Quixtar Widow

Quixtar Widow

An honorable mention!

Me, my Dad and Kumar

I'm the middle man!

1000 PV leadership in NJ - $300
Classic tapes - $500
"Financial advice" from Kumar - Priceless!

FormerDiamond: Let Them Speak for Themselves

Feature article: Former diamond's former blog

Let Them Speak for Themselves

I had a funny situation occur yesterday. I was retrieving something out of a storage area that I seldom use. When I moved a couple boxes I found some recordings I thought had been thrown out. There were dozens in the box. As an aside, when I left that business I threw away

thousands upon thousands of tapes.

I stuck my hand in the box and randomly pulled out 4 tapes. I walked over to a tape player and plugged them in one by one. Within seconds of each tape I heard the following clips. Let me state in advance, for the purpose of disclosure, I did not play each tape for more than a few moments to find this information. I can only imagine what I would findif I listened all the way through.

1. Jerry Meadows- click here

You mean to tell me that all I have to do in the next 60 days to go direct is to listen to a tape a day and read 30 minutes and go double go-getter? If that is the case I cannot imagine why there are not thousands of new directs each month.

2. Jerry Meadows- click here

Once again, I did not know that selling products was optional. I assumed that mlm regulations mandated the selling of products. However, when Jerry said sell and/or sponsor people I can understand why peoplethink that selling is optional.

If I am not mistaken, Jerry sits on the IBOAI board. In that position are we to assume that his views are endorsed by Q and his fellow tenured-pins?

3. Billy Florence- click here

Maybe this is why people follow blindly. They are asked to simply "...do it on total faith." To listen to Billy explain the reading and his empahsis on listening to tapes one would assume it is the only way to grow. If I am not mistaken, Billy sits on the IBOAI board. In that position are we to assume that his views are endorsed by Q and his fellow tenured-pins?

4. Jody Victor- click here

When I was a distributor the corporate literature said that tools are optional. To listen to Jody however, one would assume that the only way to build the business is through the tools. Didn't he say,“...that's what builds the business?” If I am not mistaken, Jody sits on the IBOAI board. In that position are we to assume that his views are endorsed by Q and his fellow tenured-pins?

5. Fred Harteis-click here

I can only assume that Fred actually sees his former distributors this way. He did say, “...If you don’t want to build the business...” One of the statements I hear from people day after day, is that they were afraid of quitting because they did not want to be viewed as losers. I wonder where they got this impression? Listen for yourself.

If I am not mistaken, Fred sits on the IBOAI board. In that position are we to assume that his views are endorsed by Q and his fellowtenured-pins?

I thought I would share these statements of the so-called leaders with you. This is the information I received as I worked my way through that business. Based on the feedback I receive...not much has changed.

Additionally, I thought I would share Rich DeVos' satements regarding some of these issues. By the way, all of the clips from above were recorded more than a decade later than Rich's. Maybe they did not hear what he had to say...then again, maybe they do not care.

1. Click Here
2. Click Here
   
3. Click Here
   
4. Click Here

I wish you the best.

Sincerely,
Bo

The preceding comments are based on my experiences and opinions.

Quixtar Playbook # 1

IBO posts are comically similar. Apparently they don't bother to read and just write an angry fiery message. In Quixtar boards they're known as "Straight from Quixtar Playbook".

Yours truly is compiling that book! It will save IBOs time. After all, they're busy doing some thing 'significant'. They can just copy paste, giving me $10 / message of course.

I'm so excited about them. Look at this dude. Are they supposed to be so negative about negativity? My upline (Ahmer Azam) taught me on our very first meeting you should be! If any one says any thing bad about Quixtar e.g. it's a scam, get as angry as they have said something bad about your family. (I swear, that's what the guy said. Driving on Hwy 401 W, August 2002)

Oh yea, too all you dummies who think it's a scam or whatever retarded comments you make, I guess Barnes & Noble, Bass Pro Shops, Circuit City, Office Max, Nike, Rebock, Whirlpool, Jockey, KB Toys, etc. Oh wait yea Ace Hardware just joined recently to Quixtar. Perhaps they all thought it was a good idea and not a scam, perhaps they wouldnt tarnish their image on a scam. Yea, I'm sure you dummies know more about business than those about those large corporate businesses. Oh and by the way, I have many other physicians as friends who are profitable in this business. And one more thing to point out, Wal-Mart has 15,000 negative websites and thousands of lawsuits per month. But it looks like you dummies need to post more stuff about Wal-Mart and how evil they are, and how much they scam people and what-not. Yes and it is 50 Cents to make a CD and $8.00 to buy one in the BWW organization. So I guess you morons are too dumb and end up buying music CD's for for $14-$16. Hey it costs 2X as much to buy a non-learning music CD but I dont hear you idiots complain? Oh yea and for those of you who talk about Quixtar being a scam or whatever. I own 2 businesses, a Spine rehab practice and my Quixtar business. And I guess you guys complain because it's fact, you are broke. Plain and simple. Large corporate business like Wal-Mart & Quixtar will continue to make money while you stay broke. Hah I bet none of you complainers own a business. I own a conventional business and a multi-level marketing business so I know both well. I know none of you complainers have the guts to own a conventional business, which is why you cry. Whiners and babies. WAHHHHHH! I can't make money so I have to down a business that does. WAHAAAAH. Seriously, that's exactly what you sound like. Hah you guys make me laugh. Keep posting I love looking at what morons have to say from time to time to relieve my stress from work.

Blog Schedule

• One Playbook entry every Monday
• A featured article every Tuesday
• About my LOS / Upline every Wednesday
• Regarding Freedom of Speech every Thursday
• A political post every Friday
• Trivial stuff on Saturday
• A pimp idea on Sunday

Hakuna Matata!

Doing vacation thingy

Oh yeah! Be back on next Monday!

MLM - Network Marketing Cartoons

MLM Cartoons

That's funny :) And that site rocks!

Learn about scams

makingtherun.com :: View Forum - Is It A Scam?

Be aware of MLM Scams. MakingTheRun is a great forum administered by Fred. He's in Quixtar. But he does it differently, without tools.

He, and some other posters have tremendous knowledge about MLM and bonus plans. If you are prospected by an MLM, chances are it will be there. Or you can ask and they can tell if the plan is legit / profitable or not.

My favourites are:

• Market America
• Top 10 scams from 2000!
• Primerica
• Paid to surf, paid to read email
• Xango
• Mangosteen

I really don't mind the way these guys do their Quixtar business. In fact, I have linked some of them. Wierd, but honest guys!

If you want to read about Quixtar, in a 'positive' way, you should go to that forum.

Walter Bass

An email interview of Deb (known as gimpymommi in MLM Survivors Club and What About Quixtar), grand daughter of Walter Bass. It is about her family involvement in Amway / Quixtar.

---

What was Mr. Walter Bass's Education, expertise and professional experience prior to his involvement in Amway?

My Grandfather, Walter Bass, had an outgoing manner and innate business savvy-ness that help him become a person who was very involved in the community. He was the Sales Manager for a local radio station; a Realtor (President of the State Realtor's Association); active in the Elks Club (Lifetime Member) and Junior Chamber of Commerce (State Chairman); taught the first Dale Carnegie courses in Grand Rapids (where he met Rich DeVos and Jay VanAndel) and helped in the startup/incorporation of the "American Way Co.", where he served as a mentor to Rich and Jay, and President of the Board of Directors for the first 12 years. (My mother joined him in his business in the mid-60s; and served as the Executive Administrator to the B.O.D.)

How big his organization was? Bonus check and structure?

While teaching the Carnegie course, he signed on as a distributor for Nutrilite under JA-RI (Jay and Rich's business name). By the time Amway was formed, he had maybe 100 distributors in his downline - most of whom chose to become Amway Distributors, also. I believe it was in 1979, that he achieved the level of Emerald distributor. By then, his "strong leg" which included Hansens/Victors...and on down to Yager/Britt; and was the single largest LOS in Amway. The best year ever was 1995, when the Emerald Bonus was over a half-million dollars.

Did Mr. Walter Bass do something in 1979 FTC case against Amway?

In 1979, my Grandfather was one of the folks who testified before the Senate Subcommittee investigating whether Amway was a pyramid scheme or not - I believe his strong commitment to retailing, plus the fact that he had people in his downline who were higher pins and made more money than he did - certainly helped sway the decision that it was NOT illegal.

Was he and / or his downline involved in BSM a.k.a. Tools?

In my Grandfather's downline, some high-level distributors (most notably Dexter Yager) were developing a new way to make money - by selling training and motivational "tools" and holding functions. He was vehemently opposed to this concept - said that new recruits should be helped in any way possible, for FREE, to make a profit. His own business offered free shipping and handling to any distributor until they achieved the 15% bonus level; and he maintained a warehouse that held $25,000 worth of inventory, for quicker service. We had an Accounts Receivables - payment for orders was expected 30 days after shipment, to help distributors collect their profits from their customers; and we accepted Visa and MasterCard. "Sales Boosters" such as the Artistry Sample Kit were loaned for free, and informational literature was given freely. He strongly encouraged retailing - and most of his immediate downline had retail customers. No matter what he was able to do for our "personal group" distributors - he was powerless to stop the AMOs from their vampire-like tactics in the "legs" below our immediate group.

How much profit BSM downline generated for you?

By the time of his death in 1993, there were several AMOs in our downline - and *IF* any of our immediate downline wanted access to tools or functions, we put them in touch with Skip Ross, who was affiliated with Network 21. At no time ever, did we receive any kind of AMO money; and we warned our downline that these items were optional and very likely to cut into their profit margins.

Did Amway collected some data from you?

Our group certainly seemed to be profitable - we were very aware of their retail sales because we often shipped directly to their customers! And in the mid-90's, this seemed to catch the attention of the Amway Corporation...we were "audited". I, as the business manager, had to provide invoices and a "payment trail" for every order I placed for an entire year. I've never heard of anyone else having to do this (it was a royal pain-in-the-butt) - but in hindsight, I wonder if the Corporation was collecting evidence, should it ever have to prove to the FTC that they enforced their own retail-sales rules???

What your downline experienced in Amway -> Quixtar shift? Was it a smart move in your opinion? What do you recommend to IBOs?

In 1999, the changeover to Quixtar was awkward, to say the least. Our long-time distributors were confused by the new terms; and many of our long-time IBOs did NOT use computers. They felt their identities were being taken away. Some of our 100PV-per-month IBOs (the backbone of the business, if you ask me?!) were giving up. It seemed even Amway didn't know from month-to-month who they were or where they were headed?? I couldn't help but feel the Corporation was being pulled apart by the desires and financial clout of the AMO Kingpins...

And Quixtar may ultimately be the undoing of Amway. The same computer-savvy folks that are recruited into Quixtar, are also able to find information on the internet that speaks less-than-glowingly of the scam of the AMOs and how the Corporation tacitly supports them. I have been a member of a few well-moderated forums regarding this. Once in a while, I stumble onto a person of great integrity, who chooses to run their Amway/Quixtar business above-board and without the AMO tools - I try to support these good folks as much as possible because they have hard work ahead of them. But too many people buy into the "5-year plan for financial freedom" and since this is pure AMO rubbish - I advise these folks to run as fast as they can!

Do you think there is a problem with Quixtar?

Until the Corporation has the backbone to stand up to the AMOs and clean up their act (if it didn't happen in the '80s [see the Postma Memo]- I'm sure not holding my breath now) the once-good name of Amway will always be tarnished by the AMO scam. I see the children of DV and VA positioning the Corporation to be less reliant on the MLM product sales - and with good reason. I predict that some day, they'll just sell out the MLM portion to the AMO kingpins; and continue their other pursuits.

How about rumors on boards about your family? And how much truth is in them?

I appreciate Imran giving me a chance to tell about my family's involvement with Amway. I'm proud of the integrity and ideals we maintained while running our business. I have seen the good side of Amway; and read/heard too much about the bad. Certain people have taken my words, twisted them, added their opinions, and posted them on forums I choose not to participate in - I hope that folks who read those lies will see the real truth here?

Deb

Zero growth in Quixtar?

InternetRetailer.com - Daily News for Wednesday,August 17, 2005

For its 2005 fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31, Quixtar expects web sales to be about $748 million, essentially the same e-commerce revenues as 2004. “Sales will be about the same this year,” Brancino says. “But we expect to grow web sales nicely in the 2006 fiscal year.”

Same revenue means zero growth. It is ok for an eCommerce site. But what does it tell about MLM status? No team exploded? Same revenue means same number of IBOs. Shouldn't be any new Diamond then. Unless some previous ones fell out of qualification.

This is another flaw of MLM. Same revenue is not a bad thing but in Quixtar, it means that all the plan showing, tape listening, driving the miles didn't help any one move forward. Or some volume generating IBOs moved backward and some moved forward.

He Must Be Exhausted

Another Entry from Former Diamond's Former Blog

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It seems as though little has changed since I was a distributor. I still marvel at the words uttered by the so-called leaders as many attempt to steer their loyal distributors around the truth. They must be exhausted, as Dateline NBC and the Internet have made finding the truth so much easier.

On the one hand, some claim to offer a first-class Internet–based business, while demeaning the Internet itself. Who then are you to believe? They dismiss the Internet as a source of bad information but claim to have the best Internet business on the planet.

The other day while I was reading this site I came across a recording attributed to Greg Duncan.
CLICK HERE

As I listen to Greg's advise, he appears steadfast about not reading what…
Toby from Tacoma
Phil from Philadelphia
Valerie from Vancouver
…have to say. He seems to dismiss them as not credible. He seems adamant that you must look to publications like Forbes Magazine and other noteworthy sources of information.

While I disagree with his apparent assertion that the aforementioned individuals have nothing to add to the discussion, for the time being, let’s do what he asks.

THEREFORE

Was he referring to Forbes.com from 6/25/01:"
…By joining organizations like Quixtar, you're more likely to fill your shelves with bottles of shampoo than to fill your bank account with cash."

Or this Forbes article from 12/9/91:
"…Known inside Amway as the "Black Hats", these master distributors frequently indulged in excessively high-pressure methods of exploiting their foot soldiers, persuading them to shell out hundreds of dollars each for distributor-produced books, tapes and even unrelated products and investment schemes. The problem: if Amway's distributors make a lot of money from selling such promotional materials (as opposed to actual products) to new recruits, then it again raises questions of an illegal pyramid scheme."

Maybe he was referring to Amway’s own corporate official that wrote in his analysis of two of the largest "training" systems: Click Here
"…Loyalty and dependency is the ultimate objective of the ‘system.’…”

“…So, while friendships are being developed, a dependency is also being created. It is this aspect of their methodology that has allowed for charges of ‘mind control.’…"

"…I think there is little question that is where the big money is made..."

Or the gentleman that is considered in many legal circles to be the "father of the RICO statutes". G. Robert Blakey, who wrote:
"It is my opinion that the Amway business is run in a manner that is parallel to that of major organized crime groups, in particular the Mafia. The structure and function of major organized crime groups, generally consisting of associated enterprises engaging in patterns of legal and illegal activity, was the prototype forming the basis for federal and state racketeering legislation that I have been involved in drafting. The same structure and function, with associated enterprises engaging in patterns of legal and illegal activity, is found in the Amway business." Click Here

Or maybe he was speaking about the co-founder of Amway, Rich DeVos who said: Click Here
"…It is our firm belief that unless we clean up our abuses, we won't have to worry about what's next; we won't be here to worry about it. At this point in our history, we will either take charge of this business and operate it correctly, according to the rules and regulations that the Amway Corporation has given you, or we will not deserve to exist…”

Or maybe he was referring to someone that actually showed 1358 plans in 4.5 years, night after night, went diamond, and sat in the room with senior corporate officials as they divulged their knowledge about the "tool" business...like me.
Click Here

Maybe, Toby from Tacoma, Phil from Philadelphia and Valerie from Vancouver may have something to add to this discussion...and he is simply exhausted! Just maybe he does not want you to know the truth.

Sincerely,
Bo

The preceding comments are based on my experiences and opinions.

Products of Heaven

Winter 2003. We were in training session after open in Radisson Hotel, Toronto. Speaker called a lady. She told that her son swallowed SA8 and she dialed medical help. They assured her that Amway SA8 is safe. If it was TIDE or some other product then the baby had to go to hospital.

CLAPS.

Couple months later, my mom and sponsor lady were doing a SAM session. Sponsor lady was an "Expert" of that. D'oh, one client had a reaction to an artistry cream! Maybe skin diagnosis was wrong, I dunno.

My point: Quixtar / Amway products are no more safer or better than the products out there. Unless you are better with artistry than your kids, I really don't see an "absolute" reason to use these products.

Ugly truth: There's always a better and cheaper product out there. Does that mean other products are not sold? No. In fact, with good marketing techniques, some average products do more business. Wal-mart products are average quality, yet their sales sky rocket. For many products they sell, there is a cheaper / better product somewhere.

But wal-mart has a pimp marketing / distribution strategy.

In that SAM session, we generated a lot of PV for our downline, but our personal clients were finished in last SAM session and we didn't have much sale. We bought 300 PV again with of course, subtle pressure from our "God gifted" upline. He was going to "retire" in December 2004, F.Y.I.

O the people I haven't punched.....

Lying Liars and..Fair and Balanced look at Jim Reed

Quixtar / Amway boards and Jim Reed go together. In my opinion he's not good for the boards. Here are my observations about him.

Jim Reed the Joker

Well, he is funny. That's the only thing I like about him. Despite his nuttiness, I consider him a friend for that. And if I don’t post for few days, he misses me :) Hopefully in a non gay way.

Jim Reed the Troll

In my opinion he's a forum troll. Others think it too. All he say is:

People don't fail at amway because they didn't work hard. That's not why they fail. They fail because they joined a pyramid where the average net profit is below zero. They didn't know this, and even when they leave most still don't know it, but as the financial reality catches up with them, one way or another they quit and walk away with their losses. It couldn't be any other way.

I agree with it, almost. That's not the problem. "Root of the problem" is repetition. You go to quixtarBlog Forum, MLM Survivor club, What about Quixtar, nothing else. He's stuck on "The pyramid is negative" a.k.a TPIN, MLB (Million lost Billions) and amway was a bad idea from the start. Any one involved is to be "blamed". Specially the ones who made money as they made money from the losses of the others. If some one do MLM honestly, he's providing the cover to the scam.

He never provides any link or data, except pasting saved conversations and platinum index numbers from amquix.info.

And that's pretty much it. He keeps "blaming" any one he wants, is answered 1000 times and claimed he was never answered. Soon he monopolizes the board and nothing else could be discussed. That's what he wants, attention. When told not to do so, he replies:

I think this needs to be said, and maybe even repeated if people don't want to listen, even if it means being removed from every one of the boards, that would be OK if it happens because it would mean this monkey is off my back and it doesn't have to be said any more.

He can troll any topic, e.g. Canada. But he likes Quixtar, errr Amway.

Jim Reed the Character Assassin

Jim has a "thing" for a poaster "Deb" a.k.a "gimpymommi". She is grand daughter of Walter Bass, built a huge retailing business, didn't participate in tool scam. Dexter Yager is deep in their downline.

Jim insults her family quite often, saying that they "benefited" from "pyramid" and must be "blamed". Here is explanation from Deb that why it is character assassination. It gets worse, and includes stalking and name calling.

Right, I am getting your family confused again. It is your father who is the ambot, isn't it?

And now he blaming her the Baboon Brief board. Deb was dragged to What About Quixtar and about to there as well. Just to defend herself from character assassination. I'll be soon publishing a report on Walter Bass, with her help to clarify it further. Follow above links, he has been answered many times.

Jim Reed the Conspiracy Theorist

The guy is paranoid, and doesn't trust any one. Say some thing not bashing MLM, you are "still under the spell". He'll start on any one. Won't even trust the site admins. Here is gem. He accused two posters to be same person, despite site admin denying it. Both of them criticized on tool scam, and hence Jim concluded they were from the "forces of amway"!!!

It is also one of his theories. If you say any thing bad about tools or Kingpins, you are letting amway get away hence you are in this conspiracy theory. Good stuff there.

Also, he kept on insisting he "debated Bill Britt".

How to handle him

Admins: If you want discussion to the point, ban him. He was banned from quixtarBlog Forum and MLM Survivor for good reason. Moderators were too easy on him. Trust me!

If you just want more posts, let him stay. He won't let you down.

Posters: Ignore him. If you think you can convince him, you can't. All he wants is a response from you. Then he'll drag it to pages. If you want to build up your post count, just talk to Jim!

What does he need?

More cowbell, and mild spankning. He said he has some troubles with his wife. I hope he works them out. Here is another example of craziness.

I believe he needs professional help.

Republicans hate me, I hate republicans

Yeah it is a political post, but instead of fighting on some one else's blog, I'm gonna say it here. Expect one political post per week.

Republican Party

In my opinion, republicans are not really that far off from Ku Klux Klan. Hatred and intolerance is there, just not as visible as in KKK.

So republicans hate me. They do. Don't say they don't because it is my experience. I'm from a visible minority in North America. And this is my experience. I try not to provoke any one. Here are the precautions I take:

• I don't block traffic for stupid rallies.
• I don't play my folk music loud. Personally I hate music. All kind.
• I dress according to the culture here.
• My religious festivals don't cause any inconvenience.
  
• I pray quietly.
• I don't shove my beliefs down any one's throat.
• I don't look any one down who don't share my belief. I expect the same.
• Outside mosque, I'm just another North American. North America is my home.
• I'm working on my accent. It's the letter "T" and "D" I need to work on.
  

However, I can not change who I am. And for that they hate me.

Here are the following characteristics of Republicans

• American invasion of Iraq was absolutely right. Al-Qaeda has a letter Q, so does Iraq. That's clear link right there.
  
• What ever the President Bush does is right. Despite he has lower than monkey IQ and an impressive resume, don't criticize him.
  
• Innocent people die on 9/11. Now its fair to kill as many innocent people as possible. Its democracy.
  
• People hate America because of our freedom.
  
• Americans outside America are not very safe. It's because world is crazy. We didn't brought it on ourselves.
  
• We have a lot of women abuse ourselves. But we can label any government as wife beaters and our public will love it when we carpet bomb them.
• Suicide bombing is bad, real bad, but carpet bombing is good.
  
• We kill thousands of people so there can be democracy in their country. CIA also overthrew 20 or more democracies. But don't talk about it.
  
• Any thing bad about "Right" is a conspiracy of liberal media. Discard it immediately, just because it is in liberal media.
  
• Liberals are communist.
  
• Minorities are bad. They are not white, they are bad. Although America has a negative population growth without immigrants, we should hate immigrants any ways.
  
• God gave America to white Christians, and that's the way it should be! (God gave American to Native Americans, one we genocide, and our population has negative growth as we party more and live normal married life less)
• There is no fuel shortage or pollution problem. I can drive fuel crazy trucks if I want to.
• If you don't agree most of above points, you hate freedom.
  

Many people vote for GOP despite disagreeing above as they had no choice. Liberal wants to give tax money to crack addicts and homeless prostitutes. And some other stuff. That I don't like either. My point is, I'm not talking about those people who voted republicans to avoid such things. I'm talking to those who agree with most of the above. Many republicans do! And there is a reason.

Last century, it worked. Global community was not as visible and so was social intolerance. Super powers took advantage of poor countries and exploited them. Having such public was good for US development. Now good foreign relations are in need. China & Eoro are future economic giants. Smarter and popular than USSR.

In seventies, republicans didn't participate in civil right movements, did they? Now every one think "N" word is a bad word so they don't use it. They changed a little, but not that much. Else I won't be writing this post. Remember, I'm here for less than 5 years. How I know all this? Wait, Liberal media! No wait, my personal experiences.

Also, when you say some thing about it, immediate response is, "Hey I didn't disagree with point 1-9 of republican agenda". Well, you disassociate yourself with republicans. So I was not talking to you. Was I? You don't agree with these points so aren't you on my side?

Here is a gem of some one fighting on behalf of GOP while disagreeing with their policies.

Any ways, you hate me, I hate you. Doesn't get any simpler than that. Wait, I'm spouting hatred so I'm a terrorist. Right?

Three Diamond Myths

I'm posting an entry from former diamond blog. It was at http://formerdiamond.typepad.com/ and now its gone. I found it on archive.org. I'll publish one on every Friday. I like archive.org but don't trust them. Try searching TOD stuff there. Besides, Quixtar legal goons could pressure archive.org to remove it and BO won't even know it.

It is revealing what he has to say. He was in the "promised land". You may think you'll overcome the odds to reach there. Fired up! But what happens when you reach "there"?

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There are many myths associated with those people that attain the level of diamond. Among them, three stick out in my mind as a few of the most prominent. The “system”, established by the kingpins, and taught through the diamonds only perpetuates these myths. An important point to make is this; a diamond is not going to reveal the truths behind their business because they do not want their army to doubt their ability and question their direction. That is why they are directly involved in enhancing the legendary stories about each other.

The 3 myths I will discuss are:

1. Diamonds are free.
2. Diamonds are Diamonds
3. Diamonds would never manipulate their volume.

1. Diamonds are free:

The fact of the matter is they are not. In this instance I am not referring to the approximate 20 kingpins that have created enormous tool businesses. In my opinion, most of them are simply “hooked” on the power at this point. As well, it is important to point out that several of the senior diamonds have saved enough money to walk away with no financial concerns. I am referring to the bulk of the people that have ever worn a diamond pin.

Some people that are critical of my telling the truth as I lived it will simply discount my statements as untrue. They will tell you that they know their diamonds and they know they are free. They will say things like, “Call them at 10am from the office and you will find them just getting out of bed.” What they fail to tell you is that the reason they are just getting out of bed is that they did not get back form showing the plan until about 3am the night before. I would suggest that they have traded a daytime job for the mid-night shift. Most of the diamonds I knew worked harder and longer at this than at their former jobs.

Haven’t you ever wondered why they sell the idea of 2-5 years and then “you can go and do whatever your heart desires”; yet they are still doing the same thing. For many, it is not out of love for the “business.” As I traveled into 20 countries speaking for these people I found that many of them resented the business. Many of their children did as well, because it robbed them of time with their parents.

Important point: They are so busy simply because they are not duplicating anything, they are replacing what they have lost. That is the constant struggle. In the mid 90’s the company said the “business” had about 7 billion dollars in retail sales. If I am not mistaken that figure, which today includes all of the Alticor business, is in the $4.5 billion range. There is no freedom or duplication when you are apparently moving backwards.

Prior to my resigning, I spent many late nights with many diamonds as we spoke openly about the fact that there is no freedom. Unfortunately most of them do not have the courage to do anything about it. Why? Because they are not free and many are afraid of losing the only income they have!

2. Diamonds are diamonds:

Once again this is not true. Most diamonds were diamonds. I am a perfect example of this. Just like most emeralds were emeralds, and most 1000’s were 1000’s. It is no different for a diamond. The overwhelming number of diamonds I knew were not qualifying. They will not tell you that. It would undermine what you think of their leadership.

In my case I qualified once in 1995. I have been very open about this over the past 3 years. I wanted people to know that their diamonds are no different than their own 1000’s. Unfortunately, once you attain a pin you are always recognized for that pin. I believe, if your diamond actually wore the “pins they are” the army would flee as the truth would collide with the myth.

One of my problems with the pin system is the illusion that is perpetuated on the part of the emeralds and above. These are critical “points of control” in the line of sponsorship. Most platinums walk on stage and people say, “They are making $2000 month minimum. Most of the platinums I knew, in numerous “training” systems, were not making $800 per month.

Important point: Do not be misled by the average diamond income of $149k as represented by the company. If I am not mistaken that refers to the average qualified diamond. The question you should ask is, “What is the median income for the individual that wears a diamond pin whether they are qualified or not?” In my opinion, I would estimate that figure to be less than $100k.

Your diamonds would scoff at that. Then again, I remember when these same diamonds said, “there was no money in the tools.” My how things change.

3. Diamonds would never manipulate their volume:

With all due respect, this is nonsense. I am not referring to the kingpins who may no longer care about their qualification. I am referring to the average diamond that you look to for guidance. To assume that many of these people do not/or did not purchase volume to qualify at least once is silly. In other instances, many distributors miraculously went platinum thereby enabling an emerald to move on to diamond.

Why? Because it is how they have been taught to build the business. The language changes but the results are the same. When you are at 750 points many of distributors received a call from their upline encouraging them to buy 250 points. They say, “You will go 1000 and your group will see you and they will move on. Remember, leaders lead!” They call it “stretching.” The fact is that you just bought (manipulated) 25% of your business. What did this do to your upline? In many instances, it moved them along at your expense.

I discussed this in detail several years ago. I used my business as the example. I bought 2/3’s of my 6th leg in Honduras. I was there with a number of emeralds that qualified as diamonds alongside me. What was taking place was unspoken between us, as we all knew that the “language of it” was different than “stretching”. However, it was a practice that is taught to the newest person going after their first 1000 pin.

An interesting thing happens between the platinum and emerald levels; that is where the language changes. It is no longer “stretching”, it is “manipulating” or “buying volume.” The reason for the name change is simple; the upline does not want to share the tool money that now has to travel down to the new pin.

Important point: Whether you are at 750 going 1000 or an emerald going diamond, it is the same behavior, although the outcome is different. The 1000’s usually fall back to 800 points, but the new diamond gets a bigger piece of the tool money.

I do not know how many diamonds I spoke with that did the same thing. It is what they were taught as new distributors. Some bought vacuum cleaners, others bought vitamins, others sponsored family members that grew overnight, and others flew to foreign markets and came back with miracle stories. In groups where bonus checks and product pick-up was run through the upline and not the corporation the ability to transfer points was much easier.

As a disclaimer, I am not saying that this was true in every instance, but to assume it was uncommon is silly.

I believe that people need to understand that the loud voice booming through the microphone is not a wizard. In many instances it is quite the opposite. It is an individual that happened to work hard at the right time (I’ll discuss that in another commentary), get some lucky breaks along the way, and unfortunately, in many instances forgot the people that got them there.

Many diamonds I know are in denial, as they actually believe the publicity that precedes them. However, what many have forgotten is that the applause was taught by them to their teams. Many have a sense of entitlement to their position. While many are greedy, not all are. Many simply lack the courage to stand up to the kingpins.

The fact is however, that many of them are perpetuating something that they themselves did not do. Unfortunately, the army does not know this, so the army feels like they are losers and unable to accomplish something that is sold as “great.” The sad truth is, in my opinion, the average honorable distributor has not been told the truth in the first place.

Sincerely,
Bo

The preceding comments are based on my experiences and opinions.

Think and Grow Rich Blog

Think and Grow Rich Blog

And stay positive! It is good to stay positive ;) Stay positive about your job, family and friends. Don't be negative and get sucked into scams like Quixtar.

Suspected Murderers Couldn't Pass as IBOs

CNN.com - Cabbie: Couple's story didn't 'wash' - Aug 11, 2005

And

Full story

lawDawg reported on The Baboon Brief board:

Two fugitives suspected of having murdered a Tennessee prison guard in a courtroom escape couldn't convince their cabby they were headed to an Amway convention. What was the tell-tale clue that gave them away? Did the cabby know it's called "Quixtar" now? Nope:

"The cover story they gave me didn't really seem to wash too much," Wagers said. "I could kinda see through that. But I had no indication that these guys were really dangerous or they were on the run."

Wagers said he had doubts about the Hyattes' story because they "just didn't fit the type."

He said his suspicions weren't aroused by anything the couple said, except that they didn't try to aggressively recruit him after telling him they were Amway salespeople.

"You know, Amway people are all about Amway, and when they didn't -- when they didn't try any conversation further about it, that's when I pretty much thought, well, they're not with Amway," Wagers said.

During the ride, he said, he and his passengers "chitchatted about nonsensical things" and they told him they were from Virginia. They also explained that they were taking a cab to Columbus for an Amway conference because they had been involved in a car accident the day before.

"They didn't strike me as the Amway type because to be honest they weren't very pushy about their product and I've dealt with them before so -- that was my only real suspicion," Wagers said.

If you see it on CNN, The reporters and camera men where hysterical laughing in the background.

What a hoot!

A proud moment for Dick DeVos, Michigan's next Republican candidate for governor, and AmQuix IBO's everywhere.

Changes to the blog

I have recently made some changes to this blog.

• No more anonymous comments. Get a blogger account.
• 10 posts per page instead of 5
• Recommended links update
  

I made these changes before

• Trackback
• Recent comments
• Google ads
• BlogRoll

IBOs, golden opportunity for you. Many of you have shown your dislike for this blog. So tell me:

• You want me to close this blog?
• If so, what are your reasons?

Passport Using Subliminal Marketing Tactics (satire)

Late "Qrush" once accused QBlog for being a hired stooge of Bo Short. It seems wrong, but not so fast!

Look at the QBlog shop. Check out "Edify this" thong. Imagine a women wearing it. It will say "Edify this".

What will happen if she gets a wedgie? It will say:

"Ty this"

Seeing this subliminal message at the most desirable place will make you hug Ty. And we know Ty is the president of Passport.

Hence proved.....

Network Marketing Audio Training Clips

Network Marketing Audio Training Clips

I've listened some of them, just for the heck of it. MLM tapes for free!

And no, I don't recommend MLM. But if you are one of those negative netword marketers who don't want to pay for some thing that is and should be free, Enjoy!

Also, I 'won' this book Think And Grow Rich in some website as a free download. I'm sharing my 'winning' with you.

You're welcome!

MLM is icky, always was always will

MLM is really icky. Why is that? A lot of people who are not professional salesman join MLM and end up doing a lot of things they are not supposed to do. E.g. pressuring friends and family to buy stuff etc. or join them. How many of them do Natural Selling?

Majority of these people quit soon. And are replaced by new idiots. Cycle continues. MLM companies don't do much about it as such people are responcible for majority of their sales. In many cases, these people buy stuff they don't need to meet quota.

How can this be improved?

Why Amway changed its name to Quixtar?

Why would a company with 30 years of brand recognition change its name? Same plan, same business model, same lines of IBOs, same products. Then why change the name? Just because it's moving online? A lot of business moved online. They didn't change their name.

QBlog explained it very well, as quoted below. I have the same question, why Randy Haugen is so much favourite of Quixtar corp that he is awarded business of other ppl when they lose arbitration? He screwed them big time, yet he's rewarded big time?

The Baboon Brief :: View topic - JUST RECEIVED A THREAT

To put it simply, Randy Haugen is the reason Quixtar exists today. Without Randy's stupid mistake (being recorded as he spread the P&G Satanism rumor) we'd still be calling the business Amway in North America.

Here's what happened.

1. Rumors start up in the 1980s about P&G being a bunch of Satanists. Coincidentally, P&G was the "boogeyman" that Amway reps used in their recruitment pitches. "You don't want your money for soap going to P&G when you could be spending it on your business." As an aside, what company has replaced P&G as the "monolithic corporate boogeyman" in Quixtar recruitment pitches today?
   
   
2. There was no clear evidence that Amway started the Satanism rumor but for years P&G suspected that Amway was behind it and both companies "worked" together to stop the rumor.
   
   
3. Randy Haugen sent an AmVox message clearly spreading the Satanism rumor in the late 1990s (check the date on that). Now P&G had their proof and the lawsuits began. Remember that discovery and expert opinion are often part of such lawsuits.
   
   
4. At about the same time, Sydney Schwartz and Ashley Wilkes were running sites and participating in discussion boards that were not only critical of Amway but started taking a close look at the tool businesses. Remember that until the late '90s and early 2000, there was no system-wide admission that tool money constituted any portion of the leadership revenue. It was all described as "covering costs" with a very modest kickback.
   
   
5. As the P&G lawsuit progressed, information became publicly available that proved what Schwartz and Wilkes had been saying all along -- The real money is in the tools, not Amway.
   
   
6. Two important documents came out of the P&G lawsuits:
   1. Blakey Report and
   2. Postma Memo.
   
   
7. Others dissatisfied with Amway were now beginning to turn to the Internet to tell their story (Jeff Probant for example) and people like Schwartz and Wilkes gained credibility as their information was detailed and factual. Amway realized it had a problem and began an aggressive campaign to shut down the growing numbers of websites through legal manipulation and intimidation. Some of that worked but as you know, once something hits the Internet it can't be removed... ever!
   
   
8. Amway starts to see a significant decline in revenue and the so-called kingpins demand action. There had been talk about tapping into the "e-commerce" boom and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a clean break from the Amway baggage and reinvent the business. Around the same time the BSMAA was drafted and shoved down the IBOs throats to provide protection to the tool distributors as more and more of the rank and file became aware of the real money involved with tools.

There are some details missing, feel free to fill them in. The main point is that Randy Haugen started a chain reaction that resulted in the formation of Quixtar (at least in part), the drafting of the BSMAA and an overall admission that the tool business is where the real money comes from. If Randy had never made those recorded comments P&G would never have had the ammo to sue Amway and much of the documentation and admission would never have surfaced to give Schwartz and Wilkes the data they needed to give their sites credibility.

So, thank you Randy.

What's amazed me is that after such a boneheaded act, Randy is still very much in the fold. A business that seemingly discards its trouble-makers with ease (anyone remember Team in Focus?) has held onto Randy Haugen through thick and thin. Why? My only guess is that he's personally protected by Dexter or Britt.

Mrs. Scheibler's eyes

Image from: GOP For Sale...Blood Money?

There is something different about her eyes. Its the black rectangle I think. I thought it was only in www.merchantsofdeception.com but no sir. Her eyes appear as it is in turkish news paper as well. When you convert it to PDF, eyes stays the same.

Creepy part is the rectangle is always tilted. As we know it is quite normal to have a straight black rectangular strip in place of eyes but a tilted one?

My grandmother used to cover her whole body except her eyes. Perhaps it's the reverse version of that? I dunno. Anyways, I get the idea. If I ever post my wife's picture online, I'll make sure to cover her eyes. I would really not care about any thing else, but eyes are for sure important to cover. I don't want creeps looking into my wife's eyes. Who knows, some telepathy expert is out there and read her thoughts. You know how dangerous internet readers are these days? It’s a jungle out there! But once I’ve balcked out the eyes, my wife would be invincible and unrecognizable to every one. Even if I say it’s my wife, people won’t believe that. As long as the black strip is there.

But she really doesn’t appear strange when you see it in the Turkish news paper. Turkey is a weird country after all. With weird language and weird people and a weird president Mr. Bush. What a stupid name, bush! Sounds like porn. Only Turks would do that. Turkish Prisons are extremely inhospitable. Too bad eh! Prisons are supposed to be comfortable like those in Washington.

Also, who would name a country after a bird's name? Or may be Turkey is country of Turkeys! I heard they have 365 thanksgivings a year.

Anyways, I'm getting really scared from her picture. I heard she's a "berry berry" nice person, but I am "berry" scared.

Another google ad

Add 5, 10, 20, Even 30 New Associates Into Their Quixtar Business

Yeah, that's the ad running on my blog. Hmmm, this guy, Greg Gomez III knows how to ad that much reps, yet he's not doing it himself? Interesting...

You Will learn how to do it without the help of those expensive double-opt-in Internet lead programs, without pestering your friends or family members, and without having to sell your soul to the red guy downstairs.

Wow!

So those program are bad, his is good but he is not following that program himself. He's a hypocrite alright, but he's no idiot ;) He knows where the money is, Teaching!

What type of name is Greg Gomez III anyways? Was his momma in hurry or what?

When Dream is big enough

Mom, dad...

DSA website is so negative

My comments are in italics. Rest are quotes from DSA fake domain pyramid scheme alerts.com.

Protecting Yourself from Pyramid Schemes

Thousands of Americans have lost millions of dollars participating in pyramid schemes. Many of the victims knew they were gambling (although they didn't know the odds were rigged against them). Many others, however, thought they were paying for help in starting a small business of their own. These people were fooled by pyramid schemes disguised to look like legitimate businesses.

And there's a negative consumer alert as well

CONSUMER ALERT

Avoid dealing with salespeople who:

• Disparage other products or firms. (Satanism?)
  
• Confuse you, abuse your trust, or exploit your lack of experience or knowledge.
• Try to make you cancel a contract made with another salesperson.(BSMAA?)
• Falsely tell you they're taking a survey or you've just won a contest.(How bout joint venture of Microsoft and IBM?)

Avoid dealing with companies that:

• Charge a substantial entry fee (more than the cost of a sales kit).
• Pressure you to purchase large quantities of products.
• Do not repurchase inventory if you decide to leave the business. (Tools and products on eBay?)
  
• Sell few or no products to consumers.

What is a pyramid scheme?

Pyramid schemes are illegal scams in which large numbers of people at the bottom of the pyramid pay money to a few people at the top.

Things you should know about pyramid schemes

1. They are losers. Pyramiding is based on simple mathematics: many losers pay a few winners.


2. They are fraudulent.
   Participants in a pyramid scheme are, consciously or unconsciously, deceiving those they recruit. Few would pay to join if the diminishing odds were explained to them.

How ironic, LOL!

Google ads say PSA, redirect to DSA

Speaking of douche bags....

First of all special thanks to Eric Scheibeler for pointing it out, he saw a google ad saying "pyramid scheme alert" in many blogs, including mine and quixtar blog.

We all know PSA right?
Pyramid Scheme Alert. www.pyramidschemealert.org.

We know DSA as well. Direct Selling Association. Look at the board of directors. Word "Devos" is there right? Yup, owner family of Quixtar / Amway.

Now what is www.pyramidschemealert.com? It is redirecting to http://www.dsa.org/selling/pyramid.htm. Not only that, look at the google ads on my blog. Pyramid Scheme Alert.com. Here is the screen cap.

Who ownes this domain pyramidschemealert.com?

Seach "pyramidschemealert.com" here. http://www.allwhois.com

Registrant:
AMY ROBINSON
DIRECT SELLING ASSOCIATION
1275 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW STE. 800
WASHINGTON, DC US
20004

Registrar: NameSecure.com
Domain: PYRAMIDSCHEMEALERT.COM
Created on 04-14-2003
Expires on 04-14-2006

Administrative Contact:
AMY ROBINSON
Phone: 202-347-8866
E-mail: arobinson@dsa.org

Here is screen cap.

As we all know, Quixtar and folks use whatever it takes to silence the critics. Be it buying fake domains or google bombing. Don’t get me started on lawsuits. Running this google ad is not a fair play. I'll call it deception. The ad tells Pyramid Scheme Alert, a well known website, but redirects to DSA, another well known website. Doesn't it violate google ad contract?

Whatever, it's nothing else than misleading readers. Fair play would be DSA running their ads as Direct Selling Association. It's like coke running google ads saying drink milk and redirects to coke website. And of course, why else would they buy a domain Pyramid Scheme Alert.com? Could it be same as buying these? Well, pyramid scheme alert doesn't even have word "Quixtar" in its name. Or does it ;)

Quixtar is not Amway?

Amway Quixtar Business Myths - 18 reasons Quixtar is not Amway

1. The Amway corporation included Quixtar sales in their consolidated sales for the year 2000.
2. Quixtar line of sponsorships are using Amway data for their income claims.
3. Quixtar distributors can have an Amway business and combine the sales for bonus purposes.
4. Quixtar lines of sponsorship transferred intact from Amway.
5. Quixtar and Amway use the same Sales and Marketing Plan.
6. Quixtar distributes Amway catalogs to new Quixtar distributors.
7. Both Amway and Quixtar distributors are termed "IBO"s.
8. Quixtar and Amway are owned by the same families.
9. Quixtar is the exclusive WEB distributor of Amway products.
10. Quixtar and Amway utilize the same bonus schedule.
11. Quixtar and Amway call their top distributors the same names: Diamond, Emerald, Platinum, etc.
12. Amway distributors can sponsor new people as Quixtar distributors.
13. Quixtar distributors can sponsor new people as Amway distributors.
14. Quixtar and Amway share the same business rules.
15. Quixtar and Amway use the same domain servers.
16. Quixtar and Amway are both located in the Grand Rapids area of Michigan.
17. Amway employees went to work for Quixtar.
18. Quixtar utilizes Amway's distribution facilities.
19. Amway and Quixtar distributors get the Amway magazine "Achieve".
20. Quixtar and Amway are spelled differently.
21. Quixtar pays you instead of your Amway upline
22. When you call the Amway General Public Inquires line at 616-787-6000 you can get Quixtar information.
23. When you write the Amway info line, you can get Quixtar information.

Atkins diet company files for bankruptcy

Atkins diet company files for bankruptcy

The once mighty Atkins Nutritionals Inc, the multimillion-dollar company that produces the low-carb products that feed the diet craze, filed for bankruptcy protection in a Manhattan court after recording a loss of $US340 million ($A446 million) last year.

And there's a reason for it. Health craze over. Eating expensive bars / shakes / vitamins don't do jack unless you get off your fat butt and excercise.