| Comment Number: | 522418-09398 |
| Received: | 7/14/2006 1:45:59 PM |
| Organization: | NuSkin International, Incorporated |
| Commenter: | William Hayes |
| State: | VA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Dear Sirs/Madams: I am a retired Marine who served our Nation for 26 years as both an enlisted Marine and, later, as an Officer of Marines. Among my tours of duty were two which took place in what was then the Republic of South Vietnam. My point in mentioning the above is that my service was offered as a means of protecting the freedoms of all Americans - including those in the Network Marketing industry who might be harmed or otherwise unduly burdened by the proposed Business Opportunity Rule under consideration by your agency. Having retired from the Marine Corps some years ago I am now an active Network Marketer and have high confidence in the methods and ethics used within the network marketing industry. I and those I've met in the industry conduct business with the integrity you expect of all those dealing with consumers, and, while I applaud your continuing concern for the consumer I am troubled by your proposed approach. With the enactment of the Business Opportunity Rule folks such as myself may well be unduly restricted and overly burdened in being able to offer both products and a business model of possible benefit to consumers. In a Nation which prides itself on its freedoms such a restriction seems unnecessarily antithetical. Specifically, I am opposed to the proposed 7-day waiting period which would in effect require one to sell a person twice on the same business opportunity. With respect to the proposed earnings disclosure I support the less onerous disclosure of an average earnings income statement since that helps establish more realistic expectations on the part of the consumer (as was the case with me). As to the matter of disclosing previous litigation - such should be done only when the party involved has been found guilty. I am not told, as a matter of course, how many times my Doctor or my Attorney have been sued before meeting with them on a particular issue. Why the additional burden on small business people such as myself? Additionally, requiring disclosure of contact information for at least 10 purchasers close to me may well invade the privacy of those customers and does not reflect the nature of network marketing, which, thanks to the internet, permits products to be sold in locations distant from the distributor. Please consider the points expressed above. Average Americans such as myself have few chances to invest in and develop legitimate business such as network marketing much less offer the same opportunity to others. Some of the taxes I send to Washington are for the purpose of supporting your agency's work - and I applaud your work as well as your service. However, please consider the adverse impact of your proposal on the little guy - that would be me. Sincerely, William R. Hayes Major, USMC (Ret.)