North Dakota May Require Internet Sellers to Obtain Auctioneer License

[amy]

North Dakota's Public Service Commission is exploring whether people...should be licensed as auctioneers before they may legally use the eBay Internet company to sell merchandise for others.

To get a North Dakota license, auctioneers must pay a $35 fee, obtain a $5,000 surety bond and undergo training at one of eight PSC-approved auction schools. The cost of attending the closest schools, in Mankato, Minn., and Billings, Mont., ranges from $795 to $1,625 for a week to 10 days of training.

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks...861115.htm

[mandy]

North Dakota regulators say they won't chase unlicensed "auctioneers" who sell goods over the eBay Internet service until Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem concludes whether they're covered by state law.

State law that regulates traditional auctioneers may also affect North Dakotans who are paid for using eBay to sell merchandise for others. Users may post photos and information about a product on the eBay site, and solicit bids over a set period of time.

full article: http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/...103912.txt

[mandy]

State law that regulates traditional auctioneers does not apply to eBay, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said Friday

Stenehjem's opinion said eBay does not conduct actual auctions, so it is not an auctioneer.

"Likewise, persons or businesses that assist sellers in placing items for sale on eBay are not conducting an auction or acting as auctioneers," the attorney general's opinion said.

Stenehjem also said a "listing service provider" who helps someone sell items on eBay is not an auctioneer under state law.

He said other businesses that offer items for sale through the Internet may more closely resemble traditional auctions, and their license requirements depend on the facts of each case.

full article: http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks...084610.htm