Cassidy INFORM Amendment

[drusalina]

The US Senate is looking at new legislation that would require eBay and all other online seller sites to verify and display seller contact info on listing pages.   Including name, address, phone number and email address.   Your privacy will be gone.  

Another reason why I quit selling.  

Big Brother is here! 

[shirkie_42]

Use a business only email, set up a Google voice mail phone number and get a post office box or one at UPS or a similar place.

The UK has had similar requirements for years.

[valueaddedresource]

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@drusalina wrote:

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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Big Brother is here! 

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@drusalina  before panicking, I'd recommend reading the text of the bill to be accurately informed (pun fully intended), rather than just reading emails from eBay and Etsy or online news sources.


Your assumption is wrong, I don't Panic.  I stay informed and I read the proposed bill.  It will affect many sellers here and thought they should be informed!   

Snarky responses are not necessary on a seller's HELP board.  Demeaning people who are trying to help and or need help is not what this board is for.  

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@drusalina

I was just pointing out that there are details within the proposed bill that allow for some exceptions for smaller sellers and exceptions which will prevent home addresses and personal phone numbers from being required - a point which many of the posts and articles I've seen about this topic seem to have left out, including your original post.

I just think it's important for that information to be part of the discussion is all, no snark intended.

[valueaddedresource]

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@lowcostsales2014 wrote:

Not everybody is an incorporated business. Some people are just selling items left around the house. Big difference between the IRS getting seller info & EVERYBODY knowing what you have in your home. 

List an old coin & someone out there may think you have Fort Knox in your basement & do an Armed Robbery!

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@lowcostsales2014  - the proposed bill already has language which would exempt personal street addresses from being published.

If the high-volume third party seller demonstrates to the online marketplace that the seller does not have a business address and only has a personal street address, the online marketplace may direct the high-volume third-party seller to disclose only the country and, if applicable, the State in which the high-volume third-party seller resides on the product listing, and may inform consumers that there is no business address available for the seller and that consumer inquiries should be submitted to the seller’s email address.

[valueaddedresource]

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@lowcostsales2014 wrote:

"I'm not saying there aren't possibly things in this bill to be concerned about - but anyone who says it would mean every small/consumer seller on eBay will be forced to publicly post their home address and personal phone number has either not read the proposed bill or is intentionally leaving out part of the story."

Remember this is the United States Gov you are talking about.

I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them!

Remember at first Sales Tax wouldn't Apply to Small Sellers Either!

With the Gov better to be PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE when its too late!

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@lowcostsales2014 

I absolutely agree with you about being proactive rather than reactive - which is why it's important to read the text of the proposed bill in its entirety and understand what it does and does not say.

Then you can proactively take steps to either advocate for resistance to or change in the bill from a fully informed perspective or proactively take steps to protect yourself if you believe it is needed (as suggested by others a PO box or virtual address, VOIP number, and separate email address are all easy solutions.)

Posting incorrect or incomplete information that leads people to believe they will be forced to publish their personal home addresses and phone numbers would seem to fall more under reactive, in my opinion.

[maxine*j]

I've been buying from UK sellers for many years.  This information -- name, address, email, phone, etc. -- has always been in their listings.  No big deal for honest, reliable sellers. 

And when I first started here, people had my name and address in order to mail me cash, check, or money order in payment for purchases.  No big deal for me.

When we owned a brock-and-mortar, all that and more was public information.

If the government is finally moving to do something about a huge underground economy of tax dodgers, sellers of stolen merchandfise, money launderers, and general scofflaws, that's okay by me and to my overall benefit..

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[maxine*j]

... brick-and-mortar ...

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[monroe67]

IF -- big IF -- this happens, and small time, low volume, low frequency sellers like me - - -

have to have our names and home addresses shown in our eBay listings -- 

then, yeah, I also will stop listing here on eBay.   

But -- this is a proposal being submitted in the US Senate.  Not known for speedy results.  I do not expect anything like this to be implemented even by January 1, 2022.   I'm not freaking out quite yet.  

[darkfae2015]

I dont think you can use a PO box as a business addy and in some cases not even as a shipping addy since some sellers and some sites wont ship to one they want a physical address

[darkfae2015]

nope it will be bots and algorithm that is how everything is done now.. bots have no reason and no ability to discern one from another..

[darkfae2015]

Snarky responses are not necessary on a seller's HELP board. Demeaning people who are trying to help and or need help is not what this board is for.

I agree but since i have been looking on these boards it seems you have a handful of peeps that just enjoy snarking with little else to contribute or any real help..and demeaning of sellers is just part of that package.. i dont even know if they are actual sellers since many times they will post with a different account, often times with 0 feedback..

[darkfae2015]

the other issue i had with amazon is if something somehow gets damage they simply destroy it ( I personally think it ends up in the warehouse deals for them to sell themselves) but at least they compensate? they have an odd way of doing things in the sba program

[darkfae2015]

yep the article on etsy referred to an EU issue

[darkfae2015]

 yeah but......handmade items can be considered new and unused.. i dont know how strict the definition will be

[wahlstreetmkt]

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@darkfae2015 wrote:

I dont think you can use a PO box as a business addy and in some cases not even as a shipping addy since some sellers and some sites wont ship to one they want a physical address

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I assume it's this way with UPS stores and whatnot, but USPS, you can use the street address...so instead of it being PO Box 123...it can be 456 A Street Unit 123. The latter is useful for when having stuff sent to me using UPS or FedEx and don't want it sent to my house for one reason or another.

[shhboom]

Wouldn't eBay be totally against this? eBay presently doesn't permit sellers to include phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or other personal information in listings in order to prevent off-eBay sales.