Secondhand blues for eBay consignment sellers

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for our folks to go in with necessary paperwork to get (the consignment sellers) properly licensed."

The San Diego Sheriff's Office has asked California Attorney General Bill Lockyer for an opinion of the law's requirements relating to offering "secondhand tangible personal property for sale on Internet auction sites." A spokesman for Lockyer said the request had been received and no formal opinion had been prepared yet.

Targeting "trading assistants"
Tod Cohen, eBay's deputy general counsel and vice president of government relations, criticized the idea of trying to squeeze consignment sellers into decades-old regulatory categories. Existing laws against fraud provide ample legal recourse against dishonest sellers, he said.

"States are taking offline regulations and without thought applying them to online marketplaces," Cohen said. "They're not equivalents. Trading assistants, which on the face sounds similar to consignment sellers or traditional auctioneers...should not be subject to the same levels of regulation."

One reason for the increased interest in regulation is simple protectionism, Cohen believes, in which auctioneers, pawn shops and other middlemen attempt to hamstring a competitive threat. "Things are heating up. The business is growing. When business grows, there are more people who want to take a shot at restricting the ability to sell in new ways. Certain people have very strong interests in maintaining inefficiencies."

Consignment sellers who operate a physical storefront seem to view such a license as one more cost of doing business. Cohen is especially worried, however, about the tens of thousands of part-time eBay "trading assistants" who work from home and may have to comply with the same licensing rules as full-time pawnbrokers or auctioneers.

"If they're running a consignment business out of their home, they're still acting as a secondhand good dealer," said Stevens of the San Diego Sheriff's Office.

State rules vary widely. Massachusetts requires even part-time auctioneers to obtain a government license, pass a written exam, pay annual fees and post a $10,000 bond.

Auctioneers in Texas must complete 80 hours of classroom instruction at one of eight approved schools, have no recent felony convictions and be at least 18 years old. In Texas, as in many states, auctioning items without a license is a criminal offense.

Rhessa Orr, executive director of the Nashville Auction School, defends the idea of expanding licensing requirements to eBay trading assistants and trading posts.

"The purpose of this licensing provision is to establish accountability to make sure the seller gets their money," Orr said. "It's all about looking

[Sentinel]

Once again...

It's interesting that the article doesn't seem to mention what the costs are for this "training and licensing" that eBay resellers are being required. How hard can it be to set up a few auctions on eBay? I've never sold anything on eBay, but I know people who have, people don't even know much about computers. Oh yeah, auction university here we come!

[DaClyde]

strictly about consignment, not auction in general

I was concerned when I started reading the article that the state governments were just looking for a way to regulate auctions in general, but the article is strictly abotu people who auction off items on the behalf of others, the regulation wouldn't apply to you run of the mill online e-tailer who uses an auction to peddle their wares.

Even so, I don't see why anyone should need any more than a standard business license to sell stuff for someone else. All you're doing is providing a service to them. I don't need a computer repair license to run a computer repair business. Maybe it's jsut because services aren't taxed in so many places, so this is just another case of gov't sticking their hand in the wallets of the citizens.

[Earl Benser]

If these 'legal eagles' have it right....

... then every newspaper with a want ad section must also
comply.

[ScullyB]

Tennessee Trading Assistant

While I think the law stinks, this article is inaccurate.

First off, you have to take a 30 hour course, at a cost of approximately $300. You're not going to "bid calling" classes. I don't know why the Snappy Bids founder said she had to hire a government approved auctioneer, that's plain false. She and I have to deal with the same inspector, the state only has one.

The state inspector sends a notice to every trading assistant in TN. It states, If you receive items for consignment and the auction originated in this state and the receiver of said goods receives and distributes the proceeds, you need a gallery license. This is not the same as an auctioneers license. No apprenticing or bid-calling, etc.. This is a big difference from the classifieds section.

[declan00]

What Tennessee requires

You may wish to take a look at the actual Tennessee government website. It <news:link url="http://www.state.tn.us/commerce/boards/auction/req_license.html">says</news:link> that a gallery-class license holder "must employ a Tennessee licensed auctioneer."

Perhaps the state is letting you slide for now? If I were you, I wouldn't bet my business model on that oversight continuing.

[j3st3r]

Secondhand Blues... or Prison Blues?

In reading the article I was left with my thoughts concentrated not on the legimate eBay particpants but on a more criminal application of the service.

I know that here in Australia a chain of pawn broker like outlets has been forced to comply with heavier requirements due to a proliferation of stolen goods on their shelves.

Imagine the case where "Big Bubba" burgles a block of flats and finds himself with 20 TVs, 15 DVD players and 3 cases of CDs. If he has someone sell his booty on eBay what details are they required to hold regarding "Big Bubba's" identity??? I'm sure someone will correct me but wouldnt this person be a fence?

Perhaps this is the situation that the different state regulators are looking at getting on top of, rather than simply slapping costs, fees and controls on people out to make a quid.