| Comment Number: | 522418-07043 |
| Received: | 7/8/2006 7:55:50 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Smith |
| State: | GA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
-----Forwarded Message----- From: Arbonne VP Support Sent: Jun 28, 2006 5:54 PM To: Arbonne VP Support Subject: Pending FTC Ruling, Revised Communication Please disregard the original FTC Communication e-mail sent earlier today. There have been slight modifications, so please reference this e-mail and attachments instead. Thank you. Dear National and Regional Vice Presidents: As some of you are aware, on April 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) regarding business opportunities. This proposed new rule would most likely apply to all direct sales companies, including Arbonne. About the Proposed Rule If adopted, this rule could have a serious impact on our industry, requiring direct selling companies to drastically alter their sales methods and placing additional burdens on direct sellers such as you, in order to comply with federal law. The most potentially detrimental requirements of the Proposed Rule would require that: · Disclosures are given at least seven days before any prospective purchaser signs a contract or makes payment to the seller. · Sponsoring Consultants provide a "disclosure statement" which would include information such as previous lawsuits, the number of direct sellers who cancel within two years and a list of "references" i.e., new Consultants in the previous three years. · Sponsoring Consultants who make earnings claims provide an additional "Earnings Claim Statement" to prospective Consultants, including extensive earnings disclosures that would need frequent updating. · New definitions of "business opportunity," "business assistance" and "earnings claim" be created, resulting in broad-based language that would encompass many direct selling practices. Where to Learn More The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available at: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2006/04/R511993BusinessOpportunityRuleNoticeofProposedRulemaking.pdf What You Can Do to Help Rest assured that Arbonne, other direct sales firms and the Direct Selling Association (along with other industries and related parties) will weigh in and meet with regulators regarding this Proposed Ruling. We hope you will join us and write a letter to the FTC expressing your concerns about the proposed Business Opportunity Rule. Your input is extremely important and the FTC wants to hear comments from the public. The Commission will review all input, consider information conveyed at hearings and various meetings and then make its final ruling. It may take one to several years for a final ruling. Should I Share This with My Team? This proposed ruling is in the very early stages and we feel it would be premature to involve all Consultants at this juncture. As VPs, we want you to be aware of the situation and know we are taking measures to voice our concerns to the FTC and we encourage you to do the same. How to Contact the FTC The best way to make your voice heard on this issue is to send an e-mail directly to the FTC. We recommend you attach your letter by going to the following link online: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-bizopNPR. You can also copy and paste your letter in the spaces provided. Please copy us, at governmentrelations@arbonne.com, Attn: FTC Ruling, when you send your e-mail to the FTC. Alternately, you can mail a letter to the FTC. Deadline Written comments to the FTC must be received by the agency on or before July 17, 2006. Please open the attachments below for instructions on writing your letter, plus a sample letter. Thank you for your support, VP Support