Given the crisis surrounding college debt, it is no surprise that people are starting to toy with the idea of doing Amway rather than going to/finishing college. However, before you decided one way or the other, pretty PLEASE  (with sugar on top) read this post outlining almost everything you’ll need to know about the company.

For those of you who don’t know what Amway is, I encourage you to at least give it a once over.

How does Wikipedia define Amway?

Amway is a direct selling company that uses multi-level marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos.

For information on what Wikipedia says about Amway’s history, political culture, and commercial sponsors click here

If you haven’t already, you will at some point run into an Amway representative.

While it isn’t completely necessary to know everything about the company; It is wise to a least know what you’re up against. 

It is especially smart to do a little research about the company before making any brash financial decisions. I use the word brash because it is really important to understand how you can both gain and lose from any potential opportunity.

Amway suggest that Amway is an opportunity to attain financial well-being and even complete financial independence by starting something they call a Independent Business, which in turn makes those a part of Amway Independent Business Owners (IBO).

The whole Amway concept is kinda corky and unconventional so rather than me outlining the whole concept, I’ll just show you a video because explaining things can be hard and I’m feeling lazy. (At least I’m being honest)

How does Amway work (According to Amway)

Related Video: Amway Video Gallery

If you are intelligent, you are probably asking yourself “what’s the catch”. Obviously, things that sound too sweet usually end up being a little sour. So rather than you spending hours deciding if Amway is for you, I’ll help by putting together basic answers to common questions. I’m not an expert on this subject, and everything I’ve gathered is just stuff you can always search for yourself. But time is money, and I personally would rather have all this information centralized in one place.Thus, I bring you to

Everything you need to know about joining Amway in and after college.

Amway appears to be an opportunity to make a lot of money without doing a lot work.Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, no? However, I think it is pretty clear that there are no free lunches. As I all ways say, nothing easy is worthwhile.

If everyone in your graduating class had a 4.0, employers in the area might think that something was off (I sure as hell would). Either the classes were to easy, people were cheating or some crazy toxic chemical leek led to a phenomena that caused super intelligent people to room your campus dressed as students.

Whenever someone is trying to get you do buy something or do something it is in your best interest to be skeptical. (think Rumpelstiltskin). Healthy skepticism is one of the most valuable characteristics a human being can possess. If you are currently questioning how this seemingly ‘get rich quick’ thing works, you are more intelligent than many of your peers. Congratulation! You aren’t a mindless robot (Confetti.) So let’s start asking questions. You be the good cop, all be the bad cop.

Below I am going to try and break down the top 9 most common questions regarding Amway. Please relax and take notes!

1. What Will Earn Me More Income, Amway or a Traditional Job?

There are many different career paths, so this is questions kinda silly but many people ask it, so I figured it should be answered. I will provided you with 3 different career paths and then compare it to the average Amway income. Just the numbers no bias, so you can then decided.

• Working as a Starbucks Assistant Store manager (low skill wage) earns you roughly $33,040/year before taxes.*
• Working as a Bank Teller for JPMorgan Chase Salaries (low skill wage) earns you roughly $20,390/year before taxes*
• Working as a Software Engineer III for Oracle (high skilled position) earns you roughly $101,844/year*

*Income’s based on Glassdoor.com

If you work at any of the above, you will make an income and be working ~40-50hrs/week. Please also note that you will also be receiving a health benefits package for you and your dependents from your employers.

• Average Amway income: In the United States,  the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires Amway to clearly state that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor grossing less than $100 per month. -Wikipedia

This equates to about a $1,000/year

It should be noted that there are massive amounts of Independent Business Owners (IBOs) who never achieve even the break even point. If you are above average in any of the mentioned fields, you will obviously earn more. Furthermore, it is worth noting that if you put time and effort into anything than you surely will reap benefits. The above are only statistics of average incomes.

According to The founder of Amway, Rich DeVos

You should never go full time with Amway unless you are making more money with Amway than you are in your full time.-  Video Source

2. Amway vs College: Should I go to college or do Amway full time?

Maybe you’ve asked yourself, why bother paying tens of thousands of dollars for a formal education when I can join Amway and learn what I need for a fraction of a cost? It’s a good question. But before you go running off to the circus, I suggest you ask a couple questions.

While the yachts and mansions may seem super alluring, you have to at least ask yourself whether that level of success is even actually attainable.

I can’t tell you that making your way up the ranks of Amway is impossible, I can however tell you that a traditional education has been well documented. It is a well known fact that working hard in college, getting internships and good grades pays off. That being said, college isn’t the only way to be successful. Just ask Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Stephen Jobs (R.I.P).

Only you can decided whether you want to skip the whole college learning experience. I would encourage you to ask yourself a few basic questions before making the decision to drop out of college or avoid it all together.

1. Can I support myself in the event that Amway doesn’t pan out?
2. Can I afford the Amway business model?
3. Can I afford to put off college?
4. Is it impossible for me to do both?

The last question I believe is the most important. If you believe you can’t handle the work load of both college and a part-time opportunity than you probably aren’t capable of managing your time very effectively (no offense). That being said, without time management skills and an appreciation for hard work, you probably wont end up making much money from Amway in the first place (Just my opinion, I’m not a expert)

3. C.R.E.A.M: Do People Actually Make Any Money?

As I said previously, the average gross income for IBOs is $100 per month. But I have found testimonies on Youtube of individuals who personally have done Amway and I think that is more valuable than numbers and statistics.

Positive Personal Testimony After A Month (uploaded 2011)

The above video has not be validated by Bright Futura (as if it would matter). In fact, it was just randomly found on Youtube. There doesn’t appear to be any reason to believe that this young fellow is lying.

Related Video: The Best Investment Ever (uploaded 2011)

Negative Personal Testimony

4. What Flavor Punch Do They Serve? Is Amway a Cult?

First off, Amway actually does serve a drink. That being said, the drink isn’t a mind control substance and it is actually pretty tasty (Or perhaps they have already incepted my brain).

Many people will tell you Amway is a cult, so lets compare a definite of the word cult with Amway.

The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. I would say Amway is offbeat but wouldn’t consider this working definition to match Amway.

NBC’s Dateline happens to for portray Amway and its “followers” very differently. The below journalism may or may not be biased.

Dateline On The Amway Scam: Part 1 (uploaded 2009)

Dateline On The Amway Scam: Part 2 (uploaded 2009)

Below are Youtube comments on Dateline’s inside look at Amway.

In 2004, Dateline NBC featured a critical report based on a yearlong undercover investigation of business practices within the Amway organization. The report noted that the average distributor makes only about $1,400 per year and that many of the “high level distributors singing the praises of Quixtar [Amway]” are actually “making most of their money by selling motivational books tapes and seminars; not Quixtar’s cosmetics, soaps, and electronics.”

5. Is it an Illegal Pyramid Scheme?

One of the most common questions surrounding Amway is “Is it an Illegal Pyramid?” The short answer is no. However, it is more complicated than that. According to the Federal Trade Commission it is not an illegal pyramid scheme. I would however encourage anyone interested in joining to look at the FTC investigation below.

FTC investigation of Amway:

In re Amway Corp. (93 F.T.C. 618; full name In the Matter of Amway Corporation, Inc., et al.)

The FTC ruled that Amway was not an illegal pyramid scheme, but ordered Amway to cease price fixing and cease misrepresenting the apparent success achieved by the average distributor.

In the United States,  the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to clearly state that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor grossing less than $100 per month. -wikipedia

I think it is important to note that most business models in any capitalistic society resemble a pyramid with most people at the bottom and a few at the top. 

What Does The Better Business Bureau Say?

According to the BBB the Amway Global Independent Business Owner meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB Accredited Businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.

Factors that raised Amway Global Independent Business Owner’s rating include:

• Length of time business has been operating.
• No complaints filed with BBB.
• BBB has sufficient background information on this business.

Click Here For The Full Report On The BBB’s Accreditation of Amway

Please remember just because something is legal does not mean it is right and/or ethical.

What does Forbes Have to Say?

On a list of Private American Companies in 2011, Amway was ranked higher in terms of revenue than hundreds of other well known companies; examples include, Bose, Hilton, Bloomberg, WaWa, Neiman Marcus, Sheets, Burger King, Mary Kay, Hostess, Forever 21, and Petco. The list of Forbes private American business’s can be found here

6. How Much Does It Cost To Join Amway?

Joining Amway isn’t free (duh). In fact, it can be rather costly. However, I will try my best to remain unbiased and neutral on this issue by only presenting the costs.

Registration to Amway: $50
100 PV = $300
KATE (voice mail) = $20
Website fees + $20
Standing Order (Audio Motivational CD subscription) $42
Motivation Business Books: $10/month
Attending Amway events & Major functions (averaged out) $125

This breaks down to about $7000 a year

7. Are There Any Valid Concerns About Joining Amway?

There are of course valid concerns expressed by people throughout the internet. Instead of gathering all of the 100′s them together, decided that I would simply let you hear what the co-founders personal concerns are. I ‘m sure there will also be plenty of people commenting with there opinions in the comment section.

Rich DeVos (co-founder) expressed concerns about Business Support Materials

In an audio recording Rich DeVos expressed concern about the level of income from the sale of Business Support Materials (BSM; tapes, CDs, books, and business conferences/functions) compared to the income the high level distributors were making from Amway products.

The Audio Of Rich DeVos Called Directly Speaking

8. What should I expect?

Every persons experience will of course be different but you can universally expect it to be a lot more challenging than you initial think it will be. The way the Amway model is pushed makes it seem like easy money. Amway isn’t easy money at all. You have to work at it, just like anything else.

That being said, here is a internet meme of what to expect from Amway and links to videos about how many will perceive your efforts.

Related Video: Funny Videos Making Fun Of Amway Marketers?

In the event that you are interested in hearing about what goes on at an Amway gathering, I have provided an audio recording of an Amway meeting that took place in Northern Virginia (March, 2012)

Inspirational Audio From An Amway Speaker

9. Does Amway Have A Valid Web Presences?

Real businesses have real web presences and real ways of contacting them. Any company that doesn’t have a Facebook always make me a little skeptical. So I decided to do a little digging and found that Amway has both a Facebook and a Twitter account. This doesn’t mean they are honest in everything they say or don’t say but it helps (kinda).

Amway Showcases Their Achievers Online

Amway has an online blog/magazine where they post new successful independent business owners (IBOs). Link to the Amway Achieve magazine here.

According to Forbes Today, 3 million salespeople peddle Amway’s personal care and home products in more than 80 countries. DeVos retired in 1993; his son Doug is president.

DeVos owns the NBA’s Orlando Magic. He also owns The Amway Center which is a sports and entertainment venue in Orlando, Florida.

Full Forbes article here

Click here for a list of well known companies, organizations, and individuals who have explicitly or implicitly endorsed Amway, Quixtar, it’s Owners, or the business model or particular products.

Related: Did Donald Trump really endorse Network Marketing?

Video On Many Of The Amway Products

It’s worth noting that all Amway products are backed with a 90 day money back guarantee. Not bad, not bad.

Also according to Amway

Amway products have been organic, biologically natural and they don’t pollute sewage systems and septic tanks. They break down easily. Their containers are recyclable. Their products for the body are of high quality and natural.

Rich DeVos, Co-Founder, Amway Corporation, greets President Bush

Figured it can’t hurt to note that these guys know each other. Apparently Former President George Bush was paid $100,000 to be a keynote speaker at a convention of Amway distributors in 1993 (NYTimes source)

Related: 50 facts about Amway

Maximillian Garland| Bright Futura Columnist

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