As for Dexter Yager and his wife, I have no personal experience of them. I’ve seen some of their stuff posted by critics on the internet, and I don’t agree with some of it (we disagree on religion for example) but I’ve also found much of it positive (they came across well in the old 60 minutes program on Amway, I thought). Either way it’s not really that relevant as I believe their sons are now running Yager Internet, so it’s really them you should be concerned with, and I’m yet to encounter much in the way of criticism of their approach in the past decade.

Amway, like any successful business, should be about problem solving. Helping people with a product that solves a need they have – whether it be Nutrilite to help with health, SA8 to help with washing, or a business opportunity to help with finances and possibilities. Or, like any other business, you can try and exploit people to get rich. In my experience and research, even if the latter works, it doesn’t tend to last long.

I don’t want to do anything that is unethical. I am part of the Yager group, but after reading about Mr Yager and his wife, I do not want to associate with that name really.

If Amway can be done truly ethically and morally I would like to continue. But I don’t want to deceive people and sell over-priced products if that’s the only way to do well in the business.

Is Amway really about exploiting the masses so that a few might be rich?

“In addition to my post above, if you guys are feeling obligated or coerced into business, then leave Amway.” ~DC

Many of us probably likes the idea of direct selling and enjoy the benefit provided as an Amway member and the problem doesn’t lie with the business. I believe most people are more than happy to be able to do such businesses. The true problem, at least for me that is, is that because of their system, we have to tolerate and at times give in to the pressure from our upline to buy the tools. I do not know why but at many of the talks, at least one of the diamonds will mention “Do what your upline tells you to, they know the best” or something along the lines. We aren’t comfortable with buying the tools, but most uplines and above aren’t going to let us feel happy about our business until we do as told.

“But what you say at the beginning is really the issue, it’s overpromotion of the tools without accounting properly for an individuals circumstances. I actually think part of the “blame” here rests with the individual IBOs though, because in my experience they’re often unlikely to tell their upline about financial challenges they’re having.” ~ibofb
“I was suggesting that Amway corp. itself could identify what techniques are currently working for people, and produce training dvds, or cd with those techniques… and either supply it to the IBOs as a tax deductible expense… or in a worst case scenario charge the IBO’s the cost price.”~exAmway

These points are actually linked to Amway’s system itself. I am inclined to believe it may be some system they came up together with Jager or BWW but since I have nothing to substantiate the point, I’ll leave it at that. What I am concerned with is that they have a “trust your upline and do as he says” thing going on and even though the uplines are using the same materials, I don’t get how the same information can be transmitted to us or how we can be sure our upline will make the correct decision. IMO, I don’t feel like an independent business owner, it feels more like I am emulating other people on my path to success instead of trying to better them when I need to follow these step by step. The control is stifling and creates no room for individual flare or innovation to emerge. From the way I see it, it is effective for many of the people involved in Amway because they lack education or knowledge in such areas. The system provides a rigid yet comprehensive structure for them to progress but for others such as myself who are studying to be entrepreneurs, we (or I) feel suffocated. It is creating an environment where we have to strictly follow the system just because “Jager/BWW is a company over a few decades old with a lot of experience and have learnt a lot of lessons from their own mistakes over the years, so if they say it work, it should work as they are seasoned professionals”, as quoted by an upline in my group. If you do have a personal experience where innovation triumphs, please enlighten me.

That’s my main concern as an IBO, the system where it is implied that we have to follow our upline, with the phrase “it’s always optional” as the cover up. They are using emotional blackmail, you know it, but they’ve covered their asses.

Point: “We’re forced to listen to tapes/CD’s/function speakers.”
Counterpoint: “No one is forcing you to do anything.”
My personal experience: being told “The system is optional but no one has ever succeeded in the Amway business without it.”

No, I wasn’t “forced” to take part in the system, I was coerced and blackmailed into taking part in the system. Buying into a business, then being told I’ll never make it work unless I also buy into the training system is, in fact, coersion. There are many people in the Amaway business selling products and making a profit without ever having spent a single cent on books, tapes or function tickets. I was told a bold-faced lie to get me to sign up for the “Tape(s) of the Month”. The internet is not to blame for the damage that Amway has sustained over the last decade…it’s cause by greedy IBO’s selling over-priced tools and draining the bank accounts of unsuspecting newcomers to the business.

Point: “Yagers makes nothing from Amway out of most people who buy Internet Services products.”

I joined Amway in the early days of the internet, before everything became password protected. I checked out Internet Services Corp website and was surprised to find no mention of Amway. I could, however, get a cassette tape duplicated for a mere 75 cents US if I ordered in bulk…say, for my downline. Which I could then sell for $8.00 each.

So, the new business model: First, I rent a big auditorium say that will hold 10,000 people. I charge $20 US per person which gives me a gross at the door of $200,000 dollars. Subtract $50,000 for rental fees and $50,000 for speaker’s fees to the guest speakers and you put a cool 100 grand in your pocket…for one nights work. Oh, but there’s more… You rent some recording equipment and record the function. Then you get Internet Services Corp to make you 10,000 copies which you can then sell to the same people that bought the function tickets. At an average net profit of $7.00 US per tape, there’s another $70,000 generated from that same function. Pretty sweet, but it doesn’t stop there. You pack everything into a tractor-trailer and drive to the next city and have another function the next week, and so on… Assuming you take a 3 month vaction and a full month at Xmas Holiday time to be with family, this business can NET you over 2 million dollars a year. How do you get people do do this? You keep lieing to them: “Look how rich you can get from Amway! See how rich Amway has made me! I have 2 Caddy’s, a Ferrari and 3 houses…all thanks to Amway!”

Don’t believe it. As my former upline Mr. Casey Combden used to say:

“The System is the Secret.”

In the next hall at the same facility people paid S$2000 to listen to Anthony Robins. I am sure he is good but as you all know motivation needs to be continuous. What impresses me with Britt system is the fact that motivation is continuous. It is helping me set priorities with my job and life like never before.

There is no free lunch. If you haven’t figured that out there is not much anybody else can do.

If all you want to do is a “side thing”, then do that. Sell a few products. Thursday’s aren’t for you. The majority of CDs aren’t for you. That’s fine. Nobody forces you to do anything, it’s your choice.

It’s just unfortunate you seem to have decided to unquestionably believe “all the crazy websites” rather than actually checking it out yourself. If you’re idea of a good life is to have other people do your thinking for you … well, Amway is not for you, so you’ll make the right choice by not being involved.