Code of Conduct

We, the members, officers, and directors of ABFAR will conduct business honestly and ethically.  We will constantly strive to improve the quality of our services, products, and operation. We will create a reputation in this industry for honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, integrity, trust, and sound business judgment.  No illegal or unethical conduct on the part of the directors, officers, or members is in this Association’s best interest.  The ethical performance of all members of this Association is the sum of the ethics of men and women. Thus, we all expect to adhere to high standards of personal and professional integrity.

Responsibility by Membership Type

All Members of ABFAR

• Keeping and maintaining of storefront appearances
• Recognition of the rights of third parties, and that the intellectual property rights of others are not compromised
• Recognition of the rights of individuals and groups to information privacy
• To treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, or national origin
• Directors, officers, and members must never permit their personal interest to conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of ABFAR, its clients or its affiliates
• Performance of professional work that meets the requirements of the client or manufacturer
• Link back to the ABFAR website from your website
• Upgrade personal professional skills and awareness of relevant industry developments
• Avoidance of claims to levels of competence not possessed
• Acceptance of professional responsibility for work performed, including the work of subordinates and associates under their direction, and to follow applicable state and local laws
• To accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public
• To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist
• To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data

Regular Members of ABFAR

• Adherence to contracts with manufacturers, to include MSRP enforcement and no trans-shipping
• Unfortunate events do happen (i.e.  closing a business).  Members agree to handle things in the proper way and help the client with their orders as efficiently as possible.  Other Association members will offer their help and work with the manufacturers to fulfill any outstanding orders to the best of their ability.

Associate Members of ABFAR

• Standardized pricing practices
• Will not purposely sew in wrong size labels
• Will not send out used merchandise as new
• Will provide Return Authorizations (RAs) and/or Call Tags within 10 days of request
• Provide Authorized Retailers Agreements which include MSRP, Internet policies, and trans-shipping guidelines

Review of the Code of Conduct

A Compliance Committee will periodically review and recommend to the Board of Directors of ABFAR revisions to the Code of Ethics and/or By-Laws.  This is a permanent standing committee of ABFAR which is responsible for ensuring that the organization is run ethically and responsibly according to the Articles of Incorporation, the Association's By-Laws, the Code of Ethics, and existing law.