Rant on shipping

[Jstpssng]

It used to be internet purchases in WA were not sales taxed unless the business had a location in the state. You were supposed to track and report all purchases on your own from out of state sellers (few did). That all changed in 2018, we now pay sales tax on basically all internet purchases.

It's the same here. We are either supposed to report all untaxed purchases or simply tack on a percentage of our income tax.

I'm probably the only person in the state who reports, many people tell me that I'm crazy to do so.

 

[user.69169]

(removed) is and long has been in favor of full and complete reporting of taxable items.
I even encourage others to do so.

I also file on paper so government gotta read paper, enter data in der computer and file paper.

Seems like I filed about 45 years worth of forms deducting tax I paid on gasoline got burned in mowers or off road equipment.

You guys payin de tax on ebay now can thank dictator of Empire called New York.. He even charges tax on things bought from outside of country.

 

[Sigarms]

The irony is I'm guessing most of the people posting here are at least in their 30's and on up in age.

Prime example here of what is wrong with our society right here in this thread, and yet we blame the younger generation for running our country to haydes in a handbasket.

Long story short, if you want it yourself, go and pick it instead of complaining about when you're promised you're going to get something when you buy it online (and that's not even mentioning the cheap children produced by unwed marrigages who are complaining about taxes online where they buy their product).

 

[lman]

This tracking is for the same package. The package appears to be lost. It's interesting that UPS shows that it was at South Bend on 12/13, which is about 40 miles away. It then wound up in Pittsburgh(about 400 miles away) and is now at an unknown location. Next time I'll ship by Wells Fargo freight. The horses would be faster.

 

[kenmbz]

Agree with Sigarms in some respect. Was 6 weeks to get something mail order when I was a kid.
We are spoiled, but I still get upset when things go missing or get here very late when needed.

Taxes on local but not mail order made a lot of small businesses get into competition with online, and quite a few lost.

 

[goeduck]

Thats to be expected. Here you pay personal property tax on anything with tires, if it's registered, and on mobile homes.

List includes, trailers, boats, atv's, lawn mowers, trailers, tractors, rv's, campers, mobile homes, auto's and trucks, farm equipment, and heavy equipment.

I dont know a single person that claims a lawn mower, atv, tractors, or farm equipment.

About the only ones that the state can enforce is anything registered and mobile homes since it's attached to your address.

They tried to do a tax on household items, and succeeded for a short time. A class action lawsuit shut that down.

Property tax is a wealth tax and makes no sense to me. If you save and acquire you pay more taxes than people who make more money per year and blow it on drugs and fancy vacations. Then expect the government to take care of them down the road. We have high property taxes, mostly on land and homes.

 

[TractorGuy]

Yeah this is becoming more and more common and irritating. Happening more on eBay I think.

I ordered some parts from three different sellers on the 22nd. They all reported shipped on the 23rd. Got one of them today and it was missing seals that are needed for install. No matter because another supporting part that now has a UPS tracking number that says "label created" meaning it didn't ship as I was told. That one is coming out of CA so I will be lucky to get everything in January.

Then there is the problem with USPS routing. I can order something from 3-1/2 hours away and if they send it USPS it will take 4 days after it's in their possession to get it to me. Part will get sent from one city to the next and get scanned 4 times at every stop.

One item I ordered would be 3-1/2 hours away if I drove to pick it up. It has taken 3 days for it to travel 30 minutes in the wrong direction before they will route it back towards me.

As far as going to pick stuff up local goes you can't find anything local unless you live in a major city. I can't even find simple common stuff half the time.

 

[Pixguy]

A few years back the local marina, across from the local post office where I have a box sold my boat in consignment. They walked across the street to the PO and dropped it the local mail slot on Wednesday and emailed me they did so. I went to the postmaster on Saturday and asked its whereabouts and he told me even local mail is sent to the main hub for sorting 65 miles away. I finally received it on Tuesday. Six days later when all the postmaster had to do is slide it in my box. Yes, it was postmarked from the previous Wednesday. Some things are crazy and other times I tend to think it's laziness. Guaranteed if it was his 20k ck he'd of had it Wednesday evening.

 

[Jstpssng]

Last February I stopped by a realtor's office to drop off a deposit on a piece of property but nobody was around. I drove 2 blocks to the post office and dropped it in the mail. That was on Friday. They got it the following Wednesday. Their PO Box is in the same building I dropped the check into the mail.

 

[Dftodd]

Property tax is a wealth tax and makes no sense to me. If you save and acquire you pay more taxes than people who make more money per year and blow it on drugs and fancy vacations. Then expect the government to take care of them down the road. We have high property taxes, mostly on land and homes.

My actual property tax bill is cheap compared to other states.

What I pay for personal property tax on each vehicle and the landscape trailer is pretty comparable to what a registration renewal costs in other states, and less then a few of the more ridiculous rates out there. My trailer is considerably less since it has a permanent tag.

Personal property tax runs me around $230 a year. Landscape trailer is $10, truck is about $90, and my wifes car is $130. Tag renewal is $25 each for both vehicles.

Truck $115 a year total, car is $155, trailer is $10.

Personal property tax drops each year as the value of the vehicle drops. Car is brand new, so thats why it costs more.

 

[Diggin It]

For quite a few years after FedEx was created, every single piece they picked up went to Memphis for sorting. Didn't matter where it came from or was going to. There were some documentaries done on it and the mass movement of their aircraft into and out of the airport overnight.

 

[Doofy]

This Thread is Much Ado about Nothing. Shipping should return to some semblance of normal soon. With this pandemic and all the turmoil happening right now, is it really any wonder that shipping has been affected? Suck it up Buttercup. Patience is a virtue.

Very few shipping problems pre-Covid. We have become accustomed to instant gratification including ultra fast shipping. We all need to chill a little, take a deep breath and count the blessings we do have.

 

[two_bit_score]

Seems all have been hit by porch pirates this month...

Home next door... owner was out back and got notification of delivery... went to porch and nothing... I said a guy just left porch and sped off driving older gold Ford Explorer with no rear plate...

Most if not all pirates here have no visible plate... too bad no plate doesn't warrant a stop... but it doesn't 99% of time and budget set to redirect 50% of $290 million police budget.

Lots of media coverage about neighborhoods setting up cameras to turn over to law enforcement which is what my street did but police don't want video so only function is to time stamp.

Some have taken to posting on next door which has also caused problems of profiling...

I did not have any deliveries but have garage code for immediate neighbors and put packages inside...

One FedEx guy was watching me but I said I'm putting in garage and was OK...

Last Tx Legislative session made porch piracy a felony in Texas. Range from a State Jail Felony to First Degree depending on how many thefts can be proved.

Attention Porch Pirates: New TX Law Makes Package Theft A Felony

.

 

[two_bit_score]

Property tax is a wealth tax and makes no sense to me. If you save and acquire you pay more taxes than people who make more money per year and blow it on drugs and fancy vacations. Then expect the government to take care of them down the road. We have high property taxes, mostly on land and homes.

For the most part property owners are the backbone of our country. We carry the burdens of the entire system. We are also sitting ducks for the tax man.

It’s time some of that burden shift to others.

 

[ultrarunner]

Last Tx Legislative session made porch piracy a felony in Texas. Range from a State Jail Felony to First Degree depending on how many thefts can be proved.

Attention Porch Pirates: New TX Law Makes Package Theft A Felony

.

More and more to like about TX... several Silicon heavyweights moving... Chevron is expanding TX and downsizing CA world headquarters...

It's not rocket science...

 

[California]

For the most part property owners are the backbone of our country. We carry the burdens of the entire system. We are also sitting ducks for the tax man.

It’s time some of that burden shift to others.

Now you can shift some of that tax burden onto the corporations and wealthy Californians - Elon Musk etc - who are moving to Texas! Too many people in California. You can have a bunch of em. This will take some of the load off the landowners.

 

[Frankenkubota]

For quite a few years after FedEx was created, every single piece they picked up went to Memphis for sorting. Didn't matter where it came from or was going to. There were some documentaries done on it and the mass movement of their aircraft into and out of the airport overnight.

I think the founder of fed ex proposed his Memphis hub idea as a thesis paper in college or something and it was shot down by his prof?

 

[goeduck]

I think the founder of fed ex proposed his Memphis hub idea as a thesis paper in college or something and it was shot down by his prof?

It figures. Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach.

 

[Sigarms]

Agree with Sigarms in some respect. Was 6 weeks to get something mail order when I was a kid.
We are spoiled, but I still get upset when things go missing or get here very late when needed.

Taxes on local but not mail order made a lot of small businesses get into competition with online, and quite a few lost.

Don't get me wrong. If you pay extra for shipping and you have a tracking number, you should expect to see it sooner or later. I think if you spend $100 for next day air, you should see it the next day. In those cases, you have every right to be upset.

Going on 500 posts per this topic, key question is how many people didn't actually get what they ordered sooner or later? For myself, I can't really ever remember not getting anything I ordered online other than a driver getting my driveway mixed up with my neighbors (my neigbor called and told me he got it).

Fact is, people want great service, they want it at the best price (including shipping and taxes), and they want it as fast as possible.

We've got the post office running on Sunday's for Amazon apparently, we have all these sub route delivery drivers who may have no clue how to actually make a delivery (I had a young kid driving a van get stuck on my lawn because he couldn't back out of the driveway which left me scratching my head as I saw him get stuck).

Thing people forget is to run a business costs money, particularly with inventory and knowing your product. Now a days, people sell online and I'm guessing don't even stock the product but ship it from another location that the seller has no control over. Person selling from their home has almost no overhead other than I guess what they pay to be a seller (I honestly have no clue how that works, talking through my butt). People are now getting ticked that they actually have to pay tax on crap when it ships from out of your state.

If I really want something, I take the time and pick it up in person.

 

[Oaktree]

If I really want something, I take the time and pick it up in person.

But, as someone upthread noted, not all of us live where that's convenient. Downside to rural life is that shopping, restaurants, etc. are not generally part of the landscape. I for one don't have the time nor desire to drive several hours to a city where I may or may not know my way around to find a store that may or may not have what I'm looking for when I can get it on line.
If it takes a week or more to get here, that's fine.