A new Ohio law, already signed and in effect, requires eBay sellers to become licensed and to post a $50,000 bond. The new eBay auction law was signed by the Ohio governor in February, and will be effective on May 1st. In addition to the license and the $50,000 bond, because the new Ohio eBay law is founded on the Ohio auction laws, it also requires eBay sellers to attend auction school and pass an exam, and to serve as an apprentice auction seller for one year. eBay sellers failing to get the Ohio auction license face up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Following an outcry over the new auction law, the law’s primary author, Ohio state senator Larry Mumper, said on the one hand that it wasn’t his intention to have this law apply to individual sellers, but on the other hand he also said in a public statement that “It certainly will not apply to the casual seller on eBay, but might apply to anyone who sells a lot. If someone buys and sells on eBay on a regular basis as a type of business, then there is a need for regulation.”

There is no definition of what “on a regular basis” means, nor “as a type of business,” but Aunty suspects that would apply to the vast majority of eBay sellers…

[New Ohio Law Requires eBay Sellers To Get Licensed And Post Bond, continued]