Who doesn't think that sales tax ...

[tools*]

is having a considerable effect on eBay sales? Is that additional 5-10% making a difference?

[vintagecraze50]

Well, when I go to check out and I see the additional tax at times it makes me want to hit the back button, but mostly I think people are not too put off by it as long as the price of the item is priced well.

[heckofagame]

They pay sales tax when they shop locally, so it's just a matter of getting used to it online. Amazon has been collecting tax since day one. It doesn't seem to have held them back.

[dirk12955]

If I buy on eBay I have to pay sales tax

Same as when I go to JC Penneys

Or an Auto parts store

Or I buy a car,   boat,   camper,   Gun,  Fishing rod,  Lawn fertilizer,  Pool chemicals,  Dog food,

and an unknown endless parade of other items.

Other than a garage/yard sale or maybe a flea market,   Where can anybody 

go and NOT pay sales tax?

Not paying sales tax on online sales was a loophole that the states were bound to close.     

[monroe67]

"Other than a garage/yard sale or maybe a flea market,   Where can anybody go and NOT pay sales tax?"

Delaware.  

Which is why every Russian who has bought a product from me (in California) has used a freight forwarding company located in the state of Delaware.  

[monroe67]

When I was a little kid in the 1950s and earning candy money from raking leaves and cashing in pop bottles, I was so excited when I finally had enough to buy 25 cents worth of sugar from the corner store.   At that time, my state's sales tax was 4%.  And I had to give the nice man at the counter two dimes and six pennies -- 26 cents!  

I was a Tax Payer !!  

And I have come to accept that sales tax is added to e-v-e-r-y thing I have bought since then.   So, as an eBay buyer, no, I wasn't surprised by addition of sales tax and I don't recall deciding NOT to buy anything because I didn't want my state to get any more money.   (Which is what the sales tax is, after all:  The state gets the money.)

As an eBay seller, I have not had any buyers tell me I shouldn't charge tax or ask me to discount the price by the amount of tax.  Maybe my "customers" have similar attitudes and opinions about sales tax as mine.   

[dhbookds]

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@heckofagame wrote:

They pay sales tax when they shop locally, so it's just a matter of getting used to it online. Amazon has been collecting tax since day one. It doesn't seem to have held them back.

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errrr........no........at least I can remember when they were fighting that they only had to collect it when they had a "nexus" (physical location such as a warehouse) in the state. 

[rosszonebricks]

I sell in the range of $2-3 items.  I DO make it as easy as I can to combine shipping, etc., and offer multiple item special discounts to encourage buyers to save overall by buying multiple items at once.

However, I do still sell quite a bit of 'singles', or they buy ONE $3 item.  $3.75 shipping.  And sales tax is unfortunately applied to both the item AND shipping.

If no sales tax:   (example of 10% tax)

3.00

3.75 Shipping

----

6.75 Total

IF sales tax was item only:

3.00

0.30 Sales Tax.

3.75 Shipping.

-----

7.05 Total.

Reality:

3.00

3.75 Shipping.

0.68 Sales Tax.

-----

7.43 Total.

So perception-wise the buyer may think they are being charged 23% sales tax.   

Additionally, a repeat customer who bought the same $3 item pre-sales tax, now is charged 0.68 more, so from their point of view, it is as if I've raised my prices, but alas I have not.

So yes, I do think for my use case the broader charging of sales tax (and on the whole transaction) HAS impacted my sales.

I remind myself:

• This sales tax + sales tax on shipping applies to my competition as well.
• Charging sales tax on internet/marketplace purchases was a long long time overdue.
• This boost of sales tax does pay for wonderful things in the states like state parks, roads, education, etc.

[fuzzface50]

Are you trying to say that sales tax alone is keeping buyers from buying here? 

I would vote definately no.  I spend less here because I have basicly less left to buy things with.  Price of gas more than doubled, price of meat well I guess you might as well say most food is up, etc, what hasn't gone up?  hope no one needs a new vehicle right now. Oh yea, some of us didn't get the wage increase that others got.

Some people have decided if it isn't a necessity they are not buying it to help stretch their dollars farther.  who knows how long this will last so might as well get tight now.

With things going up so fast, it pays to shop around even online first.  a few dollars saved here and there adds up fast. I have been buying from websites I have never heard of before and getting good deals on parts I need, no longer do I go to ebay and just order, I shop around now.  Need to find those sites that have old stock laying around and don't realize what the new cost of the item is when they need to reorder the items.    They are out there, you just need to dig them up. 

so is sales tax chasing me away from here by itself, Not at all, might have a little impact but not that much seeing it is only 5-10% add-on versus just buying something from somewhere else at 50-300% less is. Anyways even when I do buy that item elsewhere, I am still paying the 5-10% sales tax anyways, 

[kensgiftshop]

I pay 10% sales tax when I go to Wally World, so paying it online doesn't make any difference to me.

I think higher shipping charges will have more of an effect then sales tax.

[luckythewinner]

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@tools* wrote:

is having a considerable effect on eBay sales? Is that additional 5-10% making a difference?

---

I think most people recognize that prices affect demand.

I believe John Locke wrote extensively about this in the 1600s, as did Adam Smith in the 1700s.

But there are still people a few who think the world is flat and that zombies and vampires are real.

[krazzykats]

Oregon,  Alaska, Montana, Delaware, and New Hampshire do not have sales tax.

[rugerskick]

Well pretty much all online marketplaces are required now to collect sales tax, so this one isn't an issue specific to just ebay.

[pburn]

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@tools* wrote:

is having a considerable effect on eBay sales? Is that additional 5-10% making a difference?

---

I don't think sales tax being assessed on online purchases makes a bit of difference at this point--maybe the first couple of months, sure, but Amazon's been collecting sales tax from me since April 1, 2017. Pretty much used to it by now.

It's the constant increases in shipping costs that have influenced my buying habits more recently.

[tools*]

So do you think a combination of the eBay final value and money processing fee, the ever-increasing cost of shipping, and sales tax are eroding the viability of the site?