ERSP Refers Advertising Claims for Sellers Playbook to FTC After Marketer Fails to Respond to ERSP Inquiry

New York, NY – Sept. 20, 2017 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program has referred direct-response advertising for Sellers Playbook to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the marketer declined to participate in the ERSP inquiry.

ERSP is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The marketer’s advertising came to ERSP’s attention pursuant to an anonymous competitor challenge.

The core advertising claims identified by ERSP included earnings claims (“Join the experts at the free Sellers Playbook 2 hour workshop that reveals how everyday people like you and me are creating fortunes selling on the internet”) and general product claims (“How to start out even if you have very little or no money. Drop-shipping allows you to start selling now without buying bulk wholesale. You can start tomorrow even if you don’t have a penny to your name.”)

The company failed to respond to ERSP’s initial inquiry and the marketer was afforded a second opportunity to submit a substantive response, but failed to respond. Pursuant to section 2.6(B) of the ERSP Policies and Procedures, this matter has been referred to the FTC.