Pyramid Schemes...

Hi

A good friend of mine from the USA recently asked me on Facebook about Amway and other Pyramid Schemes and if it was ok to get involved with that. He asked me what I felt about this ‘get rich scheme’. I gave an honest reply, which was also somewhat sensible. Here is my modified reply:

As far as Pyramid Schemes go, they are fake. The main funda in a Pyramid Scheme is simple: If you wanna get in, get in at the top, as early as you can. Then only will you become very rich, because it is a self-sustaining cause - the more you get people under you, the more you get rich, but those above you get richer even more.

I guess Amway schemes are different - you get paid for what you sell and what the people under you sell (if what I heard about Amway so far is true). So if you don't make the sale, you don't make the money. But it's something that is not looked as a positive thing in most people’s eyes. In the initial days it will surely consume a lot of your time, you will have to invest time (and some initial money also) to succeed. But it's upto you as a person if you think you can make the sales, as people usually do not like to be approached for sales that easily.

Besides, it's a slowdown in the USA (and is expected to last for more than 2 years), so products will not sell, unless they are absolutely necessary and inexpensive. The majority of Amway's sales (60%) today come from the Health & Beauty sector, which is something that people do not count on wasting money on in such times.

I was involved in a Pyramid Scheme in college (Engg. days) and I found out later that it was pure Pyramid Scheme. One guy in my college who made a whole lot of money in that scheme after 2 full-years into it. He used to roam all around making speeches and spoke well and attracted people to the scheme a lot.

So my verdict - Don't go for it unless "you really want the money" (which will take a long time to come into your hands) and unless you have the time to invest in it.

Ciao for now.