As someone who wanted to try out Amway, I was fooled and deceived by my friends, their upliners, and the media they were subjecting me to. I feel hurt and wronged by this. And I know that I'm not alone. MLM's are only legal in the United States because the IBOs are selling products. Most IBOs are ordered to refer at least 2 people in a month; which give them the false hope of making it big. All MLMs, including the reputable Amway, highly encourage IBOs to refer people and say things like, "it's the only way to make money in this business". The model of business is to sell health products, since they are inelastic demands that everyone uses. With these inelastic demands that are in high demand for everyday American consumption, they try and lure you in to buying these "necessary", expensive items (30 bucks for laundry detergent, 15 for most makeup, etc). However, anytime YOU buy from an IBO, they get money from that. If you really want the product that badly, BUY IT FROM AMWAY DIRECTLY. If they don't let you and redirect you to an IBO, tell them that you refuse to buy from an IBO, as buying from a third party is bad business practice. "Leaders" of MLMs are people who make top dollar by selling their own books and audio CDs, not to mention the $120 a month fee that Amway has just so an IBO can stay in business (that money goes to the big guys). In this "fee", you are required to buy brainwashing propaganda tapes/books, and attend mandatory, waste-of time meetings that establish what you already know. That's how they make money. The "first" business meeting takes place in a fancy hotel; 30 bucks just to get in, and it is invitation-only. That's even before you pay the $150 fee to "get in" to the business and become an official IBO of Amway. These MLMs, create false hope by "mentoring" you and wasting valuable time. They require you to write down a list of dreams you want out of life, and then they require you keep a positive attitude. They are highly oversensitive people; saying ONE wrong thing will throw them off guard, and even might initiate a physical attack. They brainwash you with book/audio media to make you think you are important, and that any negativity is an attack on your value of life. They also use your dreams and hopes against you, saying things like, "recruit more people, and that dream house is yours". My first meeting was at a coffee shoppe, and there was a random guy listening to the recruiter, as the recruiter was trying to recruit me. The random guy knew something was up. Whomever he was, he knew that the recruiter was using reverse psychology on me, to get me "convinced". Sadly, I did not listen to this passerby, and I regret it. These people who run these scams are only allowed to run a business legally, because they are selling product. With your help, we can stop this madness, and have MLMs stop destroying people's lives; giving them reason to believe that their wildest dreams will come true by recruiting other people into a highly deceptive business. Isn't that why the US banned Pyramid Schemes? Because of their deception? MLMs are no different when it comes to deception. One last final word of warning; MLMs will tell you that Pyramid Schemes are working under a boss who has a boss who has a boss who works under a CEO. If you look up the definition of a Pyramid Scheme, you see that the description of a Pyramid Scheme is that of what MLMs are doing; recruiting more people who will then recruit more people, who will then recruit more people, until there is no one left to recruit. Keep in mind... there are over 1,400 documented MLMs in the USA, with Amway being the biggest scam of them all. It boasts proudly that it has over 3 Million IBOs globally, And that is taken directly from the video we were shown in the invitation-only meeting. That isn't something to be proud of, when you are literally scamming all those IBOs.