Guidelines Related to "Sellers" in Internet Auctions
1. Concept
Business operators who sell goods through Mail Order Sales as per the Act on Specified
Commercial Transactions (hereinafter referred to as "Specified Commercial Transactions
Act") have obligations such as the indication of matters to be indicated in advertisements(Article 11 of the same Act), and the prohibition of misleading advertising (Article 12).
Even if sales are conducted via internet auction, if a person repeatedly and continuously
conducts sales with the intention of making a profit, the person is considered to be abusiness operator regardless of whether he or she is a corporation or an individual, andsuch sales are subject to the Specified Commercial Transactions Act.
2. Explanation
The sales of goods for which an offer is received on the Internet, as well as sales via
internet auction, fall under Mail Order Sales under the Specified CommercialTransactions Act. Therefore, business operators who sell goods, etc., via internet auction
have obligations such as the indication of matters to be indicated in advertising and theprohibition of misleading advertising under the Specified Commercial Transactions Act,and will be subject to the administrative disposition or penalties if they violate said
obligations.
In the Specified Commercial Transactions Act, a seller means a person engaging in sales
as a business, and "engaging as a business" means that transactions are performed
repeatedly and continuously with the intention of making a profit. The existence of suchintention will be objectively judged. For example, a person who makes purchase of goods
for the purpose of resale is judged to have an intention of making a profit.
"Intention of making a profit" and "repeatedly and continuously" are comprehensivelyjudged, also taking into account transactions performed at places other than internet
auction sites. That is, for example, if the business operator who conducts business at aplace other than internet auction sites (regardless of whether it is on the Internet or ata physical store) lists goods that it deals in on an auction site, the business operator inprinciple is considered to be a seller regardless of the quantity or amount of the listed
goods. For example, if an individual business operator makes a one-off listing on aninternet auction site of the goods that he or she deals in at his or her physical store, itfalls under the transaction by a seller.
Also, if a person lists the following goods on an internet auction site, such person isnormally considered to be a seller, regardless of the type of the transaction he or she
conducts at a place other than internet auction sites.
As internet auctions are a system in which an individual who was just a consumer iseasily able to become a seller, it is important to pay attention to the fact that anindividual will become subject to the Specified Commercial Transactions Act if he or she
is considered to be a seller.
Although it is necessary to take account of the fact that there are individuals who sellmany unnecessary goods or collections of their hobbies on internet auction sites1, in thefollowing cases, for example, the individuals are considered to be a seller who repeatedly
and continuously performs a transaction with the intention of making a profit, except forsome cases with special reasons. However, following these limits does not necessarilymean that the individual is not a seller. Although it depends on the type of the goods, it
should be noted that, in general, a person is highly likely to be considered to be a seller
if he or she lists several brand-new goods of the same manufacturer, model number, etc.
① Cases where 200 or more goods in the last one month, or 100 or more goods at a single
point in time, are newly listed
However, this does not apply when hobby collections such as trading cards, figures, usedmusic CDs, and idol photo books are listed for the purpose of disposal or exchange.
② Cases where the total amount of successful bids in the previous month is equal to or
greater than 1 million yen
However, if the listed goods are expensive products whose unit prices exceed 1 million
yen, e.g., automobiles, paintings, antique goods, or pianos, such cases arecomprehensively judged also taking into account the listing situation such as type orquantity of other goods that are also listed.
③ Cases where the total amount of successful bids is 10 million yen or more in the pastone year(2) Specific categories and goods
When we look at the actual transactions on internet auction sites focusing on specificcategories or the characteristics of goods, we can fine-tune our judgment. Some examples
of cases where a person is normally considered to be a seller are shown below, mainly forgoods which tend to cause consumer problems.
Cases where 5 or more of the same good are listed at a single point in time from ①(Household appliances, etc.) of "Table related to Categories or Goods with ManyConsumer Problems" (hereinafter referred to as "the Table") shown below"The same goods" in this case means goods of the same type such as cameras, personal
computers, or televisions, etc., and their manufacturers, functions, model numbers, etc.,
do not always need to be the same.
Cases where 3 or more of the same good are listed at a single point of time from Table ②(Parts, etc., of automobiles or motorcycles)"The same goods" in this case means goods of the same type such as wheels, bumpers, oremblems, etc., and their manufacturers or product names do not always need to be thesame. Incidentally, a good which is sold as a set of several items such as wheels should
be counted by the set.
Cases where 3 or more of the same good are listed at a single point in time from Table ③(CDs, DVDs, and software for PCs)
"The same goods" in this case means goods of the same manufacturer, product name, orcontents, etc.
Cases where 20 or more of the goods that fall under Table ④ (So-called brand-namegoods) are listed at a single point in time
Cases where 20 or more of the goods that fall under Table ⑤ (Ink cartridges) are listed
at a single point in time

1 These interpretation guidelines are made taking into consideration the characteristicsof internet auctions, and thus these guidelines obviously should not apply to other typesof transactions set forth in the Specified Commercial Transactions Act.
Cases where 20 or more of the goods that fall under Table ⑥ (Health foods) are listed ata single point in time
Cases where 20 or more of the goods that fall under Table ⑦ (Tickets, etc.) are listed ata single point in time
The above does not cover all of the goods listed on internet auction sites; these are justexamples of cases where a person is normally considered to be a seller, shown mainly forgoods which tend to cause consumer disputes. It should be noted that each individual
case, including cases that are not exemplified above, will be objectively judged as towhether the person who makes the listing is considered to be a seller. For example, even
if the number of listings at a single point of time is less than the number listed above, aperson who repeatedly makes listings with the frequency exceeding the frequency of
disposal and without purchase for the purpose of resale is highly likely to be considered
to be a seller; not falling under any of the above cases does not always mean that theperson who makes the listing is not a seller.
Incidentally, as a prerequisite for the above, operators of internet auction sites arerequired to prevent one and the same person from obtaining several IDs (for using theauction site), through the management of the person's bank account numbers, credit cardnumbers, e-mail addresses, contract information of cellular phones, etc. 2
2 If a person who makes a listing is considered to be a seller based on this argument, thegovernment, relevant agencies, and operators are required to enlighten such person on
the indication of obligations under the Specified Commercial Transactions Act.

Table related to Categories or Goods with Many Consumer Problems① Household appliances, etc.

Photography equipment
・Radio receivers, television receivers, electric refrigerators, air conditioners, other homeelectric appliances, lighting appliances, circuit breakers, and voltage regulators
・Telephones, intercoms, facsimile machines, portable emergency radio equipment, andham radio equipment
・Electronic desk calculators and computers, as well as their parts and accessories② Parts, etc., of automobiles and motorcycles
Among the items below; parts and accessories
・Automobiles and motorcycles (including mopeds), as well as their parts and accessories③ CDs, DVDs, and software for PCs
・Electromagnetic recording media, records for record players, and any media on whichsound, image, or programming is recorded by electromagnetic or optical methods④ So-called brand-name goods
Among the items below, those which carry a registered trade mark (those registered with
the Japan Patent Office) and whose imitations are frequently listed
・Watches・Clothes
・Ties, scarves, purses, bags, umbrellas, walking sticks, sunglasses (except for those used
for correcting eyesight), and other personal belongings, rings, necklaces, cuff links, andother accessories, smoking supplies, and makeup sets.
⑤ Ink cartridges

Among the items below, ink cartridges for printers・Mechanical pencils, fountain pens, ballpoint pens, ink stands, rulers, and other similar
stationery goods, seals and inkpads, albums, and painting tools⑥ Health foods
・Processed goods made of animals and plants (limited to those that are not offered forgeneral consumption) that are ingested by humans (excluding medicines (meaningpharmaceuticals specified in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Pharmaceutical Law (Act No.
145 of 1960)))⑦ Tickets, etc.
・Rights to use leisure facilities or sports facilities [Appended Table 1-1]・Rights to watch, view or listen to movies, theatrical performances, music, sports,photographs, paintings, sculptures, or other arts and crafts works [Appended Table 1-2]
* The number within [ ] indicates the number of designated rights specified inAppended Table 1 of Order for Enforcement of the Act on Specified CommercialTransactions.