Friday, November 24, 2006
Florida mulls how to regulate eBay businesses
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The eBay community is thriving, and so are the businesses that sell stuff for people on the popular auction Web site.
Now add Florida to the growing list of states deciding how to classify and regulate those enterprises. No one can seem to agree whether they are auctioneers, pawnbrokers, secondhand shops or something else.
The quarterly newsletter of one state board said recently that the businesses must be treated as auctioneers, requiring their owners to be licensed.
"It's just common sense," said Fred Dietrich III, chairman of the five-member Board of Auctioneers. "If you are going to hire someone to sell your merchandise, you need someone that is reputable and licensed."
That came as a surprise both to the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation and eBay, a company known for aggressively defending its interests and keeping close tabs on state happenings.
"That interpretation is different from our understanding," said Catherine England, an eBay spokeswoman.
Such debates are taken seriously by the auction giant, which has worked aggressively to turn back similar efforts in states such as Louisiana, Tennessee and Maine.
Often referred to as drop-off stores, these businesses are increasingly important for eBay and the 100 million-plus listings found there at any given time.
Pawnbrokers have weighed in, questioning why eBay stores don't face a level of scrutiny similar to their own.
A new law, though, did tighten restrictions on eBay stores. Among other things, it mandates how eBay stores deal with property. For example, any item with a serial number must be checked against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's stolen property database.
EBay says further restrictions could hurt more than 430,000 people in the U.S. who earn part, or all, of their income through eBay.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
