Amway

[cornishcarlos]

I love most things about LOS..

Like most people, there are certain things that frustrate me but overall I'm happy to live here..

However, why can't they ban Amway ??

Or just ban relatives of the wife from being involved with it... We had over an hours sales pitch for a water filter that we already told them we did not want or need !! 30,000 baht for something to treat our rain water which we drink

Anyone else have trouble kicking annoying relatives out the house ? My dog loves it though as I tend to take him on longer walks when this happens..

[GentlemanJim]

It's not just Amway, the whole problem is endemic here. Family members who decide to become insurance reps and then come around wanting you to ditch your current insurance and buy with them, Amway schemes and others also add to the list of things to use as an excuse to take the dog for a longer walk and lock all money and cards in the safe while your out. I have had the 30 000 baht water filter sales pitch, with ongoing filter costs of about 5-10k per year!! about 50-60% of the cost being in all the different commissions. Sod that!

[cardholder]

The Thais are canon fodder for the likes of Amway.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

My best friend's wife pulls in from 30-150K per month with three such "multi-level marketing" programmes.

I think there's a good case to be made that it perfectly fits the hierarchical personal-network shema of Thai life, political/economic/social etc.

In fact they may even have got the business model from the way corruption revenues flow upstream in the org charts of officialdom here.

[MAJIC]

It's not just Amway, the whole problem is endemic here. Family members who decide to become insurance reps and then come around wanting you to ditch your current insurance and buy with them, Amway schemes and others also add to the list of things to use as an excuse to take the dog for a longer walk and lock all money and cards in the safe while your out. I have had the 30 000 baht water filter sales pitch, with ongoing filter costs of about 5-10k per year!! about 50-60% of the cost being in all the different commissions. Sod that!

Yep! the original snake oil remedys from charlaton,western cowboy days are still alive and kicking,and all it takes is the gullible,and a naive Country,who still believe in Ghosts,and coloured herbal water,as a cure all for every complaint.

Sad but true!

[phuturatica]

Amway skin products are terrible. I know some people who used it in the villages of Phatthalung and they all had a terrible reaction to it. It all started off by some guy marketing the products on commission to make money. It's quite clearly not safe! :/

[Jingthing]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

[Rooo]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

[necronx99]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

Illegal, really?

Why?

[Rooo]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

Illegal, really?

Why?

Ask the Thai lawmakers. Multilevel / Pyramid marketing concept prohibited.

But then most of them are only selling on commission , I don't think they get involved in recruitment.

[Koratpat]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

Roo, you should check your facts on that. There is actually a specific department at the Chang Wattana government complex that regulates MLM's . The process of getting an MLM approved takes upwards of a year to get approved as they go over your compensation plan, Thai FDA approvals on products and many, many other checks and balances. You must have a company set up with employees and taxes getting paid the whole time - with staff sitting around with nothing to do! My office did the legal paperwork and facilitated the set up of a few MLM's and to be honest the red tape in the process was sickening....especially when we advised our client not to pay a Thai lawyer tea money to contact his "friends" to get it done quick.

Edited April 22, 2012 by Koratpat

[necronx99]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

Roo, you should check your facts on that. There is actually a specific department at the Chang Wattana government complex that regulates MLM's . The process of getting an MLM approved takes upwards of a year to get approved as they go over your compensation plan, Thai FDA approvals on products and many, many other checks and balances. You must have a company set up with employees and taxes getting paid the whole time - with staff sitting around with nothing to do! My office did the legal paperwork and facilitated the set up of a few MLM's and to be honest the red tape in the process was sickening....especially when we advised our client not to pay a Thai lawyer tea money to contact his "friends" to get it done quick.

That's actually good to hear, surprising, but good.

[Ricardo]

I think Thais can find it difficult, to say "No !", to an older/more-hiso relative or friend, have certainly seen this with aunties flogging 'high-quality' bras & friends selling insurance, my wife has learned to use me as an excuse, and saved a relative-fortune !

[haybilly]

Comment deleted by myself--

I totally agree that Amway, and the like, are far too popular in a country such as Thailand--where, on the whole, wages and take-home pay are way too low--these MLM companies prey on the poor and needy--the ones who can least afford it.

Edited April 23, 2012 by haybilly

[arthurwait]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

[Koratpat]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

I can tell you unquestionably that Amway is matchless with their anti-perspiration. If you suffer from excessive perspiration you should purchase a bottle and administer a tad to your underarm region. You will find it will lessen or completely alleviate your moist pits altogether for the whole day. One bottle will last six months or more. It is 160 or 180 baht a bottle.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Koratpat

[Caliguy]

No matter what year you're in, there will always be snake-oil salesmen and the people that follow them.

[Koratpat]

No matter what year you're in, there will always be snake-oil salesmen and the people that follow them.

Snake oil salesman? It is just deodorant and it works.

[Berkshire]

I understand Carlos' sentiments about Amway, having been on the receiving end of their sales pitch. And this was back in the USA. Lost a good friend that way--no, not through death or anything like that. The guy started hawking Amway and couldn't stop trying to sell me his stuff, which resulted in me avoiding him altogether. But banning Amway? I think Amway is a pyramid scheme masquerading as a direct sales company. But its business model has withstood government scrutiny and it's legally allowed to conduct its business around the world. What will happen in Thailand? Some Thais will get excited about the idea early-on, try to sell to relatives and friends, and then quickly find out that no one else is interested in their products. They'll lose a small investment in the process. This is exactly what happens in the US. I don't doubt that a very small number of Amway distributors can actually make money in Amway. I've just never known one.

[loong]

The funny thing is that multi level marketing is illegal in Thailand. But Amway & others are not really that are they?

They have a big Amway shop here on Samui & have seen several driving towards Bangkok.

I've never seen a shop drive, must be mobile shops

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Ask the Thai lawmakers. Multilevel / Pyramid marketing concept prohibited.

But then most of them are only selling on commission , I don't think they get involved in recruitment.

Absolute <deleted>, may be illegal but they're all over the place.

The only way to do really well is off the success of those "downstream" from you. Superware is a major Thai consumer plastics manufacturer that operates this way, so perhaps the law actually specifies how to do it fairly. My ex sister-in-law is very successful, now makes much more than her husband, just bought a big fancy new pickup truck, gets sent off to free training/motivational junkets at beachside resorts two or three times a year, comes up to Bangkok for rah-rah meetings that often as well.

Other ones my friend's wife trades in involve "healthy coffee" instant mix, also vitamin supplements, I've seen Herbalife. . .

I'm not saying these all are outright scammer schemes, but they sure are annoying if your social circle gets infected with them.

Edited April 23, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[h90]

Well, when my wife doesn't know what to tell anymore (which doesn't happen often).

She usually ask me.

I say than something like: We don't need something like that. I have seen that for 1000 Baht at Home Pro already. Or I better invest my money in beer than in an air filter.

With a charming smile. Than my wife appears to be shocked about me (but never complains afterwards).

If it is some healthy product, I teach a little about it (Masterdegree in Food+Biotechnology) and the market prices of the things inside.

That is also ending that story pretty fast.

[Koratpat]

Perhaps we could learn from the Thais in this area of business. At least they have the entrepreneurial spirit to try an MLM or similar business. Farangs immediately go off on a negative tone - "Stupid, scam, snake oil, waste of time etc". I know several Thai ladies that are making 100,000 to 150,000 baht a month and more in MLM's.

But I guess some farangs would rather see these girls take up an honorable profession and pop on down to one of the gogo's, massage parlors or BJ bars in The Paradise City.

[Jingthing]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

<deleted>. Try Sensodyne "Gum Care" version. Widely available.

[edwinclapham]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

I can tell you unquestionably that Amway is matchless with their anti-perspiration. If you suffer from excessive perspiration you should purchase a bottle and administer a tad to your underarm region. You will find it will lessen or completely alleviate your moist pits altogether for the whole day. One bottle will last six months or more. It is 160 or 180 baht a bottle.

Mitcham every time for me and I dont have to listen to any sales pitch either

Amway

Tupperware

Avon

I dont like these organisations at all.

Anne Summers parties I might subscribe to though

[transam]

I know a Thai couple who are agents for Amway, they have been all over Europe as a bonus treats . They don't come to my place anymore as l told them it's over priced crap, that's how you can fly around the world, they didn't like my comments.

[Koratpat]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

I can tell you unquestionably that Amway is matchless with their anti-perspiration. If you suffer from excessive perspiration you should purchase a bottle and administer a tad to your underarm region. You will find it will lessen or completely alleviate your moist pits altogether for the whole day. One bottle will last six months or more. It is 160 or 180 baht a bottle.

Mitcham every time for me and I dont have to listen to any sales pitch either

Amway

Tupperware

Avon

I dont like these organisations at all.

Anne Summers parties I might subscribe to though

What sales pitch? There is no sales pitch. The wife and I just pop over to the Amway store and buy a bottle ever 6 months. No one says anything except that will be 160 baht.

[edwinclapham]

When the local agent comes a calling she comes with her robotic sales pitch. If you like the product/s fair enough, I dont personally like subscribing to these organisations.

Mitcham in our local $ shop costs us AD$1 =31.94B and works perfectly in warmer climates and does the trick thank you very much

[edwinclapham]

I know a Thai couple who are agents for Amway, they have been all over Europe as a bonus treats . They don't come to my place anymore as l told them it's over priced crap, that's how you can fly around the world, they didn't like my comments.

Those are exactly my thoughts! the mark up must be tremendous.

Avon also follows the same principles , the hotels are full of Avon Rewards Dinners, someone must be paying for them. The Punter eh!

[wana]

My sister joined that cult when I was growing up. We used the laundry powder. I broke out with massive HIVES. Stopped the Amway, stopped the hives. When I think Amway, I think of HIVES.

Yes, please ban from Thailand.

Their toothpaste is a life saver. It doesn't disintergrate your gums like every other one here.

theres nothing wrong with the Colgate toothpastes as far as i can tell ,its the same recipe used in western countries