Monterey County Municipal Code Ch. 7.04 Auctioneers

A. "Auction" means a public sale of property by public outcry. Without limiting the generality of the term auction, such term includes, selling, exposing for sale, offering for sale, or soliciting purchasers for any goods, wares, or merchandise, by means of audible solicitation addressed collectively to a group of three or more persons, which group has been assembled for the purpose of merchandising any of the articles set forth in this Chapter; or a sale in which, instead of the bidders making increasingly higher bids for an article or articles of merchandise, the seller or auctioneer announces a price at which he or she will sell one or more articles of merchandise and, if no sale occurs, increasingly adds additional articles of merchandise to those originally offered, with or without varying the previously announced price, until a buyer is finally induced to buy the accumulated articles at the first price, or a sale in which the seller or auctioneer of an article or articles of merchandise announces an article or articles of merchandise for sale at varying prices until a price is announced at which a buyer buys said article or articles of merchandise.

B. "Auctioneer" includes and comprehends the following:

1. Any person who sells or offers to sell by public outcry to the highest bidder, when bids are called for, any real estate or interest therein, or any goods, wares, merchandise, or other personal property, new or used, in any tent, building, or structure, or on any of the streets or sidewalks, or in any other place in the unincorporated areas of the County where the general public is permitted to attend and offer bids;

2. Any person who advertises himself or herself as a public auctioneer, or in any other manner holds himself or herself out as an auctioneer as defined in Subdivision 1 of this Subsection B for public patronage or receives a fee or commission for services as such.

C. "Auction house" means a fixed location wherein goods, wares, merchandise, or other items of personal property, new or used, are offered for sale at auction as an established auction business.

(Ord. 930, 1955; Ord. 754 § 1, 1951)

The following licenses are required for the following classes established for licensing auctioneers, auctions and auction houses:

A. Class A license: every auctioneer;

B. Class B license: every person, firm, corporation or association that sells or offers for sale at auction any real estate or interest therein, or any goods, wares, merchandise or any personal property, new or used, at any place other than at an auction house;

C. Class C license: every person, firm, corporation or association that operates an auction house.

(Ord. 754 § 2, 1951)

A. Each application for a license shall be verified and be filed with the Tax Collector. An application by an individual shall be verified by the applicant. An application by a corporation, partnership, or other form of organization shall be verified by its duly authorized agent.

B. Each applicant shall specify the address of the applicants place of business, the name and character of such business, the length of time the applicant has been engaged in such business, and the names and addresses of at least three references. An application by an individual shall also specify the applicants residence address.

(Ord. 2191 § 1, 1976; Ord. 754 § 3, 1951)

In addition to the information specified in Section 7.04.030, each application for a Class B license shall also specify the store or place in the County of Monterey where the applicant proposes to conduct an auction, the owner or owners, and the character of the property to be sold. A separate license shall be required for each Class B auction.

(Ord. 754 § 5, 1951)

In addition to the information specified in Section 7.04.030, each application for a Class C license shall also specify the location of the place of business in the County of Monterey where the applicant proposes to conduct an auction house. Each applicant for a Class C license shall pay an application fee to the Tax Collector of the County of Monterey at the time of making an original application which application fee shall be used by the County of Monterey as compensation for making an investigation of the statements and references contained in the application; and it shall be the duty of the said County after the application and the bond referred to in Section 7.04.060 have been filed, to make a careful and thorough investigation of the statements and references contained in the application. The payment of the application fee shall be required only upon the making of an original application by each applicant for a Class C license and shall not apply to an application for renewal of said license.

(Ord. 4186, 2003; Ord. 754 § 6, 1951)

A. Each application for a Class A or Class C license under the provisions of this Chapter must be accompanied by a bond, in the principal amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), the form of which shall be approved by the County Counsel, with one or more sureties thereon, to be approved by the Tax Collector.

B. The condition of each bond must be substantially such that the principal therein named will faithfully conform to each and all ordinances of the County of Monterey and each and all laws of the State of California, whether then in force or which may thereafter be adopted, relating to auctions or the business of auctioneers, or the prevention of fraudulent practices in general. The bond shall provide that the principal and the surety or sureties named in the bond, and their heirs, executors, administrators successors and assignees shall be jointly and severally bound unto the County of Monterey and unto any and every person aggrieved or damaged by breach of the condition of the bond. The bond shall provide that the bond shall not be void upon the first recovery, but may be sued and recovered upon from time to time, by the County of Monterey or by any person aggrieved or damaged, in his or her own name, until the whole penalty is exhausted; and the life of that obligation of the bond shall be made such that it continue for such length of time as the license remains in force and effect. In the event a person is licensed in more than one class as provided in this Chapter, the posting of one bond shall be deemed sufficient to cover all classes of auction licenses held by such person.

(Ord. 2191 § 3, 1976; Ord. 754 § 7, 1951)

A. Upon approval of any application referred to in this Chapter, the license applied for shall be issued. If the license is a Class B or Class C license, it shall designate the store or other place in the County of Monterey where the applicant proposes to conduct an auction or auctions.

B. Class A or Class C licenses shall be annual licenses.

(Ord. 754 § 8, 1951)

A. Fees for the services and licenses set forth in this Chapter shall be determined as set forth by the Board of Supervisors in the Monterey County Fee Resolution.

B. The annual license fees shall be due on January 1st and delinquent on February 1st.

(Ord. 4186, 2003; Ord. 754 § 17, 1951)

It shall be the duty of every auctioneer each day at the beginning of an auction in the unincorporated territory of the County of Monterey to fully state the terms and conditions upon which the sale or sales will be made, and that the buyer must settle for any article so purchased within a specified period of time after the purchase, not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours.

(Ord. 754 § 13, 1951)

It shall be the duty of the person, firm, corporation or association whose merchandise is being sold at auction to give each and every purchaser of an article, the selling price of which amounts to the sum of one dollar ($1.00) or more, an invoice containing a full description of the article, the selling price thereof, together with the statement giving each and every warranty under which the article was sold. Duplicate copies of the invoices shall be kept for one year by such person, firm, corporation or association.

(Ord. 754 § 14, 1951)

A. No auction shall be conducted by any person other than one holding a Class A license.

B. Where the sale of any goods, wares, merchandise or other personal property, new or used, is by auction other than at an auction house, such sale shall be held on successive days, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, and shall not continue for more than thirty (30) days; provided that, where such goods, wares, merchandise or other personal property, new or used, is the stock on hand of a person, firm, corporation or association which is bona fide disposing of such stock for the purpose of retiring from business, the Board of Supervisors may, upon application, grant such additional time for the conduct of such auction as it may deem necessary under the circumstances.

(Ord. 754 § 9, 1951)

A. Any person, firm, corporation or association intending to dispose of its stock on hand by sale at auction at retail, which sale is to be advertised or publicly announced as "closing out sale," a "going out of business sale," a "quitting business sale," or similar type of sale, must make a written application, verified under oath to the tax collector at least fifteen (15) days before the intended sale is to begin, which application shall specify the name and address of the applicant, the location and purpose of the sale and its expected duration, the name of the auctioneer who shall conduct the sale, an inventory itemizing in detail the quality, quantity, kind or grade of each item of goods, wares, and other articles to be sold, with the wholesale market value thereof, and shall include a declaration that the merchandise or property to be sold at auction is a bona fide part of the applicants stock in trade, that the items listed in the said inventory do not exceed twenty-five (25) percent the unit volume of the inventory carried by the applicant ninety (90) days prior to the application, and that said items where not secured, purchased or brought into the place of business for or in anticipation of the sale.

B. The inventory set forth in the application as provided by this Section shall not exceed by twenty-five (25) percent the unit volume of the inventory carried by the applicant ninety (90) days prior to application. Any inventory in excess of the foregoing shall be cause for refusal to issue any license.

C. Whenever the stock on hand to be sold at the auction as described in this Section is a stock of jewelry as described in Section 7.04.130, then in that event the application required by this Section shall be accompanied by the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00), which sum shall be used by the County for the purpose of making an investigation of the statements and inventory contained in the application.

(Ord. 754 § 10, 1951)

A. It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to sell, dispose of, or offer for sale, or cause or permit to be sold, disposed of or offered for sale, at auction in the unincorporated areas of the County of Monterey any platinum, gold, silver, plated ware, precious stones, semiprecious stones, watches or other jewelry, new or used, whether the same are the property of said person, firm, corporation, or association or the property of another.

B. The provision of Subsection A of this Section shall not apply to the following:

1. The sale at auction of the stock on hand of any person, firm, corporation, or association that, for the period of one year next preceding such sale, has been continuously in business in the County of Monterey as a retail or wholesale merchant of platinum, gold, silver or plated ware, precious stones or semiprecious stones, watches or other jewelry, new or used, where such person, firm, corporation, or association is bona fide disposing of its stock on hand for the purpose of retiring from business;

2. The sale at auction of such stock on hand of any person, firm, corporation or association as described in Subdivision 1 of this Subsection B, where said stock has been purchased by a holder of a Class C license under this Chapter.

C. No sale at auction of platinum, gold, silver, plated ware, precious stones, semiprecious stones, watches or other jewelry, new or used, shall be held between six p.m. and eight a.m.

(Ord. 754 § 11, 1951)

It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to offer for sale or sell, either for itself or for another, at auction any article of platinum, gold, silver, plated ware, precious stones, semiprecious stones, watches or other jewelry, new or used, unless there is securely attached to the article so offered for sale or sold, a tag, card or label upon which is plainly written or printed in English a true and correct statement of the kind and quality of the material or materials of which the article is composed; and in case the article is an article of metal jewelry, the statement shall contain a true and correct statement of the kind and quality and/or weight of the metal of which the article is made or composed and the percentage or carat of purity of such metal or article; and in case the article is plated or overlaid, then the statement shall contain a true statement of the kind of plate and the percentage of purity of the plate, and the kind of metal or material covered; and in case the article is a precious or semiprecious stone, the statement shall contain the true name, weight, quality, color and fineness of the stone; and in case the article is a watch, the statement shall contain the true name of the manufacturer thereof; and in case any used movement or substitute part of movement of any watch is offered for sale in a new case, such fact shall be set forth in the statement; and in the event that auction sale has been advertised as offering such articles from a designated or named estate or source, then the tag or label on the article shall state the designated or named estate or source from which that particular article was obtained. No such article so sold or offered for sale shall bear any false, misleading name, description or entry on the tag; and it is prima facie evidence of intent to defraud or violate the provisions of this Chapter where such article so sold or offered for sale fails to compare with the description indicated on the tag, card or label, as provided in this Section. Such tag, card, or label shall remain securely attached to any such article so sold or offered for sale, and shall be delivered to the purchaser by the person, firm, corporation or association so selling the same as a correct description and representation of the article sold. In case there are more than one of the same kind of article to be sold, then the tag, card or label shall indicate the chronological number of the respective articles of the same class sold. auctioneer conducting the sale must, at the end of every twenty-four (24) hours, deliver or mail to the Sheriff of the County of Monterey an itemized statement of all sales of such articles made by him or her during the preceding twenty-four (24) hour period. This itemized statement shall be subscribed by the auctioneer conducting the sale and any false statement submitted by the auctioneer to the Sheriff shall be deemed sufficient cause for the suspension or revocation of his or her license.

(Ord. 754 § 12, 1951)

Investigations required by Sections 7.04.050 and 7.04.120 shall be made by the Sheriff at the request of the Tax Collector and no permit shall be issued by the Tax Collector until the Sheriff has completed his or her investigation and reported that the statement in the application complies with the provisions of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2191 § 6, 1976; Ord 754 § 20, 1951)

Nothing contained in this Chapter shall apply to the following:

A. Judicial sales;

B. Sales by executors or administrators;

C. Sales made upon execution or by virtue of any other process issued by a court.

D. Sales made by any public officer in his or her official capacity required to be made under the laws of the United States or the State of California or under the Ordinances of the County of Monterey;

E. Sales of livestock;

F. Sales of property by any social organization for the purpose of raising funds to promote or further its objects, or for any public purpose whatsoever;

G. Sales conducted by a warehouseman or other lienholder under the provision of the Commercial Code;

H. Sales made under a nonstatutory assignment for the benefit of creditors, generally, which sale shall be conducted by an auctioneer licensed pursuant to this Chapter, where the sale is limited to the stock in trade and fixtures on the premises in the County of Monterey at the time of said assignment and where the sale is held on the premises;

I. Sales made by or in behalf of licensed pawn brokers of unredeemed pledges in the manner provided by law.

(Ord. 2191 § 5, 1976; Ord 754 § 16, 1951)

It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association selling property at auction, or conducting, or assisting in carrying on or conducting an auction to:

A. Knowingly and intentionally make any statement which is false in any particular, or which has a tendency to mislead any person present, or to make any misrepresentation whatsoever or at all, as to the quality or quantity any property, whether new or used;

B. Have or employ or permit any person to be or take part in, or for any person to act as a capper or by-bidder, booster or puffer, or to make any fictitious or fraudulent bid, or bid not made in good faith or not intended to be consummated by a sale;

C. Ring any bell or sound any other loud or noisy instrument for the purpose of attracting attention to any auction;

D. Offer or attempt to dispose of any property at any auction in blind packages or any property not at the time actually exhibited to public view, or to the view of the person bidding on the same, except that property which is described in Sections 2081, 2081.1 and 2081.2 of the Civil Code of the State of California;

E. Offer or attempt to dispose of goods, wares, or merchandise at an auction between six p.m. and eight a.m., unless such goods, wares or merchandise have been on display during the daylight hours the business day preceding such sale;

F. Refuse, fail, or neglect to deliver complete and immediate possession to the purchaser of any property upon the payment of the purchase price thereon, in accordance with the terms of the sale;

G. Substitute any article in lieu of the article offered to and purchased by the bidder, except with the bidders knowledge and consent;

H. Sell or offer for sale at auction any property whatsoever without having a valid and unrevoked license or licenses therefor, as required by this Chapter.

(Ord 2191 § 4, 1976; Ord. 754 § 15, 1951)