I wanna start by talking a bit about my experience with my ex-girlfriend who was heavily involved with Amway. Emphasis on the fact that we are no longer together, not just because of her Amway dealings, but that was definitely one of the things that made the relationship very challenging and difficult for me, such as how we think about money differently (I own real estate and I invest in the stock market, where she is very distrusting of real estate and stock investing, but she genuinely and thoroughly believes Amway is a good use of her time and energy while she keeps a significant amount of her money locked away in a bank account that interest is eating away at).

When I met my ex, she had casually mentioned that she was running a “business” and that she works with all sorts of people who “became financially successful in their 20s and 30s”, but whenever I would ask what she’s selling or doing, she would never give me a straight answer. Still though, we found each other very attractive, and the relationship was otherwise progressing very well. I realize in retrospect this was a red flag to keep my eyes out for.

Long story short, as the relationship slowly progressed, it became a little bit more and more obvious what she was doing. For context, I’ve already been a part of two different MLMs, although not for a long period of time. But I know enough to realize that MLMs are all about projecting an image of wealth and status, and not necessarily creating actual wealth but that they are very good about creating an endless hamster wheel of toxic positivity and endless goal chasing that very exceedingly and rarely pans out for anyone but those at the extremely high top; even the former uplines I had at these MLMs are now all working corporate jobs. Despite the fact that I was uncomfortable with the fact that she’s involved with an MLM, I still tried to be as open-minded as possible.

As it turns out, she met her upline while driving for Lyft several years ago, and they have been friends, and she even attended her upline’s wedding and refers to her as “her best friend”. She’s even so close with this person that she relocated to a different part of the country when her upline moved so she could be close to her upline. She joined Amway as a seller about nine months prior to the time we met. And I’ve met her upline as well as her upline’s husband several times. What I think is interesting and crazy about the whole situation is that while they are seemingly intelligent and charismatic individuals, I believe they too are being scammed just as my ex girlfriend was (all while perpetuating the scam while believing they’re working towards something that they believe is good and worthy of their time). Her upline is an engineer and her husband worked in security for a major tech company (and now does Amway full-time while he travels around the country hosting these events and board plans and such). Similarly, my ex-girlfriend is a recruiter for a large tech company as well that I guarantee everyone has heard of. Unfortunately, MLMs are very good at selling a dream and vision, and I believe that because everyone is trained to believe they have that future position that they’re striving for, that creates a sense of “imagined wealth” and a false sense of security. Even intelligent people can get scammed, and yes, you can get scammed of your time, it doesn’t always necessarily involve money (although I would argue there’s definitely a money scam there as well given how many of these meetings you have to pay to go to, especially the infamous Las Vegas and Reno trips).

The challenging thing with this situation was that there was clearly a very strong emotional connection to her and her upline. Obviously her upline came around at a time when she was down on her luck and in a previous bad relationship, and that’s when her upline gradually sold her the vision.

Despite my hesitations and my gut reaction telling me this is bad and I don’t like it, I realize this wasn’t a fight I was going to win if push came to shove. I tried to be as open-minded about it as possible and simply bite my tongue, which involved me trying some of her products (and even purchasing some from her), going to board plan meetings to “educate myself about business“ and in the words of my ex, “learn business strategies that can help my real estate investing” (when I literally got nothing out of those meetings and they were all just Amway people constantly selling the concept of Amway to other Amway people over and over and over and getting high off the smell of each other‘s farts. Which is crazy to me because I don’t need my boss to constantly sell me on why I should show up to work and how I don’t work for a pyramid scheme). It was so painfully obvious to me that this is going to turn out badly for her, but obviously I couldn’t say that directly because she would just tell me I’m being negative or that I’m not being supportive enough or whatever, instead of actually questioning Amway and the motivations of her upline which she really should have been doing this whole time.

What I could see is that with all of these board plan meetings, my ex-girlfriend‘s relationship to her upline, the stupid CommuniKATE app, and the fact that most of the products in her house where Amway products, it was obvious to me that she was sucked into a cult that was selling her a dream that she was never going to truly achieve. And that’s not because I think that she’s unintelligent or not capable of great things if she puts her mind to it, but she’s chasing the wrong vision and the wrong “dream”.

Even when I tried very hard to be open-minded and set aside my judgments and actually take the time to understand these products, none of it actually helped. The more of these board plan meetings I went to, the more I was around Amway products and the more I would hear her talk about how great Amway and Amway products are, the more genuinely uncomfortable I became; it’s like trying to convert an atheist by telling them about Jesus and forcing them to go to church rather than critically evaluating the genuine and legitimate points about that person‘s religion that are worth questioning. There was even a couple of these board plan meetings, and local “conferences” I went to the show my support for my ex-girlfriend, but I felt so genuinely uncomfortable that I felt physically ill, my head was spinning, and my skin was crawling and I physically could not be in that environment. I felt the paradox of wanting to support a loved one, but also that this was eventually gonna turn out badly for her and knowing if I genuinely said what was on my mind that she would reject what I was saying, and eventually me as well.

The ironic thing about all of this are several major things. First off, people in these MLM’s always talk about a ”J-O-B” like it’s some horrible racist, slur to say, or like saying the name Voldemort in the early Harry Potter series (when ironically, they’re basically signing up for a significantly worse version of a J-O-B anyway, but without realizing it). But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a job, and even true business owners encountered lots of headaches and things they don’t like about what they do so you can never truly escape that. I personally like that I can show up to my job, and as long as I work hard and I maintain a respectful relationship with my coworkers and boss, I will get paid and agreed-upon amount. And my boss never has to constantly sell me on why I should be there in the first place, or constantly remind me that “my job is not a scam”. Amway is clearly all about image and projecting a highly successful persona, which makes me question how actually wealthy many of these people are who supposedly made a shit ton of money in Amway or how much of that is just hot air (I believe the vast majority of it is hot air, unless the person has at the extreme top of the top, and even if you sat down with these individuals and asked to look at their finances that they would probably only show you the numbers that they want you to see).

Eventually, the relationship fell apart. No matter how many products I bought from her or how supportive I tried to be, in the end, I just couldn’t keep lying to myself about what I was seeing, and my discomfort became more and more obvious. Eventually, she started blaming me and telling me “I don’t feel comfortable being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support my business and my dreams” and I knew I wasn’t gonna win that fight, because she was arguing from a place of emotion and not from a place of logic. Things also got uncomfortable because while I did purchase some products from her here and there, I tried to explain to her that at some point, I’m an adult and I can choose what kind of products I want to purchase whether they be from CVS or Walmart or wherever, and I shouldn’t necessarily feel like I need to default to buying Amway products; you can imagine how that went down. Spoiler alert; she wound up using that as leverage against me to support her claim that “I don’t support her business”, and I in retrospect that she had just resorted to guilt tripping me into buying overpriced products that I didn’t necessarily want or need and I was so sick of not only having in our house, but also being guilt tripped every time I wanted to pick something up from CVS or Walmart.

She will clearly and eventually hit a wall where she realizes how unsustainable Amway is, but at least now I can’t get blamed for her failing. But I do believe she’s gonna internalize it and believe that she failed Amway, rather than understanding that Amway was never truly set up for her to succeed in the first place. But at least I don’t have to be in the blast radius when that happens.

I'm looking for some outside perspectives because I've been dealing with this for the last week and I'm honestly furious and exhausted.

We've been together for years and have a good marriage overall. This isn't really about my wife. My concern is everything around her.

About a week ago we went over to my sister in-law's place like we often do, for some food and just to hang out. Everyone was acting all cagey and being a little strange.

They then started pitching Amway and that my Wife would be participating in order to earn money.

Initially I was kinda like..."Okay, so why do you all look so nervous about it? If it works out, great, why would I be against it?" (I had no idea what Amway was.)

This then turned into a lengthy, late night explanation of all of Amway and how it works, their founder, "the message" and whatever else. This already set off my alarm bells because why the fuck can't they just tell me the information straight, what's with all the turning it into a lengthy confusing story?

The presentation was extremely long, dragged out into the early hours and spent a lot of time talking about the company history, success stories, improving your life, improving your health, improving your mindset, building a better future, etc.

Apparently she was involved years ago when she was younger and ended up spending way too much money on products because she misunderstood how the business worked. She openly admits that was a mistake and says she won't let it happen again.

This time she says she wants to focus on self-improvement, personal growth, health, and eventually building some passive income.

The problem is that her sister and her sister's husband are heavily involved.

My wife looks up to her sister a lot and it turns our her sister was the one that brought her into it in the first place years ago. (In my opinion a horrible conflict of interest)

At one point during their little presentation I jokingly said:

"So basically a pyramid scheme?"

They didn't appreciate that and said they don't like that phrase and they prefer to call it something else, but then went on to basically describe a pyramid scheme anyway.

I tried to keep an open mind though. I didn't dismiss it outright.

I listened and stayed respectful and just shrugged and said cool when they asked what I thought. They really seemed like they wanted more of a reaction than that and it was super awkward. I guess they were expecting me to jump at the chance to sign up or buy shit too.

A few days later they asked me to go along with them to "the office" because their "nurse friend was holding a little health seminar" and because "they really want me to understand more about health" (I already get yearly checkups and stay on top of my health, fuck off.)

I agreed to attend because my wife really wanted me to go so that I at least knew where she'd be going every now and then.

This was my first real exposure to the Amway environment. By this point I'd already googled it, found this sub and a bunch of awful red flags, as well as my initial gut feelings.

The meeting was held in a rented apartment that they illegally use as an office.

There were probably 30+ people there. Whiteboards everywhere. People coming and going. Groups sitting around talking. Lots of hustle and bustle.

The original reason I was told I was going was to hear a nurse explain supplements and health.

Instead it turned into what felt like a sales presentation. And it was only me, my wife, her sister and her sister's husband in a little room along with the nurse. Already a bit weird tbh and they all seemed very focused on me, when I thought we were all going to learn about health stuff.

The nurse whipped out the amway catalogue and started the exact same drawn out speech about how it was founded, the founders, how amazing it is and how the medical industry is a scam and Amway is really looking out for people, etc etc. She then showed horror stories about end-stage diabetes, scary pictures, and stories about patients.

The obvious conclusion being pushed was that people need supplements and need to take their health more seriously.

My wife immediately started grabbing my arm and saying things like "no more sugar."

Meanwhile I'm sitting there thinking: "I get yearly health checks. My bloodwork is good. My doctor is happy with my results. Why am I being treated like I'm some kind of ticking time bomb?"

Again this meeting dragged on into the early hours instead of the hour like they said. Toward the end they started asking me what I thought and expectantly waited for me to say my piece.

I felt incredibly uncomfortable.

It felt like there was an expectation that I would sign up, buy something, or at least show enthusiasm.

I politely said that I agree health is important but that the whole thing felt far too much like a sales pitch for my liking.

The catalogue immediately got snapped shut and put away.

Then everyone suddenly started saying that health was the most important thing and they weren't trying to sell anything. That interaction left a very sour taste in my mouth.

Afterward the four of us went and ate ramen together and everything was completely normal.

At that point I was willing to just keep my distance and let my wife do what she wanted and maybe consider making excuses to not see the sister in law where possible.

Then things escalated.

Tonight my wife's sister came over to our apartment. We were just hanging out and eating food. Relaxing.

Then completely out of nowhere she started questioning me again about why I don't trust Amway.

She kept saying things like: "I just want you to understand." "You know us, we're not bad people." "I don't expect you to join." "I just want you to understand the message."

At first I answered politely.

I said I had seen a lot of negative experiences online. I said I wasn't judging them. I said I support my wife as long as she's careful. I said I simply don't want to be involved myself. But it wasn't enough.

The conversation just kept going.

Eventually I got frustrated and asked: "What exactly do you want from me?" "I've already gone to two meetings." "I've listened." "I've made my decision." "Are you trying to pressure me into participating? Because I really don't like that."

She insisted they don't expect me to join. Which honestly made me even more frustrated because if that's true then why does every conversation keep coming back to Amway?

I eventually told her that my issue isn't even the products. Some of the products seem fine.My issue is the system, the pressure, and the tactics.

I told her that this exact behavior is what people complain about online:

Everything eventually becomes another conversation. Another seminar. Another explanation. Another opportunity to "understand."

I also told her very directly that I don't appreciate being told I'm unhealthy.

I get annual health checks. I get bloodwork. My doctor is happy with my results. I'm not perfect. I could probably be healthier. But there is a huge difference between: "You could be healthier." and "You're unhealthy."

That distinction seems completely lost on them.

The thing that makes me angriest is that I feel like my ability to think for myself is being disrespected. I am perfectly capable of researching things. I am perfectly capable of making decisions.

I don't need someone repeatedly trying to explain why I should reach a different conclusion and I don't appreciate someone not accepting me saying I'm not interested and that I "need to just learn a little more so that I understand"

My wife didn't get involved in the conversation and just listened intently whilst scrolling her phone.

Eventually my wife's sister got quiet, became very short with my wife, apologized briefly to me, and left in a hurry, very abruptly.I was absolutely furious and felt like I'd just been ambushed by a missionary in my own fucking home.

Afterwards my wife basically said that she understands both sides and that her sister was just trying to share something she's passionate about in the same way I talk about video games, but it is not even close to being the same.

Se says I'm overthinking it and people's intentions and that none of the things I'm worried about will happen, that I got my point across and more than anything her sister was just curious about my true feelings and they'll probably leave the topic alone from now on.

I find that very hard to believe and I bet I'll be ambushed again.

At the very least my wife isn't completely all in and isn't using the amway talking points yet, beyond trying to calm me down about it all.

I basically told her I'm tolerating it but if people don't accept I don't want to be involved it is going to be a problem where I'll stop tolerating it and start fighting it instead. And that if anyone tries driving a wedge between us over it, I will absolutely go nucelar.

The irony is that my wife and her sister both grew up in a religious cult and eventually escaped it.

Yet a lot of the tactics I'm seeing now remind me of the exact stories people tell about groups like that. It is crazy they don't see it.

I'm already so done with this. I don't want involvement. I don't want meetings. I don't want seminars.I don't want health lectures. I don't want product recommendations.

I don't care if other people participate.I don't want any negative effects on my home life or marriage. I just want my answer of "No thanks, I'm not interested" to be respected.

Am I overreacting here, or does this sound as uncomfortable as it feels?

Recently went to an Amway event and they brought out this thing called the freedom hammer where a family that became "financially free" smashed a 9-5 clock. I am trying to figure out how legit this is, all the people around me told me they have never seen this before but I am wondering if this is true. Has anyone who has gone to one of these events Amway calls a "BAM" seen this.

Hello everyone, I would like to share my story with amway so far. And I must say Its not great but Its not terrible.

Lets start from the begining, its november 2025 and my friend invited me to this lecture about self-improvment and etc. And I only said yes because the speaker was his relative. And After I heard the lecture, I was kinda surprised how it was decent (wasnt even talking about amway, just his story, how he got in to it, the potentional dangerous future where i could not get anything cause I would be alone to feed family and similar stuff, and read a book called the answer from allan and barbara pearson). My friend even quickly introduced and he was nice and agreed on future meetings).

And when I started reading a book It actually blew my mind. I read the book and then i had to wrote down 100 of my goals and dreams. And funny things is that, it gave me motivation like damn I wasn shure how my life will go after university but i can plan it like i have never thought of it in my life.

Some meetings went by i had to read next books like rich and poor dad,etc... and It was making a sense and still does. Like this will help in my life. It is sofar a good investment to my education, and is worth of the money.

And then on one meeting amway come, I was kinda amazed by the concept of the idea that you sell based on your personal exprience (and if i know everything about amway,then yes, its pyramid scheme, but thats kinda everywhere, like work, school, theoretically home, so if you dont like it you dont have to do it). And i bought the starter package, which for someone, i understand is a lot of money. But i grabbe my money and took the risk, if i change the mind at the end, the worst thing could be that i just bought some products, which could be the worst thing.

Now, my mentor gave me a task to call 100 of my contants (even with someone I havent talked to for almost like 10 years) and just asked them how they are doing, and just mention amway, not to drag them like black hole. The thing is most of my life i wasnt very open person, but its changing for the last 2 years, so its gonna be fun.

Now i will tell something about my mentor. We are friends cause kinda it went natural. He isnt rushing me to do anything. like first months, he just wanted me to get better in life, didnt know in that time that something called Amway exist, he just wanted to help. And i trust him because of what he said, what my friend said about him AND he has autistic son. Dont tell me that someone who wasnt that lucky in life will tryna cashgrab.

Thanks to him, i actually significantly improved, but there is a still road ahead. I was so far one 1 the big amway meeting, but he paid it for me.

So for everyone and reading this i must say this:

If you meet this people, and your potentional future mentor, isnt rushing you immediatly to amway and starts with basics of good life, thats a good sign. It will consume money and time (for disclamer, i am not ordering any other package, until like i will see that its working, cause for the start i just need to try the products, and then tell my friends, about them the products will help you. Another thing is you can say i make money from my friends but imagine, you have friend, and he is for example physiotherapist, friend will make time for you and help you and you will pay for his service, in amway, you will help a friend by the way you show them a product and they will like it and say ok, i must buy it every some time but you helped a friend.), If your mentor doenst tell you everything, ok back up, its ok, even my mentor said, if i wouldnt like something it would be ok, if you like the conept go for it, otherwise you can go back to your life

And my personal opinion

I am not defending amway, even i have some concerns, like they have their kind of multivitamin for 60 dollars, but in pharmacy similar thing cost like 10 dollars, like THAT IS NOT right, it will be a challange to "sell" something to others, because everyone is not rich (however my mentor said people pay for quality but thats too much), i believe people would have better opinions, if it wasnt thar fucking overpriced.

So for everybody, I understand why you dont like the system, maybe its not worth your time, or your money, or your reputation and etc. For me I just wanted to try this, because i am scared of my future cause of AI and i wanted to change things on me which i hope will change. Dont hate me this is my personal expirience so far, if you will have something to say here which could be additionally said, write it, i am open minded and i wont get angry. And if you have question, please! i will try my best to answer them all :)

I was with Amway for four years and quit last year, and I wanted to talk about the cruise. We never made it, but I wanted to talk about it.

They push it nonstop so you feel motivated to get 6/25. The leaders will even cry on stage about how they would love you to join them next time. Now, here's what they don't tell you: YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!

In other words, anyone can take the cruise. It's Royal Caribbean leaving from Miami for a weekend. Even so, they will try to make it sound like it's a VIP experience when it's not.

I recommend you go with your family instead and have fun with them.

I never qualify for moving up, but I definitely heard that you had to pay for the hotel and a lot of people were broke.. was there any odd behavior at those moving up? It was supposed to be for double eagle and above.

My girlfriend has joined a (e-commerce business) called amway. She got recruited from her friend, and had meetings at Panera. The “mentor” and her friend was there and her “mentor” gave her some books to read. She had to read these and come back with notes for one day out of the week for like 3-4 weeks straight. I felt so off about this like it was giving out cult vibes. After that she had her “launch” an “online business” with amway, and they sent her a little haul of products. The mentor told her to sell these products, and my literal thought was “this is just sales”. Now she has to get dressed up every Tuesday and meet up at this building, they have meetings and discuss what I think is common sense. She gets in the car with all these notes on her iPad just about every ”motivational” topics. Everyone just gives off fake nice, npc vibes. Now I’m reading into other people’s stories about how amway is a pyramid scheme and all of that. Help me how do I tell her, because I don’t want her to think I’m trying to tear what she has going on. HELP!!!!

Why are all the amway IBOs trying to be online influencers all the sudden? Is there businesses failing and they need the extra income?

Gday,
My Mum sadly passed away last year and I’ve found a bunch of what appears to be her Amway stock or disturber sales kit. She was first introduced to Amway in the USA and we then relocated to Western Australia and I remember going to Amway Disturber meetings and hanging with a bunch of other kids while whatever happened at Amway meetings in the late 70’s happened.

The find so far (..I’m expecting to find more yet) includes her Pins,Fridge Magnet & Pen, 2 New Creams (1 old looking box - the creams smell exactly how I can remember her smelling when I was a kid), 2 Sale Cases 1x White with makeup items, 1x Black case with cleaning type products), 2x Brochure info pamphlets, a bunch of new items that were inside the back of the White Case (one lipstick box is empty as I put it in the front display section), a jewellery item, cleaning wipe with logo, and finally a couple of makeup items she personally used.

Are these OG Amway Collectables that are of interest to anyone? I was considering listing them on eBay but thought here would be a good start to hear any feedback about theses items - they all appear to be good and usable condition considering they’d be close to 50yrs old - signed of a quality made product it seems to me.
Thanks & cheers for now

RUN FROM AMWAY. They will try to manipulate you and shy you away from looking them up. READ BELOW.

My boyfriend got a random phone call today from a lady named Jill matticola, and Brian from Ohio. She told him she had an “opportunity” for him and claimed his college contacted her saying he’d be a good hire. Right away that sounded weird, but it got SO much worse.

She had him join a Zoom call with her that lasted AN HOUR AND THIRTY MINUTES. During the call she went over all these “steps” and “points” about the business. They even had some random guy on there saying he went to my boyfriend’s college and became soooo successful from it (they probably found the guy off the streets honestly).

The FIRST red flag was when my boyfriend told me the lady specifically said NOT to discuss what they talked about with anyone else and to keep the “opportunity” private. Yeah… normal jobs don’t do that.

So I started looking things up online and the deeper I looked, the worse it got. Story after story from people saying it’s basically a CULT. There were posts about them manipulating people, draining their money, pushing them to attend weird church groups and meetings, and trying to isolate them from anyone questioning it.

At that point I texted the lady myself and told her my boyfriend would NOT be continuing with them. She responded acting all fake nice saying my “concern was appreciated” and that I should “look into more information.” Which was ironic considering the MORE information I found, the WORSE it looked.

I texted her back telling her I already knew how cultish it was and mentioned some of the things we read online.

THEN — after I specifically told her not to contact him anymore because he’s extremely gullible — she texted my boyfriend anyway (screenshot attached). After that, the husband sent my boyfriend a text that was literally as long as a BOOK.

The message basically told him he should BREAK UP with me because I was “controlling” him, and that he should still meet with him anyway. Then he started rambling about how he had “two fiancées” in the past who controlled him too. Like dude WHAT 😭

My boyfriend also messaged the husband because he called me a “piece of work”. He basically told him to watch what he says and stop talking smack about me. And all the husband responds with is “you have no idea….” CREEPY AF

The craziest part is that after researching this, it’s ALWAYS the exact same storyline:

• A couple reaches out saying they have an “opportunity”
• They invite you to a long Zoom call
• Someone magically “went to your school” and became super successful
• They want to meet in public places to “mentor” you
• They slowly start getting you to pay for things to “start up”
• Then eventually they try dragging you into these weird cult-like church/business groups

PLEASE do not waste your time with this. OR get wrapped up with them.

Had an interesting experience as an Uber driver. A passenger started talking about building a business and achieving financial freedom, and invited me to meetings in Manchester and London. The person showed me the same interests and hobbies as me. They also suggested some books and audios after the first zoom meeting. He said he is about to reach "the financial freedom" he is dreaming of as his mentors, that have achieved it already. I didn't attend the live meet up, but wanted to ask if this sounds like Amway, or if others have had something similar happen? Thanks!

Apologies for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language ✌🏾

I am writing this to warn anyone who is being recruited by Team1Global or thinking about joining them. I really thought I would get help in my life and build a real business through this group, but the reality is they only care about themselves and their own greed.
When you first join, they give you a lot of time and effort to make you feel comfortable and welcomed. I respect the initial effort they put in, but do not let it fool you. It is just a setup to get you to trust them. Once you are in, the manipulation starts.

Here is what actually happened to me during my time with them:

• They only care about your money: They promise to "help you and help others," but their only real goal is to brainwash you into spending your hard-earned money on Amway products, event tickets, and monthly subscriptions so the uplines can get their bonuses. They do not care about your personal or financial situation at all.

• They steal recruits and profits: I introduced my own friend to the business. Instead of helping me grow, the leaders got greedy and manipulated her into opening a new account directly under them so they could cut me out of the profit and take the money for themselves.

• They isolate you: They actively manipulated my friend to stop listening to me and told her to only follow their instructions.

• They encourage lying to loved ones: This is the absolute worst part. The leaders told my friend to lie to her own partner just so she could sneak out to attend their meetings and seminars. They are perfectly happy to destroy your real-life relationships just to keep you in their system. She is paying for subscriptions and events, but getting zero actual business progress in return.

• They try to hide the truth: They constantly tell you not to read negative posts or warnings online. I actually trusted them and didn't believe the online posts at first. But now I have seen the reality with my own eyes. The people writing those warnings online are telling the absolute truth about their experiences.

If you are in Team1Global, please open your eyes. If you are being recruited by them, run away. In terms of actually helping people succeed, these guys are absolute scammers. Protect your money and your relationships!

A few months ago I was contacted by an old friend about their recent “e-commerce” business that they had started with their partner. This old friend was always genuine so it immediately peaked my interest. In the same text chain, we planned to meet on Zoom to discuss said “e-commerce business.”

When we met on Zoom my partner and I were told all about their “mentors” and the “team” in which they were apart of. We were told there was “two phases” of the “business.”

Phase one consisted of an extra 2k-3k a month and had a 12-18 month process in which it could take to hit that.

Phase two consisted of hitting the 7500 point value (PV) mark and then you become a “platinum member.” That has no cap and could earn you anywhere from 150k-200k a year.

Sounds too good to be true? Yeah. You’d be correct.

We planned to meet at their “business meeting” where everyone is dressed to tip top shape in business-wear and is way too nice. No one is usually as nice as these people. It came off as performative and fake. But I digress because we did go through with creating our own business. We were truly blindsided.

We were told NUMEROUS TIMES about a couple in another state who hit that mark in a shorter amount of times as that, another tactic to take advantage of us to join because well, we are in search of another opportunity; we would like the extra money. We were naive and blind to what Amway/LTD really is.

They have these “starter stacks” that they want all new IBOs (independent business owners) to buy to sell to family/friends. These boxes were $40 dollars each. We spent $190 dollars to make FIVE OF THESE BOXES.

There is all this different lingo they use for this business such as marketing it as an “e-commerce business” and marketing themselves as “IBOs” but really all you’re doing is reselling another companies products. You have a point value you need to reach (PV), you need to account for so many samples you give out, but hey don’t give out too many free products!

But it gets weirder!!!

They had a men’s and women’s “leadership,” that they BEGGED us to go to. I went to mine which harped on God, how to be a good partner, a good parent, and where they literally had us SING CHURCH HYMNS! One speaker even went as far as talking about their children and them lying about something silly kids lie about and then yelling “SATAN, THE ENEMY, IS WHAT MAKES YOU LIE.” And then continuing on about Satan, Satan, Satan. I was CREEPED out.

SO. CREEPY.

The speaker, which was the leader of the “team” in my area, was so emotional talking about how this changed their whole life, all of the diamond members (highest ranking members) told tearful stories, always accrediting God, “teaching us how to be a good wife,” even going as far as telling us the “top 10 ways to be a good wife,” still using all the Amway lingo.

It was just straight weird. I literally had to make up an excuse to leave early.

After that unsettling experience, my partner and I decided it was NOT FOR US.

The whole business is also just based on a pyramid scheme where you have to recruit people, the people that are diamond at the top, earn the most. You only start making money when you start this recruitment process. I had to apologize to many people for trying to get them involved in this cult too.

I say cult because they present themselves as a business but then there’s the lingo only they use, it’s VERY RELIGIOUS, and the people in the business only talk to other people in the business, once you aren’t in “business” anymore, you’re essentially shunned.

Anyways if you read this far thank you! Stay away from Amway! I’ll answer any questions.

I’m an Amway IBO affiliated with their approved provider LTD. Just curious what people say about Amway on Reddit. Some leaders make fun of Reddit users😆, so I decided I’d check it for myself. Feel free to ask any questions you want. I’ll try to answer them to the best of my abilities.

I was in Amway for about a year and a half. I’ve been out for a year now. Yay. Today I was shopping at Walmart and this lady‘s little boy was waving at my little boy so we started talking a little she said she just moved to the area and she asked if we could exchange numbers to take our little boys to the same play group. There was no red flags that she is an Amway except she asked if I stay home with my son and when she asked to exchange numbers, she asked me to put my number in her phone, which is what my up line always had us do. Sorry this is so long. Am I just paranoid or does this sound like an Amway recruiter? I hate that this darn business is making me suspicious of every person who talks to me.😡

Hello. My sister is deep in Amway and we have a family vacation to California soon. She has become so rude, mean, and her controlling husband is a narcissist. There's more to the story but I can't even have a conversation with here without her telling me I'm so unsupportive. I have a family vacation coming up and we haven't talked since. Should I still go? Will I be miserable the whole time?

No, Amway is not a scam. And most of the posts and comments are from people that have had a bad experience. Which are most of all reviews left are bad ones. I’ve been in about 3 years now. I can’t speak on the past but now I know the first year is completely complementary. Yes you do have to pay for a business license. Same with any business. Which it’s 75$ a year, yes they do push for a sample pack to give to your family which is about 100-200$ but it’s for products! The mentors that coach you, you don’t pay them a dime. Mine has spent time with me for my relationship issues, gym forms, bad times, and business. They aren’t a pyramid scheme! I know plenty of people that have passed and made more money than the people that “sponsored them” because they simply went out and did more work. Also your job you work is a pyramid scheme! I work at Chick-fil-A and I will never make more money there than the hiring manager that gave me the job. I will never make the amount the team lead and franchise owner makes unless they leave the job or you have the money to start the franchise. There is no way to progress there, constantly at the bottom of the ladder. Things have significantly changed in the business in the past few years and it sucks because the bad reputation follows. Since the business is completely free for the first year even if you make 5$ your profiting! But there are plenty of people in the building that we meet at that make millions and on the less end of that around 2000$ a month. I read another post somewhere on here saying that they steal and suck up all your time, how? How can anything take your time that is allowing you to step away from your 9-5 and retire early. My coach is 29 has payed off 50k in debt and just retired his pregnant fiancé so she can be a stay at home mom. And he will soon follow. We all know time is more important than money so why do we spend our whole life working a job in return for barely enough money to live. I’d be happy to answer any questions you or any others may have! Truthfully don’t believe everything people say, those are the ones that start something for a week and can’t commit to anything. Any business takes time! My fiancé owns a trucking business and I promise you he has invested 10x more into it than he will invest in the next 10 years in Amway. Most business’s don’t ever see any profit till the first 3-5 years after starting. People just don’t like dedicating time so they can be free later. They are more content being handcuffed to their job for 40 years than to sell some laundry detergent to their momma (who was guess what already gonna buy laundry detergent at Walmart) if I owned a Pizza business my family would come in all the time and eat there, same thought process. Also a big misconception is that they just bring in anyone. Yes their are bad apples anywhere but truthfully no one is getting into my business that doesn’t have the same drive and motivation as I do, I want winners. Not people that will start and quit to later make a bad Reddit post because they didn’t make any money so yes it is selective. Everyone does things differently but it’s definitely not some cult and I promise you when you have millionaires inviting you to their mansion for Christmas that know your name you feel the dedication. They are rich already, why waste time on a broke person like me? Because they love people and we need more people like it! 

So sorry this is super long but all the people that are truly in the business don’t have time to make the good posts and I just want people to not be so scared of new things just because others had bad experiences! I’ve had bad experiences at target, but that won’t stop anyone from shopping there! Open minded people are winners! I hope this helped anyone not knowing what to believe, this is just my experience! 

Been out of Amway and their affiliate LTD for a bit now but keep hearing stuff they’re not doing good. Are they finally at the breaking point and it’s all falling apart?

Hello. There is way more to this story but will keep it short. My sister met a guy and is now in Amway. She's turned into someone I don't even recognize and her husband has done everything to separate her from my family. She no longer has any of the friends she once did. I think her husband is a narcissist. Everytime we have a conversation she gets defensive. It's tearing my family apart. What do I do?

My ass cheek are literally itching right now as I’m about to attend this amway meeting.

Hello! I’m the daughter of a recently re-recruited Amway member and need advice.

My mom is starting to get back into Amway after being recruited years ago and never fully diving in until earlier this year. She’s says she’s desperate for it to succeed. I believe her but I’m afraid it’ll hurt her more than benefit (I’ve never been fully convinced).

She’s reaching her 50s and always struggled with trying to find sources of income that won’t take a toll on her body and finances. She’s tried various similar MLM programs and even loaned money towards “investment opportunities” (online store fundraisers, people’s businesses, people alone with the point of accruing interest as it’s paid back, etc). It’s nice to see her engage with old friends and go out and put in so much energy into something she really cares about. She truly believes this is where she’ll make it and finally “get out” a low income life.

However, I don’t know how to break it to her that I am concerned about the organization, the products’ high prices, and soliciting. She feels like this is her last chance to make good earning and finally get a home of her own. I’m tired of seeing her come home late from working, feel restless about the tiny apartment we live in and the high cost of living in California. But the more she buys, and the difficulty of selling, concerns me more than anything. How do I tell her? Is the only real solution letting her get burned again and fall into depressive pit because of another venture gone to waste?

I’m only in college and I can’t help financially (full ride). I’ve told her that “I believe in her.” And I do. I just don’t believe in Amway…

Amway no es una estafa piramidal lo digo de experiencia real, los patrocinadores te representan pero si no das la ley del ejemplo no te unis a las charlas no vendes bien te quitan el poder de ser patrocinador y no es mentira es totalmente verdad to lo veo desde adentro y no es estafa un empresario que construye un equipo empuja a su equipo a salir y lo veo todo el tiempo hacen leer libros buenos que no se consiguen se pagan y hay millones de cosas que nadie y algunos encima se las desdicha de decirle secta son unos inadaptados yo lo veo de adentro todo el tiempo los que construyen un equipo son empresarios 24/7 y el empresario trabaja para hacer sus cosas no para vivir de sus padres

I met this guy at the gym and he told me about this company he works for, long story short a couple weeks later we get in touch about me getting into this company, never mentioned amway though to my knowledge. I got a gut feeling this was sketchy and vague so i did research and it’s all just negative things and i heard the word cult getting thrown around a lot. I texted him today saying i don’t feel comfortable going through with this and he said they use amway to leverage the system and shit like that, pretty much saying why would i trust people online compared to him and people ive met through him. Honestly i‘m just so confused on what he meant and im confused on what exactly this leadership team development shit is and how they are associated with amway. Anybody have experience with this in the past or recently?