What is Amway Global? Will I make money with it?

In this post, you will find out everything you need to know about Amway products and its MLM business opportunity, so that you have a complete picture of what is Amway Global.

It’s great that you are doing your due diligence, as you should never take things at face value.

People trying to sell something to you will never wash their dirty linen in front of you.

So you should always look for objective, unbiased reviews like this one, and decide for yourself if Amway is something you may want to venture into.

I want to assure you that I am not associated with Amway in any form. So I will not be selling anything to you, just offering my honest opinion about this organization so you can see it in a clearer light.

In this article, I will provide an in-depth review of Amway Global, through the following sections:

• What is Amway Global
• Amway’s product line
• Its business opportunity
• Its pros and cons
• An alternative

Amway Global: Review Summary

Product: Amway Global

Creators: Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel started Amway in 1959 

Product type: Network marketing company in the home, health and beauty niches

Price: $69 one-time registration fee + $99 starter kit (optional)

Scam / Legit? : Legit

Recommended or not? : Not recommended

Amway Global is a network marketing company, practising MLM (multilevel marketing). There are two ways to make money through Amway: promote their products to earn retail commission, or recruit people to be distributors like you, and earn bonuses and different levels of commission as you advance in your ranks.

Though a very established and legit company, like with any MLM scheme, it is very difficult for any distributor to profit from it. The way the MLM scheme is designed serves only those at the top: the owners and some of the top tier distributors. The majority in the lower ranks are just losing money and time that could have been better spent in other business ventures.

What is Amway Global

So, what is Amway Global exactly? How does it work? Could it be the opportunity of a lifetime for you?

In this section, I will break it down further, by looking at its products, its business model, and why it may or may not work for you.

Some background information

Amway, or American Way, has been around for close to 60 years! It is one of the oldest and most successful network marketing companies around. In fact, they have pioneered this method of growing an organization now known as multilevel marketing (MLM).

Its founders, Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, are two guys from Michigan, USA, who wanted to have a business of their own, and decided to go for the health, wellness and beauty niche. Both have passed on, and their sons have succeeded them in the business.

Its 2018 revenue was an astonishing $8.8 billion! That places it right at the top of the MLM industry, a pioneer and a leader indeed.

Amway Global Product Line

Amway sells a whole wide range of more than 450 products, in the home, nutrition and beauty lines.

Nutrition

Their Nutrilite brand includes supplements derived from plant concentrates, containing essential vitamins and minerals.

Truvivity is a moisture-enhancing beauty supplement system which hydrates the skin from the inside out.

BodyKey is a weight management program consisting of mainly health supplements and beverage powder, packaged as bundles.

Beauty 

There are several brands under the beauty range of products: Artistry, Satinique, G&H,  and Glister.

Infused with nature and perfected by science, their beauty products boast of being personalised beauty solutions to each woman’s individual needs.

Home

Their home care line of products include:

• clean water technology: water treatment system, cartridges, and other accessories related to water supply in the home.
• home air treatment: odour filter, HEPA filter, and accessories
• cooking: accessories for cookware, like lid knob, pan handles, finger guard for woks, etc.
• home cleaning: leather and vinyl cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, air freshener, dishwashing liquid, etc.

Amway even offers energy drinks and sports nutrition.

The majority of reviews about Amway products are positive ones, which is to be expected, otherwise they would never have been able to survive almost 60 years in the market. So I have no doubt about the quality of Amway products.

The MLM business model in Amway Global

As with any MLM (multilevel marketing) company, there are two ways to make money with Amway Global:

1. Sell their products as a distributor, and earn retail commission
   
2. Recruit more people as distributors, they will form your team, or so called downline. When your downline recruit more distributors under them, or when they purchase the Amway products, you get to earn bonuses and commission in a very complex renumeration scheme that is typical of MLMs.

Can Amway Global really make money for you?

It all looks good so far, why then do I say that many people lose money in Amway?

Here is the proof, take a look at their 2016 income disclosure, which can be found inside their compensation plan:

The average monthly gross income of an active IBO (independent business owner, also known as their distributor) is a whooping $207.

Can you imagine how many hours were spent earning this sum of money? Attending meetings and training, face to face meetings with customers to promote Amway products to them, many more hours trying to recruit more distributors, etc.

Moreover, this income is the average for the active distributors. How about those inactive ones, who may be actually toiling away trying to make some sales, or spending hours trying to convince some friends to join but to no avail?

If we include these people, the average monthly income would drop drastically.

And this is not even discounting the costs incurred yet. Minus all the hidden fees and costs a distributor has to pay, it is no wonder so many people are walking away from MLMs, just so to minimise their losses, not to even talk about earning a profit yet.

And don’t forget this is from a very established company with the highest revenue.

Now, let’s move on to explore some of the reasons why most people fail with Amway.

1. Hidden costs involved in Amway

Distributors will be asked to replace their home cleaning products, nutritional supplements, beauty care products, etc. with Amway products, as it will benefit their business.

The more they buy, the more points they accumulate, which can improve their ranks and commission.

Then there are other heavy hidden costs involved, which claim to be optional, but the way they sell it to you can be rather aggressive.

For instance, they say these are optional, but then so is success. And something along the line of no one has ever succeeded without getting these tools and materials. In this sense, there is a high pressure tactic to make distributors purchase more and more.

First, there is the Amway Inauguration Bundle, which you will be pressured to get as a newcomer. That costs $338! For some marketing materials, without which you won’t know enough to market Amway products effectively to your customers.

Then there are other motivational materials created by those high up in the ranks, or your upline, that will be pushed to you. That means more costs incurred.

In the end, what started out as a business opportunity turns out to become a financial burden for so many people, buying tools and motivational courses, buying Amway products which are overpriced, in place of regular cleaning and beauty care products that you would have gotten off the shelf at a much more affordable price.

2. You need to enjoy direct selling to people

As a distributor for an MLM company, you have to engage in lots of face to face direct selling. Are you up for that? Not everybody can do that, or will enjoy doing it, myself included.

I just can’t bring myself to sell products or any business opportunity to my family and friends, knowing that the main purpose is for my own profit.

Of course the products are of great quality, but they are definitely overpriced, so no matter how much I believe in them, I will not push them to people around me.

Instead, the model I am using allows me to reach out to people who are actively searching for what I am selling. If this sounds interesting to you, stick with me until the end of this post, where I will elaborate more about how I am making money from home.

If you are of a character who gets motivation by selling stuff to people, then MLM may click with you.

But still, bear in mind that these days, many people shun those trying to sell them anything, especially once they know you are a distributor for an MLM company, they tend to run as far away as they possibly can.

3. Why the MLM business model fails more than 99% of MLM distributors

The short answer: because MLM is created in the sole interest of the company’s founders. It’s as simple as that.

The figure is not plucked from thin air. Take a look at this, from a report found on the website of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission):

This is what MLM companies do: take some products that have at least some minimum standard in their quality, then price them over the top and create artificial demand for them through some complex incentive structure.

Because they are overpriced, there will be no real market demand for the products.

That is why it is extremely difficult for distributors to earn any retail commission, no matter how hard they work.

That is also why MLM companies tend to focus on recruitment, urging their distributors to share the business opportunity with people around them, so that they build up their teams.

Because the distributors are made the ‘ardent supporters’ of the company, they are the only ones who would buy the products, only because they are incentivized to do so!

So the way for an MLM company to grow in profits, is to grow its number of distributors.

Only those who join the company from its onset, and those who may get private access to the higher ranks, will get to reach the top and reap the massive profits along with the founders, as the organization builds up its distributors in a very smart scheme.

The distributors are actually paying out of their pockets, to obtain the rights to help the company market its products!

How is this a fair system?

Any MLM company, in promoting its business opportunity, will show you the high life, enticing you to work towards that dream.

In fact, only the founders and the few distributors at the top of the echelons are enjoying this lifestyle. All sponsored by the vast majority of its distributors.

So no matter how great a company is, as long as it engages in the MLM model that focuses on recruitment, I will never recommend it to anyone, simply because this business model makes the rich richer, and the poor poorer.

I see it as extremely unethical, as the exact people who cannot afford it are made to support the entire company financially.

See my #1 recommended way of making money, that is honest and makes it a win-win situation instead of exploiting people around me:

Pros of Amway

1. Established company

With almost 60 years of history behind it, Amway must be doing something right. Maybe it’s the diversity of their products that are able to attain a wider reach. Maybe it’s the pricing of their products, that are high but not totally out of reach.

It doesn’t mean that it will get you anywhere if you join as a distributor now.

It can simply mean that it’s got the advantage of the masses when it comes to number of distributors, such that even with the normal turnover rate of distributors typical of an MLM scheme, it is still able to sustain the organization over the years.

2. Quality products

The company definitely keeps up the standard of quality of its products. It has to do that if it wants to survive and thrive. Another plus point is the wide diversity of products, spanning across several niches

3. Evergreen niches

Health and wellness, beauty, and home cleaning are all evergreen niches that will never go out of trend.

Cons of Amway

1. Entry cost and other financial burden

Financial burden on its distributors is a feature of any MLM company, it just presents itself in many different ways.

Whether it’s an upfront sign up cost, materials cost, monthly purchase cost, etc. you can be assured it will be there. Simply because the uplines need to get their pay.

2. Involved in numerous law suits

Amway has been involved in numerous law suits, including an allegation of it being a pyramid scheme.

Though it is off the hook now, the fact that it had to set aside money and other resources to deal with these just cannot be a good thing.

3. High pricing of products

Because products are priced at more than their value, you will be spending more than what you normally would if you up the brand to Amway in your household cleaning, health and beauty departments. And of course they would be very difficult to sell to anyone around you.

4. As with any MLM, majority of its distributors end up losing money

By virtue of the business model, majority of distributors will not be earning any profit, and may even incur losses. Because if many distributors do get to make substantial earnings, then the company would have to close down real soon.

Is Amway Scam or Legit?

Amway is definitely a legitimate network marketing and MLM company, with an entire range of great products.

However, it is of my personal view that its reward structure is not created in your best interest, just like many other MLM companies, like Jeunesse, Avon, Mary Kay, and Nu Skin, to name just a few.

An Alternative

There are many better ways to make money, my #1 recommendation being one that allows me to work completely from home, without having to step foot outside if I choose not to.

Using this model, I do not have to pay to promote any company. In fact, they recognize that I’m advertising their business for free as I promote them, hence it’s a win-win for everyone.

Because of this, I can work with as many companies as I like at the same time.

And instead of me going after potential customers, trying to convince them to buy something they do not need, or to join my team as a distributor, I offer help and solutions to people’s problems in a niche area of my choice.

By virtue of the traffic method that I use, people searching for answers get directed to me, all for free. If this sounds like something you may want to do, check out this business model here:

And for reading all the way to the end of the post, I believe you have it in you to make this work. Here is your FREE PDF Guide: 4 Simple Steps to Making Money Online. Fill in your details to claim it:

If you have any concerns or questions regarding this Amway review, do comment below, and we will start a conversation from there.