[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Grand Chute 7-17-2007 (§ 9.02 of the 1997 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Junk dealers — See Ch. 349.
Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers — See Ch. 412.
A. 
Auctions and closeout sales are hereby deemed to be unlawful unless notice of said auction or closeout sale is given in writing by the auctioneer or person or business conducting said auction or closeout sale to the Town of Grand Chute not less than 15 days before the occurrence of said auction or closeout sale.
B. 
The written notice of auction or closeout sale shall be sufficient if it contains and identifies the date, the hours and the location where the auction or closeout sale will take place and identifies the owners or consignors of personal property or real estate to be sold. The written notice shall be received by the Town Clerk at least 15 days prior to the auction or sale.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AUCTION
A sale transaction conducted by means of oral or written exchanges between an auctioneer and prospective purchasers of goods or real estate that consist of a series of invitations made by the auctioneer to the prospective purchasers for offers for the purchase of goods or real estate that culminate in the acceptance by the auctioneer of the highest or most favorable offer made by one of the prospective purchasers.
CLOSEOUT SALE
A sale transaction conducted by a person or a business, at retail, for the purpose of closing out merchandise or the sale of merchandise which is advertised or implied as a closing out or going out of business sale which results in the termination of that business.
This article does not apply to any of the following:
A. 
An auction conducted by or under the direction of an official of the United States or of this state or a county, city, village or town in this state.
B. 
An auction required by a court order or judgment.
C. 
A sale of goods or real estate required by law to be a sale by auction.
D. 
An auction conducted by the owner of the goods or real estate for sale if the owner has held the goods or real estate for his or her personal use for at least one year immediately preceding the date of the auction.
E. 
An auction conducted by or under the direction of a religious, fraternal or benevolent society, a school or a nonprofit organization.
F. 
An auction conducted by or under the direction or a political organization or candidate if the proceeds of the auction will be used for political purposes.
G. 
An auction in which the total appraised value of the goods or services for sale is less than $500.
H. 
Fur auctions and fur auctioneers licensed by the Department of Natural Resources under Ch. 29, Wis. Stats.
I. 
Motor vehicle auction dealers licensed by the Department of Transportation under Subchapter VIII of Ch. 218, Wis. Stats.
J. 
A person, other than a licensee as defined in § 452.01(5), Wis. Stats., who conducts an auction or manages or has primary responsibility for handling sales proceeds, down payments, earnest money deposits or other trust funds received at or as a result of an auction while lawfully practicing within the scope of a license, permit or certificate granted to that person by a state governmental agency other than the Department of Safety and Professional Services.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Failure to give notice as required under this article of any auction or closeout sale shall result in a penalty as prescribed in the Uniform Forfeiture and Bond Schedules for each day of each failed notice.
It shall be unlawful for any direct seller to engage in direct sales within the Town of Grand Chute without being registered for that purpose as provided herein.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
Includes any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic or eleemosynary person, partnership, association or corporation, or one purporting to be such.
DIRECT SELLER
Any individual who, for him/herself or for a partnership, association or corporation, sells goods, or takes sales orders for the later delivery of goods, at any location other than the permanent business place or residence of said individual, partnership, association or corporation, and shall include but not be limited to peddlers, solicitors and transient merchants. The sale of goods includes donations required by the direct seller for the retention of goods by a donor or prospective customer.
GOODS
Includes personal property of any kind and shall include goods provided incidental to services offered or sold.
PERMANENT MERCHANT
A direct seller who, for at least one year prior to the consideration of the application of this article to said merchant, has continuously resided in this Town or has continuously resided in this Town and now does business from his/her residence.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Town of Grand Chute Police Department.
The following shall be exempt from all provisions of this article:
A. 
Any person delivering newspapers, fuel, dairy products or bakery goods to regular customers on established routes.
B. 
Any person selling goods at wholesale to dealers in such goods.
C. 
Any person selling agricultural products which such person has grown.
D. 
Any permanent merchant or employee thereof who takes orders away from the established place of business for goods regularly offered for sale by such merchant within this county and who delivers such goods in his/her regular course of business.
E. 
Any person who has an established place of business where the goods being sold are offered for sale on a regular basis and in which the buyer has initiated contact with and specifically requested a home visit by said person.
F. 
Any person who has had, or one who represents a company which has had, a prior business transaction, such as a prior sale or credit arrangement, with the prospective customer.
G. 
Any person selling or offering for sale a service unconnected with the sale or offering for sale of goods.
H. 
Any person holding a sale required by statute or by order of any court and any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law.
I. 
Any employee, officer or agent of a charitable organization who engages in direct sales for or on behalf of said organization, provided that there is submitted to the Town Police Department proof that such charitable organization is registered under § 440.42, Wis. Stats. Any charitable organization not registered under § 440.42, Wis. Stats., or which is exempt from the statute's registration requirements, shall be required to register under this article.
J. 
Any person who claims to be a permanent merchant but against whom complaint has been made to the Town Police Department that such person is a transient merchant, provided that there is submitted to the Town Police Department proof that such person has leased for at least one year or purchased the premises from which he/she is conducting business or proof that such person has conducted such business in this Town for at least one year prior to the date complaint was made.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-40]
A. 
Applicants for registration must complete and return to the office of the Town Clerk a registration form furnished by the Clerk's office, which shall require the following information:
(1) 
Name, permanent address and telephone number, and temporary address, if any.
(2) 
Age, height, weight, and color of hair and eyes.
(3) 
Name, address and telephone number of the person, firm, association or corporation that the direct seller represents or is employed by or whose merchandise is being sold.
(4) 
Temporary address and telephone number from which business will be conducted, if any.
(5) 
Nature of business to be conducted and a brief description of the goods offered and any services offered.
(6) 
Proposed method of delivery of goods, if applicable.
(7) 
Make, model and license number of any vehicle to be used by the applicant in the conduct of his/her business.
(8) 
Last cities, villages, and towns, not to exceed three, where the applicant conducted similar business.
(9) 
Place where the applicant can be contacted for at least seven days after leaving this Town.
(10) 
Statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of any crime or ordinance violation related to the applicant's transient merchant business within the last five years; the nature of the offense and the place of conviction.
B. 
Applicants shall present to the Town Clerk for examination:
(1) 
A driver's license or some other proof of identity as may be reasonably required.
(2) 
A state certificate of examination and approval from the Sealer of Weights and Measures where the applicant's business requires use of weighing and measuring devices approved by state authorities.
(3) 
A state health officer's certificate where the applicant's business involves the handling of food or clothing and is required to be certified under state law, such certificate to state that the applicant is apparently free from any contagious or infectious disease, dated not more than 90 days prior to the date the application for license is made.
C. 
At the time the registration is returned, a fee shall be paid (per the Fee Schedule adopted by the Town Board and revised from time to time) to the Town Clerk to cover the cost of processing said registration.
(1) 
The applicant shall sign a statement appointing the Town Clerk his/her agent to accept service of process in any civil action brought against the applicant arising out of any sale or service performed by the applicant in connection with the direct sales activities of the applicant, in the event that the applicant cannot, after reasonable effort, be served personally.
(2) 
Upon payment of said fee and the signing of said statement, the Town Clerk shall register the applicant as a direct seller and date the entry. Said registration shall be valid for a period of six months from the date of entry, subject to subsequent refusal as provided in § 259-9B below.
[Amended 12-20-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-40]
A. 
Upon receipt of each application, the Town Clerk may make and complete an investigation of the statements made in such registration.
B. 
The Town Clerk shall refuse to register the applicant if it is determined, pursuant to the investigation above, that the application contains any material omission or materially inaccurate statement; complaints of a material nature have been received against the applicant by authorities in the last cities, villages and towns, not exceeding three, in which the applicant conducted similar business; the applicant was convicted of a crime, statutory violation or ordinance violation within the last five years, the nature of which is directly related to the applicant's fitness to engage in direct selling; or the applicant failed to comply with any applicable provision of § 259-9B above.
Any person denied registration may appeal the denial through the appeal procedure provided by ordinance or resolution of the Town Board or, if none has been adopted, under the provisions of §§ 68.07 through 68.16, Wis. Stats.
A. 
Prohibited practices.
(1) 
A direct seller shall be prohibited from calling at any dwelling or other place between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. except by appointment; calling at any dwelling or other place where a sign is displayed bearing the words "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors" or words of similar meaning; calling at the rear door of any dwelling; or remaining on any premises after being asked to leave by owner, occupant or other person having authority over such premises.
(2) 
A direct seller shall not misrepresent or make false, deceptive or misleading statements concerning the quality, quantity or character of any goods offered for sale, the purpose of his/her visit, his/her identity or the identity of the organization he/she represents. A charitable organization direct seller shall specifically disclose what portion of the sale price of goods being offered will actually be used for the charitable purpose for which the organization is soliciting. Said portion shall be expressed as a percentage of the sale price of the goods.
(3) 
No direct seller shall impede the free use of sidewalks and streets by pedestrians and vehicles. Where sales are made from vehicles, all traffic and parking regulations shall be observed.
(4) 
No direct seller shall make any loud noises or use any sound-amplifying device to attract customers if the noise produced is capable of being plainly heard outside a one-hundred-foot radius of the source.
(5) 
No direct seller shall allow rubbish or litter to accumulate in or around the area in which he/she is conducting business.
B. 
Disclosure requirements.
(1) 
After the initial greeting and before any other statement is made to a prospective customer, a direct seller shall expressly disclose his/her name, the name of the company or organization he/she is affiliated with, if any, and the identity of goods or services he/she offers to sell.
(2) 
If any sale of goods is made by a direct seller, or any sales order for the later delivery of goods is taken by the seller, the buyer shall have the right to cancel said transaction if it involves the extension of credit or is a cash transaction of more than $25, in accordance with the procedure as set forth in § 423.203, Wis. Stats. The seller shall give the buyer two copies of a typed or printed notice of that fact. Such notice shall conform to the requirements of § 423.203(1)(a), (b) and (c), (2) and (3), Wis. Stats.
(3) 
If the direct seller takes a sales order for the later delivery of goods, he/she shall, at the time the order is taken, provide the buyer with a written statement containing the terms of the agreement, the amount paid in advance, whether full, partial or no advance payment is made, the name, address and telephone number of the seller, the delivery or performance date and whether a guarantee or warranty is provided and, if so, the terms thereof.
A. 
Registration may be revoked by the Town Board, after notice and hearing, if the registrant made any material omission or materially inaccurate statement in the application for registration, made any fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading statement or representation in the course of engaging in direct sales, violated any provision of this article or was convicted of any crime or ordinance or statutory violation which is directly related to the registrant's fitness to engage in direct selling.
B. 
Written notice of the hearing shall be served personally on the registrant at least 72 hours prior to the time set for the hearing. Such notice shall contain the time and place of the hearing and a statement of the acts upon which the hearing will be based.
Any person convicted of violating any provisions of this article shall forfeit an amount as prescribed in the Uniform Forfeiture and Bond Schedules plus costs of prosecution. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.