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

[Johnny Angell]

I don't think same day delivery is that important to me which is good since I live in Arkansas. I doubt we'll get a distribution center. I sympathize with retailers that have to collect sales tax. Etailers have had an unfair advantage, one that I've happily taken advantage of. Of course, I'll bet that many of the very same people who are campaigning to, in effect, increase taxes, are the very same people who are opposed to new taxes.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Not much of an advantage since I've had to pay shipping. Now I have to pay both, so they are actually hobbled by this.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Not much of an advantage since I've had to pay shipping. Now I have to pay both, so they are actually hobbled by this.

Why did you have to pay shipping? Amazon offers free shipping on orders of $25 or more. I buy enough stuff from them that I can almost always get my orders over the limit. I just maintain a wish list for those times when my order doesn't total $25, and add from the list to the order to get the free shipping.

 

[Sam Posten]

Ebay (!?!?!?) strikes first blood:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/05/ebay-is-launching-a-same-day-shipping-service-called-ebay-now/

 

[Sam Posten]

It starts getting REALLY interesting now...
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/radioshack-amazon-lockers/

 

[Patrick_S]

What is so interesting about it?
What Amazon is doing is not same day delivery.

 

[KeithAP]

Originally Posted by Patrick_S /t/322382/amazon-relents-on-sales-tax-sets-sights-on-same-day-delivery-instead#post_3998858
What is so interesting about it?
What Amazon is doing is not same day delivery.

True. However, Amazon could use the lockers as a central drop off point to make same day deliveries a little easier. Something like you order by noon and can pick up at a locker after 5PM.

-Keith

 

[Sam Posten]

Yup. Baby steps!

 

[Stan]

What's the point of driving somewhere, parking, dealing with crowded malls, having to pick up your package and then driving home again. What a nuisance.
The whole reason for my ordering from an internet company is the convenience, having the package delivered directly to my front door.
This is no different than a standard brick & mortar store except maybe a little more variety, especially for obscure titles, but I'll be buying elsewhere if this becomes their new way of doing business.
I've got several specialized stores I do business with where they can get me older, rare titles that aren't always available. I'd much rather spend a few extra dollars and support the little guy than support Amazon if this is how they plan on doing things.

 

[Patrick_S]

True. However, Amazon could use the lockers as a central drop off point to make same day deliveries a little easier. Something like you order by noon and can pick up at a locker after 5PM.
-Keith

Yup. Baby steps!

Amazon’s business model simply does not support same day delivery. Sure they could change and offer it but the price of delivery would be so high that any savings to the customer would be lost. In fact if it is a common item customers could buy locally paying for Amazon Same Day Delivery would probably make the item more expensive than if you went out and bought it locally.
Take for example an Amazon customer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Now that they have to charge sales tax Amazon is building a new shipping hub in Patterson California. This hub will be the primary shipping location for the Bay Area. Patterson is 40 miles away from the most eastern part of the Bay Area and 80 miles away for San Francisco. There is no way affordable same day delivery could be offered.
It is obvious that the lockers are designed to address the delivery of packages to customers that do not want their package left on their door steps because no one is home.

 

[JohnS]

This would be cool if you're selling something back to amazon.
Just drop it off in their locker.
But I wouldn't use it to go and pick up something I've ordered.

 

[Stan]

I must live in a fairly safe neighborhood. Never had a package stolen. Smaller items they slip inbetween the interior and storm door, but even bigger items are always left on the front porch. That's been 17 years. Even before that, when I lived in apartments with "Big Bang Theiry" common mail areas, never had anything touched.
Now that I've said that, I'm probably jinxed. But if nobody signs for it, isn't Amazon, UPS, etc. still responsible?

 

[Patrick_S]

I also live in an area where UPS will just leave items on the porch but not everyone does. Some people live in apartment buildings; the lockers would be a good choice for delivery.
UPS tracks stats for delivery areas and if an area sees a high up tick of packages going missing from porches they go back to signature required.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

UPS/FedEx is pretty reasonable about leaving things. Things like misc. car parts and books they just leave. Things that may be high-value they want you to take delivery. And ol course some things I've received are mandatory signature required, e.g. wine and firearms.

 

[moviepas]

In my country DHL door to door delivery wants a signature except for Amazon packages which they can leave on the doorstep. This time of year is bad because of the excessive heat, humidity(sometimes) & storms. And we are now being overgrown by large apartment blocks and a large supermarket shopping complex at the top of the street which means more bods in the street and prying eyes. Fortunately most packages to my box at the Post Office around the corner which I have used since the 1960s when they moved druggies & other downandouts into the street in an estate. DHL deny they use the Post office but I have proof they do and, fortunately, most do go to the PO.

As for tax we are tax-free to A$1000.00 these days imported but there is a problem. Some retailers want this scrapped and have tax of 10%(our national sales tax rate(GST) on most goods & services) on every package. This is nonsense. The cost would outweigh the amount gained by this. It is also unfair to many people because of the swing in exchange rates and tax on delivery costs. We do have a local on-line was originally New Zealand based and often I have got imported product cheaper thru them than from Amazon. The price does include(as far as I know but then..) and free delivery on everything. I get a package direct to my PO Box with their address label with the local address and no indication as to who supplied the item. So many schemes.... Here's the thing though, if I paid this company Sales Tax when I ordered the item and the import Free of Tax was scrapped then there would be double tax in this method. There are no invoices in these packages for the Customs to see currently.

If we could download our paid Amazon purchases, for example, this should bring a lower price, no tax or delivery except download limits with one's ISP. The problem would be there would not be the Blu Ray quality we are getting used to to now. That I want to continue. A vicious circle.

 

[Sam Posten]

Still coming. www.wired.com/business/2013/01/amazon-distribution-centers

 

[Carlo_M]

The real trick for me won't be same day delivery, which would prove problematic given they normally allot you a little bit of time to change your mind and cancel your orders, and ship out in the afternoon, thereby making it nearly impossible to get to a shipping hub and to your door from their warehouse. The trick would be *next day* delivery for cheap, or free if you're a Prime member and the item is in a warehouse near you. That would be extremely enticing for me. I still buy from Amazon but with Best Buy sometimes matching their prices, and with one just two miles away, I sometimes get my "need to have it now" itch scratched by going to BB. With cheap (or free with Prime) next day delivery, I'd most likely save myself the hassle and just order from Amazon. Also, for preordered new releases they should start delivering them on release date again.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I finally signed up for an Amazon Prime one month free trial just before Thanksgiving, giving it a pretty good workout with my holiday shopping. With the added benefit of the free streaming of movies and TV shows, it had enough value for me to keep the membership once the trial was over. The turn around time for Prime shipping is quick enough to satisfy my needs almost every time, so even if/when Amazon gets around to charging sales tax in Michigan, I cannot see me switching to buying locally, even if Best Buy price matches.

 

[Sam Posten]

I've actually had TERRIBLE Prime service since Thanksgiving. Have had 4 packages, including one worth north of $500, take more than 5 days to deliver. Some were 3rd party fulfilled by Amazon fake prime but two were actual Amazon Prime items that did not ship in time.... Amazon's customer service was terrible, telling me my feedback was valuable and dumping it into the bit bucket....

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I live north of Seattle and Amazon has had same day delivery on some items for a while but the cost isn't worth it. I'll drive the 5 min to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble. I have actually noticed their prices creeping up lately. I usually check when I am in B&M to see what Amazon's price is and they have been $1-20 higher on most items I have checked lately. Considering I live in WA I get to pay the tax either way so that is a non-issue.