Shopping on Zazzle during a tax-free holiday . . . Anyone done this?

[Amanda23]

My state (Ohio) is currently having a tax-free holiday for a two-week period. Looking at Zazzle's policy and through chatting with the bot, I have learned that Zazzle does NOT automatically recognize tax-free holidays. (I "get" this; they vary by state and many have them at different times.)

My question is this: Has anyone shopped during a tax-free holiday in the past? Or do you have a customer who has done so? I'd love to know the difficulty of the process to provide documentation and request the refund for the taxes. Perhaps after the weekend, a mod could respond to let us know what is needed for this?

I am mostly interested in this from a shopper's point of view, but I also want to verify that this will ONLY impact the final sales total for the seller, and not seem like it's some kind of cancellation or other wrench that interferes with royalties and/or referrals. I don't think it should cause any issue besides modifying the sale amount, but it's always good to be sure. 

Depending on what I learn, I may create a video for customers on how to navigate this process and earn their refund. If I do so, I will share that video link in the "tips" channel if anyone would find it helpful for their own purposes. 

Thanks to all, 
Amanda 

[tamirazdesigns]

Yes, each state is different whether or not they have Sales Tax Holiday's or not, and if they do the retail items and amounts specified for certain items can also differ.  Don't think it's a thing a site such as Zazzle would do though.  It's more of a state thing when done.

My NJ state had it for a 10 day period, but only had the Sales Tax Hoiday for two years and then repealed it last year.  It was only for certain retail sales like computers (within a specified price), and school supplies, sports or recreational equipement - sold to individual purchasers for non-business use. 

There was no "earning a refund" for the customers.

The customers did not need to do anything differently when shopping, except buy any items like they normally would, and just not be charged the tax on those indicated items during that timeframe.

[Amanda23]

Yes, only certain items apply, but in Ohio, quite a few broad genres of things apply, and they don't even need to be purchased directly for school. lol (eg. books, even if they aren't for school, qualify for the tax exemption)

As you say, for brick and mortar businesses, customers just shop as normal. On large sites like Amazon and Walmart (I don't shop either, but I read about them this morning), the tax exemption is immediately applied. 

Typically, there wouldn't be a refund, however, online sales are included in the Ohio tax holiday if you order and pay within the tax-free window, and the business accepts the order. I don't see why Zazzle would be different; I just would like to know what their step-by-step process is. I presume it's a partial refund for the charged sales tax, which neither they (Zazzle) nor the customer, to my understanding, are responsible for during this time. 
Amanda

[Amanda23]

@Heather and @James , I was wondering if someone might be able to aid me with this question. I'd love to take advantage of this opportunity before the window closes!
Thank you so much, 

Amanda

[Heather · Accepted solution]

Hi @Amanda23 - I checked with our Customer Care Team and we do support tax-free holidays for certain states. Once a customer places an order, please have them reach out to our customer care team to remove the tax by providing their order ID. 

https://help.zazzle.com/hc/en-us/articles/221463567-How-Do-I-Contact-Zazzle-Customer-Support

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Heather