Consumer Reports Articles
This file summarizes the findings of all Consumer
Reports ratings of Amway products that I know of to date.
Distributor pricing for the SA8 powder and liquid were taken from Amway's
3/95 Wholesale Price List. Distributor pricing for Zoom was taken from 3/93
Wholesale price list. For all the others, I either used the most current Amway
distributor price list, or estimated the distributor cost based on the percentage
difference between the retail prices given in the CR reviews and Amway's 1993
suggested retail prices.
Amway E-84 countertop water filter (7/97)
Eight countertop units were tested. Amway's E84 received the highest overall
effectiveness rating, about 90 out of 100 points, followed closely by the Shaklee
BestWater MTS2000, rated at about 88, and the PUR CT-6000 and Kinetco 6500 at
about 82. (It's hard to be exact about the rating points because CR uses little
graphs to represent the results.) Following are the initial cost and annual
cost of the top four units (based on 1 gallon of water daily and taking into
account replacement cartridges).
Brand Cost Annual Cost
------------------------------
Amway $310 $85
Shaklee $230 $95
PUR $70 $22
Kinetco $250 $87
------------------------------
Distributor cost on the Amway E-84 as of 9/96 was $248, plus $44.75 for the
required faucet connector hardware, plus 4% shipping, for a total of $314.86.
(CR does not mention if the other units also require additional installation
hardware. CR also did not include the cost of the faucet connector in their
published ratings results...if they had, the suggested retail cost of the Amway
unit would have been $367.30.)
All four units were rated as having an average flow rate. All but the Kinetco
were capable of filtering parasites. CR noted that the Amway unit has a "useful
filter-change indicator.
Scrub Brite liquid scouring cleanser (8/96)
16
powders, liquids, and gels were tested. Products were grouped into two categories,
"Effective and Gentle" and "Effective but Harsh," and within
each category ranked by cleaning effectiveness. Scrub Brite was rated last in
cleaning effectiveness of the 9 products in the "Effective and Gentle"
category. It received a "Very Good" on not being too abrasive, and
"Good" on cleaning.
At a retail price of $5.05 for 21 ounces, or $.24 per ounce, Scrub Brite
was the most expensive on a per-ounce basis of all the products in its category,
and the second most expensive of all the products tested. The only more expensive
product was Shaklee At-Ease Heavy-Duty, at a jaw-dropping $.75 per ounce. The
top-rated liquid, Clorox Soft Scrub Extra Gentle, was priced at $2.87 for 24
ounces, or $.12 per ounce; it was awarded a "Good" on abrasiveness
and an "Excellent" on cleaning. The top-rated powder, Bon Ami, was
priced at $.80 for 12 ounces, or $.07 per ounce. and was awared a "Very
Good" on abrasiveness and an "Excellent" on cleaning. (In general
the powders seem less expensive than the liquids, but I don't know how powders
and liquids compare as far as how much you need to use to get the same results.)
At the distributor price of $43.18 ($41.52 + $1.66 shipping) for a case of
12 21oz bottles, Scrub Brite is $.17 per ounce...a much better buy than at retail
but still more expensive than all the other products except for Shaklee.
Dish Drops (2/96)
21 products were tested.
Products were ranked primarily in order of cleaning effectiveness. Dish Drops
were ranked #14, and singled out as being a poor value:
"The best brands carry familiar names--Dawn Palmolive, and Joy. But
Ajax, Sunlight and Dazzle (from KMart) were all very good, and a bit cheaper
than the brands at the top of the Ratings. In contrast, the Amway liquid,
an undistinguised cleaner, was by far the most expensive."
How expensive? The five top-rated products all cost about $.06 per oz...the
cost of the Dish Drops was $.26 per oz, over four times as expensive. The distributor
cost of the Dish Drops varies depending on how much you buy...a single 1 liter
bottle costs $7.61 + $.30 shipping, or $7.91, for a per-oz cost of $.23. If
you buy a case of six 4-liter bottles, the cost is $155.44 + $6.21 shipping,
or $161.65, for a per-oz cost of $.20. Of the 13 products that were rated as
being as effective or more effective than the Dish Drops, some costs as little
as $.05 per oz. Even at distributor pricing and purchased in bulk, Dish Drops
is 4 times the per-oz. cost of an equally effective product that doesn't have
to be purchased in bulk.
(Dish Drops were previously rated by CR in the 9/91 issue, and were singled
out as being "far and away the poorest value." See below)
Crystal Bright (10/95)
23 products were tested,
16 powders and 7 liquid gels. Crystal Bright (a powder) was rated #2 overall
in effectiveness, an improvement over the 12th of 16 rating it got from CR on
2/92. At a cost-per-use of $.45 per load, however, Crystal Bright was again
the most expensive on a cost-per-use basis, four times the cost-per-use of both
top-rated Palmolive and Par (a Safeway brand), which was rated #3 and only marginally
less effective than Crystal Bright. At distributor pricing, the cost-per-use
of Crystal bright would be approximately $.35, still three times as expensive
as a number of products that were rated almost as effective or better. Crystal
Bright is a better value than some brands that were far less effective and almost
as costly, but most shoppers should have not trouble finding products that represent
a better value. CR did point out that Crystal Bright was one of the least likely
to cause etching damage in soft water.
The top 5 products and their cost-per-use were as follows:
Palmolive Ultra...............................$.11
Amway Crystal Bright..........................$.45
Par (Safeway).................................$.11
All...........................................$.14
Shaklee.......................................$.39
SA8 Concentrate, powder and liquid (2/95)
35
products were tested, 17 liquids and 18 powders. The SA8 powder was rated #5
overall and #4 among the powders. The cost/load of the top five products tested
were as follows:
Tide with Bleach Alternative (liquid)..........$.52
Cheer with Color Guard Bleach Ultra (powder)...$.41
Tide with Bleach Ultra (powder)................$.41
Gain w/Odor Removing Ultra Bleach (powder).....$.32 (recommended Best Buy)
Amway SA8 Concentrate (powder).................$.41
The difference in effectivenes between the Amway SA8 and the Tide Ultra seems
fairly minimal, with the SA8 in the low end of "Excellent" and the
Tide in the high end of "Very Good." At distributor pricing, including
shipping, the cost/load of the SA8 would be about $.38.
The SA8 liquid was rated #32 out 35 products tested and #13 out of the 17
liquids tested. At about $.35 per load (dist. cost), it was not the most expensive
of the liquids on a cost-per-use basis, but of the 12 liquids that were rated
as more effective, 6 were less expensive to use. The SA8 liquid was a full 40%
more expensive on a cost-per-use basis than Arm & Hammer Double Power Fresh
Free Concentrated, only $.25 per use.
Zoom Concentrate (9/93)
40 products were
tested, 22 pourable and 18 spray. Zoom was rated #10 of the 18 spray products.
CR notes that the product was tested at the recommended 1:1 dilution for "extra
tough" cleaning, and that Zoom is "not labeled for full strength
cleaning," which I interpret to mean it needs to be diluted.
The cost-per-ounce at the 1:1 dilution was $.10 per fl. oz. Again it was
not the most expensive product to use, but of the nine products that were rated
equally or more effective, 4 were less expensive. Top-rated Lysol Direct was
$.08 per fl. oz. At a distributor cost of about $.08 per oz., Zoom is a more
reasonable buy, although still more expensive and less effective than Formula
409 at $.07 per oz., Prevail (Kmart) at $.06 per oz., and Walgreens Super Spray
at $.05 per oz.
Clear Trak vacuum cleaner (2/93)
The Clear
Trak was rated 12th out of 20 uprights tested, but at $600 was the second most
expensive, beat out only by the ludicrously costly $1600 Kirby, which at least
got a #2 rating for effectiveness. For the price of a Clear Trak, you could
buy three of the #1 rated Panasonics or six of the #3 rated Eurekas.
At a distributor cost of $479, the Clear Trak is still the second most expensive
upright tested. (I don't have the shipping charge on this item, but Amway charges
7% of suggested retail unless otherwise specified.)
CR had this to say about the Clear Trak:
"Many models retained dust well, a the ratings show. The Danish-made
Nilfisk, a canister that touts its ability to scoop up on hold onto allergens,
proved to be the top dust-trapper. On the other hand, three bagless cleaners--the
Amway Clear Trak, Sears Kenmore Destiny, and Rainbow-- virtually spewed
tiny particles. The Amway and Sears, both uprights, trap dirt by swirling
particles inside a plastic container."
Water Treatment System E-9225 (2/93)
Five
countertop units were tested. Three of the products, including Amway's, were
rated equal in performance and superior to the other two. However, the initial
cost of the Amway product was $227, plus $53 or $83 for tubing and connections
(the price for the two competing units apparently included the tubing and connections,
since CR did not note otherwise), compared with $119 and $65 for the other units,
and its operating cost (cost to treat 1000 gallons of water) was $110 compared
with $25 and $36 for the other units.
CR reported that the Amway unit was the fastest of the three at filtering
water, 0.6 minutes per gallon compared with 1.8 mpg for the Sterling and 2.3
for the Amtek.
Distributor cost on the E-9225 was $174.99, plus $41 or $64 for the tubing
and connections (plus shipping), which would still make it three times the cost
of the Ametek CT CMR-10, and twice the cost of the Sterling Springs CTS.
Crystal Bright dishwasher detergent (2/92)
16
powders and liquids were tested. Crystal Bright was ranked 12th out of 16 products.
Of the 4 ranked below Amway, 3 were A&P store brands. CR found that they
had to double the recommended usage amount of Crystal Bright to get good results,
and singled the product out for being a particularly poor value:
"Two powders that are not sold in stores deserve special mention because
of their extraordinarily high cost. Shaklee Basic-D and Amway Crystal Bright
cost 38 cents and 52 cents per four-tablespoon dose, respectively. Both
products suggest using small amounts--two tablespoons for Amway, four teaspoons
for Shaklee. But if you follow Amway's suggestion, you'll see reduced performance
and still pay 26 cents per wash--more that twice what you'd pay for a four-tablespoon
dose of Cascade powder.
"Amway and Shaklee powders are three to four times as expensive
to use as top-rated Cascade. You can get by with less, say their sellers,
but if you cut Amway's dose in half, it will still be twice the cost of
Cascade and its performance will suffer."
At distributor cost, including shipping, Crystal Bright's cost per use would
be about $.46, still the highest off all products tested and almost 4 times
the cost of top-rated Cascade.
CR had also had this to say about Crystal Bright's performance:
"Many detergents did at least an adequate job of preventing film and
spots from developing on glasses. Products that did the worst job on spots
included A&P Liquid Lemon and Amway Crystal Bright."
And those who are concerned about the environment should take note of these
comments:
"As a rule, a four-tablespoon dose of dishwasher detergent contains
about as much phosphorous as a half cup of laundery detergent. As the Ratings
indicate, phosphorous content varies. Amway contributes the most, seven
grams per four-tablespoon dose."
Dish Drops liquid dish soap (9/91)
18 products
were tested. For this test, CU first assigned each product a "usage
factor"—basically an index of the products strength or concentration—and
then used that to determine the real cost of using the product to obtain effective
results. Despite the protests of Amway distributors who claim that CU ignored
the concentration factor of their product in testing, CU did quite the opposite
and specifically tested the products for concentration before using them in
the actual cleaning tests. Products were then listed in order of increasing
real cost. Dish Drops were listed dead last, and again the Amway product was
singled out as being a particularly poor value.
"But strength is not the full measure of detergent. When you multiply
a liquid's usage factor by its price, you can determine the products REAL
cost--what you actually pay for a given amount of cleaning power.
"The strongest detergent we tested was Amway Dish Drops, sold
by the well-known direct marketing company. Dish drops has a usage factor
of 0.8. But at $6.80 per quart, it's far and away the poorest value. It's
real cost is $5.44 per quart [$6.80 X .08]--four times as much as Kroger,
the top-rated brand.
"The Amway label suggests diluting the concentrate with water
for 'maximum economy.' We tried that, adding two parts water to one part
concentrate. The real cost remained $5.44--the same poor value, no matter
how you dilute it.
"The Amway label also claims that 'lab tests show quart-for-quart,
Dish Drops cleans up to 800 more dishes than the other leading competitor.'
A teaspoonful of a high-rated product--Kroger liquid, say, with a usage
factor of 1.0--will wash about 20 dishes. That's about 120 dishes per ounce
and nearly 4000 dishes per quart. With a usage factor of 0.8, Amway Dish
Drops should wash 20 percent more dishes. Sure enough, 20 percent of 4000
is 800, precisely the number of additional dishes claimed on the label.
But Kroger liquid will do 4000 dishes for $1.35. Amway Dish Drops will
wash 4000 dishes for $5.18.
"The strongest dishwashing liquids are often the most economical
to use, but not always. Three liquids at the top of the Ratings--Kroger,
Sunlight, and Ajax, all with a usage factor of 1.0--have a real cost of
less than $1.90 per quart. As the usage factor increases, the real costs
tend to rise, too. Kroger Cost Cutter and Pathmark No-Frills, two supermarket
brands that are cheapest to buy, actually have a real cost of about $3.70
per quart. And the Amway Dish Drops, though the strongest, is BY FAR
THE WORST BUY." [emphasis mine]
The real cost of Dish Drops, according to CR, was $5.44 per quart, the most
expensive by far and 4 times the cost of top-rated Kroger. Cost per quart at
distributor pricing would have been about $4.65, still the most expensive and
the worst value.
Magic Foam carpet cleaner & Easy Magic Dry Powder cleaner
(1/91)
15 carpet cleaners were tested. Amway Magic Foam tied
for 3rd with 9 other products, finishing above the 4 products tied for last
place. On removing 8 types of stains it got 3 "Poor" and 5 "Fair"
ratings. Of the products it was tied with for effectiveness, Amway Magic Foam
had the highest cost per square foot of coverage at $.05 sq. ft. compared to
$.016 for Woolite Self Cleaning or $.025 for Turtle Wax Carpet cleaner.
Distributor pricing on Magic Foam would have been around $.04 per sq. ft.
of coverage, making it one of the two most expensive of the products rated equal
to it in effectiveness, and the same price as Host Dry Carpet Cleaner, which
was rated as being the most effective.
On the other hand, Capture Dry Powder Cleaner--also sold as Amway Easy Magic
Dry Powder--got a second place rating out of the 15, just under Host. CR did
not give the coverage figure for Easy Magic, so I was not able to figure the
cost per square foot. However, CR gives a price of $19 for a 4-lb. box of Capture,
while Amway's 1993 distributor price for a 4-lb. box of Easy Magic is $18.92
or $20.24 with 7% shipping added.
E-9320 carbon water filter (1/90) 13 high-volume
filters were tested, and the Amway E-9230 was among the 4 filters given the
highest rating by CR. It was also the second most expensive, and at $276 was
almost twice the cost of the also top-rated Sears 34201. CR noted that the cartridge
on the Amway unit was "more difficult to replace than most,"
and at $69 was 2 to 3 times the cost of the cartridges for the other units.
At a distributor cost of about $231, including shipping, the E-9230 is less
expensive than all but one of the other three top-rated units, but the cartridges
are still far more expensive.
Aerosol oven cleaner (3/87)
Amway oven cleaner
was rated 4th out of 8 products. All 8 products were in 16 oz. containers. At
$6.50, the Amway product was again the most expensive by far. The next most
expensive was $2.84, and top-rated Mr. Muscle was only $2.74.
At a distributor cost (including shipping) of about $4.90, the Amway product
is still far more expensive than all the others.
Buff-up furniture polish (1/86)
Amway Buff-Up
aerosol spray furniture polish was in the lowest-rated of three groups of products.
To be fair, the rating method used here seemed rather confusing. What was clear,
though, was that the Amway product was the most expensive of the 34 brands tested.
At $.56 per oz., it was almost 3 times more expensive than top-rated Favor Lemon
at $.21 per oz. It was almost 6 times more expensive than A&P Lemon at $.10
per oz., which got a slightly better rating than Buff-Up. I don't think the
old "but it's concentrated" excuse would work very well for
an aerosol spray.
At a distributor cost (including shipping) of about $.42 per oz., Buff-Up
is still far more expensive than the other products tested.
Amgard E8496 burglar alarm (10/84)
The burglar
alarms were not rated for effectiveness. At $600, the Amway system was 2 to
6 times more expensive than the 9 other systems, although it does come with
2 sensors and 3 transmitters—more than any of the others. Without knowing the
cost of additional sensors and transmitters it's hard to compare costs. I noticed,
though, that the Mountain West system, which comes with 5 sensors but no transmitters,
is priced at $160, and the Radio Shack system with 1 sensor and 1 transmitter
also costs $160.
I have no distributor pricing information for this product.
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