Also, if you have a local warehouse you can get same day delivery on many items.
Uh...exactly the reason why. Going to stores generally sucks these days. If it takes me 1-2 hours of my free time to go to a store and purchase something, that's about $60 in time. Also, buying online you don't have to deal with pushy sales people trying to get you to buy Monster cables and replacement plans. Also, you don't have to deal with trying to find parking, driving during busy shopping times, and, best of all, you have more inventory choices on line.Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
Paying or not paying taxes is rarely, if ever, the reason to shop or not to shop online.
You're probably right. I'm 10 miles from the NH border where there's 0% sales tax. There's a mecca of retail outlets in a town called Nashua. I can drive up and get any big appliance I want; fridges, washers, driers and of course, TVs without paying a cent extra. Of course the downside to this is a I have to lug it from NH to my house. A small price to pay for saving ~$200 for whatever it is I'm buying. With Amazon now charging sales tax in MA, I now look towards retail again, where in the past I've just had stuff delivered via Prime with no concern of delivery or sales tax. For someone who spends literally thousands of dollars on Amazon a year, this adds up.
It's not insignificant, but it isn't number one, as you said it was. Maybe I'm being nitpicky. But 1000 jobs in an area that really needs them is a pretty big deal. And how many TVs are you buying in a year?
last four:
black widow - 8
zero dark thirty - 9
the muse - 7
freaky - 7
now reading:
lonesome dove - larry mcmurtry
Letterboxd
The Harrison Marathon - A Podcast About Harrison Ford
If we're talking about a list where at the bottom of it sits the concern of sales tax... below that would be buying online so you don't have to worry about sales people pushing Monster cables on you.
I agree with the Christmas shopping mobs that online shopping rules. I don't think anyone would argue with that.
My PS4, which I pre-ordered in June where Amazon sales tax had not been issued yet) cost me $25 in sales tax. That's a game on the PSN or money I could put towards accessories. Insert any decently pricey online purchase as an example.
Personally, my #1 is selection. Most of what I buy on Amazon is either books or films, and in both cases there is not 1/1000th of the selection in a store as there is online.
When I was in middle school / high school I had a running list of books I wanted to buy that I could not find anywhere. Many were out of print. I would actually call around to used bookstores in the state, as well as NYC and Chicago, looking for certain titles. I had a recurring dream where I found a bookstore that had all the books I wanted. I mean, a recurring dream.
Then, for a graduation gift my favorite librarian from my hometown got me one of the books that was on my list. I was astonished-- the book was published in New Zealand and was notoriously difficult to track down. I asked where she got it, and she said Amazon. That was the first I had ever heard of Amazon. For someone like me, it was literally a dream come true.
I'll still stop in a bookstore if there's something I really want that just came out and is a big enough title that I'm sure they'll have it, and I'll go in used bookstores just to browse. Other than that, HELLO INTERNET.
...and the milk's in me.
For the record, I checked exactly how many jobs we were looking at in B'more, and they estimate somewhere over 1,000.
And the Baltimore Sun today estimated the homeless population in the city at about 3,000. That's out of only about 600,000 residents. We need this.
...and the milk's in me.
We've been paying Amazon state tax here in Arizona for like six months now and it hasn't curbed my spending in the slightest.
TV Recently Finished:
Catastrophe: Season 1 (2015) A
Rectify: Season 3 (2015) A-
Bojack Horseman: Season 2 (2015) A
True Detective: Season 2 (2015) A-
Wayward Pines: Season 1 (2015) B
Currently Playing: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (replay) (XB1) / Contradiction (PC)
Recently Finished: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (PS4) A+ / Life is Strange: Ep 4 (PS4) A / Bastion (replay) (PS4) B+
Yeah, easily the number one reason I shop on Amazon as much as I do is that I can almost find anything I'm looking for without leaving my home. I can drive 15 minutes to the store and find that they either don't carry what I'm looking for or it's out of stock. Next would be prices. Almost always cheaper on Amazon, regardless of sales tax.
I very rarely buy items that are enough money for sales tax to bother me. An extra $6 on a $100 purchase? That's fine by me if I can always find what I'm looking for at a reasonable price, and not have to deal with traffic and people in the process. Yes, I'm a misanthrope.
That sales tax will also go back into the state, which is nice. Amazon should open up something in Utah.
AmazonFresh had no sales tax, which was weird. But hey, no sales tax on groceries, nice.
I can't remember a time that I've shopped online and not had to pay provicial sales tax or harmonized sales tax in Canada. It was always just part of the deal.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
What's the book?
You're going to think it's silly. It's a Young Adult book that meant a lot to me in my teens and I still love it. It's called The Changeover by Margaret Mahy.
It has had a couple of mass market paperback releases in the U.S., with notoriously hideous covers. But she got me a nice hard-cover version.
...and the milk's in me.
Why would I think it's silly? Everyone in NZ grows up on Margaret Mahy. Don't think I ever read her teen stuff though. One of my favourite books as a child was Jam.
They had so much jam!
*squeaks*
Nobody knows her here! I did track down her other YA books, which are all quite good, but The Changeover is still my favorite.
BTW, how do you say her last name? Is it Mah-hee?
...and the milk's in me.
I used to pronounce it May-hee, but I think your way is correct.
Another good NZ YA author if you're interested is Maurice Gee. Under the Mountain and The Halfmen of O.
Wait, I've always gotten taxed on Amazon purchases. Is that just a CA and NY thing? There's literally no difference in price for me to buy like a laptop on Amazon or at Best Buy. I prefer to get it from Amazon because who the fuck wants to physically go into a Best Buy? lol
Amazon has always taxed CA because they had a huge warehouse there. NY has a state law where any online site taxes NY residents. So whether or not Amazon has a presence in the state is moot.
Massachusetts just started taxing in November because Amazon bought a MA business, Kiva systems. (robots shipping stuff). But I've been buying shit tax free from Amazon since 01. Hence my recent complaints.
CA only started collecting taxes on Amazon purchases recently. Maybe the last year or two (or three?). It was a big issue for awhile. AMZN pulled its Associates Program for awhile over it.
While they've always had a presence in CA, they used loopholes to get around CA tax law. This is one of the many reasons Amazon is a sleazy company.
Ah, I see.
Every state should do the same as NY then.
NY's right to tax online orders was just challenged by Amazon and the Supreme Court passed on ruling on it, so the NY court's ruling against them stands. So, my guess is states will be jumping right on that.Every state should do the same as NY then.
...and the milk's in me.
If tax loopholes makes one a sleazy company, then there isn't any non-sleazy company in the world.
Recently Viewed:
Thor: The Dark World (2013) **½
The Counselor (2013) *½
Walden (1969) ***
A Hijacking (2012) ***½
Before Midnight (2013) ***
Films By Year
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote