The Online Merchants Guild is suing California’s taxing authority for holding Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) sellers liable for back sales tax. The issue: Is inventory stored in California by Amazon, which in many cases the individual sellers many not even be aware of, taxable? Scott Peterson of Avalar helps us unpack the issue.
Marketplace facilitators like Amazon, Etsy, Rakuten, Walmart.com and eBay, are now required in 10 states to collect and remit sales tax resulting from third-party transactions, and several additional states will follow suit. Preparation is the name of the game to be compliant with ever-changing tax legislation.
Americans are used to hearing the refrain “we pay the sales tax” in today’s advertising campaigns, but in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair (June 2018), the phrase “you pay the sales tax,” may be what many small business sellers will hear instead in future audits of their business operations. Here is what ecommerce businesses need to know moving forward.
Today’s customers having high expectations from retailers to deliver an optimal experience. And while retailers are doing what they can to jump through the right hoops to deliver on their brand promises, they do so in the face of government oversight. Join Multichannel Merchant and Vertex for a free live webinar on Tuesday, April 23 at 1 p.m. (EST) to learn more about recent legislative changes such as global tax on the digital economy, real-time reporting, and the Supreme Court ruling on S. Dakota v. Wayfair and their effects on organizations. If you can’t make it to the live webinar, you can still register and access the on-demand version, available immediately afterwards to view at your convenience.
Following the “clicks-to-bricks” trend that has seen pure-plays like Brandless, Warby Parker, Amazon and Bonobos open physical locations, home goods seller Wayfair will open its first store this fall in a mall in Natick, MA, offering a curated selection of items for sale.
Wayfair, looking very Amazon-ish, has launched a new paid membership program called MyWay that for $29.99 a year gives customers access to benefits like exclusive sales, discounts on installation and assembly services, free shipping and next-day delivery with no minimum order threshold.
After a Congressional hearing last week about ecommerce taxation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision shed more heat than light, merchant associations and a state taxing authority group are hoping to find common ground and solutions.
Wayfair saw a successful first quarter with online sales up 48% year-over-year and total net revenue up 46% or about $450 million. Here is what the brand had to say about its Way Day event and how it’s doing internationally.
Wayfair is taking on Amazon and Alibaba with its own one-day shopping event called Way Day, promising Black Friday-like deals on home furnishings, décor and home improvement items on April 25. Other perks of the day include free shipping on all orders. Here is what led to Wayfair’s launch of the event.