The Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational affairs is currently considering a case involving two eBay consignment stores. They are being investigated for selling items at auction without an auctioneer license.
While many states have considered requiring auctioneer licenses for all ebayers, this seems to be pointed more at the consignment stores. And really, if you think about it, they do act as auctioneers to some extent. They are basically contracted to sell an item or lots of items in an auction format. That’s basically the definition for an auctioneer. So, I can see them being required to have auctioneer licenses.
Of course, any smart person could find a pretty easy way around that. Why not sign each of your customers up for eBay right on the spot and get their permission to do “data entry” while signed in to their eBay account. Suddenly, you’re not doing the auctioneering anymore, just the data entry for the auctions. Not to mention the fact that you could sign them up through your affiliate account and make plenty of extra money on the side. More than what you would make off of the client in some cases.
Doesn’t seem to me that it would make a whole lot of sense to try and regulate the consignment stores. It could be easily circumvented and defended. Why start a fight you can’t finish?
[tags]ebay,consignment,isoldit,ebay seller,auctioneer license[/tags]
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November 10th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I hadn’t heard this news about eBay’s consignment stores. Very interesting. Thanks for the information.
January 12th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
So where do people go to get these auctioneer licenses? And where is a list of all states requiring licenses?