A Crisis of Conscience

Katy and I decided that we would get ourselves a digital camera for Christmas this year. I did some research and chose the Canon A80. Then the comparison shopping began.

Amazon had it on sale for $379, with free shipping and no sales tax.

Best Buy's price on the same camera was $359. 8.25% Los Angeles County sales tax would bring the total cost to $388.62.

If you know me, you know that I am value-minded. My first impulse was to order the camera from Amazon and save the $9.62. But then I started to think.

Much to my own amazement, I decided that it was worth the extra cash to buy the item at my local Best Buy - not so much because I was helping a local retailer, I have no illusions about that - but because the state and county needs the cash. It's not much, granted, but it can't hurt.

I'm not ready to abandon the tax-free joys of online shopping, but in this case I get to pretend I'm a Responsible Citizen, without really affecting my own bottom line. I'd call that a win-win.

(Yes, this means there will likely be more photos showing up in this space.)