Read Previous Posts Read Next Posts

The following posts have been reprinted in their entirety from posts e-mailed by readers of this website, except that headers, names and locations have been removed. These posts express the opinions and experiences of their authors, and this site publisher makes no representations about them in any way whatsoever. My name is **. I have a friend that has been wanting to get me to sign up for quixtar. I did a little research and found out about the relationship with amway. Then low and behold I found this site. I gave it to my friend and he really is having a hard time believing the info on this site. From Everything I have learned in the past this site only halps me to get an even better understanding of amway. I hate the fact that my friend is getting taken in, Is there an way that you could suggest that I may get him to understand? Any Questions that he can ask them that would show him the non-since. Or any referaces that he may look up that may help. I would really appretiate your help. My E-Mail addres is * Thank-You,

---

Please take a moment to read this,

I just got sucked in for the second time in joining Amway in less than 8 years. I thought I was pretty clear that I actually hated it...but I really liked the idea of Quixtar........... Now that I've been in (registered IBO) for the past 3 weeks, I have found and gained access to a 'slew' of information about quixtar and the methods used, false promises, etc. to get people in joining Quixtar......And I am about to tell my sponsor that I am returning my 'Kit' and want my money back, prior to calling my first name on my "names list". I would really like to talk to you but I have to go play baseball now, which I really think is part of what I call life and freedom, not go show plans and say prayers and sing Oh Canada in a room full of worshipers etc. Please contact me to discuss further how this was all sold to me....

Re: Amway/Quixtar

I found your website full of good info and interesting tidbits. My name is ** and I would like to point out that, as a generation X'r(24 yrs.), I have always looked down on those involved with mail order Amway marketing. In spite of this, I am intrigued at the thought of a virtual mall with many loyal customers(current Amway reps), a young force of marketers, and upwards of 100 million prospective clients. I have not heard anyone talk about the real issue here, and that is, will another generation of people bypass this possible oppurtunity because of a fear of "pyramid" schemes? I disagree with your claims that Amway and Q are the same. Access is the key ingredient in Quixtar that gives it an advantage over Amway. Every person with internet access will be able to tour the site. Now the only way to buy Amway is to have to deal with a pushy middle aged salesperson. Aside from Q being multi-level, I haven't heard any substantial reasons not to take a close look at it. I understand your frustration with MLM, but don't miss the forest because of the trees. What do you think?

so, I could not be happier that the FTC is really cracking down on equinox. I had the unfortunate opportunity to be involved in equinox. well after a few hard lessons I realized that there was no money to be made unless an individual felt at ease with themselves cheating people out of hard earned real money. all you had to do was get peoples 5k. I was lucky in that respect I came inand was chosen to be made a "story." my direct upline was the number one student of Mr. Gouldd at the time, and was making success stories for people. so for the first 30 days of my equinox experience, Mike Heyl took me under his wing. he didn't to know about all the other payments, monthly business expenses at an equinox office. so for the first 30 days I was payment free, except for the 5k out of pocket manager order that I needed to make to qualify. well I bought into it because I saw all of these big checks that he had made for people that were support to be just like me. right? 20 years old, broke and full time students, looking for a supplemental income. well anyhow after I had made my initial investment, mike heyl proceeded to build me a group, and make me a check of about 7k, 5k of which I borrowed to start my equinox business. well the 5k in product that mike told me he would sell out of the office, while I was at school was actually stolen out of the office. then I was told that I had to set up a desk and pay a $300 association fee, and then I had to pay $300 desk rent. oh, well I cant forget about a phone line and all of those other AMS seminars that I have to go to, that all cost money. so all in all Mr. Gouldd is making money, and I'm going broke. not to mention the fact that my sponsor yells, at me tells me to get my head out of my ass, and every time there is a training that I cannot afford to go to because I don't have the money, he scares me. well as you can tell I was sold on a dream, and lost grasp of reality.

when I left equinox I was almost evicted, locked out of my apartment, until I had to have an incredibly supportive family rescue me. the same family that equinox said, burn my bridges so that I have nothing negative effecting my business. whatever, it's a total cult, I'm just glad I got out of it and didn't lose as much money as some people that I know.

I just wanted to thank you for having such on a great site. I just had a friend give me the Quixtar "it can't lose - it's backed by IBM & Microsoft - just sign up 6 people, they sign 4, etc" speech. I had never heard of Quixtar but I did a little searching and luckily found your site before I lost any money. I know of Amway abuses, but I didn't know Quixtar was being run by Amway execs. Keep up the great work!

BTW, it's great that you are providing the side of Amway, Equinox and Excel that people won't here at the opportunity meeting, but what about the other 1,197/1,200ths of the MLM companies in the US? There are dozens of companies that are significantly different (better) than these three. The "good" MLM companies do suffer a guilt by association, but that's my point. You are association ALL of network marketing with these three aberations.

Too bad you don't know what you are talking about. Your information is far more misleading than anything I have ever heard from Amway.

I found it interesting that you made an observation that diamonds made a profit by selling the system (tapes, books, etc....) not products, that is my observation also and also amazon.com is one of the biggest scams there is for investors...... think about it's profits and corp. structure..... But there is also something else that you need to be aware of. Amway has a tiger by the tail and they don't know it, the system that they have setup and have been using for the past 40 years is going to blow up in the distributors favor. They have many consultants for the web but those consultants have failed to let them know about the very basic state of the net. It is what I call hyper-information and hyper-customers, 'The Truth is Out There' if you take the time to look and understand. For example, I can take your site as a 'nay sayer' site, as for your motivation, not sure yet, still have tons of info to pore through. My point is, watch real close to see what happens; An example, There is a web meeting presentation planned for Aug. 24th, they are cutting off sign-up because the response has been to heavy, this what I am told.... It may be a marketing gimmick, hard to say. They say it is being setup by Yahoo, need to check that and 1 more point, this is the third time for me in Amway...

By the way if you want to see some of my handy work, I am project manager for ***.

Hi, It was really wonderful of you to keep a provision for emailing you all.

To introduce myself ..I am **, an *** and a distributor for Amway. I am a software professional too. . . . I have been trying to gather information of Quixtar ..but guess what the sites are like a maze ..you cant really get the business model out of this . Searching the web is for the moment cumbursome for me ...so heres my request .. Can you please send me the following .. 1. The business model 2. The connection between AMWAY and Quixtar 3. When that business can come to India.

I also saw one of the pages on the web indicating that it is a pyramid ..Well at least AMWAY is not ..so why the comment on quixtar ..so i was vexed about this new opportunity that is gonna come up.

Please do send me the details. Let me thank you umpteen times to read the letter. With warmest regards,

Your site made me very sad. Over the course of two days, I read a lot of what the other sites had to say. I am a distributor and I plan on signing in to Quixtar when it comes. Until someone asked me about all the stuff on the Internet, I never knew this stuff was posted. I felt very bad about how those people must have been treated by other distributors. No one can make someone else do this for them. If someone doesn't want to do it, than leave them alone. Maybe I won't have millions but I do have some nice friends and I am enjoying the positive things that go on. I am an educated person who knows that a lot of things can happen between people and obviously these people were very hurt by the experience. I am sure the truth lies somewhere between all of them.Too bad. The anger sounds so deep and personal it is hard to fathom maybe because I haven't had the same experience. I do however support the first amendment and believe in the open discourse of differing minds. Good luck to you.

I was lured in by Quixtar, but when I filled out the application form it had Amway all over it. It even requires me to make 100 PV each month. This can be by me buying $200 of Amway products each month or bringing in more people. Now the application had a square to check if I was interested in Quixtar. Reading the WEB sites I see no one can be signed up until September 1. Have I been had? I paid $115 to get in. For this I received $45 in Amway products and a Franklin Covey planner notebook. The person who brought me in said she is linking people everyday and I need to get 10 good people in by September 1, if I want to be one of the ones on the ground floor to make a million dollars. I already brought in one friend who now has questions, too. And I have another friend who wants me to stop by and talk to her some more about Quixtar. Please write back to me at the above address and my daytime address *** with your response. I appreciate your honesty in the is matter.

if anyone has heard of KUDZU please understand that the product is awesome. However the President of the company is not. He lied, He stole, He shut down. His name is Ron Graham from Alabama. If you ever meet him becareful,, last I heard he was doing excel. Sincerely an x-regional director of Kudzu Labs!

To whom it may concern: My name is **, and I have been offered to enter Quixtar as an IBO. I would like your opinion on this. I have heard alot of comments about distributors of Amway, and there scams. The company does receive quite a # of negative remarks. I really want to know why are there several Diamonds(I'm not sure the exact number), and if they can make it why would it be virtually impossible for me to make it? Thanks alot for your help,

Live life to it's fullest and surely do not try to make people believe everything I read or hear.

I had an Amway rep visit me last night. They were friends of a friend and they had a really good cover story. I am a Network Analyst for a private company in Wisconsin and they originally called me on the phone and asked me to "help them get their Internet business started" and offered me a "partnership" if I did. I do internet and e-commerce consulting on the side and I have done html and C coding for e-commerce websites on many occasions, so I thought it was legitimate and scheduled an appointment.

I came home from work and I prepared my own little presentation of past work I had done. I started to smell a rat when they showed up at my door wearing business suits and had armfulls of three ring binders and slick, glossy, promo stuff and cassette tapes. When we sat down at the table they proceeded to lay out all their stuff and start a tag-team sales pitch for Quixtar. I was pissed and shocked.

They kept saying it was a "joint venture" between Microsoft, IBM and some company named A-corp. I was confused more than anything. I work in networking. I get all the trade rags for networking, the internet and e-commerce, Yet I had never, ever heard of this before. They were saying that Quixtar had agreements with GM, Chrysler, Ford and Toyota so you could even buy a car through Quixtar. Other companies they mentioned as participating were Nike, Coca-Cola, RCA, Apple Computer and it was all going online 9/1/99.

So I asked... "What do you need me for". "We need customers and Idependent Business people to promote it." An e-commerce site that needs people to go door to door to get them to use it???? What's the point? I pretty much wrote it off after that. I politely brought the whole thing to a quick end and that was that. I was curious this morning and I started poking around the internet and found the "Amway connection" and suddenly their stupidity made sense and I actually fealt sorry for them.

Let me give your readers a quick dose of reality. The internet does not work the way these jokers say it does. Their little Quixtar scheme is not designed to make money through anything but recruitment. And from the lies they told me, they are willing to say anything to seperate you from your money. Want to start a business?? Come up with a product and for $75 a month you can start your own e-commerce site at your local ISP. They will even help you design your site for a small fee. Advertising can be free if you register with the right search engines. CAn't think of a good product? find someone that does and invest with them. I promise you will make more and be much happier.

I think the Amway or Quixtar business is only as good as the people you are in with. I am in with great people and I happen to believe that I am a good person with only the best intentions. This business works only for people who work and who have the proper intentions. It may work short term for unethical people but not for the long term. I find that the people that get on the web and complain and try to bring the whole thing down are those that get in with the wrong people or are the wrong people.You presume a lot to be the critic without any experience in this business. Tonight, a new IBO quit because she read your "opinion" she only signed up 2 days ago, she didn't give this a chance and she doesn't realize anyone can get on the web and say what ever they want with no repercussions. You see I am just as much a stranger to her that you are. People being people in most cases will take the easy route and just quit, which is a shame because this could have been the best thing that happened to her had she just gave me a chance to show her that this works and that I would have helped in every way to prove that fact to her.Is this really what you want to do?

You are quite right, you cannot be an IBO in Quixtar yet, I was referring to Amway. I think all the naysayers are still talking about Amway.Obviously it didn't work for you, but it has worked for so many, that you must feel that there is something to it all.How can so many people be wrong? It has been great for my wife and my kids and me.I am not easily drawn into a cult, I know exactly where I am going with this.I also think that your message is very hurtful to many other people's chances. If I had read some of the stuff that Sidney Schwartz has written maybe I would have run too. Thankfully I didn't.

Dear People,

I am not surprised at your web site. There are many people who have been done wrong by people associated with the Amway Corp. I have been shown the Amway plan about four times over the last twenty years and never wanted to do it. However, having known several successful distributors I think that I can judge the character of this company very well. There are always bad apples in any group. Look at the twelve disciples! Over eight per cent of them were bad! If you think that Quixtar is a scam then you apparently are not familiar with how businesses work successfully. My wife and I wanted an internet business and this was the least expensive way to do it. We are now IBO's in Quixtar and we are not part of a scam. Apparently you were done wrong by some people or you would not be religiously pusueing this thing the way that you are. I'm sorry that you feel the way that you do and have the bitterness in your heart that you have. I have known about this company for thirty years, went to college with Paul Conn, and am now building my business. I hope that the Lord will bless you and will heal the bitterness in your heart.

Do you guys know if any lawsuits are pending against Teddy Turners scam called e.TV/Localnet.

Your information is interesting reading, that's for sure. A very different perspective on the particular arm of the Amway branch I'm in.

I've been very leery of the Business Support Materials distributed by my upline, especially the "Hard Sale" approach used by one of my upline Directs. I wasn't aware of the profits DDs make on them, but I was pretty sure I didn't need more information than what I had on the first few tapes I heard. Mercifully my sponsor gave me most of my tapes, which I then gladly passed on down-line.

That said, I have seen the BETA site for Quixtar, and I can tell you it is VERY VERY good so far. You would be quick to point out that the partner stores section is "under construction" and has no content: I grant you that. On the other hand, the look, feel, and presentation of items on the site is excellent (to date - there is still plenty to be done but what HAS been done looks very good). It is much like a favorite site of mine, http://www.coolshop.com - check it out...the product ordering system is similar to Quixtar.

Now the other side. Don Storms has put together a "subscription" website (link below) which is very much like the "tools" sold by DDs. Have a look at the site, I'm sure much of it will be all too familiar to you. There is a monthly fee for use (surprized?) - $9.95 I think. I intend to get rid of it (if I can) once Quixtar is launched.

I think you are only partially accurate in your assessment of the Amway business. I do think it is a good model, and that the Quixtar business will present intelligent, alert, people an opportunity to make a few extra bucks because of the ability to create width without travel (a major advantage full-timers have over start-ups). I can concede that there are some unethical people in this business, and more than one are at (or near) the top. On the other hand, there are also a great many perfectly genuine people in this business, my sponsor and myself for two.

Look at the link below, and tell me if you haven't seen it all before.

Enjoyed looking at your site.

Okay, there are some discrepancies about what the similarities and differences between Amway and Quixtar really are. Here is the problem in a nut shell:

Any organization or affiliation with the number of people we're talking about, is going to have some communication problems. So, what can be done about it? Try harder to keep people informed.

I also recognize that there are some people out there who will lie, cheat, steal, etc., no matter what line of work they choose, so why should Amway or Quixtar be different? After all, its people.

Allow me to address a few concerns you've expressed:

Amway and Quixtar will share the same compensation plan.

There is no such thing as automatically becoming a Quixtar IBO. You have to make a conscious decision to do so, and you cannot do it until 1 Sep 99. Period.

Income representations are now allowed by Amway/Quixtar rules. Hey, I don't expect you to answer for others deeds; don't expect me to either. Sorry, but that is just how it is. I think there is a difference between making income representations and lying. I'll explain: Showing/telling someone how much they may be able to earn if they apply effort and proven principles is not the same as telling someone that they will make a particular amount of money. I can see a difference and I make sure my folks do also.

Your friend Larry isn't well informed. Both businesses will have renewal fees as always. And people will have the opportunity to own both businesses, but must declare one to be the primary.

New business registration kits now cost $99.95 + tax. Some IBOs have some of the older kits which can be $150 or so.

I resent your sweeping generalization that all persons affiliated Amway/Quixtar are lying, cheating, unethical, greedy, ignorant, thieves, who care only about themselves and your money. Why do I write to you? Because not all people are bad. Ergo, not all Amway/Quixtar people are bad. Most of us will not "say and do whatever they want, fly in the face of the corporation's rules, ethics, you name it." And the corporation does and will punish IBOs who violate the rules. For example, well over 100 distributors were suspended or dropped for violations concerning pre-sponsoring in new countries last year. Amway punished people from distributor level all the way to Diamond level for this just last year. Ethics? I think so.

I really don't expect this to change your opinion. And I honestly don't care. My guess is that you spend too much time finding fault with others. While you're spending countless hours finding problems with Amway and Quixtar which you should be spending with your family, I will be raising my children personally, and not through a surrogate. Because I can. So, sit back, turn on the television, and scratch off those lotto tickets until you hit the jack pot. Your family should be proud.

After reading some of the "reports" on your website about Quixtar/Amway...I feel it necessary to take you to task on something. If you have been involved in ANY MLM you have to know that you cannot control what the many fanatical folks will and do say with regard to their business or product(s).

It really irritates me when people who think that they know everything about "some" things, but don't really know that much and they spout off about it like they are the long-lost guru on the mountain. I cannot believe that someone who claims to have the straight skinny on MLMs would take such a one-sided view.

In fact, I am willing to believe that you never succeeded at anything. That is why you are so bitter about ANY opportunity.

Consider this, o-wise one! Nothing, and I mean nothing, will work if the individual doesn't work it! If you get invovled with a job, MLM or traditional business only to "try" and make it work...it will fail 100% of the time. You have to WANT it to work and then back that up with action and dedication.

The biggest problem that I see with why people are so down on the Amway Corp. and now Quixtar... is that they were approached or deceived by an Am-roid! Not because they were screwed or deceived by the company itself. So, I suggest you try bashing the idiots that are mis-representing Amway/Quixtar and stop bashing the companies. You don't have all of the facts...I don't even have all of the facts and I am involved in the Amway business and I will be...key word there folks...WILL BE involved with the Quixtar opportunity.

Quixtar is NOT Amway. Just because it was started by the founding families does not make it one-in-the-same. Maybe you should learn the definition of this word: Diversification. The second generation of DeVoss and VanAndels is running the show now. They are simply developing a business to run in the newest commerce arena...the internet.

People CANNOT sign-up for Quixtar until 9/1/99. PERIOD! If they are/were duped...that's unfortunate, but it is not a deception scam by Amway. Once again I refer to the Am-roid.

Get a clue before you start your bashings, wise-one!

Hello,

Your site provides great information for ex and prospective MLMer's. Do you have any information on Pre-Paid Legal Services, Primerica, and WMA (World Marketing Alliance, Inc.)? Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you for the information from your homepage - it clears up all of the smoke and mirrors Amway is using to get people committed to Quixtar. They want you to sign up now before it has even started without giving you prices, products, etc... These guys have been trying to get me to buy a "starter kit" for $106.00 to be an IBO for quixtar. If I don't do it now then I'll still have my same job next year and I won't be a Millionaire this time next year!! Yeah Right!!! My Idea of being successful is not hyping up peoples dreams and selling them overpriced items. According to your website these people talking to me have already broken several of the Amway rules - for example - Trying to sign me up as a Quixtar IBO before 9-1-99 (I'm being told if I don't sign up now then 9-1-99 will be too late), Telling me that I'll easily be making at least 5,000 a month within six months (and this income will last as long as I live and can be passed to my family when I pass away). The best one is that Microsoft and IBM have invested $250 Million into Quixtar - I am a shareholder of Microsoft and I saw nothing in the annual report that even mentioned Quixtar, let alone any money was invested into it - When I mentioned this they quickly changed the subject to how big online shopping has gotten. I then asked them how their products were going to be any cheaper then what I can already find online direct from the manufacturers and they said that all of the companies that are being "screened for acceptance into Quixtar" must guarantee that they will be offering the lowest prices available for their products. They have all of the answers - I guess that comes from all of the motivational tapes they have purchased. I was reading some of the e-mail about how some people feel it is a cult - when I went to their little informational meeting a couple of weeks ago I remember how weird it was. I was the only non- IBO there and I just kind of got a creepy feeling - everything just seemed so fake and everybody had little quips about the business such as it will be the McDonalds of the internet. Do any of these sales pitches sound familiar? - Unlimited income, products sell themselves, etc, etc, etc..... Anyways, thank you for the Info - I thought I was the only one who thought it was a little strange -- and fake.

Good evening,

I really love your site! I've had some Amway folks on my case for sometime now at work. Now with Quixtar they keep telling me that they'll come and pay off my house for me in a year. They've said that Bill Gates on the Jay Leno Show said that Quixtar was the wave of the future and will control the internet in the future. Is this true? Did Bill gates really say that on Jay Leno or is this just an old P&G trick all over again? Was he even on the Leno show? If he was how could I see the old episode?

They are apart of WWDB with Ron Puryear(sp). Has that lawsuit been settled? What is the big difference between WWDB and the other organizations? They keep telling me that they have nothing to do with Yager and the bunch.

I know you are very busy, so thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail. Your response would really help me out.

Sincerly,

I have been a Melaleuca customer for just over a year and a half, and recently I have contemplated building the business. Have you heard of Melaleuca Inc.? On the surface it seems like a great company. Like I said, I was a customer for over a year before I even considered building the business, and I do not see how anybody could possibly be hurt. However, I am brand new to this industry and before I attack this endeavor full force, or any endeavor for that matter, I like to do my homework. I would never want to get a friend involved in anything that could hurt them, financially or emotionally. After reading the information on your site, I wanted to check and see your opinion, or lack of opinion, on Melaleuca. Any information will be useful.

Thanks a lot,

Have you heard of or do you have any information on Amways suit against NIKKEN the multilevel company that has just moved its national headquarters to California? They apparently have just gotten into magnetic products along with everything else and are now suing NIKKEN for patent infringment. NIKKEN has been in the nagnetic products business for 25 years. NIKKEN claims this is just too bazzare and are vowing to fight and countersue to the bitter end. What is your take on this? What is your opinion on NIKKEN? I would like to see some information on your site in the future.. Thankyou.

Hey Thanks for putting the word out on these old broken down MLM'S some of them just don't get it if their programs did what everyone in them said it would do, we would all be RICH. This INDUSTRY only has 2-3 companies which are HONEST and care about the real PROFIT generators the DISTRIBUTORS it took us 6 years an thousands of dollars to finally find 1 that would really WORK. I don't SPAM so I wont mention the company I am with, however we do e-commerce and e-networking so QUIXTAR is NOT unique and ANYONE can BUY from our sites you do not have to JOIN and we even give them a DISCOUNT. WAKE-UP and smell the coffee it takes hard work and dedication to build a NETWORK and it takes a PUBLICALLY traded company with high INTEGRITY that's why you have to do your homework before you JOIN other wise you will get BURNED by the HYPE that most people claim is a OPPORTUNITY. Keep up the good work you are helping a lot of SMART people save THOUSANDS of dollars and are helping to keep the industry of NETWORKING on it's toes. WE APPRECIATE IT!!!

I have been working with Equinox for a month. I earned more this month working with Equinox than anywhere else. Please, tell me why and how I am being scamed so maby I can be aware for the future..Thanks P>S I really need your info...

Actually, if you've read recent press you'll find that the mass media has printed several updates to their Amway/Quixtar stories. You are correct that I didn't bother to read the site. After I encountered paragraph after paragraph of outdated, incorrect and, in actuality, false & misleading information, I decided it was only worth the few brief minutes it took to send emails to you (and Amway Corp.) my suggestions. Those suggestion remains the same: remove the outdated, incorrect and false information, take the Quixtar name out of the URL in one of your pages (that will bring you much grief) -- along with a new one: print a huge disclaimer on your front page that you are a former unhappy and unsuccessful Amway distributor with a bone to pick.

Part II

You're right! I didn't completely read the site. I have no desire to read the site any further. And, I'm not going to. However, I do offer you best wishes and much success with your enterprise.

The purpose of this letter is not to disparage anyone, rather it is simply one person’s experience in the Amway business.

It was back in April of 1971 when a friend of mine walked into the Kroger store where I worked as a cashier. In excited tones she exclaimed to me how Bill Britt (then City Manager of Carrboro, N.C. had just made $60,000 selling something called "Amway" products. I did not know Bill Britt personally, but had heard of him. Of course I was thrilled for his sake, but I did not know how in the world this had anything to do with me.

A few weeks later she told me what a great thing this Amway was, and that I should attempt to sell it myself. I had no desire to get involved with peddling soap door to door, but I was interested in looking at any proposal which could improve my financial situation. She let me borrow her "Career Manual" which I Iooked over that night. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed. Seemed like too much work for me. Gave it back to her, and thanked her for her time.

Let me say at that time I was a pretty good prospect for the Amway pitch. I was trapped in a dead-end job with no future. Long hours, low pay, dull monotonous work.

Next month the husband of a co-worker told me about a terrific money management program. Every time he went through the checkout line he dropped a few bits and pieces. Didn’t know it at the time, but I was being set up. In the meantime I was hearing all kinds of things about Amway, and how people from all walks of life were getting rich at it. He drove me to an "opportunity meeting " at Bill Burch’s (a Pearl Direct who was sponsored by Bill Britt) house where I saw the plan for the first time.

Bill Burch drew the circles then demonstrated some of the products. Theoretically the plan would work, but it would depend on all of those people going out and selling $100 worth of products. He then showed me his scrapbook. It was filled with photocopies of checks from Bill Britt, and later from Amway itself. That got my attention. Even if he only got to keep half of what he received, it was still much more than I was making as a cashier at Kroger. It was more money than my father had ever made as an advertising executive!

I tried to show it to several people, all of whom turned it down. My sponsor then persuaded me to come with him to Charlotte to attend something called a "rally"

Frankly it was an electrifying experience. There were about fifteen hundred people in attendance. I had no idea so many people were involved in this!

There was Dexter Yager, Bill Britt, and a lot of the other high-level directs. I should have picked up on one thing. Why were these people here on stage? Wouldn’t this be a great day to be showing the Plan and developing the business? I was told that they were there for only one reason: To help us become as successful as they were! I was told that they could be anywhere they wished, but that they were taking time out of their lives to be with us and help us grow!

Have to admit one thing: Dexter does put on one hell of a show. There was a lot of singing, and testimonials from higher ranking distributors. Particularly moving was that of Willie Bass, a fourth-grade dropout. Obviously Amway had made a significant difference in his life for the better. I was truly moved by this. I wanted so much to find someone just like him, show him the Plan, and see him go out and achieve the same things Willie had! After the rally we went to a burger joint called the "Big E" where Dexter mesmerized all of us. Every time he spoke, some lower level distributor was holding a mike to his face, grasping every word as if it coming directly from the Burning Bush!

I didn’t sleep at all that night, I was so excited. My sponsor and I drove back to Chapel Hill, and I finally went to bed at around 8:00 A.M. I was so excited I called a prospect whom I didn’t even know, went to his house and showed him he plan. He and his wife did get into it.

Meetings didn’t go as I thought they would. They had thirty no-shows in a row! Factor in the time I spent with them, (gas etc.) as opposed to doing a part-time job---well, you’re talking some serious money! Eventually they did sponsor someone, who in turn sponsored a couple. Heard a lot of talk from them about how they were going to blow Amway wide open. I was all prepared to help them with their meetings, but that’s all it was: Just talk! Never heard from these people again.

I sponsored six others over the course of two years. Had a real live one who sponsored three people the next two days, and before I knew it I had a group in Columbia, S.C. One of the members wrote a check to me for some products, and it bounced. I eventually collected it, but it sure was an inconvenience. More gasoline, more wear and tear on my car!

By now I was at the $300 PV level. What little I made from that was more than eaten up by trips to functions, book and tape purchases. Luckily for me, at that time the tapes were only $3.00 a piece. Functions were maybe $5 or $10.

What was wrong? I was doing everything my upline was telling me to do, and then some! In December of 1971 I even drove down to Ft. Lauderdale just to hear Rich DeVos. I was the only member of the entire Britt organization who did this. Like Dexter kept telling me, I kept hanging in there, showing and showing the plan, all to no avail. Any questions I had would be discussed at the meetings (which I had to pay for, incidentally!)

The second Rally I attended opened my eyes somewhat. I was so eager to see Dexter Yager again. (He does have that effect on some people). Couldn’t get anybody in my group to attend, so it was just me, my sponsor and his wife.

Again, I had a great time, but just a few things were bothering me. Very conveniently located was a booth where "positive thinking" books and motivational tapes could be purchased. I was told to make the check out to Dexter Yager. Had been in retailing long enough to know that in these quantities, Dexter was not selling these books at cost. At Kroger we sold the same cassette tapes for less than fifty cents a piece. I’m sure Dexter was buying them wholesale and was paying less than that for the tapes. You’re talking about at least a two dollar profit per tape. And there were thousands of them being bought by would-be Double Diamonds!

Got to know Dexter a little better the second time around. Actually, when I had heard people talk about him in such reverential tones, I expected to see a much older man. He was only 32. Seems Bill Britt got in touch with him back in ‘69. Dexter was able to get him to drive out to Charlotte, N.C. (about 120 miles) and show him the plan. He did this by telling Bill Britt that he was 30 years old, and in the top two per cent of the nation’s income bracket. Bill Britt got into the business. He had little success with it at first. In his own recollections:

"Nine people in a row turned it down flat!" That changed after Dexter Yager got involved. Being the city manager of Carrboro, N.C. Britt commanded enough clout to get five couples to his house for an opportunity meeting, which Dexter put on himself. Let’s just say this scenario was very much the exception rather than the rule. Would to God all rookie Amway distributors could have this break! I don’t begrudge his success because of this, but be honest. He had a lot of advantages in getting started that the average Joe Blow Amway did not!

Back to the Rally. I had assumed that the primary reason for a function such as this would be to teach us how to sponsor distributors and sell the products. It was a little topsy turvy to say the least. There was a little bit on how to prospect, nothing at all on how to sell Amway, and 95% of the event consisted of how to live our personal lives, and how we were needed to turn our nation back to God. Dexter made no bones about being a Christian. Personally I had no problem with that, but it seemed just a little inappropriate to bring it up at a business meeting. At a conventional business seminar, they teach you how to operate your business, and not delve into your personal affairs. This was just the opposite.

Dexter made a very contemptuous remark on people on welfare, which I thought to be poorly thought out. Sure, there are well publicized cases of welfare abuse, but what about the elderly, what about the disabled? Seems you have to handle each situation on a case by case basis, not just call them all lazy.

Still, Dexter and Birdie put on quite a show that night. It was very moving to hear their rags to riches struggle. They seemed to imply that if only I worked harder, then success would be right around the corner. Returned home again at 8:00 A.M. resolving to push myself harder.

I was still troubled, though. I had gotten into the business because my dream was to own a Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman. Their top of the line model. At that time it retailed for $34,000. That’s not much to pay for a car these days, but it was almost thirty years ago. When I told Dexter this was what I wanted, he immediately told me my car should be a Cadillac. After all, how could I promote American Free Enterprise by driving a foreign car? His logic seemed a little skewed to me. I drink imported coffee, I drink imported whisky. Does that mean I don’t love the U.S.A.? For cryin’ out loud! I thought this was a business where you could be free!

Dropped by Bill Burch’s filling station (remember, he was the Pearl Direct sponsored by Bill Britt?) and Bill Britt pulled into the service bay very excited. He didn’t know I was there, so he blurted to Bill Burch how he had just returned from Dexter Yager’s house, where Dexter had shown him a suitcase with $150,000 in cash! After he noticed I had overheard that remark, Bill Britt sternly admonished me to never mention that to anyone! This is a business where we’re supposed to be successful. Why the Hush Hush?

That night I did a little mental calculating. Dexter Yager was just a Double Diamond back then. I guesstimated his Amway earnings to be between $150-$200,000 a year. Yet at the functions and rallies, he was talking about his lifestyle, his cars, his vacations. There was no way he could live like that on $200,000 a year! And if Amway only paid him that much, where did he get that much in cash? I thought about the recent rally I attended. Must have been twenty thousand people there. If each one paid fifteen dollars, that’s $300,000 right there. And what about the books and tapes he was selling? There was a lot more to this so-called "business" than met the eye.

There was a lot that bothered me. My father took a dim view of the whole set-up. He smelled a rat, I think. But since he would have been negative about anything I might have pursued, I gave it little thought. At another rally, Bill Britt flat out declared that anybody would have to be an idiot not to see the Amway opportunity and get into it. I told Bill about my father and he (Bill Britt) said I should write "My father’s an idiot!" on paper and paste it on my bedroom wall. So much for God’s commandment to "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother!"

One of the main selling points of Amway products is that they are biodegradable, causing less harm to the environment than the "negative" products out there. It was ironic to me that here were these people distributing such products, then turning around and buying huge numbers of cars (I believe Dexter said he owned fifty cars!) to pollute the environment.

Made the biggest mistake of my life back in April of 1972. I quit my cashier’s job at Kroger, and resolved to do Amway full time. I had three months salary saved up, and all the big-name distributors assured me I could make direct in three months. "Very easily!" Money was going to run out then, so nobody can tell me I wasn’t motivated, or didn’t work the business hard enough!

Three months later I was a real "broke loser" The people I sponsored didn’t do the business, others dropped out. I was spinning myself into a mudhole. Upliners assured me that success was just around the corner. It was very humiliating when my first check bounced. That had never happened to me before. I had no steady job, no income coming in. Yes, I detested my job at Kroger, but at least I was getting paid every week and my self esteem was still intact. Bills were now coming in, and I had to try to stall my creditors. It was winter and I dreaded being evicted from my apartment. I had too much pride to return home.

In retrospect, I have nobody to blame but myself. No one in my upline actually TOLD me to go quit my job! But it was the incessant downgrading of jobs from people like Dexter and Bill Britt that encouraged me to do that. I like a quote from Dexter:

"Nobody can make an intelligent decision without knowing ALL the facts!" So far, so good. I have no quarrel with that statement. How I wish the NET had been available to me twenty-eight years ago. Then I could have discovered:

Less than one distributor in a thousand makes in excess of $15,000 a year. Even if you make it to Direct, you can still have a loss due to operating expenses. Don’t even think about quitting your job at this point!

Your chances of making it to Diamond are about one in ten thousand. You can become a millionaire in Amway, but it won’t be from selling products or sponsoring distributors. It will be from tape sales book sales, speaker’s fees.

I consider those facts to be pretty important. I would have liked to have known them. Certainly anyone contemplating getting into Amway would want to know them. Somehow I don’t think Sergeant Joe Friday (Just the facts, m’am) could have been a success as an Amway distributor!

In ‘73 I took a long look at what I had accomplished those two years. Lost a job, ruptured relationships, a box of motivational cassettes, making payments on a small Toyota, worrying about the rent. I did not renew that year. But I did go to the A&P and bought my first "negative product" in two years. Don’t know how to describe it but instinctively I felt a real sense of freedom.

Got another job and slowly began to rebuild my life.

Epilogue

Does my story have a happy ending. Yes, there IS life after Amway! I’ve been with the U.S. Postal Service fifteen years, and run a liquor store part time. You know what I love? No prospecting! Been married almost fourteen years. My wife works full time and is a terrific mother to our eleven year-old son. We live in a nice subdivision, take nice trips, and give generously to our favorite charities. I drive a late model Mark VIII that’s paid for. We have a net worth in excess of $850,000, and earn over $100,000 a year. Less than 1% of all the people in Amway can make that statement.

Here’s to JOBS. Ain't’ it Great!

---

Read Previous E-Mail Comments

Read Next Comments

This page updated Aug-25-99