Taxation Saga Continues — Overstock.com Drops New York Affiliates

We wrote earlier about the “Taxation Problem” New Yorkers are facing with Amazon. The state enacted a law that requires Amazon affiliates residing in the state to pay sales tax. Amazon subsequently brought the issue to court challenging the law which was supposed to bring about $50 million to the $122 billion state budget recently signed by Gov. David A. Paterson.

The law of course doesn’t apply only to Amazon affiliates, any merchants that reside in New York and have affiliation with an out of state company will be required to pay sale tax come June 1. We just learned that Overstock, another big online retailer, is taking the issue to heart. Instead of fighting it though they chose to vote with their money and recently sent an email to all the affiliates residing in New York effectively terminating their agreement with the company.

It sounds like these events precede a bigger storm around online taxation. States are known to follow each others’ steps just as other merchants might choose to abandon states enacting these laws. This can’t be good either for merchants or states, nor it is good for the consumers. Our guess is it all will depend on how the issue plays out in the courts for Amazon in the upcoming months.

Source: NY’s “Amazon Tax” Takes First Casualty: Overstock Affiliates at TechCrunch

Add commentMay 15th, 2008

Walmart’s $4 Perscription Plan now includes OTC Drugs

Walmart continues it’s aggressive pricing on drugs by now including over 1,000 over the counter medications for only $4 or less. If that weren’t enough, they are also making some drugs available in a 90 day supply for $10, reports Reuters.

“We expect that today’s extension will generate additional pharmacy volume for the company, especially given the current weak consumer environment and rising health-care costs,” wrote Uta Werner, a retail analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, in a research note.

While this is bad news to competitors like Kmart and Target, this is great news for consumers. Hopefully this will spark more competition, driving prices down even further.

Add commentMay 6th, 2008

Philips Pulls out of US HDTV Market creating incredible bargains!

Philips Outlet announced that they would be pulling out of the US market for HDTVs, and begin licensing it’s brands (Magnavox and Philips) to maker Funai starting on September 1st.

All of this has generated some incredible bargains on HDTV’s, like this 47″ 1080P HDTV for only $750 + $29 shipping!

You might also want consider a LCD warranty from Squaretrade.com for fifty percent off with coupon code FIFTYOFF

Add commentApril 28th, 2008

Understanding “refurbished” — practical shopping tips

I’m going to discuss a dirty word in the deals business, or for that matter in the electronics retailing world. The dirty word is “Refurbished” or “Refurb” or “Remanufactured” or any other synonym retailers use to describe electronics that have been repaired at some point. Dictionary.com defines refurbished as “To make clean, bright, or fresh again; renovate”, when thinking of it that way, I feel much better about it

Refurbished products offer a great money saving opportunity but you should use it wisely. Understanding why products end up being refurbished can be helpful in the process. Here some common reasons:

1. It was returned by the customer within the allotted time frame. These products must be sold as “open box” or refurbished if there was some damage.
2. The product packaging was damaged during shipping to the merchant, in this case the retailer simply sends it back because they can’t sell products which have damaged packaging. If the manufacturer finds the product is also damaged, it becomes refurbished.
3. There was a defect during production.
4. It was a demo unit that was damaged, or need some cleanup by the manufacturer.
5. Overstock items are also sometimes labeled as refurbished.

There are a few important things that you should look for when buying a refurbished product. These may help avoid the headaches of dealing with potential repairs or other nuisances.

1. Inspect the warranty offered. Make sure it has at least a 45 day parts and labor warranty. This is key for buying a refurbished product.
2. Buy refurbished products from an authorized retailer. So if they are hawking a Sony product, do some research and make sure they authorized.
3. Study their return policy? Is there a restocking fee? How much time do you have to return. Some retailers do not offer money back on refurbished products, only exchanges.
4. Do they offer an extended warranty for a few extra bucks?
5. Read customer reviews. Many sites that sell a lot of refurbished good like Tigerdirect, even have reviews for refurbished products.

I personally love refurbished electronics! I’ve purchased a refurbished HDTV, refurbished iPod Nano, and a refurbished desktop computer. Here are some of my top picks for refurbished deals:

• Refurbished iPod Nano : I have bought 2 refurbished ipods from Apple, and the quality is nothing less than “new.” I’ve never had a problem with them.
• Refurbished Dell Computers: I purchased a refurbished Dell Desktop from the Dell Outlet 2 years ago which I’m still using today. Not only are they great deals, Dell often has coupons to sweeten the deals.
• Refurbished MacBook: I’m writing this article on it right now! It’s awesome, and the deals can get as a low as $799 for a MacBook. Again these laptops look and work like new.
• Refurbished HDTV’s: I purchased a refurbished LCD HDTV from Tigerdirect a couple of years ago, and it still runs without any problems. If you don’t like Tiger, Newegg has plenty of great deals on refurbished TVs too.

In conclusion, refurbished products offer great savings for those willing ignore the stigma of buying a refurbished product. If you are smart about it and do your homework, there is no reason you can’t enjoy a refurbished product for many many years to come.

3 commentsApril 25th, 2008

Skype to offer unlimited international calling for $9.95/month

Reuters reports that in addition to unlimited long distance plans currently available for $2.95 Skype will offer unlimited international calling for a flat fee of $9.95 a month. The new plan includes 34 countries but as other service providers start to offer similar deals, I really expect it to grow. Listed below are the destinations currently covered. For more details go to the plan page at Skype.com

Related deal: D-Link DPH-50U Skype USB Phone Adapter for $14.99 after rebate

Add commentApril 21st, 2008