Update on the Marketplace Fairness Act

We recently reported on the upcoming Marketplace Fairness Act that was coming up for consideration in the U.S. Senate.

Here’s an update from The Consumerist:

Senate Signs Off On Marketplace Fairness Act; Online Sales Tax …

On Tuesday, May 7th, the Senate voted in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would give each state the authority to compel online businesses to collect applicable taxes. Currently, online businesses without a physical …

Although the bill passed through the Senate, it’s may have a more difficult time actually becoming a bill as not all politicians are in favor of it.

Grover Norquist Sets the Record Straight on the Marketplace Fairness Act

ATR President Grover Norquist appeared on Fox Business Network’s Varney & Co. to explain his opposition to legislation that would establish an Internet sales…

So how do most consumers feel about this legislation? Well, according to a study from Gamepolitics.com, here’s the answer:

“If the Marketplace Fairness Act that was enthusiastically passed in the Senate earlier this month were to somehow end up becoming the law of the land (through some sort of divine intervention in the House where it will likely stall for lack of support, in my opinion) then 44 percent would cut back on buying products online. This is according to data from a study sponsored by electronic postage software company Endicia and posted on Mashable.

The study also found that 75 percent of participants ages 18- 25 would cut back on Internet buying and instead shop at local brick-and-mortar stores. This is interesting because that is exactly what members of the National Retail Federation were hoping to hear. The trade group that represents traditional brick-and-mortar retailers has long argued that online retailers have an unfair advantage over traditional retailers because customers don’t have to pay sales tax..

Overall 61 percent of participants said that they disagreed with the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), while 39 percent had a favorable reaction. Around 60 percent said that they believe that the bill becoming law would be bad for economic growth. Finally 42 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Democrats agreed with the bill, while 34 percent of Republicans said the bill was a good idea.”

Hopefully, some common sense will prevail before this bill gets any further along.

The Marketplace Fairness Act: Great for Retail 1%ers, Bad for Small Online Businesses

This week, the Senate will vote on The Marketplace Fairness Act. This bill will help the top 1% of online retail businesses by forcing smaller companies like Business-Supply.com to raise prices to cover the administrative costs of collecting more sales tax. Early indications are that the bill will pass and move on to the House. Should it get through Congress and get signed by the President, the results will be disastrous for Business Supply and thousands of other small-medium online retailers. And, it will also mean more money out of your pocket as a consumer—both in sales tax and in higher prices on products.

A quick summary of the bill: currently, online retailers are not required to collect sales tax in any state where they don’t have a physical presence.  The Marketplace Fairness Act would require sales tax to be charged on all orders regardless if the retailer has a physical presence in the state (the bill does exempt businesses which have less than $1 million in yearly out-of-state sales). The goal of the bill is to remove any ‘advantage’ that an online retailer has over a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment.

Sounds fair, huh?  Only the bill will do the opposite of what it purports: it will make the landscape unfair for small-medium businesses online and give a leg up to the retail 1%ers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart. Here’s how:

The cost of collecting sales tax on every purchase will financially cripple the small online retailer.  Currently, there are 9,600 different taxing jurisdictions in the U.S. The bill proposes to reduce that to 27, but that will still require significant resources (assuming the Government is able to figure out how to cut it to 27 jurisdictions). That means hiring an additional staff member, buying additional sales tax software, and configuring it.  You’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars—if not more—in costs.

IT resources are precious and scarce for small-medium online retailers. Integrating new tax software subscriptions into an existing Ecommerce platform takes time and a significant amount of IT resources. For retailers like us, we need to utilize those scarce IT hours for making our sites better for our customers and for innovating.  Not correcting sales tax tables.

Amazon and the other Ecommerce 1%ers know that they can absorb these costs (Amazon already has the foundation in place and sells a sales tax service to merchants) without having to pass additional costs on to the consumer.  These companies know that smaller online retailers will have to inevitably raise prices to stay compliant.  The result? More customers flocking to the retail 1%ers.

eBay’s CEO John Donahoe is leading the charge against this Bill, and I applaud his efforts. However, we disagree on one point.  Donahoe wants to raise the cap on revenue from $1 million to $10 million.  While that’s admirable, I think status quo is even better.  Why should Business Supply, eBay, or even Amazon have to spend incredible amounts of resources to collect sales taxes where they gain zero benefits?  Granted, Business Supply isn’t the one being taxed—it’s the consumer—but it sure feels like “Taxation Without Representation.”

Please let your Senator know that you don’t support this bill.

New Vendor – Boss Office Chairs

We are pleased to announce that we are now an authorized dealer for Boss Office Products, which specializes in office chairs and casegoods. Headquartered in CA, Boss specializes in the design and manufacturing of ergonomically focused office chairs and other seating products.

Most Boss products will ship in 2-3 business days, and come with a 6 year limited warranty on most chair models. We let the staff test out some of the Boss chair samples that we received, and the general consensus seemed to be they offered an excellent value for the money.

We’ll be doing some in-depth reviews of the more popular Boss chairs down the road. Until then, give Boss a look if you are in the market for a new office chair. Here’s a listing of all the Boss products we are currently carrying: Boss Office Chairs.

Workplace First Aid Kits

First aid supplies in the workplace are one of those items that you never really think about until you need it. As a matter of fact, OHSA has reported that as many of 32% of eligible businesses and companies in the U.S. don’t have an up to date first aid kit onsite.

When stocking your workplace first aid supplies, it’s a good idea to follow the recommendations by OSHA.  (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3317first-aid.pdf

OHSA recommends employer’s either give or assign a specific person in the organization the responsibility for choosing the types and amounts of first-aid supplies and for maintaining these supplies. The supplies must be adequate, should reflect the kinds of injuries that occur, and must be stored in an area where they are readily available for emergency access.

In addition to the standard first aid supplies, OHSA is also now suggesting that companies consider having an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site along with a percentage of the employees or staff with training on how to use it.

In addition to the suggested supplies for first aid, OHSA has added ten items that are listed as required supplies. The new standard also calls for the kits to be labeled with specific wordage.

The first 10 items below are considered required now:
1. Gauze pads (at least 4 x 4 inches).
2. Two large gauze pads (at least 8 x 10 inches).
3. Box adhesive bandages (band-aids).
4. One package gauze roller bandage at least 2 inches wide.
5. Two triangular bandages.
6. Wound cleaning agent such as sealed moistened towelettes.
7. Scissors.
8. At least one blanket.
9. Tweezers.
10. Adhesive tape.
11. Latex gloves.
12. Resuscitation equipment such as resuscitation bag, airway, or
pocket mask.
13. Two elastic wraps.
14. Splint.
15. Directions for requesting emergency assistance.

If you happen to be responsible for the first aid kit in your office, you have two choices:

• Create the kit by purchasing supplies individually
• Purchase a pre-prepared kit

The pre-prepared kits are the most popular option, and the model that we carry can be seen here. For larger operations, employers or management should determine how many first-aid kits are needed, and if it is appropriate to augment the kits with additional first-aid equipment and supplies. Employers who have unique or changing first-aid needs should consider upgrading their first-aid kits.

If you aren’t sure or are confused about the content of a first aid kit, consider consulting with the local fire and rescue service or emergency medical professionals.

By assessing the specific needs of their workplaces, employers can ensure the availability of adequate first-aid supplies.

The Story Behind Out of Stock Calendars

Have you ever gone to buy a calendar for the current year, only to find that it’s completely out of stock everywhere? It seems illogical, but here’s a little background information on how and why that happens.

Each year calendar manufacturers produce a certain number of calendars for the upcoming year. That number is determined by factors like past sales, market research, and projected sales. Since calendars are basically a seasonal item, most calendar sales occur a the very end of December or the beginning of January. Once the stock pile of calendars for the year are shipped to office supply vendors, which is usually completed by March, the calendar manufacturers begin working on next years models.

When the existing stock is sold, no more are produced so office supply stores are truly “out of stock” on the calendars for that year. Most calendar makers would rather estimate low on the production for the upcoming year and actually have demand exceed supply versus over estimating and having surplus calendars that equal lost revenue.

The moral of this story: Don’t wait to stock up on your calendars and calendar refills as they will be gone before you know it.