Thread: Who killed the bookstore?
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Old 03-21-2011, 03:49 PM   #71
kjk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin View Post
It's a big competitive price advantage for Amazon. If I go into a Best Buy to buy a televesion, I have to pay sales tax. If I order it from Amazon, depending on where I live, I don't. Savings to me can be a couple of hundred dollars (I pay 8.75%).

Similarly, every time I go into Barnes & Noble or order from B&N online, I need to pay the sales tax, but not if I order (again, depe3nding on where I live) from Amazon.

The consequence is that Amazon always has a lower price even if the selling price is exactly the same as a competitors.

FWIW, when a store collects sales tax, the store also gets to keep a percentage of it to defray overhead and costs. So it isn't a matter of out of pocket expense as much as it is the competitive advantage Amazon gets.
Agreed. In SF, sales tax is 9.5%, so Amazon has a big advantage here as well, for now (California is also fighting this issue).

I think for Amazon it is seen as both a competitive and a convenience issue-the convenience is that with their Prime membership, the price people see is the price they actually pay, and they get free 2 day shipping too. It looks pretty convenient
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