"Why Amazon Wants to Pay Sales Tax"...
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/07/12/....

Rjazz: I originally got a free trial prime membership right before christmas last year. Forgot to cancel it and just figured "what the hell."

It's saved me WAY more in shipping than it cost, though of course not everything I ordered I needed 2nd day shipping, it sure is nice to have for free.

Have to admit though, I do more shopping through amazon knowing that than I would have otherwise. Many trips to the store saved, etc.

There is a copy of ways to lower the cost of prime. The first time I used it, a friend wanted to buy & she signed me (and a couple others up as her family). I contributed $14 for my portion. The second time, I purchased a certain amount of child merchandise & got a free Amazon Mom membership (same as prime w/o the free vids). I recently plunked down $79 for a full membership.

I guess I order from Amazon about 2 times a month on average. I'm pretty cheap, but I feel its worth it (esp with the vid on demand...I'll be cancelling Netflix this month & saving $8/month-which covers the Prime Membership fee). Even without the vids though, I like getting my merchandise faster & w/o the $25 minimum.

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I've been wondering if a Prime membership is worth it.

For us...it's paid for itself MANY times over...but we typically have UPS show up at the very least, once every two weeks from AMZN. The savings in shipping charges are definitely a big help, especially getting everything in 2 days, and many times, just 1 for "free"...of course, it's paid for by the membership and the slightly higher prices sometimes found for Prime eligible products, but, I still feel it's worth it.

If you have a .edu email you can get a year of prime for free. Then when that ends sign up for an amazon mom account and get 3 more months free, then when that's done use the .edu email to get a year of prime for half off $39. So you can get 2 years and 3 months for $39.

Sounds like a good plan, but I am minus one .edu email addy.

Rjazz: If you know anybody in college, it's easy as hell to get one.

If I knew anybody in college, I'd be telling them to GTFO and avoid the debt. ;-)

How about somebody who works at one?

Strike 2

10 years ago, I could have gotten you one at pretty much any .edu address you could possibly have wanted.... But I tend to be a good little boy now, so.... Sorry.

If you have a family member with Prime, they can add up to 5 family members to the program. My brother has it in TX and he just added me in AZ.........

That's okay Asimov...10 years ago, I knew someone that worked at UofM Dearborn, and could have had an addy of my very own. He worked in their IT department, as well as being a perpetual student (40+ years old, 3 credits shy {each} of at least 4 degrees) but he doesn't work there any more, and I haven't spoken with him in at least that long.

I don't speak with most of my family, due to their hostility over their political views, but thanks for the suggestions.

I've got two .edus...

This pretty much summarizes the sentiment:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/20/news/eco....

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While this is by no means a scientific study, it does show that there are plenty of people who aren't pleased.
"If you take away my *only* reason for shopping at Amazon, what do you think is going to happen to myself and millions of others?" writes Roger of Petaluma, Calif. "Let's put it this way: If you own Amazon stock, SELL, SELL, SELL!!!"

Ahhh, the shoot off your nose to spite your face crowd-lol! I'm referring to ^^^ shopping philosophy, not their trading. So, lets say Amazon starts charging tax & the rate in your state is 10% (most states are lower though; VA is 5%). Are you really saying to me that you would not buying the cheapest object (or alternative) on Amazon? Or would you rather go to a smaller online merchant, not pay sales tax, but pay 30% more for the product?

Listen, I like Amazon. But first and foremost, I'm a dealhunter...not Amazon Blind Fan #1. I always check other merchants first before clicking that Buy button. In fact, many times, I'll see a vender offer the item on Amazon & go directly to their off-site store to purchase the item (because I can get a better deal shipping).

My biggest gripe about the sales tax issue is that it puts an unbelievable onus on out of state businesses to learn the tax code of every state. That will up costs that are passed onto the consumer (in addition to now paying the sales tax). This will crush small internet businesses. Imagine if you are some small soap seller or knit scarf maker & you start getting letters from every states dept of taxation, threatening to comply or be hauled into tax court?

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This will crush small internet businesses

Have a look at the Stream-lined Sales Tax Project (SSTI) - they've already done this on a larger scale for some states. ADP wants to get into this business, just as they are in payroll. For a percentage, they'll deal with all of your sales-tax headaches. I actually worked with their team that had a real-time web service that implemented this. It's coming. In fact, I'm really surprised it hasn't happened yet. The technology is pretty robust, and fast, and that was 4 years ago when I left.

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Imagine if you are some small soap seller or knit scarf maker & you start getting letters from every states dept of taxation, threatening to comply or be hauled into tax court

It's easier to pay ADP $100/month not to.