Is Amway a scam that people should be avoiding? In this review, you will find out everything you need to know about this program and what it’s all about. There is a lot of controversy around Amway out there.
Many people claim that this is a legit opportunity to make money online, while others say the exact opposite. The MAIN reason for that is purely because of the nature of this business, which is MLM (multi level marketing).
Some people tend to believe that all MLM’s are scams and pyramid schemes, that are out there to take your hard-earned money. However, Amway is unique in a lot of ways when you compare it with other MLM companies. Does that mean that it’s going to be a good opportunity for you? Not necessarily and here’s why.
Online Success comes in many different forms, that’s why it’s important to do the research and find YOUR way before investing time, money, and resources into something.
It’s important to note that Amway has a lot of “hostile” promoters, that try to push this product for the sake of making money, which will be discussed in more detail further along in this review.
That’s why I want to be completely transparent by letting you know up front that I’m not associated with Amway in any way or form whatsoever. In other words, this is an unbiased review that’s main focus is to inform you about this program, and help you make an educated decision on whether Amway is for you or not.
Amway Review Summary
Product Name: Amway
Product Type: MLM
Price: $200+
Founders: Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos
Recommended: Only if you know the risks involved with MLM and this specific program and are okay with them. Amway is NOT for everybody.
Overall Score: 50/100
Summary: Amway is a multi-level marketing program that operates with its own “currency” called PV. PV’s are basically reward points that you can exchange for cash. You can start earning once you become a member.
As a member, you can start selling Amway’s products to other people and/or invite others to join Amway. You will be pushed towards getting referrals and invites. The more people you get to join, the higher you can climb up the ladder, which will result in higher commissions from your earnings and the earnings of your referrals (the members of Amway that have used your link to become members).
The thing about MLM’s is that it can be difficult to progress in the beginning, and reaching a point where you are profitable is going to be hard if you don’t know anything about marketing and recruiting people.
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What is Amway About?
Amway is all about becoming part of a multi level marketing network and getting other people to do the same. By doing that, you will be rewarded with PV (Amway’s reward currency) which can be converted into cash.
The more people you invite, the higher your earnings become. You start out as a silver producer, and as you get more referrals, your membership level increases, which results in more revenue and higher overall earnings. There are more than 20+ levels of membership that you can get. That’s basically the nature of every MLM program out there.
Something important to note here is the fact that the ones that earn the big bucks are those at the highest membership levels. They basically make money out of everyone underneath them. To help you get a better understanding of what all of that means, let’s do a quick explanation of what MLM stands for.
The MLM Business Model Explained
An MLM business is similar to that of a pyramid structure.
The ones at the top of the pyramid earn a percentage of the profit from everyone that’s beneath them in the multi-level marketing chain. The idea behind this whole thing is that once you join an MLM program, you can create a chain of your own and start earning a percentage of the profits from each member that is registered underneath you.
As you progress and climb up to the higher levels of the “pyramid” your reach will grow bigger, meaning that you will be earning from lower-level members. Each MLM has it’s own personal rules and regulations but that’s what it’s all about in a nutshell.
A really popular trend that we can see nowadays with MLM‘s is that they encourage their members to purchase the companies products so that they can get familiar with them.
Who Created Amway?
Amway was first founded way back in 1959 by two lifelong friends Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos. If that name sounds familiar, it could be because in 1991 DeVos bought the NBA’s Orlando Magic team.
That and a lot more great achievements over the years were a direct result of creating Amway. It all started when Richard and Jay became part of a company called Nutrilite. Back then, this was the one and only multivitamin company in the US.
Realizing the true potential of what that business model could do for them, Richard and Jay, quickly became top promoters of the company. They loved the fact, that they could earn even more by recruiting others and converting them into promoters.
Within the course of a few years, they managed to create a team of +5K promoters, they decided to leave Nutrilite, and create their own MLM company. Initially, Amway was called The American Way, however, it got shortened so that they can introduce regular household items into their product line.
The first-ever bought and licensed product of Amway was an organic household cleaner called Frisk. Later on, they changed that name to Liquid Organic Cleaner or LOC. It was also known as the “Legacy Clean” product. Soon after that, they acquired Nutrilite supplements. Both the cleaning product and supplements were the main product offers.
Years later, Amway is now a company that generates billions in yearly sales, and just in 2018, the company sold over 11 billion vitamin supplements all around the globe.
Is Amway a Scam?
Amway has been around for a long time now. Many years have passed and this company just keeps growing. It’s definitely safe to say that this billion dollar company is NOT a scam.
Just because Amway is not a scam, it does not mean that everyone who decides to work with them is going to be profitable. On the contrary, most people that get involved with MLM’s have a higher risk of losing their investments if they don’t know how to market and recruit people.
Why is Amway Different From Most MLM Programs?
One thing that is a distinguisher between Amway and other MLM companies is the fact that their products are of the highest quality. When a product is good, more people will be willing to purchase them, even with a higher price tag.
Another big difference is the sense of stability that comes with Amway. You see, a big percentage of MLM companies last for a short period of time, up to a few years. When they crumble and fail, a lot of people end up losing their money just because the company failed.
No one has to worry about that happening any time soon with Amway. They have been around for more than 60 years now, and are making $8-$9 billion a year in sales. Some things need to be considered here for the sake of clarity.
When you get invited by someone to join Amway, they will most likely do whatever it takes to try and convince you, because that’s how they earn. What I’m trying to say here is that you should always think twice about what you are being promised and what you will actually get.
They will try and sell you the “dream” by luring you in with false promises of fast and easy money. The reality is that Amway should be approached with the mindset that there is going to be some level of risks involved and that you have to be good at recruiting other people in order to be successful.
What Are People Saying About Amway?
On Trustpilot, there are only 10 customer reviews and most of them are positive about the company. Whether or not these reviews are real, can never be told for sure, however, the negative reviews all seem to be due to the lack of prior knowledge before joining Amway.
As you can see here, this user didn’t know that like most MLM’s, Amway’s product line is a bit more expensive than the industry’s average. The only other negative review that is out there on Trustpilot, is this one.
It seems that this user had their hopes heightened by a recruiter, which led to a natural disappointment when they realized that the reality is a bit different than what the sales pitch suggested.
This is a common thing that happens when people try to exaggerate something to make it seem way better than it actually is. Many people fall for these types of deceptions, that’s why it’s important to educate yourself and know better. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Overall, most people consider MLM systems to be scammy, shady, and fraudulent. There is a good reason for that, which is that most MLM systems are just as described. A lot of people have lost money to MLM scams which will lead to more people thinking of MLM’s in a bad way.
Can You Benefit From Amway?
The only REAL way to benefit from Amway at its true potential is by creating a big network of active members that promote the program to other people. This will give you the ability to purchase a higher-level membership, which will get you to earn from the efforts of each person that you’ve referred, all the members that they have referred, and so on down the pipeline.
The amount that you earn will add up as more people join your network. That’s basically how people are making life-changing amounts of money online using MLM. The truth is that if you’re not good at recruiting people, getting them to sign up, and overall team management, odds are that you will struggle to earn anything.
The MLM field is very competitive so if you don’t know what you’re doing, and you’re bad at marketing, you won’t achieve much with Amway. It’s important to keep that in mind.
Even if the sales pitch sounds incredibly promising and too good to miss out on, you should always think twice before doing anything that you might regret later. If you’re a beginner and aren’t that good at recruiting other people, then you should check out this alternative for earning passive income online below.
What’s Inside Amway?
Inside the membership area of Amway, you can see all your stats, track your progress, and see your recognition level. The recognition levels are 22 and you start from the lowest one which is:
– Silver Producer. This is the first level that you will acquire once you become a member of Amway.
– Gold Producer. Once you earn enough PV by recruiting more people, you can upgrade your membership level. This will make it possible for you to earn commissions out of all your referrals and their referrals as long as their membership level is lower than yours.
– Platinum. As you keep progressing and moving up the ladder, you will start earning from lower-level members, which will increase your overall revenue. The rest of the recognition levels are as follows.
– Ruby.
– Founders Platinum.
– Founders Ruby.
– Sapphire.
– Founders Sapphire.
– Emerald.
– Founders Emerald.
– Diamond.
– Founders Diamond.
– Executive Diamond.
– Founders Executive Diamond.
– Double Diamond.
– Founders Triple Diamond.
– Crown.
– Founders Crown.
– Crown Ambassador.
– Founders Crown Ambassador.
Remember that those on top that have the Crown recognition level, earn money from everyone below them, and that’s where all the big money goes to. The first thing that you will learn as a member of Amway, is how to become your own best customer.
In other words, you will be highly encouraged to buy some or all of the products that Amway has to offer over some period of time. The purpose of this is so that you can get a feeling of how useful their products actually are.
By interacting with the products you are promoting, you will get hands-on experience of what it’s like to be an owner of that product. By knowing all the details about the company’s products, you can give an actual and honest assessment, and if you end up loving the products along the way, it will be that much easier to sell them, simply because you believe in them.
Amway Membership Price, Refunds & Extra Costs
Amway’s membership starts at $200, then it’s $60/Year. In order to start earning commissions by recruiting others, you need to become an Independent Business Owner (IBO) for a single payment of $100. Then you have to work your way up the ladder by recruiting more people, creating a team, manage that team and get them to recruit others, and so on.
There seems to be a 90-day money-back guarantee, so if you decided that this business model is not for you, they will refund your money.
On top of the $200 initial payment, and $100 for becoming an IBO, you will also be encouraged to spend some additional cash towards purchasing Amway’s products and investing in various resources that can help you be a better recruiter.
All of that can add up, so be prepared for investing some money upfront in order to be able to kickstart everything. If you don’t have the budget for that, or just aren’t sure if this is the right solution for you or not, you can always check out a much cheaper alternative that you can utilize and start generating passive income online.
What I Like About Amway?
Amway is an incredibly large organization that makes a ton of money every year and has been doing that for the past 60 years. This is something that not everyone can do especially in the MLM industry. There are a few things that I like about Amway and I will be focusing on them now.
1. Amway Has High-Quality Products. Amway’s products are of high quality and they keep evolving over the years. This means that most customers are left satisfied which is a huge reason for the success of this company.
2. It Removes Some Traditional MLM Concerns. It’s been over 60 years since this MLM company was first created. Over the years, it has proved to be a stable and valuable solution to people’s financial problems.
Amway has been around for a long time, and with a yearly income in sales of more than $8 billion, you can be sure that it will be here for a long time. This means that business partners don’t have to worry about when this MLM company is going to get shut down or just collapse, which can be a common concern when it comes to these types of companies.
3. It’s Owned By Real People. Amway was founded by two very real and very wealthy billionaires. One of them even owns a basketball team. How crazy is that? In other words, you know that real people stand behind Amway. People who clearly know a thing or two about making money and running their own business.
What I Don’t Like About Amway?
Here are some of the things that I don’t like about Amway and I’m sure that many of you can agree with me on some of them.
1. The Products Are Expensive. The products inside Amway are a bit more expensive compared to other similar products. This is something that most MLM’s have in common, however even if the quality is high, it can be difficult to convince people to pay more for something.
2. It Can Be Hard To Succeed. Using this particular MLM business model, it can be really difficult to start earning money if you don’t know what you’re doing. Amway is definitely NOT recommended for beginners.
The competition inside can be really tough, as there will people who have been doing this for years. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to achieve success, however, it will help by a lot if you are good at online marketing.
3. Recruiters Can Exaggerate A Lot. It’s what they do, that’s how they make money. By recruiting others and getting them to join. This means that some people will try to do whatever it takes to get you to become a member under them.
If the person doesn’t know better, they can be easily fooled by false promises of wealth and riches overnight. This can lead to bad user experience, which is a big part of why some people dislike Amway and other MLM’s.
My Recommendation
My recommendation is to approach Amway ONLY if you’re good at getting other people to join the network. If you can’t recruit and need to learn how to do that from scratch, then it can be incredibly difficult to progress within this industry.
Not only that, but you should also be willing to invest more than $300+ for launching everything and becoming an active member within Amway. If you don’t have any of the above-mentioned things in place, it’s best to try something else.
Luckily, we live in a digital age with so many opportunities for making life-changing revenue online. You just have to figure out what works best for you.
Personally, I use a different approach for making money online, and you can learn all about that below. Check out how I and many others are banking profits using this easy yet incredibly effective 4 step blueprint that so many people tend to neglect and lose out because of that.