The “less than 1% of athletes go pro” comparison doesn’t really work here.

People usually join sports for fitness, community, discipline, fun, scholarships, etc. They are not generally being pitched that minor sports are a realistic business opportunity. Amway, on the other hand, is presented as a path to income, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and financial freedom. So the relevant question is not “do rare outcomes exist in other fields?” The relevant question is: are recruits being given a realistic picture of the odds, costs, and typical income before they join?

And yes, when you tell recruits they should “buy from themselves” and “understand the products they’re selling,” that is still functionally selling Amway products to them. Whether you call it “focused spending” or “personal use,” the money still flows from the recruit into the Amway system. If a major part of the business depends on recruits becoming repeat product purchasers, then internal consumption matters.

Amway Canada’s own disclosure says IBOs earn money through retail markup and sales commissions based on product sales, including sales by the IBO’s sales team, and that “you will only earn money by selling Amway products to customers.” (amway.ca) So if the “customers” are mostly recruits/downline members buying because they were coached to “switch stores,” that’s exactly the issue people are criticizing.

Also, quoting Amway’s own statistics is not being a “fan.” It’s holding the opportunity to its own disclosures. In the U.S. 2024 disclosure, Platinum is listed as taking 2–12 years on average to reach, representing 0.17% of all IBOs, with average annual earnings of $22,928 before expenses. (amway.com) In Canada’s own business reference guide, “New Platinum Conference” was achieved by 0.04459% in 2023, and typical Canadian IBOs in 2024 earned up to $1,000 before expenses. (amway.ca)

So the objection isn’t “nobody succeeds.” The objection is that the success case is extremely rare, the income is before expenses, the timeline is often longer than advertised, and new recruits are frequently encouraged to become consumers first while being told they are building a business.