I did some digging on this and couldn't find any news outlets that address that point; the Santa Barbara Independent was unusually thorough. But check out the FAQs on the Vector Marketing site (http://vectormarketing.com/got-questions/). Under number 7, it mentions that the sample set is loaned to the representative. As long as the representative is active, he or she retains the set at no cost; if he or she becomes inactive, the set must be returned.