Amway decision (1979)

In 1979 the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Amway's business was not an illegal pyramid scheme, pointing to three rules the company enforced: a buyback policy, the 70% rule and the ten customer rule. The decision became the reference point for how US multi-level marketing plans are structured.

Later cases, including the FTC's 2016 settlement with Herbalife, moved the emphasis from the presence of such rules to whether compensation actually depends on retail sales to real customers.