Heritage Shipping

[Yoda]

Simply because I wanted to use my credit card when I couldn't use Pay Pal and didn't want to write any kind of check. It seemed reasonable to me, and if Heritage didn't want to eat the 3% charged by Visa then that is just a business decision that is hardly customer friendly. I believe they are big enough with real deep pockets to afford it. Sometimes business models need to be tweaked.

[jcc6252]

There is not a 3% credit card charge below $2,500. Above it, there is. Like others, my biggest complaint is the shipping. I don't care how well packed the cards are, they simply gouge you, especially for small purchases. I also don't like the fact that they have used USPS free boxes inside their outside box, that's illegal.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Simply because I wanted to use my credit card when I couldn't use Pay Pal and didn't want to write any kind of check. It seemed reasonable to me, and if Heritage didn't want to eat the 3% charged by Visa then that is just a business decision that is hardly customer friendly. I believe they are big enough with real deep pockets to afford it. Sometimes business models need to be tweaked.

The reason that most retail businesses or restaurants eat the credit card fees is because they are generally operating with gross margins at 50% or better. An auction house is working with a gross margin as low as 20%, so “eating” 3 pts represents a significant (15%) profit hit. Big or small, it wouldn’t be fiscally prudent to take that hit off the top.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

The reason that most retail businesses or restaurants eat the credit card fees is because they are generally operating with gross margins at 50% or better. An auction house is working with a gross margin as low as 20%, so “eating” 3 pts represents a significant (15%) profit hit. Big or small, it wouldn’t be fiscally prudent to take that hit off the top.

Sam, good point. But for me when I add up all the extras, it is hard to be a competitive bidder, particularly when you consider a Fl sales tax of 6.5% and now to pay another 3% for the privilege of using my Visa card. Heritage has my money, rightfully so, but there are many who always will wait until the last minute and send in a paper check without penalty.

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by Yoda

...it is hard to be a competitive bidder, particularly when you consider a Fl sales tax of 6.5%...

John - everyone has to live by their state's laws. Whether Heritage collects the state tax or you pay it yourself, what does it matter?

[Yoda]

Rob, you are right, of course, but it is still a bummer when the point of sale is Texas and I live in Florida. It puts me at a competitive disadvantage in Heritage auctions compared to somebody, say, in South Dakota, particularly if I wish to use my Visa cards for payment and he/she pays by check. Still if you have to get the card then none of that really matters.

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by Yoda

It puts me at a competitive disadvantage in Heritage auctions compared to somebody, say, in South Dakota, particularly if I wish to use my Visa cards for payment and he/she pays by check.

How so? South Dakota charges sales/use tax, about the same % as Florida. Just because Heritage does not collect it on behalf of the state does not mean that it does not have to be paid.

[Yoda]

Well, because Heritage has an office in Florida, which I guess gives a Texas company the right to charge Fl sales tax. I doubt they have an office in South Dakota. I don't understand it but I guess that is the law. And yes it is a real office here in Palm Beach. I have been down there and kicked the tires. It is not a PO box.

[bensie]

Originally Posted by robertsmithnocure

How so? South Dakota charges sales/use tax, about the same % as Florida. Just because Heritage does not collect it on behalf of the state does not mean that it does not have to be paid.

Lol, get real. Nobody is paying sales tax that isn't collected from heritage. Right it wrong, that's the reality, so people in FL are very much at a disadvantage.

[Jenx34]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Rob, you are right, of course, but it is still a bummer when the point of sale is Texas and I live in Florida. It puts me at a competitive disadvantage in Heritage auctions compared to somebody, say, in South Dakota, particularly if I wish to use my Visa cards for payment and he/she pays by check. Still if you have to get the card then none of that really matters.

The point of sale is not the determining factor for sales tax, it is the point of delivery. That's why the sales tax is different in different states because it is determined by where it is delivered.

Well, because Heritage has an office in Florida, which I guess gives a Texas company the right to charge Fl sales tax. I doubt they have an office in South Dakota. I don't understand it but I guess that is the law. And yes it is a real office here in Palm Beach. I have been down there and kicked the tires. It is not a PO box.

The law is this. Any company sending merchandise obtained via internet is required to collect sales tax for that state if it has a physical presence in that state. If they do not, they are not required to collect sales tax. If you are in FL, the tax Heritage collects goes to the state of Florida.

Because of political pressures, most major companies (Amazon, primarily) now have agreements with most states to collect tax. The reason it has not been required is because tax laws are different in every state and it was considered too big a burden on a company to have to understand and comply with all states laws.

An example: Alabama has a 4% state sales tax and each county and city have their own. There is a roughly 10-15 mile stretch in the Birmingham area, where you could be in Jefferson or Shelby County, in city municipalities of Birmingham, Cahaba Heights, Vestavia Hills, Hoover or unincorporated areas in both counties. So in unincorporated Shelby Co sales tax is 5%. In the city of Birmingham/Jefferson Co, you pay 10%. Other combinations can make the tax 6%. 8% or 9%. That's just within a 10-15 mile stretch! Do to that craziness, the state came up with an 8% agreement with Amazon, so technically if you live in certain areas you could be getting overcharged or undercharged.

Hope that helps


Ultimately, legally everyone in every state is legally required to pay the tax whether the seller collects it. But we all know that doesn't happen.