Amway is known for its great products and meager startup costs; hence it is a kind of business anyone interested in multi-level marketing can join. Amway is a company that sells home cleaning beauty products, and they offer members who want to make money through its multi-level marketing system a flexible schedule to market and get commission on such products. It is a business opportunity that wouldn’t meddle with your regular source of income or principal job.
So, Is Amway a Pyramid Scheme?
No, Amway is not a Pyramid Scheme but a multi-level marketing system.
What You Should Know About Amway
The following are essential information you should know about Amway;
1. What is Amway?
Amway is a multi-level marketing company that claimed to be the largest direct-selling company in the world. In 2018 alone, the company generated gross revenue of $8.8 billion, and currently, it has more than three million salespersons worldwide.
The company was founded in 1969 by Steve Van Andel and DeVos Doug, with its headquarters situated in Michigan, United States of America. According to the company, the aim is to help people live healthier through their home and beauty products. In September 2019, Amway partnered with Kid’s Food Basket organization to deliver more than 8,000 healthy snack suppers every day.
Are Amway Products Worth the Price? Well, this will depend on the perception of the users. When you join the program, you will be regarded as a distributor, and you are expected to promote all available Amway products and earn income from sales generated.
2. The Amway Artistry Your XTEND Protecting Crème
One of the signature products sold by Amway is the Youth Extend. This is an advanced moisturizing formula that sells for around $52 or $72.
It comes with an SPF 15 UVA/UVB sunscreen plus lots of antioxidants that promise to help rejuvenate the skin and make it look younger. The broad spectrum of the SPF15 also helps remove the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, primarily through the shield created to filter UV rays.
The cream also comes with a complex antioxidant mix, including extracts of African Baobab fruit, known to protect the skin from environmental stress that can lead to systematic skin damages.
The daily use of this crème promotes the skin’s smoothness and radiance, thus leading to more radiant skin. The manufacturer claims that your skin will be rejuvenated entirely in less than 3 weeks.
3. What Opportunity is There for You in Amway Multi-level Marketing
When you register to be part of Amway, you will be called “Independent Business Owner or IBO.” You can only become a member through an existing Amway sponsor. It is the sponsor who will train you to become a professional seller or marketer. To get started, you will also need to purchase products worth $100 from the company.
In most cases, friends and partners will have to invite you to an Amway party sponsored by your sponsor, and that is where you will be introduced to each product and what they do. Aside from placing the order and selling them directly, you need to recruit members under you, and you need to meet a sales threshold monthly for you to qualify for income.
4. How Much Does it Cost to Join Amway?
Fortunately, there is no registration fee for joining Amway; all you have to do is get a sponsor to sponsor you and then purchase products with up to $100 value to resell. You may want to buy some random products as your starter kit or stick to one product brand.
5. Making Money with Amway
Amway makes its bulk of the money from recruitments from IBOs and their downlines. For this reason, your focus will be to recruit new members under you, in addition to selling products. You can make money alone doing either way too.
When you recruit others, you will earn commissions from the sales they generate plus the commission from your sales.
Issues With Amway Multi-Level Marketing
There are specific reasons why many people regard Amway MLM as fraud or pyramid scheme; these are highlighted below;
1. Amway Products are not approved by the FDA
For a very long time now, Amway’s products are not approved by the FDA. This means, consumers can’t be rest assured of the safety of the products, even though the company is confident of such claims.
2. Unsuccessful Downlines will Reduce Your Bonuses
If your downline recruits don’t sell anything and opt-out, it will affect your bonuses and commission, and you may be downgraded to the lower level. To be successful with this multi-level marketing system, you need to keep expanding your network of friends and acquaintances.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Becoming Amway Mlm?
There are several Pros and Cons of Amway you should consider and ponder about before making your final decision;
1. The Pros of Amway Multi-level Marketing
The startup fee in Amway is 100% refundable. You have to choose between 60 and 180 days after registering for IBO on Amway. You can request a full refund in less than 180 days of becoming a member, and you have to return the products too.
Another significant benefit of Amway is that it is available in many countries. Amway operates in North America, Japan, China, Australia, Eastern Asia, the Americas, and many parts of Europe. This means you can continue selling the products wherever you find yourself.
Amway offers many free courses alongside podcasts and presentations that can sharpen your skills and help you succeed in marketing and recruiting people under you. They also provide a Worldwide Dream Builders program that you can join for an additional small monthly fee. You can learn many tricks and tips from the Worldwide Dream Builders program that can boost your chances of making even more money.
There are varieties of products you can promote and earn commission from when you become IBO on Amway. The products offered include those that help with weight management, sports and nutrition, energy drinks, personal care, home products, and beauty products.
2. The Cons of Amway System
Amway MLM comes with lots of advantages, but you need to compare these with its disadvantages to make a smarter decision.
Perhaps the number one issue most people have is the high costs of many Amway products. The company justified these costs by providing more information on the quality of ingredients used in the formulation.
Though the distributor will purchase these products at a wholesale price, a reason why many people believe that the middlemen between Amway and consumers could be the reason why prices are high. There seems to be a major price disparity between Amway products and their competitors.
Another likely disadvantage is that you, as the distributor, must pay for the shipping costs. In addition to shipping costs, service charges and other handling costs may apply, and the distributor pays for these. You will have to work out the shipping and handling costs and subtract them from the final selling price to work out a reasonable commission for yourself.
You may lose out when you don’t recruit, or your recruits are not making sales. Some distributors have become so desperate that they overwork themselves when their downlines are not making progress. The truth is that you tend to lose out on some bonuses and commissions when your downline distributors are not making any impact on their sales.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has further dented the image of Amway with a sanction on Amway policies in recent years. Though, the FEC believes the company is not a pyramid scheme but thinks the company operates several policies that are similar to one.
Conclusion
Amway may not be a pyramid, neither is it a scam, but the amount of effort you put in will determine how successful you become. If selling an affiliate product like that of Amy is the only source of income you rely on, perhaps you will need to work extra hard to generate the same income that regular day-job people make. It can be a lot easier if you make Amway product promotion and selling a side hustle. Regardless of the option you choose, the hard work you put in may not be proportional to the results you get at the end of the day.
Current statistics show that less than 10% or the top few people working for Amy are the ones that generate six-figure income, the rest are struggling to make few hundred bucks annually, and many have chickened out. This type of business may be good for stay-at-home mothers, college students, and regular workers who have lots of extra time to do side hustling. Amway is also a registered company, and it does its businesses legitimately. Its refundable fee policy makes it quite reliable hence it is completely safe to register and become a distributor for the highly successful company.