The costs that the voluntary association incurs, in the process of policing its principles, can be covered by charges and fees imposed on seller members who benefit from the association's goodwill. This goodwill may enable the seller member to sell more goods and services or command a premium price. Different associations may offer different levels of protection. For example, an association that includes sellers of complex products may offer assurance that performance claims have been independently verified, and establish a process for doing so. Another association may choose not to adopt such an expensive procedure.
Consumers can choose the levels of protection they are willing to pay for.
The question of whether special public oversight is needed to ensure that consumers have accurate information about the available private alternatives is a controversial one, and involves cost-benefit tradeoffs that lie outside the parameters of this talk. I, for one, however, tend to be wary of claims that e-commerce is so complicated that consumers are inherently unable to make intelligent choices. Regimes of private law also raise serious policy issues beyond adequacy and accuracy of information. One issue, of particular concern to the Federal Trade Commission, is the potential for anti-competitive effects. The positive or negative effects of private lawmaking are matters that lie at the intersection of the Commission's two major responsibilities, competition and consumer protection.