Yesterday, I wrote an article on a topic I’ve followed for awhile: Internet sales tax and the “Marketplace Fairness Act.”
You can read the fine details at dailyitem.com, but basically, a lot of brick-and-mortar stores want sales tax to cut down on a process called “showrooming.” Here’s a handy definition:
Showrooming is the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick and mortar retail store without purchasing it, but then shopping online to find a lower price for the same item.
And I am here to confess, that I, Ashley Wislock, am guilty of the crime of showrooming.
You see, it’s technically my father’s fault. He bought me my Kindle and introduced me to the world of e-books. Since then, I’ve pretty much completely ditched paperbacks for the cheaper, more portable Kindle book.
But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been in bookstores lately. I just….um….don’t buy anything while there, opting to purchase anything interesting later on my Kindle.
In my defense – well, I guess I don’t have one. I just feed the Amazon.com machine. Oh well.
The thing is, I like the fact that I can find any random book I want to read instantly and begin reading it. It’s a long way from dragging my mom to the bookstore and angrily realizing they didn’t have what I wanted anyway.
[And this whole thing is more ironic because I just posted photos of my Kindle yesterday. So, I stand guilty as charged.]
Are you guilty of showrooming? What do you check out before you buy?
