[Avodah] Commerce, Consignments and Mechirat Chametz

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

Here is an interesting question that came up this week, in  a discussion 
between Dayanim:

a) A merchant ordered a product that may or may not be chametz (he has no 
way of checking in time) from America, and it will arrive in Israel post 
Pesach.

What should he do (if he needs to do anything)?

b) [this is more interesting]
A merchant has a lot of goods on consignment.  They do not belong to him. 
They belong to a merchant from the States and he just sells them for a 
commission.  They are chametz.

If he sells them with his chametz -- he can't really, b/c you can't sell 
what you don't own.

If the owner is a non-Jew, this is also not a problem .

But, what should he do if the owner is Jewish, but he's afraid that if he 
asks him to sign a paper making him his Shaliach to sell the chametz in 
Israel, this guy may stop doing business with him b/c as he happens not to 
be religious (or worse) and the whole thing makes him suspicious that the 
merchant in Israel is trying to rob him in some way, and the Israeli 
merchant would then completely lose his livelihood.

Solutions?

Shoshana L. Boublil