Activitoys, LTD

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

to the final order shall be effective as of May 1 , 1973. I:- THE MATTER OF ACTIVITOYS , LTD., ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER , ETC., IN REGARD TO TIIE ALLEGED VIOLATIO:\ OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMNIlSSIOl\ ACT Docket C-238.9 Complaint, April 1973-Decision, Ap/'il2ri, 1973. Consent order requiring a ersey City, N. .I. , manufacturer aHoy, gift and hobby products, among othf'l' things, to cease deceptively packaging them, and providing others with means of deceiving the purchasing public. 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 Activitoys Ltd. a corporation, and Victor Zimmern1an ACTIVITOYS . LTD. , ,;T AL. 1265 1264 Complaint individually, and as an officer of said corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondents, have violated the 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 Activitoys, Ltd. is a corporation organized, existing and doing' business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New Jersey with its principal office and place of business located at 930 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey.

PAR. 2. Respondent Victor Zimmerman is an individual and is president ufthe corporate respondent, and formulates, directs and controls its acts and practices, including the acts and prac­ tices hereinafter set forth. His address is the same as that of the corporate respondent.

PAR. 3. Respondents are now, and for some time last past , salehave been, engaged in the advertising, offering for sale and distribution of toy, gift and hobby products to jobbers and retailers for resale to the public.

PAR. 4. In the course and conduct of their business, respon­ dents now cause, and for SODle time last past have caused, said of businessproducts, when sold, to be shipped from their place the State of New Jersey to purchasers thereof located in var­ ious other States of the United States, and maintain, and at all times mentioned l1erein have maintained, a substantial course of trade in said products in commerce, as " commerce " is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

PAR. 5. Among the products which are offered for sale and sold by the respondents are a number of toy, gift and hobby products. Through the use of certain methods of packaging-, respondents have represented, and have placed in the hands of others the means and instrumentalities through which they might represent, directly or indirectly. that certain of the above products, as depicted or otherwise described on the exteriors of packages, corresponded, in their lengths and widths, or their lengths, widths and thicknesses, with the boxes in which they were contained, and that others of such products were offered in quantities reasonably related to the size of the containers in which they were presented for sale. PAR. 6. In truth and in fact, such products often have not corresponded with their container or package dimensions and are often not offered in quantities reasonably related to the size of the containers or packages in which they are presented for sale. Purchasers of such a product are thereby given the 1266 FEDERAL TRADE CO IMISSlOX DECISlO:-S Complaint 82 F.

mistaken impression that they are receiving a larger product or a product of greater volume than is actually the fact. Therefore, the methods of packaging referred to in Paragraphs Five hereof were and are unfair and false, misleading and decep­ tive.

PAR. 7. In the conduct oftheil' business, at an times mentioned herein, respondents have been in substantial competition, in commerce, with corporation, firms and individ uals in the sale of products of the same general kind and nature as the products sold by the respondents.

PAR. 8. The use by respondents of the aforesaid unfair, false misleading and deceptive methods df packaging has had, and now has, the capacity and tendency to mislead members of the purchasing public into the erroneous and mistaken belief that the quantum or amount of the product being sold was and is greater than the true such quantum or amount, and into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondents' product by reason of said erroneous and mistaken belief. PAR. 9. The aforesaid acts and practices of the respondents as herein alleged, were and arc all to the prejudice and injury of the public and of respondents ' competitors and constituted and now constitute, unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts and practices in C0111merce, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Comm ission Act. DECISIO:- AND ORDER The Commission having heretofore determined to issue its complaint charging the respondents named in the caption hereto with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the respondents having been served \with notice of said determina­ tion and with a copy of the complaint the C0111mission intended to issue, together with a proposed form or order; and The respondents and counsel for the C0111mission having there­ after executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by the respondents of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the complaint to issue herein, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by respondents that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and other provisions as required by the Commission s rules; and The Commission having considered the agreement and having provisionally accepted same, and the agreement containing con­ sent order having thereupon been placed on the public record ACTIVITOYS , LTD., ET AL. 1267 1264 Decision and Order for a period of thirty (30) days, now in further conformity with the procedure prescribed in Section 2. 34(b) of its rules, the Commission hereby issues its complaint in the form contem­ plated by said agreement, makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order: 1. Respondent Activitoys, Ltd. is a corporation organized existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its office and principal place of business located at 930 Newark Avenue, in the city of Jersey City, State of New Jersey.

Respondent Victor Zimmerman is an officer of said cor­ poration. He formulates, directs and controls the policies, acts and practices of said corporation, and his address is the same as that of said corporation.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the sub­ ject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It is ordered That respondent Activitoys, Ltd. , a corporation and its officers, and Victor Zimmcrman, individually and as an officer of said corporation, and respondents' agents, representa­ tives, employees, successors and assigns, directly or through any corporation, subsidiary, division or other device, in connec­ tion with the offering for sale, sale or distribution of toy, gift and hobby merchandise 01' any other products, in commerce as " commerce " is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act do forthwith cease and desist from:

1. Packaging said products in oversized boxes or other containers so as to create the appearance or impression that the width or thickness 01' other dimensions or quantity of products contained in a box or container is appreciably greater than is the fact; but nothing in this order shall construed as forbidding respondents to use oversized con­ tainers if respondents justify the use of such containers as necessary for the efficient packaging of the products con­ tained therein and establish that respondents have made a11 reasonable efforts to prevent any misleading appearance or impression from being created by such containers; 2. Providing wholesalers, retailers, or other distributors of said products with any means or instrumentality with which to deceive the purchasing public in the manner des­ cribed in Paragraph (1) above.