laptops online - why bother?

Since when did online retail stores start charging sales tax? My wife and I were trying to shop for a new laptop today, and were quite disgusted to find that big computer names like HP and Dell are now charging sales tax. So, figure an extra $50 or more into your price. I know that online stores with local brick and mortar counterparts have always charged tax, but since when did everyone else?

I called HP to find out when this change took effect - the customer service rep told me that they started charging tax on online orders in February of 2006. I guess it has been a while since I purchased anything online from HP. I should also mention that the guy was fairly rude to me on the phone. I asked him why they would charge me sales tax when there isn't an HP store anywhere near my home. He claimed that HP now has "offices" in nearly every state. Of course, I can't very well drive to an HP "office" to buy the product, can I? So why charge me sales tax on it? Even worse, the tax that they were going to charge was a whopping 10%! They also charge $69 for shipping...which probably costs them $8 via UPS or Fedex. Paying such high tax and shipping on internet orders basically negates any cost savings over driving to your local WalMart or BestBuy. Plus, you get the benefit of easier returns if you buy it locally.

Aaah...but as the HP rep informed me, I get to "customize" my PC if I buy it from their website. So, I was going to have them upgrade my RAM for about $30 and then pay an additional $120 for tax and shipping, when I could just buy the stick of RAM somewhere for $20 and "customize" a store-bought PC myself (and not have to pay for shipping)...

Adding insult to injury is the fact that computers no longer ship with backup discs. You have to pay another $20 if you want that. That's probably not HP's policy - more likely Microsoft, but you know how cheap it is to manufacture a backup CD. In all honesty, it really disgusts me that sales tactics are still so underhanded in our "web friendly" world. All of the companies I looked at served me up bogus prices that included mail-in rebates and "instant savings" but failed to mention the ridiculous tax rate until right before checkout.

I did try and order a customized HP desktop several years ago and it arrived DOA. I returned it promptly and got my refund, so I didn't complain. Since then, I have owned an HP Pavilion desktop and laptop and have been satisfied their products. However, this recent bout with their online shopping interface (and the follow-up call with the rude sales rep) sure leaves a bad taste in my mouth.