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baummer said:
Wow you sure have a lot of faith in goverment 🙄. I didn't say it all goes to where it's supposed to go, it goes where the state determines the money is needed most. We have elected officials who make these decisions. If you didn't vote, don't complain. If you did, vote for new officials next time.

ok my last post was an a$$hole post, but come on for christ sakes... the state takes enough out of my paycheck. They dont need the extra $150 they get out of my powerbook. And for voting for elected officials, I voted against Bush and see how much good that did me.

baummer said:
Not impossible; how do you think they determine tax when you go to checkout? 🙄

so now you're saying apple CAN factor in the price of tax in the posted price. So my question is why dont they?
 
Southbridge said:
so its impossible for apple to write a script for their website calculating the price according to where you live?

So how TF do you think the site can tell what burg you live in before you put in all of your personal information? Ye might hae a fundamental misunderstanding how the Internet works, laddie.

> -snip sarcastic diatribe-

In a democratic society, you DON'T get to opt-out of paying tax just because you can manufacture selective personal grievances about how your government is run. You have the right, of course, to exercise all legal means to reduce your tax payable.

But you don't get to take money off your tax if you disagree with your government's decision to, say, build a recreation centre on the other side of town that you'll never visit.

There's a nice word, Commonwealth, as used in "The Commonwealth of Virginia" for example. "a community of people acting in common interest, resp. the power is held by the people."

It illustrates the concept that as a community, we share in the costs of maintaining our society, and we share in the benefits that flow from belonging to the community; which in virtually all cases bring far more to the citizen than going it alone would. (before you disagree, consider a world where if you wanted water, you would have to lay your own pipe from the reservoir to your house, where if you wanted your children taught, each person would have to build their own schoolhouse and hire a teacher...)

That's it for me on this thead - you want, post this to the Politics forum and continue.
 
CanadaRAM said:
So how TF do you think the site can tell what burg you live in before you put in all of your personal information? Ye might hae a fundamental misunderstanding how the Internet works, laddie.

> -snip sarcastic diatribe-

In a democratic society, you DON'T get to opt-out of paying tax just because you can manufacture selective personal grievances about how your government is run. You have the right, of course, to exercise all legal means to reduce your tax payable.

But you don't get to take money off your tax if you disagree with your government's decision to, say, build a recreation centre on the other side of town that you'll never visit.

There's a nice word, Commonwealth, as used in "The Commonwealth of Virginia" for example. "a community of people acting in common interest, resp. the power is held by the people."

It illustrates the concept that as a community, we share in the costs of maintaining our society, and we share in the benefits that flow from belonging to the community; which in virtually all cases bring far more to the citizen than going it alone would. (before you disagree, consider a world where if you wanted water, you would have to lay your own pipe from the reservoir to your house, where if you wanted your children taught, each person would have to build their own schoolhouse and hire a teacher...)

That's it for me on this thead - you want, post this to the Politics forum and continue.


uh... I was being sarcastic. S-A-R-C-A-S-M. look it up. Anyways my point is OF COURSE Apple can put the tax information. They just choose not to. I think they should because the tax is such a huge portion of the overall price with Apple as opposed to Dell which doesnt have any brick and mortar stores and where you DONT have to pay taxes.
 
Southbridge said:
so now you're saying apple CAN factor in the price of tax in the posted price. So my question is why dont they?

They have to advertise a set price that affects the most individuals. They can't really put a more accruate price for you until you enter shipping info in the check out area. Their website is seen by people from different counties and states, it would be impractical and confusing to post all prices on their front page.

I have purchased a few computers through education discounts. If I am interested in a stock configuration or in a rush I would buy the computer at my university bookstore and walk out with it. If I want to BTO, then it is better to go through the apple store. You mentioned getting a powerbook, well neither of the 15" models ship standard with the 128 mb graphics chip. If that is something you are interested in you may have to order direct from apple.
 
Southbridge said:
ok my last post was an a$$hole post, but come on for christ sakes... the state takes enough out of my paycheck. They dont need the extra $150 they get out of my powerbook. And for voting for elected officials, I voted against Bush and see how much good that did me.

Well, you must not understand the concept of sales tax. By law, Apple (just like any company that produces a tangible product) MUST charge tax to customers in locations it has a physical presence (e.g. Apple stores, etc.). Which means if Company A is in say Washington, all customers of Washington must pay the current tax rate in their location (e.g. if Company A is based in Seattle, a customer from Tacoma will pay the Seattle tax rate because Company A is based in Seattle). If Company B has locations in California and Minnesota, customers of both of those states must pay tax. Physical sales will always collect tax, regardless of where the customer is from. Online sales will collect tax based on your location. The money that is taken out of your paycheck actually benefits you in the long run (because you don't have to pay that in one lump sum come tax collecting time because you've already paid it).

Southbridge said:
so now you're saying apple CAN factor in the price of tax in the posted price. So my question is why dont they?

Yes, they do factor that in the price during the checkout process. I'm not sure what you're not understanding about this.
 
baummer said:
Well, you must not understand the concept of sales tax. By law, Apple (just like any company that produces a tangible product) MUST charge tax to customers in locations it has a physical presence (e.g. Apple stores, etc.). Which means if Company A is in say Washington, all customers of Washington must pay the current tax rate in their location (e.g. if Company A is based in Seattle, a customer from Tacoma will pay the Seattle tax rate because Company A is based in Seattle). If Company B has locations in California and Minnesota, customers of both of those states must pay tax. Physical sales will always collect tax, regardless of where the customer is from. Online sales will collect tax based on your location. The money that is taken out of your paycheck actually benefits you in the long run (because you don't have to pay that in one lump sum come tax collecting time because you've already paid it).

wait... do you have a job? Because if you do I can't imagine you ENJOY have taxes deducted from your pay check. Or I cant imagine you squeal with glee when the state takes 8.5% of your purchases. But thats not the point. The point is whether or not Apple should advertise WITH the tax included because the tax is a large part of the overall price.


baummer said:
Yes, they do factor that in the price during the checkout process. I'm not sure what you're not understanding about this.

I'm not talking about checkout. I found out at the last possible step as I'm about to accept it on my credit card that they're gonna charge me an extra $150. I'm talking about in the online apple store where it says $1999 for a powerbook, or $1799 in the student discount store. Because its NOT $1999 its
actually $2168.92. Or with the student discount it's not $1799 it's $1951.92. (which is really not much of a discount). So isn't $2168.92 a different number than $1999 and wouldnt it give you a little MORE pause when you're buying?
 
G

Sure it gives you pause, but unfortunatley it is something you have to factor in. I would suggest you become a student developer and you can get the same laptop for $1599, but then again you would probably bitch about the hundred dollars you have to pay to join, even if it does save you an extra hundred bucks. All in all I get what your saying, but come on there are people in parts of the world who could buy a house for what your willing to shell out for a frigin computer.....life is not fair......lets just deal with it.

Good Luck with your Dell!
 
Southbridge said:
wait... do you have a job? Because if you do I can't imagine you ENJOY have taxes deducted from your pay check. Or I cant imagine you squeal with glee when the state takes 8.5% of your purchases. But thats not the point. The point is whether or not Apple should advertise WITH the tax included because the tax is a large part of the overall price.
Yes, I do have a job. Do I enjoy taxes being deducted? No. But it's a necessary cost. I can't get paid unless those taxes are taken out. We don't live in a perfect world. It costs money to be a US citizen. It costs money to buy things, it costs money to be paid, everything has a cost. The sooner you learn that, the better. Living in California, we have a lot more taken out of our paychecks than most states, but the way I see it, it's the price you pay. Simple as that. As I have stated, and others have stated, it just isn't feasible to advertise WITH the tax prices, because AGAIN, location, location, location!

Southbridge said:
I'm not talking about checkout. I found out at the last possible step as I'm about to accept it on my credit card that they're gonna charge me an extra $150. I'm talking about in the online apple store where it says $1999 for a powerbook, or $1799 in the student discount store. Because its NOT $1999 its
actually $2168.92. Or with the student discount it's not $1799 it's $1951.92. (which is really not much of a discount). So isn't $2168.92 a different number than $1999 and wouldnt it give you a little MORE pause when you're buying?

You're not paying full price, so what's the problem? A discount is a percentage removed from the actual selling cost of the item, not the cost of the item with taxes, shipping, etc. Nowhere does it state that the $1999 is the final price, and the majority of purchasers assume that they will be charged tax. You're SAVING money and yet you're complaining.
 
Southbridge said:
I'm not talking about checkout. I found out at the last possible step as I'm about to accept it on my credit card that they're gonna charge me an extra $150. I'm talking about in the online apple store where it says $1999 for a powerbook, or $1799 in the student discount store. Because its NOT $1999 its actually $2168.92. Or with the student discount it's not $1799 it's $1951.92. (which is really not much of a discount). So isn't $2168.92 a different number than $1999 and wouldnt it give you a little MORE pause when you're buying?

That is almost exactly the point, it would give you pause. It is not beneficial for a company to advertise the highest price possible, and they are not required to. They want to advertise the lowest price possible to get you into the store. Most of the info you are complaining about is in the fine print. Which clearly states that price "starts at $$$", does not include sales tax, rebates, shipping, that the 80 GB drive is not really 80 GB after formatting, etc. I think you don't have an issue with sales tax as much as with "fine print".
 
This is why I love living in "No Sales Tax" NH. I'm ordering a new 15" PowerBook soon and I won't have to pay any taxes on it 😀
 
What everyone needs to do is find a friend in NH who will receive your shipment and then forward it on to you. 😉
 
Dell charges tax in some states. They charge me cause im in Texas and they have their HQ here in Austin.

However, look into some laws, for instance, I can get the edu discount plus no taxes using the Texas producers law, which makes me tax-exempt on any purchase used for film/audio productions.

see if your state has something like that. But they're taxes, a lot of stores charge them, it's not apple's fault. getting a dell cause of tax is silly
 
Confused

Why is it such a big deal that apple charges sales tax in almost every state? Shouldn't a buyer expect to pay sales tax on an item they buy. I know Dell doesn't charge sales tax but they don't have real store locations so they found a great loop hole there. Who cares if they tell you about sales tax on the first page of your purchase or on the last page. Nobody puts the full price on the items you buy in a store so why not complain about that? Not only that I believe sales tax varys from state to state (might be the reason it is added at the end.....after they find out your zipcode).
 
funny you say this

Southbridge said:
ah forget it. I'm gettin a dell. 😡

You will end up paying more for virus software and repairs in the next year if you buy one......and for doctor's visits because of the massive headaches it will cause 😉
 
Actually, something I noticed while shopping is that if you're hunting for an ibook, assuming you don't want to BTO it, it's actually cheaper to get it from amazon with the $100 rebate, and no sales tax, than from the Apple store with the edu discount. And the Amazon return policy lets you return it within 30 days if you don't like it...

Mind you, if you BTO it, you have to go through Apple...
 
Southbridge said:
I'm talking about in the online apple store where it says $1999 for a powerbook, or $1799 in the student discount store. Because its NOT $1999 its actually $2168.92. Or with the student discount it's not $1799 it's $1951.92. (which is really not much of a discount). So isn't $2168.92 a different number than $1999 and wouldnt it give you a little MORE pause when you're buying?

Dude, you are barking up the wrong flagpole here. You want the front page of the Apple Store to say: "Mac Powerbook: now on sale for $2168.92 including shipping and all taxes"

It is impossible for a website to determine the shipping address (city) of the viewer until they have filled in the checkout information. If it doesn't know where the viewer is from, how could it possibly know the tax rate to apply?

When you go to the product order page it says "Subtotal Please note that your subtotal does not include sales tax or rebates. $1999.00"
 
Southbridge said:
wait... do you have a job? Because if you do I can't imagine you ENJOY have taxes deducted from your pay check. Or I cant imagine you squeal with glee when the state takes 8.5% of your purchases. But thats not the point. The point is whether or not Apple should advertise WITH the tax included because the tax is a large part of the overall price.

Jeez, if you don't like it move to Norway, if you wanna live here and drive on asphalt as opposed to gravel, then pay your tax like the rest of us. Crack dude, do you get this pissy when you go to the gas station and see that a bottle of soda is 1.09 and then get to the counter and, holy crap, its 1.13 with tax. Do you go put your bottle back and throw a fit because they didn't advertise the tax??


Southbridge said:
I'm not talking about checkout. I found out at the last possible step as I'm about to accept it on my credit card that they're gonna charge me an extra $150. I'm talking about in the online apple store where it says $1999 for a powerbook, or $1799 in the student discount store. Because its NOT $1999 its
actually $2168.92. Or with the student discount it's not $1799 it's $1951.92. (which is really not much of a discount) . So isn't $2168.92 a different number than $1999 and wouldnt it give you a little MORE pause when you're buying?

Actually it is a discount, because without it you would pay the 2168. It is about a 180 dollar discount. Why are you so angry that you have to pay tax? You pay tax on everything, why should this be different. Isn't it convenient enough that you get to sit at home and buy it instead of go to the store? Everyone else who orders an Apple online pays tax according to their state, I know I did.

Is your tax difference worth going to buy a Dell. I think paying tax or not is the least of your problems if you buy a Dell. In fact, why don't you buy a Dell, then we don't have to listen to this pointless piss-fest about having to pay tax.
 
btw, in that last post i meant no offense to people in norway. im sure it is a lovely place.

nor do i wish any mental anguish that this person actually moving to norway may cause.
 
Yes tax does suck but its a part of life - no discussion.

From wat i understand of the sales tax system in the States the price on the shlf is different to the actual price you pay at the checkout. sorry i dont get this. here we have a 10% GST on everything and that is always included in the price on the shelf....i think it saves a lot of confusion.

But dude I still dont think you can complain about dicount, as many others have already said would you rather pay the full price?

Unfortunately i'm typing this on a Dell (while i'm waithing for my PB) and let me wish you all the best with yours 🙄 .
 
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