Woman Says She Lost $188,350 in Amway Despite Reaching Top 1%: 'I Was Stuck in a Cult'

Stephanie, who goes by the name Ticalindagirl on TikTok, is going viral for fearlessly sharing her disappointing experience of nine years working at the global multi-level marketing company Amway that sells health, beauty, and home care products.

Stephanie joined Amway when she was 21 years old. She had walked into the gym one day and saw a couple sampling energy drink products and conducting a lucky draw. Stephanie had told the lady that she never wins anything as she was trying to avoid the draw, to which the person said: 'You never know.'

Stephanie had put in her number and received a call weeks later confirming that she won, only to realise years down the line that everyone wins in this early phase of the MLM recruitment process. The lady called Stephanie again a month later and asked if she wanted to make extra money outside of her then dental assisting job. She decided to meet the gym couple at Starbucks, and was presented with a compensation plan that said it could help her make $70,000 for working 10 hours a week, which would become an asset of ongoing income.

Stephanie said she was encouraged to attend meetings with people and to approach potential recruits in places, which could be churches, gyms, or even grocery stores. 'I was stuck in a cult,' Stephanie had mentioned in one of her TikTok videos.

Her husband joined in with her when she was two years into the job. Stephanie had recruited him to join Amway through LinkedIn. Together, they eventually made it to the rank of 12 platinum, which is technically considered to be within the top 1% of the company. The couple left Amway a year and a half ago, and Stephanie has been posting TikTok videos sharing her experiences since then, which she described as an overall scam.

The Couple Lost Close to $200K Over 9 Years

When the couple got started, they spent $100 weekly on a babysitter while they attended meetings. Then, there was a subscription to buy products on the first of every month.

'We werent' really buying products, we were buying points. The standard was 300 points, which equals $1,000. You then have customers buy products that'll reach that. Some people have legit customers, but most of us were buying it all ourselves,' Stephanie had mentioned in a TikTok video.

They attended five conferences every year, which would cost them a total of $1,050 per conference, or equivalent to $437 per month. Another $250 per month in app subscriptions that would allow them to message each other within the group and for access to audios. Lastly, $100 to buy books and also to give to other people who would potentially join the group in the future.

Stephanie also shared a detailed breakdown of her earnings and expenses related to her tenure at Amway, implying a net loss of $188,350.

Stephanie's Exit From the 'Cult'

Stephanie was warned by many about Amway for years. 'I was told I was in a cult. I was told I was in a scam. It did not matter what people said because I fully believed with my entire heart. I was so convinced I was doing the right thing. I was so brainwashed,' she had said.

Many years into the job, Stephanie and her husband were mentoring a couple, and they got sent a video from a family about a deep dive into why the MLM company was a cult. The new recruits freaked out despite Stephanie's efforts to debunk all claims. However, when Stephanie watched the clip, she couldn't believe what they got into for years.

As she was unplugging, her husband continued to attend meetings and recruit people. They fought for two months, but her husband finally understood the gravity of the situation after Stephanie compelled him to watch The Vow, a documentary about the rise and fall of the NXIVM cult led by Keith Raniere.

She stopped going to meetings and listening to audios, realising how deeply they were brainwashed. 'My husband was convinced that I was under Satan's attack, that I was possessed by the devil,' Stephanie said in one of the TikTok videos. Her husband's behaviour convinced her they had to get out.