I can't see how people accept that system of pricing. Put what I pay on the tag. Put whatever you expect me to pay, and do the same on your ads. I'm capable of understanding that prices may differ place to place due to tax differences. I hate bing asked for an amount different to the tag - there is no way of telling if you're being shafted. I'm not from the US.
The problem with the US is that the sales tax can be set by three different levels of government---the state, the county and the city---for instance, the state might have a sales tax of 5%, the county none and one particular city in that county 1%. What price do you advertise for the following?
1. A country side advertising campaign?
2. A state wide advertising campaign?
3. A local newspaper that serves the county?
As odd as it seems, that's the way it is here in the States (but I can sympathize, a friend from Sweden was horribly annoyed by the differences between sticker price and final price because of the tax rate).
I'd defend the practice, but there's a certain attractiveness to just showing me what my financial liability is. You start with sales tax, then you exempt certain classes of consumer goods from sales tax, then you impose an extra eighth of a percent on purchases made within this or that economic district (usually to help finance a stadium or megamall), and pretty soon, your consumers don't have any idea what their tax liability is going to be when they check out.
Over time, one does develop a vague sense of how much their purchases will be taxed, but I would definitely support a measure that required merchants to charge no more than what's on the tag.
Comments
I can't see how people accept that system of pricing. Put what I pay on the tag. Put whatever you expect me to pay, and do the same on your ads. I'm capable of understanding that prices may differ place to place due to tax differences. I hate bing asked for an amount different to the tag - there is no way of telling if you're being shafted. I'm not from the US.
The problem with the US is that the sales tax can be set by three different levels of government---the state, the county and the city---for instance, the state might have a sales tax of 5%, the county none and one particular city in that county 1%. What price do you advertise for the following?
1. A country side advertising campaign? 2. A state wide advertising campaign? 3. A local newspaper that serves the county?
As odd as it seems, that's the way it is here in the States (but I can sympathize, a friend from Sweden was horribly annoyed by the differences between sticker price and final price because of the tax rate).
I'd defend the practice, but there's a certain attractiveness to just showing me what my financial liability is. You start with sales tax, then you exempt certain classes of consumer goods from sales tax, then you impose an extra eighth of a percent on purchases made within this or that economic district (usually to help finance a stadium or megamall), and pretty soon, your consumers don't have any idea what their tax liability is going to be when they check out.
Over time, one does develop a vague sense of how much their purchases will be taxed, but I would definitely support a measure that required merchants to charge no more than what's on the tag.