Pennsylvania to eBay Consignment Sellers: Get an Auctioneer's License!!!

[mandy]

Barry Fallon, who operates an iSold It store in Pennsylvania, says regulators in his state are forcing him to get an auctioneer's license to operate his eBay drop-off store. "To get a license in PA requires training and a one year apprenticeship before we can open a store," Fallon said. "So if they succeed, we will all have to close our doors for a year or pay someone with a license to oversee the operation."

When asked about Pennylvania's apparent attempts to require eBay drop-off stores to have an auctioneer's license, eBay spokesperson Catherine England said in an email:

eBay believes that Pennsylvania law is pretty clear and that trading assistants are generally not subject to the state's auctioneering regulations. We have been in contact with state regulators but they continue their enforcement actions against some sellers. eBay is actively reaching out to key officials to address this issue through legislative channels....

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m04/i23/s02

[Kristijntje]

A related article:

ast week, eBay sent me a message urging me to contact my state representatives in support of a bill that would exempt eBay sellers in Pennsylvania from having to get auctioneer licenses. “You may have heard the Pennsylvania State Board of Auctioneer Examiners is lobbying for eBay sellers to be licensed under the state’s outdated Auctioneer Licensing statute,” eBay’s message read. “In fact, one eBay seller has already been forced out of business because of attorney fees incurred while fighting the State Board and the potential of huge fines if the Board ruled against him. Without swift action by the eBay Community and the Pennsylvania legislature, your eBay sales could also be at risk.”...

full article: http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/10...-ebay.html

[mandy]

A related article:

Mary Jo Pletz was really, really good at eBay. But now the former stay-at-home mother and gonzo Internet retailer fears a maximum $10 million fine for selling 10,000 toys, antiques, videos, sports memorabilia, books, tools and infant clothes on eBay without an auctioneer's license.

An official from the Department of State knocked on Pletz's white-brick ranch here north of Allentown in late December 2006 and said her Internet business, D&J Virtual Consignment, was being investigated for violating state laws.

"I was dumbfounded," said Pletz, who led the dark-suited investigator to a side patio area, where he grilled her. "I told him I would just shut down," she said.

The Pletz case has unleashed a political storm in Harrisburg over what - if anything - should be done about regulating Internet auctions in Pennsylvania....

full article: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_...odbye.html

[mandy]

Auctionbytes has an article on the upcoming hearing:

Small-business owner Barry Fallon was scheduled to appear before the Pennsylvania State Board of Auctioneer Examiners on May 12, 2008, to face charges of conducting an auction on eBay and operating an auction house without a license. Fallon sold his consignment drop-off store in 2007 after regulators required him to get an auctioneer's license to operate the store, which operated as an iSold It franchise....

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208/m05/abu214/s02