One of our readers is being harassed by his boss at work to sign up to the Amway scam:
Just wanted to stop by and say I really enjoy your blog! I've been reading it from start to finish, and I enjoy your candid commentary along with the horror stories other victims of Amway have shared.
My boss, of all people, brought me here. He doesn't know he brought me here. He doesn't know I know he's part of the Amway pyramid scheme. He thinks I'm easy prey; a new recruit ripe for brainwashing.
He's been subtly grooming me to become part of his scam, or "business opportunity" as he calls it.
The way he's doing it is devilishly sly, and had I not had a bad run-in with Primerica (another pyramid scheme), he may well have gotten me.
The subtle product placement - he always has an XS energy drink in plain view, or a bottle of his Perfect drinking water nearby. The Tip/Balance/Twist tests he performed when I questioned the claims of his miracle water. Boasts that he would be a millionaire within a decade. Mysterious meetings that required a suit and tie. Talks about how I could save money on household goods if I bought them from myself.
This all built up to a discussion one day after work, when he talked about an upcoming business meeting he was having with his partners. I asked for more info, but he said it was very secretive and he'd have to talk to his partners first.
The next day he said he'd talked to his partners, and that they thought I'd be a great candidate. Could I come to their next meeting, and did I own a suit?
Recalling my experience with Primerica, I wanted to know more about the business so I could research it a bit, and be able to make informed decisions. I asked what exactly this business was and if he had any literature on it.
In response, I was given a link to WWDB and asked to read testimonials by the Puryear and Duncan families.
Right then and there I knew something was very, very wrong. The whole testimonial was a bunch of feel-good ass kissing, along with these people rubbing their wealth in my face. I don't care how big your yacht is, I want facts and figures about your business. None of these testimonials provided any factual business information.
Frustrated by this secrecy, I Googled WWDB and the Puryears and the Duncans. This led me to Amway, and to countless horror stories of people whose lives have been ruined by it.
After much work, I did find the facts and figures I was searching for. And as I suspected, it was all a sham. These "Diamonds" at the top of the chain live a charade. They barely pull in six figures, most of which is from their tools/speeches (NOT the Amway business plan!). They put themselves in financial peril to fool their cult into thinking they're rich!
And if you're not that fraction of a percent on the top, you are losing money! You are bullied into buying junk you don't need, alienating friends and family, taking on debt, and told that success is right around the corner!!
No thank you. I'll keep my J.O.B. At the end of the day, I know I earned my paycheck and didn't have to sell my soul to get it.
So thank you very much for this blog! Your efforts, as well as the wealth of knowledge here, spared me a lot of pain and heartache. I'm so glad I was able to avoid going down the scAmway path.
When I speak to my boss again regarding his "business opportunity" I will politely say I'm not interested. If he persists, then the gloves come off.