Quixtar and Amway: Are they worth it?

I pretty much agree with the author of Merchants of Deception. His observations match what I noticed about 'the business' in the early 90's after a brief exposure to it. Back then we didn't have the Internet to warn us about this kind of crap. The advent of the Internet pretty much killed their old business model since it became much more difficult to fool people.

If they permitted IBO's (affiliates) to promote online with a standard affiliate link (like most normal mlms do),
I would use James Grandstaff's Downline Secrets script to build my team.

Unfortunately, they still are stuck in the 70s and require that you personally speak to everyone you bring
into your downline via direct referral and don't have the capabilities.

What a shame...

They have some great products.

I've used several of them and also was one of those crazy dudes walking up to people at gas stations and
borders and such trying to get people to give me their number so I can show them "The Plan" at a later date.

What a pain in the ass that was.

Anybody that made money in that program (and lots do) had to BUST THEIR ASS.

Oh well.

Great products, shitty TOS

Quixtar has to be one of the companies that I started with and I just found that by increasing my "Clients" (people who buy from you but are not interested in the business) I made a profit. There are many loops in Quixtar but I have to admit, they are a pretty fast growing company.

If your going to join a small ticket program you have to join one that 99% of the population can relate to. That is why I do so good I realize that in this economy people want to learn just two things, MAKING MONEY AND SAVING MONEY. They dont want ebooks, or personal development, or juices. They want free gas and grocery rebates and to save thousands of dollars on everyday uses.

Don't know about Quixtar, but I know people who do Amway.
Only few have succeeded with it, and yes they do make
good money, but the thing is they have no life!

And "surprisingly" all of their "friends" are their uplines or downlines.
Their normal friends steered away from them long ago, because
you just can't invite these people to any social events (for obvious reasons).

So yeah, you can make money. But you have to work harder
than in any other job. There's almost no separation between
business and leisure...

...and you have to ask yourself, would you really enjoy the
lifestyle that comes with it?

I agree with bgmacaw... read Merchants of Deception... it's a must read. I have never been involved with Amway or Quixtar and don't know much about them...though I thought they were one and the same?...anyway.. I was with a different MLM for a while: 'Waiora' and noticed many similarities as described in the Merchants of Deception report so I got out fast. This is just my opinion but steer clear of MLM... it makes me laugh how people in MLM think they 'own a business'... so no not worth it from my perspective...

Actually it doesn't make me laugh because they've been decieved.

OK, folks, I can kinda see why you have your points of view.
So, this discussion is based on a group of people that "did Amway" way back, "never been involved with Amway or Quixtar and don't know much about them", etc. and read some bashing site about distributors, not specifically the company. Let's look at this like businesspeople. Here you have the largest debt free privately held company in the US (I would love for you to disprove that - check out the top privately held companies on Forbes.com), up 15% from last year at $8.2 billion, that's paid $25 billion in bonuses over it's 50 years in business, and has attracted Dell, Tmobile, Office Depot, Blue Nile, Barnes & Noble, and the likes as affiliate partners, and has the endorsement of John C. Maxwell, the stamp of approval of the President and CEO of Direct Selling Association, the President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Covey, and others.
Now, I have been involved with Amway/Quixtar all together for about 20 years, most of it as a lazy business owner making very good money in my own outside ventures, but I've made a few hundred grand during that time through Amway/Quixtar. (FYI, Amway became Quixtar in 1999 in North America when it went to an online model while it remained Amway worldwide in it's other 70 plus markets, such as India, where revenues are up 25% this past year. In 2008 they transitioned worldwide to Amway Global because of research that showed the Amway name was so highly recognized with quality products.) Not to be pompous, but I have probably done more research than all of you combined on this opportunity and have file folders full of genuine documents from the Wall Street Journal, Attorney General offices, etc. about the corporation and its practices. Bottom line: Nothing will touch this for long term income in the MLM arena, and pure corporate financial strength. There are now third generation income recipients in A/G - grandkids that are receiving income from the business their grandparents built. Tell me, can you find that Anywhere else out there in network marketing? The company is owned by two Dutch families that understand legacy income - so they created provisions to put bonuses from your organization into a trust, or other entity for generational income. Sure, some new fad that comes along, a juice, a health miracle, or an MLM that does telecom and costs $500 to get started, will have some good numbers. Especially since most of them pyramid the startup fees - the upline gets a big chunk of it. But long term, where will it go? Well look at the founders of these companies - virtually every one of them without exception came from another failed MLM...and they'll do it again when the FTC or FDA puts some heat on their current one. The success of bringing outside products to is a fact - go check out the Wikipedia article on what they did with XS Energy drink which will do close to $200 million exclusively through Amway Global this year. That's one of probably 3 million SKU's available through A/G and it's partners. Tip: The real success of the business is found in the large accredited Professional Development Organizations, or leadership teams that have really dialed in the how-to of the business, and combine knowledge and resources to provide support for their organizations, combine experience from several different leaders, and so everyone doesn't have a job as a "guru" once they have several thousand people in their group. A/G doesn't really provide the training it takes to really take this to the higher levels. They provide amazing product knowledge, product fulfillment, and compensation.
The big problem with A/G is that people get involved and think it's utopia - that everyone is like the high level reps called Diamonds - and no they aren't all perfect either. They are naïve to the fact that it is a business and will require effort on a consistent basis, and that if they try to treat it like a pyramid (get a few people signed up and sit on their butts) that their downline will do likewise. The opportunity totally blows most every other MLM away in avoiding the pyramid symptoms - No income made from signups, no inventory requirement, and the ability to surpass your upline's income. But really, most reps, IBO's as their called, are looking for something for nothing.
The Negative - it's not about the products, it's not about the company. What's it about? IBOs. People in the business that do stupid, immoral, and even greedy things (hmm..that's so unusual in business, politics, and even in churches nowadays.) It's a leader that wants to make some money on his training materials. Boo hoo. So does Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, and Jim Rohn. But see, people, especially IBO's think it's a terrible thing when they find their upline is making a buck on a CD they're buying from them. Yes, some of them really went overboard and made more money from their training materials than their A/G business. So stinking what! Yes, that would disappoint me too, but I'm adult, no one can force me to buy tools. What does your boss force you do to everyday, Vern? Is there any flirting going on at the workplace? A recent article stated that 70% of all extramarital affairs happen at the job. Do people do stupid things? Yes, in Every Industry. Look at the corruption on Wall Street folks! And when some notable leader in the A/G business gets divorced or gets caught in an affair, the whole business gets bashed. Give me a break. My good friend found out awhile ago that his wife was sleeping with her boss. Did that hit the blog sites and drop the stock price of XYZ company? Nope. So let's be a little objective here, and simply keep your keyboard quiet if you don't know what you're talking about. There's this thing in this bestselling, ancient, book about gossip, and that's what most of these comments are. By the way, even with this recession, my A/G income is up 50% over first quarter. Not a gob, but it pays the mortgage on my $325k house and my wife hasn't worked since way back when we started making an extra $1000/mo. If I would be consistent I could make $125k this year, and maybe I'll do just that - the recession is blowing up our business. (that's a good thing). Or even if I decided to be lazy, I will continue to be paid for what I did years ago, and I'll get all the great A/G products for wholesale, get my Tmobile discount of 12% off my phone bill every month (Sprint gives IBO's 18%), get 7% off my Dell purchases, get an insane group policy discount on my CIGNA dental plan, life insurance, tax deductions, and the top laundry detergent on the market (scored 99 out of 100 in Consumer Reports' laundry shootout recently). Not bad. Sorry about the length, I just never back down on the truth.
PS Tina, email me and I'll ship you what you want for free and throw in some samples.

Point well taken - I know that happens, but with the new Accreditation process Amway Global has implemented (really it was the brainchild of our team leaders), the main professional development groups go through a very detailed process and a lot of scrutiny where their training meetings, books, CD's, and training process are reviewed and approved by the legal guys at the corporation, and these types of things are becoming much less common. Sorry someone was such a bonehead.