House of Paine

drop off yer stolens here

  like an emerging  solar system
              
  we are watching  satelite shops
                emerge  in the orbit 
around the fantastic  
 burgeoning star
                   Ebay 


yes 
spun  right out of  the   commercial vortex 

and with some nice 
Smithian dynamics too ....

"AS IF BY AN INVISIBLE ...."

 

but hey
 as   markets
             self orgainize 
they prove not  to be 
               simple purveyors 
                          of pure 
                       win win deals  

 
all  transactions
    all sub sectors
                 will not remain 
                       equally bright ....

THATS WHERE I COME IN

my names the state 

DUN DEE DUN DUN  
DUN DEE DUN DUN  DAAAAN 

======================================

          


" selling troves of junk 
seems  innocent enough
 But as more eBay 
drop-off stores 
spring up around the nation 
to help redistribute 
the accumulated cargo 
of an acquisitive culture
 some public officials worry 
that they could become 
 fences for stolen goods"


" As some states push 
to regulate the industry
 eBay and her  satelite stores
 are joining together to oppose oversight" 

"States like California and Florida
 are debating whether
 drop-off stores 
like QuikDrop International,
 AuctionDrop
 and iSold It 
should be governed 
by the laws to prevent
 the sale of stolen items 
that currently apply to
 pawnbrokers, secondhand stores
 and auctioneers."


"The focus on drop-off operations 
is intensifying 
because they are multiplying rapidly" 

"According to eBay, 
there are more than 7,000 locations 
listed in the company's directory 
of independent businesses,
 or trading assistants, 
that sell on behalf of
 others and offer drop-off services
. Many of these, 
including about 3,800 AuctionDrop
 locations in U.P.S. Stores,
 are retail-style storefronts.
 And hundreds more 
of these stores
 are expected to open
 in the next year."

"The stores and eBay 
have no corporate connection,
 but they are closely linked"


"the drop-off stores 
help bring into the eBay fold 
people who might be reluctant 
to hold an online auction themselves"



 
 " in many states
       secondhand dealers 
are required to report transactions
 fingerprint people selling items
 like high-priced jewelry 
and electronic equipment, 
and hold onto those items
 for 30 days. "

----------- a lot of work eh ? -------------

"EBay is lobbying against
adding drop offs to this regualed category "

" including 
 a proposed law
in california  
that would set up 
an electronic database
 to track stolen goods"
 
 "EBay asked that the bill exempt
 drop off centers ...."
 
----so what the fuck do these drop offs do ....? -------------

"The drop-off stores 
typically take in an item
 photograph it
 and put it up for sale on eBay

 If a sale goes through
 the store sends 
the seller a check
 minus a store commission 
that is often as high as 35 percent
 as well as a fee for eBay 
and other processing charges

 If the item does not sell
 within a certain number of days 
(at QuikDrop, it is two weeks)
 the owner is asked to retrieve it "



---------------- the new  digital fence ---------------



"You don't necessarily 
go through 
a traditional fence anymore 
 you go through the Internet
 meaning 
           the hot stuff
      lands at one of these
              drop-off places."

 

 -----however laws made for old time crooks 
                   have new time holes-------

"in florida a  fencing case 
was recently  dismissed 
when a judge ruled 
that the "pawn shop " law
 did not apply 
because the drop off store 
never "owned"
the merchandise 
      at any time
 as  a secondhand store does "


--------------
now
here comes 
the magnificent
dynamics...

where counter forces  
come 
blossoming 
out of competing self interests

this time:
pawn shop 
 snitch and poin as in ... ---------  

 (enter stage right) 

"the Collateral Loan 
and Second Hand Dealers Association"
 
"they argue
 that drop-off centers
 should have to comply
 with the  same rules 
that govern pawnshops "
-----------
doubtless they lie behind
 the claghornian  yelps
  from these various
"tribunes of the people" here -----------  


----------- but now really will.... ------------

 "imposing an equalizing
 paperwork burden
 on drop-off centers 
 reduce crime?" 

---------------- maybe not too much 

after all
in the long run
 all  speed traps get licked 
 
but on the other hand 
               it sure will ...-------------

" increase
the cost of doing business
for  drop-off stores "

yup

iin its heart of hearts all this is 

" mostly a tactic 
by the hock shops
to make life harder
 for  some bright new rivals"

------------ 
and wonder of wonders
 by  doing their selfish damnedest 
by   throwin up  obstacles
 on  the digital playing field 
keeping costs and conditions
between the 3d and the 2d 
close to level as possible...
maybe they'll 
slow up a few fencing ops ...

amen  adam amen   
                             QED--------------------