Reviews, creators, texts and 'Made in USA': selling harder without a penalty or a lawsuit

Written for online stores in the US selling on their own site or on marketplaces: direct-to-consumer brands, private-label and FBA sellers, dropshippers and subscription sellers.

The short version

1. Reward honest reviews, never star ratings.Any incentive must be the same whatever the customer says. Disclose it, and keep a record of how you moderate reviews.
2. Make creators disclose every material connection.Free product, commission, payment or family all count. Require clear disclosure in the agreement, then train and monitor your creators.
3. Qualify origin claims, text only with consent.Plain 'Made in USA' needs all or virtually all US content and US final assembly or processing. Automated text offers need written consent.

Email and SMS lists, creators and reviews are among the main ways an online store wins customers, and each has its own federal rule, with state consumer laws adding private lawsuits and attorney's fees. Knowing violations of an FTC rule carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. As of Oct 2026.

Reviews

Conditioning a reward on sentiment is banned outright, and knowing violations carry civil penalties per violation.

Creators and affiliates

Write it into the agreement: require clear disclosure, set a content license for a stated term, and keep approval rights and a morals clause.

Made in USA

For example, lamps with 8% imported components by final wholesale value exceed California's 5% limit (the 10% limit applies only where those parts cannot be obtained in the US), and the FTC standard is 'all or virtually all' US content. Qualify the claim today, as in 'Made in USA from imported and domestic parts'.

Prices, email and texts

• Drip pricing: in California the advertised price must include all mandatory fees and charges except government taxes and shipping (Civ. Code §1770(a)(29)). The FTC's junk fees rule covers only live-event tickets and short-term lodging, but drip pricing in e-commerce still falls under FTC Act §5 and state law. As of Oct 2026.
• Email: CAN-SPAM needs no consent, but requires accurate header and subject lines, identification as an ad, a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days. As of Oct 2026.
• Texts: marketing texts sent with automated systems need prior express written consent under the TCPA, with statutory damages of $500 per text, up to $1,500 if willful, and only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone. As of Oct 2026.

The marketplaces you sell on

Under the INFORM Consumers Act, a seller with 200 or more sales of new or unused products and at least $5,000 of gross revenue in any continuous 12 months during the previous 24 months is a high-volume seller. The marketplace verifies your bank, tax ID and contact details, requires annual recertification, and suspends future sales if you do not supply them within 10 days after notice. At $20,000 or more a year on the platform, buyers see your name, physical address and contact method, with limited exceptions. As of Oct 2026.

Asked in Greymill

Ask it about your own business

Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Marketing works it through for your business.

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