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Recently, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has published a proposed Business Opportunity Rule that would apply to all business opportunities, including vending machine sales, medical billing, and direct sales opportunities, regardless of the entry fee.

The name, city, state, and telephone number of at least the 10 purchasers within the past three years who are located nearest to the prospective purchaser's location;
The total number of purchasers of the opportunity during the past two years, and the total number of oral or written cancellation requests during the same two-year period; and
All legal actions during the past 10 years alleging misrepresentation, fraud, securities law violations, or unfair or deceptive practices against the Company, any of its officers, directors or any employees involved in sales of the opportunity, regardless of whether the Company or the officers, directors or employees were found not guilty or not liable.

The biggest obstacle is probably that, under the proposed Rule, the disclosure document must be presented to the potential recruit at least seven calendar days before the recruit may sign an application or make a payment. A separate disclosure document is required if ANY earnings claim is made. Each application, disclosure statement, disclosure receipt and oral or written request for cancellation would have to be maintained by you for three years.

It is clear that these requirements, if enacted, would place a serious and undue burden upon us Shaklee Distributors, and would unnecessarily complicate the process of sponsoring. We believe this Rule, if enacted, could have a negative impact on our business as well as all direct selling businesses. Therefore, the time is now to do something about it. Corporate is asking our help, to write to the FTC.

Written comments to the FTC should be recieved on or before July 15, 2006.

Electronic mail is the best way to express your views to the FTC.

Use the following Web link: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-bizopNPR/. Click on the link and follow the instructions on the web-based form. You must use the FTC's form when filing electronically.

The FTC will be counting the comments received, so numbers are important.

Here is a sample letter that you can use and then write your own comments or use to express this same idea only in your own words.
I am writing this letter to express my strong opposition to the proposed Business Opportunity Rule R511993. I understand that it is the responsibility of the Federal Trade Commission to protect the public from "unfair and deceptive acts or practices," but the rule as proposed would make it very difficult for me to operate my business as a Shaklee Independent Distributor.
One of the most confusing and burdensome sections of the proposed rule is the seven-day waiting period to enroll new distributors. Most of the people who sign an application do so to purchase products at a wholesale price. In other words, they are solely consumers of the products. If they later wish to build a business, all they must do is supply Secret Company Corporation with their Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number. There is no additional kit, fee or application required. The Barefoot Secret Member Kit costs only $19.95. This is far less than many, if not most, consumer purchases, from TVs to all manner of household appliances, none of which require a seven-day waiting period. In addition, the seven-day waiting period is unnecessary in that Secret Company Corporation already has a 90% buyback policy for products, including the Member Kit, purchased by a distributor within the last two years.
The proposed rule requires the disclosure of a minimum of 10 prior purchasers nearest to the prospective purchaser. There are many problems with this proposed requirement. In this day of identity theft, I am uncomfortable giving out the personal information of other Shaklee distributors, without their knowledge or consent, to strangers. I understand that those who sign up after the rule takes effect would be told in writing "If you buy a business opportunity from the seller, your contact information can be disclosed in the future to other buyers." I believe that this would dissuade new people from signing up as distributors as they are concerned not only about identity theft, but also about their privacy.
People today are understandably reluctant to share their personal information with individuals they may never have met.
Providing the ten references also could damage the businesses of numerous Shaklee distributors. Lower ranking distributors often are involved in more than one direct selling company. Providing a list to a potential recruit, who may already be a distributor for a competing direct selling company, may be an invitation to solicit existing distributors for such other opportunity.
The ten reference requirement also is an administrative burden. In order to obtain the list of 10 prior purchasers, I will need to provide Barefoot Secret Corporation with the prospective distributor's address, and then wait to receive the list of the 10 nearest distributors who became distributors within the past three years. Each prospective recruit will need a customized disclosure statement. This will result in a delay far longer than seven calendar days before any potential recruit can sign an application. In view of the fact that many people enter direct selling part-time to earn extra income for a specific goal, such as holiday purchases or a family vacation, the long wait which the proposed rule will entail may make the goal unattainable.
The proposed rule calls for the release of any information regarding lawsuits that allege misrepresentation, or unfair or deceptive practices over a ten-year period. It does not matter if the company was found innocent or not liable. Today, almost all business lawsuits contain claims of misrepresentation or unfair competition. It does not make sense to me that I would have to disclose these lawsuits unless Barefoot Secret Corporation, or its officers, directors or sales department employees, had been found guilty or liable. Otherwise, fifty-year old companies such as Barefoot Secret Corporation and their distributors would be placed at a disadvantage compared to start-up direct selling companies, which may not yet have experienced litigation but which are far more likely to have legal issues surrounding their opportunities.
Insert your own information HERE
While I appreciate the work of the FTC to protect consumers, I believe this proposed new rule has many unintended consequences for direct sellers and that there are less burdensome alternatives available to the agency to achieve its goals.
End of Sample Letter
You guys our voice does make a difference... I urge you to take the time and make you voice heard. That is one of our rights OK? The rulemaking process is expected to take from two to three years. I'll will keep you informed of developments.