Amazon Heads Up

SP:

Yes, Amazon itself.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

It ain't just the mob.

Paul K. Dickman

The political pendulum has swung back and forth long before you and I were born, and it will swing back and forth long after you and I are dead, regardless of how much we fret about it.

Either way, smoking is really bad for you.

s

I've had that happen, too. I added the thing six months earlier and never bought it. When I added another item, I found it. I believe that when you check out, though, it reverts to the current price.

Harbor Freight does that, too. Retail is $200, sale price is $180, flyer A has it for $174 in one place and $169 in another, and flyer B has it at half price. Large companies market to different groups. Your task, Grasshoppa, is to find the best price and get it for that.

I understand that feeling, but if it were my pricing, I'd want the best profit, too, unless I really wanted to land that particular sale. Amazon is too big for that, so they probably go with the current price only, unless you can point out the sale code for the lower price.

I've had excellent luck with Amazon when things went south, so I continue to use them.

I'm still pissed off at eBay and PayPal for not refunding my $150 or the bogus copy of MS Office 2007 one of their vendors sold to me. I had done a basic install and wasn't faced with any bootlegging errors, but I hadn't used the programs yet. When I did six months later, eBay and Paypal said "Sorry, Charlie, that's out of the 30 day warranty." That said, I still use both because things are priced so well and delivered so quickly that it makes sense to do so.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

Got any hard figures to go with that? I figured that if ten bucks per carton went to taxes, the average 2-pack/day smoker would contribute $730/yr for those 73 cartons. After 20 years, that's $14,600.

How much does a full diagnostic workup for cancer cost? How much to treat emphysema?

How much does a lung resection/removal cost?

you just blew THIRTY FIVE YEARS of tax payments, not including R&R time.

How much does chemo cost? Throat/mouth cancer treatments?

I think you're wishing here, mon. BTW, Federal taxes are only $6.16/carton.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

The legislators and other liberals are power mad, gone wild. Smugglers are capitalists of the purest nature. In this case, I side with the smugglers. Though I don't smoke, and am allergic to tobacco.

When the govt loses revenue to smugglers. They talk about "making up for the shortfall". However, when the common citizen has his taxes raised, his take home pay is reduced. Why don't politicians talk about "making up for the shortfall" in personal take home pay?

Cool. Go black market go!

LJ:

That doesn't make sense to me. We both would be more likely to buy something at a lower price. And less likely to buy it if putting faith in the higher price in the "special offer" email, right? So, the only reason for them to send that higher "special offer email"--given that they sell less of anything the more they ask for it-- would be so they can hook you for the extra profit at a sale checkout. The higher price isn't an error. They have smart people and sophisticated systems managing their system. And they are using that wily wit and calculations to gouge a customer that doesn't check the price on the item page.

The example I gave where the price of an item ascended on a review as compared to the price on the original item page from which it descended betrays the same gulling. If a person didn't have a tight memory of the lower first price or didn't keep the original item description page open marking that more affordable price open for comparison, they would bite on the elevated price on the last review page. More profit for Amazon in both cases. Sharp dealing in both cases. This manipulation is a stratagem, not a mistake.

There's a famous Latin phrase I like where someone tries to excuse their seamy doing by saying "Tu quoque" or "You, another" (You do it too). The popularity of shell games doesn't render them attractive or of benefit to the unwary customer. As you import and I affirm, we have to keep aware.

And I'm with you, cautions plugged in.

One wise directive here is never to have Paypal or another payment intermediary withdraw money from your bank accounts. These "services" structure their interface to make that by far the easiest way to transact with them, for their own selfish interests which do not, coincidentally, correspond to your protection.

Pay Paypal with your credit card, preferably an Amex card. Amex is notorious among retailers for being the fierces fighters for their customers. If you have an Amex card, call up their dispute department and inquire on how they would have treated this particular matter. If you aren't Amexed, call anyway, askinf on the theory of acquiring a card. With any credit card, (and some are a lot better than others in this regard) you have a second layer of dispute protection to leverage against Paypal. With a bank payment, you are out of luck--and Paypal makes more money because they don't give a cut of their action to the bank.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

As I said, many companies try different prices with different groups in different areas or the same area. This is probably what bit you.

I think your feeling of it as an underhanded dealing is overboard and feel myself that it is probably a default in the software setup. A simple if/then (coupon/retail.)

NOTHING benefits the unwary customer. Anyone foolish enough to not pay attention in dealings with others is ripe for the pickin', and there are many, many sharks out there.

I set up a separate bank account (free service) for Paypal and put money into it on occasion, but more often use the credit card.

Amex and I don't get along. Their fees are outrageous and they fight more with customers than they do for them, I believe. Pass.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

Your numbers are out of date. Federal taxes are now $10.10 per carton. State and local add to that. Around here the taxes are about $47 per carton not including sales tax. The median tax (Fed + State not including local) is $23.49 per carton.

I don't know what the current numbers are, but Hills study from the 50's showed an increased mortality rate for lung cancer and cardiovascular disease among cigarette smoking doctors at 3.42 per 1000 person years. So the 20% may be a reasonable number.

So, a thousand people smoke for 20 years. Collectively they pay $343 million dollars into the fund. 200 get sick that leaves them 1.7 million each for treatment.

Paul K. Dickman

Sorry, I added a zero. The smokers pay $34.3 million. The sick get $170,000 for treatment.

Paul K. Dickman

I got that from the first googled site I found with a figure. Cite?

$47 in taxes for, what, a $55 carton? GET REAL! Cites, please.

Cite?

Cite?

Redo the figures with real numbers, Paul.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

$6.16 was the amount of the increase.

Tobacco companies and public health advocates, longtime foes in the nicotine battles, are trying to turn the situation to their advantage. The major cigarette makers raised prices a couple of weeks ago, partly to offset any drop in profits once the per-pack tax climbs from 39 cents to $1.01.

Illinois cost $49 to $55 a carton - with 10 packs in acarton - outside the Chicago area. A carton is $90 to $95 in Chicago becauseof additional taxes imposed by Cook County and the city of Chicago,according to Harry "Bud" Kelley, executive director of the Association ofTobacco and Candy Distributors.>>>The median tax (Fed + State not including local) is $23.49 per carton.>>

Cite?

shows all cigarette tax rates in effect now. Since 2002, 47 states,DC, and several U.S. territories have increased their cigarette tax ratesmore than 100 times. The three states in bold type have not increased theircigarette tax since 1999 or earlier. Currently, 29 states, DC, Puerto Rico,the Northern Marianas, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $1.00 per packor higher; 14 states, DC, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $2.00 perpack or higher; five states and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $3.00 perpack or higher; and one state (NY) has a cigarette tax rate more than $4.00per pack. Tobacco states are KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, and TN. States' averageincludes DC, but not Puerto Rico, other U.S. territories, or local cigarettetaxes. The median tax rate is $1.339 per pack. AK, MI, MN, MS, UT also havespecial taxes or fees on brands of manufacturers not participating in thestate tobacco lawsuit settlements (NPMs>>>I don't know what the current numbers are, but Hills study from the 50's>>showed an increased mortality rate for lung cancer and cardiovascular>>disease among cigarette smoking doctors at 3.42 per 1000 person years. So>>the 20% may be a reasonable number.>> Cite? Excess Deaths per 1000 Person-YearsLung Cancer 1.23Cardiovascular Disease 2.19>>>>So, a thousand people smoke for 20 years. Collectively they pay $343million>>dollars into the fund. 200 get sick that leaves them 1.7 million each for>>treatment.>>

Redo the figures with real numbers, Paul.I did. If you check my reply to myself, I made a mistake on my firstcalculations, I added an extra zero. The patients only get $170,000.Paul K. Dickman

$6.16 was the amount of the increase.

Tobacco companies and public health advocates, longtime foes in the nicotine battles, are trying to turn the situation to their advantage. The major cigarette makers raised prices a couple of weeks ago, partly to offset any drop in profits once the per-pack tax climbs from 39 cents to $1.01.

Cigarettes in Illinois cost $49 to $55 a carton - with 10 packs in acarton - outside the Chicago area. A carton is $90 to $95 in Chicago becauseof additional taxes imposed by Cook County and the city of Chicago,according to Harry "Bud" Kelley, executive director of the Association ofTobacco and Candy Distributors.

Table shows all cigarette tax rates in effect now. Since 2002, 47 states,DC, and several U.S. territories have increased their cigarette tax ratesmore than 100 times. The three states in bold type have not increased theircigarette tax since 1999 or earlier. Currently, 29 states, DC, Puerto Rico,the Northern Marianas, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $1.00 per packor higher; 14 states, DC, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $2.00 perpack or higher; five states and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $3.00 perpack or higher; and one state (NY) has a cigarette tax rate more than $4.00per pack. Tobacco states are KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, and TN. States' averageincludes DC, but not Puerto Rico, other U.S. territories, or local cigarettetaxes. The median tax rate is $1.339 per pack. AK, MI, MN, MS, UT also havespecial taxes or fees on brands of manufacturers not participating in thestate tobacco lawsuit settlements

Excess Deaths per 1000 Person-Years Lung Cancer 1.23 Cardiovascular Disease 2.19

I did. If you check my reply to myself, I made a mistake on my firstcalculations, I added an extra zero. The patients only get $170,000.

Paul K. Dickman

Which they will never see a penny of...

Cigarettes in Illinois cost $49 to $55 a carton - with 10 packs in acarton -

Holy Shit, Maynard! I sit corrected. It might be cheaper to hire a moving van and move out of IlliNOISE than pay their ciggy taxes.

Table shows all cigarette tax rates in effect now. Since 2002, 47 states,DC, and several U.S. territories have increased their cigarette tax ratesmore than 100 times. The three states in bold type have not increased theircigarette tax since 1999 or earlier. Currently, 29 states, DC, Puerto Rico,the Northern Marianas, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $1.00 per packor higher; 14 states, DC, and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $2.00 perpack or higher; five states and Guam have cigarette tax rates of $3.00 perpack or higher; and one state (NY) has a cigarette tax rate more than $4.00per pack. Tobacco states are KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, and TN. States' averageincludes DC, but not Puerto Rico, other U.S. territories, or local cigarettetaxes. The median tax rate is $1.339 per pack. AK, MI, MN, MS, UT also havespecial taxes or fees on brands of manufacturers not participating in thestate tobacco lawsuit settlements (NPMs

Person-YearsLung Cancer 1.23Cardiovascular Disease 2.19

$343million>>dollars into the fund. 200 get sick that

I suppose that it is possible for the taxes to pay for it, then, all other figures withstanding, in some states.

P.S: I spent 5 minutes reformatting the response you sent. Next time, please leave a space between quoted text and the response, or add a line and then insert your response, please. Also add a space between the link and the following text.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

Table shows all cigarette tax rates in effect now. Since 2002,

the toll seems higher in my little state. $1.1B per year in healthcare, $1.13B in lost productivity, etc. Inflated figures? Probably, as they have an agenda.

The costs are staggering, aren't they? I'm sure glad I quit. I could buy a carton of cigs back then for half the price of today's taxes.

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan