Robertson Sales Co.

Text (OCR of the scan at left; may contain errors)

IN THE .:IATTER OF ROBERTSO SALES CO. ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC., I:\ REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLA1'IO); OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COM IISSION ACT Dockei C-1186. Cumplaint, Mar. 24, 1.f67-Decision, Mar. 24, 1967 Consent order requiring an Oklahoma City, Okla., manufacturer of tents and tarpaulins to cease using deceptive pricing claims for its products in catalogs furnished to retailers.

COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Act, the Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Robertson Sales Co., a corporation, and W. R. Pape, individually and as an offcer of said corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondents, have violated thc provisions of said Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Robertson Sales Co. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue or the laws of the State of Oklahoma with its principal offce and place of business located at 1016 N. Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Respondent W. R. Pape is an offcer of said corporation. He formulates, directs and controls the acts and practices of the corporate respondent, including the acts and practices hereinafter set forth. His business address is the same as that of said corporation.

PAR. 2. Respondents are now, and for some time last past have been, engaged in the manufacture, advertising, offering for sale sale and distribution of tents, tarpaulins and other merchandise to retailers for resale to the public.

PAR. 3. In the course and conduct of their business, respondents now cause, and for some time last past have caused, said products when sold, to be shipped from their place of business in the State of Oklahoma to retailers thereof located in various other States of the United States and maintain, and at all times mentioned herein have maintained, a substantial course of trade in said products in commerce, as "commerce " is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

ROBERTSON SALES CO. ET AL. 351 350 Complaint PAR. 4. Respondents, for the purpose of inducing the purchase of their products, have engaged in the practice of using fictitious prices in connection therewith by the following methods and means:

By distributing, or causing to be distributed to retailers and others, catalogs which depict and describe their aforesaid products and contain a stated price for each. In the manner aforesaid respondents thereby represent, di.. rectly or indirectly, that the amounts shown are respondents bona fide estimate of the actual retail prices of said products in respondents ' trade area and that they do not appreciably exceed the highest prices at which substantial sales of said products are made at retail in said trade area.

In truth and in fact said amounts shown are not respondents bona fide estimate of the actual retail prices of said products in respondents ' trade area and they appreciably exceed the highest prices at which substantial sales of said products are made at retail in said trade area Therefore, the statements and representations set forth above were and are false, misleading and deceptive. PAR. 5. By the aforesaid acts and practices, respondents place in the hands of retailers thc means and instrumentalities by and through which they may mislead the public as to the usual and regular retail price of said products.

PAR. 6. In the course and conduct of their business and at all times mentioned herein, respondents have been engaged in substantial competition, in commerce, with corporations, firms and individuals in the sale of products of the same general kind and nature as those sold by respondents.

PAR 7. The use by the respondents of the aforesaid false misleading and deceptive statements, representations and practices has had, and now has, the capacity and tendency to mislead members of the purchasing public into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations were and are true and into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondents ' products by reason of said erroneous and mistaken belief.

PAR. 8. The aforesaid acts and practices of respondents, as herein alleged, were and are aJl to the prejudice and injury of the public and of respondents' competitors and constituted, and now constitute, unfair methods of competition in commerce and unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. 352 FEDERAL TRADE CC))!MISSION DECISIONS Decision and Order 71 F.

DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondents named in the caption hereof, and the respondents having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of Deceptive Practices proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commission, would charge respondents with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act; and The respondents and counsel for the Commission having thereafter executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by the respondents of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the respondents that the law has been violated as alleged in such c0111plaint, and waivers and provisions as required by the Commission s rules; and The Commission, having reason to believe that the respondents have violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, and having determined that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, hereby issues its complaint, accepts said agreement, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order:

1. Respondent Robertson Sales Co. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the vs of the State of Oklahoma, with its offce and principal place of business located at J 016 N. Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Respondent \V. R. Pape is an offcer of said corporation and his address is the san1e as that of saiel corporation. 2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It is ordend That respondents Robertson Sales Co. , a corporation, and its offcers, and W. R. Pape individually and as an offcer of said corporation, and respondents ' agents, representatives and employees, directly Of through any corporate or other device, in connection with the advertising, offering for sale, sale 01' distribution of tents, tarpaulins, 01' other merchandise, in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from: THE PEELERS CO. 353 350 Order 1. Advertising, disseminating or distributing any purported retail price unless (a) it is respondents' bona fide estimate of the actual retail price of the product in the area where respondents do business and (b) it does not appreciably exceed the highest price at which substantial sales of said product are made in said trade area. 2. )iIisrepresenting in any manner the prices at which respondents' merchandise is sold at retail. 3. Furnishing to others any means or instrumentaliies whereby the purchasing public may be misled as to the retail prices of respondents' products.

It i8 further ordend That the respondents herein shah, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with this order.