When did STAPLES ONLINE start charging taxes?

[orion19981]

i avoid staples because they charges me like that too, im not for everyone sueing everyone but in this case if i coulda i woulda, what gives them the right to make a UNauthized charge? i see NO reason for that, in my case long story, but it started a chain reaction that i was not vey happy about!

 

[Player]

Staples.com has ALWAYS charged sales tax when selling to a state that has sales tax. Staples.com also only delivers to states which it has operations in so this is unavoidable. States which do NOT have sales tax are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon so if you live in one of those states, you're in luck. Refer to The Sales Tax Clearinghouse for a map of relative state to state sales taxes.

There are also some people in Massachusetts have not been charged sales tax on various orders. Staples corporate headquarters is located in Massachusetts. On occasion, Staples will pay the sales tax for the customer as part of a retail or state government sponsored promotion.

The hot deals are usually still hot with sales tax.

 

[Player]

Actually, in this case, what gave them the right to charge his card was the return. It was not unauthorized. Basically, this person did two returns. He returned his Palm m130 for $300 AND he returned his $40 coupon credit. Orders from Staples Direct and Staples.com are often broken up because they come from various internal operating companies and it's a lot easier to manage the paperwork this way than to have some sort of centralized allocation. I don't even see the arguement for a complaint unless they overcharge or underrefund you. I've kept close tabs on my Staples orders and it has never been the case.



<< i avoid staples because they charges me like that too, im not for everyone sueing everyone but in this case if i coulda i woulda, what gives them the right to make a UNauthized charge? i see NO reason for that, in my case long story, but it started a chain reaction that i was not vey happy about! >>

 

[NauTiKa128]

surprise this is still not locked..

 

[LarryL]

Perhaps New Hampshire does not have a normal sales tax. But we know that nothing is free. You have a room and meals tax, a poll tax, and tell me what are those taxes you pay on your car every year.

You moto may be "Live free or die." But their ain't nothing free in New Hampshire. Do you still have the head tax.

 

[xdjopmx]

i think a better question would be when hasnt staples.com charged tax!!?
Blasted staples....argh

Just a joke!...i am also suprised this hasnt been locked yet !

xdjopmx

 

[RSG2]

<< How difficult is it to automatically calculate taxes online based on state ? Most sites calculate shipping online, so I don't see how taxes would be that much more difficult. Besides, if they can make automated e-mails that figure out the tax, surely they can do it online too. >>



Actually, it can be pretty hard - it isn't always just the state tax, but some places near me also have county and city taxes levied as well. Then there are various fees that some governments levy (deposits, recycling taxes, etc.) and the equation can get pretty complicated in a hurry...

 

[Player]

If this REALLY concerns you, next time (assuming there is such a time) return your product to a Staples B&M store. This is allowed according to the Staples Return Policy. This way, you can be sure of the credit amounts. There also might be the possibility that the sales associate might forget to deduct the coupon in the return... but of course any "honest" customer would let them know right away and have them correct that.



<< I had used a $40 off coupon for anything over $200, so the $280 m130 was $240 (+ $20 taxes) and shipping was free. I checked my credit card statement online the day after I asked for a refund and Staples added $40 onto my credit card!. This was on top of the $260 that was already there. I called and asked why, and they gave me some run-around story on how I got $40 off so they had to add it back on and they'll credit me for the entire $300. But I'm wondering, if my total at Staples was only $260, why couldn't they just refund me the $260? Why did they need to charge me the $40 and credit me $300 instead? >>

 

[GetReal]

<<

<< How difficult is it to automatically calculate taxes online based on state ? Most sites calculate shipping online, so I don't see how taxes would be that much more difficult. Besides, if they can make automated e-mails that figure out the tax, surely they can do it online too. >>



Actually, it can be pretty hard - it isn't always just the state tax, but some places near me also have county and city taxes levied as well. Then there are various fees that some governments levy (deposits, recycling taxes, etc.) and the equation can get pretty complicated in a hurry... >>



...Plus the majority of Staples.com sales are not from insignificant Internet deal hunters. Legitimate busness customers can have complex delivery situations setup with their Staples corporate accounts where their exact state & local sales tax liability is not evident until order fulfillment. Staples also supplies a large number of state,local agencies that are tax exempt as well as government agencies that work off of GSA schedules and pay no sales tax on their orders. Add all of this to the fact that Staples ships from multiple fulfillment warehouses across the US and what appears to be a simple tax calculation at first can be quite complicated.