Pennsylvania Law Forces eBay Auctioneers to Get a License

Posted Nov 20th 2007 5:01PM by Terrence O'Brien
Filed under: Computers, eBay

You know those people -- maybe even you -- who sell other people's stuff on eBay? Well, apparently you or they will need to get an auctioneer's license from now on, at least in Pennsyslvania. The law has actually been on the books for a while, but is garnering attention because it is only now being enforced. Two people who run online auctions for others are under investigation by the state government and face up to $1,000 in fines.

But some eBay auctioneers are speaking out. Pennsylvania-based Auction Inn, a small online eBay auction company, is speaking out against the law, though it is not one of the two cited by law enforcement. Auction Inn believes the law is unfair since eBay auctioneers don't perform the same function or duty as traditional auctioneers. Presumably, this means they don't have gavels or talk in sped-up-auction-selling-speak, since all they do is write nice descriptions, take pretty photos, and make sure the stuff gets to the buyer on time.

Getting an auctioneer's license can take six to eight months which would shut Auction Inn down for the better part of a year, essentially forcing the business to shutter.

State lawmakers are proposing bills to deal with the issue, one of which makes eBay sellers exempt from the auctioneer's law, but still requires them to register with the government.

You can already feel the garages, basements, and attics of Pennsylvania start to fill up with all the crap the won't get sold until this hubbub is sorted out.

What do you think? Is this law too much or do you think eBay auctioneers should have a license?

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There is a poll at the link