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Merchants of Deception: An Insider's Chilling Look at the Worldwide, Multi Billion Dollar Conspiracy of Lies that is Amway and its Motivational Organizations
Merchants of Deception - Written by a former government auditor and high level Amway insider who was the last one who wanted to discover massive consumer fraud. This book is gripping tale for anyone who has been or loves someone who has been recruited into a network marketing business. This well documented book has been utilized by government authorities in both India and the UK to take action against Amway's deceptive business scheme which knowingly has created losses for the majority of all induced to invest.
324 pages, Paperback
Published October 23, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 5, 2016
The first two thirds of this book were a fascinating insider's look at the practices adopted by multi-level marketing organisations, but the hysterical final third really could have benefitted from an editor. Also, mate, I'm sorry for your trouble an' that but just because you voluntarily purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of motivational tapes from scumbags in shiny suits who told you were worthless does not mean you were "repeatedly raped".
February 25, 2015
Anyone thinking of joining Amway (or anyone with a friend or relative thinking of joining) needs to read this. I found it quite by chance when looking for Amway's New Zealand web site which (at the time) was, for some reason best known to themselves, not amway.co.nz. We had already left Amway by then but the book was still a shock to me and it answered many questions I had when we were in Amway. One was, "They must be buying these tapes in bulk; therefore they'd cost less than a dollar. Why do they cost me $5-6? It must cost a fortune to have them recorded and copied." And of course it didn't. Some mug in the business with the right equipment was expected to do it free. Then there were the books—"Think and Grow Rich", etc. They were priced at approximately what they would have cost in the shops. What I didn't realise at the time was that Tony and Mary Henderson would have been able to get them from the publishers for the same price as bookshops paid, that is at about 40% discount on the retail price. My only comfort was knowing that my direct upline didn't know about the swindle because, having got no further than Pearl Direct, they wouldn't have been let into the secret of the high income of the Diamond distributors.
Another thing I remember was that, after reading "There's Gotta Be A Catch", I could see the catch all too clearly: after doing your 40-hour slog at your job you had to come home and do at least another 40 hours. Everyone denied it, but I didn't need to be a member of MENSA to work out that this is exactly what all the people in the book had done.
Memory puts my reading of this book a bit earlier than the date I've indicated (more like 2004) but this is the date on the archived copy so that's what I went with.
You can get a free copy of this book at http://www.transgallaxys.com/~emerald...
Another thing I remember was that, after reading "There's Gotta Be A Catch", I could see the catch all too clearly: after doing your 40-hour slog at your job you had to come home and do at least another 40 hours. Everyone denied it, but I didn't need to be a member of MENSA to work out that this is exactly what all the people in the book had done.
Memory puts my reading of this book a bit earlier than the date I've indicated (more like 2004) but this is the date on the archived copy so that's what I went with.
You can get a free copy of this book at http://www.transgallaxys.com/~emerald...
May 20, 2012
This is a modern variation on the classic uncle Laban story, in which the ego charms us into working for the false promises of the world. Anyone who has done any living should be able to recognize himself in this story. Eric Scheibeler tells it in a very forthright manner and with great honesty about his own personal horror journey within Amway, which not undeservedly has the nickname Scamway. My own exposure to Amway was through a lovely old friend who got completely wrapped up in it, and I ended up promising him to join, on the condition that I would remain in observer mode for six months, and I did. Then I decided that the Amway approach made no sense to me. But I've made plenty of other mistakes, and certainly I can find parallels in my own career to the personal insanity which Eric describes in this book, including the delusion that you'll be able to change the system when you get to a certain position, even while you also see that the system is rotten. In short it is a modern Faust story, and I guess Scheibeler is still working on Faust II.
January 1, 2021
I was SO intrigued by this book. Definitely worth a read if you’re researching Amway or any other multi-level marketing company. I really appreciated the insight from an insider who made it to top levels and was willing to expose the deception he found. One criticism is the repetition in the book. It could have been a much shorter book while still getting his point across. Very interesting!
November 7, 2015
Incredible and interesting book about the cult like behaviour of Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid marketing schemes. Gripping read.
December 9, 2017
I came across this self-published manuscript when I started researching multi-level marketing (MLM) companies, as a result of someone I know trying to recruit me into a 2017 incarnation of the scam. I had not heard of Amway before reading Merchants of Deception, but also don't feel I learned much about it via this 'insider' account. Eric Scheibeler is clearly not a writer, even a decent one at that; from a literary perspective, the book is put together haphazardly, almost stream of consciousness, there is no editing (incorrect page numbering, formatting errors) and it is full of cliches - starting with the chapter titles.
However, I do give him credit for taking the time and sharing his experiences with the world, even the level of deception and brainwashing that he was subjected to would leave many scratching their heads. I mean, if you are a federal auditor and you fall for a scheme where you are required to pay more into the system than you earn, that's a big red flag. Scheibeler spends a good deal of time analyzing what happened to him and his family that left them destitute after 9 years in the Amway network, but for some reason I can't seem to think of this as anything but the classic sucker story, even though I empathize with the author and the tribulations he endured.
There's a saying from my old country that bears repeating every time the story of another hapless victim crosses my path. It can be loosely translated as "keep your eyes wide open" (so that you can see a fraud coming from far off). Definitely applies here.
However, I do give him credit for taking the time and sharing his experiences with the world, even the level of deception and brainwashing that he was subjected to would leave many scratching their heads. I mean, if you are a federal auditor and you fall for a scheme where you are required to pay more into the system than you earn, that's a big red flag. Scheibeler spends a good deal of time analyzing what happened to him and his family that left them destitute after 9 years in the Amway network, but for some reason I can't seem to think of this as anything but the classic sucker story, even though I empathize with the author and the tribulations he endured.
There's a saying from my old country that bears repeating every time the story of another hapless victim crosses my path. It can be loosely translated as "keep your eyes wide open" (so that you can see a fraud coming from far off). Definitely applies here.
November 9, 2018
Recommended to me by r/antimlm to see the full damage that so-called "network marketing" can cause. Helpful to anyone looking to understand not just the financial but especially emotional toll of these exploitative "businesses," which is necessarily the first step in helping friends and family leave them.
That being said, the best part of the book is the first half/two-thirds. The inside look at how someone goes from mild interest to having their whole life defined by their MLM is well-written and informative. The last part, after he finally leaves Amway, reads more like writing-as-therapy than anything. It's abundantly clear the author has become obsessed with the need to somehow make up for his part in victimizing others through recruitment--although he had no idea that's what he was doing and stopped once he did realize he was harming people. He obviously lost a lot, both materially and otherwise, from his experience with Amway, and it's clear this is an almost-universal experience. But it's just as clear that he has yet to find the emotional healing and psychological health he seems to insist he has, and the effect on his writing makes it difficult to remember that he is, despite what reads as increasingly obsessive paranoia, a reliable narrator to the actual facts.
That being said, the best part of the book is the first half/two-thirds. The inside look at how someone goes from mild interest to having their whole life defined by their MLM is well-written and informative. The last part, after he finally leaves Amway, reads more like writing-as-therapy than anything. It's abundantly clear the author has become obsessed with the need to somehow make up for his part in victimizing others through recruitment--although he had no idea that's what he was doing and stopped once he did realize he was harming people. He obviously lost a lot, both materially and otherwise, from his experience with Amway, and it's clear this is an almost-universal experience. But it's just as clear that he has yet to find the emotional healing and psychological health he seems to insist he has, and the effect on his writing makes it difficult to remember that he is, despite what reads as increasingly obsessive paranoia, a reliable narrator to the actual facts.
September 24, 2013
Great material, interesting story, but he's not kidding when he admits that he's no author. I glossed over a lot of the quotes from the Amway seminars and tapes...if you've heard one, you've heard 'em all. I was way more interested in his personal story and he does a decent job of documenting it. His abundant use of "rape" towards the 2/3 mark until the end was off-putting, as were the comparisons to Anne Frank and other extreme hyperboles. I wish I could serve as editor or proofreader for a lot of these books I've read lately.
January 5, 2018
Interesting read, but with good editing it would benefit from losing about a 100 pages or more.
December 29, 2009
Merchants of Deception by Eric Scheibeler
There “are many different types of cults. There are religious, political, financial, self improvement, UFO, and other types as well...As different as they all are, most have certain defining characteristics that lump them into the category of a cult.” In the 1990s Eric and Patty Scheibeler fell victim to a business cult that has been snaring innocent families for several decades. The indoctrination into the Amway cult financially, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupted this couple whose only intent was to provide a financial and moral backbone for their family. Thanks to the political clout that Amway and Quixtar have had over the United States legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the government, this destructive cult still rends the American dream from licit families to this day.
The Scheibelers rose rather high in the ranks of Amway’s independent distributors (or IBOs) before having to admit that the higher they rose, the more destitute the actually were. Upon breaking away from the decade long brainwashing they suffered at the hands of Amway professionals and its distributorship program, Eric and Patty faced attacks on many fronts. They were sued on just about every trumped up charges that teams and teams of attorneys on Amway’s retainers could dream up. They were bled to the point of bankruptcy and foreclosure. Their reputations were smeared with nefarious glee. They were even threatened bodily harm by fanatics within the organization. Yet, despite these overwhelming odds, the Scheibelers decided that they could not turn a blind eye and just walk away. Their own personal moral code required them to expose the Amway cult for what it is in the hopes of tumbling this evil giant and preventing the defrauding of any other families.
Scheibeler has prevailed against many odds by maintaining his website www.merchantsofdeception.com (when Amway has successfully shut down all other websites through legal action) and by providing his book, Merchants of Deception, for free electronically prior to its print publication. Through his and other’s efforts, Amway’s stranglehold on the European market has be eliminated and it is only a matter of time before its American protectors (such as George Bush Sr., Newt Gingrich, Oliver North, Zig Ziglar, Robert Schuller, Charles Colson, and Billy Graham to name a few) turn their backs on this megalithic pyramid scheme. Perhaps the dawn of the new decade will bring about justice to the millions bilked by the Amway cult.
There “are many different types of cults. There are religious, political, financial, self improvement, UFO, and other types as well...As different as they all are, most have certain defining characteristics that lump them into the category of a cult.” In the 1990s Eric and Patty Scheibeler fell victim to a business cult that has been snaring innocent families for several decades. The indoctrination into the Amway cult financially, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupted this couple whose only intent was to provide a financial and moral backbone for their family. Thanks to the political clout that Amway and Quixtar have had over the United States legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the government, this destructive cult still rends the American dream from licit families to this day.
The Scheibelers rose rather high in the ranks of Amway’s independent distributors (or IBOs) before having to admit that the higher they rose, the more destitute the actually were. Upon breaking away from the decade long brainwashing they suffered at the hands of Amway professionals and its distributorship program, Eric and Patty faced attacks on many fronts. They were sued on just about every trumped up charges that teams and teams of attorneys on Amway’s retainers could dream up. They were bled to the point of bankruptcy and foreclosure. Their reputations were smeared with nefarious glee. They were even threatened bodily harm by fanatics within the organization. Yet, despite these overwhelming odds, the Scheibelers decided that they could not turn a blind eye and just walk away. Their own personal moral code required them to expose the Amway cult for what it is in the hopes of tumbling this evil giant and preventing the defrauding of any other families.
Scheibeler has prevailed against many odds by maintaining his website www.merchantsofdeception.com (when Amway has successfully shut down all other websites through legal action) and by providing his book, Merchants of Deception, for free electronically prior to its print publication. Through his and other’s efforts, Amway’s stranglehold on the European market has be eliminated and it is only a matter of time before its American protectors (such as George Bush Sr., Newt Gingrich, Oliver North, Zig Ziglar, Robert Schuller, Charles Colson, and Billy Graham to name a few) turn their backs on this megalithic pyramid scheme. Perhaps the dawn of the new decade will bring about justice to the millions bilked by the Amway cult.
May 16, 2018
Self-published back in the early 00s so it's not super well written grammatically and whatnot, and the author is writing from a pretty conservative Christian perspective even after being taken for a ride by Amway and co (him trying to convince himself that Rick Santorum is a good guy deep down is a wild ride, though even he apparently found the attacks on HRC and similar made by Amway scam artists in the 90s to be beyond the pale). It's available for free legally online and if you're interested I recommend doing it that way since the writing style is awkward enough to not be worth paying cash for.
That said, if you're interested in some of the nuts and bolts of how cults work (well, how they worked in the 90s/pre-widespread-Internet era, anyway), and the kind of people who get involved in a "good ole down-home Christian" get-up like Amway purports to be, this is a good read for that. I'd be curious to know what he's up to in 2018 (and if his views on, say, Santorum have changed!), but nothing really comes up via quick searches.
That said, if you're interested in some of the nuts and bolts of how cults work (well, how they worked in the 90s/pre-widespread-Internet era, anyway), and the kind of people who get involved in a "good ole down-home Christian" get-up like Amway purports to be, this is a good read for that. I'd be curious to know what he's up to in 2018 (and if his views on, say, Santorum have changed!), but nothing really comes up via quick searches.
June 9, 2019
Folks yes it’s obvious that he is not a writer yet he did a great job exposing the MLM part of Amway. From the tape of the week to the so-called weekend seminars & how they tell you to refer them it as your college education. The fact was that there is where your director & up line make their money. I personally went to high school with Terry & Yvonne McEwen feel free to see them in Amways diamond magazines me if they are still there. They left or sold their Amway business. Went from living the dream in a a 10,000 sq ft home in Tavares FL to a modest home in Groveland FL after leaving Amway. ALL MLM’s BASICALLY WORK THE SAME WAY.
June 20, 2019
Holy shit. Every one of these criminals should be in jail. I knew it was bad but this illustrates HOW bad.
This book could use an editor for sure. I'd quite like to hear Kathys side. Eric comes out on the other side still quite conservative and a touch naieve.
This book could use an editor for sure. I'd quite like to hear Kathys side. Eric comes out on the other side still quite conservative and a touch naieve.
April 30, 2022
I blasted through this book (the free PDF version) in a couple of days. Yes, it's not written well, yes, I skipped the occasional repetitive section, but I still found it a fascinating 'inside look' at the world of Amway - which I knew was really f*cked, but honestly not quite this f*cked!
I think a professional editor turning this into a polished piece of work would have removed some of the intrigue for me. Some of the lengthy Amway cult-speak transcriptions from their higher ups are deathly boring, but hey. I guess those talks were boring. Boring and highly psychotic.
Of particular interest is the overlap between the author's ingrained conservative U-S-A convictions and what Amway can easily feed on. An inability to discuss feelings with his partner no matter what, a need for control, a need to see himself as a 'sharp guy' and a provider, a deep fear of socialism, a craving for 'success'. The author obviously does a 180 on the more extreme aspects that Amway espouses, but you can still make out the sockets where Amway's wires found purchase.
These parts I found have really stuck in me, though they are more of an aside (the author's key message that Amway are assholes is well taken, and doesn't offer much for debate). There are a few casual references to socialism as being 'for lazy people' and that they just funnelling money from the working man, while the lazy rich get richer. Without the slightest bit of self-awareness this is contrasted against the Amway-American dream, where you build up a 'downline' and then you can buy private islands in the pacific, making buckets of cash without working. Every Amway meeting opens and closes with hyper-patriotic and hyper-christian lambasting, so "how can this be called a cult"? A different world, without doubt, to cosy little 'socialist' (hah!) New Zealand, which produces men and women with different sets of vulnerabilities.
"Is credibility and character truly for sale in America today?" (from near the end of the book)
If entertaining this question knocks you off your chair in surprise, then you are in *desperate* need of this book. Otherwise still a super interesting diversion and well worth googling for the PDF.
I think a professional editor turning this into a polished piece of work would have removed some of the intrigue for me. Some of the lengthy Amway cult-speak transcriptions from their higher ups are deathly boring, but hey. I guess those talks were boring. Boring and highly psychotic.
Of particular interest is the overlap between the author's ingrained conservative U-S-A convictions and what Amway can easily feed on. An inability to discuss feelings with his partner no matter what, a need for control, a need to see himself as a 'sharp guy' and a provider, a deep fear of socialism, a craving for 'success'. The author obviously does a 180 on the more extreme aspects that Amway espouses, but you can still make out the sockets where Amway's wires found purchase.
These parts I found have really stuck in me, though they are more of an aside (the author's key message that Amway are assholes is well taken, and doesn't offer much for debate). There are a few casual references to socialism as being 'for lazy people' and that they just funnelling money from the working man, while the lazy rich get richer. Without the slightest bit of self-awareness this is contrasted against the Amway-American dream, where you build up a 'downline' and then you can buy private islands in the pacific, making buckets of cash without working. Every Amway meeting opens and closes with hyper-patriotic and hyper-christian lambasting, so "how can this be called a cult"? A different world, without doubt, to cosy little 'socialist' (hah!) New Zealand, which produces men and women with different sets of vulnerabilities.
"Is credibility and character truly for sale in America today?" (from near the end of the book)
If entertaining this question knocks you off your chair in surprise, then you are in *desperate* need of this book. Otherwise still a super interesting diversion and well worth googling for the PDF.
September 16, 2021
I read this book quite a while ago, back when the author would e-mail you a PDF copy of the book for free (maybe around 2005 or 2006?). Apparently he eventually offered the book for sale as a paperback through a print-on-demand publisher.
As others have noted, it's not particularly well-written and was probably never reviewed by an editor. Despite that, it's a compelling account. Although Amway's business model has no doubt evolved as the internet has matured, the book is still somewhat topical. Anyone who is familiar with the LuLaRoe multi-level marketing company and the various class action and attorney general lawsuits related to it will likely recognize that much of what Scheibeler discusses in his book is still being practiced today. Amazon is currently airing a 4-part documentary called "LuLaRich" about LuLaRoe.
So, if you can find a PDF of the book online and you're interested in how these MLMs can sell a dream to so many - and how that dream can become a nightmare - Merchants of Deception is probably worth a look. You probably don't have to even read the whole thing to get the picture. Tens of thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands - of people in the US alone over the years have been sucked into MLM schemes. This book is a step toward understanding how that could happen.
As others have noted, it's not particularly well-written and was probably never reviewed by an editor. Despite that, it's a compelling account. Although Amway's business model has no doubt evolved as the internet has matured, the book is still somewhat topical. Anyone who is familiar with the LuLaRoe multi-level marketing company and the various class action and attorney general lawsuits related to it will likely recognize that much of what Scheibeler discusses in his book is still being practiced today. Amazon is currently airing a 4-part documentary called "LuLaRich" about LuLaRoe.
So, if you can find a PDF of the book online and you're interested in how these MLMs can sell a dream to so many - and how that dream can become a nightmare - Merchants of Deception is probably worth a look. You probably don't have to even read the whole thing to get the picture. Tens of thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands - of people in the US alone over the years have been sucked into MLM schemes. This book is a step toward understanding how that could happen.
March 2, 2020
He nails it. I was in the business in the mid-90's for about 4-5 years and this brought back so many (bad) memories. The things that upline told you were verbatim what he has in the book. And the truth is, you don't even know that it's happening. I know that sounds stupid but they wear you down so much that it just evolves. I didn't lose even close the amount of money that the author did (or my house), but it was a fairly good sum (in excess of $10k). Glad I got out when I did.
January 28, 2020
Chilling book on the cult of Amway recommend from Reddit. A good read, especially if you watched and enjoyed the Herbalife documentary "Betting on Zero" on Netflix. The author is definitely not a professional writer and the last 100 or so pages are messy. Hope one day they make a documentary on these stories.
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June 8, 2020weeeeird obsession with describing non-sexual assault things as rape (occurs 10+ times within the book)....and yet the sole time he has a nightmare about his wife being sexually assaulted............he is vague and handwavey.
I accept that this is a niche complaint, and the book was basically fine otherwise, but wtf, dude.
I accept that this is a niche complaint, and the book was basically fine otherwise, but wtf, dude.
August 26, 2025
A very stupid gullible man gets swindled by Amway. Boo hoo. Now he wants us all to buy his book describing how he was "repeatedly raped". I think not. You Eric Scheibeler are not a writer and you are not going to profit from your painfully stupid past decisions. Dumb high school essay by a failed entrepreneur.
July 1, 2018
I don’t know how i stumbled upon this book but it was great. There are so many people that are scammed and lose their entire life savings and family over MLM. I am shocked by everything in this book.
January 6, 2024
Yall with the cult?
April 17, 2024
Repetitive at times but a must read. Cheers to the author for his courage to write about his experience.
May 1, 2015
This book is no longer printed, but is freely available as ebook. You can download PDF, or other formats such as amazon kindle format then send to your kindle email address (Check amazon help if you are unsure how).
I find this subject fascinating. I read "Downline: An Intolerable Potential to Deceive" which was a fiction book loosely based on a heavy hitter's experiences in the MLM industry for a decade or so. It left me wanting a more-well written, fact based book.
Merchants of Deception is exactly that. Eric lays out his experiences in Amway not quite in a day-to-day kind of way, but significant event to significant event. You get a feel for the monotony of both the indoctrination and business efforts. It has a very dystopian feel: there is no room for free thought, you must get your advice and all information from your upline, etc. By the time you are half way through, you'll have a thorough understanding of how distributors are controlled in Amway and how disinformation is created. Because of the rules and loyalty requirements of the higher-up distributors, only favorable (dis)information is presented.
The book goes over the ways success is projected and reality is hidden, even from higher level distributors. Because everyone else is projecting an image of success, Eric finds himself surprised he's making 1/4th the promised amount for his "pin level" and, due to communication restrictions between the amway organizations, cannot find out if that's normal or if he's just a terrible failure.
You get all kinds of interesting inside information: phraseology used to justify and rationalize situations that just seem odd, indoctrination methods and situations, feelings, beliefs and mistakes that Eric had along the way.
Early on, he exposes The System, which is a pyramid within the pyramid where Amway distributors are virtually required to buy motivational tools.
Sections of the book feel intentionally redundant and slow as if you are getting a small feel for what he went through with The Business as he will repeat the same phrases and describe similar situations several points during some chapters. It's not overly slow, but you'll feel it at some points and it feels as though he's exposing you to the same sort of indoctrination he experienced. He uses this as an intentional device, I believe. You can just feel his desperate hope that reaching the next pin level or overcoming the next challenge in the finally realize the income and benefits he's been promised all along.
His writing style isn't some brilliant fictional prose, nor does he use any really interesting devices that i noticed, nor is there anything completely new from a literary perspective. However, what he does he does very well, and he opens up what feels like the complete experience an insider has in the MLM industry. You'll feel his mind struggling with the cognitive dissonance of the indoctrination to the point where it becomes almost unpleasant.
I find this subject fascinating. I read "Downline: An Intolerable Potential to Deceive" which was a fiction book loosely based on a heavy hitter's experiences in the MLM industry for a decade or so. It left me wanting a more-well written, fact based book.
Merchants of Deception is exactly that. Eric lays out his experiences in Amway not quite in a day-to-day kind of way, but significant event to significant event. You get a feel for the monotony of both the indoctrination and business efforts. It has a very dystopian feel: there is no room for free thought, you must get your advice and all information from your upline, etc. By the time you are half way through, you'll have a thorough understanding of how distributors are controlled in Amway and how disinformation is created. Because of the rules and loyalty requirements of the higher-up distributors, only favorable (dis)information is presented.
The book goes over the ways success is projected and reality is hidden, even from higher level distributors. Because everyone else is projecting an image of success, Eric finds himself surprised he's making 1/4th the promised amount for his "pin level" and, due to communication restrictions between the amway organizations, cannot find out if that's normal or if he's just a terrible failure.
You get all kinds of interesting inside information: phraseology used to justify and rationalize situations that just seem odd, indoctrination methods and situations, feelings, beliefs and mistakes that Eric had along the way.
Early on, he exposes The System, which is a pyramid within the pyramid where Amway distributors are virtually required to buy motivational tools.
Sections of the book feel intentionally redundant and slow as if you are getting a small feel for what he went through with The Business as he will repeat the same phrases and describe similar situations several points during some chapters. It's not overly slow, but you'll feel it at some points and it feels as though he's exposing you to the same sort of indoctrination he experienced. He uses this as an intentional device, I believe. You can just feel his desperate hope that reaching the next pin level or overcoming the next challenge in the finally realize the income and benefits he's been promised all along.
His writing style isn't some brilliant fictional prose, nor does he use any really interesting devices that i noticed, nor is there anything completely new from a literary perspective. However, what he does he does very well, and he opens up what feels like the complete experience an insider has in the MLM industry. You'll feel his mind struggling with the cognitive dissonance of the indoctrination to the point where it becomes almost unpleasant.
February 3, 2011
Only just started but am rivited thus far.
I have actually been an Amway seminar so can understand alot of what this guy is talking about, however it was after I went to the seminar that I realised there was soemthing not right about it and never continued.
I still wonder what it was because I remember the feeling of being there with all those people so hyped up I can completely understand how anyone could get totaly carried along with it all. But I remember thinking as I left, 'they are far too hung up on money.' it was all money, money, money.
I got onto this book because I have always been interested in different religions and what other people believe and that lead to cults and I have done alot of reading about several different cults until I found a cult awareness website which has links to several books and this is the first one I downloaded.
I find the hole topic fascinating.
P.S. Paul caught me watching some stuff on the Scientology website and staring freaking out that I was going to become a Scientologist. Ha Ha. Now that is one crazy cult.
I have actually been an Amway seminar so can understand alot of what this guy is talking about, however it was after I went to the seminar that I realised there was soemthing not right about it and never continued.
I still wonder what it was because I remember the feeling of being there with all those people so hyped up I can completely understand how anyone could get totaly carried along with it all. But I remember thinking as I left, 'they are far too hung up on money.' it was all money, money, money.
I got onto this book because I have always been interested in different religions and what other people believe and that lead to cults and I have done alot of reading about several different cults until I found a cult awareness website which has links to several books and this is the first one I downloaded.
I find the hole topic fascinating.
P.S. Paul caught me watching some stuff on the Scientology website and staring freaking out that I was going to become a Scientologist. Ha Ha. Now that is one crazy cult.
May 17, 2023
I have read this book as my first book on my pocketbook ereader, It was just a random pick. And it was awesome. The book describes in detail author's personal journey within the world of multi-level marketing (MLM) companies. With an insider's perspective, author vividly recounts his experiences and unveils the manipulative tactics, deceptive practices, and toxic culture prevalent within MLM organizations, which he doesn't name (probably because of legal issues reasons). He delves into the detrimental impact on his health, relationships, and overall well-being as he climbed the ranks and discovered the dark side of this industry and following running out from MLM companies.
Great book! I strongly recommend.
Great book! I strongly recommend.
July 14, 2016
An enlightening, and terrifying, look into the practises of not just Amway, but Multi-Level-Marketing schemes in general. So many of the abuses described are still being carried out today by other organisations, same lies, same deceit. OK, the ebook could do with a little tidying, some proof reading and a better layout, but when a book this important is available at no cost, then it's just splitting hairs.
January 22, 2016
Needs an edit badly...could stand to lost 150 pages...but an interesting factual read about the nastiness that is Amway / Multi-level / Network marketing that actually reads like a thriller for most of it .
July 31, 2012
Interesting information. It might be only one side of the story, but it's a side that needs to be heard.
December 5, 2015
This is an fascinating story with an insiders look into the cult that is Amway.
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March 8, 2016Very interesting and true account!
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