All merchants are not created equal

In the mail this week we got a copy of Larry Garvin’s new article, Small Business and the False Dichotomies of Contract Law, 40 Wake Forest L. Rev. 295 (2004).  The law is replete, he says, with distinctions between merchants and non-merchants, and between business and consumer.  But all merchants are not alike; some are gigantic and sophisticated enterprise, while others are unlettered individuals working out of their garage.  Should the same rules apply to a small-time eBay seller as to Wal-Mart?

The article is a nice exploration of the issues.  You can download an earlier version of it from SSRN here and a some reprints are also available by contacting the author here.