Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council Recommends PaperPie Discontinue Salesforce Member Earnings Claims

McLean, VA – March 15, 2024 – BBB National Programs’ Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) recommended that PaperPie discontinue certain earnings claims made by salesforce members on social media.  

The inquiry into PaperPie, which distributes children’s books and educational products, was commenced by DSSRC through its ongoing independent monitoring of advertising and marketing claims in the direct selling industry. 

The earnings claims that formed the basis of this inquiry include, but are not limited to:

• “If spending $5 could bring you extra income, would you do it? If spending $5 could bring you complete financial freedom, would you do it? . . . If spending $5 could let you work from home, would you do it? . . . I am so grateful for this company who always puts us first, supports us and gives us the freedom to work our businesses how it best fits into our lives!” 
• “You will: . . . -Change your life -Gain financial freedom”
• “Enjoy a flexible schedule—set your own hours / Experience financial freedom—unlimited earning potential / Earn fabulous trips and other prizes along the way”
• “Whether you are looking for an exciting career with a potential six-figure income or to add just a few hundred dollars a month to your income with only a few hours of work each week …”
• “Whether you'd just like to grow your own home library with a personal discount, make a few hundred extra a month to cover kid activities, or turn this into a six-figure income for your family -- you can do it all with Usborne Books & More!” 
• “I decided to join to get some financial freedom . . .”
• “Want to get lots of free books and a ticket to financial freedom?!!”
• “Unlimited Earning Potential: As an Independent Partner, you are in control of your success. With attractive commission rates and incentives, you have the opportunity to earn a generous income while doing something you love.”

As stated in DSSRC’s Guidance on Earnings Claims for the Direct Selling Industry, some words and phrases commonly used in earnings claims can carry a particularly high risk of being misleading to consumers. Such words and phrases include claims such as “financial freedom,” “full-time income,” “replacement income,” “residual income,” and “career-level income.” Furthermore, earnings claims must be substantiated and representative of a level of earnings that can be generally expected by the audience. 

When DSSRC opened its inquiry and informed PaperPie of its concern that these types of earnings claims can lead a reasonable consumer to conclude that salesforce members can earn significant, career level, or replacement income from the PaperPie business opportunity, PaperPie did not contest DSSRC’s concerns. Instead, PaperPie promptly responded to the DSSRC inquiry and took steps to have four of the active brand partner salesforce member posts discontinued and educate those salesforce members on the importance of not using inflammatory earnings claims. In regards to the remaining posts, PaperPie reached out to inactive salesforce members to ask them to take down the reported posts, and took steps to ensure posts that originated outside the U.S. were addressed.

DSSRC appreciated PaperPies’s good faith efforts to address this inquiry, however remained concerned that certain posts relating to financial freedom, unlimited income, and six figure income are still publicly available from active brand partners. 

DSSRC recommends that PaperPie initiate enforcement measures against the active brand partners responsible for the publicly available posts, including termination or suspension of their accounts until the challenged posts are taken down. 

For the remaining posts from inactive salesforce members, DSSRC recommends that PaperPie take additional steps to have the posts removed, including using any tools available on social media for reporting trademark or copyright violations. 

In its Company Statement, PaperPie stated that it “… has taken immediate action and will continue to enforce policy in relation to instances of concern raised by the DSSRC. The company has been successful with the removal of a majority of the claims associated with our organization and will continue our efforts to have the remaining posts either appropriately altered or removed altogether. PaperPie will continue to work directly with the DSSRC to provide information regarding our efforts to comply with and train our salesforce on policy adherence.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For full text of DSSRC decisions, visit the DSSRC Cases and Closures webpage.