[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Vineland 3-9-1954 by Ord. No. 117 (Ch.
148 of the 1990 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Auctions and auctioneers — See Ch. 230.
Any person, firm, corporation or association
who, with intent to sell or in any wise dispose of merchandise, securities,
service or anything offered by such person, firm, corporation or association,
directly or indirectly, to the public for sale or distribution or
with intent to increase the consumption thereof or to induce the public
in any manner to enter into any obligation relating thereto or to
acquire title thereto or an interest therein, shall make, publish,
disseminate, circulate or place before the public in this City, in
a newspaper or other publication or in the form of a book, notice,
handbill, poster, bill, circular, pamphlet or letter, billboard, sign,
radio broadcast or in any other way, an advertisement of any sort
regarding the merchandise, securities, service or anything so offered
to the public, which advertisement of fact is untrue, deceptive or
misleading, shall be guilty of an offense punishable as hereinafter
provided.
It shall be deemed deceptive advertising and
a violation of the provisions of this chapter for any person, firm,
corporation or association engaged in the business of buying and selling
new or secondhand articles or merchandise or other property, real
or personal, or engaged in the business of furnishing any kind of
service to advertise by means of liner ads in a newspaper or otherwise
such articles, property or service for sale in a manner indicating
or intended to indicate that the sale is being made by a householder
or private party not engaged in such business, and every person, firm,
corporation or association engaged in any such business shall, in
advertising goods, property or service for sale, either through liner
ads or otherwise, affirmatively and clearly indicate that the seller
is engaged in such business and is not a private party.
It shall be deemed deceptive advertising and a violation of the provisions of this chapter for any person, firm, corporation or association, in a newspaper or other publication or by any advertisement or publication in any other manner hereinbefore set out in § 200-1, to offer to the public for sale or distribution any merchandise which is secondhand or used merchandise or which is defective in any manner or which consists of articles or units or parts known as "seconds" or blemished merchandise or which has been rejected by the manufacturer thereof as not first-class unless there is conspicuously displayed in direct connection with the name and description of such merchandise and each specific article, unit or part thereof, an unequivocal statement, phrase or word which will clearly indicate that such merchandise or each article, unit or part thereof so advertised is secondhand, used, defective or consists of seconds or is blemished merchandise or has been rejected by the manufacturer thereof as not first-class, as the fact may be, and such statement, phrase or word shall be printed or lettered, as the case may be, in type or lettering as large as that used in any other part of the advertisement, including the caption thereof.
A.
It shall be deemed deceptive, untrue and misleading
advertising within the intent and meaning of this chapter for any
person, firm, corporation or association to advertise the sale of
goods, wares or merchandise, in any manner, as a Sheriff's sale, Constable's
sale, United States Marshal's sale or as a trustee's sale, administrator's
sale, executor's sale, bankruptcy sale, receiver's sale or like sale,
unless the person, firm, corporation or association so advertising
is a public official or is acting under an order of or at the direction
of a court of competent jurisdiction; and it shall also be deemed
a violation of this chapter for any person, firm, corporation or association
to advertise, in any manner, as an insurance sale, bankrupt sale,
mortgage sale, removal sale, closing-out sale, going-out-of-business
sale, quitting-business sale, assignee's sale or a sale of goods,
wares or merchandise damaged by fire, smoke, water or otherwise, or
any type of a sale generally known in mercantile circles as a "distress
merchandise sale" if such advertiser shall subsequently add any goods,
wares or merchandise to the stock on hand at the time any of the types
of sales enumerated herein are first announced.
B.
For the purpose of this section, the word "sale" shall
be construed to mean that any goods, wares or merchandise offered
to the public are to be sold for less than the prevailing regular
retail price on the same or comparable goods, wares or merchandise.
[Amended 8-28-1990 by Ord. No. 90-79]
Any person who shall violate the terms of this
chapter, whether as principal or agent or employee of another, shall,
upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Vineland, be
subject to a fine not exceeding $200 or to imprisonment in the county
jail for a period not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion
of the Municipal Court Judge, and each day such violation shall be
continued shall be taken and construed to be a separate and distinct
offense.[1]
