Need to know legality of my store operations

[aravind]

Hello all,

 

Hey I am a hobby site developer. I just came across oscommerce and really liked it and I got an idea and got my store running. I want to know about the legalities of running the store. This is my situation.

 

I am selling products which i got it after rebates. Its like selling items by posting ads in the school notice board. Most of the items dont have UPC. And I dont know if I should add sales tax to it. I am not a registered with my city as a seller. Basically its like selling an item in ebay but instead of posting it in ebay I am having my own store.

 

I would be greatful to anyone who could tell me about the legal stuff for having an online store. If there is any link to website or like laws etc kindly let me know. I would greatly appereciate your help.

 

aravind

[Chris Dunning]

Sales tax laws and most other such things are controlled by your state - look in your local phone book for a sales tax office near you and they can probably answer your questions about that.

 

If you're going to be publically selling things, you likely need to register with your local county/parish/city/whatever as a business and get a sales tax ID. Registering your business as a sole proprietorship (meaning you are the only owner of the business and legally liable for the actions of the business) is usually pretty cheap. In Texas where I'm based, it costs $16 to register your business name for 10 years, and the sales tax ID has no charge associated with it.

[mattwho]

SBA.GOV has information for each state.

[Acheron]

You really should be keeping a few things in mind:

 

As mentioned above, you will likely need to register as a sole proprietor in your state. In this case, you would need to colelct sales tax on all items shipped to buyers within your state. If you do collect sales tax, you will need to pay that regularly; typically it is monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or bi-annually but that all depends on your state and amount of sales.

 

I have always wondered about the legality of those erm, people, on eBay who sell items with the UPCs removed but I never cared enough to find out if it was actually legal. Do keep in mind that if you offer a return policy on defective items that you will have a hard time replacing that item in a timely fashion. The store that sold it to you will not take it back sans UPC so you will be forced to go through the manufacturer. You will also be consdiered the end-user for this reason giving your customer no recourse except through you.

 

Anyway, just some things to ponder.

[Guest]

Laws about this vary by state. For example, in Texas, it is illegal to sell anything as "new" more than once. If you purchase something and return it, they are not allowed to sell it as "new" merchandise. It is sold as "returned" merchandise. There are other caveats to the legal definition of "new". If you've removed the UPC symbols, I can assure you that this doesn't qualify as "new" in Texas. Your best bet is to speak to an attorney who's familiar with laws in your state. You should also be very careful to mention in your description of each of the items that they have had their UPC symbols removed. You didn't say what you're selling so I am also going to add that some items are subject to Federal packaging regulations and cannot be sold legally with any portion of their origingal labeling removed. Yes, this includes UPC symbols.

 

HTH,

 

RecentCoin

[aravind]

Hey thanks a lot guys for your suggestions.

 

I will have a look into everything and see if i have any more questions. Thanks a lot.

 

aravind