| Comment Number: | 522418-02030 |
| Received: | 6/13/2006 4:25:04 PM |
| Organization: | HealthSource |
| Commenter: | Bruce Backman |
| State: | CA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Regarding: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) R511993. I would encourage the FTC to seriously rethink this issue. I believe that it is a travesty for the federal government to step in and try to protect (so-called) individuals who refuse to take personal responsibility for themselves. All legitimate direct selling business opportunities are easily researched. If someone cannot find information to verify what a person is telling them, they should say no to that person. It really is very simple. Instead, it is being proposed that the burden be put on people that are honest and hardworking who are involved in the direct selling industry. It is my understanding that this proposal would create loads of extra record-keeping and administrative duties. Is that what we want for our country's citizens? Shouldn't we be trying to free up people a bit to be able to perform to the best of their abilities rather than be hindered and tied down by more unnecessary work? Now I understand there are some dishonest people out there purporting that their scams are legitimate. I am approached by them just like other people. It is not difficult to say no to these people. It takes a whole lot less time and energy to say no than it would to turn around on the other side and be bombarded with an excessive amount of record-keeping and extra administrative duties. Plus, the vast majority of people are honest and hard working in the direct selling industry. Another issue that I understand that people would be required to give out references. I am very uneasy about this. I think that most people have references anyhow. But, it is a whole lot different to be required to give references versus it simply happening in the course of events. When people ask for references, one needs to get permission from the references and then share them with the person asking. That is fine because it is a part of doing business. However, not everyone asks for references which is great because it requires less work and less intrusiveness into other people's lives. Most people are very willing to be a reference some of the time...but asking them to have to be a reference all of the time is totally unreasonable...and I believe it would become a privacy issue. This type of regulation would only create problems and mistrust. After all, if I know that you are required to have references, then I am not going to trust those people nearly as much as people who have volunteered to be references. I realize that the direct selling industry has gotten a bad rap in previous years. However, there has been a great deal of good that has come out of the industry for millions of people, I believe. Our lives have been dramatically changed because of the industry in multiple areas. I am involved with Nature's Sunshine Products and the benefits that we have gained through being involved with this company have been numerous. We have been greatly helped because of the nature of the industry. The industry breeds trust and integrity in the area of relationships. People are intertwined and greatly rely on eachother to be successful. We have benefitted financially and have been truly blessed because of what we have learned about taking care of our own personal health because of the fantastic and wonderful educational opportunities that have been afforded us...not to mention the fantastic products that they make. We have had very positive experiences through our relationship with the direct selling industry. One final thought concerning this matter is that even if we had ever been swayed by a crafty individual...the consequences are typically irrelevant. For instance, it costs $40 to become a member with Nature's Sunshine but they allow a $40 wholesale order to cover that cost. So, in essence the risk of trying this out is less than the risk of simply buying products from a retail store. So, if someone is unhappy, they simply return the products and get their $40 back...no risk! Sincerely, Bruce