Maximum PC retailers RSS Feed

Dell PCs Bought from Third-party Retailers Might be Ineligible for Windows 7 Upgrade

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:54:32 -0500

All Dell PCs bought after 29 June, 2009 are eligible for a complimentary Windows 7 upgrade, according to a recent announcement by the floundering PC maker. But Dell forgot to mention that in case of PCs bought from brick-and-mortar stores, the date of purchase, in context of this offer, is that date when the third-party retailer bought the PC from Dell. As this date invariably precedes the actual date of purchase – the date on which the PC is bought by the customer, it can potentially render many customers ineligible for the free Windows 7 upgrade. Dell is avowedly aware of the problem and currently working toward a solution.

Brick and Mortar Sales Plummet, but Online Holds its Ground

Justin Kerr — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:38:09 -0600

This might not surprise anyone, but it turns out even the steep price cuts retailers used to entice consumers wasn’t enough to offset the sputtering North American economy. This holiday season – which typically accounts for around 30 to 50 per cent of a retailers total sales, was a bust that rippled across every retail sector. According to preliminary data released by SpendingPulse – a division of MasterCard, total retail sales slipped 2 to 4 per cent. While the electronics sector’s slip of 26.7% sounds substantial, it can’t even hold a torch to luxury item’s such as jewelry which sank almost 35%.

On a more positive note, online retailer Amazon.com said its 2008 holiday sales were its “best ever”. The retailer reportedly received orders for over 6.4 million items. This is good news for Amazon, and helps to back up claims from SpendingPulse’s which showed that more and more, consumers are making the switch to shopping online. Overall online sales declined a meager 2.3 percent from the previous year, however this is in stark contrast to 2007 when e-commerce grew almost 22.4 per cent. With big name brick and mortar retailers such as Circuit City already facing bankruptcy, weak holiday sales might see even more blood shed in the retail sector come January.

The clock is ticking, and the boxing week picture is not yet clear, but it remains to be seen what if anything will put retailers back in the black.

(Image Credit: Wall Street Journal)

Retailers Support Stringent Legislations for Combating Online Sale of Stolen Goods

Pulkit Chandna — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:24:14 -0500

Online auction/shopping websites have been around for a long time. However, the proverbially long reach of the law hasn’t been observed when it comes to online stores for all these years. The absence of stern laws has fostered an illegitimate industry that has proved to be very profitable for thieves and charlatans galore, besides being less perilous then drug trade and other illegal businesses.

But online sellers dealing in stolen goods might soon be stymied by three new legislations, the E-fencing Enforcement Act, Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008 and Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008. These bills are intended to combat Organized Retail Crime (ORC). There are numerous online sellers that are comfortably selling huge volumes of stolen goods – stolen directly from retailers – through popular websites like eBay.

If these bills get a nod from lawmakers, online stores and resellers will be required to disclose the contact information of any seller with annual earnings in excess of $12K to any competent party (retailer) that makes a request for such info. This will allow retailers to catch unscrupulous sellers red-handed. The proposed legislations will also put the onus of scrutinizing sellers on online stores. The National Retail Federation has placed its support behind the bills. What about you? Share your thoughts.

Online Shoppers Beware! Internet Might Not Always Be a Tax Haven

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:14:55 -0500

The days of tax-free purchases for online shoppers are numbered, feel many experts. A new law in New York has made sales tax mandatory on internet purchases. This has widened the grin on the faces of offline store managers in the state, who expect some internet shoppers to turn their attention and wallets towards them. New York might have just shown the way to other states that are deliberating upon ways to tax online purchases.

Why is the internet still miraculously tax-free? : It isn’t that internet has evaded the hawkish gaze of tax-hungry politicians but they haven’t simply been able to find effective ways to tax online purchases. The problem stems from the internet being nebulous – without any form or bounds. It is difficult for a state to first establish its jurisdiction in cyberspace and then to exercise it without a conflict with other states. The conundrum of multiple taxes on a single online purchase has been difficult for lawmakers to solve. Maybe these states can take a cue from New York.

The current law in New York and its merits: The new rule that took effect on June 1, 2008 makes it mandatory for all online retailers that are present in the state to charge sales tax on online purchases made by New Yorkers. However, before this rule, online retailers that had no offline stores like Amazon didn’t collect sales tax, while major retailers like Wal-Mart with both a physical and web presence charged sales tax even on online sales. The new rule in New York has easily done away with the disparity between the two. And this is one reason why the New York model can be replicated in other states.

Why tax internet purchases? : Just for the very reason any other purchase is taxed. Taxes help us effectively participate in a democracy and are a major source of income for any government. Anyways, democratic rhetoric apart, taxing online sales will create a level playing field between ‘brick and mortar’ stores and online retailers. Online purchases were roughly worth $136 billion in the U.S last year and are growing rapidly. The figures are donning serious proportions and appear very salivating to the taxmen.

Shoppers are not the only whiners: Yes, Shoppers are not the only one’s that are complaining but online retailers are also annoyed with the new laws. Amazon is very annoyed by the sales tax now being levied on internet purchases in New York. In fact this even led the media to dub the new tax the “Amazon Tax”.

You can still afford a toll-free smile: Because most US states still don’t levy such taxes on online purchases and if you are fortunate enough to be living in one of those states you can continue to make hay until the sun shines.