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- Path: sparky!uunet!nwnexus!ole!rwing!fnx!sgihbtn!tims
- From: tims@sgihbtn.sierra.com
- Newsgroups: misc.consumers
- Subject: Re: Yup, Amway's a scam
- Message-ID: <1992Nov5.171540.22240@sierra.com>
- Date: 5 Nov 92 17:15:40 GMT
- Sender: tims@sgihbtn (Tim Schmitt)
- Organization: Sierra Geophysics, Inc.
- Lines: 47
- Nntp-Posting-Host: wrkstn
-
- In article <2070030@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM> lou@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM (Lou Kvitek) writes:
-
- >Of course, one must remember that every Amway distributor is in
- >business for themselves. That's right, they do NOT (repeat, DO NOT)
- >work FOR Amway. They work for themsleves. Amway merely has agreed
- >to provide them products and pay them bonuses. Amway does not teach
- >a single solitary distributor how to conduct business. They merely
- >publish guidelines on business conduct - but, as you have seen, they
- >do not (cannot) enforce them.
-
- Then Amway appears to excersice poor control over its process. Amway could
- certainly formulate guidelines and require all distributors to follow them,
- or else loose the right to distribute Amway products. By not doing so,
- Amway is leaving itself totally open to unscrupulous distributors. Since
- distributors are promoting Amway's products, they are representing Amway,
- and very much reflect the corporation. Instead of washing their hands
- in the name of independance from poor distributors, Amway might to better
- to make sure only ethical, competent distributors are allowed into the
- organization.
- Throughout all of the threads on Amway, there are three constant themes
- which I suspect are leading people to formulate negative conclusions on Amway:
-
- 1) A distant acquantance calls promoting a great money making opportunity.
-
- 2) When attending Amway's initial meeting, the word "Amway" is not
- mentioned until the end. In most people's dealings with corporations they
- trust, their experience probably is legitimate corporations do not
- hide themselves. Instead, Amway's presentation is reminiscant of consumer
- scams which promise the world and deliver little. Amway's presentation
- reminds me of consumer advocate David Horowitzs (sp?) advice on
- product adds: "A Tip off to a Rip off: If there is no picture of the
- product, then it's a rip off." Translation - Why doesn't Amway announce
- itself promoninantly and at the beginning at initial meetings?
-
- 3) The effort to recruite people appears to be greater than selling
- products. This brings up images of pyramid scemes. Whenever the
- Fuller Brush saleman comes to my door, he's trying to sell me brushes - he's
- not trying to recruite me.
-
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- * * -Lewis Carroll *
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