DirectSellingStar

Regulation & law

Buyback policy

The company's commitment to repurchase unsold inventory from participants who leave.

Also: inventory repurchase, refund policy

A buyback policy lets a departing participant return unused, resalable product for a refund. The Direct Selling Association's code requires member companies to repurchase at not less than 90% of the original cost for product bought within the previous twelve months.

Read the policy for exclusions: opened items, "seasonal" products, kits, and time limits. A weak buyback policy makes the starter kit a sunk cost.