[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic City 7-13-1983 by Ord. No. 29-1983. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANTIQUE DEALER
Any person, firm or corporation other than a licensed pawnbroker or licensed secondhand dealer having a place of business in the City of Atlantic City for purchasing, trading or dealing predominantly in antiques.
ANTIQUES
Very old and authentic objects of enhanced value owing their increased worth in the unique appeal mainly to the fortuity of survival.
BILLABLE TRANSACTION
Every reportable transaction conducted by a secondhand dealer, regardless of the number of items received in that transaction.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
CHIEF OF POLICE
The highest law enforcement official of the Atlantic City Police Department or his designee.
[Added 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
DATABASE
A computerized database with hardware and software compliance to that as set by the Chief of Police.[1]
[Added 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
REPORTABLE TRANSACTION
Every transaction conducted by a secondhand dealer in which merchandise is received through a purchase, consignment, exchange or trade, or for which a unique transaction number or identifier is generated by their point-of-sale software, or an item is confiscated by law enforcement, is reportable except:
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
A. 
The bulk purchase or consignment of new or used merchandise from a merchant, manufacturer or wholesaler having an established permanent place of business, and the retail sale of said merchandise, provided the secondhand dealer must maintain a record of such purchase or consignment which describes each item and must mark each item in a manner which relates it to that transaction record.
SECONDHAND DEALER
Any person, firm or corporation, other than a licensed antique dealer pawnbroker, licensed coin dealer, licensed motor vehicle or trailer dealer purchasing, trading or dealing in any secondhand goods whatsoever, said dealers to be designated in the following classes, as set forth below:
A. 
CLASS A DEALERA person, firm or corporation, other than a Class B or Class C secondhand dealer, engaged in the business of buying, selling, trading, exchanging or dealing in secondhand personal property of any description (other than motor vehicles).
B. 
CLASS B DEALERA person, firm or corporation primarily engaged in the sale of new merchandise, and incidentally engaged in selling, trading, exchanging or dealing in secondhand goods of any description (other than motor vehicles) as the result of having received that secondhand goods in trade, or by repossession or as part payment for new merchandise. No Class B secondhand dealer shall engage in the business of dealing in used personal property except as an incident to the sale of other new merchandise.
C. 
CLASS C DEALERA charitable organization, as defined in Chapter _____ (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, which has donated to it or receives on consignment secondhand personal property (other than motor vehicles) for the purpose of resale.
SECONDHAND GOODS
Goods which have been previously owned, worn or used by another; i.e., not new.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The former definition of "floppy disk," added 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000, which immediately followed, was repealed 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013.
[Amended 2-15-1995 by Ord. No. 14-1995]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to engage in the business of being a secondhand dealer, as defined in this chapter, without first obtaining a license therefor as hereinafter provided. A separate license shall be required for each location, place or premises used for the conduct of the business of being a secondhand dealer. Each location, place or premises shall be limited to a single secondhand license. There shall be a limit of 32 Class A licenses.
A. 
The Chief of Police shall, on application, issue an appropriate license to any person, firm or corporation as a dealer in secondhand goods subsequent to any investigations deemed necessary by said Director. Any person, firm or corporation receiving such license shall pay to the City of Atlantic City an annual license as follows:
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
Class
Fee
Class A
$2,500
Class B
$250
Class C
$250
B. 
All such licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year.
C. 
The billable transaction fee shall reflect the cost of processing transactions from Class A and Class B secondhand dealers and other related expenses as determined by the Chief of Police and shall be reviewed every six months. Dealers shall be notified in writing 30 days before any adjustment is implemented.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
D. 
Billable transaction fees shall be billed monthly and are due and payable within 30 days. Failure to pay in accordance with these terms is a violation of this chapter.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
E. 
Allocation of billable transaction fee.
[Added 7-13-2005 by Ord. No. 56-2005; amended 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013; 6-11-2014 by Ord. No. 28-2014]
(1) 
The billable transaction fee for Class A and Class B secondhand dealers shall be at a rate of $2 per transaction.
The license issued pursuant to this chapter shall state the name of the person to whom issued, the place of business and street number where such business is located. Such license shall entitle the person receiving it to conduct business at the location designated in the license, and such business shall not be carried on or conducted in any other location than that designated in or by the license. No secondhand dealer shall be permitted to solicit upon any street or public highway of the City of Atlantic City, and no person, firm or corporation shall conduct a house-to-house canvass for the purchase or sale of secondhand or used watches, jewelry, precious stones, gold, silver, wrought gold, or any other precious metals within the City.
Each applicant shall have three sets of fingerprints taken by the Atlantic City Police Department. Fingerprints so furnished shall become a part of the application. In the event of a partnership, all partners, and in the event of a corporation, the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, shall be required to submit the above-mentioned sets of fingerprints, which fingerprints so taken shall be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to such further authorities as the Chief of Police may deem advisable, for comparison and record.
A. 
Record of purchases, sales or exchanges.
(1) 
Every Class A secondhand dealer shall keep a complete and accurate computerized record of every transaction in a database at the time of the transaction in English of every article received, purchased, sold or exchanged by him, setting forth the following:
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000; 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
(a) 
The date and time the dealer received the item of property.
(b) 
The full name, date of birth, sex, social security number, current residence address, telephone number and an accurate description of the individual with whom the transaction is had, including sex, height, weight, race, color of eyes and color of hair.
(c) 
The price or consideration paid or received at the time of the transaction; the true value of the article involved.
(d) 
A complete and accurate description of every article received, sold or exchanged, including, but not limited to, brand name, trademark, color, design, number of stones, if jewelry, weight for jewelry, precious metals and bulk metals, names, marks, model number, serial number or other marks of identification appearing on said article.
[Amended 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
(e) 
A digital photograph shall be made by the dealer or employee, at the time of acquisition of any regulated secondhand item, depicting the item's serial number, which number shall be clearly visible and readable in the photograph if imprinted on the item. If the item is not imprinted with any type of serial number, then the photograph shall show the entire item; the photograph shall be clearly focused upon the item, and no more than 25% of the photograph area shall depict anything other than the item. All such digital photographs shall be submitted to the automated reporting system at the time of reporting, immediately before completion of the transaction. Further, a digital photograph of the seller's face, similar to those on accepted identification, shall be made at the time of each and every acquisition and submitted to the automated reporting system. The photograph shall be clearly focused and shall show a frontal view of the seller's face. Digital images shall be labeled and stored in such a manner that they are safe from corruption, readily identifiable, and readily available for review.
[Added 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
(2) 
All records made pursuant to this section shall be maintained by the dealer at the dealer's place of business for a period of not less than one year after the date the property is sold or disposed of in any manner.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000; 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
(3) 
The account of each transaction shall be numbered consecutively.
(4) 
The dealer shall securely fasten on any article purchased or received, for which records must be kept pursuant to this section, a tag to be prescribed by the Chief of Police.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
(5) 
The dealer shall legibly write in English on the tag the date of the purchase or receipt of the article and a number corresponding with the property in the dealer's electronic records system.
[Amended 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
(6) 
The tag shall remain on the property until such time as the property is sold or disposed of by the dealer.
(7) 
Each Class A dealer shall secure and record in the database the name and address of the person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any item sold or disposed of in any manner as well as the date and time of the transaction.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000; 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013 ]
(8) 
All records made pursuant to this section shall be maintained by the dealer at the dealer's place of business on a floppy disk for a period of not less than one year after the date the property is sold or disposed of in any manner. Dealers must also maintain a current clear and legible hard copy of all electronically maintained records, prepared simultaneously with all transactions, and these records shall also be available for inspection for a similar one-year period after the date the property is sold or disposed of in any manner.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
B. 
Identification cards.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
(1) 
The Class A secondhand dealer shall, at the time of making each transaction, require the seller to write his signature and address along with the seller's description and verification of identity on a card bearing the serial number of the transaction corresponding to that recorded in the computerized transaction record of the database. If such person is unable to write, he shall sign by mark, and in such event the dealer shall record on the signature card such information as will identify the individual to be identified. The Class A secondhand dealer shall include an electronic thumbprint recorded into the database by a digital fingerprint scanner.
[Amended 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
(2) 
The dealer shall require and inspect identification from the seller or person delivering the property and note in the transaction record of the database the type of ID exhibited as well as the driver's license number or identification number.
[Amended 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004; 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
(a) 
The following are the only acceptance forms of identification:
[1] 
Current valid New Jersey driver's card.
[2] 
Current valid New Jersey identification card.
[3] 
Current valid driver's license or identification card issued by another state, the District of Columbia or province of Canada.
[4] 
U.S. military/government identification card, i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard.
[5] 
Counties of New Jersey ID Cards.
[6] 
US Passport
(b) 
The identification must, at minimum, bear a true photograph of the person presenting it, date of birth, description of the person and an address for the person.
(3) 
The dealer shall enter all identifying numbers and letters to the extent contained in the identification provided by the seller or person delivering the property and enter all in the transaction record of the database.
C. 
Reports to the Chief of Police. At the close of business every day, all Class A secondhand dealers shall deliver by electronic modem to the Chief of Police from their database all records required in § 215-6A(1) through (3) of every and all articles or things received by them that business day (except as to the purchase of rags, old iron and paper), together with all corrected reportable transactions from previous dates. The Chief of Police shall have the power and authority to require such to be done in a manner and form subject to his approval. Whenever the amount to be paid by the dealer for secondhand goods does not represent their true, fair and reasonable market value, the dealer must, simultaneously with or before the receipt of sale, report the transaction to the Chief of Police of the City of Atlantic City.
[Amended 4-14-1993 by Ord. No. 29-1993; 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000; 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000; 5-22-2013 by Ord. No. 29-2013]
A. 
Maintenance of records. Each Class B secondhand dealer shall keep at his or her place of business a database of each transaction involving used personal property, setting forth the following:
(1) 
An accurate and complete description of the goods, article or thing received in trade or part payment for other merchandise, including, but not limited to, brand name, trademark, color, design, number of stones, if jewelry, weight for jewelry, precious metals and bulk metals, names, marks, model number, serial number or other marks of identification appearing on said article.
(2) 
The date of receipt.
(3) 
The name, sex, race, date of birth and address of the person from whom acquired.
(4) 
All records shall be maintained by the dealer at the dealer's place of business for a period of not less than one year after the date the property is sold or disposed of in any manner.
B. 
Reports to the Chief of Police. All Class B secondhand dealers shall deliver to the Chief of Police from their database all records, by electronic modem, of every and all articles or things received by them that business day (except as to the purchase of rags, old iron and paper) with the amount paid therefor, the time and date of the transaction, together with all corrected reportable transactions from previous dates. The Chief of Police shall have the power and authority to require such to be done in a manner and form subject to his approval. Whenever the amount to be paid by the dealer for secondhand goods does not represent their true, fair and reasonable market value, the dealer must, simultaneously with or before the receipt of the sale, report the transaction to the Chief of Police of the City of Atlantic City.
A. 
Prohibition as to melted or altered goods. No dealer in secondhand goods shall purchase any piece or mass of melted precious metal, ingot of amateur manufacture, or any article with serial numbers or jeweler's marks obliterated unless payment for the article is withheld for a period of 24 hours and the Chief of Police is notified 24 hours prior to the transaction of the pertinent information required under this chapter.
B. 
All Class A secondhand goods dealers shall place a sign, eight inches high by 11 inches wide, that is clearly visible to any person or persons making a sale of any secondhand good, in letters that are in bold type and in characters that are at least one inch in height, stating the following: "After a period of not less than 15 business days the purchase of any and all property is subject to resale to anyone or destruction."
[Added 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000;[1] 11-26-2013 by Ord. No. 63-2013]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections B through H as Subsections C through I, respectively.
C. 
Purchases from minors. No dealer in secondhand goods shall purchase or receive any article of secondhand personal property from a minor unless the minor's parent or legal guardian is physically present during the transaction, and presents the identification required by this chapter.
D. 
Melting, wrecking and remodeling. No secondhand dealer shall take apart or melt down any jewelry, watch, watch case or article composed or manufactured in all or in part of gold, silver or platinum until he shall have made a record of his intention to do so, along with all other data recorded in his record book, and shall have reported the same to the Chief of Police in the same manner as reports of purchase. The articles proposed to be taken apart, melted down, wrecked or remodeled must be kept for a period of 15 business days before such action is taken, unless the articles have been inspected by the Chief of Police or his designate and written approval has been given for such melting, wrecking or remodeling prior to the completion of the aforesaid period.
E. 
Database inspection. The aforesaid database and all goods, articles or things purchased, received or kept for sale or exchange by every secondhand dealer shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection by any person duly authorized in writing by the Chief of Police.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
F. 
Inspection, seizure and detention of property by police.
(1) 
It shall be the duty of every secondhand dealer, and of every person in a dealer's employ, to admit to the premises during business hours any member of the Atlantic City Police Department to examine any database, book or other record on the premises, as well as the articles purchased or received, and to take possession of any article known by the police officer or official to be missing or to have been stolen, or where said officer or official has probable cause to believe the article is missing or stolen.
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
(2) 
It shall be a violation of the provisions of this chapter for any licensed secondhand dealer, or any agent, clerk or employee of any such dealer, to molest, hinder or in any manner prevent any official lawfully authorized or any member of the Police Department from making an inspection of the premises and taking into possession any article or articles known or believed to have been unlawfully taken from the rightful owner or possessor of said article or articles.
(3) 
Upon taking possession of an article or articles, the authorized official or police officer shall furnish the dealer with a receipt, which shall include the date, name of the official or officer taking the article, his rank and a description of the article or articles taken.
(4) 
Any article taken by an authorized official or police officer from a dealer shall, as soon as possible, be delivered to the property clerk of the Atlantic City Police Department, where it shall remain until such time as ownership or the right to possession, or both, have been determined according to law.
(5) 
The property clerk of the Atlantic City Police Department shall notify the dealer in writing of any disposition of the property. Notice shall include the date of disposition and the name of the person receiving the property.
(6) 
In lieu of taking possession of secondhand goods pursuant to this chapter, a member of the Atlantic City Police Department may place a temporary detainer on the property for a period not to exceed 60 calendar days from the date the dealer is notified. The detainer shall be confirmed electronically, or in writing, within 24 hours of the notification, or the next business day.
[Amended 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
(7) 
During the period of detention, the property shall remain in the custody of the dealer and the dealer shall be prohibited from selling, disposing of in any manner or changing the identity of the property.
(8) 
During the period of detention, the dealer shall keep the detained property separate and distinct from all other property in the dealer's place of business.
G. 
Goods to be kept without concealment for 15 business days.
(1) 
Every dealer in secondhand goods, except furniture and carpet, must keep without concealment for a period of 15 business days, subject to inspection by any police officer, all goods, wares and merchandise except furniture, carpets, papers and rags purchased or received from any person before selling, shipping or otherwise disposing of same, provided that furniture and carpets shall be kept for a period of three business days only, unless the article proposed to be sold, shipped or otherwise disposed of has been sooner inspected by the Chief of Police or his designate and receives written approval for such selling, shipping or disposal.
(2) 
Property being held pursuant to this section shall be kept in the dealer's place of business and shall be kept separate and distinct from all other property or merchandise in the dealer's place of business.
H. 
Storage. No secondhand dealer shall make use of any property, private or public, not included within the licensed premises for the storage, handling or displaying of any secondhand article.
I. 
Hours of business. No Class A secondhand dealer shall transact any business between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. There shall be no restrictions as to time as to Class B and Class C secondhand dealers.
[Amended 6-27-1984 by Ord. No. 45-1984; 3-20-1985 by Ord. No. 14-1985]
J. 
Method of delivering reportable transactions.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
(1) 
Licensees must provide to the Police Department all reportable transaction information by transferring it from their computer to the automated pawn system via modem using the current version of the automated pawn system interchange file specification. All required records must be transmitted completely and accurately after the close of business each day in accordance with standards and procedures established by the Police License Inspector. Any transaction that does not meet the automated pawn system interchange file specification must be corrected and resubmitted the next business day.
(2) 
If a licensee is unable to successfully transfer the required reports by modem, the licensee must provide the Police Department, upon request, printed copies of all portable transactions for that date by noon the next business day;
(3) 
If the problem is determined to be in the licensee's system and is not corrected by the close of the first business day following the failure, the licensee must continue to provide the required reports as detailed in § 215-6C and must be charged a fifty-dollar reporting failure penalty, daily, until the error is corrected; or
(4) 
If the problem is determined to be outside the licensee's system, the licensee must continue to provide the required reports in § 215-6C and resubmit all such transactions via modem when the problem is corrected.
(5) 
Regardless of the cause or origin of the technical problems that prevented the licensee from uploading their reportable transactions, upon correction of the problem, the licensee shall upload every reportable transaction from every business day the problem had existed.
(6) 
The Chief of Police may, upon presentation of extenuating circumstances, delay implementation of the daily reporting failure penalty.
K. 
Billable transaction fees. Licensees will be charged for each billable transaction reported to the Police Department. If a licensee is unable to successfully transfer the required reports by modem, the licensee must provide the Police Department, upon request, printed copies of all reportable transactions for that date by noon the next business day.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 73-2003; amended 2-11-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
A. 
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any antique dealer or licensed coin dealer who deals strictly in his respective specialty. Any of the aforesaid dealers who deal in any secondhand items which are not their specialty are required to obtain a license pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any pawnbroker, as defined in N.J.S.A. 45:22-1. However, any pawnbroker who deals in any secondhand items not for the purpose of pawning or making loans thereon is required to obtain a license, pursuant to this chapter, and to abide by same.
A. 
The Chief of Police may deny, suspend or revoke any secondhand license pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:52-2 for sufficient cause after notice and hearing, sufficient cause to include but not be limited to:
[Amended 11-15-2000 by Ord. No. 71-2000]
(1) 
Violation of any provision of the within chapter or other ordinances of the City of Atlantic City.
(2) 
Advertising of any kind by a dealer to purchase secondhand goods without being licensed pursuant to the within chapter.
(3) 
Failure of any person to state fully on his or her application for a license any official place of business within the City, or any material false representation.
(4) 
Conviction of an offense or crime in connection with the operation of a secondhand dealer's business.
(5) 
Utilization of the business for the disposal of stolen goods.
(6) 
Conducting the business in such a way as to make it a menace to the health and welfare of the City.
B. 
The secondhand dealer shall be liable and responsible for any of the acts or omissions of the licensee's agents, clerks or employees.
[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 104-2008]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Atlantic City, be punished for each offense by a fine not to exceed $2,000 or by imprisonment for any term not to exceed 90 days in the county jail or at any place provided by the municipality for the detention of prisoners, or both, at the sole discretion of a Municipal Judge.