RIP Amazon ... well sorta

[quote name='neocisco']Wait, is that required in OR? You can't pump your own gas?[/QUOTE]

From my understanding, you can't pump your own gas and an attendant has to do it for you. Oregon's idea of job creation or something.

I don't know if there is a fee for this or if its just worked into the price of the gas.
 
[quote name='kodave']From my understanding, you can't pump your own gas and an attendant has to do it for you. Oregon's idea of job creation or something.

I don't know if there is a fee for this or if its just worked into the price of the gas.[/QUOTE]

That is so ridiculous that I can barely comprehend it. Sounds like government saying that the average citizen isn't capable of properly transferring fuel into their vehicle and this is a task that needs to be performed by a "trained professional".
 
[quote name='neocisco']That is so ridiculous that I can barely comprehend it. Sounds like government saying that the average citizen isn't capable of properly transferring fuel into their vehicle and this is a task that needs to be performed by a "trained professional".[/QUOTE]

Well, here's a list of reasons:
http://www.ktvb.com/news/i-wonder/I-Wonder-Why-cant-you-pump-your-own-gas-in-Oregon-82256587.html

But it claims the gas doesn't cost more. I just don't see how that's possible. Profits from somewhere have to go to paying the wages of pump attendants. If not from the gas, then from the Quik-E-Mart or whatever. Either way its got to be costing the gas station money to have to have more than 1 person standing around. Unless somehow these places manage with one person pumping all the gas and overseeing all of the inside operations.

Here's another article, which notes apparently motorcyclists can pump their own gas in Oregon:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15455

The reasons mostly seem to be for the archaic "fire hazard safety" reasons, which is BS, but I think Oregon and New Jersey probably keep laws like this to keep people employed.
 
I had a co-worker who lived in Oregon, could have been Portland, said it was kind of backwards there with the whole gas pump attendant. Not trying to bash Oregon just repeating what my co-worker told me.

If Amazon started charging sales tax in my area, which is about 10%, I'd probably buy less from them. Just because I can go to the local stores and pay about the same.

I have about 5 orders from them since I started ordering from Amazon a few months ago. I only order if there's something I can't find in local stores like the UMD version of DJ Max Portable 3.
 
Tennessee starts charging tax in 2014, and I'll keep using amazon. Only stores around me within a 20 minute drive is a walmart and a gamestop, and both have no selection and usually I can get stuff cheaper even after paying tax on amazon. So no gas spent, no hassle of interstate traffic, no idiots to deal with, amazon for me.
 
FYI, I received a $15 credit from NHL 13 and when using that $15 to purchase the next item, I was not charged tax. At first I thought it was a loophole because I thought I was using my existing credit, but I'm actually using the pre-order $15 credit. Looks like the credit is taken from the price and therefore since the price is $0, there is no tax.

Item(s) Subtotal: $6.47
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Promotion Applied: -$3.47
Your Coupon Savings: -$3.00
-----
Total Before Tax: $0.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
-----
Total for This Shipment: $0.00
 
[quote name='62t']btw orders placed before the 15th wont be charge tax.[/QUOTE]

I placed my order for Borderlands 2 on Sep 4 and they charged me tax when it shipped.
 
[quote name='EdgeCrusher36']Tennessee starts charging tax in 2014, and I'll keep using amazon. Only stores around me within a 20 minute drive is a walmart and a gamestop, and both have no selection and usually I can get stuff cheaper even after paying tax on amazon. So no gas spent, no hassle of interstate traffic, no idiots to deal with, amazon for me.[/QUOTE]

Here I am complaining about VA and KY tax, but that's nothing compared to TN. Good luck!
 
[quote name='porieux']I placed my order for Borderlands 2 on Sep 4 and they charged me tax when it shipped.[/QUOTE]

Amazon doesn't charge you for the order until the time it ships. The time when they charge you is the time to calculate the tax. I believe this has always been written on Amazon.Com (since they only "Estimate" the tax at the time of order) and I could have sworn someone else posted it somewhere in the first page of this thread.

So you were charged correctly, and user 62t was incorrect.
 
[quote name='elessar123']Not true. I ordered something yesterday, and saw today that it added $3 tax. Tried to cancel, and it said it was in shipping.

Edit:
I barely wanted Infinite Stratos, and now it costs as much as anywhere else!
82f4f77e.png
[/QUOTE]

My pre-order of the Borderlands 2 CE guide (which I placed on September 14) also had tax added on when it shipped today.

Kind of sketchy that I wasn't notified in any way of the "difference" between when I pre-ordered it and the final shipping price.
 
[quote name='Zaku77']I think the point was that he didn't want to argue with it. He was trying to not turn it into an argument of ethics. Besides, as Lentricchia would say, "Tell us truly, have you no filth in your soul?" Most people are not in a position to make arguments of what is and isn't moral. A cynical person that is aware of this will certainly be irritated when they see one.

(For the record, though, his response was a bit on the 'strong' side... lol)[/QUOTE]


His point was I'm a horrible person. I may or may not be a horrible person. Even if I'm the most unethical person in the world, not sure why that means he shouldn't have to pay sales tax.

I disagree with your quote. Nobody's perfect, if it takes a perfect person to speak up then our board would be filled with empty threads.

He very much did want to talk about ethics. That's why he talks the way he did to try and elicit an emotional response from me.
 
[quote name='Kylearan']Urm - you're kinda (completely) assuming having to pay sales tax on an interstate transaction is "ethically correct." The Constitution doesn't even allow for this type of tax, nor does the fact that something is a law demand its ethicality.
[/QUOTE]

It's clearly a law as the supreme court has upheld the states ability to generate sales/use tax. I'd be much more up for the government isn't ethical argument if you didn't use US sponsored money or pay other taxes and were active in trying to get the laws changed. As use tax is the low hanging fruit in taxes, not paying it seems like you are avoiding it for selfish reasons to me.

A state's revenue comes its taxes. Which means my taxes are increased when they have revenue shortfalls. Which means that by not paying sales/use tax you are in fact stealing from me. So I'm sorry for making assumptions that stealing is ethically wrong.
 
[quote name='smallsharkbigbite']A state's revenue comes its taxes. Which means my taxes are increased when they have revenue shortfalls. Which means that by not paying sales/use tax you are in fact stealing from me. So I'm sorry for making assumptions that stealing is ethically wrong.[/QUOTE]

A state having revenue is a joke and contradiction in terms - states don't make revenue, they take revenue generated by its citizens.

Revenue shortfalls come primarily from government overspending, inflation and unrealistic forecasts of so-called revenue. Government shouldn't be spending money it doesn't have and it shouldn't be taking it in the quantity it is.

Pointing the finger in the wrong direction, bub. They're stealing - not us.
 
[quote name='Kylearan']A state having revenue is a joke and contradiction in terms - states don't make revenue, they take revenue generated by its citizens.

Revenue shortfalls come primarily from government overspending, inflation and unrealistic forecasts of so-called revenue. Government shouldn't be spending money it doesn't have and it shouldn't be taking it in the quantity it is.

Pointing the finger in the wrong direction, bub. They're stealing - not us.[/QUOTE]


No worries, though. The 'genius' American populous keep voting in people that spend money hand over fist that we don't have to spend. Take a look at what's happened to our national debt in the last 4 years. It's kind of hard to argue with numbers...
 
At least you guys got 3 more months than us in Texas did, :(. I agree, RIP Amazon. It's harder for me to take the plunge on AWD now.
 
Yeah, this is complete crap. I actually do live in a state that currently hasn't shown any plans to tax it yet but I'm sure they will soon. The thing is though Amazon is still insanely cheap as I do 95% of my entertainment shopping though there and as long as they keep their prices in check I honestly don't see myself abandoning them. New games probably I won't get there as much unless they have a good bonus since the actual store will be just as convenient but for many other things I'll still shop there as long as they keep their good prices since even with tax they'll end up cheaper than retail stores.
 
I still have my $10 promo code from last fall when I bought a string of MSRP games while using converted BB credit(via Amazon Kindle gc's) when Amazon was doing the $10/$20 promo codes with certain titles. I also have about $4.50 in regular credit left on there. So now that PA has Amazon tacking on sales tax as well, I might as well use up my remaining credit and be done with the company.
 
[quote name='Toss']Now that Amazon will be required to charge tax here in California, i feel an era has ended. I had always viewed any amazon credit I had as being more valuable than GS credit and (marginally) Bestbuy credit. Now that there will be tax and Amazon is no where as aggressive as they once were on gaming prices, TIVs (as well as the quantity caps), Gamestop will be my go to place. It helps that there are more than 20 of them within 40 minutes of my house.
I'm glad i picked up those Gibson electrics while they were ultra cheap and tax free last month! :)[/QUOTE]

Newegg my new home
 
I'm really quite surprised that this hadn't happened long ago. I don't particularly like it, but it is what it is. We pay taxes on other retail purchases, and online sales are still just that, sales. I don't want to try and turn it into a Republican vs Democrat debate, but I'm pretty far from upset about the change.
 
I still shop at Amazon taxes or not, so no concerns from me. I'm in CA and NewEgg's always charged me tax too, anyway.
 
Amazon is still the best option around as far as I'm concerned. Their prices are lower than any stores in my area and they're a hell of a lot more convenient. All other online stores already have sales tax and they charge a lot more for shipping (and I have Prime), so I might as well stick with what already works for me. If the tax on Amazon ever becomes a nuisance, all I have to do is spend 20 minutes on Mechanical Turk and make up the difference.
 
I live in NY so I'm used to paying taxes on every purchase made outside of Newegg. I still like Amazon mainly because I get like $3-400 in GCs a year from Swagbucks and other reward sites. But their deals this year have been pretty crappy. I've noticed that I very rarely get a foreign sounding customer service rep anymore unless I call late at night. I'm noticing a lot more American reps picking up calls so I think perhaps they're hiring more Americans.. meaning they have to pay them more so they've cut back on giving out so much credit and crazy bargains. Meanwhile BestBuy is having insane deals but I've noticed that in the past, their reps always were Americans who spoke english clearly. Now that BB has all these sales I've noticed the reps I speak to all have really heavy accents - hispanic, not indian, kinda like at Sony. :O So since those kinds of workers get paid next to nothing.. perhaps that explains why BB is doing so well. I still think Amazon is gonna destroy the competition during the holiday sales though.
 
No tax here, but they are expanding what online stores get taxed--will have to see if that includes Amazon.

Wouldn't change my shopping with them though. Their prices are usually great (and I'm not an obsessive deal hunter anyway), I love the Prime shipping (almost always get things in 1 business day lately), and just prefer ordering online with hassling with going to the store for anything other than groceries, toiletries and clothing.
 
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