Wis. Stat. § 134.71 — WI Code / Chapter 134 / Section 134.71
Pawnbrokers and secondhand article and jewelry dealers.
Status: in_force

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Article” means any of the following articles except jewelry:

1. Audiovisual equipment.

2. Bicycles.

3. China.

4. Computers, printers, software and computer supplies.

5. Computer toys and games.

6. Crystal.

7. Electronic equipment.

8. Fur coats and other fur clothing.

9. Ammunition and knives.

10. Microwave ovens.

11. Office equipment.

12. Pianos, organs, guitars and other musical instruments.

12m. Video tapes or discs, audio tapes or discs, and other optical media.

13. Silverware and flatware.

14. Small electrical appliances.

15. Telephones.

(ag) “Auctioneer” means an individual who is registered as an auctioneer under ch. 480 and who sells secondhand articles or secondhand jewelry at an auction, as defined in s. 480.01 (1) .

(am) “Charitable organization” means a corporation, trust or community chest, fund or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

(b) “Customer” means a person with whom a pawnbroker, secondhand article dealer or secondhand jewelry dealer or an agent thereof engages in a transaction of purchase, sale, receipt or exchange of any secondhand article or secondhand jewelry.

(c) “Jewelry” means any tangible personal property ordinarily wearable on the person and consisting in whole or in part of any metal, mineral or gem customarily regarded as precious or semiprecious.

(d) “Municipality” means a city, village or town.

(e) “Pawnbroker” means any person who engages in the business of lending money on the deposit or pledge of any article or jewelry, or purchasing any article or jewelry with an expressed or implied agreement or understanding to sell it back at a subsequent time at a stipulated price.

(f) “Secondhand” means owned by any person, except a wholesaler, retailer or secondhand article dealer or secondhand jewelry dealer licensed under this section, immediately before the transaction at hand.

(g) “Secondhand article dealer” means any person, other than an auctioneer, who primarily engages in the business of purchasing or selling secondhand articles, except when engaging in any of the following:

1. Any transaction at an occasional garage or yard sale, an estate sale, a gun, knife, gem or antique show or a convention.

2. Any transaction entered into by a person while engaged in a business for which the person is licensed under sub. (2) or (4) or while engaged in the business of junk collector, junk dealer or scrap processor as described in s. 70.995 (2) (x) .

3. Any transaction while operating as a charitable organization or conducting a sale the proceeds of which are donated to a charitable organization.

4. Any transaction between a buyer of a new article and the person who sold the article when new which involves any of the following:

a. The return of the article.

b. The exchange of the article for a different, new article.

5. Any transaction as a purchaser of a secondhand article from a charitable organization if the secondhand article was a gift to the charitable organization.

6. Any transaction as a seller of a secondhand article which the person bought from a charitable organization if the secondhand article was a gift to the charitable organization.

(h) “Secondhand jewelry dealer” means any person, other than an auctioneer, who engages in the business of any transaction consisting of purchasing, selling, receiving or exchanging secondhand jewelry, except for the following:

1. Any transaction at an occasional garage or yard sale, an estate sale, a gun, knife, gem or antique show or a convention.

2. Any transaction with a licensed secondhand jewelry dealer.

3. Any transaction entered into by a person while engaged in a business of smelting, refining, assaying or manufacturing precious metals, gems or valuable articles if the person has no retail operation open to the public.

4. Any transaction between a buyer of new jewelry and the person who sold the jewelry when new which involves any of the following:

a. The return of the jewelry.

b. The exchange of the jewelry for different, new jewelry.

5. Any transaction as a purchaser of secondhand jewelry from a charitable organization if the secondhand jewelry was a gift to the charitable organization.

6. Any transaction as a seller of secondhand jewelry which the person bought from a charitable organization if the secondhand jewelry was a gift to the charitable organization.

(2) License for pawnbroker. No person may operate as a pawnbroker unless the person first obtains a pawnbroker’s license under this section. A license issued to a pawnbroker by the governing body of a municipality authorizes the licensee to operate as a pawnbroker in that municipality.

(3) License for secondhand article dealer.

(a) Except as provided in par. (b) , no person may operate as a secondhand article dealer unless the person first obtains a secondhand article dealer’s license under this section. A license issued to a secondhand article dealer authorizes the licensee to operate as a secondhand article dealer anywhere in the state.

(b) A person who operates as a secondhand article dealer only on premises or land owned by a person having a secondhand dealer mall or flea market license under sub. (9) need not obtain a secondhand article dealer’s license.

(4) License for secondhand jewelry dealer. No person may operate as a secondhand jewelry dealer unless the person first obtains a secondhand jewelry dealer’s license under this section. A license issued to a secondhand jewelry dealer authorizes the licensee to operate as a secondhand jewelry dealer anywhere in the state.

(5) License application. A person wishing to operate as a secondhand article dealer or a secondhand jewelry dealer and have a principal place of business in a municipality shall apply for a license to the clerk of that municipality. A person wishing to operate as a pawnbroker in a municipality shall apply for a license to the clerk of the municipality. The clerk shall furnish application forms under sub. (12) that shall require all of the following:

(a) The applicant’s name, place and date of birth, residence address, and all states where the applicant has previously resided.

(b) The names and addresses of the business and of the owner of the business premises.

(c) A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted within the preceding 10 years of a felony or within the preceding 10 years of a misdemeanor, statutory violation punishable by forfeiture or county or municipal ordinance violation in which the circumstances of the felony, misdemeanor or other offense substantially relate to the circumstances of the licensed activity and, if so, the nature and date of the offense and the penalty assessed.

(d) Whether the applicant is a natural person, corporation, limited liability company or partnership, and:

1. If the applicant is a corporation, the state where incorporated and the names and addresses of all officers and directors.

2. If the applicant is a partnership, the names and addresses of all partners.

2L. If the applicant is a limited liability company, the names and addresses of all members.

(e) The name of the manager or proprietor of the business.

(f) Any other information that the county or municipal clerk may reasonably require.

(6) Investigation of license applicant. The law enforcement agency of the county or municipality shall investigate each applicant for a pawnbroker’s, secondhand article dealer’s or secondhand jewelry dealer’s license to determine whether the applicant has been convicted within the preceding 10 years of a felony or within the preceding 10 years of a misdemeanor, statutory violation punishable by forfeiture or county or municipal ordinance violation described under sub. (5) (c) and, if so, the nature and date of the offense and the penalty assessed. The law enforcement agency shall furnish the information derived from that investigation in writing to the clerk of the municipality or county.