Information Please On Red Alert When Making A Listing Saying I Need A Business License?

[scredence2005]

I have never sold household supplies before but am now.  This evening when listing toilet tissue and baby wipes I get a red alert warning at top of listing  saying something about  needing a license and not to relist  .  Message says "this product may be sold only by sellers with a business account, due to concerns that inflated prices for these products may violate applicable laws or regulations."    I have always just sold pottery and glass.  Please help me with what I need to do.  Thank you for help.

[scredence2005]

I had no idea you could get Spa Soap at the dollar store.

[long-gone]

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@scredence2005 wrote:

I have never sold household supplies before but am now.  This evening when listing toilet tissue and baby wipes I get a red alert warning at top of listing  saying something about  needing a license and not to relist  .  Message says "this product may be sold only by sellers with a business account, due to concerns that inflated prices for these products may violate applicable laws or regulations."    I have always just sold pottery and glass.  Please help me with what I need to do.  Thank you for help.

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Help has been given.  It appears that you now have plenty of toilet tissue and spa soap to clean and dry your pottery and glass.

[lightlily_arts]

Just so you understand Governor Gavin declared a State of Emergency back on March 4th which invoked the price gouging laws on most essentials items and services.  It is illegal to sell these items for more than 10% over the pre-crisis fair market value.  Violators can be reported and subject up to one year in Jail with fines up to $10,000.  In addition, they can also hit you with a civil suit with fines up to $5,000 and be ordered to make restitution.  Being that  all your items were sold after the crisis was declared you are subject to that law. They aren't going to care about your fees or that you didn't know.    Some users are collecting seller names for submission to  the state's Attorney General.

[equid0x]

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@krazzykats wrote:

I went to the local DG, and this is a picture of the canned food isle.  

Canned Food isle.

The paper products isle - Toilet paper.

And the bottled water isle.

This is what hoarding and price gouging has done to many local stores.

I can only hope that those that are purchasing & price gouging, find a conscience and a heart. 

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Interesting viewpoint. I would argue that the lack of what you consider "price gouging" has actually led directly to the lack of availability of these products in the store. 

[equid0x]

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@johnrj1226 wrote:

@scredence2005 

Here is a brief run down state by state what is considered price gouging.

https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/price-gouging-laws-by-state.html

Ignorance of a law is never a good defense.

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That's an excellent list because it also shows that in many states, toilet paper doesn't classify.

[johnrj1226]

Would think TP falls under household essentials or basic necessities unless you are using a corn cob.

[edwedw8383]

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@equid0x wrote:

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@krazzykats wrote:

This is what hoarding and price gouging has done to many local stores.

I can only hope that those that are purchasing & [then] price gouging, find a conscience and a heart.

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Interesting viewpoint. I would argue that the lack of what you consider "price gouging" has actually led directly to the lack of availability of these products in the store. 

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Perhaps think again, as it does seem to not have worked the first time.

[long-gone]

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@krazzykats wrote:

I went to the local DG, and this is a picture of the canned food isle.  

Canned Food isle.

The paper products isle - Toilet paper.

And the bottled water isle.

This is what hoarding and price gouging has done to many local stores.

I can only hope that those that are purchasing & price gouging, find a conscience and a heart. 

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They have no heart,conscience or morals.

These items and more are Dollar General items. No wonder the shelves are empty.

Search for: LOT OF 6 Cans Green Giant Green Beans Cut, 14.5 oz FRESH Dates 2021

Price: US $58.50

Same seller: 12 cans of Campbell's tomato soup for $53.00 plus $16.24 shipping.

[lightlily_arts]

However in this case the original poster of the thread is located in California and is subject to our price gouging laws which includes toilet paper.  Toilet paper can be classified under sanitation or toiletries and that's why we had those arrests in San Diego.

[trehar_4]

In California, if you operate ANY type of business you need a general California city business license. While there is no California state business license, if you are in business in any city in California, no matter how small, you need to apply for a business license in your city.

You would need to check your city for to find out where to apply for a license.  The benefit of having a business license is that you can get discounts with a resale number for supplies related to your business.  State Taxes get paid after the resale of those items. 

You need to do the research for a home based business.

[itsjustasprain]

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@lightlily_arts wrote:

However in this case the original poster of the thread is located in California and is subject to our price gouging laws which includes toilet paper.  Toilet paper can be classified under sanitation or toiletries and that's why we had those arrests in San Diego.

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Happy to say that I was in our local Walmart near Chicago today about an hour ago and they actually had a small but good variety of toilet paper back on the shelves. This was late on a Saturday afternoon so thats saying something. They also had a big refill of eggs - all brands of bottled water - plenty of milk - lots of other stuff that was sold out in the past couple of weeks. It looks like the hoarders are all hoarded up and us normal people can carry on.

[socalboomer50]

I do not buy your excuse that you weren't aware of price gouging as it has been on every news venue since this emergency began.

California's Governor  Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency on March 4, 2020.   At the same time the Price Gouging Laws went into effect which included the sales of  all essential items.   During the state of emergency, Penal Code section 396 prohibits businesses, retailers, and other service or goods providers from charging a price that is more than ten percent higher than the amount that existed before the declaration. Covered goods and services include food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, gasoline, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and rental housing. Goods and service providers may charge more than ten percent only if their costs have increased.  That meant any Sanitation and Toiletry product.  

In addition, the District Attorney of San Luis Obispo County published a notice on March 14, 2020 that violators of price gouging would be aggressively investigated.  

https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/district-attorney-warns-consumers-to-be-wary-of-price-gouging-during...

Despite the warnings your sales began on March 22, 2020 and included 23 listings some of which were multiple sales.  Reading the posts I know others went ahead and reported your listings and even those that were already sold.  You were one of the people that contributed to the problem  so that people in your community weren't able to buy these essential items.

In  California if someone reports you for price gouging to the district attorney's office you can go to jail  for up to one year and be fined up to $10,000.

https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/District-Attorney/Contact-Us.aspx

[kensgiftshop]

Now your giving free hand sanitizer with each purchase.