| Comment Number: | 522418-09309 |
| Received: | 7/14/2006 11:05:08 AM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Varner |
| State: | VA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I have been an IBO with Quixtar since its inception 6 years ago and for 20 years with Amway. Among other benefits, I have learned fiscal responsibility by owning my business. With the help of extra income my wife and I are now debt free including a paid-off mortgage. At a minimum, my business has always paid its own way. My goal is to qualify for the next higher bonus bracket. When I first registered I was very skeptical and asked a lot of questions, all of which were answered to my satisfaction. I was allowed to bide my time to be certain of my decision before I registered, about 3 weeks. Most important to my decision was the reassurance of my sponsor that I could be fully reimbursed should I change my mind within a reasonable period of time. I do not rush my prospects into the registering process until they are sure of their decision. Before my prospects register for about $180.00, I point out that the business is simple, but not easy, and that the best way to succeed is through consistent effort over 12 to 18 months to reach the first significant success level of Platinum. Quixtar will refund the registration fee of about $50 and I would buy back any unused products. A mandatory 7-day waiting period would be very detrimental to this type of business. Unless the prospect insists, I typically do not register a prospect before 7 days have elapsed. But I do start them into the business process of making a list and talking to some acquaintances about the business. I believe the requirement for a ‘Litigation List’ would be the death of this type business. The prospect has no method to distinguish between legitimate complaints and those without just cause, which is a responsibility of an arbitration board. The Quixtar Corporation and its owners have always been of the highest integrity, whereas most of the litigation comes from relatively few business owners (IBO’s), disgruntled for various reasons. The fact is that the Corporation can be checked through the BBB and that our affiliate businesses include some of the top Companies in the United States, which would certainly perform due-diligence before affiliating with any company. The ‘average monthly gross income’ figure is prominently displayed throughout the literature we lend to a prospect. However, this figure is grossly misleading to a prospect since it is based on all ‘active’ IBO’s which includes many who do nothing which brings the average down tremendously. The definition of ‘active’ needs to be changed to include only those doing some amount of business each month. Financial Substantiation: I could show prospects the amount of my bonus deposited into my bank account each month, but this would not tell all the story. It would not show the amount of legitimate business expenses for educational material and seminars, etc.