Amsoil advertising, when does it cross the line?

[Sled Puller]

It's interesting to see how dedicated the amsoil salespeople are. It does remind me a lot of the Amway crowd. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... some cases but for the most part the synthetic revolution has caught up with them. I use synthetic products but not the more expensive amsoil products.

cj

Hey, I went to Amway meetings and listened (snookered into going,it was a big secret meeeting on how to make money) to their speal. The only thing the two have in common is the AM. No way do I play that game. And nobody from Amsoil ever pushed that type of selling on me.



As far as the other brands catching up (meaning EVERYONE is making synthetic now)-well, let me ask you this Craig, what do you base that opinion on?



By saying catching up, you suggest Amsoil was the leader in synthetics, but if the others have caught up, you have to have some facts to back it up.



I would like to hear them.

 

[CraigJohnson]

I have to confess I went to an Amway meeting too about 20 years ago and walked out a dealer. Took me years to get my dealer refund back. Great products but not for me.



Facts? Sorry, just my opinion. When I used to service jet engines, we would put synthetics in because it would withstand the heat (800 - 1000 degrees)better than regular oil. As far as automotive use, my twin turbo nissan would hold its oil pressure longer (3000 miles) with synthetics as opposed to regular oil (1500 to 2000 miles). So, when I say caught up, i am referring mainly to availability. 20 years ago, amsoil was of the few synthics available for automotives. Today, synthetics are marketed by most every brand. I like the cheapest or the product on sale. I guess that tells you something too.



I would like to say that the last article in the newsletter (TDR 55, page 12-14) was a very well written article on oil. John Martin did an excellent job and obviously knows more about this subject than I would ever know. It didn't specifically address amsoil but i certianly learned some interesting things in that article.



Please do not take my comments to be a flame.



cj

 

[Sled Puller]

So, when I say caught up, i am referring mainly to availability.



Please do not take my comments to be a flame.



cj

That makes sense. A good friend of mine on the west coast, insisted that for an oil to be any good, it had to be on Wal-Marts shelf. I guess I hate Wal-Mart as much as some of you hate your neighbor selling oil.



Don't even get me started on what a real synthetic is.



Craig, even if I did take your comments as a flame, the good news is, it would be impossible for me to treat you any worse in person, than I already have.....

 

[MMeier]

A good friend of mine on the west coast.

Gene, you have friends out this way ??!! :-laf

 

[brods]

Sledpuller, as far as the oil wars, luckily I missed those, (lets not start another one here) but it sounds exactly like one of the reasons why I started this thread. I had been following a thread where a person posted about an issue with an Amsoil product. As tends to happen, the loyal Amsoil minions get all upset about anything negative towards Amsoil and basically they told the guy he was wrong rather than try to help him out. The worst part was, in this case, the Amsoil faithful were absolutely in the wrong, but thats another story... .



I don’t know if there is a double standard. I assume the dino guys did not work for oil companies. Because of Amsoil’s shrewd marketing tactics, it seems the majority of the Amsoil users are affiliated with the company in some way. Apparently, to get a discount the customer has to pay extra to become a member of the Amsoil team (preferred customer or dealer or whatever) and thereby becomes, not only a locked in, loyal customer, but also an active member of the Amsoil marketing machine! Its brilliant! But... once someone is affiliated with a particular company they have a conflict of interest when trying to be an impartial observer about that company’s products.



The concern is that Amsoil dealers, collectively as a group, incessantly post about Amsoil products. Some days the constant Amsoil infomercial running on this site seems unbearable, other days its tolerable, on very rare occasions the A word doesn’t seem show up. Simply turning a blind eye is difficult since the majority of threads having anything remotely to do with oil or any kind of filtration have Amsoil dealers plugging their products. Some threads are simply advertisements for Amsoil products while others are littered with plugs for Amsoil products.



I don't have the answers... maybe the TDR can add an Amsoil section to the forums so the dealers can post to their hearts content about the magical properties of Amsoil products and the virtues of the Amsoil lifestyle. Those who are interested can post up their questions and read all about the products and those who are not interested can steer clear.



Try to keep in mind that one can overexpose a product to the point where people get tired of hearing about it. Amsoil may make great oil and I don’t have an opinion either way on their oil. As for their filters (Amsoil doesn’t make them anyway) and other accessories..... well lets just say I have found Amsoil’s instructions and marketing of those accessories lacking. Point is, in the past I would have considered buying Amsoil products. Now I am so burnt out on the brand I want nothing to do with it. Even my kids play station game has the option of an Amsoil dirt bike. Is there no place safe from the marketing hype of the big A?????

 

[fest3er]

Gene, you have friends out this way ??!! :-laf

He has friends?!? :-laf :-laf

 

[fest3er]

... But... once someone is affiliated with a particular company they have a conflict of interest when trying to be an impartial observer about that company's products.

Not necessarily. If someone said, "I put Amsoil in my engine and it blew up!", I would allow that it could be possible, but the company's history of few (or no) failures would tend to belie that claim. I would also politely ask for all the unstated facts, for only with all the facts is it even possible to determine the root cause of the failure.

The concern is that Amsoil dealers, collectively as a group, incessantly post about Amsoil products. Some days the constant Amsoil infomercial running on this site seems unbearable, other days its tolerable, on very rare occasions the A word doesn't seem show up... .

Sir, that's seems to be a mighty wide brush you wield! I rarely post about Amsoil. In fact, in one post, I found the 2-smoke outboard oil inquired about, found the specs and found equivalent oils and where they could be purchased. After that I mentioned that Amsoil also makes a fine 2-smoke oil and that he could PM me for more details. Not all Amsoil dealers are vociferously gung-ho.

... Even my kids play station game has the option of an Amsoil dirt bike. Is there no place safe from the marketing hype of the big A?????

One could ask the same about NASCAR, Microsoft, HP, IRS and a whole host of other organizations with effective brand recognition programs.

 

[brods]

..... Sir, that's seems to be a mighty wide brush you wield! I rarely post about Amsoil. In fact, in one post, I found the 2-smoke outboard oil inquired about, found the specs and found equivalent oils and where they could be purchased. After that I mentioned that Amsoil also makes a fine 2-smoke oil and that he could PM me for more details. Not all Amsoil dealers are vociferously gung-ho... ...

You missed the point, it is not about any one dealer, though some do post prolifically about the products. There are many, many dealers and while any given dealer may plug the products only once in a while, threads often wind up with several posts, often by different dealers, cheerleading for Amsoil products. The end result is that collectively the Amsoil dealer network constantly posts about Amsoil products, like one giant tag team match. Again, a brilliant marketing strategy, but very tiresome.



Confusing the issue are the stealth dealers who have no visible means of affiliation with Amsoil, yet are dealers none the less. Dealers who, whether you agree or not, have a conflict of interest and are a part of the Amsoil marketing machine. It is only fair for us to know if someone is just a regular guy who uses Amsoil products and encourages others to use them because he believes in them and gains nothing if others buy the products, as opposed to a dealer who benefits as the products become more popular. Yeah, yeah... I know... all the dealers do not care one bit if anyone buys Amsoil products and they are just doing a public service trying to educate us unenlightened non believers. Maybe thats true, but please excuse me if I remain skeptical.

 

[Sled Puller]

Kind of like the "High Performance, Extreme, etc" Diesel shops that have sprung up out of no where, in the last 5 years, eh? Everybodys signature is a bill board to buy boxes and chips. But thats ok.



I guess when you go up against 100+ year old companies with collectively BILLIONS of dollars in advertising power, (and one of them sueing you for the "Zoil") you had better come up with a brilliant marketing plan.

Keep in mind when Amsoil started, they went up against 2000 mile oil drains, with 25,000 mile drains. Tough row to hoe.







To be honest, about %50 of my business, has been built on customers who are mad at their local dealer for pushing it too much.



Can't be helped. Neal and I can't babysit thousands of Amsoil delaers. The product speaks for itself, people will seek you out, who want it.