Updated Amazon Deals - Page 22

Bobby B · #**421** 04-04-2012, 05:23 AM

Hope I'm not wandering too far off track... but since there are no "Amazon Deals" going on anyway...

Retail is looking "done" right now, but the wind is blowing in the direction of it coming back. People think of buying off the internet as being "tax free" and in effect it is, but actually if you buy something from another state and are not charged sales tax, if you live in a state that charges sales tax (a few do not), you are legally obligated to pay "use tax". You're supposed to report the items that you bought without paying sales tax, and submit the sales tax to your state. Of course, almost nobody does that. California is starting to crack down on it.

In most places, each state has a sales tax rate, then cities and counties levy their own sales tax, and there are transit taxes, stadium taxes, all kinds of stuff that might raise the rate a little higher. I do a lot of mail order business, and in Texas, I charge tax on anything that ships inside Texas, at the rate of my area. Technically, it should be at the rate of the area it ships to, but they made it a little easier on us by simplifying it. Otherwise, I would have to look up the city of each package I send within the state and calculate and report sales tax on each different city I sold to.

Who cares? Well, you might because that level of complication is what has caused them to NOT force internet retailers to pay tax to each state. It would be a crippling load of paperwork, licensing, etc. But states are losing out on a lot of revenue, and as services, schools, etc are cut from them needing to meet budgets, they are working hard on coming up with a cooperative solution to start charging sales tax on ALL purchases, that would work for internet retailers. It will happen, and sooner probably than later. There is legislation in the pipeline, and it will probably move forward after the election in November.

And the jobs that retailers provide are also good for the economy, so it's in their interest to do things to keep retailers viable. Probably quite a few TBers that work or have worked in music stores. Manufacturers want retailers to be viable, because they provide a marketing channel for their gear. People still want to play a bass, hear an amp, try it out before they buy it. I've walked into music stores before, and tried out brands of gear that I never really considered buying before, and fell in love with it. That may be less important for some stuff, but I doubt it will ever go away for gear. And my local music store has clinics I attend sometimes, people take lessons there, and they have a great guitar tech who has fixed my bass in a couple hours for a gig that night, on more than one occasion.

bongomania · #**422** 04-04-2012, 06:20 AM

You smoking speed again?

smcd · #**423** 04-04-2012, 10:16 AM

Every time I make an internet purchase and don't pay MA sales tax, I weep at the thought of denying my beloved state the funds needed to employ hundreds upon hundreds of obscenely overpaid politically connected hacks in useless jobs. Oh the humanity!!!!

Tunaman · #**424** 04-04-2012, 10:22 AM

The politics & ethics of retail vs internet shopping

Hmm... I guess this is what happens when Amazon runs dry... but I'd imagine Zerohedge, CNN news, Seeking alpha would be better places to discuss? Maybe the MISC section?

Bobby B · #**425** 04-04-2012, 10:34 AM

I don't think anyone should pay extra money to satisfy any ethical concerns, the market will sort itself out. Do what works for you, and what is cheaper. All I'm saying is that I believe all internet retailers will be charging sales tax pretty soon, and buying off the internet will be less of a "deal" than it is right now.

tinman 1967 · #**426** 04-04-2012, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smcd

Every time I make an internet purchase and don't pay MA sales tax, I weep at the thought of denying my beloved state the funds needed to employ hundreds upon hundreds of obscenely overpaid politically connected hacks in useless jobs. Oh the humanity!!!!

smcd............ Dont know ya, never met ya,........ But your my hero!!

Epidrake · #**427** 04-04-2012, 06:38 PM

Mine too. :-)

dhyayi · #**428** 04-05-2012, 05:11 PM

Anyway, just did shopping on amazon. So surprised about the shipping cost. Not realize that was amazon.co.uk...LOL

SpruceApple · #**429** 04-05-2012, 08:37 PM

SpruceApple · #**430** 04-05-2012, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smcd

Every time I make an internet purchase and don't pay MA sales tax, I weep at the thought of denying my beloved state the funds needed to employ hundreds upon hundreds of obscenely overpaid politically connected hacks in useless jobs. Oh the humanity!!!!

Yeah, they're all scumbag hacks and you shouldn't have to pay any taxes. good one, thanks for that

Daktari · #**431** 04-05-2012, 11:33 PM

Hmmmm...

Sounds like we are getting political here folks... lets step back from the curb.

hifibass · #**432** 04-09-2012, 10:09 AM

This is about the best deal I think you'll see on a 1250!

Amazon.com: Eden WT1205 World Tour Bass Amplifier Head: Musical Instruments

**garmenteros** · #**433** 04-09-2012, 11:03 AM

Not a great deal but pretty good"
Amazon.com: Shure Beta 52A Instrument and Bass Drum Microphone: Musical Instruments

150 for a shure b52...

I don't need it but thought about getting it to stash away for maybe micing my b15s at home one day.

CorryJobin · #**434** 04-09-2012, 02:09 PM

These work great for recording bass cabs...

mandarin9 · #**435** 04-09-2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hifibass

This is about the best deal I think you'll see on a 1250!

Amazon.com: Eden WT1205 World Tour Bass Amplifier Head: Musical Instruments

I picked one of these up at almost the same price last November (thanks to this thread, props to Tunaman!) and am very happy with the amp, dare I say the thing is marvelous?

What I got was NOS, I think 4 years... Wonder where it was hiding? Take this as anecdotal, NOS can be risky and who knows if the one that's selling now is NOS, nevertheless, I must testify to a killer deal for a fully functional amp...

Tunaman · #**436** 04-24-2012, 06:22 PM

Amazon.com: Aguilar DB 212 Bass Cabinet, 4 Ohm, White Hot: Musical Instruments

$692 now, elsewhere $999.... hopefully it still declines so if you're interested keep checking it

Aguilar DB 212 White Hot EDIT>>>>>> 4 ohm version only!

Otherwise NOTHING going on with Amazon, really sucks!

Danny R. · #**437** 04-24-2012, 08:00 PM

Good Lord!
I bought one DB212 in black on amazon a few months ago, but this one matches my DB751 with the hot withe case!....... Darn gas!

Texan · #**438** 04-24-2012, 08:10 PM

Anyone have a sound clip of the DB212? I'm very curious of the sound. I bought a pair of Bergantino 112's and really dig the sound. I was originally looking for the DB112 and am still wondering how the Aggies sound.

brotherbassj · #**439** 04-25-2012, 07:07 AM

Texan
Pm me. I have the db112s and have had bergantino also. I can't pm from my mobile

**JdoubleH** · #**440** 04-25-2012, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tunaman

Amazon.com: Aguilar DB 212 Bass Cabinet, 4 Ohm, White Hot: Musical Instruments

$692 now, elsewhere $999.... hopefully it still declines so if you're interested keep checking it

Aguilar DB 212 White Hot EDIT>>>>>> 4 ohm version only!

Otherwise NOTHING going on with Amazon, really sucks!

Deals do seem pretty sparse across the board on Amazon right now. I snoozed on a couple of non-bass specific items hoping they would drop some more and lost. One was the Tascam DR-07mkII which was down as low as $109 last week (same price on B&Hphotovideo.com). Now both sites are back up around $149. Oddly, when the price would drop, it was often fulfilled by another 3rd party vendor- each time a different one of three or four different ones. I suspect this is by design- to undercut competitors and draw business away, without any one vendor doing it consistently (thus maybe protecting their distribution relationship).

Similar thing happened with a Soundcraft Notepad 124fx mixer, which was down to $99 for a month or so, now back to $179. I think one of the vendors was Musician's Friend. I assume I'll still be able to pick that mixer up at the $99 price (or less), it's been there several times, and that model was recently discontinued. The 124 non-FX version was down to $79 (now 149), and the 102 (2 mic pre) mixer was down to $49 (was 99, no longer on Amazon).

It seemed like there were some big price swings around the end of April last year- which is coincidentally when many folks start receiving their tax refunds. Perhaps that'll happen again in the coming weeks? That's when I picked up my Genz Shuttle 6 12T combo for $669. It is currently $1199, the same price as the 6.2 12t combo (which is reportedly a huge improvement). In November - December 2010, the STL6-12t had fluctuated between about 799 to about 1200. After late January, it went back up and stayed there. I remember checking daily for several months. The morning of April 29, 2011, I got a text from my bank that my tax refund had deposited. I immediately pulled up the amazon ap on my phone and searched for stl6-12t and there it was- $669, the lowest price I've seen to date for that rig.

Because of Amazon's vendor / variability, the listings change - so bookmarking items or putting them in your cart only reflects that particular product listing / ASN. The price trackers which text or email alerts seem to work best for watching a particular item that is currently fluctuating, and for seeing the price history of products to determine how good a deal the current price is. I am currently using CamelCamelCamel, Ookla and Keepa (all extensions in Chrome). All three have their merrits. CamelCamelCamel has an option to sync with one of your Amazon wishlists, which is a pretty cool feature. Ookong has a pretty slick and speedy interface for setting up price watches, as well as checking on your existing watches. There is a global setting for what percentage or whole dollar amount drop to alert on (you can over ride this on an item by setting a specific price threshold), and how often to check (shortest interval is every 30 minutes). Ookong has a little java pop-over when one of your watched items drops below the threshold. Both require registration in order to alert or sync across browsers. Keepa inserts a price trend graph right into to the product page which shows the last 3-6-12 months for Amazon, 3rd party, and used. Keep doesn't require any registration, but doesn't sync across browsers. None of them have mobile apps, but all three can email alerts.

Hope this is useful info!