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Ordering online - The landscape is changing

#381
Marc61 said:
Interesting. I just sold a guitar on eBay. Sales tax was collected when the buyer checked out. It turns out the new internet sales tax law forces eBay to collect sales tax on items sold to the states of Washington, Minnesota and Iowa.
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Now that's BS. Well, I guess trading will become more popular. Between PayPal and eBay fees on the seller's end and sales tax on the buyer's end there is a lot less reason to sell online. With the windfall of additional revenue from sales tax on online sales, do you think states will lower their rate? Heh.
 
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#382
Marc61 said:
Interesting. I just sold a guitar on eBay. Sales tax was collected when the buyer checked out. It turns out the new internet sales tax law forces eBay to collect sales tax on items sold to the states of Washington, Minnesota and Iowa.
Click to expand...

So you do more than $100,000 a year or conduct 200 or more transactions in the state of Washington over the calendar year? That was the what was decided for a threshold in the South Dakota vs. Wayfair decision.

Who actually collected and who will actually remit the tax to the state of Washington, you or eBay?
 
#383
Spupilup said:
So you do more than $100,000 a year or conduct 200 or more transactions in the state of Washington over the calendar year? That was the what was decided for a threshold in the South Dakota vs. Wayfair decision.

Who actually collected and who will actually remit the tax to the state of Washington, you or eBay?
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I do not do business in WA. It was eBay who collected the tax. I wouldn't have even known had the buyer not told me. It was collected on his end
 
#384
Are you using eBay's Managed Payment system? From what I can tell, with the implementation of that system of payment eBay now is considered a "Marketplace facilitator." Thus, they are required to collect and remit sales tax for the three states you mentioned.
 
#385
MultiScaleMale said:
Now that's BS. Well, I guess trading will become more popular. Between PayPal and eBay fees on the seller's end and sales tax on the buyer's end there is a lot less reason to sell online. With the windfall of additional revenue from sales tax on online sales, do you think states will lower their rate? Heh.
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I think Craigslist will see a lot more traffic ;) Until the states figure out a way to police that as well
 
#387
Marc61 said:
Nope, not using any systems. Just sold a guitar
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I understand but when you were paid we’re you paid through eBay Payments or PayPal or do you have the ability to collect credit card payments?

Over the last year or so eBay has been trying to move sellers to use their Managed Payment system. It’s their attempt to wean sellers off PayPal. From what I had seen last year, it was sellers who had signed up with eBay’s new Managed Payment system who were the ones seeing sales tax charged to buyers, particularly in Washington State.
 
#388
Spupilup said:
I understand but when you were paid we’re you paid through eBay Payments or PayPal or do you have the ability to collect credit card payments?

Over the last year or so eBay has been trying to move sellers to use their Managed Payment system. It’s their attempt to wean sellers off PayPal. From what I had seen last year, it was sellers who had signed up with eBay’s new Managed Payment system who were the ones seeing sales tax charged to buyers, particularly in Washington State.
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I was paid through PayPal.
 
#389
Spupilup said:
I have had accounts with FedEx and UPS over the years. By simply opening up an account you get rates that are better than someone walking up to the counter at their Fedex or UPS facility. Nevermind, how badly you get raped when you walk into a UPS Store with an item in hand asking for them to not only generate a label for you but to package the item was well.

Now, as far as prices go for my business, the rates I get from my FedEx account rep are determined by the type and volume of shipping I do. I am sure that a company like Sweetwater has an account rep who works hard to get the best rates they can for the company. They are probably given especially attractive rates due to the oversized nature of most of their shipments.
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Yep. We mortals can’t touch their buy rates.
Interestingly (or not, if you lack my love of useless knowledge) unless you’re shipping lead bricks or god forbid heavy p basses that weigh over 9 pounds (sorry couldn’t resist) although they act like it matters, and charge accordingly, weight of package is completely irrelevant to shippers. Sweetwater, etc. get buy rates on scope as a percentage of overall dollars. Useless factoid: - it’s cubic displacement that shippers care about. Cargo trucks and especially planes run out of space way before they go past max gross weight. Did a case study in a marketing class at a little school on the east coast that unpacked (see what I did there) the fedex business model and it was genius. One small part mentioned that they give two poops about weight of packages in point of fact. So every time you ship something and they say “yeah but it’s awfully heavy” just know that’s pure unadulterated bs. Size matters. :D
 
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#390
I take it from the comments that many people are not familiar with business economics but here we go for basic math:

You buy an instrument for $300.
The seller makes perhaps paid around $175 for the item.
Obviously, the seller also has all kind of fixed and variable operational/handling expenses
Then the seller is going to pay for your "free-shipping" somewhere between $25-$45 (assuming they have a negotiated discount price because we would pay a lot more to ship a bass)
Then another $25-$45 if they pay for the return of the bass
Then the item must now be sold at a discounted price perhaps $250 with another $25-$45 shipping cost to eat again

Add it all up and you'll realize, the return of an instrument is already a substantial loss. The more returns an online retailer will experience the less it will be able to absorb the losses and the more likely they are to tighten their return policy.

I must say, forcing them to collect taxes will hopefully provide a little breathing room to brick and mortar stores and it is not a bad thing if like me you like to play an instrument before buying it
 
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#391
Marc61 said:
I don't disagree but, how do you know if the product is to your liking without checking it out? In this case, I read extremely positive reviews but, when I got it, seemed nothing like I thought it would be. BTW - their policies basically state no hassle returns. This implies the policy is for ppl to test drive
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Come on now
It's completely unreasonable to keep ordering gear just to "test drive" and then expect not to have to pay return shipping when you return it. Where did you ever get such a nonsensical idea?
 
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#393
I am not a fan of Sweetwater. Never have been and never will be.

I bought a new amp from them some years ago. Except they sent me a demo amp that had noticeable wear (cuts in the tolex to the cabinet wood) without disclosing the fact. When I called to point this out they said "it was a demo but in the original packing so we sell it as new."

Their offer for a partial discount was laughable if not insulting. So I asked to return it and they refused to refund me. Store credit only. Whether or not I paid shipping was irrelevant to the conversation. So they stuck me with it. I asked for an excahnge and they did honor that but honestly I just wanted to take my money elsewhere and I think they sensed that.

Typical car dealer BS. The cold calls that followed for a while where I would hear from one of their "sales technicians" who would call and ask "Hey man, what gear are you playing these days." were precious.

Maybe it is just the rep I dealt with. The funny thing is i was referred to him by a fellow band mate. Interestingly, he equally hosed another band mate after his experience with me.

In summary, they are a great shop for buyers that need hand-holding. These guys are knowledgeable but there is also a hardcore sales culture there that has rubbed me the wrong way. They do know how to churn and I respect that but I wish my experience was better. I am generally well-versed and well researched in anything I choose to purchase before purchasing so I want no hassle and good terms a fair price.

This is of course just my experience. YMMV.
 
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