Best Buy mimicking Apple stores in retail makeover - Page 4

Yeah I was shocked when I walked into an Apple Store and was actually able to make a phone call from the iPhone that was on display lol

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum 

 

What you say is true -- it is complicated.  But online stores like Apple do it.

 

I do woodworking as a hobby, and own a ShopSmith.  They have an online store and charge taxes for every state, although they are based in Ohio.

 

Shopsmith is a small company, SSMH (OTC) with a rudimentary web site and shopping cart -- yet they are able to deal with the complexity...  So, I assume that AMZN can handle it.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jragosta 


Exactly. It's not that hard. It's even built into a lot of modern software.

It's not collecting the tax that's hard.   Sales tax is built into all e-commerce engines and there are companies who will inexpensively sell you a simple database subscription with all the rates by zip code (although the ones I'm familiar with don't break it down further than zip code, so I don't know how anyone's handling the case someone mentioned above where the same zip code had two different rates).  I used such databases when I consulted for an infomercial company that had websites, although we only had nexus in two states, so we just used a small segment of the sales tax database.  

It's PAYING the tax back to the taxing authorities that's hard, especially for a small online vendor, which is why the small vendors are opposed to having to charge tax outside of the state where their business is located.   You have to pay back more than a thousand taxing authorities (assuming you get orders from all those places) and they all use different forms, etc.      Amazon and BB can handle it, but it's definitely a problem for a small business.   Congress should rectify this by having the IRS handle this for all the states (and possibly adopting one rate for all out of state sales taxes charged online).   You would submit the amount you owe by zip code and you would send one check and one form to one place and the IRS would distribute the money back to the States.    

But that's too logical, so we'll never do it.  

Yes, I understand that, and stores have cameras too, that's not my point. Apple Stores have greeters to try to help you when you walk in the store(facing you). Best Buy has someone checking receipts who also says "hey" to you when you walk in the store with their back to you. You have to sometimes physically turn back around to reply back to them. Where as Apple store greeters face you the whole time. I know it's minor and probably stupid, but it kinda sets the tone for the whole shopping experience.