Discouragement of purchase of advertised merchandise.

§ 238.3 Discouragement of purchase of advertised merchandise. No act or practice should be engaged in by an advertiser to discourage the purchase of the advertised merchandise as part of a bait scheme to sell other merchandise. Among acts or practices which will be considered in determining if an advertisement is a bona fide offer are: (a) The refusal to show, demonstrate, or sell the product offered in accordance with the terms of the offer, (b) The disparagement by acts or words of the advertised product or the disparagement of the guarantee, credit terms, availability of service, repairs or parts, or in any other respect, in connection with it, (c) The failure to have available at all outlets listed in the advertisement a sufficient quantity of the advertised product to meet reasonably anticipated demands, unless the advertisement clearly and adequately discloses that supply is limited and/or the merchandise is available only at designated outlets, (d) The refusal to take orders for the advertised merchandise to be delivered within a reasonable period of time, (e) The showing or demonstrating of a product which is defective, unusable or impractical for the purpose represented or implied in the advertisement, (f) Use of a sales plan or method of compensation for salesmen or penalizing salesmen, designed to prevent or discourage them from selling the advertised product. [Guide 3]