Quixtar's effective 'no' refund policy on tools

If one carefully reads the Quixtar BSMAA (Business Support Materials Arbitration Agreement), one would find that the refund policy guarantees very little for the typical tool consuming IBO. It would seem the BSMAA was written to primarily benefit those selling the tool systems rather than the low-level IBO.
The way the refund policy is structured, it virtually assures that the people making the most profit from the tools are not the ones responsible in the end for making refunds. The various policies from various Quixtar documents are listed at the bottom of this page.

There are several fine details that IBOs should know.

1. Extra tools or function tickets that are not purchased for an IBO’s personal use, are not covered by a refund policy¹. This means extra tickets that you might buy for potential prospects are not covered by the refund policy. It would be best for an IBO to only buy function tickets for himself. Since the functions never sell out, there is no reason to buy extra tickets in advance. Sometimes discounted tickets can be bought from other IBOs who had bought too many.
2. Any IBO can be liable for making refunds to IBOs to whom they sold tools for personal use². The BSMAA requires selling IBOs to buy back BSM’s, even if the selling IBO made no money on the sale.  If you bought extra tickets for your downline to use and they wish to return them, you must make the refund.  However since you did not buy the ticket for your own personal use, you are not eligible for a refund from your upline.  You get stuck eating the cost of the tickets that your dowline returned.
3. Tools purchased for personal use are not assured a 100% money back guarantee. The BSMAA clearly states "on commercially reasonable terms"³. This means the amount you receive is up for negotiation.
4. Although the BSMAA does not state it, the Quixtar compendium states that function tickets are refundable after the function and provided the IBO attended the event.⁴ Some groups will require that you stay for the whole function to get a refund, even if you were disgusted with the function half way through.
5. A proof of purchase⁵ is required to qualify for a refund. Make sure you receive a receipt.

What does this mean for the average IBO? As soon as an IBO passes BSMs to their downline, and collects money for them, they technically become the seller and technically become liable² for any refunds, even if they made no money from the sale. The selling IBO now has no return option to the person who sold him the tools since he had not purchased the tools for personal use¹. Additionally, any IBO forgetting to get a receipt⁵ has no rights to a refund. If you pick up tools for your downline and they decide not to buy them, then you will have to pay for them yourself.

With all the exceptions and requirements, it is no wonder that some IBOs complain about never receiving a refund. The BSMAA is written to protect the people selling the tools systems from returns and not to protect the typical IBO consumer of the tools systems.

Dexter Yager explains his tools refund policy

Quixtar BSMAA S-0134 2001
Refund policies. Business Support Materials are not covered by the Satisfaction Guarantee or Buy-Back Rule. However, the IBO Rules of Conduct and this Agreement require ²the seller of Business Support Materials, upon request, to buy back Business Support Materials on commercially reasonable terms for a period of 180 days from the date of purchase. Items shall be returned to the IBO from whom they were purchased, or other designated party, with ⁵proof of purchase. For seminars, rallies, and other meetings, the selling IBO is obligated to buy-back any tickets purchased for the buyer's personal use for a period of 30 days after the event on a satisfaction guaranteed basis. Such buy-back applies only to that portion of the cost of the affair related to admission to the meeting (i.e., not to the cost of travel, meals, or hotel accommodations).

Quixtar BSMAA S-2033 2004
Refund policies. Business Support Materials are not covered by the Satisfaction Guarantee or Buy-Back Rule. However, the IBO Rules of Conduct and this Agreement require the seller of Business Support Materials, upon request, to buy back Business Support Materials on commercially reasonable terms for a period of 180 days from the date of purchase. Items shall be returned to the IBO from whom they were purchased, or other designated party, with proof of purchase. For seminars, rallies, and other meetings, the selling IBO is obligated to buy-back any tickets purchased for the buyer's personal use for a period of 30 days after the event on a satisfaction guaranteed basis. Such buy-back applies only to that portion of the cost of the affair related to admission to the meeting (i.e., not to the cost of travel, meals, or hotel accommodations).

Quixtar Compendium September 2001 Page 68
7.8.2. Each IBO who chooses to sell tickets to seminars, rallies, and other meetings is obligated to buy back tickets purchased for the purchaser’s personal use for a period of 30 days after the event, provided the IBO attended the event. Such refund shall be for that portion of the cost of the affair related to admission to the meeting, exclusive of the cost of travel, meals, or hotel accommodations. The terms of the refund policy adopted by an IBO selling such tickets shall conform with 7.6 above.

7.6. BSM Buy-Back Policy:
The Corporation’s Satisfaction Guarantee and Buy-Back Rule DO NOT APPLY to any BSMs. The Corporation will only honor the Satisfaction Guarantee with respect to its own materials.

Upon request, an IBO who sells BSMs must buy them back from the original purchaser on ³commercially reasonable terms for a period of 180 days after the sale thereof; the purchaser must, upon request provide proof of the purchase if a buyback of BSMs is demanded.