From Click to Court: E-Commerce Legal Insights with Paul Rafelson - Greatest Hits
In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome Paul Rafelson, an experienced eCommerce attorney, Founding Partner at Rafelson Law and co-founder of Online Merchants Guild, as he shares valuable insights on the legal aspects of e-commerce and navigating international business relationships. Don't miss this engaging conversation packed with expert advice on protecting and growing your e-commerce business in a rapidly changing landscape.
From Click to Court: E-Commerce Legal Insights
Paul Rafelson, a highly respected and influential figure in the e-commerce industry, gained significant recognition as the most-cited resource in the Congressional Antitrust Investigation into Amazon's mistreatment of sellers on their platform. As a Founding Partner at Rafelson Law, Paul has established the firm as the top choice for online businesses facing legal challenges and digital sellers seeking the best deal when exiting their ventures. In 2021 alone, the firm facilitated over 60 online business exits, realizing more than $238M for their clients.
Rafelson Law is a cutting-edge law firm designed specifically to cater to the unique needs of e-commerce entrepreneurs. With a deep understanding of the industry, they offer a comprehensive range of services, including e-commerce, corporate, intellectual property, M&A (Exit), Amazon suspensions, disputes, etc. They aim to help e-commerce businesses launch, grow, exit, and repeat while providing unparalleled expertise in Amazon account protection and reinstatement support.
Online Merchants Guild (OMG) is a dedicated association of independent online merchants that strives to protect e-commerce businesses from marketplace manipulation, ensuring a fair and competitive environment for all. OMG is committed to safeguarding the interests of its members in areas such as income tax and sales tax, asserting that a platform's choice of inventory storage location shouldn't result in out-of-state income tax liability. They fight for the fair administration of taxes and are willing to take any legal measures necessary to uphold the constitutional rights of their members.
No.1 eCom Operations hack
Let’s just take the sales tax issue. If you're on Shopify, once you start making more than a million, you really have to think about registering for your taxes, which is a huge, huge paperwork burden, I don’t think people realize the cost of compiling with all those tax laws... With Amazon, you don't have to deal with that... Amazon is accountable for any harm on the platform… So they kind of keep you in check in that respect. And I think for beginners… overall, it’s a bit safer for small businesses to be on Amazon.