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From: db@cbosgd.UUCP (J. Muir)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: AMWAY
Message-ID: <1473@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Sep-85 20:58:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.1473
Posted: Wed Sep 11 20:58:56 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Sep-85 12:25:14 EDT
References: <39@csi> <2279@sdcrdcf.UUCP> <1531@peora.UUCP> <668@adobe.UUCP> <754@gitpyr.UUCP>
Reply-To: db@cbosgd.UUCP (J. Muir)
Distribution: net
Organization: The Bohemian Grove
Lines: 36
Keywords: AMWAY


You asked for unbiased advice, but all I can give you is my biased experience.

My best friend got involved in Amway and it nearly destroyed our friendship.
Even though he took the hoopla with a grain of salt, he still applied *lots*
of pressure to get me into it.  I resisted because I didn't like the hoopla
and (as with chain letters, etc.) didn't think I could find N acquaintances
gullible enough to join up under me.  My friend did manage to find a guy with
more chutzpah than smarts who went out and did lots of business; my friend
would be on easy street today if only he'd had enough people directly under
him (i.e., to sit back and skim off a percentage of all their sales).

We eventually managed to cool off and became good friends again.

Other things you should watch out for:
1) Amway has a strong "born-again" point of view: if you're not compatible
   with political and religious conservatism, then Amway is probably not
   for you.  This viewpoint shows up in their publications, pep rallies, etc.

2) The ideas and methods in Amway's "training tapes" require careful consider-
   ation before being applied.  For example, their tax tape (of a few years ago)
   encouraged the listener to avail himself of business-travel deductions for
   vacations and other marginal deductions.  The individual giving this advice
   was identified only as "a former IRS employee" and was later called before a
   Congressional hearing in which he testified that many of the deductions he
   was advising Amway people to take were not, in fact, allowable.

   I also noticed (on this tape, anyway) that Amway was never mentioned by
   name; it was always referred to as "this business".  Sort of makes you
   wonder if they're trying to hide something.

In short, my advice is to STAY AWAY from Amway (AND Herbalife AND sleazy
real-estate seminars AND ...).

P.S. One bottle of "Dish Drops" can last a single person with a dishwasher
several *years*. :-)