4 ms·

> When the price label is affixed by the factory/warehouse then you would have to track where everything is going and be unable to share inventory. Price tags

> When the price label is affixed by the factory/warehouse then you would have to track where everything is going and be unable to share inventory. Price tags are pretty much universally handled at the stores. There are some goods where the price tag is attached, but that's more the exception and not the rule. This is a solvable problem. So much so that if you've traveled in most nations you'll see that all prices include tax. Not including tax is a particularly weird aspect of US culture that simply doesn't exist in other nations, even those with a large amount of imported goods.

ryandrake 3y ago
Yep, this is one of those "This problem can't be solved - Says the only nation that has this problem" situations.
AnthonyMouse 3y ago
> Price tags are pretty much universally handled at the stores. Advertising isn't. If the same ad is viewable by people in different states, what price are they supposed to put on it? Shouldn't this be the same price as what they show in the stores, or else people will have trouble knowing if the advertising was deceptive? > This is a solvable problem. So much so that if you've traveled in most nations you'll see that all prices include tax. Don't most of those other nations have a uniform tax rate?
- withinboredom 3y ago
  I have no idea what you are going on about. If you advertise 9.99, it’s 9.99. Sales tax isn’t THAT different between jurisdictions, so we are talking about the seller having to lose a small percentage of margin. Sales are mostly about moving items, so they are already losing huge margins at that point anyway. Anyway, you can always advertise 9.99 + tax and show the actual price with tax in the store tags.
  - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
    > Sales tax isn’t THAT different between jurisdictions, so we are talking about the seller having to lose a small percentage of margin. California has a 7.25% sales tax. Oregon has a 0% sales tax. A 7.25% difference is larger than the entire net margin on many products. > Sales are mostly about moving items, so they are already losing huge margins at that point anyway. It seems like we've now gone from "there is no reason they can't do this" to "the merchant can just eat the sales tax and go out of business"? > Anyway, you can always advertise 9.99 + tax and show the actual price with tax in the store tags. Which is basically what they do now. You see the final price at the register before you pay. You also know that there is going to be sales tax, no one is being misled. Putting a different price on the tags than there is on the ad would just confuse people and make it harder to tell when you're not getting the advertised price because you have to do fractional arithmetic on every soup can and candy bar to see if it matches.
    - withinboredom 3y ago
      Don’t advertise California prices in Oregon? I was referring to city/county taxes, not state taxes. Tor example, a local city to me in the US had a total of 14% sales tax, while outside the city was 10%. Anyway, a sale’s motivation is to move products off the shelf and make room for more profitable products; they’re already losing money.
      - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
        > Don’t advertise California prices in Oregon? California borders with Oregon. Radio waves cross state lines. People see highway billboards and then drive into another state. People use the internet and you don't know where they are. > Anyway, a sale’s motivation is to move products off the shelf and make room for more profitable products; they’re already losing money. A sale's purpose is frequently to bring customers into the store to buy other products, or get customers to try a product for the first time to drive repeat business. There is also plenty of advertising that isn't discounts. Maybe your product is great and you want to inform the customer that they can get something better than the competition for the same price. Maybe you're just publishing a comprehensive price list for all your products. And in all cases, "losing money" is not a binary result. Losing a small amount, or not making as much as you wanted to, is very different from losing so much that you go out of business.

ryandrake 3y ago

Yep, this is one of those "This problem can't be solved - Says the only nation that has this problem" situations.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago

> Price tags are pretty much universally handled at the stores. Advertising isn't. If the same ad is viewable by people in different states, what price are they supposed to put on it? Shouldn't this be the same price as what they show in the stores, or else people will have trouble knowing if the advertising was deceptive? > This is a solvable problem. So much so that if you've traveled in most nations you'll see that all prices include tax. Don't most of those other nations have a uniform tax rate?

withinboredom 3y ago
I have no idea what you are going on about. If you advertise 9.99, it’s 9.99. Sales tax isn’t THAT different between jurisdictions, so we are talking about the seller having to lose a small percentage of margin. Sales are mostly about moving items, so they are already losing huge margins at that point anyway. Anyway, you can always advertise 9.99 + tax and show the actual price with tax in the store tags.
- AnthonyMouse 3y ago
  > Sales tax isn’t THAT different between jurisdictions, so we are talking about the seller having to lose a small percentage of margin. California has a 7.25% sales tax. Oregon has a 0% sales tax. A 7.25% difference is larger than the entire net margin on many products. > Sales are mostly about moving items, so they are already losing huge margins at that point anyway. It seems like we've now gone from "there is no reason they can't do this" to "the merchant can just eat the sales tax and go out of business"? > Anyway, you can always advertise 9.99 + tax and show the actual price with tax in the store tags. Which is basically what they do now. You see the final price at the register before you pay. You also know that there is going to be sales tax, no one is being misled. Putting a different price on the tags than there is on the ad would just confuse people and make it harder to tell when you're not getting the advertised price because you have to do fractional arithmetic on every soup can and candy bar to see if it matches.
  - withinboredom 3y ago
    Don’t advertise California prices in Oregon? I was referring to city/county taxes, not state taxes. Tor example, a local city to me in the US had a total of 14% sales tax, while outside the city was 10%. Anyway, a sale’s motivation is to move products off the shelf and make room for more profitable products; they’re already losing money.
    - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
      > Don’t advertise California prices in Oregon? California borders with Oregon. Radio waves cross state lines. People see highway billboards and then drive into another state. People use the internet and you don't know where they are. > Anyway, a sale’s motivation is to move products off the shelf and make room for more profitable products; they’re already losing money. A sale's purpose is frequently to bring customers into the store to buy other products, or get customers to try a product for the first time to drive repeat business. There is also plenty of advertising that isn't discounts. Maybe your product is great and you want to inform the customer that they can get something better than the competition for the same price. Maybe you're just publishing a comprehensive price list for all your products. And in all cases, "losing money" is not a binary result. Losing a small amount, or not making as much as you wanted to, is very different from losing so much that you go out of business.