A case that is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court before the end of the month could force garage sales and thrift stores out of business.
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The Supreme Court will hear a case before the end of the month that could force garage sales and thrift stores out of business, according to Northern Colorado Gazette.
The first-sale doctrine, which allows consumers to sell used products they originally bought, could be in jeopardy, according to MarketWatch.
For some tips & tricks to make your garage sale go smoothly, click here.
The case that could determine it all stems from a college student shipping textbooks from his home country, Thailand, where the publisher sold them for a fraction of the price. The student would then sell them himself for a profit of $1.2 million in the U.S.
Companies with copyrights of foreign-made goods may be able to require permission to sell their goods if the Supreme Court backs up the appellate court’s decision — permissions that may come with a demand for a portion of the profit.
Such a decision could affect libraries, museums and Internet companies that are fueled by resold items like eBay or Craigslist, according to MarketWatch.
Used car sales could also take a hit since they have parts made by several different companies. This could potentially require a dealer to obtain permission from every manufacturer to sell the car, according to Northern Colorado Gazette.
EMAIL: sparker@desnews.com TWITTER: @SeanRParker
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It seems the textbook company created the problem when they sold the same textbook for a different price somewhere else. University bookstores, in the U.S. at least, have long taken the blame for expensive textbooks. However, it's an outdated More..
Yard sales help in recycling as perfectly good items that one person doesn't need anymore can be used by another instead of ending up in a landfill and forcing the other person to buy the item new. How would this be enforced? I'm telling More..
Seems like the SCOTUS would be able to look at this and realize it doesn't pass the smell test. I don't think they will make a decision that will outlaw yard sales - a bit too draconian, even for them.