On Sat, 09 Sep 2017 14:27:36 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Fri, 8 Sep 2017 17:45:50 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 8 Sep 2017 00:43:34 -0700 (PDT), robobass
wrote:


VAT and Sales tax? I also don't know the difference. I don't
think there is one.

I believe VAT is added at every step of manufacture, while sales
tax
is only on retail sales. We have no sales tax in Oregon, but it's
about 10.25% in California where my family still lives.


Well VAT is indeed collected at every step, but you claim it back at
all but the retail level.

Oh? How does that happen?


What does suck is imports. I have to buy certain things from
overseas, and the customs office
includes shipping costs in its duty calculations.

That does suck. That's totally unfair, but big government never
said
it was fair.


What is the gimmick behind free shipping of $5 items to the USA from
China?

They wait until entire 40' cargo containers are full, then ship.
China subsidizes the small vendors, and we all win: Chinese,
Americans, and the Capitalist Way.

Many, many American vendors buy cheap Chiwanese chit, bump the price
700%, then make huge profits on it, so I don't feel bad about buying
$0.02 to $5 items with free shipping from China. It leads to future
purchases of similar products from the States, so these are my test
products to see if I like the tech. I could have bought two LED
lights from American vendors 10 years ago for about $50. Instead, I
bought 35 different cheap LED lights from China for the same price.
Some are still working, others are still unused in their boxes, and a
few others died quick deaths. I'm still way, way ahead.

I was replaceing fluorescent tudes on my fish tank @ ~$8.00 every
other month and even then they were cool white and not the proper "gro
lamp" tubes. Second Son ordered a roll of LEDs on tape about 10mm wide
- a total of 173 diodes - which we mounted between two sheets of
plexiglas to replace the two fluorescent single tube fixtures. this
was about a year ago and so far all the diodes are still working and
the plants are growing like mad and the fish seem to be quite happy
(at least the guppies are reproducing like rabbits) Total cost
including a tube of silicone caulk to seal the edges of the unit -
under $10.00!