QUIXTAR IBO QUAGMIRE PROMPTS PONDERINGS UPON PASSWORDS
In other words, what'sup with those inaccessible IBO sites?

by Dan Hollings Copyright 2005

As an internet marketing consultant and developer of web sites used in the network marketing industry, it has befuddled me for years as to why any company would place a password requirement between a visiting potential customer and the products one wishes to sell. Yet for some 5 years running, Quixtar IBO site owners have grappled with this reality. By the way, an IBO is an Independent Business Owner and an IBO site is their personal "storefront" or "recruitment" site used to help them build their business online.

There was even a time when I personally developed and managed IBO web sites for Quixtar distributors and as sure as God made green tea for only 24.99 at Quixtar, I too had to succumb to this requirement to 'pass code'. Feeling much like a plumber installing a pay toilet at a construction work site, I set up a system that would keep most folks out whether they might wield a crowbar or rusty quarter. After a couple of years managing the system for over 10,000 IBOs, the results were exactly as you might expect... some folks were pissed off.

Well, not exactly. In fact, IBO subscribers actually increased and the distributor group selling the IBO sites to their members raised the price by 42%. How can you explain that? Either the IBO sites are like cocaine and no matter what the price you've gotta have your fix, or they're like a Bible and you can't go to church without one, or there's some secret something going on that leaves ordinary people scratching their head.

With no earthly explanation to satisfy the curious mind, I decided to ponder a bit on the topic and came up with these 12 quix-planations. I may be on to something here or I may be completely nuts. I'll let you decide if any of these make sense to you:

1. INVENTORY CONTROL
   That's correct. In an effort to keep product from flying off the 'virtual shelf' and facing criticism for shipment delays and backorders, the Quixtar 'restrictive access' system serves the important role of traffic governor on all Quixtar IBO sites. Speaking of governors, one wonders if Dick DeVos would want the same restrictive password system on voting machines should he run for office?


2. VISITOR ENTERTAINMENT
   According to a research report done by the "Quixtar Web Initiative" already well known for their entertaining Google Bomb Debacle, a 'think tank' of top diamonds and crowns determined many internet shoppers are growing tired of the 'one-click' shopping concept that helped push companies like Amazon.com to the top of retail sales charts. As an alternative, it is surmised that shoppers are seeking a more challenging shopping experience and may find Quixtar IBO sites their cup of green tea (let's not forget, it's only only 24.99 at Quixtar). This new initiative may be called the "64,000 Dollar Password" but thus far we have no winners. Where's Charles Van Doren when we need him?


3. CUSTOMER SCREENING
   Quixtar prefers 'smart shoppers', people that know what they want and are determined to get it. With only the smartest of the smart able to figure out how to get from an IBO site to the Quixtar shopping system, Quixtar has developed the perfect filtering system. The best part of the plan is the financing. With IBOs footing the bill at monthly rates averaging $14.95 a month, this filtering system has proven to be infallible. Our guess is that this is a 'patent pending' system which not only guarantees Quixtar the smartest internet shoppers but assures that all ordinary folk end up at Walmart.com.


4. ONE PAGE SITES
   Rumor has it that Quixtar IBO sites are only one page; a login page. This seems preposterous but thus far no one has ever stepped forward with proof to the contrary. If interior IBO site pages exist they may as well be stored on Roswell's Area 51, because more people have seen UFOs than IBO sites.
   
   In a recent development, persistent investigators are now one step closer to solving this mystery. A Nantucket lady, after becoming alarmed over a recurring 14.95 fee on her husbands VISA card, which he could not explain, filed for divorce and eventually got half of everything in a settlement. Technically, according to attorneys close to the case, this means she will get 50% of the password to her husbands IBO site. While not like getting the keys to Fort Knox, it is still the closest anyone has been to actually logging in to an IBO site to see what's hidden there (if anything). Until further breakthroughs are reported, the 'one page' theory is still valid.


5. THE GOOGLE KEYWORD STRATEGY
   
   Quixtar has recently approved the use of Google ads (pay-per-click ads) for any IBO needing help in logging in to their site. Details of the program are still being evaluated but according to industry observers it's a concept that might have potential. The basis of the plan (and this is a bit sketchy) is that it would allow IBOs to drive targeted traffic to their IBO site thus increasing the likelihood that someone can figure out how to get in and buy something.
   
   According to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professionals, rather than the obvious keywords one might expect an IBO to use (such as: XS power nutrition, nutrilite, artestry, or get rich quick), it is recommended the smart IBO seek targeted traffic using keywords like: hacker, encryption, decryption, crack passwords, warez, safe cracking, lock smith, ESP, psychic, Houdini etc. It's an intriguing strategy and has the potential to tap some of the last remaining market segments not yet saturated by Amway or Quixtar.
   
   Quixtar IBOs attempting to follow the official guidelines in Quixtar's new modified Rule 9.8 as detailed in Bulletin 26 are caught between a pickle and a hard roll. For example, the bulletin suggests you advertise using your name (like: John Doe) or your company name as a keyword. Quixtar's policy fails to take in to account that search engines like Google have a minimum click-thru threshold of .5% that if not met disables your keyword ad. Bummer.
   
   Let me explain... Let's say your name is Wilmer Fudd and you submit your ad for Quixtar's approval. They give it the thumbs up and you're off to the races, right? Wrong.
   
   If few people are searching for "Wilmer Fudd" or your company name "Suds from Fudd" and of those that do, if less than .5% ever click on your search engine ad, then you're soaped. Perhaps, if you've been evicted from your home and you have a boat-load of relatives, former neighbors and creditors searching for you through search engines you'll meet the .5% minimum, otherwise your out of luck.
   
   Our interpretation of Quixtar's policy suggests the use of "relevant" keyword terms is taboo. However, keywords like hacker, encryption, decryption, crack passwords, warez, safe cracking, lock smith, ESP, psychic, Houdini etc. may meet Quixtar's rules and do you more good than "Suds from Fudd" anyway.


6. THE 11 MONTH IBO SITE TRAINING COURSE
   High ranking Amway Quixtar distributors actually lobbied Alticor (the Parent Company of Amway and Quixtar) for the inclusion of a 'visitor password' requirement on the IBO sites they sell IBO members. To those outside 'the business' this might seem counter productive or at least dumb, but luckily a new series of audios (on both cassette and CD) claims to explain how this system generates money. Unfortunately, as of this writing, we've only reviewed audio #1 which explains how by the time you get to the last tape in month #11 you'll be able to own your own jet ski and private lake if you stick with the plan. For those already spending $14.95 a month on the IBO site, it only makes sense to invest another $4.95 a month on the audio course to learn how we can get that jet ski. Those who don't take the course are left to drown.


7. $115 A MONTH EARNINGS
   Those brochures, publications and other fine print documents all state that the average "active" Quixtar distributor earns $115/month, before expenses. No argument there. But, if Quixtar suddenly lifted the 'password rule' and allowed distributors to show their IBO site and market to real customers, those average incomes might go up and reprinting all those brochures would be a big job.
   
   Because of Amway Quixtar's close ties to government, a bill has been introduced to lift these IBO site password sanctions but it requires approval of the brochure committee and seems stuck there as they attempt to put together another law allowing a 'smaller point print' on disclaimers. Luckily, because IBOs are not employees, the minimum wage committee will not need to address the $2.75 per hour average earnings calculation. So we have good news and bad news. In the meanwhile everyone's left guessing.


8. ELECTRIC SHOCK TREATMENT
   The general public might not understand the division between corporate Quixtar (or Amway), the IBO top tier distributors (Diamonds and Crowns) and the lower level IBOs. But as it relates to these IBO sites, the IBO top tier distributors often operate a 'tools' and 'training' business on the side, independent from their Amway Quixtar business. Thus, while Quixtar may offer some tools and support materials, the majority of that business is controlled by the top distributors. This clarification is needed to understand why some IBOs have different IBO sites than others. The only thing in common about all these IBO sites, regardless of who profits from them, is the password requirement. An interesting new addition to one such IBO site is an electronic shock sound effect used each time you attempt to guess the password.
   
   This 'shocking' IBO site feature was discovered using 7search.com, here's the link:
   
   http://www.bww.com/PBP/ Templates/Template7/ FlashHome.aspx?siteid=710 4D203F8474CEB A96E86ABEEDB998 8&DetFlash=true
   
   OK OK, it gets the longest URL on earth award too, but that's another article. Not all IBO sites would have this 'shock the visitor' feature. It's not clear, but IBOs might be charged extra to have this effect added to their site. In any event, the question that's likely buzzing around in your head right now is who thunk up this dumb idea? One theory traces it back to the evolution of electric chairs. Crazy as it sounds at first, it has some merit. Apparently, this site was developed by some company up in Michigan where electric chair manufacturing is at an all time low. Even though thirty-eight states have capital punishment laws, Hawaii and Michigan have never put anyone in the chair. So, with no one else to shock, maybe these sites and the potential customers trying to access them get the shock of their life. Crazier things have been true.


9. SHARECROPPING SYSTEM
   I recently stumbled upon a Forbes Magazine quote:
   

   One must turn outside the world of business - to religion and politics - to find people who work as hard for as little financial reward as most Amway people do.

   For many, this might strike them as comparable to the sharecropping system as it is defined in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. You're hopefully too young to remember the Reconstruction era around 1865 following the Civil War, but a new theory claims it never really went away. Rather, it lied dormant for many years and morphed into Amway during 'Wave 1' and finally the high-tech tsunami version called Quixtar.
   
   Here is a snippet of Wikipedia's definition slightly modified to fit our times:
   
   

   IBOs (Sharecroppers) worked a section of the internet (plantation) independently, often selling soap, cosmetics, nutritional products and electronics (growing cotton), and received a very small percent of the retail sales (parcel's output). Though the arrangement protected IBOs (sharecroppers) from the negative effects of a bad business (crop), many IBOs (sharecroppers) were confined to job-like (slave-like) conditions of poverty. To work the internet (land), IBOs (sharecroppers) must buy "tools" and "IBO websites" (seed and implements), typically from their upline Diamond or Crown (the plantation owner) who may charge exorbitant prices against the IBO's next credit card statement (sharecropper's next season).

   
   Now you're asking, what does this have to do with IBO sites and the restricted access imposed upon visiting customers? Well, the "Sharecropping system" would not work if the sharecropper made too much money. It was the low income that kept the farmer down on the farm; dreaming and working, working and dreaming. These IBO sites are like a crop of seeds sitting in the arid desert. They are waiting for someone to open the irrigation gate. Only problem is, Quixtar controls the gate.


10. THE QUIXTAR 'WARM UP' THEORY
    It's common knowledge that the Quixtar shopping site is at best 'challenging' and at worst 'impossible'. Alexa tracking results seem to bear this out. Over the past two years (and perhaps longer), Quixtar's "rank" and "reach" and even "page views" have declined. The chart seen here (March 2005) suggests or illustrates how an IBO with an IBO site now has a "reach" TWO-THIRDS less than than they did just two years ago. The Quixtar site "reach" is shown at the top with a sample IBO site "reach" at the bottom.
    
    It's important to note that the statistics used in these Alexa examples count traffic to the primary domain and all sub-directories below the primary domain collectively, so if traffic is going to the primary domain, like Quixtar.com or bww.com the true traffic to an IBO site in a sub-directory would be dramatically less.
    
    Yes, yes, that was a big techno-babble explaination only to confirm what every IBO already knows... your IBO site is not likely getting much traffic. Quixtar is on the 'information super-highway' and your site is off on a dead end dirt road.
    
    But your IBO site does serve a useful purpose. 1) You have a web address to print on your business card. 2) It gives a few visitors you send to it a chance to 'warm up' on their hacking, searching, and guessing skills for an inevitable visit to the mothership, Quixtar.com
    
    I'm certain that Quixtar would say that they are not focused on traffic trends, but on sales, however it doesn't take a rocket scientest to realize that more traffic usually means more sales. Since sales are the goal, why the silly passwords.


11. NEW PARTNER STORE
    One online store long thought to be a part of Quixtar's "Partner Stores" though it hasn't shown up on any official list yet is HackersCatolog.com. (Note: I tried to hyperlink to Quixtar's list of partners A-Z, but it requires a password... no, I'm not kidding).
    
    Again, this is not verified, but if true, it would be a match made in Quixtar heaven. Customers could purchase items like "Guide to Hacking 2005: CD" (only $20) from HackersCatolog.com or their "Master Hacker Professional Edition" (only $15) and learn how to get past those pesky password pages like sipping green tea in the shade (only 24.99 at Quixtar).


12. MUSINGS OF GREEN TEA AND BEYOND
    Yes, the Quixtar IBO site quagmire continues to prompt ponderings of passwords by pundits past and present. Not everything in this universe; certainly not everything on the internet; and for sure not anything about these IBO sites conforms to known standards of reason or logic. Perhaps the real reason Quixtar 'stays the course' with a failed IBO site program is so people like me will have something to write about. After all, you can't appreciate a good distributor website unless you compare it with the worst. Now, back to my green tea.

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