Quixtar=pyramid scheme

[tearhsong2]

This is just a warning to any of you who may not know about this....

My sister-in-law called me up this evening with an offer that seemed to good to be true. An opportunity to earn money in my spare time. As I listened to her, I started to get a very definite whiff of fish. It didn't sound right at all. It sounded like a load of hooey=big pyramid scheme to me. I told her I would think about it and get back to her.

While I was "thinking" about it, I did a Google search on Quixtar. Sure enough several links came up. Some were distributor websites, some were actual Quixtar websites. A large number of them, however, were anti-Quixtar. Come to find out Quixtar is owned by Alticor, its parent company which also owns Amway. All sorts of sirens went off in my brain at that point. Amway, the (legal--also known as multi level marketing) pyramid scheming company on the web?

I called my sister-in-law back and told her. She had no idea--she said when it was presented to her and her husband (her husband is the one buying into all this--she tried to tell him it didn't sound right) they didn't even mention that Quixtar was owned by the same company as Amway and that it was the same thing only web-based.

Hopefully, she'll be able to convince my brother-in-law that this isn't a good idea. Quixtar doesn't advertise that they're the same as Amway (probably because Amway has such a bad reputation).

[kpickell]

Sounds familiar. What do they sell?

ETA: Oh, yeah yeah yeah, I remember going to one of their seminars when I was job-searching in college. But I was never clear on what they sell. Some type of online mall that didn't make any sense. I never returned their calls.

[Christy]

My brother does this and tried to get me in on it. I was really surprised, since he's usually so fiscally smart. In most cases, if he likes it, it's a reliable endorsement. I didn't like the idea of trying to sell anything, or the limited and pricey items offered.

[dawngirl]

A woman in an adjoining business roped my company into joining for all of the incentive type gifts/products you could purchase through them (i.e. weekend travel, etc.) She wouldn't give up after that on attempting to sell me on their higher priced products, meetings, etc. ....if you buy this ridiculously expensive laundry soap I will make money because I was your up person and you'll get points toward purchases blah, blah, blah....

I just couldn't get into it.

[Thalia]

I recently did research on Amway myself.
just as a start-
http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Opportunities/Opposing_Views/Amway_and_Quixtar/?tc=1/

A good rule of thumb is anything too good to be true is.

[tearhsong2]

Quixtar sells the same products as Amway. They sell shampoos, vitamins, detergents, and a bunch of other stuff. I didn't look too much into what they sell. I remember my uncle used to do Amway and it strained some of the relationships in my family for a while (he kept trying to get my parents, aunts, and uncles to be an IBO--"independent business owner" or buy stuff). Luckily, he stopped, and he didn't make any money out of it. In fact, he lost quite a bit from having to order samples to have on hand. My dad almost got in on another sort of pyramid scheme. He never did, and it ended up being illegal. I don't remember the name of it--it was some travel agent thing.

The idea is that because you're ordering directly from the company, you're saving money. They claim you can save somewhere around 33% on average for buying their products over the grocery store. Depending on the sale, coupons and whatever grocery stores are doing, it is very possible to save even more money than ordering "direct." The crazy thing is it's not even directly through them. You're ordering through the IBO's website, so the IBO is the middleman. They get a commission off of it and the IBO that referred them gets a commission, too and it keeps going up and up to the top.

[webbum]

It's Amway goes Ecomm.
I almost got scammed by these guys..........but luckily I ran into someone who went to one of their meetings and gave me fair warning.

[cosmoblue]

I have family involved in quixtar and they really like it. They just buy the products that they already use and get a check back every so often. It is a way to save if you buy corn flakes or sneakers or floss. The way that they suggest you get rich is to get other people to sign up and buy their own stuff. It works for some people but it isn't for everyone. I'm not into it. However they do sell a fantastic water filter which I am going to buy.

[Tomaito]

One of my best friends is involved w/ Quixstar- I went to two of their meetings, but I don't like the idea of trying to recruit people to shop online when I myself don't even like doing it.