Randall Pinson (right) with Bill Cobb, President, eBay North America

I was just finishing another day at a job that I loved (my business on eBay, naturally!) when I received a phone call from a member of eBay's Government Relations team. They were assembling a contingent of twenty-five eBay sellers from around the country to meet with Congressional members in Washington, D.C. The Government Relations team wanted to make sure that the voice of eBay sellers like me was heard in the halls of Congress.

You might ask, “Why do legislators need to meet with eBay sellers?” A year ago I would have asked the same question, until I stumbled across the Government Relations team's booth at eBay Live! 2004 in New Orleans. It was there that I learned about how legislative moves at both the federal and state levels can affect eBay sellers and other small and medium business owners. For instance, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) can potentially result in huge additional burdens on small and medium businesses, both on and off eBay. At the state level, issues like auctioneering regulations can also damage your eBay business.

Never before has the future of our businesses on eBay faced a greater potential for regulation and taxation.

Strength in numbers
That's why - even for someone like me who isn't politically inclined - the offer to go to Washington, D.C. to put my viewpoints before legislators was hard to refuse. If a group of twenty-five eBay sellers explained to legislators the economic impact that their proposals would have on small and medium businesses, it had a good chance of swaying the legislation. After all, there's strength in numbers. Besides, not only had I never been to the nation's capital, I would also have an opportunity to meet with other eBay aficionados like myself. I was excited to be part of the team.

With our bags packed and the kids deposited with the grandparents, my wife and I made the long trip from Utah to the District of Columbia. After we had checked in at the historic Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, we made our way downstairs for a dinner reception hosted by John Donahoe, President, Global eBay Marketplace, and Bill Cobb, President, eBay North America. We were also able to get acquainted with the other eBay business owners and people from the Government Relations team. I found the other eBay small business owners to be equally excited about the opportunity to make a difference and protect our small businesses from harmful legislation.

Potentially harmful legislation
Not surprisingly, the legislative issues facing small businesses like ours were a hot topic of conversation that evening. Let me explain how my business (and probably yours too) would be affected if a damaging legislation proposal like the Streamlined Sales Tax Project were to be passed. SSTP is an attempt to streamline tax codes so that states would be allowed to collect sales tax from out-of-state sellers. Currently, I only collect sales tax if I sell an item to someone within the state of Utah, because that is the state where my business is located. If I sell an item to a buyer in California, I don't collect sales tax. Under present law, unless a business has a nexus (or business entity) in the destination state, the business is not required to collect sales tax remotely. If it passes, the SSTP would obligate all small businesses (on and off the Internet) to collect sales tax remotely.

Now, there are over 7,500 taxing jurisdictions in the United States! If this legislation were to pass, small businesses like mine would be required to keep detailed records and collect tax remotely in all these different jurisdictions. This type of barrier would force some eBay sellers to shut down their businesses and discourage others from even trying to sell on eBay. For the thousands of people whose eBay businesses help them hope for a brighter future, eBay is a big part of their American Dream. Such heavy-handed legislation, in my opinion, goes against the American Dream of making a better life for yourself.

In all fairness, the SSTP is considering a Small Business Exception for Internet businesses that have gross sales less than $5 million per year. This might seem like a huge number to many occasional eBay sellers, but consider this. The current federal designation of a small business is one that generates less than $21 million dollars per year in gross sales. This makes the proposed Small Business Exception for Internet businesses in the SSTP (businesses with sales less than $5 million) look unfair in comparison. In order for many prosperous eBay sellers to fully achieve the potentials of their growing eBay businesses, the SSTP would need a more robust Small Business Exemption.

Walking the corridors of power
The next two days were busy days for us, as we walked the corridors of power, surrounded by historic monuments and buildings—all stately symbols of democracy and market-based capitalism. At breakfast on the morning after the reception, our group was addressed by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat. Later we learned the basics of lobbying and presenting our viewpoints quickly and concisely to legislators who were hard pressed for time. During luncheon, we got to spend some time with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) at the historic Sewall-Belmont House. Each of the twenty-five eBay members that came to Washington represented about 25,000 eBay small businesses. Representing that many eBay businesses was not only a humbling experience for me, but it also increased my respect for some of our elected officials, who face the pressures of representing thousands of people on a daily basis.

Eye-opening revelations
Later, we split into smaller groups of sellers, and visited with House members and Senators. I was convinced that elected officials would find it more compelling to listen to what people from their district were saying, even if they didn't listen to Washington lobbyists saying the same thing. While eBay is now a household name across the country, many people, including legislators, are not aware of the sheer magnitude of its impact on ordinary people. When some legislators learned that more than 724,000 professional sellers in the U.S use eBay as a primary or secondary source of income, their eyes lit up and their pencils began scribbling. I could sense their recognition that eBay sellers are no longer an obscure dot on the map.

While our time with Congressional representatives was very limited, we made sure that we got across our viewpoints clearly in our visits.

Getting our points across

• First, we wanted to let our state representatives know that there are many benefits that eBay businesses provide to the government and to local communities. Small businesses on eBay are helping with job creation. Many eBay businesses, including mine, have full or part-time employees. eBay gives hope and economic growth to rural communities that have had stagnant economies for years.

• Secondly, the communities which surround small eBay businesses also benefit from their presence. For example, post offices around the country have had to add more staff and perhaps facilities to handle the increased business that eBay sellers bring through their doors. Shipping supply companies, accountants, office supply companies and more all benefit financially from the success of small eBay businesses.

• Finally, we wanted to remind our representatives that small businesses already face many obstacles on the path to success. Unlike large corporations, small businesses find it difficult or impossible to obtain affordable and high-quality healthcare—we don't have access to mass quantity discounts that our larger competitors enjoy.

A renewed pride in our political institutions
All the federal representatives we met were very gracious with us and very receptive to our views. I was proud to be among other eBay sellers and eBay staff that shared my passion for protecting the quality of life and success that many eBay members have grown to appreciate. Did we make a difference? I am certain we did. We didn't go into the Congressional offices pretending to be experts on the issues facing our businesses. We did something better—we shared our unique success stories and reminded Congress that we were counting on them to protect this path for our businesses and also for the success stories of the future.

These meetings were certainly memorable but there were other highlights of my trip which included a brief but humbling night-time visit to the Vietnam War Memorial and a solemn afternoon in Arlington National Cemetery. I left Washington with a renewed patriotism and a refreshed political inclination. Who knows, sometime in the near future we may see an eBay seller become a Senator. Hey, it could happen. Senator Pinson has a nice ring to it.

Invigorated by his visit to Washington, D.C., future Senate hopeful Randall Pinson is back in Utah and focused even more on his eBay business, Rocket Auctions.