Amway MLM Review

Selling home cleaning products and beauty products to your friends and family sounds like a great way to have a flexible schedule while making money. Multi level marketing schemes such as Amway could provide that flexibility and income. If this sounds like a great idea to you, perhaps you should read on. In this Amway MLM Review, I’ll outline what it takes to earn decent money and if this type of business opportunity could help you make ends meet.

What is Amway?

Amway is a MLM company that claims to be the world’s largest direct selling company with a revenue of $8.80 billion in 2018. Amway has over 3 million sales people all over the world. It was founded in 1959 by Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos. The company is headquartered in Michigan. Direct Selling News ranked Amway number one in 2018.

According to Amway’s Vice President of Manufacturing, their core mission is helping people live better lives through their health, home and beauty products. In September 2019, Amway partnered with Kids’ Food Basket, which is a nonprofit organization located in Michigan, to help address childhood nutrition issues. They distribute more than 8,000 healthy “sack suppers” through Kids’ Food Basket each day.

Are Amway Products Worth Their Price?

As a distributor, you will be responsible for promoting Amway products. One sample product is Amway’s Artistry Youth XTEND Protecting Cream. This is a popular product for women and many people seem to like the results. But this product can also be purchased at a cheaper price on Amazon.

The Amazon image above has the product originally listed for $59 and marked down to $52. Whereas the product sold on the Amway site is actually more expensive coming in at a price of $72. Note that even the original Amazon price is cheaper than on the Amway site.

Not all Amway products are cheaper on Amazon. There are only a select few Amway products you can purchase on Amazon but the prices are competitive and sometimes cheaper. Trying to promote expensive products to customers that can be purchased cheaper elsewhere may make this a difficult line of work.

The Amway Opportunity

To become an Amway IBO (Independent Business Owner), you need to sign up through an Amway sponsor. From there, you’ll be trained by your sponsor on how to sell and promote products. In order to get started, you will need to purchase around $100 worth of products.

You’ll start by having friends host parties where you can display and discuss the products and what they are used for. People can then place orders for products. You’ll order the products and distribute accordingly. You’ll also need to try and recruit people to also sell Amway products. You will need to meet certain thresholds each month in order to earn money.

How Much Does It Cost To Join Amway?

While there’s no registration cost to join Amway, it is expected that you will buy a certain amount of products to get yourself started. This is in the form of a few different starter kits. You can also purchase random products to create your own starter kit. According to my research, you will need to purchase around $100 worth of products to get started.

Can You Make Money With Amway?

Amway and other MLMs make the bulk of their money by recruitment. So there will be a huge focus to not only sell products but to recruit members. The real money is in recruitment. You will earn commissions from the products that your recruited members sell as well as any products you sell yourself. So in order to make A LOT of money with this business, you will need a lot of recruits.

Also, Amway products, like other products promoted by MLMs, are not FDA approved. This means that you can’t make any promises about any of the products you promote.

Keep in mind that if your recruits don’t succeed, you run the risk of them dropping out which will further hit your commissions and bonuses. If you want to know if you can make money with this business, you’ll have to ask yourself if you have a wide network, a lot of friends, family, neighbors who like Amway products, and how they may feel about buying products that are not necessarily guaranteed.

Pros of Amway

• Refundable Fees
  If you decide within 60-180 days that you don’t want to be an Amway IBO, you can request a refund of your registration fees.
• Available in Many Countries
  Amway operates in over 100 countries including Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.
• Free Courses
  Amway offers a number of free courses, podcasts and presentations to help you succeed. You can also join their World Wide Dream Builders for an additional monthly fee.
• Variety of Products
  Amway has a number of different products in its catalog. Products include weight management, energy drinks, sports nutrition, home products, beauty products and personal care.

Cons of Amway

• Products Are Expensive
  As a distributor, you would be forgiven for thinking that the purchase price of any products you buy at wholesale prices. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. There is a markup even for distributors. Amway Corporation gets a cut of the action for any product sold. A lot of the household and beauty products are more expensive than their comparable cousins at your local retail store.
• You Pay Shipping Costs
  One thing that may not be mentioned is that as an Amway distributor, you will pay all shipping costs and service charges for any products you order. This will eat into your commissions. So you’ll have to reconcile your commissions minus any shipping costs to figure out your true income.
• Desperate Times May Call For Desperate Measures
  If you are someone that doesn’t have a wide network of friends, family, neighbors, etc., you may find that you’ll have to buy products yourself each month in order to qualify for any commissions or bonuses. A losing situation all around.
• FTC Ruling Doesn’t Do Amway Any Favors
  In 1998, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) found that Amway still had some cleanup to do regarding their policies. The FTC found that although Amway is not a pyramid scheme, their commission policies reflected a new type of pyramid scheme.

Is Amway A Scam?

Amway may not be a scam but you will have to work very hard to make money as a distributor so get ready to hustle! This type of opportunity may not be a good idea for someone who will solely rely on the income from selling Amway products. This type of offer is best suited for someone who wants to make a little extra money by perhaps hosting parties at work or through other groups like parenting groups.

Final Thoughts

One of the biggest turn offs about these MLM-type businesses is that many people who join them feel under pressure to succeed. They set about pressuring their family, friends and neighbours to buy products so they can make a few bucks but end up alienating people closest to them.

If you are truly interested in making money while having a flexible schedule, why not create your own online business? That way, you choose what you want to promote as opposed to having someone tell you what you must promote. If this sounds better to you, check out my number one recommendation on how to build your own online business. You won’t have to ask your friends to host parties or get them to join you. But you will get free training, hosting and a ton of support!