FYI: Online Shopping And Taxes!

Umm, I wasn't planing to do a post today but...oh! well.....

This post is for people who live in Maharastra or Gujrat or  any other state which levies taxes on goods coming from other states! (I bet some of you didn't even know such a thing existed!) Anyway, I sort of wanted to tell and ask at the same time.
I have recently moved to Maharashtra,which is nice but now, even I have to pay that tax(Octroi, its called!) which is NOT AT ALL NICE!!!!!!


So, I have shopped online but as most of the stores operate out of Hyderabad, New Delhi and Banglore, all the orders are out of state goods,hence subjected to tax.


Some sites are nice enough to pay the tax but the delivery man might just ask you for the same because the sites pay the tax at the courier's office in their  city and it doesn't get updated in the system *at times*. Some sites, don't bother to pay the tax nor do they bother about telling you that if you shop from them, the discount will be rendered useless!


Why am I telling you all this? Because the discount I got just went whooshing into tax:( 

Sites which don't make you pay the tax:
(I have not shopped much because I am trying to control my finances*ha ha*)

• Fahion And You (Surprise, Surprise! They are usually associated with messing it up but this time they've nailed it!)
• Violetbag.com (Now, the first time the package came, the fellow did ask for tax but then I mailed them and got a response in 5 minutes; they pay the tax  @ Banglore, but it doesn't show up on record of Blue Dart at times.So, if you've a problem, contact them and they'll sort it out for you!)
• StyleCraze (I asked them if they take care of the taxes and all, and they do!) 
• Healthkart(Nice bunch of people, I tell you, I asked them to not stick the invoice in a way which covers all of the box and they didn't! + No extra taxes!)
• Asos (In case of Asos, it was custom duty as well but I had to pay none of it! Yay! But do keep the bill amount low, will ya? Otherwise there is no saving you.) 
• Good life/First Cry It's mentioned on their shipping policy page that they do not charge!

Sites which don't pay the tax:

• Snap It Today(No more shopping from here, for me at least! The customer service people are nice but still paying the money you saved in discounts as taxes is stupid!)
• Cosmetix.in (They had those cheap prices going for them but now, they won't have my contribution to their revenues, at least. They don't take care of Octroi, you'll have to pay!)
• Naap Tol (I have not shopped from here *ever* but the delivery guy was telling me these people never pay for the tax and one man, who had to pay an Octroi for 15 bucks, actually ended up wasting 1 hour on the phone with them only to be told that they have not bothered about paying the taxes.)

***Do tell me if there are some additions to the list!
No more shopping for me, since I am already on a no-buy and my best friend thinks I won't last 15 days but I tell you, I will at least make it to the 16th day:P.

Online Shopping Experience With Snap it today

I was searching for something *which had no relation to shopping* on Google when I saw snap it today on the results page. Google sure knows everything because I left whatever I was doing and went ahead to check out the duty. You know, it is my moral duty to shop and let you know how good the sites are.This site lets you shop with your co-workers. You can shop for make up, skin care, wallets, sunglasses, shoes, etc. Well, here is the home screen:

Click Here to see the names of brands they offer!

Free shipping on orders above 400 INR otherwise a shipping charge of Rs. 30 has to be paid.

My Experience with Snapittoday.com -

This is the first site that I have seen which is selling stuff from Oriflame. Anyway, I just ordered one face pack , Aroma Magic Pearl Gel which was sold out on every other site. I paid using net banking. You can log in using facebook, twitter and your personal or work email. You can also shop without logging in ( I did). Later on, I created an account and even thought I used the same email id, the order was not linked to my account. I wrote them a mail about it. There were 2-3 email ids mentioned and I could not decide which one should I use. Anyway, I got a reply on Monday that they had linked my order with my account and the order was shipped on Monday. So, if you're ordering on Friday, be prepared to wait. I got my order in 4 days and it was wrapped in cardboard sheets. These sheets were wrapped in lots of cello tape and  There was a sample of Fairness Face wash for men. I wish the shopping sites will send me samples that I could use. They are based in Banglore.

Update:They have changed their packaging.They were relatively new when I ordered.


Payment Options: Credit card, Debit card, Net banking and COD( available in limited areas).

Pros:

• They are new but they do offer quite a variety( taking into consideration that they are new.)
• I got stuff which was sold out on other sites.Yay!

Cons:

•   They should improve the packaging of the products
• Limited COD but to be fair they are still new.
• They don't pay the Octroi and other such taxes, so you might just end up paying more than the MRP of everything put together!
• Some of the things which are shown as available on the site are in fact, sold out.