Back in the late 80s I joined Amway because to me, it was a smart move. Not only for the products it sold, but for the opportunity to own my own business. I could pay a yearly fee to become an individual business owner (IBO) and not have to pay for a building or warehouse space. It was something I could do at home and enjoy all the tax benefits from owning a business while also working at my job.

In the beginning, it was a little difficult because we actually had to sell the products to other customers and deliver the products to their homes. I would tell them about my business and was hopeful they might like the idea of duplicating what I was doing and also become an Amway distributor. At that time, it had some disadvantages because of the constant traveling and making contacts.

However, in the 90s along came the Internet explosion and Amway started getting the idea of using this new tool to sell their products. Mind you, it was primarily for the use of the business owners and not the general public. Later we (as IBOs) could use the internet to relay the products using our own domain to link the sales of other IBO’s I referred to my business, thereby earning points for bonuses from Amway.

Well, when the Dot com bubble burst, we continued to use the internet for our business and it continues to grow to this day. One of the reasons many small internet companies went out of business is they forgot their customers were ready to buy in large quantities, which the internet seller could not provide. So little by little they started dropping out.

Eventually, Amway decided to do away with products that could be bought locally and kept the products they could deliver and test for quality performance. They were first in the market with concentration of cleaners and biological products. They already had make-up products, laundry products, vitamins and water treatment systems. Finally, they added a Partner Store link to other major stores where you could visit each store and buy products from them without leaving the Amway portal. Companies like Sears, Target, Best Buy, Disney, PetSmart and many others are part of the Partner Store program.

Recently, Amway became public and now anyone can shop in their store. That is the essence of what Amway is to me. Now I just tell anyone who is interested they can register as a customer at Amway.com and shop around. They can register using my IBO number which is 217639 and my IBO Key which is COR. Once registered, they can shop to their hearts content!

I’m on the internet constantly. From Google to Facebook to Amazon and my regular email. I signed on with Amazon because it provides everything I need if they have it. I’m also paying for Prime which allows me free shipping on everything I buy and also books and movies streaming on the internet which I can download to my TV which is connected to the internet through a WiFi router.

As in Amway, they have my credit card stashed in their file which pays for any product I want. If you’re not a Prime customer you have to pay for shipping. Most of the time I can find what I need. Sometime I click on the partner stores to look around in Amway. However, I still order my cleaning products from Amway on a regular monthly basis.

Both Amway and Amazon are still evolving and growing. Both of them are the biggest stores on the internet because of their warehouse capability and delivery options.

By the way Amway is short for the American Way. Amazon is Fast Shipping from A to Z.

To me, the main difference between Amway and Amazon is that when I purchase anything through Amazon, I’m helping Jeff Bezos’ bottom line. When I buy through my Amway business, I’m helping mine.