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January 28, 2003
An article from WIRED about Quixtar (it's old but isn't all information about Quixtar old?)
By QBlog in Quixtar
WIRED did an article about Quixtar and being decent and respected journalists they remain unbiased. The article presents the facts as they are and honestly makes Quixtar look pretty good, even back in April of 2000. I desperately want to find more articles of this nature, even recent ones. I did make a copy of the New York Times article about Quixtar several months ago but that was mainly just a press release styled article and had little besides stating corporate earnings and market status. Good stuff but not Wall Street Journal worthy at all (yes, I'm showing my WSJ bias here. My dream job is to write for WSJ).
Anyway, the WIRED article isn't all that spectacular either but it's a good, solid piece. One bit that caught my interest was this:
Of the $250 million that Quixtar.com has brought in thus far, 32 percent, or $80 million, has gone back to the IBOs. That amounts to about $200 per IBO. And much of Quixtar's revenue comes from the IBOs themselves, who are required to buy $70 in Quixtar products when they join."About 95 percent of IBOs just end up buying products for themselves and that's about it," wrote one IBO in an email. "The other 5 percent become successful."
Quixtar would not release details about the earnings of its IBOs.
Ok, this is dated 2000 and I know Quixtar has pulled in far more sales but it's this kind of secrecy from Quixtar that breeds mistrust. When the PRIMARY method of recruiting new IBOs is to wave the huge earnings and riches in front of their faces then I expect a little more candor with regards to those actual numbers. If my main hook to get you into a business is to say that you'll get rich like me and then you ask me how rich I am and I say none of your business then that just seems plain silly. And it seems like I may be hiding something.
Have you ever waited tables? I have. Here's a fact of waiting tables. NOBODY makes as much as they say they make. Every waiter lies. If you ask a waiter how much money he regularly pulls in each night he'll think of his very best night and add $100 to that amount. Never figured out why cause they also underreport tips each night to avoid higher taxes. Anyway, it's a fact. Now, the Quixtar IBOs remind me of waiters a lot of times. They say they make huge sums but either can't or won't ever prove it. If you can't or won't back it up then shut the hell up.
Seriously, SHUT UP. Don't show me a freaking book with a bunch of diamonds making millions. I'm a journalist and I know how easy it is to lie in those books. Not saying they are lying but who's checking? Really. Who is checking this out. I know how much Bill Gates is worth because his income is from a public company. But guess what, I don't care. You know why? Bill Gates doesn't use his income to persuade people to buy Windows. Dexter Yager and Co. do.
Big difference. My apologies to Cuba Gooding Jr. but "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Comments
Thanks Brian. I have been reading up on Quixtar by Googling and have noticed a trend in anti-Quixtar rhetoric. Many people spend a great deal of money on tools and tapes and then expect the world to fall in there lap. Perhaps people should do "the work" instead of talking about it. Business is business. Running your home like a business is a conscious effort. Just like clipping out coupons before going to Zellers of Walmart. The difference being to know what you NEED before entering the store and getting hit by all the loss leaders. Loss Leader + Coupons * Shopper = Cart of Crap. We have all been trained to be good employees. Let's act like business people for a change.
You know all of these comments are very interesting. I was a distributor for 8 years and found the program dishonest. Ask your upline how much money they make from meetings and/or books and tapes. Ask them also, if they would be willing to give up that income and exist on the sales from Amway/Quixtar products alone. Dexter Yeager makes millions from the tapes and books. He has created an entire industry selling these items to his downline. He records a tape that is generated from a meeting, for pennies, and then sells them to the downline for $7.00. The profit is enormous. Amway could have taken control of this situation, but they don't have the clout to do it now.
We still buy the Amway product, because in many ways the soap, and other related products are superior to store bought items. However, until the Diamonds come clean with the profit on "sales tools", and how much they pocket from these things, it will always be an unsavory business.
Jim, what is wrong with Dexter Yeager, or anyone else making money on the tools? I mean Elvis makes money on the music he mad 30-40 years ago. Its business plan and simple and EVERYONE has the right to make a profit.
There are a couple inaccuracies in your article. First you mention that new members are required to purchase 70$ worth of product when they join. This is not true of any legal MLM company. Any MLM that requires you to purchase product has crossed the line to an illegal pyramid. If a Quixtar distributor is requiring that then the company will take action against them, but this can be easily checked if you go to the site and do a mock registration you can see that it is an “option” to purchase the starter product pack.
Second you compare the “are you making money” comment to a waiter. Why don’t you ask a McDonald’s owner how much money they are making 1 year after they just sank 2 million cash for a franchise? They are probably still in the negative from before the purchase. Or ask someone who is building a toll bridge how much money they made before the bridge is finished. This is a business like any other in which you need to invest time and money before you see a profit. Yet its unlike any other business in which you only need to invest a lot less time and money compared to 95% of the other businesses out there which helps make this a risk free business opportunity that anyone can do in their spare time. It is people with the employee mentality who works a week and gets paid that ask “how much money are you making” and if they are told that they are not making money yet they laugh and walk away. Start asking questions like a business owner.
If you want to see some money, hang in the business long enough and even if YOU don’t do anything most likely you will see the people who do the work start to retire and help their friends do the same.
This is the point: Yeager and those who copy him make money on the tools. It must burn Amway/Quixtar to see how the Yeager organization reaps such a huge profit with tool sales rather than see the IBO dollars go towards promotion of products and consumption and simply teaching others to consume profitably.
In a society where it is considered taboo to talk about your financial standing, I find it rather strange that the writer of this column is so shocked that IBO's wont tell her about theirs. Its not your typical job where you can say "this is how much you will make if you are an IBO." So that is kind of a personal question. It all based on your ambition and your own personal goals. No one says you have to buy anything. When you sign up yes you do buy products as a start up process but, if you don't want them you can send them back, get your money back and still remain an IBO. If anyone is wondering how it works and if it is legit, they should try it out for themselves. There's nothing to loose, except for the time it would take you to mail back your first $7.50 check you get for starting up. So check it out.
I wonder what it is about the human animal that many find nothing positive in others who are trying to better their circumstances.
Well why don't you ask them to show you the money...lol. They will and they will also show you that Zig Ziglar did a study of Quixtar and that they produce more 6 figure income people than any other company. Also they are number 2 in producing millionaires behind Microsoft. I know there are so many IBO's that make it sound to good but it takes work that is why 5% make money and 95% don't make to much or any at all. Go to a meeting and if they say it doesn't take work you must not be in WWDB.
Posted by: Bryan | December 2, 2003 5:50 PM