Can I go to jail for selling on eBay?
September 2, 2009 by MindanaoBob
Filed under Feature, Policies & News
Hey, do you sell on eBay? How about Garage Sales or Yard Sales? If so, better check your merchandise. Selling the wrong items on eBay could possibly land you in jail, or at least give you a hefty fine from the Government!
How can it be?
Well, the US Federal Government has started a crackdown on such “2nd hand” sales. If you are selling any kind of item that the manufacturer has ever recalled, then you could be in trouble. This particularly applies to selling toys or other items for children. The government is calling this crackdown “Resale Roundup.”
This crackdown is not only being targeted at eBay sellers, but also to 2nd hand stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army and such, and also Garage Sales and other such 2nd hand sales. Websites like eBay and Craigslist are also not immune.
I am all for safety, but this might be very hard for any seller who is selling 2nd hand items. You see, if anything has been recalled for even up to a decade ago, it cannot be sold 2nd hand! Also, the Consumer Products Safety Commission issues recall orders every day, and there are thousands of products recalled regularly. Keeping up with this could be considered quite onerous for the average small seller who is having a garage sale – real or virtual.
So, if you are planning to sell used items, be sure to do your homework! If you don’t, it could lead to trouble.
About the Author: Bob Martin is an Internet Entrepreneur living in Davao City, Philippines. Bob is an American, but has lived in the Philippines for about a decade now. Bob got started in the Online Auction business in the early days of the Internet, selling on eBay while it was still in it's infancy.
MindanaoBob
Bob
As you can see the feedback in the link you supplied, this has to be right up there in “stupid laws”. I believe in less government, and this law is an example why we need less government. I guess the US government will call it something like “The War on Recalled Products”, citing how we must protect the children, and how can anyone be against safety. They will soon find their major bust with some little old lady selling something at her garage sale.
Expecting the average person to know the thousands of recalled products is just beyond stupid. They are now asking the citizens to do the job that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission couldn’t do when they allowed these products into the USA in the first place. What a complete waste of money and resources.
Hi Lloyd – I could not agree with you more strongly! It seems that anytime the government gets involved, it’s something stupid! I wonder how many old Grandmas will be in jail for selling some kids toy that was recalled in 1959 or something. Crazy!
This is the link right from those that know best. They think.
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/thrift/thrguid.pdf
Hi Danny – Thank you for sharing that.
Yet another way, (including high taxes, labor laws, vice laws, printing money, income redistribution schemes, etc.), in which our crazy government drives the economy underground. The only organizations which can comply with all this nonsense are large corporations, (which, coincidentally, donate large sums to our stupid politicians’ campaign funds), so an individual or small group attempting to compete economically gets squashed.
Meanwhile …. the large financial institutions, (“Wall Street”), get richer and richer.
Bob, I don’t think the USA is the land of opportunity anymore. Bummer!
Hi Ken – I agree with your last statement there. The USA used to be the land of opportunity. However, these days, you need a lot of money to start up any kind of enterprise in the USA. Here in the Philippines, there are tons of opportunities, and you don’t need much money to get things started. Unfortunately, in the USA, there is so much red tape and regulation that it is hard to get any business off the ground, it seems.