Posted by SL, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2011 at 12:14 pm

Amazon should absolutely collect and forward sales tax from its customers. I'm a heavy user of Amazon, but I don't see any logic in giving them (and their customers) a privileged pricing policy compared to storefronts.

Also, I chatted at length with a signature gatherer for Amazon's petition to have a referendum. He is a roving professional, paid $3.50 for each valid signature he collects, and he says there are thousands of paid signature gatherers across the state who are happy to sign you up.

I may choose to buy online, but I welcome the sales tax to support our communities.

Posted by Citizen A, a resident of the Woodside: Mountain Home Road neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2011 at 5:41 pm

The sooner most of these defunct physical retail businesses disappear, the better off we will all be. Confusing commerce with community is part of the problem with the US.

Change requires all to change. These physical retailers should either adapt or add more value. What consumers are sayig en masse is that they don't see the value in most physical retail.

The sooner it disappears, the less traffic and less concrete jungles we will have.

Also, bookstores should be ashamed. A HUGE amount of garbage are paper and book products.