Minnetonka, MN Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

The Minnetonka City Code does not license every resale shop. Section 610.010 defines a secondhand dealer narrowly, as a person in the business of buying, or receiving as trade-in, secondhand items in two categories: consumer electronics, including peripherals and electronic media, and jewelry and gemstones. A person who buys or receives fewer than 25 such items within any period of 12 consecutive months is not a secondhand dealer. A secondhand item is tangible personal property, excluding motor vehicles, that has been previously used, rented, owned or leased. Section 610.015 makes it unlawful to engage in the business without a current license.

Section 610.020 exempts occasional garage or yard sales, estate sales, and farm auctions held at the owner's residence. It also exempts a buyer who deals primarily in antiques, resells at retail in unaltered condition, and paid less than $2,500 for secondhand items containing precious metals in any 12 consecutive months.

Licensed secondhand dealers follow the same section 610 procedure as pawnbrokers: a $5,000 bond under § 610.045, a police investigation, two public hearings at least 27 days apart, and five affirmative City Council votes. The annual fee, an investigation fee, and a monthly transaction fee based on billable transactions are set under § 610.040 and section 710.005. Under § 610.060 the licensee records each item and the seller's identification at the moment of receipt, photographs sellers and items without engraved serial numbers, keeps transaction records for four years, labels each item, and holds purchased items for a minimum of 31 days before sale. Daily reports go to the police department's automated record system at the close of each business day. Section 610.065 bars buying from anyone under 18.