Unsolicited Merchandise
UNSOLICITED MERCHANDISE: STATE AND FEDERAL REMEDIES FOR A CONSUMER PROBLEM The practice of sending merchandise as an offer of sale without an order or solicitation has long plagued the consumer.' Gifts of unsolicited goods provide effective advertising since consumers welcome a free opportunity to try a new product, 2 but when unsolicited merchandise 3 is sent as an offer of sale, subsequent attempts to collect payment present difficult consumer problems.' The problems have prompted action by several state legislatures, 5 Congress,6 and the Federal Trade Commission7 attempting to regulate or eliminate this sales technique. Such efforts have radically changed I. See generally FTC Consumer Bulletin No. 2, "Unordered Merchandise-Shippers Obligations and Consumer's Rights" (June 25, 1968), 2 TRADE REG. REP. 7559.75 (1969). Although no statistics are available, the scope of the problem is indicated by some of the findings of fact made by the hearing examiner in Joseph L. Portwood, No. 8681 (F.T.C. Jan. 19, 1968), final order issued, [1967-70 Transfer Binder] TRADE REG. REP. 18,176 (FTC 1968), affd, 418 F.2d 419 (10th Cir. 1969). The defendant, a professional stamp dealer, estimated that 5,000 dealers in the United States mailed unsolicited stamps. 2. If the free goods are razor blades or drugs and are appropriated by children before reaching the intended recipient, a serious health hazard may exist. A bill, H.R. 3954, 90th Cong., Ist Sess. (1967), was once introduced to prohibit the unsolicited mailing of such products except to physicians, dentists, and barbers. Hearings were held, but the bill was not reported out of committee.
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