Torrance Municipal Code Art. 7 Special Sales of Merchandise

(Amended by O-1725; O-2129; O-2288; O-2843; O-3229; O-3354; O-3364)

Every person carrying on a special sale of merchandise shall pay a license tax of $116.00* for sixty (60) days and $14.00* per day thereafter.

Special sales of merchandise shall mean any sale of goods which is represented or held out to be an insurance, bankruptcy, mortgage, insolvency, assignee’s, executor’s, administrator’s, receiver’s, trustee’s, creditor’s, forced, liquidation, removal or closing out sale, or a sale of goods damaged by fire, smoke, water or otherwise or in connection with which any word or phrase is used which reasonably conveys to the public the belief that a person is retiring from or closing out his business in the City.

No special sales of merchandise, as defined in this Article, shall be held in the City unless a license therefor has been obtained from the License Supervisor.

(Amended by O-2129)

a) Every person managing, conducting or carrying on a special sale of merchandise shall make written application therefor to the License Supervisor. Said application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and shall contain the following information:

1. The time, date and place of the sale, which period shall not exceed sixty (60) days;

2. A statement that the merchandise which applicant proposes to sell is a bona fide part of his stock in trade and that the same has not been secured, purchased or brought into applicant’s place of business for or in anticipation of such sale;

3. The reason for such sale;

4. An inventory of goods, which inventory shall show the actual purchase price, names of persons from whom such goods were obtained, the date of delivery of such goods, and all details necessary to identify fully the goods to be sold;

5. A statement as to whether or not the goods to be sold were purchased at a former sale, conducted in compliance with this Section.

b) Anything in this Section to the contrary notwithstanding, if at any time during said sixty (60) day period, a sworn application is filed with the License Supervisor in which it shall appear that all of the goods in the original inventory have not been sold, accompanied by an inventory of remaining merchandise, showing actual purchase price, a supplemental license may be issued at the reasonable discretion of the License Supervisor, upon compliance by the applicant with the requirements of the original license and upon the payment of an additional license tax of $9.008 per day. Such supplemental license shall continue in effect only so long as daily license tax shall be paid and the licensee complies with the provisions of this Section.

c) No license shall be issued to any person if it appears that the stock of goods was purchased at a former special sale, as hereinabove defined, less than six (6) months prior to the date of his application.

d) The License Supervisor shall file said application and shall endorse thereon the date such license is granted or refused.

a) A license under the provisions of this Article shall be valid only for the inventoried goods;

b) No person carrying on a sale as specified in this Article shall secure goods other than those enumerated in said inventory for the purpose of selling same at said sale;

c) No person having a license under this Article shall add any goods to the inventoried stock, and no goods shall be sold except that included in the original inventory.

This Article shall not apply to public or court officers or to any person acting under the direction of State or Federal courts in the course of their official duties.

a) No person shall operate or advertise at retail any fake sale of goods within the City;

b) For the purpose of this Article, a fake sale is hereby defined as follows:

1. The sale of goods at auction or otherwise to agents, or any other persons purchasing the same for or on behalf of the owner or other person interested in the sale thereof;

2. The sale of goods or the offering of goods for sale in limited quantity or quantities of less than the full amount of such merchandise, owned or carried in stock by the person offering the same for sale;

3. The sale or offering for sale of goods of a different quality or brand or bearing a different trademark as a substitute for merchandise previously advertised for sale;

4. The sale or offering for sale of any goods misrepresented as to quantity, quality, brand or otherwise;

5. The sale or offering for sale of any goods which is contingent upon the concurrent purchase or sale of any other article.