McMaster-Carr Customers beware! = PSA

[chief38]

I like McMaster - Carr! They ship fast, have a slew of products and have great customer service. Over the last few years I have purchased thousands of dollars of products from them and started noticing recently that I have been "ripped-off" on the sales tax portion of the invoice! Sales tax in my area is 8.625% and they have been charging me 10.5%.!! Truthfully, I never really looked prior to very recently but I went back over past orders and saw they have been over charging me as far back as my saved order file goes!. I pay enough taxes and although I am not quibbling about paying what the State Sales Tax actually is, I do not want to pay 2% over what is lawfully due.

I called M-C this morning and the Customer Service Rep. I spoke with looked at all my past purchased and saw what my concern was and agreed. She kicked the issue upstairs to the "tax dept." of M-C and said they would be calling me. We'll see what their response is.

I would recommend that if you buy from M-C you go back and check your invoices fro the proper sales tax charges and call them if they are over charging you.

Again, a great Company, but their sales tax department needs to get their act together. Please let me know if anyone else here has the same issues.......

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

The sales tax rules are complicated, and even more in favor of the government since the SCOTUS case (South Dakota v Wayfair, Inc.) last summer. Not knowing all the particulars, I believe that McMaster-Carr is in Chicago. Chicago and Long Beach have the highest sales and use tax rates in the country at 10.25%. Illinois is an ORIGIN sales tax state, so generally they would charge the sales tax rate at origin - Chicago. There are exceptions (recently changed in favor of the governments) to this depending on a number of particular facts, but it is possible that you were charged properly. As for the .25% difference, that maybe because the Illinois rules as to whether shipping is subject to sales and use tax are also byzantine. Your local rate, which is about the same as mine (Houston), is not always the rate that you pay on stuff shipped from outside your area. FYI Rick