| Comment Number: | 522418-07734 |
| Received: | 7/11/2006 3:54:28 PM |
| Organization: | Quixtar |
| Commenter: | Jeffrey Evers |
| State: | IA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Comments regarding proposed rule. Personal Experience: I have been an Independent Business Owner with Quixtar/Amway for over 29 years. I have reached the level of Sapphire and have been able to add significantly to my life style; i.e. travel, free time and material things. In addition, through my involvement with Quixtar I have developed skills that are priceless (people skills, goal setting skills, etc.). I have my children involved with me in this business; that should be enough evidence as to my belief in this opportunity for both now and the future. When I was registered, there was ample information made available to me to make an informed decision about whether or not to register and today, 29 years later the information has only gotten better. When people join our team they know this is a business not a “get rich quick” plan; they know hard work is required, and there is no guarantees of success in this or any thing. We have a Business Support System that we make available to all IBOs at no charge that assist with that understanding. As an IBO, there is a $52 registration fee that goes to Quixtar. We also add a $150 product pack that we promote to all IBOs. If for any reason an IBO decides to leave the business, a full refund on both the product pack and the registration fee is refunded to the person. Addressing Specific Issues: The requirement of a seven-day waiting period: Good companies, like Quixtar already have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. There is nothing gained by making people wait seven-days. Having a seven-day waiting period would at the very least hurt our business by not helping a new IBO to get a fast start. And at the worst it would have un-registered, excited prospects who want to share this idea with their friends, sharing the opportunity as an un-registered IBO; which I believe would be a violation of another law… We all ready have a written buy back guarantee; we all ready have a law on the books for retribution if we don’t honor that guarantee. We don’t need another law; at least for companies like Quixtar. The requirement to provide references: This requirement would infringe on the privacy of every IBO whose name, address, and phone number was provided to prospects. It would also penalize the sponsor, who would be required to give his prospect contact information for 10 other IBOs, any of whom might be happy to register the prospect themselves. The requirement to provide a “litigation list”: Among other problems, this requirement would open up Quixtar and other legitimate companies to false accusations. Meanwhile, dishonest companies would simply ignore the rule. The requirement for specific earning disclosures: I would have to make a different disclosure for every income claim. This would include any examples I might use during an opportunity presentation to illustrate how the Plan works. If disclosures are needed, require a simple, standard, easily understood disclosure such as "average monthly gross income for 'active' IBOs." The requirement for financial substantiation: We are not offering people our income; we are offering them an opportunity. What I have or have not done with the opportunity is irrelative to what they can do. IBOs should possess substantiation for any claim but should not be required to disclose it except when required by the FTC and similar state agencies in an agency investigation.