Amazon relents on Sales Tax, sets sights on Same Day Delivery instead (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

I was wondering what the consumer would then do with the plastic box which contained the package.

Disposable?

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm wondering how many attempts at "kidnapping" the drones there are going to be. Everyone wants their own flying drone!

 

[TravisR]

^ I'd like to turn one over on its back like a turtle.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Going back to the original subject of Amazon and the sales tax...

The US Supreme Court today--Cyber Monday--refused to hear a challenge to NY state law requiring etailers to remit sales tax even if they don't have a presence in New York.

From the Albany Times-Union:

This is fitting for Cyber Monday — New York’s so-called Amazon tax will remain in place for now, with the US Supreme Court deciding not to hear a challenge to the state law that requires web-based retailers to remit sales taxes even if they don’t have a physical presence here.
Actually, the tax was challenged by Overstock, another major e-retailer, as well as Amazon.
As I reported back in the Spring, when the state Court of Appeals upheld the tax, it’s generated about $500 million since it went into effect in New York in 2008. It applies to those who sell more than $10,000 worth of goods annually and who use click-through functions that guide people to other websites, also known as affiliates.
Here’s what AP is reporting:

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider throwing out New York state’s taxes on Internet purchases on websites like Amazon.com a move that could change the way Internet commerce works. The high court refused without comment to hear appeals from Amazon.com LLC and Overstock.com Inc., in their fights against a state law that forces them to remit sales tax the same way in-state businesses do.
Web retailers generally have not had to charge sales taxes in states where they lack a store or some other physical presence. But New York and other states say that a retailer has a physical presence when it uses affiliates—people and businesses that refer customers to the retailer’s website and collect a commission on sales. These affiliates range from one-person blogs promoting the latest gadgets to companies that run coupon and deal sites.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I thought the drone delivery was an April Fool's joke.

 

[Cinescott]

I'm surprised Amazon has been able to avoid as much tax as it has for so long. It's just too large a pile of money for states to ignore forever.

As with others, the newly-appointed tax on Amazon purchases here in Wisconsin will not affect me. Amazon is a convenience, a great price, and reliability. That's all I need to remain loyal. The plight of B&M stores falls on deaf ears with me. I've been ripped off by them far too often to care.

Amazon runs a highly efficient business model with great customer service. If you take into account all the fuel that's required to go from store to store, it's much cheaper.

 

[schan1269]

The entire bit about on 20/20(was it 20/20??? Don't even know...just watched it) about Amazon was hilarious.

When they went into the warehouse showing how they decide to put their stock in the warehouse was hysterical. First, they should have had a guy not "30 years out of tech"(the guy doing the story probably has trouble playing Words With Friends...and probably hasn't heard of Ruzzle) doing to story. The idea of being "wow, you can locate stock that way" because of RFID was stupidity...

My warehousing background, I was using RFID stock locating in 1996. Seriously. "Wow?". What a joke.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Not 20/20 Sam. 60 Minutes.

 

[schan1269]

Not 20/20 Sam. 60 Minutes.

Ok, 60 minutes...

I wonder if the guy doing the story still uses a pre-merger Underwood...(for those who play BioShock, that would be "Below Tree")

 

[Mike Frezon]

For those who didn't see the report, here is Amazon's own footage of the R&D development of the drone delivery. Some of this footage was incorporated into the 60 Minutes piece:

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Very cool video, Mike. Maybe Amazon could start a pizza delivery service with the devices, too.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Very cool video, Mike. Maybe Amazon could start a pizza delivery service with the devices, too.

Delivered in 30 minutes...GUARANTEED!

 

[schan1269]

I only want my pizza flying once...thank you...

 

[Mike Frezon]

Besides what-to-do with the plastic boxes, i also wondered about Amazon's claims about how much of the country they can cover from those distribution centers close to urban areas.

Because I can't imagine these things ever touching down in NYC, for example. For a number of different reasons..but one of the chief reasons being an appropriate space to land/drop.

 

[schan1269]

What is stupid. There is an Amazon warehouse in Lake county(where I am)...and I've never received anything shipped from there.

It is almost always Louisville or Florence, Kentucky. If it is even a "local" ship from. But, I've never ordered a run of the mill item either. I'm sure they don't stock the typical movies I buy all over the country.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Back to the streaming wink. I'm guessing that they're going to be offering some sort of streaming television service where you can either join a membership thing or perhaps buy only the channels that you want. I'm guessing there will be some sort of device that will allow you to "record" what you want and put it on the Amazon Cloud. As long as TCM is offered as well as live sports then I will be greatly happy to stick the middle finger up to Time Warner.

 

[Radioman970]

neat video.

Some are saying a little target practice and you'll get a present. I'd think that present would be 10-20 years.

For me, it will be kind of cool at first to see those things flying all around like birds. I hope it works out. I probably won't pay extra for such a service though. I don't mind waiting up to 2 weeks...heck, a month for something I want. The anticipation makes it that much better.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

neat video.

Some are saying a little target practice and you'll get a present. I'd think that present would be 10-20 years.

For me, it will be kind of cool at first to see those things flying all around like birds. I hope it works out. I probably won't pay extra for such a service though. I don't mind waiting up to 2 weeks...heck, a month for something I want. The anticipation makes it that much better.

I'd probably pay for the extra service once -- just because it would be cool to see the device dropping off a package at my house. Otherwise, the delivery time offered by Prime is more than fast enough for me 99% of the time.

 

[Patrick_S]

There are many technical issue that need to be worked out before drones could work. I seriously doubt it will ever get off the ground. While in theory GPS could get the package from the shipping depot to the customer GPS will not account for so many other obstacles a drone would encounter. Such things as over head wiring and trees would be a big problem. My front porch is covered by an over hang, there is no way the drone could make close to the door and I really would not want a package dropped on the walkway.Appartment buildings would require a drop location on the roof, that is a no go. Then there are safety issues, drones would crash from time to time, that is just a reality. If they ever became a reality and you had lots of drones in the air they could become an ideal cover for and delivery device for a terrorist attack in a majory city. The drones are a neat idea but don't hold your breath because they are not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[TravisR]

While in theory GPS could get the package from the shipping depot to the customer GPS will not account for so many other obstacles a drone would encounter. Such things as over head wiring and trees would be a big problem. My front porch is covered by an over hang, there is no way the drone could make close to the door and I really would not want a package dropped on the walkway.

I had thought the same thing but if you're paying to have it delivered in 30 minutes, you probably would be there to grab it as soon as it was delivered.

I totally agree about everything else though- this is basically a pipe dream since fears of terrorism will stop this from becoming a reality.