New legislature would do away with tax-free online shopping

via digitaltrends.com

Say goodbye to tax-free shopping! Yesterday, the Senate voted for a bill that if legalized, will take away a nice perk we’ve all taken for granted while shopping online. This bill is called the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would force online retailers to tack on a sales tax for all online purchases. The bill will be voted on in the Senate for a final time on May 6.

The bill would change a 1992 law that didn’t require online-only retailers to pay a sales tax in states that require retailers to charge a sales tax unless this retailer had a brick and mortar store in the United States. Right now, how online shopping works is that if you’re shopping for something on BestBuy.com and Best Buy has a physical shop in your state, you’ve had to pay your state’s sales tax. However, if you bought something from Etsy, and the seller didn’t have a brick-and-mortar location, you didn’t have to pay the tax. If the proposed legislature passes, you will start paying that tax. With this bill, the state you live in will collect taxes for everything you buy online.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

All Your Tax-Free Internet Shopping Is About To End

via businessinsider.com

States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday.

Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers a big advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

The bill would allow states to require online retailers to collect state and local sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. The sales taxes would be sent to the states where shoppers live.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Why Fab.com Dominates Social Media Commerce While Other Brands Struggle

via businessinsider.com

With high profile brands such as Gap, Gamestop and, in the US, JCPenney, having opened and then subsequently closed Facebook stores (presumably because they weren't delivering ROI) it would be easy to assume that social media is not suitable for sales – too easy, perhaps.

But those who dig a little deeper may find that opportunities abound if social media is leveraged in the right way.

"We haven't tried to use social as a sales channel at all. It doesn't suit our demographic and we're not a discounter," argues Andrew Curran, chairman at luxury homewares e-tailer Amara. "Having said that, there are examples – take Fab.com – of retailers for which social is a significant proportion of what they do and drives a large percentage of their business."

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Amazon Shopping Tips And Tricks

via businessinsider.com

Amazon is the definitive e-commerce monster and the go-to destination for buying anything you could want over the Internet.

Here are the tips and tricks we use to make our Amazon shopping easy, painless, and incredibly convenient.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Creative product designs #11

via designskilz.com

Creative product designs post is the place where you will find beautiful and modern product designs every week.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

20 Mobile Apps For Shopping Discounts And Deals

via hongkiat.com

Shopping is easier now more than ever and we’re not just talking about being able to shop from the comforts of home. You can now check for the latest prices in multiple catalogs, availability of products, comparison of prices, special promotions, discounts, reviews and lowest prices on your smartphone.

Save time, trips and money by going through your grocery list quick and easy. Some of these apps even reward you for being an avid shopper and lets you join forces with other savvy shoppers to find the best prices for anything you can find under the sun.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

30 Innovative Kitchen Tools & Gadgets You Can Buy

via hongkiat.com

Cooking is one of the many splendors of life. At least, if you know your way around the kitchen, it would be. Not a fan of cooking because you hate chopping up ingredients? Maybe these gadgets will help change your mind. Some of them help you save time for food preparation and take the annoyance of mundane tasks out of the kitchen, while others help keep your kitchen clean and in order.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

The Only Smartphones Worth Buying Right Now

via businessinsider.com

The last week of February was a big moment for smartphone news. Most of the big players attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to show off their upcoming gadgets for the spring and summer release cycle.

We saw a lot of interesting phones that will be launching soon, including several models with giant screens. (In fact, some of them are as large as the Kindle Fire tablet.)

You'll have to wait a few weeks to get your hands on them, but we wanted to let you know there are still plenty of great devices available for purchase now. The following is our ranked list of the best smartphones you can buy today.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

E-Commerce in China Poised To Top $265B, Higher Than The U.S. [Infographic]

via readwrite.com

China's economy is still on fire, with expected GDP growth of 8 percent in the first quarter of 2013. So it's no surprise that e-commerce is also soaring. According to compiled industry research from Alibaba Group, 2013 will mark the first time Chinese online spending exceeds that of the U.S.

Alibaba expects e-commerce in China to reach $265 billion this year, up from roughly $194 billion in 2012. The U.S., which generated $209 billion in e-commerce sales last year, will add a mere $21 billion this year, according to the projection.

Of course, China's 242 million online shoppers (out of an overall population of more than 1.34 billion) outnumber their U.S. counterparts by a cool 75 million. They buy lots of clothing and accessories, but relatively little in the way of household goods, digital media and electronics. Surveys show that China's online shoppers like the fact that they can save money on the Web, but still worry about product quality. product quality).

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

The world of mobile payments

via techi.com

Mobile is taking over the scene. Smartphones and tablets are bringing along this revolution, and our lives are becoming more intertwined with technology as a result. The term “mobile payment” actually has a number of different meanings. To some, NFC (near field communications) comes to mind. NFC is a relatively new payment option that allows users to wave either a card or mobile device in front of a sensor that will automatically process a payment for you. A lack of NFC sensors in the market has ultimately hindered the development of this payment method, but it could take off at any time.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Paypal Here Mobile Payment Service is Coming to Europe

via www.gadgetell.com">technologytell.com

Paypal’s mobile small business payment service, Paypal Here, is on its way to the Europe. It’ll be introduced in the UK first, with excursions into the continent coming at a later date.

Paypal Here launched last year in the US and several other countries, but they’ve had to overcome the gap between simpler magnetic strip system and the Chip and Pin system that is standard in the Eurozone. Magnetic strip are much easier to manage but are also considered less secure, according to Reuters.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

30 Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

via hongkiat.com

Valentine’s day is a lovely event where roses are sent from a secret admirer, gifts are exchanged between lovers and couples enjoy romantic candle-lit dinners. Apart from the traditional bouquet of roses and box of heart shaped chocolates, the couple’s gift is a great exchange that both can cherish and enjoy for as long as they’re together.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

How Mobile Payments Will Transform The Shopping Experience

via readwrite.com

We’ve heard it before… this is going to be the year that mobile payments will boom! Both Gartner and Forrester have made strong predictions of mobile growth, with Forrester recently saying that the U.S. mobile payments market will hit $90 billion by 2017, a 48% compound annual growth rate from the $12.8 billion spent in 2012.

But how do we know that 2013 is really the year that “mobile wallets” will finally take off? And what will things look like when mobile payments actually fulfill their promise?

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

25 Creative USB Drives You Could Buy

via inspirationfeed.com

A while back we published a post titled “55 Creative Examples of USB Designs.” From it we’ve received numerous emails from readers asking where can they purchase the USB’s listed. Unfortunately we don’t manufacture our own USB drives, however we can lead you in the right direction. Today we have collected twenty-five unusual and creative flash drives that will help you transfer your files in style. All of the images and links are linked to the source of interest. Enjoy!

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Cool, Clever, and Creative: Fancy Products of Week 4, 2013

via inspirationfeed.com

Industrial design doesn’t have to be plain and boring. Check out the coolest, clever and creative products from week 2 of 2013. This collection was brought to you by FancyCrave.com. FancyCrave is a great source for the coolest, most creative and clever products that you might not know about. They’re constantly scavenger hunting the internet for fancy gadgets and products, so you don’t have to.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Cool, Clever, and Creative: Fancy Products of Week 4, 2013

via inspirationfeed.com

Industrial design doesn’t have to be plain and boring. Check out the coolest, clever and creative products from week 2 of 2013. This collection was brought to you by FancyCrave.com. FancyCrave is a great source for the coolest, most creative and clever products that you might not know about. They’re constantly scavenger hunting the internet for fancy gadgets and products, so you don’t have to.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

Cool, Clever, and Creative: Fancy Products of Week 3, 2013

via inspirationfeed.com

Industrial design doesn’t have to be plain and boring. Check out the coolest, clever and creative products from week 2 of 2013. This collection was brought to you by FancyCrave.com. FancyCrave is a great source for the coolest, most creative and clever products that you might not know about. They’re constantly scavenger hunting the internet for fancy gadgets and products, so you don’t have to.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

The 20 Most Idiotic Inventions You'll Ever Encounter

via businessinsider.com

Some people are so desperate to become entrepreneurs, they create ridiculous products.

And sometimes, like in the case of the Snuggie, their ideas pan out.

More often than not, these products bomb. You have to wonder why anyone would think investing time and money into a "potty putter" or a flatulent-capturing blanket is a good idea.

At the very least, these products are amusing.

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

These 16 Companies Are Leading A Retail Revolution

via businessinsider.com

Morgan Stanley's internet and retail research teams led by Scott Devitt just published a big report on global eCommerce, which they project will be a $1 trillion market by 2016.

eCommerce and retail are engaged in a zero-sum game: one company's gain in eCommerce is another's lost retail sales. As such, the team refers to eCommerce in the context of "retail sales disruption."

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios

30 Interesting and Creative Products You Can Buy

via smashinghub.com

It is not easy to come up with stuff that is creative in a non-tacky way and has the potential to actually grab your attention. Of course, you will not agree with everything and that’s okay because everyone has a different mind and a different concept of innovation and creativity. Moreover, each and every one of us has a different sense of humor.

It is the holiday season ladies and gentlemen and we are sure you are looking for some fun stuff to gift to your children and relatives. We managed to come up with thirty different products for you to buy which you can gift or buy for yourself or your family. Rest assured though, these products are bound to give your some manner of joy.

This particular list talks about 30 funny and creative products you can buy. These products are not ranked in anyway, so please don’t think that the last one is the best one. Go through each and every one, make your pick and enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

Posted via email from Create | Inspire - DM2 Studios