With less than three weeks until Christmas, the majority of U.S. consumers (87 percent) plan to avoid crowded stores and malls and plan to cybershop from the comfort and convenience of home, according to a new survey by Verizon. – www.verizon.com
Of these stay-at-home shoppers seeking to check off holiday shopping lists while reducing stress, 21 percent plan to shop online while relaxing on their couch, 8 percent will shop while in bed, and 50 percent will do so while at their home-office desk.
Who is the Borderless Consumer?
When compared with all consumers, the preferences of digitally-savvy, borderless consumers are somewhat different. More of them (31 percent) plan to make purchases while on their couch, or in bed (9 percent). Slightly less (45 percent) will do so from their home-office desk.
Excuse me, can you look the other way so I can take $2 out of your pocket?
In yet another example of doing whatever it takes to grow revenue and take advantage of consumers our friends at Verizon will be dipping into your pocket, starting January 15, 2012, charging you a convenience fee of $2 for making a credit or debit card payment on-line or via call-in channels. Now let me get this straight. We will now be charged $2 for making an on-line payment? So should we now cancel the paperless billing (Which of course was marketed as and is a true cost savings, green and all of that), so we can get our bill through the mail again and only pay $0.44 postage? Is this a plot to save the postal service? They can certainly use the help.
The web was supposed to alleviate many of these costs. Buy instead it has just created another huge revenue stream for many companies. Think about the convenience fees for purchasing tickets on line with companies like TicketMaster? Head shaking! Or of course the recent announcement by major banks to charge you $5 per debit card transaction? This one has been stopped for now but do we think we have heard the last of this. I think not.
$2 bucks here, $2 bucks there. Well those $2 buck fees add up and we continue to be pinched by businesses whenever possible.
Let me know of other areas where this is happening in your life so we can share with our readers by commenting below.
This holiday weekend, the Webman played Santa Claus for the family, just like many of you. One of the stops was to the Verizon store for an early smartphone upgrade for one of my daughters. (And yes, she is using my upgrade yet again) Anyway, the upgrade price for a iPhone 4, white, is $99 so I am feeling pretty good about this purchase.
And then it broke down. First news from the Verizon representative, was that their was a $20 charge for an early upgrade. Hmm, so they have their hand in my pocket here as it does not cost them anything to do this, but they need to subsidize some cost or just boost the revenue line a bit. I like this as much as I like change fees on airlines – NOT ONE BIT. But hey, I am still doing pretty well by getting a new iPhone for $119 right. So feeling a bit screwed but can tolerate.
And then the bomb hit… The Verizon representative tells me to slide my credit card and that the total bill was $154.31 including the sales tax. Hmm, I am pretty good with numbers and quickly realize that I am getting charged more than 20% tax on this transaction. Here is a picture of the credit card receipt:
Not good at all!
What the heck is going on here? $34.31 for tax on a $119 purchase? You have got to be kidding me. So the Verizon representation calming talks about Taxachusetts (He has had to explain this before I presume) and about how they need to pay tax to the state not on the sales price but on the “Value” of the smartphone, which as you can see on the receipt is $549. So I am paying the 6.25% tax rate on $549 and not on the $99. So I choose not to shoot the messenger and do a little research myself.
“Starting July 1, 2011, D 11-2 announces rules amended in part because in the ensuing years since D 93-9 business models have changed. It may not be readily apparent to the retail customer who actually owns the cell phone store where they are making a purchase and which of the existing salestax rules would apply. The new Directive makes it clear that the tax must be calculated on the higher of the amount actually paid by the retail customer or the wholesale cost of the phone or other wireless communication device.”
“But it also provides — and this is new — that the vendor responsible for collecting and remitting the sales tax now has a choice. In situations where the wholesale cost of the phone or other device is used for calculating the tax (because it is higher than the amount paid by the customer), the seller may collect and remit tax from the customer on the wholesale cost. Alternatively, the vendor may elect to assume a portion of the tax by collecting only on the lesser amount actually paid by the customer, in which case the vendor must also remit tax on the difference between that lesser amount and the wholesale cost. The seller may collect part or all of that tax from the retail customer.”
And there you have it. A 22.2% tax on cellular phones in Massachusetts. Be afraid, be very afraid of where this might lead. You cannot make this stuff up.
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