Amway’s Proposed FTC Order Would Tie Pay Credit to Customer-Sales Records

Amway’s proposed September 17, 2026, settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and Washington state would require eligible customer sales to account for at least 70% of each U.S. participant’s monthly product volume. Under the proposed order, that test would affect how sales volume is credited for compensation. The proposal also calls for $225 million in payments; the available records do not establish that the order has taken effect or that payments have been made.

The September 17 complaint names Amway Corp. and two training providers, World Wide Group LLC and Leadership Team Development Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. At a September 24 review, the FTC’s case page listed the matter as pending, and the posted order had a blank judicial-signature line. Those records do not establish court entry.

What would count toward compensation

The 70% threshold uses the point value of eligible customer sales as a share of monthly product volume, rather than a count of items sold. If a participant falls short, the proposed order would reduce credited business volume under its formula, with specified consequences for uplines. It also sets customer-sale and training conditions before an upline can enroll someone directly beneath them. These compensation-plan terms would start nine months after court entry; the filing gives no estimate of how many participants’ payments would change.

For an offline transaction to qualify as an eligible customer sale, a participant would have to report specified details, including the actual price and payment method, within 72 hours of purchase. The proposal also specifies customer registration and receipt communications. An independent auditor, paid by Amway, would examine sales data. The order does not price that work.

Claims remain contested

The FTC and Washington allege misleading statements about likely earnings and instructions to report customer sales that did not occur. Those allegations are not judicial findings. In its September 17 response, Amway disputes the regulators’ characterization and their assertion that its sales data is inaccurate. The company says it will continue using that data to track customer sales. Under the proposed settlement, the defendants neither admit nor deny the allegations, apart from facts necessary for jurisdiction.

The proposed order would also restrict misleading earnings, recruitment and mentoring representations. Earnings claims would require substantiation; an average could not be presented without a corresponding median, and relevant expenses could not be omitted. These are proposed terms for the defendants and covered persons, not a new industry-wide reporting rule.

Of the proposed $225 million, $221 million in FTC-directed amounts is designated for possible nationwide consumer relief, and $4 million is allocated to Washington state. The reviewed records do not establish a completed payment or consumer distribution. The next question is whether the district court enters the order; until then, the nine-month deadline for the compensation-plan changes has no established start date.