First of all,? this is not a slam of Digikey. This is just a FYI (for your information).? Their service is great.
Last week I sent a USPS money order to Digikey with an order to take advantage or their free shipping...or so I thought.? They called me this morning and informed me that 2 items on my order were back ordered and 3 months out and would I accept a substitute. I accepted the substitutes but the original items back ordered came to $7 where the subs came to $27.
She then informed me that the supreme court had ruled that they have to collect my local sales tax even though they have no local presence in Washington state and in this part of Washington it is 8.6% and how would I like to pay.? I naively went ahead and paid with a debit card.? I could have mailed them another check and delayed the order another week.? What they did not mention was that by paying the balance with a credit card I lost the free shipping.
In short,? you no longer get out of paying your local sales tax even though Digikey has no presence here.? This is apparently true on all orders, not just prepaid mail orders. Second, by accepting substitutes that came to more than my original order I loose the free shipping if you pay the balance by credit/debit card.? I learned that I have to include local tax figured into my total.? I also learned to specify no back orders and not accept substitutes if the subs come to more than the original order remittance.
So just be aware of these rules and changes.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
