[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg 4-3-2012 by Ord. No. O:2012-05. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
The act of consigning, which is placing a person or thing
in the hand of another, but retaining ownership until the goods are
sold or person is transferred.
A store that sells secondhand items on behalf of the original
owner, who receives a percentage of the selling price.
Includes gold, platinum, silver, gold-filled or plated ware,
diamonds and other precious or semiprecious stones, whether mounted
or unmounted, cultured pearls, and watches, clocks and goods, wares
and merchandise commonly classified as "jewelry" and commonly offered
for sale in jewelry stores.
A person who is engaged in the business of advancing money
on the security of pledged goods or is engaged in the business of
purchasing tangible personal property on the condition that it may
be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed or variable price
within a fixed or variable period of time.
A location or premises at which a pawnbroker regularly conducts
the pawnbroker's business.
Every person engaged in, conducting, managing or carrying on
the business of buying, selling or otherwise dealing in secondhand
goods, wares, merchandise or other articles, including:
Coins, gems or semiprecious stones, jewelry, precious metals
purchased from any person other than the original manufacturer or
authorized distributor selling the same for money, credit or exchange,
digital video discs, and all goods and articles that bear a serial
number or owner-applied number, regardless of value; and
All secondhand goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles
that have a fair market value in excess of $100.
The term defined in Subsection A includes:
Every person engaged in the described business, whether such
business is the principal or sole business so carried on, managed
or conducted or is merely incidental to, in connection with or a branch
or department of some other business; and
Any person or entity that conducts such activities at a location
that is not that person's or entity's actual business address,
such as a hotel, meeting hall, convention center, or other short-term
leased or rented location.
The term "secondhand dealer" shall include pawnbrokers, pawn
shops and consignment shops or anyone else who sells items on consignment.
The term "secondhand dealer" does not include organizations
that are recognized as not-for-profit under the laws of this state
or any other state, dealer-to-dealer transactions, or individuals
or businesses conducting estate sales.
All secondhand dealers shall be required to register with the
Clerk of the Town of Phillipsburg by January 30th each year.
A.
Every dealer in secondhand goods must keep, without concealment,
for a period of five business days, subject to inspection by any police
officer, all goods, wares and merchandise, except papers and rags,
purchased or received from any person, before selling, shipping or
otherwise disposing of the same, unless the item(s) has (have) been
sooner inspected by the Chief of Police or his/her designee and the
dealer receives written approval for such selling, shipping or disposal.
B.
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.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:22-34, all secondhand dealers, or any
employee or agent thereof, shall make and deliver to the Chief of
Police by 11:00 a.m. each day, except Sunday, a true, complete, and
accurate report of the goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles
received by the secondhand dealer on deposit or by purchase, trade
or consignment.
A.
The report required by § 426-4 shall include the following:
(1)
The first and last name, permanent address and telephone number of
the seller/consignor;
(2)
The physical description of the seller/consignor, including date
of birth;
(3)
The number and type of the identification document presented by the
seller/consignor;
(4)
An accurate, legible description of each item sold or consigned;
(5)
The dealer's name and address and the initials or identifying
number of the employee who received the item;
(6)
The date and time of the initial transaction;
(7)
The type of transaction (i.e., sale, pawn, consignment); and
(8)
The amount loaned or paid in the transaction.
B.
All dealers shall keep a permanent record at their place of business,
in which is kept a complete record of all transactions required to
be reported under this chapter for a period of two years from the
date of the transaction. The record of transactions required by this
section shall be available for inspection by the Chief of Police or
his designated representative during normal business hours.
Whenever there exists probable cause to believe that property
in the possession of a secondhand dealer or other person is stolen,
a police officer or person so designated by the Chief of Police may
place a hold on the property for a period up to 30 days. When a police
officer or other designee places a hold on the property, the police
officer or designee shall initiate such hold by contacting the dealer
in person or by telephone and informing the dealer of the hold and
describing the item or items to be held. Within three days of the
initial contact, the police officer or designee shall deliver or mail
to the dealer a written notice of the hold. The written notice shall
include a description of the item or items to be held.
At all times during the terms of the license, the dealer must
allow law enforcement officials to enter the premises where the licensed
business is located, including all off-site storage facilities, during
normal business hours for the purpose of inspecting such premises
and inspecting the items, wares and merchandise and records to verify
compliance with this chapter and other applicable laws.
Any person or persons, firm or firms, partnership or partnerships,
association or associations, corporation or corporations, or any agent
or servant thereof, who shall violate any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by
a fine not to exceed the sum of $100 or by imprisonment not to exceed
one hundred days, or both. Each and every item handled in violation
of this chapter shall be considered a separate offense.
