[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Hainesport 9-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-7-8. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township Committee hereby finds that there is a need to regulate and control the buying, selling and/or trading of secondhand goods to reduce the potential for sale of stolen goods and to assist law enforcement through strict recording requirements.
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:
ENGAGE IN BUSINESS
To hold oneself out through advertisement or other means as a secondhand dealer from a property location in Hainesport Township.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
SECONDHAND DEALING
The trade or business of buying and/or selling secondhand goods.
SECONDHAND GOODS
Any used goods, including but not limited to goods such as antiques, precious stones, gold. silver, platinum or other precious metals, jewelry, coins, any tools, television sets, radios, music devices and instruments, electronic devices, sporting goods automotive equipment, collectibles, game cartridges, DVDs, compact discs and other electronically or digitally recorded materials, firearms, cameras and camera equipment, video equipment and bric-a-brac.
A. 
No person shall engage in the business of secondhand dealing without complying with the recordkeeping requirements established herein.
B. 
The following actions are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
(1) 
Judicial sales or sales by executors or administrators;
(2) 
Occasional or auction sales of household goods sold from private homes;
(3) 
Auction of real estate;
(4) 
The occasional sale, purchase or exchange of coins or stamps by a person at his permanent residence or in any municipally owned building who is engaged in the hobby of collecting coins or stamps and who does not solicit the sale, purchase or exchange of such coins or stamps to or from the general public by billboard, sign, handbill, newspaper, magazine, radio, television or other form of printed or electronic advertising;
(5) 
Organizations organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code[1] which accept donations and consignments for resale to benefit the nonprofit cause of the organization (i.e., charitable thrift shops).
[1]
Editor's Note: See 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).
Reporting requirements are as follows:
A. 
All secondhand dealers shall require of each person selling secondhand goods suitable identification setting forth the true name and address of the seller. Acceptable identification includes a valid photo driver's license issued in one of the 50 states, a valid government-issued photo identification or photo ID and one fingerprint (preferably thumb), which will be recorded on the receipt retained by the dealer and subsequently forwarded to any investigating authority upon request. All secondhand dealers shall issue to each seller (and maintain a copy of) a serially numbered receipt setting forth the following information. Both a legible photocopy or electronic scan of the photo ID and the fingerprint shall be retained by the secondhand dealer and provided to law enforcement upon request.
B. 
A brief, legible description of the item(s), which shall describe the manufactured form of such item(s).
C. 
A statement, in full, of any identifying marks on the item, such as initials, names, dates, social security numbers engraved thereon, serial numbers, series numbers or any other information appearing calculated to set apart the particular object sold from others of like kind.
D. 
If the item is purchased by weight, the troy ounce weight of the item.
E. 
The name of the clerk or employee of the secondhand dealer making the transaction, legibly set forth.
F. 
The name and permanent business address of the purchaser/secondhand dealer.
G. 
The name and address of the seller, which shall be verified by proof of identification. Said receipt book shall be a record kept in the regular course of business of the secondhand dealer.
H. 
The actual price paid for the purchase of such item.
I. 
A photographed recording of the item(s) being purchased by the dealer. The photograph should be of digital form and quality, with the ability to be electronically transferred to a computer.
A. 
No secondhand dealer under this chapter shall sell, alter or dispose of in any way any of the articles or goods referred to herein in this chapter until seven days have elapsed after the purchase of the same by such secondhand dealer. It shall be an affirmative defense to any prosecution of administrative proceedings brought for a violation of this section if retention for the time period required would have resulted in serious and substantial economic losses to the dealer, or the probability of such losses was significant due to rapid and highly fluctuating market conditions, provided that the persons so charged shall prove the existence of the market conditions giving rise to the aforesaid defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Market conditions, in order to be a defense hereunder, must be such that financial analysts would characterize trading as at or approaching a level or occurrence so as to clearly distinguish trading conditions from normal variations in market movement in response to economic news or other events.
B. 
The secondhand dealer shall retain all proofs of sales and purchases for a period of three years under the violations and penalties provision of this chapter.
A secondhand dealer shall not accept or buy any secondhand goods from any person under the age of 18 years, unless such minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian and said parent or guardian gives specific written consent to the transaction and acknowledges the receipt required by the buyer to be given to the seller. Identification and proof of guardianship shall be required.
All persons, partnerships and corporations engaging in any transactions covered by this chapter shall conform to the provisions of this chapter within 90 days following the date of its final passage by the Township Committee.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person defined above who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a penalty as specified in § 1-1 of the Township Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed for each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
The Township Administrator, the Barracks Commander of the Bordentown Barracks of the New Jersey State Police and their designees are authorized to enforce this chapter.