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April 25, 2005
Monday Reader Mail: 41
By QBlog in Reader Mail
It's Monday. Time for Reader Mail.
name: John C.
date: February 1, 2005
message: I really love following your blog. It's composed of really worthwhile material that makes people, and the average IBO (ok, how about the IBO that knows in the back of his mind that it's a scam) think about what they are involved in.
My wife and I signed up for Quixtar in March of 2004 and we ran hard for six months. We hit 1000pv once by buying 600 points ourselves (and were praised for it). After my second function (Summer Conference/Family Reunion), it was my wife's first, I started doubting the whole thing. There were no facts to back things up, just idiocy and fallacies like "if the dream is big enough the facts don't count". We were running up debt and had absolutely no free time. I stumbled upon this site and Scott Larsen's site and read them thoroughly.
For the sake of fairness I read just about everything I could find online about Quixtar. The negative outweighed the positive by far. It was interesting that my upline could not give me any answeres to the questions I posed other than "You shouldn't believe what you read on the Internet, it is the bathroom wall of the world". That's funny, I didn't know the IRS, FTC, etc. resorted to communicating on a bathroom wall. Anyway, at that point I ceased all involvement in the business, but my wife carried on because some of the upline ladies had their claws deep in her. They told her that they'd love her no matter what and that I'd eventually come around. She was afraid of losing the "friends" that she had made. After having to evaluate things on her own she came to the same conclusion I had, and in December stopped participating. She hasn't heard from any of her "friends" since then.
So, life is back to normal now. We work our J-O-B's (I ponder why they wanted me to hate the whole reason I was able to lose so much money in Quixtar) and have our evenings and weekends to play with our dogs, watch tv, or whatever. Life seems better, and it\'s easier to do anything (like plan a trip to Cooperstown, NY over Hall of Fame Induction Weekend) without having to see if it conflicts with a conference, team meeting, covered dish, joint scam session, or general brainwashing.
The real reason that I decided to contact you was to point out some information about two supposedly wealthy people who are/were Quixtar Diamonds. The first is Doug Wead, and the second is Joe Land. Doug is a successful author who has two bestsellers about the Bush Administrations, and also has his own motivational speaking business. It certainly doesn't sound like he makes his money from Quixtar. (you can find this info by googling Doug Wead and visiting www.dougwead.com).
Joe Land (although no longer in Quixtar) just strikes me as a greedy fellow. This link documents how Land was a "real-estate" guru in the 1980's. So, I wonder how much he ever made off his Amway business.
Thanks for letting me vent (I just feel compelled to share my story, guess I think I was really duped). I hope you find that information about Doug and Joe useful.
Regards,
John C.
Just to clarify, Joe Land of Quixtar was NOT a "real-estate guru in the 1980s," at least according to my sources and the information I've been able to find. The Joe Land this email refers to just coincidentally shares the same name as former Quixtar Diamond Joe Land (now a Diamond in Oasis). Same name, different people.
Comments
hey, this has nothing to do with the above post, except it refers back to a recent conversation. Monday Reader mail, The Help Desk, Saturday Comics, Blogging 101; these are all great ways to keep your blog fresh, updated and heavy on content.
It's one of the reasons people return to a blog, and thats to read updated material.
Thanks!
Dave
My former upline emerald, the wife, goes to the cleaners where my daughter works (my daughter had babysat for them one time) and she usually asks my daughter how I am doing. Funny when my ex and I were going through our divorce she never called me to see how I was. But I know they kept in great contact with my ex because he was heavily involved in the "business and their crappy tapes, books and functions". I saw on a television show where a woman whose husband left her tells their old friends, etc. exactly what she thinks. I would love to do that. In the show the woman tells this woman who told her they remained loyal to her husband because of their business relations, "Well I never really liked you anyway". It was awesome!
guys,
just think this once, r u credible enough to talk about $ 6.5billion industry. If yes, you wouldn't be typing all this crap against such a big corporation. If no, then get busy in life. u will succed in atleast something else. Or else u will die in DEBT.
Take care
Nice strawman argument, sk. But I don't buy it one bit. If one had to run a 6.5 billion company to be able to discuss it, then only people with the names of Van Andel, De Vos, Gates, Walton, etc. should talk. Would be a very quiet discussion, with not many people participating. And for sure, those billionaires would have a much different experience then everyone who has ever worked on the other end. Does that make the experience of those who work for or with the big companies but don't control them any less valid? Off course not.
Also, if one needs to experience something to become an expert, how can we call anyone an expert on the American Civil War? The Civil War ended 140 years ago. Nobody alive today could have possibly experienced it, yet someone who has never even been a soldier can certainly study it, read about it, and eventually become an expert about the Civil War, without even visiting a single battlefield, firing a rifle, or sewing up a wound. Or, we can use your strawman argument, sk, and say nobody can ever know what they are talking about in regards to the Civil War because they never experienced it.
Now certainly first hand experience has value in the discussion. And many people here do have a lot of experience in AmQuix. We have members who contribute to this blog that have been with the company for decades, have reached all kinds of pin levels, and participated in just about every aspect of the business. So they aren't the founders, but their experiences and stories are just as important as the founders if you want to get the whole picture. Otherwise, you only get a tiny portion of the story, and if you truly want to be informed and make informed decisions, the more you know, the better.
SK... you are a moron.
John C. brings in a common valid point...the Quixtar/Amway business has always been the footstool for which Diamonds/schysters build massive personal wealth. Wether it's through book sales (self or co-written), motivational products or some offshoot.. anyone remember Glamour photos? Many Diamonds have used the captive audience to promote their next best thing..this was compounded by the group mentality derived and created by the leaders of the organizations....feelings of supporting the common good often led to additional spending by ppl who acquire more junk they don't need...sickening really.
Posted by: Mark | April 25, 2005 6:39 PM