Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-12-2012, 02:51 PM
 
366 posts, read 944,349 times
Reputation: 118

Advertisements

Amazon has been operating warehouses in PA for over 3 years. The reason they didn't collect sales tax was because Amazon the online retailer was a separate company from Amazon the warehousing company.

I can't complain, though. Selling on Amazon has been my full-time job for the last 5 years. They are extremely focused and extremely thrifty at what they do. Also, many other retailers are just horrible at delivering the online experience. It has always been my opinion that Amazon will open enough warehouses so that they can deliver overnight to 95% of the country using Ground service. The shipping companies are also at the mercy of Amazon. UPS and FedEx have to take whatever rates Amazon chooses. If they don't, Amazon will just create their own shipping company.

A nationwide online sales tax program will occur and people will continue to shop online.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-12-2012, 08:00 PM
 
20,273 posts, read 33,018,179 times
Reputation: 2911
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparrowmint View Post
What new efforts are these?
They stepped up audits of businesses, and also added a line to the PA tax return (it used to be a separate form), and electronic filing requires a number be in that line. In return they are allowing use of a standard income-based formula.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 08:01 PM
 
Location: Currently living in Reddit
5,652 posts, read 6,987,846 times
Reputation: 7323
Quote:
Originally Posted by mckeesport_alum View Post
The shipping companies are also at the mercy of Amazon. UPS and FedEx have to take whatever rates Amazon chooses. If they don't, Amazon will just create their own shipping company.
Maybe they should take over the USPS. Sounds silly on the surface, but the infrastructure is there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mckeesport_alum View Post
A nationwide online sales tax program will occur and people will continue to shop online.
It's long overdue.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 08:17 PM
 
781 posts, read 1,619,519 times
Reputation: 293
Amazon is known for being horrible to their employees!

Amazon Promises To Improve Working Conditions In Warehouses
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 08:27 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,133,686 times
Reputation: 1781
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
Sort of a general interest story, but worth noting since we often discuss long-term development plans around here:

Amazon same-day delivery: How the e-commerce giant will destroy local retail. - Slate Magazine



Of course there is lots of stuff Amazon can't sell. But for anything it CAN sell, I'd be worried (and in fact I am a bit worried about that new Target in East Liberty--but it would make a heck of an Amazon delivery center!).
I'm just sad that FedEx Ground isn't taking more advantage of this. I don't recall any of my Amazon orders being delivered by FedEx Ground. And the possibility that FedEx Ground might be merged and moved to Memphis. We'll see but Pittsburgh (Moon) might be losing a major industry.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 08:39 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,133,686 times
Reputation: 1781
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
There are a few general categories: anything that can't be economically stored in warehouses and then delivered by truck to residences, products where lots of consumers want to make in-person evaluations and/or get in-person buying help, mixed goods/services (think restaurants), and so forth. But I agree an awful lot of stuff can go through an Amazon-type system.

And of course it is entirely possible that things they learn about same-day delivery could be applied to things like grocery delivery (although it appears so far that groceries fall into the second category above).
I think some stuff is funneled by retailers through Amazon. I just bought a battery for my phone from a retailer but through Amazon.

Plus I bought a vacuum part, on-line, from a company in Boston. It's brick-n-mortar but thanks to the internet, stuff is going out both the front and back door. I bought it from them because they were offering it a lot cheaper than a retailer in Atlanta plus no sales tax and free shipping. They sold it cheaper because they are a big vacuum warehouse relying on volume whereas the retailer in Atlanta was small and only sold one brand. The former had a small markup and the latter a big markup.

There was an attempt in Atlanta with internet grocery delivery but it didn't work. The higher expense didn't justify the convenience. If the service could provide...overnight..."straight from the farm"....fresh food...it might be worth it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 09:33 PM
 
748 posts, read 820,446 times
Reputation: 697
Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
Luckily not in PA yet
The "use" tax people from the department of revenue will still go after you though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 10:07 PM
 
1,075 posts, read 1,693,150 times
Reputation: 1131
Reminds me of Kozmo, which would deliver perishables. Unfortunately, the student population of DC wasn't enough to keep it afloat for long. It was great though, with a click of the mouse you could get necessities (read: milk, cereal, Ben and Jerry's, video games, etc.) delivered right to your door via bike.

Last edited by Kippy; 07-12-2012 at 10:24 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2012, 03:24 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, USA
3,131 posts, read 9,375,591 times
Reputation: 1111
Last week on eBay, the item I wanted was cheapest at $250 delivered. I ordered it from a Chinese company (that made it) for $60 plus $40 shipping. So I saved $150 on one item. Most of what we buy is made in China and I don't see them honoring a U.S. sales tax when we are at their mercy. What happens if they buy FedEx or UPS?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2012, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Penn Hills
1,326 posts, read 2,008,263 times
Reputation: 1638
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
They stepped up audits of businesses, and also added a line to the PA tax return (it used to be a separate form), and electronic filing requires a number be in that line. In return they are allowing use of a standard income-based formula.
So they still have no idea how much one has actually purchased online tax-free then? Not too concerning, yet.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:20 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top