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Sounds like you agree, not disagree then? This single simplified price is the point.

Retric 5y ago
You don’t see the final price in US stores it’s all + sales tax. Except concession stands can magically tell you the actual price. His point is all online stores can do the same thing as soon as they have your address. That’s not what the market wants.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > His point is all online stores can do the same thing as soon as they have your address. Right… so agreeing then?
  - Retric 5y ago
    No, because they are incentivized not to. The point is customers are willing to pay for hidden fees otherwise online stores wouldn’t separate things out. It’s the same reason airlines added all those fees, people prefer to minimize sticker shock rather than minimize actual costs.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      But not doing this is what Bezos thinks as well. That’s why he collapses all costs into a single price. He’s in agreement.
      - Retric 5y ago
        Except that’s not what he’s doing, Amazon prime acts like a giant hidden fee. Don’t pay it and Amazon still charges separately for shipping and handing.
    - cptskippy 5y ago
      Customers don't want that, they don't have a choice in the matter. The reason fees, taxes, shipping, handling, and everything else are hidden is because that's how retailers compete with each other on price. They hide the true cost from the customer and make them jump through hoops to determine the actual price. By the time you've provided all of your information to determine the final price, it's easier to complete the sale than go elsewhere. If customers had all of that information up front they could compare prices between retailers easily. When has anyone ever said "gee I'm sure glad Comcast hid those $25 in equipment rental fees and regulatory fees from me so I could avoid sticker shock"
- gamblor956 5y ago
  Whether a concessions stand includes the tax in the listed price depends very heavily on the particular stand in question. Very few do. The overwhelming majority don't. For example, the concessions stands at my local movie theaters (representing 3 of the 4 major chains), and the 9 local professionals sports teams, do not include sales tax in the listed price. Sales tax is levied separately. In many cases, that is because local law requires the sales tax to be listed separately on the receipt. (For example, in GST and GET jurisdictions, the tax charge must be broken out separately to be passed on to the customer.) However, if the price you see is the price you pay and it's a round number, that concessions stand probably isn't bothering to collect sales tax at all. A lot of times that's because they sell items that are not subject to sales tax alongside items that are, and don't bother to keep track of the separate buckets. For an example of why they wouldn't: cold prepared foods can be taxed differently from hot prepared foods; packaged items are taxed differently from prepared foods; foods prepared on-site can be taxed differently from freshly-prepared foods prepared at another location; a food that includes a particular ingredient may be subject to sales tax but that same food without the ingredient may not be, etc. A large concessions stand, like the kind you would find at a baseball stadium, has the resources to figure this out. The mom-and-pop stand does not.
- gmiller123456 5y ago
  I also think stores should have to add in sales tax, and all other fees, into the price you see. I know some entities are exempt from sales tax, but they are the exception and it can be subtracted off for them. But there's no reason not to have tax included in the original price in a retail store, it's actually extra work to not include it.

You don’t see the final price in US stores it’s all + sales tax. Except concession stands can magically tell you the actual price. His point is all online stores can do the same thing as soon as they have your address. That’s not what the market wants.

chrisseaton 5y ago
> His point is all online stores can do the same thing as soon as they have your address. Right… so agreeing then?
- Retric 5y ago
  No, because they are incentivized not to. The point is customers are willing to pay for hidden fees otherwise online stores wouldn’t separate things out. It’s the same reason airlines added all those fees, people prefer to minimize sticker shock rather than minimize actual costs.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    But not doing this is what Bezos thinks as well. That’s why he collapses all costs into a single price. He’s in agreement.
    - Retric 5y ago
      Except that’s not what he’s doing, Amazon prime acts like a giant hidden fee. Don’t pay it and Amazon still charges separately for shipping and handing.
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    Customers don't want that, they don't have a choice in the matter. The reason fees, taxes, shipping, handling, and everything else are hidden is because that's how retailers compete with each other on price. They hide the true cost from the customer and make them jump through hoops to determine the actual price. By the time you've provided all of your information to determine the final price, it's easier to complete the sale than go elsewhere. If customers had all of that information up front they could compare prices between retailers easily. When has anyone ever said "gee I'm sure glad Comcast hid those $25 in equipment rental fees and regulatory fees from me so I could avoid sticker shock"
gamblor956 5y ago
Whether a concessions stand includes the tax in the listed price depends very heavily on the particular stand in question. Very few do. The overwhelming majority don't. For example, the concessions stands at my local movie theaters (representing 3 of the 4 major chains), and the 9 local professionals sports teams, do not include sales tax in the listed price. Sales tax is levied separately. In many cases, that is because local law requires the sales tax to be listed separately on the receipt. (For example, in GST and GET jurisdictions, the tax charge must be broken out separately to be passed on to the customer.) However, if the price you see is the price you pay and it's a round number, that concessions stand probably isn't bothering to collect sales tax at all. A lot of times that's because they sell items that are not subject to sales tax alongside items that are, and don't bother to keep track of the separate buckets. For an example of why they wouldn't: cold prepared foods can be taxed differently from hot prepared foods; packaged items are taxed differently from prepared foods; foods prepared on-site can be taxed differently from freshly-prepared foods prepared at another location; a food that includes a particular ingredient may be subject to sales tax but that same food without the ingredient may not be, etc. A large concessions stand, like the kind you would find at a baseball stadium, has the resources to figure this out. The mom-and-pop stand does not.
gmiller123456 5y ago
I also think stores should have to add in sales tax, and all other fees, into the price you see. I know some entities are exempt from sales tax, but they are the exception and it can be subtracted off for them. But there's no reason not to have tax included in the original price in a retail store, it's actually extra work to not include it.