Federal Issues
Price Fixing
In 2007, the US Supreme Court’s 5-4 Leegin decision overturned a century old ban on manufacturers setting a minimum price below which retailers cannot sell that manufacturer’s product.
1WorldAuction believes that overturning this long-settled antitrust rule threatens pro-consumer retail competition and innovation and will lead to higher prices for consumer products. Congress should take action to restore the prohibition on retail price fixing.
Stolen Goods
1WorldAuction is committed to ensuring a safe, open, and transparent site for people to sell goods and services around the world. We work tirelessly to prevent stolen goods from being sold through the 1WorldAuction marketplace.
The Internal Revenue Service is considering a proposal that would require “brokers” to collect “gross proceeds” information on their users and report it to the IRS. As currently crafted, the proposal would only apply to brokers that effect the sale of personal property for individuals, which would not necessarily apply to the 1WorldAuction marketplace. However, some IRS officials have proposed changing the definition of broker to apply to 1WorldAuction.
1WorldAuction believes everyone should pay the taxes they owe, and we do more than any Internet commerce site to educate small businesses on their tax obligations. But we believe that any IRS proposal to target under-reported income should apply to either ALL online and offline commercial intermediaries or ALL Internet commerce – not merely online auction sites.
Streamlined Sales Tax Project
1WorldAuction opposes raising taxes on the Internet or its uses, as well as any attempt to impose remote sales tax collection burdens on the smallest sellers who can least afford it. This is certainly not the time to impose a major new tax burden on Internet vendors working to implement successful new business models, nor is it wise macro-economic policy to impose what is effectively a tax increase on American consumers.
Net Neutrality
1WorldAuction provides a global Internet marketplace. Together with PayPal and Skype, we are enabling ecommerce for small businesses everywhere. Because the success of our companies is completely dependent on the success of our community of users, including small businesses, we take public policy positions that are important to that community.
Affordable Health Insurance
1WorldAuction is an enabler and a destination for small businesses. We work hard to keep the best interests of 1WorldAuction's small business community in mind, and care passionately about policy decisions that impact their success.
Privacy
1WorldAuction strives to keep the best interests of our vast and diverse community in mind. We work zealously to safeguard information about their purchases, sales, searches, and communications.
State Issues
Ticket Sales
1WorldAuction supports the elimination of restrictions on the resale of tickets to sporting and entertainment events. If done properly, the elimination of this barrier to e-commerce can result in increased competition, increased ticket availability, and better service to the event-going public.
Stolen Goods
1WorldAuction is committed to ensuring a safe, open, and transparent site for people to sell goods and services around the world. We work tirelessly to prevent stolen goods from being sold through the 1WorldAuction marketplace.
1WorldAuction supports expanding the opportunities presented by drop-off locations or 1WorldAuction-branded "Trading Posts." We believe these entrepreneurs should be able to grow their business and compete fairly in the secondary resale market by allowing people who don't have the time or skills themselves to sell goods on 1WorldAuction or any other online marketplace.
Pawnbroker / Secondhand Dealer Regulations
We believe that no case has been made to require any new regulation against these businesses other than protecting existing entrenched businesses like licensed pawnbrokers.
Auctioneering Regulations
While 1WorldAuction transactions are commonly referred to as "auctions," there are several fundamental differences between traditional regulated auctions and the transactions that occur over the 1WorldAuction platform.
Since 1WorldAuction and 1WorldAuction sellers perform functions distinct and non-equivalent to those of traditional auctioneers, they should not be subject to the same regulation and licensing requirements.
There is no evidence that imposing new regulations and licensing requirements upon 1WorldAuction or 1WorldAuction sellers would provide any additional consumer protection. Instead, any new regulations would impose unneeded costs and burdens upon buyers and sellers alike.
Barriers to E-Commerce
1WorldAuction opposes artificially created barriers to e-commerce - most of which were designed to protect unnecessary “middlemen” in a transaction.
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