Wtf? I just got approached by Amway!? - Page 3

Matt24 · #21 04-26-2006, 02:45 AM

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Believe it or not this isn't a scam. It's just a very, very hard way to make an easy living.

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I agree with this, I did some network marketing in college, if you are actually willing to put in the time(lots of it), you can make yourself some good money. I do have a couple acquaintances who are doing well with Lightyear Alliance.

[/ QUOTE ] It seems to be pretty much a full-fledged scam. I just read on Wikipedia that in addition to the fact that:

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well, I more meant network marketing in general, I know nothing about this specifc company.

ChipWrecked · #22 04-26-2006, 02:54 AM

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I more meant network marketing in general

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The company's focus has to be on selling product.

The trouble with most of these network mktg outfits is that they focus on and make money from recruiting.

kibble420 · #23 04-26-2006, 02:55 AM

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I more meant network marketing in general

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The company's focus has to be on selling product.

The trouble with most of these network mktg outfits is that they focus on and make money from recruiting.

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I wouldn't say 'most'.

Just like any industry, there are good companies, and not so good ones.

beenben · #24 04-26-2006, 03:05 AM

When the Internet was pretty new, at least to me, and I had AOL and I was a new lawyer trying to build a practice.. I put in my profile that I was a lawyer and some Amway dude tracked me down, only he didn't call it that. He said he was looking for a lawyer but I couldn't get him pinned down on what it was that a lawyer was supposed to do for him or what the business was. So I went to meet with him and he described this pyramid scheme. Wasted an hour except that it gave me awesome Amway Radar.

A year or two after that I was in line at Wendy's. Random guy in the line strikes up a conversation with me. I don't remember what he said but I instantly knew it was Amway. I said "Amway?, not interested." Boy was he shocked. He asked why no interest and I said b/c I'd been lied to before.

AAAA · #25 04-26-2006, 03:22 AM

the historical reasoning behind not telling you what the "opportunity" is results from the newbies not knowing how to properly present the opportunity. in actuality, it is because when people heard the word amway, they either were already in it, fled immediately, or had never heard of it.

however, if you don't know how the mlm's work, you can actually learn some valuable marketing principles, but most is just talk to your friends and send them to a meeting so the upline can recruit them.

amway is better than some because there used to be some decent quality products that were concentrated and really did go a long way.

more recently, i looked at the smorgasbord that they do with quixtar and they have totally missed the mark for any product focus.

ChipWrecked · #26 04-26-2006, 03:34 AM

I was involved in MLM through the Primerica insurance company.... while not a scam, they are recruit intensive. They also used to charge the maximum legal front end load on mutual funds.

That said, I learned enough about insurance while getting my license that I call the experience a plus.

I just wasn't cut to sell life insurance, or recruit others to do it.

runner4life7 · #27 04-26-2006, 04:00 AM

fwiw quixtar is only $40 i believe to join their big thing is to buy the products for yourself and use them and then get others to be under you and buy and use the products etc. I think #4 is the best choice if you get the nice pause after you say it look both ways and jsut dart out of there. priceless.

Matt24 · #28 04-26-2006, 04:17 AM

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I was involved in MLM through the Primerica insurance company.... while not a scam, they are recruit intensive. They also used to charge the maximum legal front end load on mutual funds.

That said, I learned enough about insurance while getting my license that I call the experience a plus.

I just wasn't cut to sell life insurance, or recruit others to do it.

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One of my very best friends is a primerica rep. Myself, our other best mutual friend, and my dad all think Primerica is bad, but he has been brain-washed by the company. I remember Primerica calling me the summer after I graduated from biz school at IU, I can't believe IU even lets them recruit there. I can't believe how much he is getting when he gets someone life insurance or sets them up with mutal funds or whatever, he is getting ripped.

AAAA · #29 04-26-2006, 06:32 AM

primerica was another great idea going mainstream and losing focus. people realized the money came from recruiting and not selling.

buy term and invest the difference is a fine idea. the insurance industry is still making large fortunes from people who buy whole life insurance. the insurance lobby is one of the most impressive behemoths of all time.

however, you are right about the high fees too.

sushijerk · #30 04-26-2006, 09:12 AM

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fwiw quixtar is only $40 i believe to join their big thing is to buy the products for yourself and use them and then get others to be under you and buy and use the products etc. I think #4 is the best choice if you get the nice pause after you say it look both ways and jsut dart out of there. priceless.

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The guy told me that registration was $200 and BWW "training materials" is another $95. He didn't even say they were optional.

I did some research and while Quixtar is not a scam in the legal sense, thier prices on core products are high enough that nobody would ever choose to buy them over traditional products from a store. The only way to ensure constant product turnover is to develope a system which forces your members to buy a requisite amount of overpriced products in order to support thier "business". In order for you to turn a profit, many people under you have to be paying out the nose. Then of course there is the constant pressure to buy training materials and attend sessions.

People must fall for this crap hook line and sinker, because John's sponsor, an "emerald", couldn't believe how long it was taking to "sell me the business." He told me the points/reward structure and basically said, "how would you like to pay?" When I replied that I actually wanted to see the site for myself to make sure Quixtar's prices are competitive, I got this gem: "Imagine you are choosing between buying k-mart and wal-mart. There is no way you would goto every store and compare the prices of every item. The individual prices here don't matter because YOU ARE BUYING THE BUSINESS AND NOT THE ITEMS." This guy was supposedly a successful businessman with an MBA.

I can't believe this guy doesn't get laughed at if he is going to spout lines like that under pressure.