Topic: Amazon.com Starts Selling WiiWare Games

[Stratos]

Does Amazon charge sales tax? If not, you've saved even more.

If you live in New York they do, .

Stupid Governor Paterson, no wonder the majority of people here in New York don't want him elected to a full term and why he has the lowest approval ratings of any governor in New York history.

Amazon charges sales tax in any state that collects it. I get charged tax for any order I ship to my parents house in Washington even if I pay with an Oregon based account. It doesn't charge tax when it is shipped to my place in Portland though.

Though taxes are getting out of hand I agree. Plus more and more states are looking into taxing digitally distributed goods like MP3s and games.

[KDR_11k]

You whine a lot about being unable to dodge taxes... Over here the sales tax simply applies to everything, no dodging via online orders or stuff.

[Stratos]

You whine a lot about being unable to dodge taxes... Over here the sales tax simply applies to everything, no dodging via online orders or stuff.

We whine because many of use were used to the idea that they were not taxable matters. Having them be taxed is relatively new for a number of us.

[TJ Spyke]

The tax things pisses me off because it used to be that you would only have to pay taxes for online orders if the company had a physical presence in New York. Our governor decided to make it so any online orders have sales tax now. Amazon is thankfully appealing this since they realize that this could hurt their sales. Governor Paterson has come up with other ideas like extending the 5-cent bottle deposit to bottled-water and iced tea, and to start charging tax for strip clubs and increasing the tax for pop.

[KDR_11k]

I think it's fair towards local stores when online retailers have to pay taxes too, otherwise online retail gets to undercut the local stores automatically.

[Stratos]

I think it's fair towards local stores when online retailers have to pay taxes too, otherwise online retail gets to undercut the local stores automatically.

Then we just shouldn't let any online stores do business because they already have a benefit that undercuts local stores: I don't have to leave my house if I don't want to and I also wouldn't have to spend the gas money if I had to drive to said local stores. That is a benefit many are willing to pay shipping for and will overlook said local stores. This undercuts local stores automatically.

If stores like GameStop, GameCrazy and Wal-Mart offered periodic deals on games like Amazon does I consider shopping there most of the time. If they offer periodic deals on WW games I would go to them over directly purchasing them from the Shop Channel.

[Mop it up]

If stores like GameStop offered periodic deals on games like Amazon does I consider shopping there most of the time.

They do, their "game days" sale. Also, if you sign up for their email newsletter then you will get a coupon every week, which will either be a percentage off a system's new or used games, or more trade-in credit.

[Stratos]

If stores like GameStop offered periodic deals on games like Amazon does I consider shopping there most of the time.

They do, their "game days" sale. Also, if you sign up for their email newsletter then you will get a coupon every week, which will either be a percentage off a system's new or used games, or more trade-in credit.

The only one's I have seen are discounts on new games when you trade in old ones. The best I ever saw was this last Christmas with a 'buy 2 get 1 free' type deal. I 'll have to look more closely at those emails since I do get them as I must not read them well enough.
Though they may only offer them on games I'm not interested in.

[Mop it up]

Here are all of GameStop's Wii games which were a part of their Game Days sale:

http://www.gamestop.com/Browse/search.aspx?N=138+73

Nothing much notable, although didn't Sonic and the Black Knight just come out?

You never know what you'll get with the weekly coupon. It's never for a specific game, though almost always for a specific system. This week's coupon is for 20% off used Game Boy Advance games, last week was used PS2 games. As you can see, it can sometimes be lame, but it is still worth watching to see if it's ever anything good.

[Stratos]

I think you forgot to copy the link before you pasted because it is linking to your Lego N64 pic from the Lego RB thread. 
I hate it when that happens, I do the same thing with Photo Bucket.

[Mop it up]

Leave me alone, it's 5AM here and I still can't figure out why I'm awake or if I'm actually sleeping.

Fixed... zzzzzzzzz

[Stratos]

Leave me alone, it's 5AM here and I still can't figure out why I'm awake or if I'm actually sleeping.

Fixed... zzzzzzzzz

I was actually just wondering that after I saw you posted again on a different thread. I thought "Gee, I should be going to bed soon, wait, if it is this late for me and Mop it up is 3 hours later than I am then (three, four five) Mop it up has been up till 5 AM!"

[KDR_11k]

Then we just shouldn't let any online stores do business because they already have a benefit that undercuts local stores: I don't have to leave my house if I don't want to and I also wouldn't have to spend the gas money if I had to drive to said local stores. That is a benefit many are willing to pay shipping for and will overlook said local stores. This undercuts local stores automatically.

The local store could offer shipping too but since it's in the same state as you it'd still have to pay tax. The difference is that shipping is an advantage the store can decide on while tax is one that's imposed by the law.

[TJ Spyke]

The local store could offer shipping too but since it's in the same state as you it'd still have to pay tax. The difference is that shipping is an advantage the store can decide on while tax is one that's imposed by the law.

Why don't you complain about people buying stuff from infomercials and shop at home channels? Those operate the same way in that you only pay sales tax if they have a presence in your state (like a warehouse). This is just my governor being too lazy to find other ways to cut spending. New York already has the 2nd or 3rd highest taxes in the country, so to basically start taxing even more just pissed people off and gonna continue driving businesses out of the state.

[KDR_11k]

Why don't you complain about people buying stuff from infomercials and shop at home channels? Those operate the same way in that you only pay sales tax if they have a presence in your state (like a warehouse). This is just my governor being too lazy to find other ways to cut spending. New York already has the 2nd or 3rd highest taxes in the country, so to basically start taxing even more just pissed people off and gonna continue driving businesses out of the state.

So include them then, it doesn't matter what's used to send the order. The point is that it's not fair towards local businesses that out-of-state shippers don't have to charge that tax.

[TJ Spyke]

So it's fair to also tax and and apply tariffs to foreign made goods to encourage people to buy locally? Why not apply a tax to national chains to encourage you to buy from local stores? I hope Amazon wins it's appeal and gets this ridiculous law struck down. No wonder Paterson has the lowest approval rate of any governor in New York history and why most New Yorkers do not want him elected to a full term (he took over as governor after Eliot Spitzer resigned following that whole prostitution scandal).

It IS fair. If local stores want my business, it's simple. Offer lower prices, and maybe start a reward program like Best Buy has with its Reward Zone program. I know I have bought some stuff at Best Buy specifically to get the Reward Zone points. Why are you sticking up for this idiotic law? It's hurting one company in favor of another. Me buying something from a local Walmart or GameStop (or a local business that is not part of a national chain) is no different than buying from Amazon.

[Stratos]

I'm all for supporting the local little poeple, but not blindly. They have to offer something at a competitive rate or have quality service. I won't support an independent coffee shop if their employees are rude to me or they charge a ridiculous amount over another place. Just because a store is little or local does not give it a divine right to exist. It has to fill a need.

It's also 'not fair' that people who live in Vancouver, Washington travel to Portland, Oregon to shop without taxes. We should require Portland businesses to check ID and if a person is from Vancouver the business should charge the appropriate tax and send it to Washington's capital. Because not doing that is unfair to Vancouver, WA businesses because Portland businesses undercut them.

What you are saying is quite close to the same idea except in an online context.

[KDR_11k]

So it's fair to also tax and and apply tariffs to foreign made goods to encourage people to buy locally?

Encourage people to buy locally? How so?

Why not apply a tax to national chains to encourage you to buy from local stores?

You're strawmanning in the exact opposite direction of what I'm arguing. I'm arguing for equal tax burdens for everybody, not preferrential treatment. The sales tax on online purchases is not a disadvantage for online retailers, it's a rule everybody else has to play by and IMO they should too.

If local stores want my business, it's simple. Offer lower prices

HOW? They have to pay an extra tax that remote businesses don't, how on earth are they supposed to offer lower prices then? How do you propose they undercut someone while having to pay 6% more on taxes?

[TJ Spyke]

Encourage people to buy locally? How so?
you propose they undercut someone while having to pay 6% more on taxes?

You want companies not located in a state to unfairly have to suffer loss of buisness and pay money to the state to try and encourage people to buy from stores in the state. That is the same kind of isolationist attitue that people have when they make you pay fees on products imported in order to encourage you to buy locally.

As for you sales tax comment, you obviously don't understand how sales tax works. Companies collect the tax from consumers and then turn it over to the goverment. Retail sales tax is charged only to the end consumer (i.e. you or I going to a store and buying something). Companies don't pay this, so local stores don't suffer more. The reason sites like Amazon and national chains like Walmart can charge lower prices is because they buy in bulk, it has nothing to do with sales tax.

The ONLY people benefitting from charging sales tax to out of state businesses is the state government, that is why they are pushing it so strongly and  you rarely, if ever, see local businesses supporting it since they don't really get any benefit.

[vudu]

This is just my governor being too lazy to find other ways to cut spending. New York already has the 2nd or 3rd highest taxes in the country, so to basically start taxing even more just pissed people off and gonna continue driving businesses out of the state.

Er, hem.  I live in Cook County, home of the nation's largest sales tax.  I buy almost everything I can from online retailers to avoid this tax.

However, it's certainly not fair to the state that I'm not paying these taxes.  And if the states get theirs heads out of their asses and figure out how to collect/share sales tax from online purchases you certainly won't hear me complain about it.

[Pale]

Politics and dirty tricks, I've got no time for stones and sticks!

Let's change the topic please people. Have any more WiiWare games shown up on Amazon?

[Stratos]

Well, it was fun while it lasted

Sorry Pale, I guess I convinced myself that we would eventually bring the discussion back around to WW.

And to answer your question, I just did an Amazon search and WoG is still the only one available in the US store.

[Jonnyboy117]

Another good thing is that you can use Amazon coupons and other discounts to buy WiiWare games.

For instance, ECA members now get 10% off game purchases from Amazon.  I'll have to see if that code applies to digital download purchases.