The single word Amway generally refers to an international multi-level marketing system consisting of a company called Amway Corporation and several surrounding but legally separate motivational organizations. Amway Corporation, a privately held company founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos and based in Ada, Michigan, has annual sales of $6.2 billion (2004). It manufactures and sells personal care products and markets products from other companies, including (in Australia and New Zealand), Emma Page jewelry. In 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation launched a sister (and separate) internet-based company named Quixtar. Both Amway and Quixtar are owned by Alticor. Quixtar replaced the North American business of Amway in 2001 and at this current time Amway only operates in Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Amivo acts as an Amway daughter-company in Europe. ==Controversy== Amway and its online incarnation, Quixtar, have been controversial for years because of allegations that these companies are pyramid schemes. Critics claim that most of the products sold by Amway are to the Independent Business Owners (IBOs) themselves for personal consumption rather than to retail consumers who aren't enrolled as IBOs. Buying products from Amway or Quixtar gives IBOs points and they are paid back on the number of points that they generate from personal consumption. It is claimed to be a business opportunity and hence an existing IBO can help others to get an IBO number and divert their buying habit from other stores to Amway or Quixtar. Thus the business grows as a greater number of people join the group. The share of profit is based on the leverage that an IBO has. The business skills of the IBOs are honed by business support material and tools sold or provided by select successful individuals within the higher ranks of the organization. It is claimed that the support material can be of help to an IBO if he wants to build a big business, however undercover investigations like one done by [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/ MSNBC Dateline] in 2003-04 suggest that most of the money being earned by these successful individuals was coming from the hidden "tools" business rather than through selling the company products. ==The system== Anybody can become an Amway ''distributor''; distributors may purchase products from Amway at rates published as wholesale prices. Amway distributors receive monthly payments based on the amount of sales their ''group'' generates; the group consists of all people sponsored by the distributor, and all people sponsored by those, and so on. One cannot join without a sponsor, and one has to purchase an "Amway Opportunity Kit" in order to become a distributor. Amway claims to have 3 million distributors worldwide, including 500,000 in the U.S. Japan represents a very fast-growing market with 1 million distributors. Recently, the Amway cluster received permission to establish a network in China and have done sales of over 2 Billion U.S. Dollar in 2004. Motivational organizations exist to offer free motivational speeches for people who have not yet joined the Amway system, and sell motivational seminars, tapes and literature to Amway distributors. Amway employs a system of "levels" to reward successful distributors; higher-level distributors act as ''mentors'' to newer distributors, organize regular meetings of their group and derive most of their profit from the sale of motivational tools to them. At the highest level rank Crown Ambassadors, but with only a handful of Crown Ambassadors in the world at present most distributors aspire to the level of Diamond. ==="Crown Ambassador"=== Some Crown Ambassadors include Leonard and Esther Kim; Jim and Nancy Dornan; Tim Foley; Bill Britt; Jim and Sharon Janz; Charlie and Elsie Marsh; Bill and Joan Laing; Frank and Rita Delisle; Dan and Bunny Williams; Mitch and Diedre Sala; Dick and Sandee Marks; Bill and Joyce Schmidt; Chuck and Jean Strehli; Peter Lee & Choi Kit. Kaoru Nakajima of Japan, known as 'the master,' has achieved the mythical pin of "Double Crown Ambassador", meaning he has double the required 20 personal direct legs. Dexter Yager, considered a legend by some within the Amway organization, is probably the most famous American Crown Ambassador. He created a training system of functions, books of the month, and tapes that has been copied by Dornan and Britt, among others. He is one of Charlotte, N.C.'s biggest landowners. ==Political causes/Culture== Commentators have often (but not strictly accurately) identified Amway as supporting the United States Republican Party and other right-wing causes. Amway Corporation claims to support no political party, yet 100% of its political donations benefit Republicans. Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, who fully owned the company until their retirement (when they delegated authority and substantial ownership to their children), have strongly supported the Republican Party and both socially conservative and pro-capitalist causes, but that has been with their personal assets, not as a company position ''per se''. Many of Amway's best-known distributors, including Dexter Yager, have also declared themselves Republicans. Amway touts the environmental benefits of many of its products however, and in June 1989 UNEP's Regional Office for North America recognized it for its contributions to the cause of the environment. As well as tending towards being right wing, the senior distributors also promote a worldview encompassing Pentecostal Fundamentalist Christianity, and a general advocacy of Baby boomer/1950s values. The AMOs' perception of the role of women, though always includes successful women in awards, recognition and speaking engagements. You rarely, if ever, see a male, married distributor speak on stage without his wife getting equal billing, and explaining her active role in the business. This is a reflection of the AMOs' strong advocacy of the 1950s style nuclear family model. (Women have successfully developed Amway/Quixtar businesses around the world.) In May of 2005, former Amway President Dick DeVos, one of the wealthiest people in Michigan, and his wife Betsy were listed as two of the largest campaign contributors of the 2004 election. Just days later, Dick announced that he would run against Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006. ==Criticism== While supporters of the system point out that Amway offers an easy way to earn money on the side and that it makes sense to buy products for personal use "from your own business" at wholesale prices, critics charge that even the wholesale prices published by Amway often exceed retail prices elsewhere. Supporters of the system usually respond to this by maintaining that many of their products, such as cleaning solutions, come in highly concentrated form, and therefore may still be competitively priced when that is taken into account, and the manufacturer generally claims that their products are of higher quality than less-expensive similar products. However, it is worth noting that this explanation cannot apply in the area of all products. Like many multi-level marketing operations, Amway has been called a pyramid scheme. Critics point out that participating in the system is not free, that AMOs often emphasize the recruitment of new participants over selling products and that many distributors spend little time actually selling products to others. It is also alleged that the above-mentioned "70% rule" is not sufficiently emphasized to new recruits, and that few products are ever sold to people outside of the Amway organization. Another criticism is that only a small fraction make any money at all, with the average distributor making around $100 per month before expenses and operating at a loss after expenses. Amway supporters reply that the organization does not have fixed working hours, and that how hard a distributor works (if at all) is a personal choice. The implication of insufficient effort or laziness is resented by former distributors who say that they got nothing for the sacrifices they made. Supporters of the system might suggest that it could be that an individual's personality and people skills are factors, as are such external circumstances such the state of the economy and the receptivity of the market, factors which vary considerably from one place to another. Critics also assert that AMOs target psychologically vulnerable people, and that some distributors have become alienated from family and friends who were invited to become sub-distributors or customers and resented the attempt to turn their personal relationship into a commercial one. Amway supporters reject this as an exaggeration, pointing out that the Amway manual prohibits taking advantage of sub-distributors, but in such a large organization comprising such diverse individuals and groupings, the possibility always exists of certain individuals abusing their power over their "downlines". Amway has changed enormously over the past 15 years, (1990-2005) presumably in an effort to remain appealing to potential distributors/IBOs, and in an attempt to shed the distributor organisation's public image. The name change to Quixtar and the associated metamorphosis is reminiscent of actions taken by numerous other groups. G. Robert Blakey, a professor from America's University of Indiana, authored a [http://www.amquix.info/blakey.html report] about Amway as an expert witness in the case "The Proctor & Gamble Company, et al. v. Amway Corporation, et al, Case No. H-9723 84 (S. D. Texas, Houston Division)." This report may be of interest to those considering becoming Amway distributors. ==Legal rulings== In a 1979 ruling, the Federal Trade Commission found that Amway does not qualify as an illegal pyramid scheme since the main aim of the enterprise is the sale of product. It did, however, order Amway to change several business practices and prohibited the company from misrepresenting the amount of profit, earnings or sales its distributors are likely to achieve. Amway was ordered to accompany any such statements with the actual averages per distributor, pointing out that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor making less than $100 per month. The order was violated with a 1986 ad campaign, resulting in a $100,000 fine. In 1983, Amway pleaded guilty to tax evasion and customs fraud in Canada, resulting in a fine of CDN$25 million, the largest fine ever imposed in Canada. In 2005, Amway/Quixtar orchestrated an attempt to drown out sites reporting deceptive practices and negative opinions. The [http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/10/the_quixtar_web_initiative.php "Web Initiative"] was flagged as Google bombing, a violation of [http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/11/google_guidelines.php Google's Quality Guidelines]. ==External links and references== * [http://www.amway.com/ Amway Corporation] *[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/40/40031.html Yahoo! - Alticor Inc. Company Profile] **[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/103/103441.html Yahoo! - Amway Corporation Company Profile] * [http://www.amway.co.jp/ Amway Japan Limited] Amway detractors accuse the company of spreading right-wing beliefs among its distributors [http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/1996/09/burstein.html 1,] [http://io.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0412/S00154.htm 2]. This has led to the derogatory term "Amway Christian", which suggests a professed Christian with a lack of commitment to the social-justice elements of the faith[http://www.holyobserver.com/detail.php?isu=v02i05&art=amway 3,][http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2005/02/amway_christian.php, 4,][http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31336 5,] [http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31336, 6] ==Resources== *[http://www.quixtar.com/ Quixtar] A site where quixtar and affiliated company's products are displayed and ordered. *[http://www.pyramidschemealert.org/ Pyramid Scheme Alert] a non profit consumer rights organization. *[http://dmoz.org/Business/Opportunities/Opposing_Views/Amway_and_Quixtar/ Dmoz.org: Amway and Quixtar] Selection of opposing websites. *[http://www.merchantsofdeception.com/ Merchants of Deception (MOD) - True Amway Quixtar story by former Emerald IBO] (free PDF eBook by Eric Scheibeler) *[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com Let's Get the Word Out] - An innovative grassroots movement to help Amway Quixtar and multi-level marketing victims **[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/amway-quixtar-blog/merchants_of_deception/ Official Amway Quixtar MOD Blog] **[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/quixtar-amway-ebook/link_exchange/recommended_links.html MLM Resources: links, stinks & blogs] *[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/ MSNBC Dateline undercover investigation of Amway, Quixtar and Bill Britt] - transcript *[http://www.technorati.com/tags/Amway Technorati 'Amway' tag site] - gathers blog posts, links and images related to Amway *[http://amquix.info/ Quixtar Business Analysis] - analyzes and criticizes Amway extensively, mostly from a financial perspective *[http://www.amwaylive.com/ amwaylive.com] A Japanese site where IBOs in Japan order products and find business tools. *[http://www.amquix.info/blakey.html The Blakey Report] A report by a drafter of recent American organised crime legislation, comparing the structure and function of Amway, when combined with the distributor organisations, with that of the American Mafia. Retail companies of the United States Companies based in Michigan Multi-level marketing
I have edited the article today (08 January 2003) to promote a more neutral point of view. The article seemed to be biased, just slightly, to an anti-amway perspective; I have deleted nothing, but have added a few relevant facts from "the other side" to balance the viewpoint. (User:Davidcannon) _____________________________________________________________________________ Are there any sites that have confirmed the "organic" environmental-friendly claims of Amyway products or at least the LOC all purpose cleaner product? (formerly known as Zoom) "Amway Motivational Organizations (AMOs)" seem not to exist. I just asked a 30-year Amway distributor what they are, and she has never heard that term. :Type "Amway Motivational Organization" into Google, if you can be bothered. user:AxelBoldt :: my apologies, I should have been clearer - that is a name exclusive to critics of Amway, and should be mentioned as such. Someone doing that search will not find answers from Amway or pro-Amway folks as they don't use that term. There are, aligned with Quixtar, groups like ina.net that fit this description and do the training and motivation of Quixtar distributors, who distribute Amway and other products through a common distribution arm. :So what's your point again? user:AxelBoldt ::these groups are called Independent Marketing Companies or something else by Quixter, ina.net is one of these. It's a fundamental issue with direct multi-level marketing organizations that they can't control the behavior of frontline distributors, probably no more than Arafat can control the timing of suicide bombers. Same top-down versus bottom-up behavior influence debate... the Amway Corp does try to make certain things standard, e.g. no "door to door selling", and they succeed in general, but they have only a few blunt instruments with which to do so. This article needs to be updated, and the "AMOs" need to be documented - I don't doubt that somewhere somehow someone used this name for them, but they serve a legitimate role in multi-level marketing, although they may overstep it and become bad religions... :Oh God. Now 24 starts to preach MLM in addition to "embodied mind" and "ecoregion". user:AxelBoldt :: ecologists preach "ecoregion", psychologists preach "embodied mind" - I merely report. As to your issue with MLM, it's seems to me to be an issue with capitalism. Which I think I gave very neutral treatment to. You want an economic system driven by human desire and advertising, you're going to see a lot of people conned, often. That may or may not be the fault of the organization that provides the products and the attracive payoff scheme. :: a neutral fact is that Amway has created more millionaires than any other company in the world, Microsoft is only second. Both companies are hated but it's a combination of envy *and* perhaps some abuses of market position that account for it. MLM schemes come and go, Amway/Quixtar has stayed. Of course not everyone succeeds in it. But the millionaires aren't complaining. ---- :''The FTC ruling was allegedly initiated by Proctor and Gamble, who competes with Amway for sales of packaged consumer goods. P&G were concerned about continued erosion of their market share by Amway and businesses with a similar structure to Amway's. '' Who has alleged this when and where? :''Rather than contest the charges, which could have resulted in distributors suffering financially because of a court injunction prenting business during a trial, Amway paid the fine. Amway later successfully appealed the fine but did not appeal the conviction -- again to avoid causing suffering to its network of distributors.'' How could they appeal the conviction when they had pleaded guilty in the first place? Are you saying that they first paid the fine, then successfully appealed the fine and got the money back? How much did they pay in the end? User:AxelBoldt 03:42 Jan 15, 2003 (UTC) ____ I see somebody has added something about Emma Page jewellery being available through Amway in Australia, as well as New Zealand. Please provide a source for this. I am well aware of its availability in NZ; my wife and I are both Amway distributors and have sold Emma Page jewellery under Amway auspices. In Australia, however, my understanding is that Emma Page has '' its own '' distribution network; only in New Zealand does it contract Amway. That was the last I heard (last year) - that Australian Amway distributors were very envious of their New Zealand counterparts because there is a substantial profit in Emma Page. Now, for all I know, this MAY have changed. If it has, could you name your source? I will make some inquiries myself; in the meantime, I will let your edit stand. User:Davidcannon 11:09, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC) ==Purported cult== This material is from the article List of purported cults, which we are paring down to a pure list. Editors here can best evaluate its statements and decide how to integrate it into this article. Thanks, -User:Willmcw 21:09, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC) :''Amway === :''Critics, many of them former Amway distributors, claim that Amway distribution networks (which technically are independent from the company itself) are cults or cultlike. They claim that the distribution networks encourage people to dedicate their lives to efforts that usually will make them little money, encourage people to not think for themselves, encourage unthinking fanaticism for Amway products, encourage people to deceive others and hide the truth from outsiders, and use mind control and psychological pressure to encourage people to join the organization and to discourage them from leaving. :''On its Web site, the company denies that it is a cult. "No, Amway Corporation is a business and, similar to other large and established companies, has a distinct environment defined by shared business goals. Shared business philosophies should not be misinterpreted as a cult." :''References: :* ''http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/ (Ex-Cult Resource Center) :* ''http://www.amway.com/en/General/faqs-10229.aspx#10217 (Amway) == Poorly Edited and Lots of POV == I came to this site looking for unbiased information so that I could make a fair evaluation for myself. I have previously been highly skeptical of all multi-level marketing systems and remain so, however, I was afraid I had not been open minded about the idea and wanted more information. I did not find it. This article contains numerous spelling and/or grammatical errors and shows poor proofreading. "IBO" is never written out on this page, I think it's probably "Independent Business Organizatons" or something like that, but abbreviations should be explained on this page. The only pro-Amway linnk is their corporate website, there must be others. The use of the word "kingpin" and the phrase "train wreck" are very far from the Wikipedia call for unbiased language and the paragraph that cites Independent Media TV as well as one that follows do not allow for errors in reporting or POV in those reports but recite the reports as facts themselves. This article needs a lot of work. Unfortunately, I came here looking for information I didn't already have and still don't. Someone else will have to rewrite this entry and I will have to look elsewhere for my information. -- DH 2005.04.07 == Information on cultic/illegal characteristics == I've added some information surrounding Amway's cultic characteristics and complications with the legal system, as well as my own observations regarding the behavioural conformity of AMOs with Hassan and Jay Lifton's models of mind control, and mention of G Robert Blakey's expert report from Amway v Proctor & Gamble. However, I've tried to keep this information limited to what I hope are demonstrable facts rather than value judgements/interpretations, and have also largely confined my additions to the "Criticisms" section. Although my opinion of Amway most certainly is not either neutral or positive, it is my hope that because my additions have been contained in Criticisms, and because I have made an attempt to keep my additions factual, a reasonably neutral tone can be maintained, while at the same time noting Amway's less ethically desirable characteristics. I have also removed the references to the terms "train wreck" and "kingpins" in an attempt to create a more neutral tone. - User:Petrus4 06/05/2005 Someone has removed my reference to the Blakey report, which I don't believe is really appropriate. That report includes important information about the structure of Amway...I think it's important that someone thinking of becoming involved with Amway should know if they are potentially becoming involved with a quasi-criminal organisation. - User:Petrus4 08/05/2005
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The single word Amway generally refers to an international multi-level marketing system consisting of a company called Amway Corporation and several surrounding but legally separate motivational organizations. Amway Corporation, a privately held company founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos and based in Ada, Michigan, has annual sales of $6.2 billion (2004). It manufactures and sells personal care products and markets products from other companies, including (in Australia and New Zealand), Emma Page jewelry. In 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation launched a sister (and separate) internet-based company named Quixtar. Both Amway and Quixtar are owned by Alticor. Quixtar replaced the North American business of Amway in 2001 and at this current time Amway only operates in Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Amivo acts as an Amway daughter-company in Europe. ==Controversy== Amway and its online incarnation, Quixtar, have been controversial for years because of allegations that these companies are pyramid schemes. Critics claim that most of the products sold by Amway are to the Independent Business Owners (IBOs) themselves for personal consumption rather than to retail consumers who aren't enrolled as IBOs. Buying products from Amway or Quixtar gives IBOs points and they are paid back on the number of points that they generate from personal consumption. It is claimed to be a business opportunity and hence an existing IBO can help others to get an IBO number and divert their buying habit from other stores to Amway or Quixtar. Thus the business grows as a greater number of people join the group. The share of profit is based on the leverage that an IBO has. The business skills of the IBOs are honed by business support material and tools sold or provided by select successful individuals within the higher ranks of the organization. It is claimed that the support material can be of help to an IBO if he wants to build a big business, however undercover investigations like one done by [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/ MSNBC Dateline] in 2003-04 suggest that most of the money being earned by these successful individuals was coming from the hidden "tools" business rather than through selling the company products. ==The system== Anybody can become an Amway ''distributor''; distributors may purchase products from Amway at rates published as wholesale prices. Amway distributors receive monthly payments based on the amount of sales their ''group'' generates; the group consists of all people sponsored by the distributor, and all people sponsored by those, and so on. One cannot join without a sponsor, and one has to purchase an "Amway Opportunity Kit" in order to become a distributor. Amway claims to have 3 million distributors worldwide, including 500,000 in the U.S. Japan represents a very fast-growing market with 1 million distributors. Recently, the Amway cluster received permission to establish a network in China and have done sales of over 2 Billion U.S. Dollar in 2004. Motivational organizations exist to offer free motivational speeches for people who have not yet joined the Amway system, and sell motivational seminars, tapes and literature to Amway distributors. Amway employs a system of "levels" to reward successful distributors; higher-level distributors act as ''mentors'' to newer distributors, organize regular meetings of their group and derive most of their profit from the sale of motivational tools to them. At the highest level rank Crown Ambassadors, but with only a handful of Crown Ambassadors in the world at present most distributors aspire to the level of Diamond. ==="Crown Ambassador"=== Some Crown Ambassadors include Leonard and Esther Kim; Jim and Nancy Dornan; Tim Foley; Bill Britt; Jim and Sharon Janz; Charlie and Elsie Marsh; Bill and Joan Laing; Frank and Rita Delisle; Dan and Bunny Williams; Mitch and Diedre Sala; Dick and Sandee Marks; Bill and Joyce Schmidt; Chuck and Jean Strehli; Peter Lee & Choi Kit. Kaoru Nakajima of Japan, known as 'the master,' has achieved the mythical pin of "Double Crown Ambassador", meaning he has double the required 20 personal direct legs. Dexter Yager, considered a legend by some within the Amway organization, is probably the most famous American Crown Ambassador. He created a training system of functions, books of the month, and tapes that has been copied by Dornan and Britt, among others. He is one of Charlotte, N.C.'s biggest landowners. ==Political causes/Culture== Commentators have often (but not strictly accurately) identified Amway as supporting the United States Republican Party and other right-wing causes. Amway Corporation claims to support no political party, yet 100% of its political donations benefit Republicans. Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, who fully owned the company until their retirement (when they delegated authority and substantial ownership to their children), have strongly supported the Republican Party and both socially conservative and pro-capitalist causes, but that has been with their personal assets, not as a company position ''per se''. Many of Amway's best-known distributors, including Dexter Yager, have also declared themselves Republicans. Amway touts the environmental benefits of many of its products however, and in June 1989 UNEP's Regional Office for North America recognized it for its contributions to the cause of the environment. As well as tending towards being right wing, the senior distributors also promote a worldview encompassing Pentecostal Fundamentalist Christianity, and a general advocacy of Baby boomer/1950s values. The AMOs' perception of the role of women, though always includes successful women in awards, recognition and speaking engagements. You rarely, if ever, see a male, married distributor speak on stage without his wife getting equal billing, and explaining her active role in the business. This is a reflection of the AMOs' strong advocacy of the 1950s style nuclear family model. (Women have successfully developed Amway/Quixtar businesses around the world.) In May of 2005, former Amway President Dick DeVos, one of the wealthiest people in Michigan, and his wife Betsy were listed as two of the largest campaign contributors of the 2004 election. Just days later, Dick announced that he would run against Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006. ==Criticism== While supporters of the system point out that Amway offers an easy way to earn money on the side and that it makes sense to buy products for personal use "from your own business" at wholesale prices, critics charge that even the wholesale prices published by Amway often exceed retail prices elsewhere. Supporters of the system usually respond to this by maintaining that many of their products, such as cleaning solutions, come in highly concentrated form, and therefore may still be competitively priced when that is taken into account, and the manufacturer generally claims that their products are of higher quality than less-expensive similar products. However, it is worth noting that this explanation cannot apply in the area of all products. Like many multi-level marketing operations, Amway has been called a pyramid scheme. Critics point out that participating in the system is not free, that AMOs often emphasize the recruitment of new participants over selling products and that many distributors spend little time actually selling products to others. It is also alleged that the above-mentioned "70% rule" is not sufficiently emphasized to new recruits, and that few products are ever sold to people outside of the Amway organization. Another criticism is that only a small fraction make any money at all, with the average distributor making around $100 per month before expenses and operating at a loss after expenses. Amway supporters reply that the organization does not have fixed working hours, and that how hard a distributor works (if at all) is a personal choice. The implication of insufficient effort or laziness is resented by former distributors who say that they got nothing for the sacrifices they made. Supporters of the system might suggest that it could be that an individual's personality and people skills are factors, as are such external circumstances such the state of the economy and the receptivity of the market, factors which vary considerably from one place to another. Critics also assert that AMOs target psychologically vulnerable people, and that some distributors have become alienated from family and friends who were invited to become sub-distributors or customers and resented the attempt to turn their personal relationship into a commercial one. Amway supporters reject this as an exaggeration, pointing out that the Amway manual prohibits taking advantage of sub-distributors, but in such a large organization comprising such diverse individuals and groupings, the possibility always exists of certain individuals abusing their power over their "downlines". Amway has changed enormously over the past 15 years, (1990-2005) presumably in an effort to remain appealing to potential distributors/IBOs, and in an attempt to shed the distributor organisation's public image. The name change to Quixtar and the associated metamorphosis is reminiscent of actions taken by numerous other groups. G. Robert Blakey, a professor from America's University of Indiana, authored a [http://www.amquix.info/blakey.html report] about Amway as an expert witness in the case "The Proctor & Gamble Company, et al. v. Amway Corporation, et al, Case No. H-9723 84 (S. D. Texas, Houston Division)." This report may be of interest to those considering becoming Amway distributors. ==Legal rulings== In a 1979 ruling, the Federal Trade Commission found that Amway does not qualify as an illegal pyramid scheme since the main aim of the enterprise is the sale of product. It did, however, order Amway to change several business practices and prohibited the company from misrepresenting the amount of profit, earnings or sales its distributors are likely to achieve. Amway was ordered to accompany any such statements with the actual averages per distributor, pointing out that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor making less than $100 per month. The order was violated with a 1986 ad campaign, resulting in a $100,000 fine. In 1983, Amway pleaded guilty to tax evasion and customs fraud in Canada, resulting in a fine of CDN$25 million, the largest fine ever imposed in Canada. In 2005, Amway/Quixtar orchestrated an attempt to drown out sites reporting deceptive practices and negative opinions. The [http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/10/the_quixtar_web_initiative.php "Web Initiative"] was flagged as Google bombing, a violation of [http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/11/google_guidelines.php Google's Quality Guidelines]. ==External links and references== * [http://www.amway.com/ Amway Corporation] *[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/40/40031.html Yahoo! - Alticor Inc. Company Profile] **[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/103/103441.html Yahoo! - Amway Corporation Company Profile] * [http://www.amway.co.jp/ Amway Japan Limited] Amway detractors accuse the company of spreading right-wing beliefs among its distributors [http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/1996/09/burstein.html 1,] [http://io.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0412/S00154.htm 2]. This has led to the derogatory term "Amway Christian", which suggests a professed Christian with a lack of commitment to the social-justice elements of the faith[http://www.holyobserver.com/detail.php?isu=v02i05&art=amway 3,][http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2005/02/amway_christian.php, 4,][http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31336 5,] [http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31336, 6] ==Resources== *[http://www.quixtar.com/ Quixtar] A site where quixtar and affiliated company's products are displayed and ordered. *[http://www.pyramidschemealert.org/ Pyramid Scheme Alert] a non profit consumer rights organization. *[http://dmoz.org/Business/Opportunities/Opposing_Views/Amway_and_Quixtar/ Dmoz.org: Amway and Quixtar] Selection of opposing websites. *[http://www.merchantsofdeception.com/ Merchants of Deception (MOD) - True Amway Quixtar story by former Emerald IBO] (free PDF eBook by Eric Scheibeler) *[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com Let's Get the Word Out] - An innovative grassroots movement to help Amway Quixtar and multi-level marketing victims **[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/amway-quixtar-blog/merchants_of_deception/ Official Amway Quixtar MOD Blog] **[http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/quixtar-amway-ebook/link_exchange/recommended_links.html MLM Resources: links, stinks & blogs] *[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/ MSNBC Dateline undercover investigation of Amway, Quixtar and Bill Britt] - transcript *[http://www.technorati.com/tags/Amway Technorati 'Amway' tag site] - gathers blog posts, links and images related to Amway *[http://amquix.info/ Quixtar Business Analysis] - analyzes and criticizes Amway extensively, mostly from a financial perspective *[http://www.amwaylive.com/ amwaylive.com] A Japanese site where IBOs in Japan order products and find business tools. *[http://www.amquix.info/blakey.html The Blakey Report] A report by a drafter of recent American organised crime legislation, comparing the structure and function of Amway, when combined with the distributor organisations, with that of the American Mafia. Retail companies of the United States Companies based in Michigan Multi-level marketing
Amway
I have edited the article today (08 January 2003) to promote a more neutral point of view. The article seemed to be biased, just slightly, to an anti-amway perspective; I have deleted nothing, but have added a few relevant facts from "the other side" to balance the viewpoint. (User:Davidcannon) _____________________________________________________________________________ Are there any sites that have confirmed the "organic" environmental-friendly claims of Amyway products or at least the LOC all purpose cleaner product? (formerly known as Zoom) "Amway Motivational Organizations (AMOs)" seem not to exist. I just asked a 30-year Amway distributor what they are, and she has never heard that term. :Type "Amway Motivational Organization" into Google, if you can be bothered. user:AxelBoldt :: my apologies, I should have been clearer - that is a name exclusive to critics of Amway, and should be mentioned as such. Someone doing that search will not find answers from Amway or pro-Amway folks as they don't use that term. There are, aligned with Quixtar, groups like ina.net that fit this description and do the training and motivation of Quixtar distributors, who distribute Amway and other products through a common distribution arm. :So what's your point again? user:AxelBoldt ::these groups are called Independent Marketing Companies or something else by Quixter, ina.net is one of these. It's a fundamental issue with direct multi-level marketing organizations that they can't control the behavior of frontline distributors, probably no more than Arafat can control the timing of suicide bombers. Same top-down versus bottom-up behavior influence debate... the Amway Corp does try to make certain things standard, e.g. no "door to door selling", and they succeed in general, but they have only a few blunt instruments with which to do so. This article needs to be updated, and the "AMOs" need to be documented - I don't doubt that somewhere somehow someone used this name for them, but they serve a legitimate role in multi-level marketing, although they may overstep it and become bad religions... :Oh God. Now 24 starts to preach MLM in addition to "embodied mind" and "ecoregion". user:AxelBoldt :: ecologists preach "ecoregion", psychologists preach "embodied mind" - I merely report. As to your issue with MLM, it's seems to me to be an issue with capitalism. Which I think I gave very neutral treatment to. You want an economic system driven by human desire and advertising, you're going to see a lot of people conned, often. That may or may not be the fault of the organization that provides the products and the attracive payoff scheme. :: a neutral fact is that Amway has created more millionaires than any other company in the world, Microsoft is only second. Both companies are hated but it's a combination of envy *and* perhaps some abuses of market position that account for it. MLM schemes come and go, Amway/Quixtar has stayed. Of course not everyone succeeds in it. But the millionaires aren't complaining. ---- :''The FTC ruling was allegedly initiated by Proctor and Gamble, who competes with Amway for sales of packaged consumer goods. P&G were concerned about continued erosion of their market share by Amway and businesses with a similar structure to Amway's. '' Who has alleged this when and where? :''Rather than contest the charges, which could have resulted in distributors suffering financially because of a court injunction prenting business during a trial, Amway paid the fine. Amway later successfully appealed the fine but did not appeal the conviction -- again to avoid causing suffering to its network of distributors.'' How could they appeal the conviction when they had pleaded guilty in the first place? Are you saying that they first paid the fine, then successfully appealed the fine and got the money back? How much did they pay in the end? User:AxelBoldt 03:42 Jan 15, 2003 (UTC) ____ I see somebody has added something about Emma Page jewellery being available through Amway in Australia, as well as New Zealand. Please provide a source for this. I am well aware of its availability in NZ; my wife and I are both Amway distributors and have sold Emma Page jewellery under Amway auspices. In Australia, however, my understanding is that Emma Page has '' its own '' distribution network; only in New Zealand does it contract Amway. That was the last I heard (last year) - that Australian Amway distributors were very envious of their New Zealand counterparts because there is a substantial profit in Emma Page. Now, for all I know, this MAY have changed. If it has, could you name your source? I will make some inquiries myself; in the meantime, I will let your edit stand. User:Davidcannon 11:09, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC) ==Purported cult== This material is from the article List of purported cults, which we are paring down to a pure list. Editors here can best evaluate its statements and decide how to integrate it into this article. Thanks, -User:Willmcw 21:09, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC) :''Amway === :''Critics, many of them former Amway distributors, claim that Amway distribution networks (which technically are independent from the company itself) are cults or cultlike. They claim that the distribution networks encourage people to dedicate their lives to efforts that usually will make them little money, encourage people to not think for themselves, encourage unthinking fanaticism for Amway products, encourage people to deceive others and hide the truth from outsiders, and use mind control and psychological pressure to encourage people to join the organization and to discourage them from leaving. :''On its Web site, the company denies that it is a cult. "No, Amway Corporation is a business and, similar to other large and established companies, has a distinct environment defined by shared business goals. Shared business philosophies should not be misinterpreted as a cult." :''References: :* ''http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/ (Ex-Cult Resource Center) :* ''http://www.amway.com/en/General/faqs-10229.aspx#10217 (Amway) == Poorly Edited and Lots of POV == I came to this site looking for unbiased information so that I could make a fair evaluation for myself. I have previously been highly skeptical of all multi-level marketing systems and remain so, however, I was afraid I had not been open minded about the idea and wanted more information. I did not find it. This article contains numerous spelling and/or grammatical errors and shows poor proofreading. "IBO" is never written out on this page, I think it's probably "Independent Business Organizatons" or something like that, but abbreviations should be explained on this page. The only pro-Amway linnk is their corporate website, there must be others. The use of the word "kingpin" and the phrase "train wreck" are very far from the Wikipedia call for unbiased language and the paragraph that cites Independent Media TV as well as one that follows do not allow for errors in reporting or POV in those reports but recite the reports as facts themselves. This article needs a lot of work. Unfortunately, I came here looking for information I didn't already have and still don't. Someone else will have to rewrite this entry and I will have to look elsewhere for my information. -- DH 2005.04.07 == Information on cultic/illegal characteristics == I've added some information surrounding Amway's cultic characteristics and complications with the legal system, as well as my own observations regarding the behavioural conformity of AMOs with Hassan and Jay Lifton's models of mind control, and mention of G Robert Blakey's expert report from Amway v Proctor & Gamble. However, I've tried to keep this information limited to what I hope are demonstrable facts rather than value judgements/interpretations, and have also largely confined my additions to the "Criticisms" section. Although my opinion of Amway most certainly is not either neutral or positive, it is my hope that because my additions have been contained in Criticisms, and because I have made an attempt to keep my additions factual, a reasonably neutral tone can be maintained, while at the same time noting Amway's less ethically desirable characteristics. I have also removed the references to the terms "train wreck" and "kingpins" in an attempt to create a more neutral tone. - User:Petrus4 06/05/2005 Someone has removed my reference to the Blakey report, which I don't believe is really appropriate. That report includes important information about the structure of Amway...I think it's important that someone thinking of becoming involved with Amway should know if they are potentially becoming involved with a quasi-criminal organisation. - User:Petrus4 08/05/2005
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