Are you a high-volume seller under the INFORM Consumers Act?
On any one online marketplace, you are a high-volume third party seller once you have made 200 or more separate sales of new or unused consumer products and $5,000 or more in gross revenues there in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months (15 U.S.C. 45f(f)(3)).
The count runs marketplace by marketplace, includes only sales that marketplace processed payment for, and leaves out used goods, so a seller of only used items doesn't meet the statute's definition however much they sell, although a marketplace may still ask for the same information.
General information about federal law, not legal advice. This page quotes the rule and the agency's own guidance; it can't tell you whether your business meets them, and state law and marketplace policies can add more. For your own situation, check with a lawyer.
INFORM Consumers Act (15 U.S.C. 45f). Checked against the official sources below on .
The rule, in its own words
“…in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, has entered into 200 or more discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products and an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues.”
“…an online marketplace shall only be required to count sales or transactions made through the online marketplace and for which payment was processed by the online market place, either directly or through its payment processor.”
“The Act specifies a floor, not a ceiling, on what marketplaces must do.”
How to count your sales
- One marketplace at a time. The definition counts sales "on an online marketplace's platform", and the marketplace only has to count sales made through it. Sales on two marketplaces don't add together, and sales at a show or through your own store don't count toward any marketplace's total.
- Payment processed by the marketplace. A sale paid outside the marketplace's checkout, such as cash at a local pickup, isn't one the marketplace has to count (45f(f)(3)(B)).
- New or unused products only, for the 200. The statute counts "discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products." A used book, a worn jacket or a played video game isn't a new or unused product.
- Any 12 straight months inside the last 24. It isn't a calendar year. A busy stretch from one November to the next October keeps counting long after sales slow down, until that window drops out of the previous 24 months.
- Both tests at once. 200 sales with $4,900 in gross revenues doesn't qualify; neither does $9,000 from 180 sales.
- Consumer products. The statute borrows the Magnuson-Moss definition: tangible personal property "normally used for personal, family, or household purposes" (15 U.S.C. 2301(1)). That covers nearly everything resellers sell to the public.
Worked examples
Each row is one seller on one marketplace, counted on Oct 19, 2026, so "the previous 24 months" reaches back to Oct 19, 2024. Revenue is gross, before marketplace fees.
| Seller | Busiest 12 months in the last 24 | High-volume? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used-book seller | 1,450 sales of used books, $14,200 | No, by the statute's definition | None of the 1,450 sales are of new or unused products, so the 200-sale test isn't met. |
| New-with-tags clothing | 180 sales, $9,000 | No | Fewer than 200 sales, even though revenue is well over $5,000. |
| Sealed video games | 260 sales, $4,700 | No | More than 200 sales, but under $5,000. |
| Holiday spike | 230 new items for $6,900 from Nov 1, 2024 to Oct 31, 2025; 40 sales since | Yes | That 12-month window sits inside the previous 24 months. It stops counting once it falls outside them, around Nov 1, 2026, unless a later window also qualifies. |
| Two marketplaces | 150 new items and $4,000 on each of two marketplaces | No, on either | Each marketplace counts only its own sales: 150 and $4,000 apiece. |
| New and used mixed | 210 new or unused sales for $3,800, plus 90 used sales for $2,500 | Unclear from the text | The 200 test is met. The statute doesn't say whether the $5,000 counts only new and unused revenue ($3,800) or all revenue ($6,300). |
What the marketplace must collect once you qualify
The statute puts these duties on the marketplace; your part is to provide the information. Under 45f(a)(1)(A) the marketplace must require, within 10 days after you qualify:
- Bank account: a bank account number, or if you have no bank account, the name of the payee for the marketplace's payments to you. You may give it to the marketplace or to a payment processor it contracts with.
- Contact information: for an individual, your name; for a business, a copy of a valid government-issued ID of a person acting for it, or a government-issued record or tax document showing the business name and physical address.
- Tax ID: a business tax identification number, or if you have none, a taxpayer identification number.
- A current working email address and phone number.
| Event | Who acts | Deadline in the statute |
|---|---|---|
| You become a high-volume seller | You provide the information | Not later than 10 days after qualifying (45f(a)(1)(A)) |
| You provide it | Marketplace verifies it | Not later than 10 days after collection (45f(a)(2)(A)(i)) |
| Marketplace's periodic notice, at least once a year | You certify your details are current or send changes | Not later than 10 days after the notice (45f(a)(1)(B)) |
| You report a change | Marketplace verifies it | Not later than 10 days after notice of the change (45f(a)(2)(A)(ii)) |
| You haven't provided the information or certification | Marketplace sends written or electronic notice; you get 10 days to respond | If you don't, it must suspend future sales until you do (45f(a)(1)(C)) |
A valid government-issued tax document you provide is presumed verified as of the date it was issued (45f(a)(2)(B)). Data collected only to comply "may not be used for any other purpose unless required by law" (45f(a)(3)).
The marketplace also has to protect what it collects: 45f(a)(4) requires it to "implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices" for that data, including administrative, physical and technical safeguards.
Edge cases
- "Unused" isn't defined. New-with-tags thrift finds, sealed media and new old stock may be new or unused products even though you bought them secondhand. The statute gives no test, so count them when you work out where you stand.
- Gross revenues isn't defined either. The statute doesn't say whether shipping charges or sales tax collected by the marketplace are part of gross revenues, or whether the $5,000 counts only new and unused sales.
- The marketplace can ask anyway. The FTC says the Act sets a floor, not a ceiling, so a marketplace may collect and verify the same details from sellers who don't meet the definition. The statute doesn't stop it.
- Your own store isn't a third-party sale. The definition of third party seller excludes "a seller who operates the online marketplace's platform" (45f(f)(6)(B)(i)).
- The business exclusion is narrow. It covers only a business that has made its name, business address and contact information public, has an ongoing contract with the marketplace to manufacture, distribute, wholesale or fulfill shipments of consumer products, and has given the marketplace verified identifying information (45f(f)(6)(B)(ii)). All three are required.
- Penalties fall on marketplaces. A violation "by an online marketplace" is treated as violating an FTC rule (45f(c)(1)); the FTC puts that at up to $53,088 per violation. For a seller, the consequence in the statute is suspension. State attorneys general can also sue a marketplace in federal court for violations affecting their residents (45f(d)); the FTC says both it and the states have authority to enforce the Act.
- Watch for imposters. The FTC warns that emails asking for account details "for INFORM Consumers Act compliance" may be scams, and says to check with the marketplace using contact details you know are genuine.
What to do
- For each marketplace, pull your sales for every 12-month stretch in the last 24 months and split them into new or unused and used.
- Check both numbers on each marketplace: 200 or more new or unused sales and $5,000 or more in gross revenues.
- When a marketplace asks for bank, tax ID and contact details, sign in to the marketplace directly (not through an email link) and answer within the time it gives; the statute allows 10 days after a notice before suspension.
- Keep a recent government-issued tax document ready; the statute presumes its contents verified as of its issue date.
- Answer the yearly certification request within 10 days, and report changes to your bank account, address or phone when they happen.
- If you also pass $20,000 a year on that marketplace, read when buyers see your name and address.
Penalties, as the agency states them
The INFORM Act's civil penalties apply to online marketplaces. The FTC states the amount this way:
“Violations could result in civil penalties of $53,088 per violation for online marketplaces.”
Questions
Do sales on two marketplaces add up?
No. The definition is about sales on one online marketplace's platform, and each marketplace only has to count sales made through it and paid through its own payment processing (15 U.S.C. 45f(f)(3)(B)).
I only sell used items. Am I a high-volume seller?
Not under the statute's definition, which counts sales of new or unused consumer products. A marketplace can still choose to collect the same information from you; the FTC calls the Act a floor, not a ceiling.
When did the INFORM Consumers Act take effect?
June 27, 2023. The statute says it took effect 180 days after December 29, 2022 (45f(h)), and the FTC gives the same date.
Is this the same as the 1099-K threshold?
No. The INFORM Act is a consumer protection law about seller identity. Form 1099-K reporting is a separate federal tax rule; see Form 1099-K for resellers.
Has the FTC enforced the INFORM Act?
Yes. On Sep 5, 2025, the FTC announced its first INFORM Act case, against an online marketplace, settled by a proposed court order with a $2 million civil penalty; the complaint concerned the marketplace's reporting mechanism and seller disclosures, not individual sellers (FTC press release).
Sources
Every rule, number and date on this page comes from these official pages, each read on ; quotes are copied word for word. General information, not legal advice.
- 15 U.S.C. 45f: INFORM Consumers Act (collection, verification and disclosure of seller information by online marketplaces) (United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov); United States Code, 2024 edition)
- FTC: What Third Party Sellers Need to Know About the INFORM Consumers Act (Federal Trade Commission; August 2023, edited January 2025)
- FTC: Informing Businesses about the INFORM Consumers Act (Federal Trade Commission; June 2023, edited January 2025)
- 15 U.S.C. 2301: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act definitions (United States Code, 2024 edition (GPO, govinfo.gov); United States Code, 2024 edition)
- FTC press release: first INFORM Act case, against an online marketplace ($2 million civil penalty) (Federal Trade Commission; Sep 5, 2025)
Free 1-page Reseller Cheat Sheet: fees on 8 platforms, Media Mail and stamp prices
What each platform takes from a $10, $25 and $50 sale, Media Mail 1-10 lb, Ground Advantage to Zones 1, 5 and 8, and the Forever stamp, on one printable page. The link appears as soon as you sign up.