Confessions of a Shopaholic

It's needless to say that ever since the Amazon appeared in about 1995 i have been admiring the world of online shopping. There is nothing better than sitting in the comfort of your home while ordering a new TV, a blu-ray player and a movie. Why not add a box of popcorn some paper towels and 24 pack of coke i click submit sit back and within 48 hours (I'm an Amazon Prime member) i can sit back and watch my movie on my new TV and blu-ray player. 

And if being able to shop from the comfort of your home doesn't completely  reel you in then maybe the cheaper rates will. Many times online on websites like amazon you can find the same products for cheaper or sold in bulk and tax free..... up until now. 

Up until now stores like Amazon have not been adding sales tax to orders but the state of California has been one of the states to change that. Online shoppers found themselves scurrying to make their order before midnight on September 14th. Not only will Amazon be adding taxes but they have agreed to open two distribution centers in the state creating more than 1,000 jobs for Californians. Consumers can expect that other states will follow in this manner and implement the sales taxes as well. The state of California expects this change to bring the state from 80million to 100million a year. The states believe they lose 11.5billion dollars in taxes that are not collected each year (Blackstone)

The states that already collect sales tax from amazon include :
Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Washington. And by 2013 states of Virginia and New Jersey are expected to join in as well. 


Now the question most consumers will be asking themselves, is it worth the wait? If the product im looking to buy is $5.00 cheaper online and i'll be taxed and have to wait at least 48 hours to receive it, wouldn't i just rather go to the store and buy it? I consider myself to be part of a thrifty generation but i also fall in the instant gratification generations, we want it now and we want it quick! So which will it be, are you thrifty ? are you instant?


Further reading:

http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/2012/09/will-amazon-be-next-walmart-new-tax.html


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505268_162-57512862/calif-law-ends-tax-free-shopping-for-amazon.com-other-online-retailers/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303644004577525070594717752.html

A Different Campaign

The other day while catching up a on one of my favorite shows on www.hulu.com online a commercial caught my eye. I guess i could say this commercial caught my attention many times as it was replayed during the entire show, "My name is Bill and I'm a Mormon". Online advertisement for our republican candidate Mitt Romney. At that moment i noticed all the subliminal messages going around on the Internet.

We are a generation powered by social media, the internet drives us all and candidates are aware of that. They are spending great amount of money on online videos and advertisements. The most recent information provided by CNN news informs that Obama has surpassed Romney's online spending campaign, he has spent roughly $16.4million dollars on online ads. Is this a smart move? Many people believe it is, it's a great way to reach the young population through youtube vides, tweets, Facebook and advertisements on websites. Online advertisement reaches everyone this year people not only had the option of viewing the debate on television but it was advertised and viewed online. Clips were cut and placed on youtube, comments were written online debates between voters were exchanged. The internet has made the elections grow in a way that might have been unthinkable in prior years. It has reached out to a younger crowd that has not been as involved in previous years. The amount of young voters has been increasing since 2000 and at 2008 it reached an all time high with a 51% of young population voting. So online advertising seems to be working right??


It's important to take into account that just like I am currently writing this article freely online many of the advertisements we might be seeing are being freely written by biased voters trying to get their candidate ahead. While the beauty of the internet is the ability to freely right and express your thoughts it is important to take this into account when looking at advertisements if they do not state they are endorsed by the candidate or do not come from a reliable page it is very likely they are not always going to be true. And even then! Hackers can breach websites and change information or ads created. So remember when surfing your favorite website if you encounter a pop up ad that you find thought provoking and interesting look a little more into it before making a judgment based on this one ad. 

Good luck to all in the future elections take advantage of this great tool we posses for information on our candidates but always remember that the truth is not always what it seems.

For further information on the matter::

http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/

For external information on vote statistics:

http://www.yda.org/resources/youth-vote-statistics/

further information on online campaigning::

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/03/politics/online-campaign-spending/index.html