBOs claim that there is cult psychology behind the MLM and that includes the Amway.
Would you join Amway while there are many opportunities to generate income online?
I think this is not for everyone, only a tiny percentage of people make a decent living.
The reason is it is pretty hard to sell the pricey product ( that is everywhere) and on top of it- building your downline is time-consuming and rarely works.
There are better ways how to earn income. Especially in this day and age, where the internet is everywhere and there are more than 4.5 billion people connected.
I am not saying that one can become rich overnight, just because of the internet.
The thing is that unfortunately, the online world opened a door for scammers promising big bucks in no time and for no effort. But it does not work that way.
What I would like to say, the internet is a great opportunity to start an online business. It does not require buying or renting land/building.
One of the advantages of such an online business is a low investment, compared to the offline world.
If you want to open a franchise restaurant, you need hundreds of thousands, in some cases more than 1 million dollars.
To buy a domain and build up a website, requires only a few bucks, but it definitely requires your time (especially in the beginning, like 6-12 months) and ideally a couple of hundreds of investments into education.
What I like about Amway
- Amway is the largest MLM company in the world.
- This company provides its IBO’s with good training. That includes training conferences (although these require additional budget)
- A huge variety of products which are mostly a good quality
What I don’t like about Amway
- Earnings within Amway rely heavily on recruiting
- Additional fees for training materials and conferences
- Several lawsuits and FTC investigations
- Already mentioned the cult-like company
Some Thoughts at the End
Direct selling requires skill. Very few people are born with such skill and I personally doubt there is someone born with such a skill. In my opinion, it is due to the environment in which the kid is raised.
He can pick up the techniques, so at a later age, it seems that this person is born as a salesman. In fact, he only does what he had seen as a kid.
Then you have people who work hard to get the sale done/closed. Meaning they have to work on that skill. And the hard way is to sell door to door.
The crucial point is to see the rejection as an opportunity or a way how to improve.
It may take years for someone to develop into a good salesman.
Now the problem with MLM including Amway is that everyone can start to sell these things. But what percentage of people are good salesmen? Most people who start to sell don’t have any experience and they see rejection as a failure and that is why only a few percent of people make it.
Then there is the issue that people don’t believe what they sell. All the products are available online, or in stores, so why would your friend buy an expensive bottle of detergent from you? He has a lot of opportunities to get pretty much the same stuff in a regular store or Amazon (depends where this friend of yours prefers to shop)
So there are just too many factors that have effects on the way how MLM operates. It makes it extremely difficult to sell.
Not to mention that a person who enrolls you is your competitor. And how many others are out there working for the same guy?
And people don’t like to be bothered and pushed to buy something.
They prefer to go to the internet, google it, learn about it, and then if they ok with it, they buy.
Wouldn’t be perfect o have a website where people buy without you knowing about it, and make a sale?
But how to build such a website? Is it even possible for a person without any experience?
Well, it is actually easier than learning the door-to-door sale.
It is easier, but it also takes time.
According to my experience, it takes something from 5 to 8 months until the 1st sale is made.
The reason is that it takes time for google to recognize the website.
After about a year such a website has enough traffic to start generating 4 digits per month. by the end of the 2nd year, such a website earns $4,000+. Of course, it depends on the niche.
It is not easy either, but at least you do your work at your own pace and there are many more advantages to doing affiliate marketing than MLM. In this article, you find more information when it comes to the comparisons of AM vs MLM.
Where To Go From Here?
I don’t recommend joining Amway solely as your source of additional income.
There are way better opportunities these days.
You might be interested in what it takes to start an online business – meaning having your website and being able to monetize it.
Once you learn how to do that -using organic traffic- you won’t be struggling financially anymore.
Sure it will take time as well. But imagine where you were 2 years ago.
No image where you might be in 2 years from now if you start learning about internet marketing today.
You can check a lot of free sources on Youtube or another website, and do your own research. Let me also show you how I did it and where I learn internet marketing, to be precise – affiliate marketing.
In this review, you find the basic information about the training course I recommend.
Hopefully, you find this article helpful.
I would like to ask you what is your experience with Amway – or do you know somebody involved with Amway?
We can leave this as an open discussion. So if you have any questions regarding Amway or you would like to learn more about other opportunities let me know in the comment section below.
I will be more than happy to give you an answer.
Amway is a company most people have heard of. It’s great that it’s been around for over 20 years. Your review gives very concise information on how it all works. I have been looking to do something online for a few months now and this seems to be what I’m looking for. Thank you very much.
Glad you like the article.
Yes, Amway is a very well know MLM company.
Still, I am sure there are other ways how to create consistent income online, especially these days.
Thanks a lot for your comment
Mike
Thank you for this review about Amway. If I got the point, I am glad to know that you don’t consider this company as a scam. But I don’t really like MLM models, and mainly for the reason you mentioned: they focus more on recruiting than on selling their products; if you are not at the top of the “pyramid”, your work is not going to bring good results. Finally, the negative points are more than the positive ones.
I don’t like the MLM business models either.
But I wanted to show both pros and cons of Amway, so a person who might like the MLM structure is not misled.
You and I are on the same page, I also see more Cons than pros, with Amway.
Thanks a lot for leaving the comment
Have a good one
Mike
Hello Mike, I am really excited to have come across this article and it means so much to me because I have been hearing a lot about this business from other people and I was really considering going into it fully. However , I will take your advise not to take it as a primary means of income. Its really nice to be here.
Glad you find the article helfpful.
If you have any further questions let me know
Have a good one
Mike
I actually thought there was another updates about Amway. Amway is a worldwide known mlm company that actually has been around for quite some times. I think they were among the very first few companies I learnt about them when I started with network marketing. Good overview you have given here. However, it was not easy at all to earn all these compensations. It took extra bit of work
Yes, Amway is one of the biggest MLM companies in the world.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Amway. I am sure a lot of readers appreciate it.
Cheers,
Mike
Hello there!
That is avery commendable review you have there. Amway has actually been one of the top MLM company in the world that sells health beauty and home care products. The popularity of the company has made it difficult to tell if they are scam or not as there will definitely be negative news and positive news about them. This wonderful article has just helped to know how legal they are.
Thanks.
You are welcome
Glad you find the article helpful.
Yes, Amway is a legit company but I don’t recommend it joining it, especially if intended as a primary source of income.
I can imagine people are having fun within the Amway, but if you want to do this full time, you need to have certain skills.
And based on the graph above, it is obvious that the majority of members barely make a living.
Hello Mike Bahno Mudesi,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to comment on this article. This “Is Amway a Scam? Unbiased Review of the Biggest MLM Company” article you created is very detailed, and it kept my attention the whole time I was reading it. You are a very detailed creator, very great and informative, educational research is evident in this article. Great Job!
I would have never questioned, “Is Amway a Pyramid Scheme?” because I have known of it’s existence of the decades. It is very clear from the research that you have provided, it is not a pyramid scheme.
Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to comment on this article.
Blessing To You My Friend,
Jerry
You are welcome Jerry,
thank you for your comment.
Mike
Hi Mike, Yes I have heard of Amway and understand this is a MLM company. Thank you for explaining the differences between Pyramid and MLM schemes. It helps clarify Amway is a legitimate business.
My question is how can anyone be successful in this business? Are there any steps or programs to help anyone keen to join?
Marc
Hey and thanks for your comment.
In order to become successful with Amway, one must be able to recruit new people in it.
He must build his team – in other words, his downline must be able to recruit new people, over and over again.
Because the real money is in recruiting. It is hard to make living solely from selling the products.
With that being said the successful person within Amway must
– deal with rejection
– be persuasive
– believe in products
– work hard
– be active within the “cult-like” company culture.
Not many people are like that and therefore success is extremely rare within the MLMs.
Hello there, thank you for sharing this remarkably insightful and in-depth article on Amway.
I already heard about the Amway a few years ago and was wondering what has changed.
After reading your article I can tell it has been a real big bonus for me.
I think it’s important to be cautious dealing with most sites – especially the MLM, even though Amway is pretty famous.
It works just any other MLM and all of the so-called Independent Business Owners – are just customers forced to buy the stuff each month.
Glad you like the article.
That is absolutely right – members at the very bottom of the pyramid are the ones who lose money.
Most of them are not experienced in direct selling and that is why only a fraction will make to the 2nd level where they might get even.
Thanks for your support
Mike
Amway is a pyramid scheme for the same reason all pyramid schemes are
pyramid schemes: the focus is on recruiting new members and selling a
lifestyle, not actual products.
Amway does sell some products, of course. You can by a number of
household goods and cosmetics through their store. However, the main
focus of the business isn’t selling stuff: it’s on finding people to
work for you so you can grow your downline.
You the nail on the head!
Thank you Lucas for your comment.
Hello There, Just read your review “Is Amway a Scam?”. Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us. Amway is a great company. Though their core business model is MLM, they have some of very good products. As any other marketing activity, You need to put all efforts to succeed in Amway. Only very few people are able to do this full time.
You always need to be prepared for rejections.
Absolutely.
The majority of people don’t like rejection and they tend to give up.
That is why I recommend internet marketing as it is not that stressful and people do have results within a year (or a bit more).
Amway was probably a good opportunity 10, 15 years ago, but we see that majority of companies go online.
That is why if someone wants to start a business – the internet is the best place.
Thank you for posting this Amway article. I have many friends in the MLM business. I have a cousin who makes $4mil quarterly selling essential oils. I envy her hard work and passion but I have learned that I need to make my millions in another way. I had a manufacturing business that I recently sold because of the repetition. I find the MLM is a lot of the same thing over and over and over and over. I seek more variety in my life, so I’m taking a different route along the same concept. I think people should do what they love and find a way to make money at it. I feel the MLM business is great for many and I love to listen and learn from them. Marketing is marketing and it’s always evolving, and I feel the MLM structure of selling will be the majority of our future. People selling not Advertising Dollars.
Waw, it is great that the MLM business model works out for your cousin.
I wonder how many years she has been in his kind of business.
You are absolutely right that people should do what they love. For some, even the MLM works, but unfortunately, it is less than 1%.
The rest struggles and I believe they should check other opportunities.
Anyways, thank you for your thoughts.
I appreciate it
Mike
Hi, thanks for a great review of the Amway. This is a well known MLM, and I was wondering whether there is any news regarding the opportunities within the Amway.
I am pretty sure that this company operated in Serbia about 15 years ago and that I participated in one of the meetings (presentations) where they offered me to promote their beauty products. Is there any possible way to find out if they ever reached Serbia as I am not 100% sure?
As an affiliate marketer myself, I’ve been searching for affiliate programs and online business opportunities.
One small comment on MLM. I don’t like it anymore. I used to like it a lot, but then I think I got fed up with being pushed to push people.
I would rather promote as an affiliate marketer, and improve my skills from day to day and leave a free will to others to join 🙂
Thank you Sunny for your comment
Yes, Amway is the largest MLM company in the world. I am almost positive they were operating in Serbia 15 years ago.
They seem to be still active in Serbia – according to one Facebook Group it is based in Kragujevac. Or at least there is a branch.
Internet marketing (and that includes affiliate marketing as you mention) is the future, so you are on the right path.
It does not make sense to get involved with any MLM, and that applies to Amway as well.
Amway products are expensive comparing to others – available online.
The real magic of Amway was the personal contact, the interaction with people.
But more and more people do purchase stuff online and therefore it is not recommended as a business opportunity anymore.
Amway is still doing pretty good though.
Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us.
Amway is one of the largest companies in the MLM industry. But it is definitely not a great way to make some money.
My girlfriend used to work for Amway many moons ago, and she barely made a few bucks on the side. It was not worth it.
I have talked her out of it and based on that experience we both avoid the MLM companies.
But recently I was curious about the Amway and I have stumbled upon your article. Based on your research, nothing changed – things only have gotten worse.
Definitely there are better ways how to make money these days.
Hey
I agree – it’s not worth joining the Amway anymore. As I said it is probably a good hobby for women who do not have this an income source.
But when someone is searching for a business opportunity, no MLM is worth trying; and that applies to the largest MLM company as well.
Thank you for your comment.
Should you have more questions, let me know.
Mike
“The bottom line is that there is no way to make money unless you recruit people who will recruit other people, so your earnings come from the sales of all the people below you”
Don’t uplines earnings come from what downlines purchase, not what they sell? Most MLM pyramid schemes don’t keep a record of sales to people outside the scheme by their distributors. It relies on the recruitment of customers (distributors) coming in at the bottom. The fact that if 5 people recruit 5 people each and those then recruit 5 each and so on, that cycle of recruitment only has to continue for 15 layers before you run out of world population – that demonstrates it is unsustainable.
In terms of outcomes for people, it’s been shown that more than 99.7% of people lose money in MLM and in the words of Robert FitzPatrick, “that’s not an opportunity, that’s a scam”. And the veneer of product shouldn’t fool anyone!
Hi Emma,
You are absolutely right. I agree with you.
As soon as the products are pushed to the bottom level of the structure, and money flows upwards (to the top levels), no one really cares if the products are sold to end customers. Eventually, these end customers are asked to join and that is exactly what you are saying: it is not sustainable in the long run.
Thank you for your comment
Mike
Hi thanks for this article.i haven’t bought any product from Amway.before I purchase any product from a company,I make sure I takeout time to do through research.i had heard of Amway from a friend who did Amway for 3months then crunched numbers and got out.and later found out he would be loosing $2,000 per year instead of gaining.personally I’m doing affiliate marketing through the wealthy affiliateiate website and I think the best way to make money online is affiliate marketing.
hi there,
thanks a lot for your comment.
Also, I appreciate you share the story of your friend.
Did you tell your friend about affiliate marketing? I am sure he would never lose $2Gs with affiliate marketing.
I agree with you. Affiliate marketing is probably the best way how to generate revenue online. Sure it requires some time and effort, by at the end of a day is worth it.
Thank you for taking out time to share such an awesome article with of the public.
for me Amway is not scam, it’s a legit online platform, Their packages and product are cool but am not just cool with their joining fee I think it’s way too much and their earnings relies heavily on recruiting which also not too cool with me. But the system is not a scam.
thanks for your comment.
Yes, the recruiting part can be annoying for a lot of people.
That is why the success is so rare within the Amway.
This is a great insight to what Amway is all about and it is really good to see. Though I never gave it much thoughts but to be honest, this is really good. Well! My friend has been an Amway distributor for quite sometime now and has built a worthy down line team. Though I was planning to join them too soon but I discovered some truths here that may curb my desire to join them. However, it is still good to know of
Thank you for stopping by
I appreciate your comment,
Your friend probably knows a lot of people and actually it is a good thing to know that it works for him (at least for someone)
But building a downline is not my cup of tea and probably the same for a bunch of other people. That is why I wanted to unveil the other side of Amway.
People should be informed about the MLM, how they really operate.
Because if you speak with an Amway representative, you only hear the “success” stories and you don’t get to see the whole picture.
Yes, I have heard of Amway before and k do not think that anyone who truly wants to make money online should give a platform with a network marketing a try because it doesn’t really come in very well, especially because more emphasis is made in recruiting and referrals rather than actually selling the products. Interestingly, this company has been in business for a very long time which is good.
I agree with you.
The focus is on recruiting.
And even at the beginning (when a new member joins), it may not look like, but sooner or later this new member is “advised” to ” grow his/her team”
This is the whole idea – to find people who will find other people.
That is the reason why many people call it a pyramid scheme – even though, technically it is not.
Regardless of how it is called, the new distributor bothers his or her friends and family members and it happens quite often he ends up with 2 options:
1) climbing the pyramid and at the same time run out of the friends and the closest ones
2) selling just the products, and that is not lucrative at all (meaning losing money)
Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us .I’ve been working in the online world for a long time and i heard about the Amway company that sells health and beauty home care products .Before I work with a company’s product, I gain detailed knowledge and research about it .Amway is a scam and I did not manage my business with any product from here .Personally I’m doing affiliate marketing through the Wealthy Affiliate website and I think the best way to make money online is .Affiliate Marketing Training Course has provided me with various tutorial videos and digital technology to work on this place. And I’ve been able to make a lot of money through it in my business. It has helped to take my website to a good level .
Lastly I hope through your article everyone will know about this scam and will definitely share their new experience with you. I would definitely appreciate your proper advice. May I share your article on my social media?
Thank you for your valuable comment.
Really appreciate it.
I am also of the opinion that Affiliate Marketing is a much more sustainable business than Amway or any other MLM company.
Good for you.
As for your question – yes, feel free to share it.
have a good one
Mike
Dear Bahno,
For Amway to have survived 60 years and also have 3 million distributors over 100 countries worldwide and a revenue of over $8 billion, it must really look like a good business for one to join and become a distributor. However, as you have proven in your review, there is little to gain per month compared to the work one puts in, plus all MLMs have some roots in a pyramid scheme system. I’ll take your advice to not join. It’s better to do affiliate marketing.
Boniface
Hi there,
Yes, I agree.
It looks good from the distance, but once you look closer you see how it works and I know that for some former members that call the Amway as a “cult-like pyramid scheme”
I don’t blame them.
Only very few people are able to do this full time.
They don’t mind the rejection from others, they even lose friends…
But there must be straight line between doing business (making money) and maintaining healthy relationship with family and close friends.
Not mentioning that it is important to provide real value to people and not just overpriced products…
Yes, I have heard of Amway but I wasn’t aware they’d been around for such a long time. They seem to be like most MLM’s – recruit new members to sell products who in turn will recruit more members to sell more of the same products. Except you get it right when these exact same products – with maybe a differential in an ingredient or two – are exactly what you can get in your local store for a far better price. I’ve seen many similar companies like Advocare – I think they’re called, and others like Amway. I personally don’t think they’re worth it unless you’re a really, really good salesperson.
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, you are absolutely right – it is about recruiting, otherwise, a person can’t make a living out of solely selling the products.
And that is the worst part for the majority of people involved in Amway (or in any other MLM company).
That is why success is so rare (recruiting sucks)
But as you correctly point out, when someone is a good salesperson, why not try it.
In my opinion, though it is important to be aware of all the facts, including Cons and Pros.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for shining light on the subject.
I really appreciate the in-depth review, There are a lot of scams on the internet and, you are doing a huge service to the internet by dissecting Amway and make everyone aware of which are scams and which are not.
How do you know if a business is a scam or not?
Hello and thank you for stopping by.
Sometimes it is not easy to determine whether something is a scam or not – at least at first sight.
But there also a lot of systems/websites that are easily recognizable.
For example, it is always good to check the “Abot” page – what kind of information are there.
– How long they are out there. Double-check this information on a website called Whois.com where you can easily find out the registration date of the website.
Some products use fake testimonials, for example, actors hired on Fiver.com
Check the contact page – try to write a short message to find out if and when they respond to you.
You can also read this article, What is a Scam, to learn more.
Hope it helps.
cheers, Mike
Wow; I never would have thought this much against Amway. This is really in sighting and has surely given me enough reasons to reconsider everything I was thinking about Amway. Well, I feel it would be a lot better if I can just subscribe to anything else other than Amway. Though they seem well established but their business model is nothing to really invest into
Thank you for stopping by, Rodarrick,
Before doing the research about Amway, I didn’t have many expectations from Amway, but as soon as I started to dig in more, I was stunned.
It does not make sense to register with Amway. You might be dragged into their cult-like culture and I know many people have hard times to leave, even their numbers are in “red”.
I am sure there are a lot of better opportunities than Amway.
ts is essential to think in the long run though. 12 to 16 months of effort and with proper training, one can have a full-time income (about $30,000 a year) online from 1 website.