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High Tech Communications www.CarltonCollins.com Buying on the Web Remember our focus today is communicating your products and services t your customers. So at first glance, the topic “Buying on the Web” might not seem to fit. However, I think it does I think that it is useful to view your efforts to communicate from the customer’s perspective. I Do Most of My Shopping on the Web To start with, for the past 15 years I have purchased almost everything over the internet. I wouldn't buy furniture, a bike, a car, a camera, a boat, a house, office supplies, airline tickets, toys, clothes, computers, books, without first shopping it over the internet. Unless I plan to eat it right then, I turn to the web for most of my purchases. The web saves me time, it makes me a more informed consumer, and it almost always saves me 20% to 25% of my purchase price. Here are some of my personal examples, just to share a few: Item Best Retail Web Price I Price Paid Savings Savings % Hooker Bedroom Furniture Electric Dog Fence Hotel Rooms in Paris, France Bass Fishing Boat Sony Camcorder Kodak Digital Camera Delta Airline Ticket to Seattle Trumpet Fireplace Screen Bicycle Third Wheel Lego Mindstorm Tennis Racquet Childs Tennis Racquet Baseball Bat Compaq 24 inch Monitor $ 6,000 $ 250 $ 1,495 $ 6,200 $ 1,600 $ 869 $ 1,800 $ 600 $ 369 $ 229 $ 199 $ 210 $ 100 $ 229 $ 1,800 $ 4,200 $ 180 $ 995 $ 4,500 $ 1,200 $ 600 $ 429 $ 360 $ 140 $ 129 $ 150 $ 140 $ 70 $ 169 $ 950 $ 1,800 $ 70 $ 500 $ 1,700 $ 400 $ 269 $ 1,371 $ 240 $ 229 $ 100 $ 49 $ 70 $ 30 $ 60 $ 850 30% 28% 33% 27% 25% 31% 76% 40% 62% 44% 25% 33% 30% 26% 47% Totals $ 21,950 $ 14,212 $ 7,738 35% As you can see by the above few examples, the cost savings can be impressive. These prices do not reflect savings for sales taxes, which usually more than covers shipping costs. In 1999, I calculated that I saved more than $18,000 by shopping on the web ‐ most of these savings were related to travel. My wife and I also purchase numerous books, gifts, supplies, and other items Copyright April 2010, J. Carlton Collins, CPA (all rights reserved) 136