Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: North Dakota Internet sellers may need license

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    3,171

    North Dakota Internet sellers may need license

    In an effort to increase this forum I'll post this here...it does have to do with law...

    BISMARCK, North Dakota (AP) -- To sell things over eBay, Mark Nichols may be required to take instruction in rapid-fire speaking, breathing control and reading hand gestures, even though the transactions are done by computer keyboard and mouse.

    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.

    "I don't think it offers any additional protection for the consumer," Nichols said. "It just creates a lot of red tape for the business, as well as having to put out a lot of money."

    In Tennessee, trading assistants and stores that sell consignment goods on eBay must obtain an auction "gallery license," which costs $100 a year and requires the holder to undergo 30 hours of education and establish a bank escrow account.

    California, Florida, Maine, Missouri and Texas have also considered extending auction rules to eBay sellers, say eBay officials.

    North Dakota's PSC already licenses auctioneers and is asking the state's attorney general for a legal opinion about whether the definition of an auctioneer covers eBay sellers.

    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.

    "Our laws probably didn't contemplate this type of commerce," Cramer said. "It's probably time to take a look at them."

    Gordon Krance, president of the North Dakota Auctioneers Association, said the group has no position on whether people who are paid to sell others' goods on eBay should have an auctioneer's license. But he said sellers could benefit from attending auctioneering school.

    "To me, it would be a plus to gain some knowledge of marketing, of the business end of an auction company, and ways to better represent your clients," he said.

    Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesman, said the company believes state laws regulating auctioneers should not apply to eBay sellers.

    Although eBay is often called an online auction service and uses many traditional auction terms, its sales are technically not auctions, Durzy said. For one thing, he said, eBay sales give buyers a fixed amount of time to bid for merchandise, while a traditional auction is held open as long as there are bidders.

    Nichols runs a consignment store called Variety Marketplace and said he has occasionally sold goods on eBay for customers. He sold a 1938 Ford for one customer, Nichols said. Bidding started at $8,000 and closed at $14,500.

    "Online auctions help create a marketplace," he said. "You can bring in money from outside the community, and that's important to small towns like Crosby."
    http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/interne....ap/index.html
    CNN.com - North Dakota Internet sellers may need license - Oct 10, 2005

    I think they're too involved with their sheep!

  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    511
    And then people are wondering why Europeans don't like the USA to have full control over the Internet...

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    4,785
    Originally posted here by Katja
    And then people are wondering why Europeans don't like the USA to have full control over the Internet...

    After reading an article about laws that only affect those running businesses in the states mentioned IRT and no one else in the world....yes i have to wonder.
    Bukhari:V3B48N826 “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’”

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    379
    I dont under stand why can people just let some stuff just be like if it aint broken dont fix it. Their trying to police the internet but it is world wide. Their should be laws about breaking into computer systems not about how to use them or you must pay us to use your computer and your internet which you all ready paid for just because o and while wear at it well put in some usless and stupid laws to try and make our selves look better. Some people just need to get a life.

  5. #5
    It's all about finding new sources of revenue, no matter what come out of their mouth it's really about the $$$$$$$ and the fact that governments think they know what's best for you.

  6. #6
    AO Senior Cow-beller
    Moderator
    zencoder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Mountain standard tribe.
    Posts
    1,177
    Originally posted here by ttau
    It's all about finding new sources of revenue, no matter what come out of their mouth it's really about the $$$$$$$ and the fact that governments think they know what's best for you.
    He's right, this is one of the less populous states, trying to make more people buy their "licenses" and get surety bonds. It's BS if you ask me. Applying 19th century laws to 21st century communities. May as well force us to pull over and dissamble our automobiles when a horse drawn buggy approaches (look it up, I ain't kidding...that was law about 100 years ago.)
    "Data is not necessarily information. Information does not necessarily lead to knowledge. And knowledge is not always sufficient to discover truth and breed wisdom." --Spaf
    Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job. --Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
    "...people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right." - Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    379
    zencoder I know its redicules people like to make money and if it means distroying something good or just starting the ball on the way to distruction for a dollor they would do it.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •