Amway's Reputation

Mention the word "Amway" to anyone who has walked the earth for more than a few decades and you'll find that in the majority of cases, the two words that will likely to be heard in reply are "scam" or "pyramid scheme". Whether those opinions are based on personal experience or through the experience or on the words of others, it's clear that the Amway name has the stigma of disrepute amongst the minds of the masses.

Being a word-of-mouth business where the continual recruitment of more people is required in order for one to succeed, one would think that no-one would join Amway with the reputation that it has. But people do join and lot's of them, though that number has declined over the last several years.

According to Amway's figures, there are approximately 80,000 registered IBO's in Australia and New Zealand combined today. Considering that the number of IBO's in Australia alone in the year 2000 (when Amway went online) was 100,000, this illustrates a significant decline overall, however, what is more significant is the number of IBO's that have joined and resigned within that period. Amway has a staggeringly high attrition rate, reported to be as high as 65% within the first year.

What is the reason for the such appalling retention rate of IBO's? Why do the majority of IBO's quit? One would think that if the majority of IBO's were successfully making money then there would be a continual annual growth of IBO numbers and lower attrition rates. As can be seen from the above statistics, this is not the case. So why aren't the vast majority of IBO's making money? Is it because they are not "working the business" properly? Perhaps. Is it due to lack of skills or effort? Perhaps. Are they themselves to blame for their failure in the business? Perhaps. Or is it the failure of the Amway business model itself that is largely to blame? Definitely. Whatever the reasons are, the labels of "it doesn't work" "scam" and "pyramid scheme" ensue and thanks to the growth and accessability of the internet, these thoughts and opinions are now also expressed publicly for all the world to see. The more people that join and subsequently fail in the Amway business and who share their experiences, the more that Amway's reputation generally takes a hiding.

Who suffers the most from the bad reputation? Yep, it is the IBO's who are trying to recruit new IBO's. So much so that the word "Amway" is rarely mentioned up-front to prospects. Instead the "curiousity approach" is taken where the terms "business opportunity", "e-commerce business" or the name of their associated AMO system is used in order for the IBO to have a chance in generating any interest. However, inevitably the "Is this Amway?" question often comes up. It is the single biggest objection an IBO faces when pitching the business. An objection that the majority of IBO's attempt to overcome by skirting around or downplaying the true importance, role or connection of Amway in their business. More often than not even this tactic does not work as the mere mention of the word Amway is enough to scare the majority of prospects away. Such is the power of a bad reputation. Easy to get and difficult to shake off.

So this is just our opinion on Amway's reputation. Do you agree or disagree? What are your perceptions and opinions about Amway?..... We'd like to know! Feel free to leave your comment here and/or visit our website at www.ozamwayvictims.com where you can share your experiences, thoughts and opinions and read what others fellow Australians have to say.