Amongst my work colleagues, at least, statements like "all generalizations are false" are part of a well-known joke. We say "all generalizations are false... including this one." Since two people (at least) reacted negatively, I probably should have included both the punchline and a smiley for those who don't get my sometimes dry humor. Sorry if it seems like I was flipping anyone off. I tried to show examples of sales tax being due and collected collected when one might think it would not, as well as the other way around .. so I was really only trying to make the point about generalizations being dangerous and often inaccurate. FWIW, I believe that MT and OR are not the only states with no sales tax... I think NH an DE (and AK) similarly have no sales tax. I don't know if local jurisdictions impose a tax or not, nor do I know anything about whether the jurisdictions in any of these 5 states impose a use tax on out-of-state purchases that are brought into the state. Obviously, a person living in these states have a different set of concerns than persons who live in other states. It's also true that some states have (like NY) have what I think they call "safe harbor provisions" on their tax returns. With these, you can voluntarily pay the state essentially an "estimated" use tax based on your AGI. These may not cover everything -- in NY I think it only applies to purchases under $1k. YMMV, of course .. .and I'm not a lawyer, CPA, or employee of the Tax department. The real point I was trying to make is that folks should 'never say never' or 'never say always' when it comes to these kinds of topics, since the laws vary dramatically from state to state. Finally, re: local vs. "internet" purchases -- Weissman is correct that depending on the individual (and the manufacturer), after sales service may or may not be a consideration. The macroeconomic arguments for or against local vs long-distance purchases are interesting. The conclusion is not obvious (to me, anyhow). The impact on the local economy is more obvious. This should be an incentive for "local" vendors to provide well-trained sales folks and competitive pricing.

Gracias, ajsmama :). Now it all makes sense. At least till I forget what I just learned; occupational middle-age hazard these days! Re. the ebay/thrift store relationship--do you think that the now ubiquitous online markets (EBay, Craigslist etc) have hurt, harmed or not affected bricks n mortar thrifting? Years ago (I was working PT, had more time to do fun stuff like this) my MIL and I enjoyed going to local bazaars,yard sales and church rummage sales. There were fairly often some nice things dumped in there. Now I suspect many more people are doing what flyleft encountered, shopping in order to then resell. I think there is a whole new 'entrepreneur' niche, at least I've read about people who make their living or at least some income from selling online. Dunno, just wondering what folks who are more in the know think about this? Ann

I have a Weber gas grill and I get a lot of grease in the grease pan...but I also cook a lot of dark meat chicken and pork roasts on the grill. Thinking about it, if the grease pan is underneath the grill, like on my Weber, the type of metal isn't going to make any difference because it's never going to get hot enough to fume. For some reason, I was thinking about those flavorizer bars in my Weber (that sit over the burners rather than having lava rock or ceramic briquettes) when I responded originally. Definitely, you would NOT want those to be made out of galvanized metal and have the fumes permeating your food. Oh, and Webers are fantastic grilling machines. Flare-ups are pretty much history. Expensive grill if you buy new but I found a working grill for only $20. The end casting on the hood was broken so it didn't have a handle. Used it for few weeks until I located another parts grill for $35. Fixed the hood and salvaged a set of slightly used burners and cooking grid for replacements later on. Anyway, just had to tell you how much I love the Weber. This is our 4th or 5th grill, by far the best grill we've owned plus it represents the least am't of money we've ever spent on one. I'm just thrilled with my bargain grill!!

I found one pair of Hokas today at TJ Maxx. They were 9 1/2 ( I am usually an 8 1/2 or 9) . I tried them on and they were actually pretty comfy.........but they were blue and orange and $79.99. I think if they looked a bit more "normal" I might have bought them. I want to be able to wear sneakers with a little nicer outfit ( like I was wearing today, for when we travel.... still casual but a step up from gym clothes).. These really looked like clown shoes on me and for the price, I just couldn't. But I was excited to see them in TJM. I would have been happy with the ones Jane shared above. These were like medium blue with orange flames. oh well.