| Comment Number: | 522418-03190 |
| Received: | 6/17/2006 11:51:19 PM |
| Organization: | PartyLite Candles and Gifts, Inc. |
| Commenter: | Marilyn Gowan |
| State: | GA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I was unable to view the proposal by clicking on the url's provided, however, I am told by my company, PartyLite Candles and Gifts, that the FTC has proposed two new regulations that would seriously restrict the flow of business for all Direct Sales organizations. While we (PartyLite and in particular I) realize that The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works to protect consumers from companies that might defraud or scam the public, many direct sales organizations, including PartyLite and another company that I am associated with, Isagenix, are legitimate companies that always adhere to the ethical guidelines of the Direct Sales Association. There must be some other way to pinpoint the companies and unscrupulous individuals whose dominant motive is profit and who might cause harm to individuals or the public. There are two regulations being considered by the FTC which could directly affect my PartyLite business and my Isagenix business, particularly with regard to the success of my sponsoring. These proposed regulations are: A seven-day waiting period This would mean that a potential new Consultant could not join until seven days after being provided with detailed papers about the business. An interested Hostess might have to wait to turn her Show into a Starter Show. She'd lose the momentum of her enthusiasm and that of her friends and family and I might possibly lose the new Consultant. In regards to sponsoring new people into my business, being required to provide each potential new Consultant with names and phone numbers of ten geographically closest Consultants so they could get references about the company would greatly hamper my business. Not only would this be time-consuming from a clerical point of view, it might even be considered an invasion of privacy for other Leaders and Consultants. It's hard enough at the current time to find and sponsor people into my businesses, but having to locate 10 other geographically close Consultants would complicate my business and decrease my effectiveness. I beg you to reconsider these regulations and develop some other alternative for protecting the public from unscrupulous individuals and companies. If companies such as PartyLite and Isagenix can show through an organization like The Better Business Bureau that they are legitimate and respectable companies, they should not have to be punished or restricted in business operations because of the actions of those who are less than honest. Perhaps you could make it possible for companies like PartyLite and Isagenix to be exempt from these regulations by showing their legitimacy through the Better Business Bureau or some other such business organization. If the Corporate office of a company could show proof to the FTC beforehand that they are legitimate, honest, and law-abiding, then they could claim exemption from these regulations so that each individual associated with the company would not have to suffer these restrictions and time-consuming activities. Thank you.