The owner of a local entertainment store says restrictions placed on the sales of used CDs, DVDs and video games by Prince George’s County are “killing business.”
Sam Lock, the owner of the CD-Game Exchange said new restrictions require his business to hold used items for 30 days before selling them, purchase secondhand dealer licenses and to log police reports for each used item sold to them. The combined effects of the restrictions, he said, were devastating.
“We were visited by police in mid-October and told to change the way we do everything,” he said. “It’s basically killing business.”
Lock pointed to a recent crackdown on pawn shops led by District 3 County Councilman Eric Olson (D), who represents College Park, as the cause of the new restrictions.
“I don’t think the law is really aimed at us, but we got caught up in it,” Lock said. He started a petition pushing to overturn the restrictions more than two weeks ago. Employees at the store said more than 400 people have signed it.
But it’s unclear what exactly sparked them. Olson has been working to crack down on the number of violations made by pawn shops and second-hand sellers in the county for years, but said he didn’t know any of the bills he passed were having an inadvertent effect on used CD, DVD and video game sellers.
A possible cause for the restrictions could be a bill the county council passed in mid-October, which clarified the definition of “tangible personal property” — businesses that sell “tangible personal property” are classified as second-hand dealers.
Olson, who has also sponsored other bills capping the number of pawn shops in the county and barring them from selling food and medicinal products, said he was willing to work with the record and video game stores but that he thought the regulations served an important purpose.
“I will say, though, that I’ve actually heard police concerns about stolen goods that end up in used video stores, used video game stores,” Olson said. “I’ve heard that directly from the police, and if that’s the concern then I have to look into that some more.”
Other stores that would fall under the law include Pandora’s Cube and CD Depot, which began its own petition but declined further comment. Managers at Pandora’s Cube couldn’t be reached over the weekend.
Lock explained that video games sold to the store on one day would be worth drastically less 30 days later, especially new releases, and employees pointed out that it would be tough to offer a good selection with such a long turnaround time.
Since October, Lock has held off on purchasing the $500 license — plus $100 for every newly licensed employee — and voluntarily halted the exchange’s purchase of secondhand items while feeling out if the regulations were here to stay.
Now whole shelves in the store sit empty.
He said he always filed police reports for uniquely serialized items — iPods, video game consoles and the like — which can be traced to a specific owner. But he thought that it would be impossible to know if generic CDs or DVDs were stolen property.
“When you’re paying 75 cents for a CD, all of that seems really ridiculous,” he said.
David Yates, a junior engineering major, said he agreed that it would be impractical to police the items.
“I bought a used cymbal for a drum kit, and I can see them filing a report for something like that, because it’s more unique,” Yates said. “There are a lot of copies of the same CD or video game.”
apino@umdbk.com
