Earning money online seems to be getting easier and easier, with so many services being provided and loads of electronic goods which can be sold without delay. However, a question has come to mind in regards to Tax. How do you claim tax earning money online? How do the tax management people actually track these money earners?

The fact is, a lot of people probably don’t bother paying tax with money they earn online. Why? Because theoretically it can’t be tracked. Obviously there are ways to be caught out, but with a lot of new payment methods such as PayPal and E-Gold, it gets harder and harder. What does this REALLY mean?

It means that those who have a job away from the PC, end up having to pay MORE tax because the users on the net don’t pay it. Although, personally I don’t really blame the situation on the people earning money online - why? Take a look at the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) website and you’ll understand. Why can’t there be a simpler way of finding out, before doing your tax at somewhere like the San Diego tax attorney?

Ok, enough ranting for today! I’d like to still know your opinion on the situation, use the comments box below!

Normally I don’t rant about companies…. well, not publicly. However having some recent bad luck with a couple of companies, I sat back and had a think about what our rights are in terms of ordering and having products delivered online.

Alright, so by this stage I can see a lot of my readers wondering why I don’t just run down to the local shop and purchase something; point is I prefer to have a brown box come to the door so that my mother (or whomever the present is for) starts getting curious. And the point is, shopping online should be safe from errors and glitches.

So, I present to you two separate issues that I have encountered whilst shopping online recently.

CatchOfTheDay.com.au

CatchOfTheDay.com.au did get into contact me, and explained the issue was due to something completely out of their control. Sorry guys for not editing this earlier, but the fact is they were very professional in dealing with the issue and compensated me dearly. COTD is definately the best 1 item a day store available in Australia, so check it out today!

CatchOfTheDay.com.au is an excellent site, founded upon the idea of having one item for purchase for 1 day only, you miss it once you won’t get it again. So, I was amazed when I visited the URL to find an amazing product that would suit my mother perfectly (and no, I’m not saying what it is in case she reads this - for whatever reason). After checking my PayPal balance, I ordered this ‘item’ and chose it’s colours to be Pink. Awesome I thought, Pink is my mother’s favourite colour and this ‘item’ would be excellent.

So, about a week later I receive a parcel with my name on it, and the “CatchOfTheDay.com.au” logo on the side. I thought, perfect it’s come! Upon opening it however I found that they had sent a Blue ‘item’ instead of the requested ‘Pink’ one. Whilst I was a little upset, I decided to send them an email. After sending the email, I received an automatic reply. One week later, no reply from their staff.

From here, I decided to post on the Whirlpool forums in which I feel has greatly contributed to a lot of resolutions in the past. Upon submitting my message, I received a reply from “QQQ” which is one of their staff members. After being told they never received my email, I resent it. The next day, I was told by QQQ that I didn’t sent the message. Well hey, I have the confirmation email if you’d like! I was also told that they had sent the wrong colour, confirming I did select Pink, and have unfortunately ran out of the ‘items’ completely. They also offered my a free postage coupon.

Two replies via Whirlpool’s Private Messenging service (WHIM) and whilst they have been read, I still have had NO response either via the WHIM or via e-mail.

FastWay Courier

Whilst I had never heard of FastWay before, I accepted them as my courier for some products I purchased from another online retailer. This package was sent on Tuesday (18/12/2007), with a 1 day delivery time frame as mentioned on their website. I was estatic that I was receiving it the next day, however angry when looking at their status page to see that the item was in transit between Sydney and Melbourne. Ok, I thought, I’ll give them another day. Today however, and it is still in Melbourne.

I decided to give them a call, and was told that the item would not be sent to me until tomorrow, at 5PM. Upon asking why they had told me a 1 day delivery for a now 4 day delivery, the operator replied “don’t worry.. it’s christmas”.

Conclusion

So, this brings me to my question. What rights do we have when it comes to things like this? Is this false advertisement, one being that they sent the wrong item and the other that they blatantly lied and told me 1 day, when it was in fact 4? Heck, I understand that Christmas is a busy time but at least companies such as AusPost have the decency to tell you that they don’t guarantee it, and have an express 1 day postage that does actually turn up on time.

I thought I’d bring a small mention to some companies I have had excellent service from and fast delivery, these site’s being ShoppingSquare, OnlineVIP and WsTech (and, COTD (I have since purchased heaps of stuff after this post, and I apologise for not letting you guys know earlier)). I’m interested to hear your opinions, suggestions and comments. Leave your comments on the comments form or send us an email!

In a recent review of www.BeerGuide.com.au I explained my interest in the site that it was free to use and a super great idea, well now they’re having a competition.

Whilst I understand that this isn’t directly related to Technology and the MiCCAS.net website, I have decided to start a new category “Off-Topic” so that I can post this message to my faithful visitors.

The owner of BeerGuide.com.au, Nathan, has decided to begin the first of hopefully many competitions on the website. This competition involves members reviewing beers and submitting their thoughts to the website. This benefits not only the other many visitors around the world, but also yourself (gives you an excuse to take a trip to the local bottle shop.)

The prizes that Nathan has donated himself are Prize 1 - 24 Mixed World Beers delivered to your doorstep (Value ~ $95) … Prize 2 - 12 Mixed Australian Beers delivered to your doorstep (Value ~ $45) and will be delivered to your door if you’re located in Australia.
As stated on the website Non-Subscribed Members (that is free accounts) will be required to review a minimum of 15 Beers to be placed into the draw… Subscribed Members will only be required to review a minimum of 5 Beers. Subscribing really only supports the website and gives you no ads, but its also a benefit in this case where you aren’t required to review as many beers.

But before you being making bogus reviews, read the next quote which says Proof of purchase for 85% of the Beers you review, must be shown if you are selected as the winner which is a good thing as it will make sure that visitors get good quality reviews that are true.

So what are you waiting for, you’ve got until the end of February 2007 to win these fantastic prizes so get reviewing, but don’t forget to sign up!

Also note that this competition is obviously only open to those 18 years and older due to the fact the prize is alcohol.