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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. Re: Purchase Plus Is Purchase Plus Buyer's Group a scam? Thanks,
HI, I, too, fell for the trap. I was lured into Equinox and promised that because of my "look", personality, and intelligence, I would be the next Serena Schwartz- a MD office. I lost a great deal of money AND respect for myself, ...not to mention my 9 to 5 job that I thought I would not need once I built my pipeline!!! HAH!!!! I did gain something...an overall feeling of utter stupidity- and enough crappy waterfilters, vitamins and products for the next one thousand years!!!! Everyone told me to not get involved and just as many people could reference a former rep with a garage full of water filters. Well, now I am one of those "had" people. Anyway. I learned the hard way! Thank you for your web site. I am glad I am not alone, though I wish none of us were brainwashed like we were. Hopefully others will see your web site and take heed. I am curious about the current status of good 'ol Billy and Equinox. My state's Attorney General, with whom I have been in contact, is preparing a multi state law suit to be heard in April. Does anyone know if we, the investors, will see any of the money, if "we" win? I would really feel a lot less raped and abused if I had some kind of compensation, as I am sure many would. Do you know anything more about this! I was also told Gouldd's assets were frozen. Do you happen to know any more info? I would personally like to see him lose his money and dignity the way he caused so many others to do. If you have any info on Gouldd Equinox or the law suit, I'd love to hear!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!! Part II I apologize for the first e-mail. I had read Equinox stories on your web site and wished to direct that first e-mail to an Equinox survivor- simply because they would recognize the names I mentioned. Sorry for the confusion. I ended answering my own questions by surfing your site a little more- like I was told to do. Thanks for letting me vent. Thanks for providing the information and the support. Keep it up
Help, Have you ever heard of this company?.I was envolved with them back in 1997 selling wireless security systems to other people and of course getting them also hooked.After endless promises from them,and much of my time and money invested i had to give it up.The problem was you had to sign a contract with the monitoring company to join up.Now,years later,they are still trying to collect (they even have a attorney involved).Anyway,to make a long story short i have paid the monthly monitoring fee for more than a year(98-99) and just want out.I would greatly appreciate any advice or information on this company that you have. Thank you
Hi, Really enjoy your site. I was an Amway distributor for about 3 years and my experience parallels yours. What was unique about my experience was that I was an officer in the military sponsored by a group that consisted of many higher ranking officers. You mention Charlotte in your story so I was wondering if you were in the Bill Britt organization or Yager? We were in the Bill Britt-Miller-Covington line of sponsorship. Do you have any information on those organizations not on your site. We've been out of Amway now for almost 2 years and life has improved 100% in every respect-although we are enjoying success, memories of the "business" stings, and coming to sites like this is therapeutic; so thanks for your efforts. If there's anything I could possibly do to help let me know. Also wondering, I just read a book Behind the Smoke and Mirrors-great. ARe you the author? A few things in brief, because it's late now and I'm about to go to sleep: --The abuse of Amway in the military at Ft. Benning became so rampant that it was a factor in the military's new fraternization polices concerning personal and business relationships, and 1 battallion referred to it as a cancer in his organization. --Taxes. Unlike most people in Amway, we actually itemized everything-the results were hilarious considering the claims made about tax advantages. Also, my wife took the 96 hour H and R Block Tax Preparation Course and what they have to say about Amway is very amusing. There are so many stories to tell...I know you must get bombarded with e-mails, so let me know if you would like any info about the above. I don't know what will be listed as the return address for this, but I'm at * Take Care Part II Thanks for the reply. I'll sit down this weekend and write a few pages about what happened at Fort Benning: you'll find it simultaneously amusing, enlightening, and appalling. And please use the material on your website if you think it is appropriate. (Edit it as you see fit.) I received some software that tells how to set up a web page, and I'm seriously thinking about it...get the truth out. I think the internet is the best way to put out info...other than reading books like yours, that is where I got about 90% of my info, and applied to what was going on all around me in my organization. I think if 9-10 more quality anti-sites showed up, that would be a big step to getting the truth out. I think it is hilarious that Quixtar, supposed to move the company into the 21st century, is also their worst enemy-because they actually have to print the prices of the products. No more lying about the 30% savings. Anyway, I'll send you that info. Please add me to your mailing list, if you have one, if there are any good updates to your site. Thanks. Part III Thanks for such a quick response. ;) My guess as to the sudden rash of military responses is due to market saturation. The majority of the military is 22 and under. Most of these folks haven't so much as heard of Amway, so they're an untapped market. Also take into account you have inexperienced young adults who are far away from home for the first time in their lives in most cases, giving Dreambuilders an especially ripe, vulnerable target. Throw in the possibility that senior members might also take advantage of their higher rank indirectly. By this, I mean that they realize juniors will feel a natural pressure on their own to "get in good with the boss". This is especially pronounced in the military. As far as that regulation stipulating that someone has to have permission from their Base Commander goes, where did you find that out? Do you know if it DoD policy, Individual Service Policy, or just the policy of a particular base? I only ask this because regulations in the military vary from service to service and base to base. If it is DoD policy, then I'm in great shape! Do you know the exact policy off hand? As far as getting into their group, like I said, I actually managed to de-program the guy who got them all in it. Ironically I've taken a counterintelligence approach so to speak! Unfortunately, most of the people in his downline are hooked bad. It looks like I'll have to approach them one on one, and slowly whittle away at them as subtly as possible. Once again, thanks for your great page. Your hard work is helping me help them. I'll keep you posted!
I was sorry to see that nothing was posted here for Primerica. I was recently involved with them for a short time and was very disappointed. In fact, when you become involved with them, they share as little as possible up front. The old "trust me" promise!
I am the mother of a very intelligent 20 year old son. He has lived away from home for 2 years now. He went to college when he was 17 but dropped out the same year. He is an honest person who is not involved in drugs or drinking. Recently he got involved in this new Quixtar thing. I noticed a change in him right away. He is convinced he does not need college, and that this is the answer to his being able to stay home with his family that he hopes to have in the future. He has become VERY defensive of anything being said about what I think is a "sham" and has asked us not to say anything negative to him about it. When I heard from him in his last e mail, following a meeting he attended last weekend in Baltimore, I became very frightened. It sounded like cult stuff to me--and I am not uneducated in this area as I am a professional mental health counselor. What can I do? I have asked him to do some independent research to find out what others say about the organization. I am really worried about him. I am not geographically close enough to see him regularly or talk to him frequently. Also, he is engaged to be married soon to a very nice woman who is a teacher. He is dragging her into this. Help!!! Please e mail me with any and everything you can so I can get him unhooked before he cuts off relationships with his family! Part II I was both surprised and honored by your speedy reply to my e mail earlier today. I can't say I appreciated finding out I was right about the cult involvement of my son. I fear I am losing him and I don't know how to stop him from slipping through my fingers. He has pretty much already written off his father, and his brothers whom he was very close to just several months ago. We are going to try a campaign of keeping in contact with him without saying anything negative about the "business" Again I truly appreciate your assistance!!! I do have a question that I thought you might help me to answer. He said his sponsor is ** who he claims retired in his 40's with a six figure income. Phil told him he was the CEO of *** in Cleveland. Is there any way I can find out about this guy and find out if he really was CEO of ***? My son IS very vulnerable now. He was fired from a job he really loved last October, quite out of the blue. He was challenged by his "to be" father in law and accused of not being good enough for his daughter, and not being able to provide her with a stable income that would be high enough to support both of them. I am crying tears of sadness--it is enough to lose my son, but of more concern to me is what this organization is doing to him, and what it might do to him, and if he could deal with it in the end. Again, thank you for your help. I am so grateful there is an Internet, and that you are on it. Sincerely, P.S. I would be happy to give you my real name, but I fear the reach of this organization having read about their lawsuits and obtaining copies of hard drives from people like yourself who speak the facts about this mess. Part III By now I hope you can remember who I am. I have no idea of how busy you are or how many e mails you get. I can't concentrate long enough to go on your web site because I am so distraught about my son. (20 year old engaged in Columbus--in the future is their a way I should refer to myself/situation to make it easier for you?) I have found out that he has been involved in the Am way/Quixtar thing from the start, which is at least September, at least as a matter of interest. I got another e mail from him today, which is also a new and unusual pattern for him, which is much more the "Party LINE" and not him talking. He says he has researched other sources of information, but that they really can't say what is going on in "his" group-which he says is the "Bill Britt" organization. The change in my son has been subtle until now--the changes are absolutely dramatic since he just spent this last weekend in Baltimore hearing Mr. Britt speak all weekend. We are feeling we are way behind the eight ball on this one. I am afraid to talk to him--I feel pinned against the wall and that he is just waiting for me to say the words they have taught him to watch for, so he can cut me out of his life. His fiance seems to be just going along with this for the ride. She is not a person who can be very assertive and her father (yes a real "gem") has had numerous jobs and ideas, none of which he stays with for very long (he is also a very serious alcoholic). The fiance is a teacher and loves teaching. Her mother is also a teacher and seems to have been the main financial support of the family, though she is also an alcoholic and thrust many responsibilities upon her eldest daughter = the fiance. The fiance has the financial resources, which my son convinced her to pool a few months ago, and is probably footing alot of the bills for this "business". My son is very stubborn and can be very persuasive and perseverant--which is one reason this has really surprised us. Questions: 1. Should we talk to the fiance and what should we say? We do not know her well. It think she is a very nice person, however I'd bet she has PTSD herself from a number of experiences I heard she had. 2. I got one of the books (by Singer) you recommended today and read half of it. It is so familiar and just scared me to death, as if I wasn't fearful enough already. What are your opinions of exit counseling? Would it better to do it right away if we can? We live in Ohio and I'm about to go to the Internet to find resources on it and see if anyone still does it around here. You have no idea of how grateful I am to you!!! I will try to do what I can for you in the future, as soon as I can get my wits together and see what that may be. This is just very scary stuff that we never anticipated. We were so busy trying to get the kids from becoming involved in drugs and alcohol that we never did anything specific about this problem. Thanks again! Part IV You are so considerate! Whatever happened to you in the cult I feel very sorry and sad for you. I am not sure how you got to where you are now, but I want to tell you that you have an excellent way of supporting people, while being respectful of boundaries and your own sense of your limits in knowledge. Sounds like you'd be a pretty good counselor yourself--although since you said you aren't a mental health professional I wouldn't suggest it....the pay is low, it is often a 9 A.M. to 11 P.M. job and you certainly won't be even as likely to become a millionaire as one is in MLM's--and that isn't saying much! Again, I am truly grateful for your help. I hope your being away for the weekend is a pleasurable time for you. Sincerely!
Hi. I accidently stumbled into your site while trying to be a good friend and was supposed to be trying to get into Quixtar again....I have a friend who has been abducted by the Amway aliens and it's scaring me to death....She never lets up and its cost her her marriage and career. It's going to eventually drive all of us away from her (her friends that is)..this truly breaks my heart....I'm going to print up some of your pages and send them to her and see if she'll listen. I try to be a good friend and purchase a thing or two but its just not enough to keep her or these new friends of hers happy....They don't take no for an answer that I'm very happy in my life and do not wish to "get into the business" thanks again, I'm sure you get a lot of crap from people who have nothing better to do. Re: Amway Greetings, I am in the military. My unit has 50 members, about a quarter (my best guess) of which have been drawn into Amway/Quixtar. Some have left "the business", but quite a few of them are still in its grasp quite firmly. While I have never been involved with Amway, I have always been aware of its dubious nature. So when I saw so many of my young people getting dragged in, I was naturally concerned. I wasn't aware how to begin, so I thought "Amway is one of those pyramid deals, and I want to get some background on pyramid scams." I go to Yahoo and do a search with the two words "pyramid scam", and the results mainly dealt with Amway. My wife had to ask what I was laughing so hard about. Little did I know all the information out there! I'm addicted to Amway critical sites now! I thought I knew about Amway before, but after hours upon hours of research, I still can't get enough! I have already penetrated their group. Surprisingly enough, it's the one who recruited them all. I picked him because believe it or not he was the most level-headed and realistic of the bunch. I could also see the signs that he was beginning to become disillusioned. After devouring about 12 hours worth of reading on your site and others, I knew I had to broach the subject very delicately. So far he's amazed and can't get enough info either. Now my dilemma is how to get to the rest of them. I can't just sit by and watch my people throw their money away and some throw promising careers away in the false hope that they're going to get rich off of residual income. Any suggestions? Thanks,
What do you know of Primerica. After some few months with them I am starting to see the light on what this company is about. My wife is hooked with them big time, works her ass off, and of course make no money. It is killing us. Comments?
Could you please send me information (news articles, etc.) on the above corporation. I have been contacted several times and am sceptical. Thank you.
I just came from a meeting with a gentleman selling Quixtar. He met me in a book store in Stamford and was very convincing. I accidently bumped into your website because I typed "Quixtar" in the AOL search engine. The IBO man I met with never mentioned it was related to Am-scam. Thanks for the truth!
Hi, I just got back from a Quixtar conference in Seattle and wanted to do some online investigation into the business and came across your website through a search. Mainly, if there was any savings or incentives to becoming an IBO or purchasing products through Quixtar because I was told of 3% to 29% (oddly strange numbers) in rebates. But now I realized it is probably just a scheme to lure honest working people to their "supposed" savings. While at the conference I was preached on how the Quixtar website is one of the top 5 e-commerce websites on the internet. I think they said they were among Amazon.com or second to it in web hits. I totally knew that was false because before tonight I have never heard of Quixtar and I surf the internet a lot at home and at work. And nerver heard anyone talking about it. It was just a too extreme statement. I read your information on how Quixtar inflate their web hits count and that made all sense and quelled my suspicions. Thank you. You seem to have researched the information well. All in all I thought the conference was very boring. It consisted of opinions debasing real jobs, government policy and tactics and misinformational facts like the webhits and like 98% of people at the retirement age of 65 is either poor or broke and that only 2% is "financially independent." I guess my dad, whom emigrated to here about 25 years ago went to school and worked for about 20 years and now retired and lives in a mortgage-free house and financially independent is that 2%. I wonder how many more of those 2% are out there! What a bunch of crap, first they break you down by telling you about the "tragedy" of American life, then they instill fears into you about your financial future if you continue on what you're doing. Giving bogus data on the traditional 40 hours a week job and the likes. Once broken, they start building you up with the Quixtar "plan", giving you more bogus data. Telling you how much you would make each time you "franchise" (recruit) others to the business. That was the hard part. Listening to them go on and on about if you recruit this much people you'll get this much money, and if your recruitment doubles your money will double this much, triple recruitment will triple this much and on and on up until the sixth tier level. It's like the average person gets it already after the second tier. I guess they were trying to point out that a 10 million dollar income is possible at the sixth tier level. But I wonder how many people or any actually attain that. Their information is full of inconsistencies and so suspicious that anyone that is intelligent enough should question their business practice. I feel sorry for all those people at the conference who do not realize what they are getting into and that they do not know any better but to agree with them and lauch at their jokes. I suppose it is because their Quixtar pitch is so elementary, full of cliches and dumb stabs at humor that I found it boring. I think I came to the conference because I was being open minded on a new opportunity for wealth. This is not it. I have been lured to Amway a couple of times in the past but never committed. I'm glad I didn't. If only there's someway to reeducate the others and save them time and money. Once again, Thank you for the website and the information on it, NS (Nonbeliever in Seattle)
what kind of info are you looking for?? There is so much I have been told that has not come to pass, and I am getting pretty ticked off. With regards to your site I was told to forget about it. According to the legal department (who was contacted by my upline) their stats are correct according to their poll source. Of course they would say that....
Thanks again and hopefully i'll have good news to report someday. Good luck with your endeavors
I am in the Bill Britt Organization. Bill is the one who created the System. He is a man of tremendous foresight and saw the need for a system to keep everything and everyone on the same page. It could really be a mess if people were left on their own and had no training. I know lots of people who made lots of friends and money in AMWAY and now are utilizing Quixtar to rocket their business into the new millennium. Myself and every one I know who is building this business on a consistent basis is making money. From what I've seen, every one is paid in direct proportion to their efforts. If you failed, you must take full responsibility. No one is forced to attend a Sunday morning service! You have that option and services are divided into different Religions. So what if a successful man lets you know his convictions. I have heard Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians speak at functions and they all speak to tolerance and peace!! Where else could such a diverse group gather and be in one accord? Certainly not on your site. Such bitterness, such contempt. I hope you can find peace in your own life. In telling your story, you tell of sponsoring three or four people. You cannot make a judgment of a business after piddling with it. Please remember that in your experience, you are referring to people and not AMWAY, QUIXTAR or any other corporate entity. Where there are people, there will be imperfections, and hopefully good honest people will not be swayed by your bitterness. Thank You and GOD BLESS
I came across your MLM survivor site while researching totally unrelated corporate scams. I guess Equinox never taught me how to be single-minded and avoid distractions <g>. In any case, I just wanted to applaud your efforts. I was glad to see Equinox finally run afoul of the law. Fortunately, I was only convinced to buy about $2K worth of products, which I was able to return for the going refund rate 3 years ago (I think it was about 60%), and limited myself to one regional "training." Keep up the good work, and don't let the spammers get you down! Re: "Net Bizz" Hello - is "Net Bizz" affiliated with Amway or any other marketing scam? My son attended a seminar that promised "the moon" selling web pages and I am suspicious.
I personally was never told about any of the things you are referring to, and they have always told us there were no minimums. I think the biggest thing about all of this is that I did not get into it for Amway. I got into it for all the partner stores that were supposed to be up and running. Amway was supposed to be a small part of the package, and it is the biggest. The partner stores they have are crap, and I have had problems with one of them already. So many names, and so many times I have been told they are in the works. The nordstrom thing you were referring, gap, victoria secret etc. etc. First it was Y2K, then it was getting squared away with pv/bv. blah blah blah. I am just waiting to see what comes of it. The biggest sale for me personally was the grocery store they were going to contract with locally. If none of the partner stores have signed what makes us think a grocer is in store soon. We were told January. As you can see nothing..... Is this information public that you and I are discussing??? Is discretion being used with regard to names?? Do you have IBO's who report info to you? How do you come up with info? Is it bits and pieces from people like me? I have been in sales for many years, and if I believe in a product or service 100% I can sell anything. But I do not feel any confidence pushing amway products. I have to say though I truly like the laundry products. But how often will you buy it? once every two months?? That is going to make me a fortune! ha ha. You were right about time it takes to get through anything. I always close out because I get tired of waiting for page after page to come up. I certainly did none of my christmas shopping at the Quixtar site, and when the toy store finally came through ( I have not even gone to it) it was the middle of last month. All my stuff was done. They are really pushing training tapes and books. I am sure someone is making a fortune. My upline certainly has bought into it. We can't even get them ourselves. We have to go to our upline who in turn goes to their upline etc. to finally get it. What crap! I personally do not need motivational training just stores to shop at. the bottom line is you do not have to sell anything if the site is decent. People will flock to it. Piece of cake. I can't sell crap to anyone at this point. Especially when I mention that amway is where you will get the most pv/bv. The partner stores offer small percentages, and it can take up to 60 or more days for it to come through. What is a gal to do?? send me your thoughts. By the way, how long were you in Amway? I heard some things about Mr. Schwartz. A falling out of some sort, and he was banned from Amway? Let me know.
I had started reading the articles in your website when I suddenly realized that your site is doing the same thing that you claim Quixtar does--one page alone had 50 links on it. I think that the letter of the month had some of it right--you arent being fair to average in any of the distributers who are not involved with the quixtar business. [Note: At the time the article this writer refers to was posted, there were no breakouts of Amway vs. Quixtar distributors. It was before Amway's deadline for distributors to make a choice, and any distributor was able to order from the Quixtar site. This has since changed. When the article was written, the averages I was using were fair and appropriate.] Doing so skews the statistics in favor of what you are claiming--not kosher. I get the impression that you are bitter over your experience with Amway, but lots of people are bitter over their precived failures, regardless of what business they were in, so I can't hold that against you for that. The thing of it is, I gave up on your website long before I found the information I was looking for. I'm afraid I don't have the patience to wade through all the fluff looking for the meat, at least not tonight
Hi, I recently started researching e-commerce -- the potential to make money selling via the internet is mind-boggling. I ran across a network marketing plan by Rexall/Sundown (yes, the drug company). Thanks to the internet, now reps can sell via websites (tapes/videos not necessary). I was just getting excited about this Rexall opportunity when I ran across your website. Now that I have read all the negative comments about MLM, I am a little leary about the Rexall opportunity. Is it possible that there are some good MLMs, where the average person can make reasonable money for his/her efforts? Can you offer any guidelines to help judge whether a given opportunity is worthwhile pursuing? Thank you, |
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