A majority of the state’s auctioneer commissioners say eBay drop-off centers should be regulated, despite the advice of the commission’s attorney that an eBay transaction is not an auction under the state’s strict legal definition.
So the Tennessee Auctioneer Commission voted Monday to get a second opinion from a higher authority – the state attorney general.
“I don’t think there is a question this is an auction,” Commissioner John McLemore said of eBay.
The Auctioneer Commission and Nashville Auction School estimate there are more than 300 eBay trading assistants who accept items at Tennessee locations and post them for sale on eBay.com for a commission.
The state adopted a rule in 2001 requiring electronic and Internet auctions to be licensed. Some trading assistants have complied, like Debbie Gordon of Nashville-based Snappy Auctions.
A March article on C/Net News.com about the licensing controversy that follows eBay in a growing number of states prompted the commission to ask for a legal opinion.
Christy Allen, deputy general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, said the rule can’t be applied to eBay or its trading assistants because they are not conducting an auction under the state’s strict definition.
The difference, she said, is that eBay sets its final price based on the highest offer within a given time limit, as opposed to an exchange with an auctioneer inviting bids.
Most of the commissioners scoffed at Allen’s opinion, saying eBay undertakes all the same activities as an auctioneer and even advertises itself as an auction. They argued that regulation is needed to protect consumers from unscrupulous and fraudulent operators.
“A lot of money is involved here, and where there is money there is room for less desirable elements in our community,” McLemore said, adding that he is particularly concerned about the elderly and poor being scammed.
Tennessee, with 1,855 licensed auctioneers, requires candidates to complete 30 hours of education from a qualified auctioneer school, pass a test and buy a license for $225.
Tony Thompson, eBay’s Tennessee lobbyist (and son of former Sen. Fred Thompson), said eBay opposes licensing regulations and has extensive safeguards in effect to protect against fraud.
Requiring an auctioneer’s license, he said, would unduly burden entrepreneurs who provide a valuable service in Tennessee, he said.

Posted: 08|25|05 at 10:18 am. Filed under: US News.