shallow - 12:57 am on Jun 13, 2011 (gmt 0)

But for now, my guess is it's still worthwhile to them, but not at the expense of the accounting, administration and theoretical lost sales* Amazon would have to deal with if they complied with the states. *I say theoretical because maybe it's just the area I'm in, but paying sales tax won't change my Amazon shopping habits a bit. Not unless the stores in my area want to start stocking a decent selection at affordable prices... which of course they won't.

Maybe the stores can't start stocking a decent selection at affordable prices because of their "expense of the account, administration and theoretical lost sales."

The fact of the matter is that stores like Best Buy do now offer a larger selection online, in addition to what they sell in their stores. But they still have all the administrative and other costs including collecting sales tax. So, it seems to me, they and other online retailers are at an unfair disadvantage.

Believe me, I'm not a fan of too many taxes, but I do want things to be equitable.