Dear Race Directors,
Starting July 1, 2024, California is requiring that all businesses that might advertise a price to California residents display the total price a consumer ultimately pays for that product or service. As such, this will require that all areas on UltraSignup where pricing is displayed will now include any associated service fees in the price shown. These changes ensure compliance with the new California law SB 478. The statute does not change what price a business can charge or what may be included in that cost. The law simply requires that the price listed include all mandatory charges.
A similar law has since been passed in Minnesota (to go into effect January 1, 2025). Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, and Arizona are all considering their own legislation, and there is currently a bill before the US House of Representatives - TICKET Act. Finally, the FTC is also proposing regulations around this same topic.
UltraSignup's Approach
Runners will now see a single price for a race or product, inclusive of fees and taxes. This change will be universal across registration prices and add-on prices. In the customer’s cart, fees and taxes will be broken out into separate line items. Our approach provides, in our opinion, the strongest possible protection for the race directors on UltraSignup against the risks posed by this new legislation, and provides a consistent pricing experience across our platform. Visit the Help Page to see how this will look.
Protect Race Directors on UltraSignup: Our primary goal is to ensure compliance for all race directors, and to protect your business from strict enforcement of the law as well as bad actors. In parallel instances of consumer protection legislation, there are notable cases of organizations seeking out noncompliant businesses and targeting them with lawsuits. Examples: CCPA, Web Accessibility.
Businesses that are noncompliant are liable for a $1000 fine every time a consumer views an incomplete price, plus punitive damages and attorney fees. Finally, the legislation allows attorneys to use class action lawsuits to enforce this law, creating a nearly incalculable potential for exposure. Our approach keeps race directors on UltraSignup from becoming susceptible to unnecessary risk.
Plan for the Future: We will continue to evaluate and test opportunities to improve how we display pricing on UltraSignup to best support your business, while ensuring maximum compliance with current and pending legislation.
What To Expect
- Timeline: We will roll out the new pricing display several days ahead of July 1.
- Breakdown of Our New Pricing Display: You can see a mock-up of how this will look on the UltraSignup help site. Over the next several days, we will issue more detail about the new pricing display on UltraSignup and how this will look to both you and runners.
- Explanation of Pricing for Runners: When we release the changes to the display, we will also publish a runner-facing explanation of the UltraSignup fee, what runners are paying, and why.
You can find more information on the Help Site.
Data Shows Positive Impact on Businesses
Data shows that increased price transparency drives increased sales for businesses. LiveNation implemented an “All-in” Pricing model in late 2023, displaying the total cost of the ticket price and fees. In the first 6 months, the program yielded an 8% increase in completed sales.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the upcoming changes, please contact us to speak with our Member Operations Team.
Most Sincerely,
Jay, David and the UltraSignup Team
