Redondo Beach, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Redondo Beach Municipal Code section 4-16.101 defines a secondhand dealer as any person engaging in, conducting, managing or carrying on the business of buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in used or secondhand goods, wares, or merchandise, and requires that dealer, like a pawnbroker, to obtain the Council permit described in section 4-16.103 before opening. Section 4-16.102 exempts a person who takes secondhand goods as trade-in on new merchandise while acting as an authorized dealer of that manufacturer, and exempts the sale of lamps, stoves and household furniture, except sewing machines, musical instruments and typewriters, which remain regulated.

The annual license tax is set separately from pawnbrokers under section 6-1.22(37)(b) at $99.00 plus the basic per-employee rate, and no license issues without complying with Chapter 16 and obtaining Council approval under section 6-1.22(37)(c). Section 4-16.203 lists additional exemptions from the daily reporting and record-keeping duties: trade-ins accepted by dealers whose primary business is retailing new merchandise, property previously reported to the Police Department and already held the required time, property acquired in job lots from a government agency, and donated property received by nonprofit, religious, benevolent or charitable organizations (except firearms).

Where those exemptions do not apply, a secondhand dealer must keep the same complete register required of pawnbrokers under section 4-16.201, report to the Chief of Police every 24 hours under section 4-16.202, and hold merchandise 30 days under section 4-16.204, describing each item's manufacturer, trade name, serial numbers and identifying marks under section 4-16.202(b). Dealers may not transact business with anyone under 18 under section 4-16.208, must demand positive identification from every seller under section 4-16.210, and must maintain only City-approved storage facilities under section 4-16.212.