Thoughts On the New York Mets and Amway Business Center at Citi Field

34 Comments + Add Comment

• tlagee February 26, 2013 at 7:21 pm

  Mate – you sound angry.

  Me, I kind have given up with how the owner and front office deal with things.

  Thanks for bringing it up though. Keep up the good fight!
• sarge69 February 26, 2013 at 7:33 pm

  I laughed Joe when I first saw the image and then your concerns,.
  One of the famous lines from a movie I once saw was, “You ain’t selling no Amway products are you?”
  Saw the image and had to laugh.

  Take a breath JoeD and lets just move on cause Amway is here, I just hope they don’t start making presentations while players are in clubhouse.
  • Donal February 26, 2013 at 9:03 pm

    I’m Gonna Get You Sucka?
• Metties and Beer February 26, 2013 at 7:45 pm

  Joe – Scamway can fill hundreds of seats every game.
• Kranepool7 February 26, 2013 at 7:52 pm

  Are these owners who care about there image? Or about there fans? They are a bunch of hoodlums!
• Perseus February 26, 2013 at 8:00 pm

  Made that mistake before…
• taskmaster4450 February 26, 2013 at 8:06 pm

  Are they renting the space that was originally reserved for Uncle Bernie’s financial planning center….it was detained and couldnt open up for a while.
• jessep February 26, 2013 at 8:12 pm

  I honestly think this is just an issue because people like Howard Megdal need something new to accuse the Wilpon’s on since the first thing didn’t really work.

  Seriously who cares? Amway is a presenting sponsor for one of the most elite franchises in sports – the Detroit Red Wings. For crying out loud they have their logo on Detroit’s practice jersey. That’d be like being on the Yanks BP jersey.

  It’s no big deal. It’s a sponsorship.

  I bet this becomes a topic on WFAN at some point but they won’t tell you Kars 4 Kids got fined for misleading donors or that they have been investigated. But something tells me that sponsorship won’t go anywhere right?

  Here is the ultimate proof that people are focusing on this just to talk about something

  Mets have Amway as a sponsor, big deal
  The name of the Mets stadium is one of the banks that needed a federal bailout and almost lead to the greatest economic depression this country has ever seen.

  But no, its Amway that makes the Mets look bad right
  • Padilla February 27, 2013 at 6:56 am

    The cult has to defend everything. i guess when you make a deal with the devil you make a deal with the devil 100%. Good show jessup. You have proven to all posters without doubt that you do not have a thought of your own. JESSUP = OWNED BY WILPON/KATZ/ALDERSON.
    • Kay February 27, 2013 at 7:49 am

      You proved without a shadow of a doubt, that your sole purpose is to post idiot comments to certain posters, show your lack of reading skills, or have a clue about the actual subject being discussed. Get a life.
    • jessep February 27, 2013 at 8:49 am

      Padilla – Rather than display your man crush on me in a public forum could you perhaps share your point of view as to why this matters even a little bit?

      Who else sponsors the Mets? Do you care about them as well? Has Amway been found guilty of anything? No. If they were do you think they’d be a sponsor? No. So what is the big deal? The big deal is it’s February and people still need to talk about little things just to get themselves up in the morning.

      This sponsorship has literally 0 impact on the fans unless the fans CHOOSE to let it have an impact. I can go to Citi Field and have no interaction with anybody from Amway. So whats the big deal?
      • Donal February 27, 2013 at 9:48 am

        Well, Alticor (the parent company of Amway) did rebrand their North American operations as Quixtar in the 90s, but shut that down and brought them back under the Amway umbrella because the Federal Trade Commission sued Quixtar. Alticor basically pulled them out from any legal troubles.
• srt February 26, 2013 at 8:20 pm

  Was listening to WFAN mid afternoon today and came in the middle of the one sided discussion Francesa was having with himself regarding that Amway storefront. Certainly didn’t sound to me like he was defending that position. Sounded to me like he thought it was a dumb idea by the Wilpons and I think he ended that rant with something like: ‘Well there you have it folks. Amway storefront and awning just steps away from the Citi ticket office. What will they come up with next.’

  There’s a reason I very rarely tune into Francesa anymore. His one sided rants, interrupting callers and constantly repeating himself is just annoying to me. But on this subject, he’s got a valid point. Can’t believe the Wilpons and their PR people didn’t realize the media would pick up on this and run wild with it. Since they probably did realize, they obviously didn’t care. Just more money to be made for their empire.
• Michael Geus February 26, 2013 at 8:48 pm

  I was actually over there Friday and saw the storefront that day. I thought it odd, as they have never had a store, but it didn’t rile me. I’m not a Wilpon guy at all, but this a more of a punch line than an issue.
  • Joe D February 27, 2013 at 10:03 am

    Michael, thanks for your comment. I agree with you and that’s why I kind of wrote this tongue in cheek and ended the post with a kind of parody and with some humor. I didn’t even want tot ouch this if not for the masses on Twitter accusing me of being a shill by not covering this on MMO. It didn’t matter though because guys like @DanxTanna still busted my balls anyway.
• Donal February 26, 2013 at 9:06 pm

  Just out of curiosity, who is responsible for these decisions? Do the Mets have sole control over what vendors are in there? Did they strike the deal with say, Verizon or McFadden’s?

  Or is there some property management group that does all this for them?
• Nick February 26, 2013 at 10:25 pm

  Hey Joe,

  I’m actually an IBO in the Amway Corporation. Just to let you know I am 37 years old and retired from a six figure income from corporate America because I was able to replace my income with my business. Oh, and my wife has been retired for 8 years. You clearly don’t know all you should or can about the subject because you’re another one of those ignorant people who failed to get credible sources. Amway isn’t a scam. I never made money from signing anyone up, I worked my tail off since I was 22 to get free and make a good life for myself. Amway is not a pyramid because there is an exchanging of goods. You can argue that it is set up like a pyramid, but what business isn’t? There are CEOs and below them are the VP, and below them are the managers and so on and so forth. There is only so high you can climb, and the person above you always makes more money, unless of course you are successful enough to be the CEO. Then you are just trading years of your life for money. But you continue to talk about something you have no true knowledge of, because I’m sure you are smarter than the hundreds of attorneys who make decisions for Amway’s partner stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble, and hundreds of other companies. You really think they would allow their companies to be a part of a pyramid scheme? Come on Joe…

  Over 11 billion dollars in sales and in existence for 51 years. Doesn’t sound like a scheme to me.
  • Padilla February 27, 2013 at 6:59 am

    Lots of people, especially the Wilpons, did very well for decades from the great financial genius of Bernie. I guess Madoff didn’t have a scheme either.
    • Metties and Beer February 27, 2013 at 7:32 am

      Very mature.
  • jessep February 27, 2013 at 8:53 am

    Nick – Great job adding actual insight to the subject. Let me explain to you what happened here.

    Howard Megdal wrote a “book” in which he came out and accused Fred Wilpon of knowingly participating in the Ponzi Scheme. He even went so far as to “predict” the team would be taken away from Wilpon from the trust due to this.

    When none of that happened or turned out to be true, Megdal had to go find a new hook because if he didn’t he’d look like he was just accusing innocent people of wrong doing.

    So when this sponsorship came up, he jumped on it. I have no idea if Amway is or is not a scheme. I will tell you this though – if guys with 0 knowledge of the inner workings say it is, then it probably isn’t. Amway doesn’t hide how they operate – a scheme does and would. Madoff wasn’t out there telling people how he was making money illegally.

    All this is, is a sponsorship from a company. That’s it. People want to make a big deal because they want to criticize everything and anything the Wilpon’s do.
  • Joe D February 27, 2013 at 9:58 am

    Thanks for shedding some light on this, and you’re right I don’t know enough about Amway to debate you or anyone else about it. All I know is about federal indictments and investigations that have often made the news cycle. I know they were fined $150 million dollars for illegal tactics over the years and were forced to change how they operate. I also read that over 75% of IBO’s lost money with Amway and not made money. That’s all I know.

    Can you explain if any of that is true or untrue?

    And can you also tell us if the Amway of 2013 conducts it’s business any differently than it did in 1985?

    Because the three questions I posed at the tend were not conjured up. They were from my memory of a co-worker back in the eighties who was trying to sell me laundry detergent. I only switched it to read polish.

    Thanks for commenting.
    • Nick February 27, 2013 at 4:35 pm

      Joe,

      Thank you for resonding in such a timely fashion on this matter. I did not intend to come off condescending, I just get defensive of my livelihood since people have been wrongly attacking Amway for years.

      I will start off by saying the things you stated are absolutely true. Amway has been sued for over $150 million dollars. However, those cases were filed for fraudalent advertising of “motivational tools,” not the business structure itself. Those cases were indeed settled outside the court, but Amway was found of no wrong doings in their actual business structure. In fact, the biggest lawsuit against Amway was Rick Setzer and Sue Lynn Setzer v. Amway Corporation in 1986. The funny thing about the folks who sued Amway for their motivational tools was that they continued in the business and reached one of the highest platforms in the sponsoring phase and became popular motivational speakers themselves.

      As far as the 75% of IBOs losing money through this business, I would say that is a fairly accurate number. However, that number isn’t because the business is a scam. That number is because the people who enter this business don’t realize that it is just that, an actual business. The plan itself is extremely simple, but there is a distinct difference between simple and easy. People for fail to make money in this business lack the actual desire to own a business and show a lack of consistency. In any business you have to have consistency to gain success. If I opened a restaurant and only showed up once a week to sell food for an hour or two there is a good chance I will never make any substantial profit in my business, let alone any at all. There is no silver bullet in the Amway business plan beside the one people are sitting on when they think the money will just come easily. You get out what you put in, and for someone like me who worked their tail off for 15 years to replace my income and be free, you could see why I get defensive when people who don’t understand the business give it a bad name.

      And to address your last question, yes the business has drastically changed, but not the model. The business model Amway developed is still the same. The only things that change are the means by which we sell our products and the incentives in which we are able to achieve as IBOs. But honestly what business doesn’t change? Society and it’s trends are changed yearly, and Amway does the best it can to maximize their selling potential just like any other business would do, so what is so wrong with that?

      With all that being said, I really do enjoy your site. In fact, I am a daily visitor, and more often than not I visit multiple times a day. I would much rather read your articles and topics then any other site covering the Mets because I believe you guys often avoid the irrelevant topics and biases that other sites tend to display. However, you should consider ALL your viewers, and use better discretion when writing your articles. I know half the people don’t care what I have to say, and that is fine, but I will always defend the way I make my living. So I just ask that for the sake of your site’s credibility, don’t post things where you are mocking a business or anything that you openly admit to not being able to form a educated arguement for. I respect you and I respect all you do for Mets fans just like me, dedicating your time for the FANS. i hope you take my suggestion as seriously as I take the time to write it. You haven’t lost a viewer, but I just ask that you consider all things before you post.

      Thank you,
      Nick
• mcaraballo February 27, 2013 at 8:44 am

  Wouldn’t it be cool if instead there were bars, a McDonalds a pizza joint, or something that would add a great baseball vibe when going to games? look how cool it is at PNC park around the stadium before you even go in it. But Amway?? seriously its about getting both parties money nothing about the fans. I hope fans don’t get duped into joining pyramid schemes avoid the awning folks just walk away….
  • Donal February 27, 2013 at 10:44 am

    The Mets say that Amway is just renting the space and are specifically forbidden from trying to sell their goods or recruit outside of that particular office space.
• vinnie papandrea February 27, 2013 at 9:30 am

  The Amway center must be in the OF for you to be complaining about it
• DMets3 February 27, 2013 at 10:53 am

  Facepalm for all Mets fans right now.
• Marvin February 27, 2013 at 11:40 am

  welcome to flowbee stadium
• Metsie February 27, 2013 at 2:31 pm

  So Jeff Wilpon has finally built a career and business for himself!

  I guess thats how they have gotten themselves out of debt!
• Bob February 27, 2013 at 4:04 pm

  For anyone that comments negative about the Amway center- just doesn’t have the character it takes to be successful in Amway… There is nothing you can do about it- they are here to stay!
  You can research any company and find stuff about them- try googling yourself- o you probally wouldn’t show up because you haven’t done anything with your life!! Have fun seeing the Amway name everyday!!!
• Kurt Smith February 27, 2013 at 4:21 pm

  I hear the Mets are looking into a sponsorship deal with the “Grit” newspaper…
  • Bayonne Mets Fan February 27, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Maybe you can get David Wright to subscribe. Maybe he’ll learn something.
• Jerseymet February 27, 2013 at 8:32 pm

  This partnership makes a lot of sense for Amway. Their business center could attract many a Met fan into the Amway family. Amway has had great success within the Evangelical community. Who has deeper faith than us Met fans. Hey Ya Got To Believe!
• Michigander February 28, 2013 at 11:57 am

  Just an FYI — the VanAndel and DeVos families have injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the West Michigan economy by donating substantial amounts to universities, non-profit organizations, and building world-class medical centers, arenas, libraries, you name it. Without their generosity downtown Grand Rapids would probably resemble a scaled-down Detroit — it’s now a wonderful and safe city and is the unofficial craft beer capital of the US and has the largest art contest (ArtPrize) in the world (thanks to Dick DeVos’ grandson) that draws hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe. I can’t speak to Amway’s business practices, but it’s clear that its owners have been unusually gracious with their wealth to help make West Michigan an absolutely great place to live.
• Rich from Lake Como March 3, 2013 at 2:04 pm

  Cheesy…. and sleazy.