Comments on: New Petition for “DC Council: Stop treating record stores and vintage stores like pawn shops”

By: 17th

17th — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:15:28 +0000

Ya, independent businesses suck. Why can’t we get more Wallmarts in these small storefronts?

By: 17th

17th — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:10:36 +0000

This is not reasonable. Here is the original City Paper article on the strange shakedowns: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2012/04/06/why-is-the-district-busting-record-stores-and-vintage-shops/

By: petwurf

petwurf — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:18:43 +0000

yeah, I’m still baffled at why/how a police officer (allegedly a detective, of all things) sneaked in (or was assigned) to hit these stores with the DCRA gnome. I would LOVE to find out the story behind that, because it’s totally non-protocol, and neither the press nor the cops seem to be coming forward with any explanation.

By: Gerry

Gerry — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:03:52 +0000

#hipsterproblems? Ah no, DC aka Dystopia City is guilty of the absolute most insanely stupid enforcement and it seems like there is a monthly example of this ridiculousness. WTF? Incredible!

By: saf

saf — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:16:29 +0000

You’ve said that before.

I find it difficult to believe, as they have not sold used furniture in 20+ years now.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:42:23 +0000

Visit a few pawn shops and vintage stores and you will instantly know the difference.

For starters many of the items in pawn shops have serial numbers and they almost never sell used clothing or reading materials.

Jewelry is the only reasonable thing I can see to hold to the pawn shop standard of scrutiny.

CDs are a slight grey area, but again without a serial number the police will not lift a finger in a criminal investigation so why should there be a requirement that they should be able to inspect them for 15 days before a store can sell them?

Rare books might be illegally traded in this context but those are rare and unknown to pawn shop level thieves.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:26:16 +0000

I for one am shocked that the dc government would create a law and enforce fines for a law that hurts store owners, protects no one, is unenforceable because the city wont actually do it’s part, makes no sense and continues to make the city look like a clown troupe. Shocked!!! Reeeeeeaaaalllly shocked.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:15:16 +0000

No, cops don’t send letters, but DCRA should, to free up our police force to catch real criminals, instead of harassing small businesses.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:13:55 +0000

It seems that if there is going to be an exemption, it should be based on the source of the goods being sold rather than the type of the store. Business owners like Miss Pixie, who expressly do no accept inventory from individuals, could warrant an exemption. However, stores that do accept individual’s items or items on consignment should still be expected to keep records for the same reason as pawn shops.

By: Lei

Lei — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:12:12 +0000

Unless, it is a consignment shop they probably aren’t buying stuff from people off the street. I am not entirely sure but I don’t think Miss Pixies or Meeps’ business model is to buy things from people that come into the store. That is a pretty large distinction from a pawn shop. Places that buy, sell and trade CDs or books I would say are very similar to a pawn shop.