From: reb@punch.EBay.Sun.COM (Bob Brown)
Newsgroups: misc.entrepreneurs
Subject: Re: Amway vs Primerica vs Whatever vs Widgets Inc
Date: 3 Sep 92 17:54:54
Organization: Systar Technologies, Inc.
	<92240.115813SAYED@auvm.american.edu>
	<1992Sep2.232618.10541@waikato.ac.nz>
NNTP-Posting-Host: punch.ebay.sun.com
In-reply-to: cdb@waikato.ac.nz's message of 2 Sep 92 23:26:17 +1200



>>>>> cdb@waikato.ac.nz (Craig D. Beere) writes:

craig> In article <92240.115813SAYED@auvm.american.edu>,
craig>  <SAYED@auvm.american.edu> writes:
> Primerica is better than Ammway

craig> Why?

> you have the support of a $30 billion company

craig> With Amway you have the support of a $US33 billion company that
craig> is debt free.  You also have the support of whatever support
craig> company you are with.

One of the challenges in stating assets (or income) between companies
is how are the numbers measured. In Amway, the figures are hard assets
all owned by Amway and sales are figured by the dollar amount of
product sold. Among insurance companies the dollar amount of sales is
stated "$ XYZ billsions of dollars of insurance sold" which is based
not on the revenue but on the face value of the policy sold. I sell
you a $100,000 policy for $200, I don't say I sold $200 worth of stuff
but I sold a $100,000 policy. Assets are also figured differently--
Insurance companies will state they own $XYZ in assets but a large
portion of the assets is money set aside for future liabilities.

> most people say Amway is fake, but like what they see with Primerica.

craig> Can you post some numbers to support this, please.

I've been involved in both. There is a stigma with financial products,
there is a stigma with Household products. Depends on who you talk to.

I figure it this way--- sponsoring people is about the same in any
company and selling some product is about the same in any company.

These are the two things you must do. I would tend to choose a company
that does not require licenses (makes it harder to sponsor people),
and one which has a product/service that I don't have to constantly
find new customers for to create volume (how many policies can I
really sell to myself, how many can I sell to one family--- oops, to
make money next month I must find new retail customers).

> Primerica is a memeber of New York stock exchange and they are a
>   fortun 500 company.

Amway has a sales volume that puts it in the same category as a
fortune 500, it is privately owned so they make long term decisions
rather than short term decisions forced by stockholders and the owners
are the #4 and #5 richest people in America. (Really, this isn't to
brag but to point out that there is always the other side--- both
companies are good, let's not beat on each other too much.)


craig> I ask again, why is Primerica better than Amway?

craig> I also ask, WHY ARE WE COMPARING THESE THINGS?

Uhhh, my daddy is bigger than yours and he can beat him up!

craig> A comparison between business ideas seems silly to me.  Unless
craig> both businesses are offereing exactly the same package, how can
craig> you say one is better than another?  You can point to certain
craig> things, but the important things (like monetary return :-) are
craig> so dependant on factors you cannot measure (how hard people
craig> work, how smart they work, etc) that a comparison is
craig> impossible.

craig> Opinions on this?

I think I gave mine--- I'd prefer a company with more products not
less, I'd prefer a company that requires no licenses, I'd prefer a
company that's been around longer, I'd prefer a company that is debt
free. HOWEVER, I believe people can make money in any of them.
(Incidently, one of the really good books is _All YOU CAN DO IS ALL
YOU CAN DO BUT ALL YOU CAN DO IS ENOUGH_ by Art Williams, one of the
founders of AL Williams, now Primerica (and other branches).


Can we move this to alt.business.multi-level?!


Bob

--
--Bob
Systar Technologies, Inc.		   Sun: robert.brown@EBay.Sun.COM
1712 Picasso Avenue, #B & #C            Office: reb@systar.com
Davis, California  95616		 Phone: (916) 753 - 2611
Newsgroups: misc.entrepreneurs,alt.business.multi-level