Also Amway isn't a pyramid scheme. It's stupid and an incredibly risky way to try to make money, but it simply doesn't fit the legal definition of a pyramid scheme. It's pretty easy to dismiss Amway for a whole host of reasons, no reason to do it based on one of the few claims that isn't legitimate.
Nobody joins Amway because they believe in the products, they join because they believe in the pyramid concept.
But I agree with you that nearly everything else was garbage. Some of the food was good but I was not concerned with health in 2007/8 so it may be garbage from a health/nutrition standpoint.
MLM is equivalent to a pyramid scheme in a practical sense. What the lawyers are paid to say is none of my concern.
Edit: I have neither the skills nor desire to be successful in MLM, but to imply that all MLM is a pyramid scheme is idiotic. I don't see nearly the vitriol for Pampered Chef that I do for Amway, maybe because Pampered Chef isn't a $9.5 billion global enterprise? Because the majority of people have either done Amway, know someone who used to, or have been asked to, and they resent hearing about it over and over? I talked to probably ~300 people in the short time I was involved in it and I only remember 2 who had never heard of Amway before.
If you've bought into MLM, as I suspect you might have, get out now. That money might as well have been set aflame.
Skills to be successful at MLM? What skills are those? Sociopathy?