# Hey Ohio eBayers! The State Says You'll Soon Need A License To Sell On eBay! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 10, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780 "2005-03-10T03:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/1 "2005-03-10T03:12:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Ohio residents selling goods on eBay would have to get a license and be bonded under a law set to go into effect May 2, although authors of the legislation vow to make changes before that date to exempt individuals. > > The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the law, signed by Gov. Robert Taft on Feb. 1, was meant to insure that auctioneers were abiding by the established rules and regulations. The law, as written, requires Ohio residents who sell products online to get a state auction license. > > Besides costing $200 and posting a $50,000 bond, the license requires a one-year apprenticeship to a licensed auctioneer, acting as a bid-caller in 12 auctions, attending an approved auction school, passing a written and oral exam. Failure to get a license could result in the seller being fined up to $1,000 and jailed for a maximum of 90 days. Source: [http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/07/technology/ohio\_ebay/](http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/07/technology/ohio_ebay/) The State says casual eBay users were not supposed to be included in the law, but this is apparently not the case. The State also says they plan to modify the law prior to May. Yeah, right. So what’s the deal here? Another tax grab disguised in licenses and bond arrangements? Tip of the iceberg? Tennessee and Illinois are planning similar laws. Whither the freedom of the Internet? If you are in Ohio are you going to get a license? Pay the bond? ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/2 "2005-03-10T04:08:34Z")
Well, this is bullshit. Hell no, I wouldn’t pay to get the license. I can’t imagine that many eBay sellers would. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/3 "2005-03-10T04:24:59Z")
> [@](#): > > The State says casual eBay users were not supposed to be included in the law, but this is apparently not the case. The State also says they plan to modify the law prior to May. > > Yeah, right. > [@](#): > > Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. Given that they were backpedaling and claiming in the print media that they intended to rectify the problem even before the blogs and web news services started raising Cain, I suspect that this actually was just a stupid clause that got missed by the bill’s sponsors. (Now given the condition of the state’s finances, it would be interesting to see Taft try to block the corrective action, but I suspect that enforcement would cost much ore than any projected revenue.) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/4 "2005-03-11T01:13:57Z")
Suppose that this legislation did pass without the promised exemption for individuals. It seems to me that ordinary people living in Ohio could just set up a fake ID based in some other state and use some service such as anonymizer, and then go right on selling. A pain in the ass, to be sure, but technology allows a way around this sort of nonsense legislation. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/5 "2005-03-11T01:27:19Z")
Perhaps some aspiring US Senator, wishing to apear cool and “hip to the groove” could introduce some sort of regulation exempting personal sellers from these regulations for interstate commerce. So Ohioans could sell to people outside of Ohio and vice-versa. It certainly seems like a popular way to get one’s name out. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/6 "2005-03-11T22:29:31Z")
Internet commerce is ultimately going to be just as regulated as “regular” interstate commerce, it is just a fact of life. Now, the U.S. government will always have trouble when dealing with people selling stuff cross-country, but for domestic internet merchants expect more and more regulation. And in the case of eBay I think this is a good thing. I don’t use eBay because virtually everything on it is crap. But from those that do I’ve heard many horror stories about the sellers. Aside from an apparently weak customer rating system sellers are practically immune to buyer complaints. I think any seller that does over X amount in business each year it is highly appropriate they have to get an auctioneer’s license, and be held extremely accountable for how they sell things and how they deal with their customers. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/7 "2005-03-11T22:49:00Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I don’t use eBay because virtually everything on it is crap. :looks around: **G4 PowerMac computer** : Bought on eBay a couple of years ago. Works like a charm. Great computer. Good price. **USB hub, connected to my Mac Mini** : Bought on eBay (the hub, not the Mini). Works like a charm. Good price. **Ennio Morricone’s sublime score to _Marco Polo_** : Bought on eBay. Hard to find in the USA. Got from vendor in Germany. Love this CD. Love love love. Happy happy happy. Love this CD. Didn’t know where else to find it but eBay. Love this CD. Love love love. Happy happy happy. **USB CD-RW drive, connected to used Dell PC** : Bought on eBay. Both work like a charm and so far are very reliable. Great price. **Used USB CD-RW drive** : Bought from eBay. It never worked. Contacted vendor. They were very apologetic, and quickly send me a full refund, including for all shipping costs. **Shea Butter & Vitamin E Lip Balm** : Bought from eBay. Nice product. Has lasted me _forever_. Good price. **Web Hosting for a few of my websites** : Bought through eBay. So far, pretty good. Fast servers. Nice. Very cheap price. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got lots of products (and sold a lot) through eBay. Many of my computers have been purchased through eBay. Sorry, I got a little carried away with that. It’s just that I don’t believe that _virtually everything_ on eBay is crap. In my personal experience, so far, little of it is. If it is, I’ve gotten a refund. eBay isn’t 100% reliable, but if you try to be a little careful (and I try, I try), it’s usually okay. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/8 "2005-03-12T01:06:36Z")
I have bought something like 500 items on ebay. Two of them were 'crap". Some of them were GREAT deals. I have had a few other “not completely happy” transactions, sure, mostly dealing with shipping speed and/or cost. This is normally required in most juristictions if you are really running a “business”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/9 "2005-03-14T02:46:07Z")
I laughed when I first heard this. The politician that proposed this was getting paraphrased on the radio. “The law wasn’t meant for ebay sellers”, “well not the small ones, maybe the bigger ones”. There would be a riot if they tried to prosecute someone. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-ohio-ebayers-the-state-says-youll-soon-need-a-license-to-sell-on-ebay/293780/10 "2005-03-14T15:54:10Z")
[And in the border regions…](http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0314202005_new01ebaystory.asp) That’s a story from my local paper in which a local merchant (he runs an antique mall) says he’ll just relocate over the river into Ohio if this becomes law. Hey, it’s not like we needed the tax base or anything, right?