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States Planning to Require License to Sell on EBay
RobMowery writes "CNN reports that North Dakota and other state governments are trying to pass laws to require people who are selling for others on Ebay to purchase an auctioneer license, attend classes (for a fee) and become bonded." From the article: "North Dakota's Public Service Commission is exploring whether people like Nichols, who runs a small consignment store in Crosby, must obtain auctioneer licenses before they can legally use eBay to sell merchandise for others. Regulators in other states are also eyeing similar restrictions or preconditions, moves prompted by the growing popularity of online auctions. To get a North Dakota auctioneer's license, applicants must pay a $35 fee, obtain a $5,000 surety bond and undergo training at one of eight approved auction schools, where the curriculum includes talking really fast ... Commissioner Kevin Cramer said he does not believe the law applies to people who sell their own goods over eBay, but it could cover those who sell property consigned by others for a fee."
...for users to RTFA before jumping to conclusions about government trying to control their daily lives on every other story.
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all different.
Because, if you read the article, it's not about people selling to other people. The licenses being comtemplated are for third parties selling to people on behalf of other people.
Example 1: you put your stuff up for sale on eBay yourself. Someone buys it. Neither of you needs a license.
Example 2: you don't know eBay well, so you hire Mr. X to put your stuff up for sale. Someone buys it from him. He collects the money and gives it to you. You don't need a license. The buyer doesn't need a license. Mr X would need a license.
The license and bond would, at least, act as some sort of insurance that Mr. X isn't going to sell your stuff, grab the money and disappear without leaving you any recourse. You could recover from his bond, and he'll have a hard time getting licensed and bonded again with the violation on his record, so it's in his interest not to do this.
It provides protections to the people who give their goods over for sale, as well as provides a link to the individual that is selling, and a person can prove that they are a bonded seller as well.
So is this a problem now? Is this addressing a problem that actually exists, or is this just politicians trying to cash in on people's businesses by forcing them to pay license fees? Looks like it's a solution in search of a problem to me.