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Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

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Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#291

Post by breadwinner »

pentamassiv wrote: post #198
breadwinner wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some sectors have been doing this for years - "service fees" at restaurants... If the additional fees is government-forced, such as taxes, then it makes sense to display it separately. You are throwing government-forced costs and regular business costs in the same bucket. If tariffs should be included in the listed price then why not taxes?

I think they want the price to be the amount they will have to pay to get the item or service. On the bill you can then split up the price into taxes, tariffs and whatever else you want so they are not thrown into the same bucket. That way there's no surprise at the checkout and you still see how much of the money goes to whom. It works very well in the rest of the world

The reason that works in the rest of the world is, taxes are the same throughout the country. For example in the UK, the standard VAT rate (20%) applies uniformly to most goods, throughout the UK. So the price can be printed on the label. In the US some states have no sales tax at all, for example Oregon.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#292

Post by tbatchelli »

CamelCamelCamel records the prices over time of items in Amazon. It's helpful because they fluctuate quite a bit, so you can tell when you might be overpaying. In any case, that can be the database of record for the tariff effects if Amazon does not itemize the tariff costs.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#293

Post by skeletal88 »

xienze wrote: post #237
ceejayoz wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other countries have states and cities, too. (And in the fast food example, the customer's home location doesn't matter. The store's does.)

But do they have the same kind of state and local sales tax rules that we do? Again, _you can't know the price to display if you don't know where exactly in the country the package is going_. It is not possible to display the "final price" in US online stores ahead of checkout unless the user is already logged in AND the shipping address is the same as where the user lives. The juice is not worth the squeeze for onli…

In the EU, when I go to some online shop it first lets me chooose my language (and country), then it displays all the prices with the correct VAT amount.

You in the US keep saying "we are so special, so it is impossible to change things for the better in any way". While other countries also have complex rules for similar things yet they still manage to provide a better experience for shoppers, citizens, sick people - everyone.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#294

Post by Yeul »

sowbug wrote: post #145
zmgsabst wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think that would backfire: I see two items for $5, but when I add the imported one, suddenly it costs more — and Amazon didn’t tell me that ahead of time or give me any way to choose the one without tariffs on the grid/list view. This makes tariffs more effective because they can’t bump the domestic price to match — while giving customers a negative chock each time they choose an importer for a product.

You say this as if the domestic seller wouldn't also raise prices.

I certainly would! If the foreign competition is now cut off I'd raise prices just below them. To do otherwise would be stupid.

This is were tariffs can go horribly wrong: it destroys the incentive for competition between companies.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#295

Post by CamperBob2 »

ericmay wrote: post #63
alphabetting wrote: post #43

Over half of Amazon's third party sellers are Chinese companies who regularly false report to dodge tariffs on their products in ways that American competitors can't. Amazon claims to police them but they're extremely reliant on them at this point and the Chinese sellers just start up new brands if penalized. https://x.com/zackkanter/status/1908343624464576666

The best way to avoid this kind of behavior is to avoid shopping at stores where you can’t trace the origin of their products. Stop buying “brands”, and looking for “deals” and acting like a consumer. Do research and find high quality products, pay more for those products, buy less disposable junk. This isn’t just a “China” thing it’s in general.

No, the best way to avoid this kind of behavior is to refrain from incentivizing it with misguided, poorly-thought-out, and anticapitalistic trade policy.

Smuggling is the world's second-oldest profession. Trade finds a way.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#296

Post by pessimizer »

reverendsteveii wrote: post #215

"This is hostile and political." --The President. No, Really. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/white-house-blasts-amazon-ov...

I mean, it is a manufactured story that Amazon denies. It was obviously crafted as a hostile political act by whoever made it up (or exaggerated a random remark someone made.)

I don't understand your point. Am I supposed to be shocked that people could be politically hostile towards Trump? Am I supposed to be shocked that his press secretary accused Amazon of being politically hostile towards Trump? Is there a new "norm" of Presidents never accusing critics of being hostile or trying to score political points?

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#297

Post by Maken »

Eisenstein wrote: post #254
ceejayoz wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sales tax cannot be per-calculated, since it is charged on the total sale. Most of the developed world pre-calculates sales tax. If McDonalds charges you $10.32 in Australia, the government gets $0.84(8181812...) of it. Rounding isn't an issue because you don't write a check for each individual $0.84(8181812...), you pay them the aggregate amount on a regular basis.

Here is a list of 20 district sales taxes in California alone (out of ~150). Los Angeles County Measure H: 0.25%, 10-01-2017 to 03-31-2025 City of Orland Transactions and Use Tax: 0.50%, 04-01-2017 to 03-31-2025 Rio Dell City Transactions and Use Tax: 1.00%, 04-01-2015 to 12-31-2024 City of El Monte Transactions and Use Tax: 0.50%, 04-01-2009 to 03-31-2025 City of San Pablo Reduction Transactions and Use Tax: 0.25%,…

Are those based on the location of the seller or the location of the buyer?

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#298

Post by mrits »

littlestymaar wrote: post #283
mrits wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price fluctuation doesn't usually depend on market demand or natural disasters. How you got that idea is beyond me.

I've been convinced for a while that teaching economics broadly is a mistake, people who have taken a minimum amount of economics class do in fact understand less how the economy works than people who don't…

People that actually have ran a business and priced stuff generally have a better idea of how pricing works

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#299

Post by indoordin0saur »

Clubber wrote: post #289
indoordin0saur wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes, good point. I suspect the numbers won't be precise. This has to be illegal. You can't slap on a $20 sales tax fee at the end when it's actually $12 and pocket the difference as profit.

This isn't sales tax, this is tariff. Not sure if they are any laws regarding that or not. It might be like shipping and handling: $20. The shipping is probably $5, the handling is $15. The handling is just a fee they charge to sell it to you. They want you to think it's shipping that's why they put "shipping" first. Uber Eats calls it "taxes and other fees," which are mostly fees, but they want you to think it's tax…

Even if they can get away with it I don't think this will work so well. So upon check out you're just getting a fee and sometimes it's egregiously high and sometimes it is nonexistent? If you're buying a $100 item (and let's say a $50 cost basis) that has three versions: US made, Japanese made and Chinese made you could get a $0 fee, a $5 or a $50 fee. And at the same time you know that retailers could be just completely making up the tariff fee because there is absolutely no regulation or accountability? Seems like a very fast way to completely lose the trust of your customers.

Re: Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers

#300

Post by bluGill »

ceejayoz wrote: post #262
Eisenstein wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a list of 20 district sales taxes in California alone (out of ~150). Los Angeles County Measure H: 0.25%, 10-01-2017 to 03-31-2025 City of Orland Transactions and Use Tax: 0.50%, 04-01-2017 to 03-31-2025 Rio Dell City Transactions and Use Tax: 1.00%, 04-01-2015 to 12-31-2024 City of El Monte Transactions and Use Tax: 0.50%, 04-01-2009 to 03-31-2025 City of San Pablo Reduction Transactions and Use Tax: 0.25%,…

Yes. This is silly. We should change it. (But it's largely an issue for online sales, not physical locations. The McDonalds in San Anselmo, barring The Big One, stays in San Anselmo.) See also: American healthcare, college, etc. "Our setup is absurdly complex in bad ways" is not an argument for keeping that setup, it's an argument for making fixes.

There are pros and cons. this system means a town isn't limited as to income because someone else won't allow the tax they want to pay
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