INFORM Consumers Act Passed - Marketplace Must Verify & Publicly Publish "High Volume" Seller Info
I know the boards are abuzz with the news about the 1099-K threshold delay but in case you missed it, there's other seller impacting legislation news as well - the INFORM Consumers act was attached to the Omnibus Bill and passed, meaning eBay and other marketplaces will be required to verify and publicly publish contact information for "high volume" sellers ( 200 or more discrete sales in a 12-month period amounting to $5,000 or more).
There is supposed to be an exception for sellers whose address and phone number are personal/residential rather than a business, but I haven't yet seen details from eBay about how they plan to implement that so eligible sellers can opt out of having that information published.
The INFORM Consumers Act directs online marketplaces to verify high-volume third-party sellers by authenticating the seller’s government ID, tax ID, bank account information, and contact information. High-volume third-party sellers are defined as vendors who have made 200 or more discrete sales in a 12-month period amounting to $5,000 or more.
The legislation instructs online marketplaces to ensure that their high-volume third-party sellers disclose to consumers basic identity and contact information.
The online marketplace will also need to supply a hotline to allow customers to report to the marketplace suspicious marketplace activity such as the posting of suspected stolen, counterfeit, or dangerous products.
The bill presents an exception for individual high-volume third-party sellers that permits them not to have their personal street address or personal phone number revealed to the public if they respond to consumers’ questions over email within a reasonable timeframe. The bill’s requirements would be implemented by the FTC and violations would be subject to civil penalties.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoStolen, counterfeit, or dangerous products seems to be what they are trying to prevent mainly.
valueaddedresource
OP3 years agoIt's been brought to my attention that eBay has updated the Inform Act page with the link to opt out now so....never mind. 😂
@wastingtime101 and anyone else looking for it - go here and follow the steps:
https://settings.ebay.com/legal-policy-landing
Thanks to my tipster too! 😉
wastingtime101
·3 years agoSo ... not that easy @valueaddedresource.
Made the change when the option was available - even took a screenshot of the confirmation page. Just now I was looking at this page: https://accountsettings.ebay.com/profile
Noticed it had a box "address shared with buyers after purchase" and it showed my full address. So I clicked on the "learn more" link which took me back to https://settings.ebay.com/legal-policy-landing and I had to request the exemption all over again.
So I'm not sure why the change reverted, but I'd recommend everybody check in case the same thing happened to them.
valueaddedresource
OP3 years agoThanks for the heads up @wastingtime101 !
@devon@ebay @kyle@ebay @elizabeth@ebay just including you so you can check on this with the appropriate teams to make sure the exemption process is working correctly.
valueaddedresource
OP3 years ago@chickadee8618 I agree with @shipscript that ultimately this will likely do little to deter or address the retail theft/fencing stolen goods issues that were used as a justification for passing the bill.
The one part that I'm still hopeful might bring some positive benefit is actually something that hasn't gotten a lot of attention - the INFORM Act also requires high-volume sellers to disclose if they use a different seller to supply products, also known as online arbitrage dropshipping.
Whether the high-volume third party seller used a different seller to supply the consumer product to the consumer upon purchase, and, upon the request of an authenticated purchaser, the information described in clause (i) relating to any such seller that supplied the consumer product to the purchaser, if such seller is different than the high-volume third party seller listed on the product listing prior to purchase.
Buyers and sellers alike have complained for years about this kind of dropshipping and the fact that eBay very rarely enforces their policies that say it's prohibited.
A lot will depend on how it is implemented and enforced, so I'm taking a wait and see approach as to whether or not I think it's going to be a positive thing, but a lot of people certainly wouldn't be unhappy to see this kind of dropshipping fall by the wayside.
chickadee8618
·3 years agoSo what is the benefit of this? Will it dissuade thieves from using Ebay? Does it eliminate sellers who sell illegal items? Stolen Items? Bad sellers? Does it help improve the lives of anybody? Does it improve the US? I understand the " disclose to consumers basic identity and contact information" but what positive change will this bring, if any? Genuinely curious.
shipscript
·3 years ago@chickadee8618
Little or none, that I can see. eBay will have collected a tidy database of sellers of "new" items. The laws were proposed and promoted by large merchants who were looted during past riots and storms. The end game is to make contact info available to those merchants who suspect their new items are being fenced on eBay (matching looting and seller to the same locale). It might have exposed the fencing operations, but by setting a limit, the thieves will know to spread the goods thinner or they may avoid eBay entirely. It is not known if buyers of fenced goods would have them confiscated — I suspect that would not be viable.
While the law requires eBay to provide the seller phone and address to the buyer after the sale, it was always possible to pull contact info before this law. So, the only benefit I can see is to the merchants hunting down their stolen goods. I'm not sure why the law morphed from its original intent and was touted as informing the consumer. Probably just a smokescreen.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoRight, Contact info was always there. I use a PO BOX .
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoMainly for sellers who have broken the law selling stolen property, fake stuff, dangerous stuff. Consumer can report them.
whimsyonthewinetrail
·3 years ago"brand new" would have to be defined ...
first owner who bought directly from a store / supplier ?? ... or brand new as in unopened ???
i buy many estate lots in the course of a year ... many of the items are sealed and opened .... but could "technically" be described as second-hand as i was not original purchaser ....
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoIt would be defined by the choice you make from eBays list of conditions. If you use "new" then the item is consider new, if you use "used" then the item would not be considered new.
As far as the requirement, I'm in favor, personally I do not buy from online merchants if they don't provide company information somewhere on their website. If they don't provide that info I tend to think they are hiding something.
Marketplace sellers generally have not been allowed to show their contact information so I give those merchants a pass on my requirement.
pink_slippers!
·3 years agoSelling out of my home, so no I do not have a Business address to give, and until a purchase is made I really don't want someone who might be unhappy that I didn't except their offer or someone whom I have blocked. Being able to see my home address and phone number. I'm not walmart I'm a one women show here that works out of my home to try and make extra money to pay my bills and maybe be able to take a vacation once in a while.
shipscript
·3 years ago@pink_slippers!
You will be able to request an exception. We've recently asked eBay when, and how, an exception can be requested. The process is not yet in place, but should be available by the time it is needed.
We have been advised by staff to watch the "What do I need to do now?" section on this page:
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/resources/inform-consumers-act
"The good news is you already provided most of this information when you signed up for eBay. If you sell over 200 new items totaling more than $5,000, we’ll send you instructions on how to upload your information in Seller Hub and My eBay if we need additional information from you.
"We’re building an exception process for you to certify that you’re eligible for an exception to sharing your full physical address under the law. This process will be available prior to the INFORM Consumers Act going into effect."
valueaddedresource
OP3 years ago@devon@ebay @kyle@ebay @elizabeth@ebay - The Inform Act goes into effect June 27 , any updates on the process for sellers to request an exception to this if they qualify?
wastingtime101
·3 years agoWith the exception they still share a partial address and your full name (or business name).
I assume partial address is city, state, zip - only omitting street address lines?
valueaddedresource
OP3 years ago@wastingtime101 the legislation says for exceptions that partial address may be country and state, if applicable. I don't see any requirement for city or zip.
upon the request of a high-volume third party seller, an online marketplace may provide for partial disclosure of the identity information required under paragraph (1)(B)(i) in the following situations:
(i) If such seller certifies to the online marketplace that the seller does not have a business address and only has a residential street address, or has a combined business and residential address, the online
marketplace may—
(I) disclose only the country and, if applicable, the State in which such seller resides; and
(II) inform consumers that there is no business address available for the seller and that consumer inquiries
should be submitted to the seller by phone, email, or other means of electronic messaging provided to such seller by the online marketplace.
valueaddedresource
OP3 years ago@devon@ebay @kyle@ebay @elizabeth@ebay we're now less than a month from this deadline and sellers need to know how to request an exception.
When can we expect an update on this?
stephenmorgan
·3 years agoI know eBay was against this one. By having this information in a listing it may impact their Business Model that keeps Seller and Buyer from knowing each others contact information until a sale is confirmed thru eBay.
collectintime
·2 years agoNow that makes perfect sense. I had no idea why eBay would be against this. Oh, as usual, if they think it could make them lose a dime, they are all over it.
A buyer was interested in one of my items, but would not be paid until the end of the month. I told her that I would take the auction off eBay and when she was ready just email me, I would put it back up on auction for her to buy. I don't know what keywords, upset the apple cart, but eBay would not let that email go through to the buyer. They are quite paranoid about not getting their cut.