Could you let us know the best home printer to have atm please Sonny? I'm assuming you have it.
Online sales tax considered in bid to save the high street
- Thread starter chaparral
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Could you let us know the best home printer to have atm please Sonny? I'm assuming you have it.
Caporegime
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Soldato
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That's up there with 'LOL at not owning a CD drive' and 'LOL at not owning an audio cassette player'.... It's a digital world. These things are supposed to be obsolete.
The only people who own printers are photographers, businesses and people who get them free when buying a prefab PC from Currys.
Last time I had to send something back that required a label, the courier collected and printed his own label from a handheld at the pickup!
Caporegime
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I print stuff regularly.
Boarding passes, documents that require signatures, royal mail labels, tickets for anything like concerts to flights and trains. It's good to have a paper backup I found that out the hard way in Marrakech once trying to come back they wouldn't accept digital boarding passes. Had to pay to get one printed. I forgot to get the hotel to do it when leaving as it was a lads holiday and been up all night.
Regularly printing stuff for family too mines used weekly and I don't use it for a business or photography. The wife does use it for work though.
I don't have a house phone or an active landline because superseded by mobiles. But a printer is extremely handy. Best money I've spent bought it when I was at uni for the dissertation. Still flawless after all these years. If it broke I'd buy another one straight away.
Soldato
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Last time I printed something for non-business use was probably about 10 years ago. I had to upgrade to a Smartphone because everything went digital.
I've never actually owned a printer, in almost 30 years of 'adulting'.
You can also buy a pen.
Soldato
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Funnily enough, that's how I have been sending things back - Writing the returns address directly on the package and putting a stamp on... Apparently that's no longer a thing. Got to buy a printer and print an A4 returns label (plus an A4 shipping insert and an A4 shipping sheet to hand the courier) so they can scan the package for their paperless system...!!You can also buy a pen.
Good man.
Soldato
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You can also buy a pen.
I think you need to be very skilled to draw readable bar and QR codes though
You do not have to comply with all the impositions of the digital economy. By all means if you wish to, use them, however there are alternatives. Possibly less direct, more time consuming and undoubtedly slower to perform. They are still valid methods though.
Soldato
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Not at all - I can write a return address (Freepost or otherwise) on a box, run it up the post office and be home in less time than it takes to have a courier come pick it up. Often cheaper, too.
Ordinarily I'd get the printed barcode labels done for free, but Covid has prohibited all the business and public sources I know of, hence having to finally buy a flippin' printer. OCUK don't even sell any, and there are time constraints on the returns window, so it had to be Currys (because Theo Paphitis's lot are all at the end of a bell).
Don't think they've really thought this through
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55974078
IMO people will continue to buy at Amazon, etc. because they are purchasing stuff there for more reasons than just price, the likes of Amazon raise prices a bit to compensate, customers grumble a bit more about price but still continue purchasing from Amazon, etc. and guess where they offset that by spending less in their personal budgets?
There are issues with places like Amazon and tax but that is another story.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55974078
IMO people will continue to buy at Amazon, etc. because they are purchasing stuff there for more reasons than just price, the likes of Amazon raise prices a bit to compensate, customers grumble a bit more about price but still continue purchasing from Amazon, etc. and guess where they offset that by spending less in their personal budgets?
There are issues with places like Amazon and tax but that is another story.
I really don’t understand this burning need to keep “the high street” alive. Copy and paste boots, boots, river island, top shop. It’s trash and the world is evolving.
Mega Corps need to pay FAR more to the country, and their employees stop being taken advantage of as “self employed drivers”.
Amazon needs competition, but that is not ancient high streets not fit for purpose.
Mega Corps need to pay FAR more to the country, and their employees stop being taken advantage of as “self employed drivers”.
Amazon needs competition, but that is not ancient high streets not fit for purpose.
I get the impression people shop at Amazon because it’s ‘cheap’ but I rare the prices for things I shop for are any different to elsewhere. I tend to try and avoid the place, it’s website is terrible and loaded with utter trash.
I’ve said this before but, if I buy anything from Amazon, it’s all about availability and convenience.
I agree with the above poster really, I’m far less worried about their corporation tax on its own, that’s just one piece of the puzzle and often isn’t a particularly large one, there are other mechanisms they use to be as profitable as they are. That said, other companies are not much better.
I’ve said this before but, if I buy anything from Amazon, it’s all about availability and convenience.
I agree with the above poster really, I’m far less worried about their corporation tax on its own, that’s just one piece of the puzzle and often isn’t a particularly large one, there are other mechanisms they use to be as profitable as they are. That said, other companies are not much better.
I think my main complaint about that is the linking of rates to sales.
No **** that rates in out of town areas is lower than those in the centre of town. I imagine it'd be similarly low for supermarkets out of towns too.
Maybe if they cut rates for high streets instead it'd have a better helping hand.
Agreed it's all about convenience. The fact so many large retailers are selling through Amazon (sometimes cheaper than their own websites), is telling.
Some stuff can be considerably cheaper though, but as you say it's getting difficult to find things now because of all the cheap crap. Try typing "Running tops" and you just get page after page of cheap Chinese stuff.
Reminds me of what has happened here - I don't know the exact ins and outs of it but Sainsbury's wanted to open a new complex on the edge of town where a big new housing development is ongoing (which would have brought a load of new jobs, etc.) - council said no our priority is preserving the high street - then went and jacked up the cost for businesses on the high street - cue Sainsbury's closing the high street Argos.
What did the council do which jacked up the cost for businesses on the high street?
I don't know details - was on the local news site awhile back as it drove out a couple of coffee shops, etc. at the same time.
Caporegime
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Business rates.
Also you pay business rates and don't get anything for it. You need to pay someone to take your bins away. With council tax at least someone empties yours and takes away the crap same doesn't apply for business rates you get literally nothing for it.
Unless you actually run a high street business you don't know all the hidden costs which all add up to make it unprofitable.
The council could easily add you onto their residential program and empty your bins. At least that way you don't feel so bad about having to pay rates for nothing and then pay another company to empty them.
Water is another one which is ridiculously expensive for businesses and again it should be council operated and included within rates. Another bill on top which shouldn't be there.