Amway Visitor Comments

"I wish I had known about your site three years ago before spending thousands of dollars as an Independent Business Owner affiliated with Quixtar.com. I always felt a little funny about pressuring the people we signed up into purchasing tapes, function tickets, etc. I finally came to the realization after visiting your site, that I was scamming people. Thank you for all that your site offers. I feel a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and now I can move forward and get out of the debt the business has put me in."

"I've been out for five years and just now am recovering emotionally and financially. I wish to God I had those years back. I missed so much and lost so much. It's mind rape."

"A member of my family has been involved with Amway for ten years. He is getting nowhere and it is hurting his job and marriage. He takes trips all over the country at his own expense and it's causing trouble in his marriage. We have spoken to him and his wife and they say, 'Oh no, it has nothing to do with the business.' But of course we know differently. They have no money, even though he has a job and makes a good living. We believe all his extra money goes into Amway/Quixtar. It makes us sick."

"I lost all I had, great job, my financial future, my wife, children, and soul. With all that, there were moments where the future was mine for the taking and will never forget some of the special people and moments I had while in Amway."

"My wife and I were actively involved in the Amway business for over 3 years in the early 1990's. We never missed a function, bought all the recommended tools, and showed the plan at a maddening pace. It was only after losing my job (at a time when we were broke-from the Amway Business) that I began to drift away. There was literally no money to spend on the business. as 'sold' as I was on the business, it took the loss of my job and a lengthy period of unemployment to get me out. Coupled with our pathetic sponsoring rate, we were able to make a decision that it was not worth it to incur additional debt. I probably would have continued, but my wife had enough, and fortunately was able to disengage.We also had three small children at the time. As painful as the experience was, I have somehow managed to put it behind me, although I think about it occasionally. I wandered across your website tonight, and found the stories to be quite comforting. These stories, similar to mine, will never be told from an Amway stage. That would be negative. The good news is that there is hope on the other side! I read about all the lawsuits being filed amonst the diamonds, I must admit a sense of vindication."

"I read your page about Amway/Quixstar and the same stuff happened to us.One day at a store some really nice guy approaches my wife and I. He said, 'You look familiar, did you play baseball in college?' We kept talking, even though I never played baseball and didn't know this guy. He never really said too much about his business and we enjoyed him a lot, so we exchanged phone numbers. A few days later he called and we end up going out to eat with him and his wife. At the end of the dinner he briefly mentioned that he had this business meeting that same night. He invited us and so we went. My wife and I were seriously thinking of giving Quixstar a shot until we researched it more. I was almost sucked in. It was part of a scheme how this guy approached us. He looked good, clean cut and knew how to talk. The hardest thing for my wife and I now is that we really liked these people."

"I was just about suckered into Quixtar, but thankfully I did a little research first. I was approached by someone at a store who started a conversation by asking me if I had ever worked for IBM. Well, actually I once did. So we started talking and this eventually led to his part-time business in e-commerce. He told me what a great opportunity this was, and then we exchanged phone numbers. One week later he called and told me about some seminars. So I went to one and checked it out. He then came to my home and gave me some literature and audiotapes. Later he gave me some sample products and then asked for a fee of $99.00. I thought that I would pay the fee at the next meeting, but then I did some research about Quixtar on the Internet and didn't like what I found out. It seems like a big 'brainwashing' scam. Before people jump into something it really helps to do some research first."

"I was approached by the father of a former co-worker about establishing a part-time income with 'a web-based business.' He said it would be better to hear all the information from his 'mentor' ('upline'). I was put through a meticulously produced presentation that lasted over two hours. Quixtar was the business, but Amway was only mentioned in passing, with no connection made between the two. Many things began to disturb me. Foremost, was the presentation's total lack of hard facts. Not once was it explained clearly how my income would actually be produced. Instead, the entire talk seemed to consist of appeals to emotion. Many things seemed to be held out like bait, to lure me in such as tropical vacations, new cars, etc. But of course there was a few hundred dollar fee to join. The next day I began looking things up on the Internet. Particularly surprising was Quixtar's connections to Amway, which they didn't explain to me. That sealed my decision--no way was I taking this further. I returned the informational disk to the recruiter and never spoke with them again. Potential victims of such schemes should study propaganda techniques, which often include incessant appeals to emotion."

"Terrific section on Amway. Back in 1980, I was 19, the economy stunk and I needed an extra income. I became an Amway distributor, vulnerable as I was at that time. Fortunately, I bailed out quickly, nearly $90.00 poorer, but much wiser. Several years later a co-worker kept talking endlessly about a 'great business opportunity.' He wouldn't let up about it, but refused to tell me what it was. To find that out, I had to go to one of their weekly meetings. I refused, unless he told me what it was. He still wouldn't say, but kept up his pitch. I kept thinking it had to be Amway. After two months he finally told me it was Amway and was genuinely puzzled when I said that I had no interest in it. That man needed a cult deprogrammer--badly."

"I was lured into an Amway meeting in South Africa. If I had known it was Amway I would have never gone. They call themselves 'Network 21', but they sell only Amway products. I noticed at the meeting that the people sounded like clones. The leader refused to answer any of my questions and insisted instead that I refer to the person who invited me. In this way they seem to use the trust of a prior relationship to avoid any logical questions. I believe that Amway promotes cult-like behavior and that they worship money, in an unhealthy way. I suspect that these puppet masters want more than just money, they want control."

"My sister got involved with Amway a few years ago, and I almost got into Quixtar. Good thing my sister warned me, or I am sure I would have nothing now!"

"Just heard that Amway has a new Internet thing about to happen called a2k."

"Thank you for your informative website, especially your information regarding Amway. My husband and I are distributors, but we are getting out, in part because of the information we got from your site. Thanks again for such a wonderful site!"

"My husband and I have been in Amway for six years and we are still not making a dime, but my husband is SO dedicated. I went to all the meetings, read the books, listened to the tapes for five years, but now I want out. We fight all the time about this. It seems as if he's always out showing the plan or going to a meeting and not home for our family. He has really worked the system. Always out meeting people and showing 'the plan'. He looks good, smells good, talks good and yet nothing. I've heard him 'bend the truth' to new prospects and say whatever he can, but it's really scary because he finds a way to justify anything he says."

"Lots of great information for the skeptics looking at Amway. I'll put this information to great use, thank you. Also loved the song in the background, found it very fitting to play 'Money' by Pink Floyd--nice touch".

"I have left my husband of four years-- the man I love more than anything in this world. I am positive my story is not a unique one, nor am I the only person suffering because of Amway. I endured two years of being called "negative", "unsupportive", "non-Christian", and basically a bad wife--by both my husband and his "upline". I finally told him he had to choose [between Amway] and me--even if he only stopped for six months. I had already packed--because I knew which was more important to him."

"Once upon a time there was a happy couple and one child--they were a typical American family. One day a huge BEAST entered their lives. The beast's name was THE SYSTEM--first it stole the happy couple's money, just a little at a time until it was gone--There were IMPORTANT tapes to buy and books too."

"I stumbled on your web site while researching Amway and its efforts to suppress free speech. Please continue your work against this dreaded scam and hopefully people will start to realize what a hypocritical corporation it is.

I have bookmarked your site and will check regularly for any new information.Best of luck in the future."
-- Ireland

"I just wanted to express my thanks for what you are doing here. My wife and I were recently approached by a friend touting 'quixstar', a subsidiery of Amway and their newest way of screwing the hopeful and desperate [sic]. Check out their site @

http://www.thefutureofbusiness.com ."

"I am the wife of an Amway victim, but out of pride and embarrassment (in my opinion) my husband still defends them. He lost money, not a fortune, but more than was necessary. The contracts they have people sign seem to cover everything so well--obviously to protect them from lawsuits."

"We too are ex-Amway distributors and very angry ones at that--having wasted three years, a small fortune and almost lost our marriage!"