Amway IBOs get all their products free plus extra cash!

Amway critics just love to quote various government mandated statistics that Amway publishes, but thanks to some help from The truth about Amway we have once again foiled the efforts of would be detractors, with FACTS. For example, for some years now Amway in North America has published the statistic, based on a 2005 survey, that the average “active” IBO makes $115/mth. $115/mth doesn’t exactly sound like it will lead you to the land of your dreams does it?

So, of course, Amway critics cite that as “proof” that it’s a bad business opportunity and most people make little or no money. Indeed they’ll often go on to mention “expenses” and claim it means most IBOs lose money.

Well, there’s a saying you’ve probably heard – lies, damn lies, and statistics.

I love statistics. Used properly they can tell you a lot. Used improperly they can mislead you badly. In a former career I used to do statistical analysis, and my curiosity was peaked one day when I read a newspaper article that claimed that (in the state I lived) “in half of all fatal accidents where the driver tested positive to marijuana, the driver was not wearing a seat belt” . The article went on to theorize about careless behavior brought on by the drug use.

At the time I happened to be working in alcohol & other drug research with regard to road safety, and I had the entire accident statistics database sitting on my computer. I also knew it was a rather odd statistic, since authorities almost never did blood tests for marijuana in fatal accidents.

So I looked it up.

There were exactly two fatal accidents recorded where the driver tested positive to marijuana. One of them (half!) wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

The article was 100% truthful in it’s reporting of the statistics, but what they reported told you almost nothing at all.

The same with the Amway average monthly income statistics. Average is only a useful statistic if you’ve got a group that is of decent size and fairly “homogeneous”, that is, they’re much the same. The Amway statistic includes all “active” IBOs, which is defined as -

An “active” IBO is one who attempted to make a retail sale, or presented the Amway Global IBO Compensation Plan, or received bonus money, or attended a company or IBO meeting during the year.

That’s it. If you ask your brother, once, in a whole year, if he wants to buy a can of XS … and he says no! … you’re active! $115/mth is a pretty good income for that, isn’t it? Or how about if you and your spouse are both in to health and each buy Nutrilite Double X and Omega 3 …. you’ll have bought more than 100 points of products, and qualify for a 3% rebate! Congratulations, you’re now “active”. Amway critics think it’s scandolous that you only earn $115/mth for doing your shopping!

Of course, that’s not what’s going on at all is it?

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

The reality is that the group the “average” is calculated from includes all sorts of people. It includes people that joined Amway 50 years ago and have built global empires. It includes people that joined a few weeks ago and went to one meeting. It includes people who just joined to shop and get member pricing. The average tells you nothing at all, and anyone who pretends it does is either ignorant or actively trying to mislead you.

But just for the heck of it, I thought I’d do the same …. so let’s have some fun with numbers!

First, let’s try to see who this group is. Based on the definition of “active”, the toughest criteria is that they actually earned a bonus, right? So, being cautious …

• The average income of IBOs who earned a bonus was (at least) $115/mth

A couple of years ago in a lawsuit against Quixtar in California, it was revealed that -

• 12.9% of IBOs receive a bonus on downline volume

In other words, anyone else receiving a bonus did so purely as a rebate on their own purchases (including for retail sale). The same source indicates that -

• only 50% of IBOs place an order in the first 3 months after joining

Virtually none of the rest ever order or renew. So that 12.9% must come out of the 50% of IBOs who at least place an order. That means that for roughly 74% of IBOs any bonus earned is purely a rebate on their own shopping.

74%! Clearly that’s a pretty large majority – so in other words, this “active” group earning $115/mth is primarily made up of people simply shopping for themselves! $115/mth just for shopping … pretty good huh?

But let’s continue …. Amway used to publish some statistics internally called “The Platinum Index”, and a leaked 2004 Platinum Index revealed that -

• The average monthly purchase per IBO was $104

Putting this altogether -

• The “average” IBO is simply a “wholesale shopper”
• The “average” IBO purchases $104 a month
• The “average” IBO gets $115 a month in bonus

Clearly, we can conclude from this that -

Amway IBOs get all their products free plus extra cash!

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

The all-new Legacy of Clean line!

If you haven’t heard yet about the new LEGACY OF CLEAN™ laundry and cleaning products coming in September, it’s time you do! It’s the new line of family-friendly, high-performance products that keep homes amazingly clean. They’re also planet-positive, so while you’re making things cleaner and brighter at home by using them, you’re doing the same for the home planet.

Amway, the original "green" company has launched it's Legacy of Clean line. A line of products that are competitively prices, environmentally friendly, and all with the quality you come to depend on from the LOC line. This places Amway in front of the green movement, and gives opportunity for ordinary people (like myself and you) a chance to promote the planet friendly products, earn what you are worth , and help others achieve more than they thought possible!

There will be much more to come about Amway in the coming weeks, as I try to give my opinion about the biz. There will be hard times and good times, but I will be documenting it all right here. I would like to take this time also to thank IBOfightback ant The Truth about Amway. There you can find more honest analysis of just how we operate. I hope everyone has had a great summer so far, and I look forward to your comments.


Have a great day
Mike

Amway. Parrt of the Green movement before there was one?

Amway: Part of the green movement. Before there was one.

August 6th, 2009 | Posted in Commentary, LOC, SA8 by ibofightback ShareThis

One of the regulars on AmwayTalk, MichMan, often passes Amway world headquarters in Ada, Michigan. He sent me this photo of a great billboard that’s up nearby. When he first mentioned it in the AmwayTalk forums, another poster, Deb, mentioned that Amway introduced the word “biodegradable” to the world with it’s first product, L.O.C. - Liquid Organic Concentrate. L.O.C. was one of the first commercially marketed biodegradeable cleaning products, meaning it’s components break down safely without damaging the environment.

I thought that sounded a little hyperbolic, Amway introduced “biodegradable” to the world? I know they’ve been “green” since the beginning, but that seemed a stretch. Then I started digging. I found this source that says the first known use of the word “biodegradable” was in a scientific text in 1961, barely a year or so after the founding of Amway. I then found sources from 1962, 1963, and 1964 that all mentioned Amway marketing biodegradable products – that’s within a year of the first known use of the word.

Researching further I found this copy of a 1965 Amway SA-8 advertisement that clearly shows “bio degradable” on the box. This 1963 L.O.C. advertisement seems to have the same text on the bottle. By 1965 Amway was well known for promoting biodegradable products.

While they may not have coined the term, it seems thousands of Amway distributors were indeed introducing the word “biodegradable” to the world long before it became common usage.

The billboard says it all – Amway: Part of the green movement. Before there was one.

Amway – 50 Facts

1. Amway is a global leader in the $102-billion direct selling industry. More than three million Amway Business Owners operate independent businesses in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.
2. Amway and its subsidiaries employ more than 13,000 people worldwide.
3. Amway and its subsidiaries reported record sales of more than $7.1 billion for the year ending December 31, 2007.
4. Amway operates 65 Research and Development laboratories worldwide, staffed by more than 500 scientists, engineers, and technical professionals.
5. Amway Research and Development professionals have been awarded more than 500 patents and have had more than 400 papers published in top industry journals.
6. Amway is a leader in the U.S. Direct Selling Association, the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
7. Amway was ranked #43 on the Forbes Magazine 2007 list of “America’s Largest Private Companies.”
8. Our eco-friendly home care products help maintain a cleaner environment and a cleaner home.

Our Subsidiaries

9. Amway owns the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands.
10. Amway owns the Laura Mercier™ line of cosmetics, which is sold in fine boutiques and department stores.
11. Amway manufacturing facilities are located in Ada, Michigan, USA; Dongnai Province, Vietnam.
12. Each year, 75 million units of soap, detergents, and cleansers; 150 million units of cosmetics; and 6 billion vitamin and mineral tablets are produced by Amway.
13. Amway operates six distribution centers across North America, totaling more than 1.5 million square feet of warehouse space.

Nutrilite Products

14. Nutrilite™ is the world’s leading brand of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements, according to 2007 sales figures.
15. In 2008, sales of Nutrilite™ products worldwide reached a record $3 billion.
16. More than 75 years ago, Nutrilite founder Carl Rehnborg created the first multivitamin/multimineral supplement sold in North America.
17. Nutrilite™ is the only global vitamin and mineral brand to grow, harvest, and process plants on its own certified organic farms.
18. Nutrilite operates 6,400 acres of farmland in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil, where plants are grown and harvested in accordance with nature using sustainable, chemical-free methods.
19. Nutrilite scientists are at the forefront of a new scientific discipline called nutrigenomics, the study of how our genes interact with nutrients.
20. The Nutrilite Health Institute Scientific Advisory Board, a worldwide group of leading nutrition, health, and genetics scientists, helps guide the future of the Nutrilite™ brand.
21. The Nutrilite Health Institute Center for Optimal Health is a world-class teaching and training facility offering visitors a personal,
interactive path to optimal health.

Artistry Products

22. Since its 1968 launch, the Artistry™ brand has become the only direct sell brand in the prestige skin care and cosmetics category with more than $1 billion in annual sales.
23. The Artistry™ brand is one of the world’s top five largest-selling prestige brands of facial skin care and color cosmetics.
24. More than 250 Artistry™ products are sold in more than 50 markets worldwide.
25. In 2007, the Artistry Scientific Advisory Board was established to lead Artistry researchers and scientists in the study of skin and skin care.
26. Artistry™ Creme L/X is the most luxurious, technologically-advanced product ever developed by Artistry scientists.
27. The Artistry Beauty Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, is an in-depth, comprehensive training destination for Business Owners.

Durable Products

28. iCook™ Cookware offers the most advanced technology in stainless steel cookware, enabling busy families to eat healthier meals at home.
29. The eSpring™ Water Purifier was the first point-of-use system to combine carbon filtration with UV light technology, removing 99.99% of bacteria and viruses.
30. In Europe, Amway sells more point-of-use water filtration systems—our eSpring Water Purifier—than any other competitor, according to a study by the business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
31. The Atmosphere™ Air Purifier removes 99.99% of indoor airborne pollutants that pass through the system.
32. It would take 16 of the leading competitor’s air purifiers to do the job of one Atmosphere™ Air Purifier.

Corporate Citizenship

33. Since its 2003 launch, the Amway One by One Campaign for Children has given more than $52 million to make a difference in the lives of children around the world.
34. Since 2003, Amway employees and Business Owners have volunteered a combined 606,000 hours in support of One by One Campaign for Children projects.

Environmental Leadership

35. The first product launched by Amway in 1959 was L.O.C.™ Liquid Organic Cleaner—one of the first-ever biodegradable cleaning products.
36. Amway recycles up to 95% of recyclable waste produced at our manufacturing facility in Ada, Michigan, USA.
37. Amway was an early innovator in the use of biodegradable surfactants in its SA8™ Laundry Detergents and its cleaning products.
38. No synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers are used on the organic acreage where the plants used in Nutrilite™ concentrates are grown.

Endorsements and Sponsorships

39. Volleyball champion Gabrielle Reese and championship runner Sanya Richards are spokespeople
for Nutrilite™ products
40. International soccer star Ronaldinho (born Ronaldo de Assís Moreira), a two-time Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Player of the Year, is a celebrity spokesperson for the Nutrilite™ brand.
41. International celebrity chef Jason Roberts serves as the Global Ambassador and Culinary Expert for iCook™ cookware.
42. The Artistry™ brand is the official skin care and cosmetics sponsor of Skate Canada events, and the Skate Canada national team.

Amway Business Owners

43. Globally, Amway has paid its Business Owners more in performance-driven bonuses than any other direct selling company in history.
44. The top health and beauty brand in China is Amway.
45. Amway Business Owners follow Rules of Conduct and a Code of Ethics designed to protect themselves, their customers, and the Company.

Overall Brand—Creating Change With a Caring Touch

46. Through Amway’s One by One Campaign for Children, we’re creating change with a caring touch by volunteering in communities where we live and work.
47. The Amway business opportunity enables people all over the globe to create meaningful change in their lives and to leave something of value to their children.
48. We care about our Business Owners’ success, so we equip them with well-made products, proven sales tools and a strong support system.
49. At Amway, we infuse a caring touch into everything, from our innovative products, to our business opportunity to our eco-friendly farming practices.
50. This year, Amway celebrates 50 years of creating change through leadership, innovation, caring and vision.