Amway North America and Quixtar, News and Views

New Amway Global IBOAI board members elected

2008-11-06T23:27:00.001Z

New Board Members and Officers Elected

Congratulations to the new Directors of the IBOAI Board: Glen Baker, Mike Bundy, John Crowe, Bert Gulick, Pedro Lizardi, and Doyle Yager. Their terms will run from January 1, 2009, until December 31, 2011. Glen, Mike, John, Bert, Pedro, and Doyle replace the Directors whose terms are set to expire at the end of 2008.

Newly elected to the MAC (Marketing Advisory Committee) are Jennie Belle Crowe and Patsy Lizardi, whose terms will run from January 1, 2009, until December 31, 2011.

Beginning January 1, 2009, new Officers serving your Board will be Bob Andrews, Chairman, and Steve Woods, Vice Chairman.

Watch for more information on the 2009 Board as the end of 2008 approaches. We are excited about a great year ahead!

Miss America blogs about Amway's Wellness Initiative

2008-11-06T22:36:00.002Z

Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund, has written a nice blog post promoting the new Inspire Wellness website developed by Amway and the YMCA.

Miss Haglund looks pretty healthy to me, so take her advice and check out http://www.inspirewellness.com

Amway Global presents Tina Turner Live concerts

2008-07-10T21:55:00.001Z

from Amway Watch -

ADA, Mich., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Amway Global today announced that it will be the Presenting Sponsor for legendary, Grammy-winning singer TinaTurner's upcoming North American tour, promoted nationally by AEG Live. Amway Global Presents Tina Turner Live in Concert will span at least 36 concerts in more than 20 U.S. and Canadian cities, beginning October 1 in Kansas City. This will be the first tour in eight years for Turner, an eight-time Grammy winner with seven top-10 singles who has sold nearly 200 million albums.

As presenting sponsor, the Amway Global name will appear on tickets, advertisements, and signage at all North American concert venues.

"We are thrilled to be associated with an artist of such high caliber and broad appeal as Ms. Turner," says Steve Lieberman, Amway Global's Managing Director. "A rock tour is not what most people would expect from Amway Global and that's the whole point. There are so many things people don't realize about our business, like the fact that we're the number one online health and beauty retailer. Sponsoring Tina Turner's fall tour is just one example of how we are stepping up our efforts to build awareness for our business and who we are today."

The sponsorship is part of a larger Amway Global investment to help raise public awareness of its business, opportunity, and products in North America. The company currently operates as Quixtar North America/Amway Global but is transitioning to the Amway Global name by 2009. To support this brand transition and also build awareness for the company's flagship Nutrilite vitamin and supplement brand and Artistry skin care and cosmetics brands, the company is investing in a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and high-profile sponsorships, such as the Tina Turner tour.

A recording artist for more than 40 years, Tina Turner appeals to music fans across generations and has career longevity that is rare in any industry, especially the music business. Her concerts are typically sellouts, which is why she has sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history.

For more information about "Amway Global Presents Tina Turner Live inConcert" please visit www.TinaTurnerLive.com.

Quixtar launches TV campaign tonight

2008-05-26T18:00:00.001Z

Quixtar/Amway global launches a new nationwide TV ad campaign tonight in the US. More info on The Truth About Amway and Amway Watch

Amway Diamonds - check 'em out on Amway Wiki

2008-04-10T23:55:00.003Z

Did you know that virtually all North American Amway and Quixtar Diamonds have been listed on Amway Wiki?

There's been hundreds and hundreds of them!

Check it out Amway Wiki - Amway North America has many of the qualifiers listed by the year they appeared in the Amagram. Amway Wiki - United States has pretty much all the Amway and Quixtar US qualifiers, listed by highest pin qualification, and Amway Wiki - Canada does the same for Amway and Quixtar in Canada.

Quixtar/Amway Global National Spotlight Tour

2008-04-05T23:30:00.002Z

Starting next month in Los Angeles, Quixtar /Amway Global is apparently beginning a "tour" of the US and Canada, with 2 day fairs presenting the products and business opportunity.

So far there's been little promotion of the fairs - anyone heard anything?

Fred Harteis returns to Amway/Quixtar?

2008-03-25T00:14:00.003Z

Amway/Quixtar Double Diamond's Fred & Linda Harteis have reportedly admitted they made a mistake following TEAM and have been welcomed back into the Amway fold. The www.fredharteis.com website no longer has his Quixtar resignation and former articles promoting Quixtar are back.

More news and discussion on Get the Facts - The Truth About Amway

Quixtar Sales 2007 - $1.072 Billion

2008-02-27T20:23:00.002Z

ADA, Mich., Feb. 15, 2008 - Quixtar Inc. today announced fiscal 2007 sales of $1.072 billion, the fifth consecutive year in which the company surpassed the billion-dollar mark. The results represented a slight decline from the previous year's sales of $1.12 billion, which were the best in Quixtar's nine-year history.

Amway & Quixtar: New combined logos revealed

2008-01-04T17:34:00.001Z

The new logos to be used in the transformation from Quixtar to Amway are posted over on www.thetruthaboutamway.com

Crown Ambassadors Janz and Schmidt move to Network TwentyOne

2007-12-19T20:05:00.000Z

I've now received confirmed news from multiple sources that Canadian Crown Ambassadors Jim & Sharon Janz and their downline, Crown Ambassadors Bob & Joyce Schmidt, as well as at least one other Diamond have moved their organisations from Jim & Margee Floor's International Network Associates (INA) to Jim & Nancy Dornan's Network TwentyOne. The move from INA is apparently amicable and with Jim Floor's best wishes.

This follows the merger of International Connection into Network TwentyOne back in September and is probably just the start of more mergers between now and Quixtar's August 2008 deadline for BSM companies to become accredited or risk their affiliated IBOs not receiving the discretionary QBI bonuses.

While hugely successful in international Amway markets, Network TwentyOne has been a relatively small player in the North American market. These mergers and the development of "second generation" leaders in North America (such as Jim & Nancy Dornan's son and daughter-in-law, Emerald's David & Jules Dornan and Crowns Bob & Terry Andrews' son and daughter-in-law Cale & Aura Andrews) indicates that Network TwentyOne North America is headed for some exciting times.

discuss this post and Amway and Quixtar on The Truth About Amway and Quixtar

Network 21 launches a YouTube channel

2007-12-06T12:45:00.000Z

Following on from the QuixtarPR, AmwayBrandComms and AlticorCorpComm YouTube channels, IBO support organization Network TwentyOne has now followed suite, venturing on to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/n21corp

At present there's only one video up, which is the following greeting from Rich DeVos to attendees at N21's recent North American Weekend Conference. I look forward to seeing what else appears.

(more on http://www.thetruthaboutamway.com)

TEAM vs Quixtar: CASE DISMISSED!!

2007-10-05T21:13:00.000Z

From Alticor Media blog -

California: Case dismissed

We received official word from California federal court this afternoon that Woodward et al v. Quixtar has been dismissed.

The dismissal deals a severe blow to Orrin Woodward’s federal class-action legal attack. Woodward and other plaintiffs cynically claimed that Quixtar was an illegal pyramid scheme in an attempt to avoid their contractual obligations, embarrass the company and damage its IBOs. The company adamantly denied the charges and noted that a Michigan court had already ordered the plaintiffs to arbitrate their claims.

This is a major victory, and we are grateful that the judge agreed with our arguments in the case.

In his ruling, Feess noted that “the Michigan court has already enjoined Plaintiffs from violating the covenants not to compete and not to solicit and sent the case to arbitration.” He later added, “[T]he Court agrees with the Michigan court and believes the parties’ arbitration agreement is valid and binding.

“[T]he court GRANTS Quixtar’s motion to dismiss on declaratory relief abstention grounds and the matter is hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Discuss this article on the forums. (17 posts)

TEAM vs Quixtar: Arbitration enforced?

2007-09-28T02:12:00.000Z

There's some hints on the TEAM forum run by TEAM's PR firm, Ashton Partners, that the judge in the TEAM vs Quixtar "class-action" lawsuit in California has enforced Quixtar's Arbitration claims. Some quotes -

As the court case is in arbitration, and it is in Quixtar's best interest to drag it out as long as possible, you may find that a decision from arbitration could take longer than the six months that it would take to resign and follow the existing non-compete.

and later from the same poster -

I too have received my, "The purpose of this letter is to confirm that your independent business has been deleted from our files." statement from Quixtar; unfortunately, I will not be free as soon as you unless Chris and Orrin are successful before March 10th. I will be truly free about two weeks later! I waited until after the California case was sent to arbitration.

There's been no official comments on the case for quite some time, though various TEAM blogs keep appearing and keep highlighting various affidavit's from the case. Curiously the affidavit's often seem to make TEAM's case worse, but the bloggers ignore this. I've tried querying them in their comments, but they've turned on "moderation" and none of my questions are appearing.

Anyone know the story, let us know!
Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)

more, including updates, on The Truth About Amway and Quixtar

TEAM vs Quixtar: Haugen and Wilson withdraw from lawsuit

2007-09-28T02:10:00.000Z

The Alticor Media Blog is reporting that former Quixtar Double Diamond Randy Haugen and former Quixtar Diamond Don Wilson have withdrawn from the Team lawsuit against Quixtar in California. Including the initial withdrawal of Fred Harteis, that's now three "major players" who have withdrawn from the suit. The remaining plaintiffs are -

Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady, Billy Florence, Chuck Goetschel, Tim Marks, Kirk Birtles, James Martin, Aron Radosa, David Brandy, Benjamin Dickie, Bruce Gilbank, Michael Martenson, and Chuck Cullen

I've so far only found one response on the various Team blogs and forums. That response was on the Ashton Partners run forum at forums.freetheibo.com -

I wouldn't worry about it too much

Hmmm .... well, no one can accuse Team of failing to imbue their IBOs with positive thinking!

Discuss this article on the forums. (27 posts)

Network 21 North America Pursuing Quixtar Accreditation

2007-09-05T21:20:00.000Z

the truth about amway and quixtar site has a letter from Network 21 founder Jim Dornan to N21 leader's and IBOs. it begins -

Dear Network 21 leaders and IBO's,

As most of you are aware, the company is continuing in their efforts to transform our great business into an even more powerful opportunity. The announcements of new products and a consumer focus, the new financial incentives totalling over $60 million dollars per year, the extensive investments in training and advertising ($200 million), as well as the on-going efforts to address issues regarding BSM/accreditation, and the proper positioning of such to assure maximum profitability of each IBO......all should lead to a wonderful future.

read more on the site - www.thetruthaboutamway.com

Quixtar launched SimplyNutrilite

2007-09-04T23:01:00.000Z

Fantastic new products from Quixtar, check them out at www.simplynutrilite.com!

Then come and chat about them at the Amway Facts, Myths, News and Views Forums

Quixtar University Launched

2007-09-01T19:11:00.000Z

Quixtar University, available at www.quixtaruniversity.com, has now been launched for all Quixtar Independent Business Owners. The site provides video training, PDF files and wizards to help IBOs. At present there are two areas of study available -

Basic Business Skills
Product Expertise

More info available on Get the Facts - the truth about amway and quixtar

TEAM - FreeTheIBO? No - UseTheIBO

2007-08-31T19:42:00.000Z

Last week I commented on the fact that I and many other people had been banned from commenting on the TEAM forums at forums.freetheibo.info. Initially I was just banned from my particular internet address, so I simply used another one to log in and ask why I'd been banned. I'd posted nothing inflammatory. The reply? My account and all the posts I'd made were deleted! Other folk have reported the exact same thing.

So much for "freedom".

Read more on Get The Facts - the Truth About Amway and Quixtar

Quixtar vs TEAM - A Granholm Connection?

2007-08-25T01:30:00.000Z

First of all I'll say up front that if I was an American (I'm not) I'd probably be a registered Democrat, and I'm grateful that, despite the founding families well-know support for the Republican Party, the corporations official position is that politics shouldn't be promoted in conjunction with the business. I'm even more grateful that my LOA abides by that rule. It's a policy that's being given some much needed teeth in the Quixtar Accreditation process.

However -s omething interesting struck my eye after doing some further research on today's Quixtar vs TEAM rulings. Many of the new reports include something like the following -

A statement released by Chris DeWitt on behalf of the distributors indicated they plan to continue their fight. "Some very brave IBOs have blown the whistle on Quixtar's illegal business practices. This is just one small skirmish in a very long and involved battle. In the end the IBOs will prevail." (woodtv.com)

After reading that I thought I'd go hunting for Chris DeWitt's statement. So what did I do? Naturally enough, I googled "Chris DeWitt Quixtar"

And didn't that find something interesting ... Lots and lots of links to news stories about the DeVos vs Granholm Michigan Governor's race, quoting

"Granholm campaign spokesman Chris DeWitt"

DeWitt is quoted numerous times disparging Amway and Quixtar in support of Governor Granholm. Funnily enough, last week a thread on the TEAM Forums likened Quixtar to Democrats. This would come as an enormous surprise to the DeVos family I'm sure!

Probably all just coincidence ... but interesting nevertheless ....

Oh ... and I never did find the statement, can any TEAM members help out with the statement? Or info on the DeWitt connection?

More on www.thetruthaboutamway.com

Amway: The Missing Partnership?

2007-08-23T23:15:00.000Z

The following text is from a chapter headed The Other Partnership in Charles Paul Conn's 1985 book Promises to Keep: The Amway Phenomenon and How It Works. It will probably get me shot by the copyright police, but I think it's worthwhile reading to provide some context for some of the challenges facing Amway and Quixtar around the world. I think the words speak for themselves.

Read more on Amway News, Facts, Myths, and Opinions

Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady terminated from Quixtar - TEAM breaks up?

2007-08-10T01:16:00.001Z

read more about TEAM and TEAM diamonds leaving Quixtar on The Truth About Amway and Quixtar

Quixtar, IBO and me!: Quixtar GooGle Bombing and Information Misrepresentation

2007-08-05T21:22:00.000Z

Quixtar, IBO and me!: Quixtar GooGle Bombing and Information Misrepresentation

Yet another lunatic babbles on cluelessly. Would you believe he even claims we "hide the fact that PV/BV "resets" every month!

Has he/she actually ever had anything to do with Amway or Quixtar? I'm 1000% certain he/she hasn't had experience with all of BWW/N21/TEAM/WWDB as he/she implies.

Absolutely clueless

The truth about amway

A Quixtar Blog about the Quixtar Experience: Blogstar: Transform This!

2007-07-10T21:20:00.000Z

A Quixtar Blog about the Quixtar Experience: Blogstar: Transform This!

another new video site

2007-07-04T11:26:00.000Z

Amway Europe videos

blogged on the truth about amway

Quixtar Video Blog

2006-11-20T02:04:00.000Z

new site with amway and quixtar videos - Quixtar Video Blog

what tian has learned: Quixtar Scam

2006-09-28T12:03:00.000Z

what tian has learned: Quixtar Scam

Sigh ... another blog post on Quixtar by an ignoramus, and it stunningly makes the top 20 search list on google! He claims Direct Marketing is "a form of Pyramid Scheme", which is completely false - things go downhill from there. If you want to know the Truth about Amway and Quixtar, check out this site

On The Road with Dave: Quixtar Announces Advertising Campaign

2006-08-27T00:43:00.000Z

On The Road with Dave: Quixtar Announces Advertising Campaign

This is great news. So good I frontpaged it on The Truth About Amway and Quixtar :-)

On The Road with Dave: Quixtar Announces Advertising Campaign

2006-08-26T15:12:00.000Z

On The Road with Dave: Quixtar Announces Advertising Campaign

Rara asks - "Are they are they going to reduce commissions, raise prices, or both?"

Rara, do you actually think, despite the DeVos and Van Andel families being some of the richest in the world, that Alticor doesn't make any money and has no discretionary budget?
The Truth About Amway and Quixtar

On The Road with Dave: The Imperial Palace Casino Sucks!

2006-08-24T00:55:00.000Z

On The Road with Dave: The Imperial Palace Casino Sucks!

MLM Today: Nutrition and Direct Selling

2006-08-19T07:52:00.000Z

MLM Today: Nutrition and Direct Selling

The Truth About Quixtar

2006-08-14T04:29:00.000Z

A better address for the website -

www.thetruthaboutquixtar.com

also

www.thetruthaboutamway.com

new site

2006-08-13T07:17:00.000Z

The truth about Amway, Quixtar and MLMs - www.mlmfacts.net

Team of Destiny � Tools Discount Schedule 2002

2004-09-13T18:47:00.000Z

Team of Destiny � Tools Discount Schedule 2002

Shock! Horror! If you buy 1000 of something then you get a unit price cheaper than someone who buys 1 of something!

It always amazes me that people find this surprising. This is *exactly* the way virtually ALL product related businesses work, whether they be Amway, Coca-Cola, or Team Of Destiny. (disclaimer: i'm not associated with ToD)

So, if you have a business where you require 1000 tapes for training your organisation, your buy price is $3.00 a tape. If you buy one tape, then your price is $6.00 a tape. Seems pretty reasonable to me. How else would it work????

Scott Larsen says -

In the case of TOD tapes, 50% of the price is paid as a commission. If it costs $0.50 to reproduce a tape, then $2.50 is still unaccounted.

In the case of the monthly TOD seminars just 32% is paid out. $17 per ticket is unaccounted. Forty-six percent of the major function tickets are paid out, 54% of the ticket price is unaccounted.

Unaccounted for? For the tapes, how about postage, staff costs, office costs, insurance costs, legal fees, etc etc etc, just like any other business. For seminars, how about all of these plus venue costs, speaker fees, speaker expenses, sound and light engineers, staffing, translators, etc etc etc.

Then of course, perhaps there's some "profit" left over? The IBO Organisation I work with spent over US$1 million dollars in the Phillipines before the amway market even opened there! The money has to come from somewhere. Any individual event (or tape for that matter) cannot be taken on it's own. Tapes remain unsold in stock, so are an expense, events need to be planned and paid for in advance. So many other things as well.

A standard "example" of product distribution is that if something costs $1 to make it will typically sell for around $10. In this case we have tapes costing say 50c to duplicate, plus of course recording and office expenses, and selling for $6, ie much the same as with anything else.

It's a business - get used to it.

The Facts About Quixtar

2004-07-26T16:55:00.000Z

The Facts About Quixtar

Ahh, the usual confusions about the FTC's 1979 ruling!!! How many people have actually read it? Sometimes I wonder if Scott has.

1. Sales-based compensation.

http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-17343_18163-44709--,00.html>Click here to read what the MIchigan Attorney General website actually says. You'll note that the site does have the quote Scott uses. The site also says -

"Avoid any program that focuses more on recruitment of new people rather than the sale of real products or services to end-user consumers."

This is where there is a deal of confusion throughout the modern networking market place. "end-user" is not the same as "retail client". Unfortunately even the Attorney General's seem to get confused about this. If one actually reads the original 1979 FTC ruling (its here) you'll see the court talks abnout sales to consumers

Respondents have avoided the abuses of pyramid schemes by .... requiring that products be sold to consumers

Guess what??? IBO's are consumers too!!!

As for the 70% rule, this is where Scott really show's he hasn't got a clue how this business works .... the 70% applies to both wholesale and retail sales. That is, everything "sold" to downline counts in the 70% as well. These days the logistics are handled directly by Amway/Quixtar, but it's all still part of an IBO's sales ... just they are wholesale sales

2. No "headhunting fee."

Same misunderstanding Scott! If there are no sales then an IBO cañt make a profit. Wholesale sales are still sales!

3. No purchase requirements

Oh good grief. Of course IBO's are encouraged to buy stuff! Duh! Would you buy anything from someone who doesñt use it themselves? Frankly I think anyone who trys to sell something they wouldn't use themselves is being unethical.

As for the IBO training materials ... well yeah, going to lectures and buying books for college is optional too. Heck, I know. In my undergraduate degree I didn't take up that option and barely graduated. Later I was lucky enough to be invited for a postgraduate degree and I made a difference choice - I bought books, went to seminars, studied! Guess what? That time I was near the top of the class.

Still, learning the material was optional

4. Buyback rights

Amway has always given me or my downline a 100% refund when requested. As for BSM, my upline has personally guaranteed to refund 100% of any BSM upon request. I offer the same guarantee to my group.

More on the FTC case

As mentioned, Scott doesn't seem to understand the case at all. The only thing here of any validity is the 10 customer rule. Problem is, how to define a customer? If someone elects to register as an IBO to get the cheaper prices, are they a customer? Personally I think yes, if I have to call someone up weekly or monthly and tell them about new offers, and encourage them to buy, ie market to them, then I consider them customers. My profit is in the volume rebate I get on their purchases. All I can say is that Network 21 teaches people to have 10 customers because it makes business sense. it's not even an Amway rule in the countries in which I operate.

To summarise Scott's misunderstanding, he says -

"the FTC found at that time that Amway had and enforced rules that encouraged retail sales, including the 70% rule."

no no no no no!!! It's all about sales to consumers and wholesale sales to downline not just retail sales! The FTC was quite rightly concerned about people buying stuff just to qualify at different levels and ending up with a garage full of soap powder. That's what the rules are designed to stop!

a2k price comparison

2004-07-19T20:33:00.000Z

Not sure where this came from, but it's simple to do yourself - http://www.a2k.com.au and http://www.homeshop.com.au.

Note that Amway Australia has a price guarantee - if you find the same product cheaper at a competitor then they'll match or better the price. This price comparison claims virtually everything was cheaper at Woolworths online. When I was last in Australia I challenged a2k on some canned Tuna - they dropped the price. Has nobody challenged them if this spreadsheet is correct?

I just checked a handful of products (July 2004). Coca Cola 600ml and Aurora Instant Coffee, in both cases a2k at retail was cheaper. Madura English Breakfast Tea, as the time I checked was on special at Woolworths, their regular price was more expensive, their special slightly cheaper.

The really big misleading prices are when the spreadsheet creator doesn't compare "like with like". For example he compares Woolworth 1.25l Pepsi with a2k 600ml Pepsi and comes up with Woolworths as being 177% cheaper!!! Why not compare 600ml pricing at both places - if you do then a2k comes out cheaper, even at retail!

A real issue with price comparisons comes when trying to compare different brands. I read somewhere on the Amquix site where someone was comparing store bought Vitamin C with Nutrilite C Complex and noting how much cheaper the store bought one is. This is kind of like comparing the price of a Lada with a Ferrari and saying Ferrari's are a rip off! Not even close to competitve products :-)

And comparing Energizer batteries with "Acme" brand? Good grief.

Mind you, nice to see they apparently did reasonably correct comparisons on cleaning products, and the AMway stuff kicks butt :-)

Do comparisons yourself at retail pricing and see for yourself, a2k and homeshop both allow guests to browse.

World Games Inc.

2004-07-15T09:50:00.000Z

World Games Inc.

I keep coming across WGI, aka World Games Inc, when I'm out talking to people, so I thought I'd check it out.
Well ...... not to good I'm afraid. So far I've found 8 Canadians charged with promoting a Pyramid (see this warning from the Mounties ), a Swedish woman convicted (Read this thread ), and the Australian founder, Greg Kennedy, currently in court with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/512336).

Now, WGI seems to have two basic problems. First of all, in MANY countries, it's illegal to promote gambling without the appropriate government licence. Building a WGI network involves doing precisely that.

Second, it apepars that to make money in the business side of WGI, as apart from the lottery and virtual stockmarket side, it requires you to introduce other people to the network. ie, you are paid for recruiting new members. In most jurisdictions this is consider a sign of an illegal pyramid selling scheme. There should be a real product or service available to end-users with no membership fee available. Of course, doing this with WGI would result in you falling foul of the first problem all over again!

Bill Britt and Phyliss Frankel

2004-07-14T23:49:00.000Z

Bill Britt and Phyliss Frankel

Well from what I've read and seen I'm not a huge fan of Bill Britt ... but good grief Scott .... isn't this all just a bit "tabloid"???

blakey1

2004-07-04T18:46:00.000Z

blakey1

Really only 3 comments to make on this page -

1. The document was prepared on behalf of Proctor & Gamble .. the world's biggest producer of competitor products to Amway

2. P&G lost the court case they used this information in.

3. In 7 years of experience with Amway (note: not in any of the "families" for which examples are given), I have never experienced any of the things he claims, for example -

"The "upline" assume virtual "parental" control, and distributors are urged to "counsel" on all aspects of their life, including topics such as which car to buy or how to handle marital problems"

Indeed, Jim Dornan, head of Network 21, has explicitly said we should not be engaged in things such as giving marital advice! Leave that to the experts! When I personally was having some marital problems (not related to the business) and I brought it up with my upline and the first thing they said was "Have you seen a marriage counseller?"

amway_postma_memo1

2004-07-01T21:19:00.000Z

amway_postma_memo1

Wohhhaaa... some scary stuff in this memo! I would point out that it is more than 20 years old. Having said that, I've little doubt much of it is still true, at least in parts. Let's however compare what it says Britt/Yager does compared to what I've always been taught in Network 21 (incidentally, N21 was formed some 6 years after this memo).

A. Relationships

well, obviously relationships are important in any business, and obviously in a networking business your upline relationships are very important. Remember though, this is to each IBOs advantage. As a new IBO, one of the first questions you get is "yeah? so how much do YOU make?". To be able to introduce your propects to successful people you know personally is very useful. It's also of course useful to have the knowledge and experience of your upline available to teach you and your business.

A.1 This section has quite a few areas of difference with N21. For example -

"distributors are taught that they are to do all that has been requested of them by their line of sponsorship"

no no no no no!!! We are taught to think like an OWNER. It's YOUR business!! Get advice, then MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION.

"There is no room for individuality or creativity. They are taught consistently that there is no need for creativity, since the line of sponsorship has the answers for them"

complete opposite - be creative! Come up with new ideas and approaches! We are constantly having new approaches and techniques and tools moive through our LOS and system. Some of the ideas have come from brand new IBOs! Obviously though, if you have a great idea, run it past your upline. If they've been around a while they may already have tried it and seen if it works or not, or other pitfalls. That just makes sense.

"In fact, after a Direct becomes a Diamond, he is still not free to act on his wishes. In the area of finances, a new Diamond in the Puryear organization recently confided that in order for him to buy a house, it was necessary for him to receive the approval of Ron Puryear and Bill Britt"

This is just a horrifying comment to me. I've heard Jim Dornan, founder and owner of Network 21, explicitly say that you need to be careful in your advice to downline. Chances are you are not a professional counseller, or account, or for that matter real estate agent :-), so don't give advice in these types of areas! If people have, say, marriage difficulties, encourage them to get professional help! Upline is there to advise on the business - anything else borders on dangerous!

2. Relationships with other lines of sponsorships

"They may read no other material except that provided by their line of sponsorship"

In Network 21 we are encouraged to read as much as possible, not just the "recommended books". Obviously we are encouraged to read "worthwhilė material" and not just romance novels, but definitely completely different to this reported approach.

"They may listen to no tape or receive any other information from any source, other than their line of sponsorship"

again, we are encouraged to get more education. Go to personal development seminars, listen to other personal development and business tapes.

"It excludes from the sources of information any reference to any other line of sponsorship or any achiever in Amway"

well, my very first seminar and the guest speaker was a guy by the name of Louie Carrillo. He explicitly mentioned how he was not a part of the Network 21 organisation. That's happened numerous times since with other speakers. Funnily enough, at later times some of these speakers have moved their organisations across to Network 21. I wonder why :-)

3. Relationship with the corporation.

"the line of sponsorship does not allow communication between the distributor and the corporation"

Right from the beginning if I had a question directly related to the business side of things rather than the networking side, I was encouraged to not waste my uplines time getting them to find the answer, but to contact the corporation directly! We are encouraged to attend Amway provided events. The corporation itself has had a speaker at every major Network 21 seminar I've been to for some years.

B. Motivation

1 and 2. Tapes and books and Functions

In Network 21 there's a pretty basic formula followed just as it is in any business. The more tapes and books you buy, then the cheaper you get them per unit. It always surprises me that people find this strange! As a businessperson outside Amway, this seems normal to me! In any case though, there are checks and balances in place to ensure that the prime focus is on moving Amway product, not tools.

3. Accessories

This is new to me! Never seen it in N21

4. Counseling

In Network 21 this is just business planning and advice - makes sense!

5. Moving Up

"If a Diamond sponsors a Diamond, that second Diamond should not go Double Diamond until the first does"

Oh good grief, how insecure are these people? My upline has consistently said how great it would be if I had a bigger business than them! Heck, the bigger my business the more money they make! One of my upline Emeralds has dozens of Diamonds and above in his business. He even has at least two Crown Ambassadors!

I can barely even comprehend the thinking behind these comments!

Summary

Amazing if true, and I have no reason to believe it is not. We are encouraged right from the beginning in Network 21 to think like an owner; To get information and make our own decisions. If you are just a slave to your upline, what's the difference with having a boss? It's YOUR business, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!!!!

Giblin v Network21

2004-07-01T16:52:00.000Z

Giblin v Network21

I have heard, but not confirmed, that what happenned here was that thoe owners of the copyright for Giblin's book (his son?) had at on stage mistakenly put the wrong date of original publication on their website, and someone from N21 thus incorrectly thought it was out of copyright. No doubt that N21 screwed up here, but I can see how it happenned. In any case, they rightly paid the outstanding royalties.

Eric Scheibeler's Story

2004-07-01T16:47:00.000Z

Eric Scheibeler's Story

So, someone sues the company who "pays" him, and they put his pay in escrow and we are supposed to be surprised? Good grief, get in the real world.

And this guy says the most he ever made as an Emerald was $30000/yr? Well, first of all, I can show you how you qualify for an Emerald pin and make a lot less than that, like less than $5000/yr!! The aim of a quixtar/amway business should be to develop a profitable business. I can guarantee that Amway/Quixtar paid the Scheibeler's exactly what the business plan said it would pay them for the business they create. Any IBOs reading this, know the business plan and work for a profitable and stable business, not just a pin.

Now, the thing that stuns me most about the Scheibeler's story is that he says that the most they made was $30000 in a year, yet he also states he quit his job??? I remember not long after I began in the business my upline Emerald stated that you shouldn't consider leaving your job until you are earning at least three times as much from Amway as from your job. Mr Scheibeler was either a very poor insurance underwriter, or, I hesitate to say, not very smart!