Have you or someone you know sold Amway?

[jackietreehorn8]

2 thoughts...

This episode of This American Life is about what I gather to be Amway for black folk. It's an amazing listen, seriously. Download and give it a listen:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/543/wake-up-now


Also, all the housewives into this shit drives me nuts. All they're doing is trading the legit money their husbands make around to each other. In my suburban neighborhood, one week the wives get together at someone's house to sell and buy Norwex cleaning shit, the next week it's off to someone else's to sell and buy some shitty Jewelry, then purses, then whateverthefuck, etc, etc. But I'm convinced none of them are actually making any money, just swapping their husband's money around to each other. But they're all empowered by calling themselves "business owners".

 

[no fat chicks]

2 thoughts...

This episode of This American Life is about what I gather to be Amway for black folk. It's an amazing listen, seriously. Download and give it a listen:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/543/wake-up-now


Also, all the housewives into this shit drives me nuts. All they're doing is trading the legit money their husbands make around to each other. In my suburban neighborhood, one week the wives get together at someone's house to sell and buy Norwex cleaning shit, the next week it's off to someone else's to sell and buy some shitty Jewelry, then purses, then whateverthefuck, etc, etc. But I'm convinced none of them are actually making any money, just swapping their husband's money around to each other. But they're all empowered by calling themselves "business owners".

My facebook feed is littered with this crap. Im always tempted to comment but hold back.

 

[Ring Shark98]

Funny you mention this. I have some friends who just got into this bullshit. We are all trying to talk some sense into them. It's creepy shit.

 

[llama de lrey]

thinly veiled "im thinking about selling amway but first want to gauge others opinion of amway" thread.

lol... I hate people way too much to ever want to even consider something like this...

I do like laughing at people's stupidity though

So do I tell this girl she is in a cult and it's a scam or just laugh as she gets sucked in and believes their lies? I do think some people are more vulnerable to this type of scam than others. Dumb people.

 

[armbarforhire]

I actually agree with him. I did Herbalife for a little while. I quit, not because I thought it was a scam, but because I just didn't feel like putting all the work into it. But the products are legitimate and with enough work and know-how, you could make money from selling the products alone without even getting into the multi-level aspect of it. Of course, if you do get distributors below you then you make even MORE money.

My only problem with Herbalife was that the products were over-priced. But then again, so is almost everything at GNC as well. That's the supplement industry for you.

I think if you are good at sales and have huge social circles it can work, but thats just like anithing else you try to sell.

But for the rest of the folks that have 0 skills at sells and limited social circles, its just a scam the way amway promotes this as something else than sells and a pyramid put together.

 

[RSmith47]

2 thoughts...

This episode of This American Life is about what I gather to be Amway for black folk. It's an amazing listen, seriously. Download and give it a listen:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/543/wake-up-now


Also, all the housewives into this shit drives me nuts. All they're doing is trading the legit money their husbands make around to each other. In my suburban neighborhood, one week the wives get together at someone's house to sell and buy Norwex cleaning shit, the next week it's off to someone else's to sell and buy some shitty Jewelry, then purses, then whateverthefuck, etc, etc. But I'm convinced none of them are actually making any money, just swapping their husband's money around to each other. But they're all empowered by calling themselves "business owners".

For reals yo. Lazy women sitting at home selling junk to each other over and over. Posting the shit on facebook and all their friends going "you go girl!" and shit. Meanwhile the guy is at work bringing home 95% of the bacon and gets recognized for none of it.

 

[homer]

I am a tax professional and I see it every year from the same clients. They jump from one scam to the next. They always come in saying how an Ex IRS agent was part of the seminar and how everything is deductible and you are allowed to show losses every year for several years. I explain the rules and ask if this ex-agent is going to represent them in an audit and ask why would they want to be in a business that shows losses and never make any money. I explain they would be better of getting a W-2 job and at least paying something into SS/Medicare.

Same people every year, rinse and repeat.

 

[irish_thug]

My grandfather sold it when I was a kid. I knew what a pyramid scheme was before I even heard the term.

 

[jackietreehorn8]

lol... I hate people way too much to ever want to even consider something like this...

I do like laughing at people's stupidity though

So do I tell this girl she is in a cult and it's a scam or just laugh as she gets sucked in and believes their lies? I do think some people are more vulnerable to this type of scam than others. Dumb people.

It's probably best to just let her figure it out on her own. You said you're not that close with her, nobody likes a busybody, so let her make her own mistakes. In the pantheon of people other people want to avoid, the guy chiming in and giving advice on on shit that really isn't his business is not far behind the Amway salesperson.

 

[llama de lrey]

i think my mom was sucked into buying products from a MLM scheme years ago. Her and my dad met some strange charismatic guy in the LA airport (he somehow approached them or whatever it was...) and long story short, he sells Xango mangosteen juice. It's basically fruit juice for $50/bottle that supposedly prevents cancer and helps arthritis or something, and it has a system of distributors etc. and you can become a sales rep. She had an automatic shipment of the stuff to their house of like 16 bottles a month for awhile... Dad put the brakes on that pretty quick.

 

[equus]

I had a good buddy come to town for "work" a few years ago and he wanted to meet up and invited me to his "conference". red flags there. turns out this 400 seat convention room was filled with people looking to make money, pyramid style, by buying timeshares and somehow getting free property just paying for airfare or some shit..

I went to the conference (2 hours and I hadn't seen the guy for 6-7 years) and I told him I wasn't going to do it. a year later, one of my kids was born and he sent me congratulations. I asked him how life was and how his new venture was going (not being a dick. legit hoping he was making money) and he didn't answer. I asked again and he said "I knew you would ask that." he then told me "it was a scam man." poor bastard and hes a really smart guy. think he paid $500-600 for the "opportunity" to get in on the "business."

 

[bcordova]

My dad was heavy into it and still has a lot of his friends that still live in that realm. He never cracked into the levels that made any real money. Of course his "friends" were getting rich. It basically ruined our family. Sadly my dad is still chasing that goal of becoming "independently wealthy". He is going on 60 and lives with his mom.

 

[method115]

It's always hilarious to me when people get involved in this crap. My cousin is involved in one of those herbal life companies. Not herbal life specifically but something that is basically the same thing. He must be doing well though cause I see him posting picture all the time about conferences and always flying somewhere. He's always been that guy trying to find a quick way to make money and then minute it gets hard he quits and tries to find something else.

I was shocked when my sister got pulled into it once. This one involved selling electricity. Luckily you only had to get three people in order to get your money back so once she did that she got out of it.

 

[equus]

My dad was heavy into it and still has a lot of his friends that still live in that realm. He never cracked into the levels that made any real money. Of course his "friends" were getting rich. It basically ruined our family. Sadly my dad is still chasing that goal of becoming "independently wealthy". He is going on 60 and lives with his mom.

ironically his becoming "independently wealthy" is contingent on being "dependently sheltered and housed" by gran.

 

[BubbaH]

My aunt and uncle did a long, long time ago. They made a little money at it. But it wasn't lucrative enough to keep them interested in it.

 

[method115]

I had a good buddy come to town for "work" a few years ago and he wanted to meet up and invited me to his "conference". red flags there. turns out this 400 seat convention room was filled with people looking to make money, pyramid style, by buying timeshares and somehow getting free property just paying for airfare or some shit..

I went to the conference (2 hours and I hadn't seen the guy for 6-7 years) and I told him I wasn't going to do it. a year later, one of my kids was born and he sent me congratulations. I asked him how life was and how his new venture was going (not being a dick. legit hoping he was making money) and he didn't answer. I asked again and he said "I knew you would ask that." he then told me "it was a scam man." poor bastard and hes a really smart guy. think he paid $500-600 for the "opportunity" to get in on the "business."

That's what I never understood is how red flags don't go off the minute someone ask you for money. I remember I would see work from home jobs but you had to pay like $35 and then they would send you the stuff you needed it was such BS.

 

[Guestx]

I think if you are good at sales and have huge social circles it can work, but thats just like anithing else you try to sell.

But for the rest of the folks that have 0 skills at sells and limited social circles, its just a scam the way amway promotes this as something else than sells and a pyramid put together.

I think if you treat it like any business and advertise and get the word out there, then you can be successful. The problem many people have is that they do exactly what you're suggesting, and that's restricting their sales attempts only to people within their social circle. That's the opposite of what you want to do. Eventually your family and friends are going to be like fuck you. You have a legitimate product to sell and you have to treat it like a legitimate business.

You said, "But for the rest of the folks that have 0 skills at sells and limited social circles, its just a scam the way amway promotes this as something else than sells and a pyramid put together." I really don't know anything about Amway. I can only speak about Herbalife, but my understanding is that the business model is more or less the same.

What I can tell you about Herbalife is that the products are good. A lot of people have used them to legitimately lose weight and I have used them myself. At the end of the day, they're protein powders, MRPs, vitamins, etc. I do wish the prices were lower, but as I said before, that's the supplement market for you.

As for how much money you can/will make, the company is very up front about what the average earnings are and that if you want to break past that to a higher level then you need to bust your ass and treat it like any entrepreneur needs to treat their business in order to be successful.

Like I said, I don't even do the shit anymore. But it's not because I thought it was a scam. I just didn't feel like putting all the work in. There are a good handful of people making a lot of money doing it, but they had to seriously bust their ass to get there and I wanted to spend my time doing other things.

 

[llama de lrey]

I hate sales and hate salespeople in general (insurance, realtors, etc). Get a real job/trade like engineer, pipefitter, etc and Be happy with your $70-$100 grand a year of legitimately earned money where you actually contributed to society to get it.

 

[RJ43]

Sadly my sister briefly dabbled in this crap with her boyfriend. She emails me one day about her "business" and saying that I should be an "investor." So I tell her to send me a business plan or at least some information and what I get in response was some drivel about Amway.

I tried to tell her how it was a pyramid scheme and to get out, but she basically said I don't support her.

Kids these days.

 

[llama de lrey]

Sadly my sister briefly dabbled in this crap with her boyfriend. She emails me one day about her "business" and saying that I should be an "investor." So I tell her to send me a business plan or at least some information and what I get in response was some drivel about Amway.

I tried to tell her how it was a pyramid scheme and to get out, but she basically said I don't support her.

Kids these days.

She sounds like this realtor guy I know (whose parents were rich and left him some huge money). He's got a peanut for a brain, and he's always talking about "the laws of attraction" and calling people "negative" if they have anything critical to say about anything. So basically if you use your brain and actually think critically then you're "negative" and he can't be around negative people because it will hurt his energy and he laws of attraction will work against him (less sales)...