| Comment Number: | 522418-12026 |
| Received: | 7/17/2006 5:46:17 PM |
| Organization: | Cairns International, Quixtar |
| Commenter: | Neil Cairns |
| State: | TX |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
To the newly proposed rules regarding Direct Selling, I would like to make the following statements. I feel that the Federal Trade Commission is making commendable effort in regulating what can at times be an unpredictable market. There are however, a few points which I feel may need to be reconsidered. Firstly, my wife and I have been an IBO with the Quixtar opportunity since January of 2005 and have been very pleased with our experience with the company. When I got started into business I did so for just over $200, including the products I purchased. At that time, I was told that this money was refundable should I choose to leave Quixtar within ninety days of my registration having seen people on my own team choose to quit, I know this to be true. Therefore, I do not believe that a seven day waiting period is practical, as this would discourage people who were getting started from feeling like they could actively build their business and would inhibit people from making a maximum profit their first month in business. It would not help to keep people from being conned, either since they can get 100% of their money back, there is no need for concern on this point. Next, I would like to address the requirement to provide documentation of past litigation. I feel that this step is more of a bother for business owners than it is an aid to those thinking of getting started with a business opportunity. While there may be many lawsuits against Quixtar, or any direct selling business, that does not mean that they are legitimate suits which would thereby raise concern. This also provides incentive for less-than-reputable companies to come and go much faster, after all, if they have to provide litigation dating back 10 years, it would be easier to appear to be legitimate if they had not been around long enough to accumulate substantial litigation. Also, litigation is a poor measure of the income potential of a given opportunity, i.e. Wal-Mart and Microsoft both have substantial litigation against them, yet are very successful companies. Thirdly, I would like to state that I am firmly against the requirement to provide references to potential prospects. I am a member of the US Navy, and a member of the intelligence community. As such, I do not like the idea of having my name, phone number, and address distributed to anyone other than those I specifically provide that information to. To release this sort of information to others could potentially be a serious endangerment to me and my family. Also at issue is the concern that prospects might choose to be sponsored by another person due to these references, unfortunately, not all IBOs would turn down such an offer. In order for people to become a part of my business team, they are required to attend some sort of event with the larger local team, whether that be a training event, or a weekly open meeting in which they are shown the business plan, they are provided an opportunity to meet those people in the local community who are active in building businesses with Quixtar. During such events, they are able to ask questions of others, and gauge for themselves what they think of the local team. Lastly, while the requirement to disclose every income claim made during a presentation makes some logical sense, I feel that the old regulations on this issue are very much successful and right on target. At present, we note during our presentation the average gross monthly income of an “active” IBO in the US, and Canada. I do not believe that loading a presentation with percentages will help to clarify but rather further confuse the business plan, if in an average 30 minute presentation, I provide –for instance- 5-10 additional statistics, I believe the relevance of those statistics would be lost. I would otherwise like to thank, and congratulate the FTC on the fine work they do to help ensure that the American people can enjoy the freedoms that me and other servicemen fight to protect daily.