Amway

  1.  1

    Is the business model of Amway Hong Kong the same as other Amway markets?

  2.  2

    Is the bonus scheme of Amway Hong Kong the same as other Amway markets?

  3.  3

    What is direct selling? How is it different from pyramid selling?

  4.  4

    Direct selling is network marketing and participants can be successful just by building a large network through recruiting. Is that true?

  5.  5

    What are the fundamental differences between Amway's direct selling pattern and pyramid selling?

  6.  6

    Amway adopts a multi-level marketing pattern with a bonus scheme characterized by multiple award levels. Is this similar to fraudulent pyramid selling?

  7.  7

    Do Amway Distributors earn income without making any effort?

  8.  8

    How can Upline Sponsors benefit from the sales volume of Downline Distributors?

  9.  9

    At Amway, can Distributors attain higher achievement than those who join earlier than them?

  10. 10

    Does Amway guarantee that all Distributors can be successful?

  11. 11

    Some say the Amway bonus scheme benefits only the senior Distributors. Is this true?

  12. 12

    Why does Amway operate as a direct selling company instead of selling products through traditional channels like supermarkets and convenience stores?

  13. 13

    What are Amway's strengths in the market?

  14. 14

    Is Amway China's direct selling operation different from that of the overseas markets? How can China maintain the competitiveness of direct selling?

  15. 15

    Why multiple award levels are set up in the Amway bonus scheme?

  16. 16

    Some say, "Amway has a long history and the market has reached saturation. It is difficult for new Distributors to build a successful business." How will Amway respond to this kind of criticism?

  17. 17

    How does Amway handle misconduct among its sales force?

  18. 18

    What kind of training is provided by Amway to Distributors?

6    Amway adopts a multi-level marketing pattern with a bonus scheme characterized by multiple award levels. Is this similar to fraudulent pyramid selling?

Multi-level marketing is a lawful direct selling method and its nature is very different from fraudulent pyramid selling. The former provides excellent service and products to satisfy customers' needs, while the latter only aims at short term huge profit by recruiting new members and imposing high start-up fee. (Please refer to Bona Fides and Fraudulence.)

Multi-level marketing is a selling method which promotes products through distributors at a non-fixed location. Besides earning income through selling products and providing services, participants can also expand their sales networks and increase their sales volume by recruiting and training new members. This is similar to the way medium and large sized chain stores expand their business. The only difference is that multi-level marketing does not take place at a fixed location or retail outlet while chain stores have all sales activities carried out in retail outlets. In comparison, multi-level marketing enables distributors to start business without bearing high operating costs, allowing more flexibility and freedom in business management. According to the statistics provided by the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, over 80% of the direct selling companies in the world adopt a multi-level marketing scheme.

Amway adopts a multi-level marketing scheme to expand sales channels and it does not allow Distributors to derive interests from members who join at a later date. All Distributors buy Amway products at uniform distributor price and products are sold to customers at customer price. The characteristic of Amway's bonus scheme is trustworthiness and fairness, and the income of Distributors is determined by how much effort they pay. Distributors will not earn more income just because of their seniority or having more downline Distributors. Unlike fraudulent pyramid selling, the Amway scheme makes it possible for a Distributor to attain higher achievement than his Sponsor and Distributors who join at an earlier date. As for the Amway bonus scheme, it has set different targets for Distributors to achieve, similar to the promotion scheme of traditional business organizations.