Amway Review – Should I Join Amway?

If you’re reading this, then you’ve likely been scouring the web for a thorough Amway review because you’re asking yourself, should I join Amway?

You’ve been approached by an Amway distributor, right?. Either this person has introduced you to the Amway products or the business opportunity.

Or perhaps you’re actively searching for a home based business and you’re considering whether or not becoming an Amway IBO (independent business owner) is a good fit for you.

Can you really make money with Amway? Can Amway be trusted? How does Amway pay you? Is Amway a pyramid scheme?

These are some of the questions we will be discussing in this article and hopefully you will be able to make a sound decision regarding the Amway MLM business. 

In short, making money with Amway is definitely possible. In 2020, Amway did over $8.5 billion dollars in revenue and if you consider the fact that their products are solely distributed through independent business reps, well it’s pretty obvious that people are making money.

Before we talk about how to make money with Amway however, let’s go over a brief history of the company.

Amway MLM History

Amway was founded back in 1959 in Michigan by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos. The business has experienced large growth since then, basically pioneering the network marketing profession. For the most part, if you’ve heard about network marketing or MLM, you’ve heard about Amway.

From the beginning, Amway has been environmentally conscious, way before it was the “cool” thing to do. The first product ever launched was a biodegradable, organic household cleaner, free of harmful chemicals. 

By 1967, Amway had achieved $50 million in sales as they continued to expand. By the 1980s, the company had more than a million Amway IBOs in over 20 countries worldwide. Fast forward to today, the Amway business opportunity has reps in over 100 countries spanning the globe.

This all sounds great, right?

So why does Amway have a bad reputation?

There are several reasons but before we get to that, you should know what you would be selling should you decide to become an Amway IBO.

Amway Products Review | Are Amway Products Good Or Bad?

The Amway product line consists of 7 main lines. They sell vitamins, beauty products, household cleaning products, water and air purifiers, cookware, and energy drinks.

Does Amway sell quality products?

I can’t personally speak to the quality of the products as I have been using Shaklee products for nearly a decade. I have however, heard from several friends who use Amway products and completely swear by them.

So let’s briefly cover the main product lines that they offer.

Nutrilite – Are Amway Vitamins Any Good?

Amway is probably best known for the Nutrilite product line, which is one of the only dietary supplements in the world that is completely produced on their own certified organic farms.

They claim to even use a specific type of Egyptian earthworm to fertilize the soil in which their organic plants are grown.

Is Amway Nutrilite FDA approved?

This is a very common question and the short answer is no. The US Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have any guidelines set for dietary supplements, therefore FDA approval doesn’t actually apply to this product line.

So is Amway Nutrilite good for health?

By all accounts, the answer appears to be yes. Like I mentioned, I’ve been using products from an Amway competitor which makes very similar claims to the Amway products, and I would never buy supplements off a store shelf again.

This is obviously an anecdotal claim, so take it with a grain of salt.

Artistry – Is Artistry A Top Brand?

The Amway Artistry line provides natural and organic beauty products for women. The ingredients are sourced from the very same organic farms that Nutrilite uses for their supplements.

The Artistry products alone generate billions per year in revenue, making it a massive success in and of itself. 

Amway Home Products

Amway Home is the household cleaner line, which was previously branded Legacy Of Clean. The Amway Home product line consists of roughly 50 various products. These products too are fully biodegradable and contain no harmful chemicals while still maintaining high performance.

So is Amway organic and all natural? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. 

Amway eSpring – How Does It Work?

The eSpring water purifying system is actually the world’s best selling brand of water treatment systems.

They use an interesting science which seems to have been a bit of a scientific breakthrough. The Amway eSpring system utilizes ultraviolet light along with a carbon block filter to effectively destroy 99.9% of harmful contaminants in typical tap water.

Amway Atmosphere Air Purifier

The Amway air purifier product line offers competitive air purifying systems for use in your home or car. They utilize commonly used HEPA filter technology to help remove allergens and contaminants from the air you breathe.

Amway Cookware

The iCook product line sells pots, pans, knives and other cooking utensils. They use a multi-ply construction with a carbon-steel core which creates even heat distribution, according to Amway claims.

XS Energy – Is XS Energy Good?

This is Amway’s sports nutrition line which is used by millions of people worldwide. Their energy drinks are sugar free and use natural caffeine from a green tea extract. The drink evidently promotes physical endurance, mental focus, and shortens the body’s recovery time.

The full Amway product line offers over 500 products. If we covered them all, you would be here all day and you’re probably more interested in the Amway business opportunity. 

But to sum it up, Amway is probably one of the number 1 vitamin companies in the world. The products are all natural and organic, and certainly rank near the top in terms of quality, effectiveness and safety. 

It’s impossible to say which is the best product of Amway since they offer so much. And value is somewhat subjective depending on the person. But overall, product reviews are quite good and I would feel comfortable using the Amway products if I didn’t already use a brand that I love.

Why Is Amway So Expensive?

The price point of Amway products is certainly a downside of the product line, but there is a reason for it. Just like if you go to the organic section in your grocery store, you will find that all natural products are simply more expensive.

This is due to the processes that are used by the Amway company. The typical supplement or beauty product that you would buy off the grocery store shelf has efficient but complex and somewhat fragile supply chains. 

These supply chains allow for big box retailers to sell products at very low prices. The problem is, it’s nearly impossible to know what the level of quality truly is. While the brand might make extraordinary claims, it’s impossible to verify those claims when ingredients are sourced from all over the world including China and other developing nations.

The truth is, you get what you pay for in most cases.

Amway Business Review – Is Amway A Good Career?

Is Amway FTC approved?

This is a common question asked by someone who’s thinking about becoming an Amway IBO. 

In 1979, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) investigated Amway about claims made by some people that Amway was operating a pyramid scheme. The FTC did rule, however, that Amway did not fit the definition of a pyramid scheme. 

Amway IBO Review – Is Amway Multi Level Marketing?

Amway uses a business model known as network marketing, or MLM (multi level marketing). This can turn a lot of people off due to the negative press that network marketing has received over the years. 

The truth is, there have been many organisations in the past that claimed to be MLM companies, when they were in fact operating illegal Ponzi or pyramid schemes. This has tarnished the network marketing industry in a real way and public perception of the business is largely negative.

But as the FTC ruled in 1979, Amway did not qualify as a pyramid scheme since IBOs were not paid to recruit people. Instead, the revenue was completely derived from product sales. In fact, there are millions of people all over the world who use Amway products religiously even though they are not involved with the Amway business at all.

So in short, yes, Amway is MLM or network marketing.

Is Amway a money chain or scam of some type?

Most certainly not. 

How is Amway not a pyramid scheme if it is multi level marketing? I wrote an in depth article about the differences between pyramid schemes and legitimate businesses which you can read here.

How Much Money Do Amway Reps Make?

The honest truth is, most Amway IBOs don’t actually make that much money. One of the problems with network marketing is that some of the IBOs tend to make unrealistic income claims. 

When a new distributor joins the business, they quickly realise that it’s not as easy as they thought it would be. Often they become frustrated when they struggle to sell products or recruit reps into their organisation. This causes many people to quit before they even really got started.

The stats show that the vast majority of people who join a network marketing business never make a full time income. This is somewhat misleading because there are many people who simply use the products. They don’t actively build the business, but that reality is not reflected in the stats.

Be that as it may, the majority of people don’t ever replace their full time job with their network marketing income. But you always hear these crazy stories, right?

Can Amway make you rich?

The truth is, yes it absolutely can. It just seems to be somewhat unlikely. 

This is because most people don’t receive proper training. This is absolutely crucial if you want to be successful in Amway or any other network marketing business. In order to be successful in Amway, you need to deliberately follow a plan that has been proven to work again and again.

You see, the real power of the Amway business opportunity comes in creating duplication in your downline. Not only do you need to be able to sell products and recruit new IBOs, but you also need to be able to teach your new IBOs to do the same thing.

And that’s really the point. The Amway opportunity is not really about selling or recruiting… it’s about teaching. I wrote a full article about this a while ago, which you can read here.

What Are The Benefits Of Joining Amway?

There are quite a few benefits to joining a network marketing business like Amway. The main thing that you need to keep in mind however, is that this is a real business. It takes a lot of work and you will not be driving a Ferrari in a year or two, regardless of what you see on social media.

I’m not disparaging Amway in any way, but I want to help you keep your expectations in check so that you can get started with a realistic view of the business.

Heck, if it were easy, everybody would be a network marketing millionaire. You can be successful in Amway, but it’s gonna take work.

So let’s talk about some of the benefits of joining Amway.

I – Personal Growth

It’s impossible to be successful in network marketing without experiencing personal growth. You will need to challenge yourself, become more comfortable dealing with people, and learn to care less about how other people view you. 

If you are destined for success in this business, you WILL become very comfortable in your own skin, by necessity.

II – Low Barrier To Entry

If you would want to start any other type of business, you would need thousands of dollars in order to get started. You would need to develop a product or service, invest in real estate, or any other number of things. But you could become an Amway IBO for a very low startup cost.

III – Flexible Schedule

One of the best things about this type of business is the time freedom. You don’t have retail hours that you need to abide by. No punching into a time clock or anything like that. You work when you want, for however long you want. 

Certainly one of the worst inventions in history is the alarm clock. Imagine waking up when you’re actually done sleeping. But the truth is, if you want to really experience success quickly, you will need to work hard. Your results will be based purely on your own performance.

IV – Travel Opportunities

Amway hosts events for its IBOs every single year where you can meet and mingle with people who have similar goals and aspirations as you. Plus, if you grow a large team and have duplication in your team, that team will eventually span the globe. The travel opportunities will be plentiful.

V – Tax Advantages

A home business allows for all types of tax advantages. Of course, these will vary depending on where in the world you are.

VI – Being Your Own Boss

Most people who quit a job end up doing so because of the people they work with, not necessarily the job itself. In network marketing, you choose who you want to work with.

Amway Compensation Plan Explained

The Amway independent business owner compensation plan is a variation of the common breakaway compensation model. You can learn about the various MLM compensation plan types here. 

Amway has titled their compensation plan Unlimited Stairstep Breakaway. One of the main features of the compensation plan of Amway is that you could certainly out earn the person who sponsored you. Likewise, if you bring someone into your business, she could potentially out earn you if she performs better than you.

This alone negates the Amway pyramid scheme claims since this would be completely impossible in a true pyramid or Ponzi scheme.

The Amway pay structure is pretty complex and difficult to explain precisely via text, but here’s the gist of it.

You can recruit as many people as you wish, meaning you can build your group as wide as you want to. 

If you experience duplication in your team and they all sell, recruit, and teach their IBOs to do the same, you can end up with a very deep group as well. And you can earn a small portion of commissions from an unlimited depth in your group.

The pay structure has been carefully and thoughtfully constructed however. It is built in such a way that if you sponsor only one person and that one person goes on to sponsor 10 or 20 people, that IBO will earn more money than you.

In this way, you are incentivised to teach your IBOs to perform well, but you are also highly incentivised to continue performing yourself too, rather than completely leaning on your team for your income.

If the Amway compensation plan chart below seems a bit confusing, you’re not alone. But it does go to show you that the creators of the plan put deep thought and nuance into it and attempted to negate the weaknesses that traditional MLM pay plans have.

The chart below shows the Amway compensation plan on a more macro level.

Bear in mind that no MLM team ever grows in a uniform way like this. Some people will recruit like crazy, some might recruit 1 or 2, and many people will never recruit anyone.

But it does illustrate the potential earning power over the long term IF you can create massive duplication in your team.

So I know you’re still wondering, how much money do Amway reps make? 

The top earners in Amway honestly make a staggering amount of money. Millions and millions of dollars per year. But you have to understand that they’ve put years into their business. And I’m willing to bet that they treated it very seriously, regardless of what their family members thought about it.

But according to stats from Amway’s official website, active IBOs earn an average of about $200 per month. That’s really not a lot of money.

It goes to show you that this is not some sort of get rich quick scheme. And honestly, I wouldn’t let that statistic stop me if I were considering joining the Amway business opportunity (which by the way, I’m not).

Just because the average person is making $200 per month, why should that mean that you would earn so little? Do you really think of yourself as average? Are you OK with the status quo?

I’m certainly not.

What Is Bad About Amway?

You’re probably thinking by now that I’m some type of shill for the Amway corporation. That’s definitely not the case. Nor will I attempt to have you join my own MLM company. That’s not what this website is about.

I simply want to deliver the truth about these companies, without all the hype.

Why Does Amway Have A Bad Reputation?

This company’s reputation is definitely not great, there’s no point in beating around the bush. I’m not here to sugar coat anything. The damaged reputation is for several reasons.

Amway Lawsuit 2019

The latest, and one of the most publicised lawsuits that Amway has faced was by a gentleman in California. He sued Amway for some reasons that to me, seem kind of silly.

He made claims that he spent the majority of his time selling and trying to recruit people into his organisation… well duh! That’s network marketing, my friend!

He was told that he was going to become an independent business owner through Amway but instead, he spent his time trying to grow Amway’s business. I mean, that seems like rather thin ground to be suing a network marketing company on.

Regardless, Amway ended up settling the lawsuit and paying this gentleman a tidy sum.

Luckily, you’re reading this article before you get involved, so you won’t be surprised by what you find if/when you get to become and Amway insider.

Besides this, Amway has been mired in many lawsuits in countries all over the world. While their products continue to be successful and their business continues to grow, public perception of Amway has certainly declined. 

This is probably one of the biggest downsides of trying to build the Amway business. It will likely be difficult to bring new people into your business since most people know about the Amway business opportunity and most of them don’t see it in a positive light.

But overall, is Amway a bad company?

I would certainly not say no. I’ve been in similar companies in the past (although never Amway), and the people tend to be very positive and empowering. They are incentivised to have you succeed, so everyone is more than willing to help you move forward in business and life.

One thing that you might find is that it feels sort of like a cult. I experienced a lot of dogmatic thinking, where many fellow business builders weren’t viewing the industry in a nuanced way. They felt that they had found the answer to all their woes, and that they needed to tell everyone on the planet about it.

This type of thing really turned me off.

But they meant well and I don’t hold it against them.

What Is The Success Rate Of Amway?

How much money does the average distributor make? As we talked about earlier, it’s really not that much… only 200 bucks a month.

But who cares?

You’re well above average anyway so if you want to be more successful, I’m sure you’ll be able to do so. Especially now that you’ve read this article and you know exactly what you’re in for.

Can you really make money with Amway?

As we talked about earlier, yes you absolutely can. I remember getting my first check from a network marketing company years ago.

It was kind of surreal because all my previous experiences with paychecks had always been trading my time for money. This is a pretty bad trade, since time is finite and money is effectively infinite.

As the late Jim Rohn said, “Profits are infinitely better than wages.”

Can you get rich off Amway?

Well, the answer to the previous question was a resounding YES.

But this one is a bit more nuanced.

Yes it is possible to become extraordinarily wealthy with the Amway business, but the statistics show that it’s really not that likely.

I believe this is because most new IBOs have the wrong idea and expectation about the business when they first get started. They think it’s all about selling products and recruiting business builders.

That’s only a part of it… the most important skill you will need to learn is teaching and educating. It’s the only way you will create true duplication in your organisation, and THAT is the only way you can possibly become wealthy in network marketing.

I wrote a full article here about what it takes to succeed in network marketing.

How Much Does It Cost To Join Amway?

In order to become an Amway independent business owner, you will have to pay an annual registration fee of $100, which has a 90 Day Money Back Guarantee. 

This fee covers marketing material and other tools that Amway provides you to assist you in recruiting people and selling their products.

Unlike many other network marketing companies, Amway doesn’t have a minimum purchase requirement for you to qualify for earning commissions. You get paid for product sales, not recruiting. At least not directly.

With that being said, be prepared… you will be highly encouraged to “be your own best customer” meaning they may want you to replace everything in your home with Amway products.

And to be honest, this is just good practice as a business owner. I mean, you wouldn’t start an auto repair shop and then bring your car to a competitor for an oil change, right?

How Do I Become A Distributor For Amway?

If you’re reading this and you’re considering becoming an Amway IBO, chances are that you probably were approached by someone about this business. If this is really what you want, reach out to that person and let them know that you’re ready to get started.

You may also want to consider reading this article I wrote where I outline all the main keys you need to consider if you really want to become a top earner in network marketing.

You could also consider learning how to build the business online rather than bugging your friends and family.

But if you’re pursuing a career in network marketing, I would recommend speaking to all the people you know first before diving into the internet marketing thing.