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Amazon terminates Colorado based associates over new taxes
Mar 8th
Greetings readers!
Like any Monday morning, I woke up with a feeling of dread about the day and I didn’t even have to be awake 5 minutes to know why. When I checked my e-mail this morning, I found that I had received an e-mail from Amazon regarding my affiliate account. As of today, my Amazon affiliate account has been terminated as well as every other Amazon affiliate based in Colorado. Why have our accounts been terminated? The idiots in our state legislature just passed a law for taxing online sales. Our governor can’t ride a bike without nearly getting himself killed, how in the world did we think he was smart enough to run the state?! Anyway, below is the full statement I received from Amazon in my e-mail this morning.
Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:
We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.
We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.
There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.
You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.
Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.
We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,The Amazon Associates Team
If you live in Colorado, please contact the elected morons that pushed this through and tell them to repeal it!
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Top 10 Geek Gifts for the 2009 Holiday Season
Nov 6th
Greetings everybody!
It is that time of year again, with a little over a month left before Christmas, it is time to start figuring out what you are going to buy! The big question is what are you going to get that geek in your life? I have compiled another list again this year of great geek gifts to get that geek in your life assuming they don’t already have them. Here we go!
#10. Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt
Are you so good at Rock Band and Guitar Hero that you want to take your act on the road? You can do something like that with this awesome electronic rock guitar shirt. With this shirt, you can let everybody enjoy your awesome guitar skills! The shirt comes with a mini-amp that you can clip on your belt that will allow you to tweak your sound and crank up the music so that you make sure that everybody can hear you. ThinkGeek is selling this awesome shirt for $29.99.
Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt
#9. Kill-A-Watt Graphic Timer
Are you or your loved one concerned about the safety of your electronic devices and just how much energy you are using? If so, than this Kill-A-Watt Graphic Timer is for you. Not only will it protect you from voltage spikes, but it will also protect your precious appliances and gadgets from over current, over voltage and even under voltage. This device will not only let you measure your power usage down to the minute, but you can program it to function at different times for up to 7 days. There are a number of other features, but if you are looking to track your energy usage to help cut down on your electric bill or just want to protect your appliances and gadgets, you should definitely check out the Kill-A-Watt Graphic Timer from ThinkGeek at the reasonable price of $69.99. If you can use it to save on electricity or protect your appliances, this wonderful meter could easily pay for itself over time.
Kill-A-Watt Graphic Timer
#8. The Laptopper Portable Shelf
Have you ever been sitting in your car outside of a coffee shop using their wifi? Kind of uncomfortable isn’t it? Well now you have a place to comfortably set your laptop while you are surfing the net. This portable shelf will slip on your steering wheel or even over a headrest to give you a place to set any laptop 17″ and smaller as well as whatever other gadgets you may be using. Whether you just want to watch a movie or participating in a wardriving competition, at $14.99, the Laptopper Portable Shelf from ThinkGeek is great for anybody!
The Laptopper Portable Shelf
#7. Rovio – WiFi Roaming Bot
O Rovio, Rovio, where for art thou Rovio? Are you looking to keep an eye on your home while you are away on vacation or just want to check up on that new babysitter? If so, the wifi connected Rovio is just for you! This cool little robot is equipped with a webcam, microphone and speakers. You can control Rovio manually or set up way-points to monitor your house. Rovio can be controlled from any internet connection around the world. What is really impressive is that you can control it with a PC, Mac, an iPhone and even your PS3! The Rovio also has built in LEDs to light its way in poorly lit areas. At $229.99 from ThinkGeek, Rovio seems reasonably priced, especially considering the fact that it has a base station it returns to for charging similar to the Roomba.
Rovio - WiFi Roaming Bot
#6. Grab-It Pack Gadget Holster
I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for ways to carry more gadgets with me. I have been made fun of on numerous occasions for having my pockets so stuffed full of stuff that you would suspect I just robbed an electronics store. Now you can carry more items and get more strange looks than ever before with the Grab-It Pack Gadget Holster! Strap this around your waist and legs and you will turn a lot of heads when people see just how many gadgets you can carry! ThinkGeek sells the Grab-It Pack Gadget Holster for $24.99.
Grab-It Gadget Holster
#5. Scottevest Quantum Jacket
Maybe the Grab-It Gadget Holder isn’t quite your style or maybe it doesn’t have enough pockets to put stuff in, so why not try Scottevest’s Quantum Jacket! Not only does this jacket look far less goofy, but it is also breathable and water resistant! Did we mention this jacket has an amazing 28 pockets?! Just think how many gadgets you can carry with you from phones to mp3 players to portable gaming devices when you have 28 pockets to store them in? Just think how much fun you could have have going through airport security when you have to empty out 28 pockets! Don’t forget, this jacket has their patented Personal Area Network (PAN) to manage your earbud wires! If you head over to Scottevest, you can get this jacket for $250, but can you really put a price on carrying 28 pockets worth of gadgets while staying warm and looking good all at the same time?
Scottevest's Quantum Jacket
#4. Mini 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router
Have you ever wanted to say that you are the proud owner of the world’s smallest wireless N router? Now you can! This tiny wireless N router from TRENDnet will make sure you can transfer data across your wireless enabled devices quickly and easily. A product like this is great if you are stuck in a hotel with crappy wifi that you can only get if you are standing on the toilet with your arm stretched out like a fountain. Just fire this up where you can get the signal and you instantly have a good enough signal that you can get anywhere in the hotel room. For $79.99 from ThinkGeek, the TRENDnet Mini 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router might just be the best router for the road warrior in your life.
TRENDnet Mini 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router
#3. Ironkey Military Strength Flash Drives
How important is the security of the files you move around? Do you carry your financial documents on a thumb drive so you can have access to them anywhere? What about confidential plans from work? Now you can rest easy because with an Ironkey USB drive because you won’t have to worry about your data falling into the wrong hands again! With hardware encryption, the tough looking Ironkey can stand strong against both virtual and physical attacks. These drives have so much encryption and security on them thanks to a built-in encryption chip, even the military is using them in Afghanistan! The only way to access the information on the drive is with the password and if somebody tries to hack into it and enters the wrong password 10 times, the encryption chip self destructs and makes the drive useless and nobody will ever be able to get your data. If security is what really matters to you, you can’t go wrong with an Ironkey Military Strength Flash Drive. ThinkGeek sells a 1GB model for $69.99 and a 4GB model for $139.99. Although they aren’t cheap, you should ask yourself just how much your data is worth.
Ironkey USB drive
#2. Motorola Droid
My, how far we have come in a year. Last year’s list included T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone and this year, we have a vastly improved Motorola phone by the name of Droid for Verizon customers. With a 5-megapixel camera, turn by turn directions, a physical and virtual keyboard as well as turn by turn directions just to name a few of the features, many are calling this an iPhone killer or at least as good as the iPhone. With over 10,000 applications available on the Android Marketplace, now is a great time to be looking into getting the Droid on what many consider to be the best wireless network in the US. If you are in the market for a new phone and don’t want to suffer the hell of the AT&T network just to have something as nice as an iPhone, check out the Motorola Droid which you can get from LetsTalk.com for $150.
Motorola Droid
#1. Mimo Mini USB Monitor
Not a day goes by that I think to myself, “Gee, I could be much more productive if I had room for a second monitor.” Now I can and I won’t need a new desk and power strip to get it! Any of the Mimo mini USB monitors might give you just the extra amount of screen you need to be extra productive without taking up as much room on your desk as a full sized monitor. These monitors are powered by a USB cable so you don’t have to worry about trying to get a bigger power strip to plug a second monitor into or a new graphics card that can support a second monitor. Now you can keep email or whatever you want open on a smaller, secondary monitor while you work on your main screen so you can see when you get that important email you have been waiting for. Did I mention there is a touchscreen model? If you are into the touchscreen movement and want a monitor you can physically interact with, for a little higher price, you can have just that! You might have a hard time putting a price on productivity, but ThinkGeek managed put put a price on it, and depending on which of the three models you get, the Mimo Mini USB Monitor will cost you between $129.99-229.99.
Mimo Mini USB Monitor
Did we miss something? What geek items are on your Christmas list?
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Is there anything Best Buy won't do to screw its customers?
Sep 29th
Greetings Readers!
Anybody who has ever dealt with Best Buy likely has their own horror stories about the giant, myself included and now they have a new tactic. Best Buy is now charging $130 to set up your Playstaion 3.
What do you get for your $130? You will get your PS3 plugged in, have its firmware updated, have your user accounts created and have the parental controls set up. Basically, stuff you shouldn’t even need to look at the manual to figure out how to do. Why does Best Buy insist on ripping its customers like this? I am also curious who is dumb enough to pay $130 for this?
Here is the picture in case you need to see this ripoff to believe it.
Best Buy rips off Playstation 3 customers. Credit: Kotaku
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Best Buy's Palm Pre stock list leaked. Check your local store here!
Jun 4th
Greetings Readers!
Portions of Best Buy’s Palm Pre stock list were leaked a few days ago on some forms but now the complete list is available as a PDF. I personally won’t be getting a Palm Pre. I would like to have one, but I still have another year left on my contract for my Blackberry 7100i. Also, my local store is only getting 3 Palm Pres and I really don’t want to have to fight people for them. Anyway, here is the link to the PDF. [via Gizmodo]
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-Jeremy “pcnerd37″ Bray
Retailers Don't Understand Black Friday
Nov 7th
Greetings Readers!
It is almost that time of year again, to line up with dozens or hundreds of people at insane hours after a night of shoveling as much turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie in our face as humanly possible, all in the name of getting a bargain. That’s right, Black Friday, the day I deem to be better than all other holidays combined, is just a few weeks away. Black Friday circulars for the major retailers have already started to leak onto the Internet, but for some reason, retailers don’t see this as a good thing.
If you are like me and watch for new Black Friday ads closer than who won what state in the presidential election, you know exactly what I am talking about. Every year, a handful of major retailers such as Walmart, Sears, Office Depot, and others send take-down notices and sue websites who post their ads early. They bully the little guy just so that people don’t see their sales before they want them to, but of course this is often after the ads have been up long enough that countless people have already seen them. This is one of the worst things that these companies can do, especially with the economic problems we have now.
Of course these companies defend this bullying by giving the excuse that other retailers are going to try to match or undercut them to take away their business. This idea is a load of crap and here is why. Most companies who are already pinching every penny, aren’t going to spend the money the time and money it would cost to redesign and reprint their Black Friday ad just to try to steal a handful of customers. Rarely do I even see products that I want on sale at multiple stores, rather less at a big enough price difference that would make another company jealous enough to redo their ad to undercut or match the competition. When you take into account price matching, which most stores do, this excuse becomes completely bunk.
Retailers need to realize that the more time customers have to plan their Black Friday shopping, the better. Especially in bad economic times such as this, the more time customers have to save up and better budget their Black Friday spending, the more likely they are to purchase the big ticket items such as televisions, computers, digital cameras, and game consoles. I typically start my Black Friday planning at the beginning of November or ads start to surface, whichever comes first. By the time Black Friday arrives, not only have I figured out what I am going to get, I have the money saved up to do it and have my attack plan made (Figuring out what stores open when so I can get there early enough to get the bargains while not losing out on other bargains at other stores. This occasionally involves multiple people). With unemployment the highest it has been in years and the economy in the tank, it would be better for everybody if the ads were released as soon as possible so that consumers can save up and adjust their budget accordingly to get the items they need or just really want.
There is a major disconnect between the retailers and the consumer. Until retailers such as Walmart understand this disconnect and change their attitude about this issue, they will fail to reach their potential sales figures. Contact the major retailers and voice your opinion! If enough people comment, they might just change their ways to the benefit of everyone.
-Jeremy “pcnerd37″ Bray
Amazon Promises Frustration-Free Packaging, My Bloody Hands Rejoice!
Nov 4th
Greetings Readers!
Do you buy products that come in packaging that is impossible to open without something short of a stick of dynamite? If so, you have likely experienced “wrap rage.” If you are tired of turning yourself into a bloody mess just to open your precious new gadget or gadget accessory, Amazon is coming to your rescue with frustration-free packaging!
I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I have cut myself on that impossible to open hard plastic packaging whenever I purchase a new set of headphones or memory stick for my PSP. I have been wondering for pretty much my entire life, why can’t companies make packaging that I don’t have to use scissors or a very sharp knife to get into, only to still end up with several cuts? I understand the whole idea of not wanting things easily stolen from a store, but to protect your product at the cost of my hands is beyond stupid. Thank goodness, finally a company such as Amazon is standing up against this evil packaging practice and is on the side of the consumer.
Before you get your hopes up just yet, this is a multi-year initiative, not an overnight change. They have this to say on their announcement on the Amazon home page.
Amazon is working with leading manufactures to deliver products inside smaller, easy-to-open, recyclable cardboard boxes with less packaging material (no frustrating plastic clamshells or wire ties).
It sounds like it will be a while before it reaches the majority of products typically contained in the clam shell packaging (the hard plastic stuff), but at least its coming. Currently, you can only purchase select products from Mattel, Microsoft, Fisher-Price and Transcend with the frustration-free packaging. To view the entire list of products available with this great new packaging, you can visit http://www.amazon.com/packaging.
While this is great for the consumer, I can only imagine how mad the bandaid makers are right now. I expect to see a considerable drop in their revenue from this great development.
-Jeremy “pcnerd37″ Bray
Circuit City Puts One Foot in the Grave, Hopes it isn't Shoved In
Nov 3rd
Greetings Readers!
In case you haven’t opened your feed reader or checked your favorite tech blogs today, there is more bad news surrounding Circuit City. They have announced the closing of 155 stores across the country (list here). This of course comes on top of the news last week that Sony has stopped shipments to them, in mid shipment, because they are afraid that Circuit City can’t pay for the shipments. The NYSE also warned Circuit City that they are about to have their stock listing removed because it has been below $1 for over 30 days. At this point, it would be hard for news to get much worse about Circuit City.
Best Buy has been beating the snot out of Circuit City for a while, and it looks like they are chomping at the bit to put the last nail in Circuit City’s coffin. I have never seen why Best Buy has any more appeal than Circuit City, but around here, they are pretty much identical in size, inventory and price. The only real difference I can see is the fact that the Geek Squad is much better known than Circuit City’s Firedog service. Honestly, I hate both companies equally. From the employees that know nothing, to the prices which are disgustingly high compared to what you can find online, both stores can gladly die off as far as I am concerned. When I talk about the stores, instead of using their actual names, I typically refer to them as Worst Buy and Circuit Sucky. The only redeeming quality they have compared to online retailers is that I can get something the day I want it instead of having to wait a day or more to get something shipped. Even then, I hate that I have to pay sales tax when I never have to with most online retailers such as Amazon.
For the sake of getting things when I need them, I am kind of glad that my local Circuit City isn’t one of the ones that is closing. Of course that feeling will quickly vanish as soon as I get trampled by the mob of people that will descend on the store on my favorite holiday of the year, Black Friday. Circuit City has always been apart of my Black Friday tradition, and it will be hard to imagine it not being there in the future. I should probably say that I expect Circuit City to go out of business as early as middle of next year but almost certainly before the decade is over.
I think there are two main factors as to why Circuit City is having such a hard time. #1: Pricing! With the possible exceptions of video games and bargain bin DVDs, I can typically find most of the same items that Circuit City sells online and for much cheaper, often as low as half the price even after shipping! I have gone into the store on a couple of occasions to look for various computer parts, only to get pissed off when I see I have to pay double the online price just because I need it right away. #2: Service! While I have not visited every Circuit City to say that this is true about all of them, for every Circuit City that I have been to, most of the employees don’t know anything more than how to take money. They often can’t tell me about a product, how it compares to other products, or even where a certain product is! To be fair, I have this exact same problem with Best Buy (and the pricing problem to an extent as well). Is it really that hard to find a person that has at least a little knowledge about what they are selling? If you combined the knowledge of all of the Circuit City employees at my local store, it probably wouldn’t even be half of what I know about the products!
Circuit City is hoping the new store closing move will help it become profitable, and while it did bump the stock up over 20%, I don’t think even this can stop its slow slide to death. At this point, I think Circuit City just hopes that it can survive and that nobody tries to put it under before they have tried everything they can.
It is for these reasons that I am not sad to see Circuit Sucky go, and I would likely wet myself in excitement of the same thing happened to Worst Buy.
Are you glad to see Circuit City go? Do you wish that Best Buy would go down with them? Have a fond memory of the stores? Share your thoughts in the comments!
-Jeremy “pcnerd37″ Bray
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