What's going on with shipping costs?

fronobulax

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Yes, that tax. The tax we didn't have until this spring. I wouldn't want to add up what it's cost me this year, but it's not pretty. And like having to pay tax on shipping, why?

OK. You can certainly contact your state or local government to protest things like taxing shipping but don't expect anyone to care. You may thank me when I stay in your town and pay your local sales tax, your local meals tax, your airport tax, your rooms tax and so on.

In Virginia there has been a state sale tax for decades. It applies to almost anything you buy, regardless of where. If you buy something and the merchant does not collect Virginia sales tax then you are still legally obligated to report that and pay the tax with your income tax return. Needless to say not a whole lot of people did that which is why things have changed to require out of state merchants to collect the tax.

Yes, I am that kind of jerk, but I would venture that you have had that tax and been liable for it for longer than just since last spring. What changed is that you are no longer trusted to self-report and pay because the merchant is now required to collect it instead.
 

Guildedagain

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Listed something on the Bay today, and charging tax on shipping is an option you have to click on to inflict it on the buyer, I chose not to.
 

GAD

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OK. You can certainly contact your state or local government to protest things like taxing shipping but don't expect anyone to care. You may thank me when I stay in your town and pay your local sales tax, your local meals tax, your airport tax, your rooms tax and so on.

In Virginia there has been a state sale tax for decades. It applies to almost anything you buy, regardless of where. If you buy something and the merchant does not collect Virginia sales tax then you are still legally obligated to report that and pay the tax with your income tax return. Needless to say not a whole lot of people did that which is why things have changed to require out of state merchants to collect the tax.

Yes, I am that kind of jerk, but I would venture that you have had that tax and been liable for it for longer than just since last spring. What changed is that you are no longer trusted to self-report and pay because the merchant is now required to collect it instead.

Can I moderate the moderator for being a jerk? :lemo:

Technically, yes, everyone who ever bought anything on-line, including used stuff, was supposed to pay sales or use tax, but no one did because no-one in their right mind reported that level of tax.

So technically yes, the government is only cracking down on what it was to slow to catch up with when the Internet began (and mail-order for decades before that).

Perception is reality, though, and as far as I'm concerned I'm now being taxed where I wasn't before and that sucks. In fact, it's greatly curtailed my on-line spending especially on sites like Reverb and Ebay. The only good that will come out of this is that I will become more fiscally responsible by not buying stuff anymore.

As for the argument that I'd be happy with you paying tax in my town/state/country/planet, forget about it. Until the government can get a grip on its own ludicrous spending habits, coming to me for more money will always be met with resistance.

And now I'll moderate myself for dipping into the fiery edge of politics and ban myself for the rest of the day, or until someone posts some rare Guild doo-dad that I need to buy. :barbershop_quartet_
 

fronobulax

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Can I moderate the moderator for being a jerk? :lemo:

Technically, yes, everyone who ever bought anything on-line, including used stuff, was supposed to pay sales or use tax, but no one did because no-one in their right mind reported that level of tax.

So technically yes, the government is only cracking down on what it was to slow to catch up with when the Internet began (and mail-order for decades before that).

Perception is reality, though, and as far as I'm concerned I'm now being taxed where I wasn't before and that sucks. In fact, it's greatly curtailed my on-line spending especially on sites like Reverb and Ebay. The only good that will come out of this is that I will become more fiscally responsible by not buying stuff anymore.

As for the argument that I'd be happy with you paying tax in my town/state/country/planet, forget about it. Until the government can get a grip on its own ludicrous spending habits, coming to me for more money will always be met with resistance.

And now I'll moderate myself for dipping into the fiery edge of politics and ban myself for the rest of the day, or until someone posts some rare Guild doo-dad that I need to buy. :barbershop_quartet_

Guilty. What bothered me was the comment that suggested that this was a new tax as opposed to the government finally getting organized enough to collect an existing tax than no one paid. As for local taxes, going to another locality and then paying a room tax that is spent in that locality, is the poster child for people whose understanding of "taxation without representation" is literal and uninformed. I erred in thinking that was common and people would this get the allusion. Local governments that I know about like such taxes because they generate tax revenue from people who can't protest by voting them out of office.

:)
 

HeyMikey

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So, what strings should I get?

Wondering that myself...

cvhdj6tqsqlq39d9kozy.jpg
 

GAD

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Nice! Yours? The pickup covers are quite rare.
 

wileypickett

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Anyone who buys regularly on eBay has no doubt noticed that we're being charged tax on everything, even on items we buy from overseas. A few pennies I don't care about, but for higher ticket items I do think twice before buying now.

Des anyone know if the tax rates we're charged are based on the rates for the individual states we live in?

Do people who live in no-tax states, like New Hampshire and Oregon, not feel the pinch?
 

Rayk

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Man make fire man pee on fire to put out .

I want to say but no I can't yes I can ! Haha and you'll have to delete it which is ok . Lol

Where to start ... Nah not back that far so I move up to now day and consolidate.
If we "have" to pay taxes ,dang it just charge us a on a stop deal instead of nickel and dimeing us to death on every little thing .

At some point all this will come to a head and the out come won't be pretty but may be nessary.

Love and hugs ��
 
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dapmdave

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Anyone who buys regularly on eBay has no doubt noticed that we're being charged tax on everything, even on items we buy from overseas. A few pennies I don't care about, but for higher ticket items I do think twice before buying now.

Des anyone know if the tax rates we're charged are based on the rates for the individual states we live in?

Do people who live in no-tax states, like New Hampshire and Oregon, not feel the pinch?

From Reverb: "Prior to the Supreme Court South Dakota v. Wayfair decision in 2018, it was unconstitutional for states to charge sales tax against individuals or companies who didn’t have a physical presence or location in the state. In Wayfair, the Supreme Court replaced the “physical presence” requirement with an “economic presence” requirement."

From what I've seen, it's done on a state-by-state basis. Seems right since the sales taxes are state/local. I would assume that if no state sales taxes exist in a given state then none would be collected.

Reverb has been gradually adding sales tax collection, state-by-state, this past year. Rumor has it that this is part of the reason that CME sold Reverb off.
 
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adorshki

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These shipping carriers charge by the volume of space . If a box is 3 ft square your hundreds to ship even if only weighs 3lbs .
They feel your box took up to much room and they could of possibly had 30 packages stacked within that space ,if it's not there your paying.
YES, THIS, precisely.
In fact there is an industry standard of miscellaneous box dimensions which will fully utilize the space in a standard overseas shipping container and those in turn are used when calculating the capacities of the trailers that pick up loads at ports and haul the 20-40,000lb loads around the country.
It's called "Dimensional Rate" and it's been an industry standard going on 3 years now.
And trust me it's not "IF" they could have filled that space with multiple packages: with the ever-growing internet-based sales utilizing all the carriers, it's a given, all available freight IS utilized.
I work in an industry that relies heavily on truckers and rail, and in the last 2 years we've seen a consistent trend in increasing freight costs that used to be born by the paper mills being passed through to us the distributor.
Certain mills now charge a differential for deliveries west of the Rockies, even.
Others closed down West Coast warehouses due to freight costs making the warehouses unprofitable, resulting in the return of long lead times for paper that needs to come from the Midwest.
Their is literally a shortage of rolling stock both rail and tractor/trailers, and drivers for over the road trucks.
Part of the issue is that drivers are now much more closely monitored for time on road between federally-mandated rest periods.
A driver can be 15 minutes from final destination and be required to stop rolling or risk heavy fines and/or license suspension.
These'd be the guys who are carrying US Mail AND FedEx AND UPS stuff between the hubs, let alone all the trucks handling the stuff to stock grocery stores and Home Depots.
It's a physically demanding job and entry pay ain't all that great and long hours spent away from home for interstate truckers, where all the real demand is due to high turnover.
Even Amazon was forced to change its "Prime" model because they were losing so much on the free shipping.
Face it gents, it's the old normal that used to be in play back when Sears Roebuck went into the mail-order business: Ya gots to pay for the carriage unless otherwise specified.
"Where's the FOB?" means "Who pays the freight?"
 

dreadnut

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I just shipped a guitar to Florida from Michigan, USPS Ground with $1,400.00 insurance for $60.00.

UPS wanted $130.00 for the same package to the same destination.
 

GAD

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When you say UPS do you mean through a store?
 

JF-30

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I am shipping a JF-30 today after work I will post the price when I get home from the PO.
 
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