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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
On Sept. 12th, Amazon will lose the patent to its 1-Click feature it filed almost 20 years ago. According to thirtybees, it will be a game changer in e-commerce as any vendor will have access to the feature and will shape the future of e-commerce in the coming years . Amazon applied for the patent back 1997, but was granted the rights in 1999. The company has gone to court defending the validity of patent over the years. Plenty of web retailers are preparing for the expiration. My advice hide your wallets.
What next? The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is in the process of drafting a set of specifications for consistently implementing one-click purchases. Involved with the drafting are Google, Apple, and Facebook. This would involve storing credit card numbers and address information in your browser and having your browser communicate directly with the payment gateway. Some of the standards have already been implement in Google's Chrome and Chrome Mobile browsers.
Source: https://www.hardocp.com/news/2017/08/18/amazons_1click_patent_expires_next_month/
(Score: 1) by Virindi on Monday August 21 2017, @06:12PM (2 children)
Yes. The United States has no federal sales or value added tax. Some states have a sales tax, others do not.
For those who live in a state with sales tax, it applies* to internet sales when the business making the sale has a business presence in the buyer's state. Amazon sales require Amazon to collect tax in a large number of states, because they have a large number of warehouses. HOWEVER, third party sellers on Amazon go by the seller's business presence. So generally when buying on Amazon from Amazon I pay sales tax, but usually I do not from third party sellers.
Whether sales tax applies is not something I see until I hit "checkout" and look at the total (then it lists taxes). So yes, the amount I pay when ordering on Amazon is unpredictable if I skip checkout. If someone wanted to save that ~5-8% it is even conceivable that a third party seller who doesn't have the lowest listed price results in the lowest total cost. But you don't see that until you check out.
*Technically what this means is that if a business does not have a presence in a state, they are not forced to COLLECT sales tax. Often as a buyer it is your responsibility to then independently report the purchase on your taxes at the end of the year and pay it directly to the state. Pretty much nobody does this, except maybe on very large purchases like cars. (Some states have separate rules to try to force their citizens to pay tax on vehicles they buy out of state, which take effect when you try to register the vehicle.)
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday August 22 2017, @06:27AM (1 child)
Poor folks! Here in UK, we have sales tax (VAT) added to the list price - and it is a round 20 % for everything.
(Score: 1) by Virindi on Tuesday August 22 2017, @07:55AM
Yeah, I think I'd rather pay 0% than 20%, and I'd rather it be an additional line item (if I have to pay the 5%) than have it hidden in the price. :D
Hiding taxes from the payer is pretty scummy, they do that with gasoline taxes here. And income tax of course.