I'm in Oregon too, and because of the lack of a sales tax, business and property taxes are through the roof...that gets passed onto the consumer...Oregon is one of the most expensive places I've lived!
(I'm SO ready to move out of this place!!!)

***Edited to add*** NOT that Oregon is THE most expensive place one could live....just that it's the most expensive place *I* have lived!! ;)

Of course, after bragging about not having to pay sales tax, before we sold our home, we paid pretty high property taxes. However state governments need money to run the state, so whether they levy a sales tax, a property tax or any other kind of tax - we should realize that if we expect all the services we should be willing to pay the tax!!!

About self-reporting out-of-state purchasesI don't know *what* to think about this. I mean, how do you document what you DIDN'T spend?

(Your honor, I have a witness! My husband can testify that I did not go out-of-state to purchase anything the entire month of August, and my computer was broken so I couldn't buy anything online. And my mailbox got knocked down, so I couldn't purchase anything by mail-order either. That's right, the car needed fixing so I couldn't even drive the outgoing mail to the Post Office. You know they won't deliver or pick up if there's no mail receptacle. Oh, yes, it's true, my telephone line fell down and the phone company has not been out to fix it yet... and the baby flushed the cell phone down the toilet so I couldn't order anything by phone either. )

Sorry. My imagination runs wild sometimes...

I have never bought fabric on line but there are certain shops locally that I refuse to shop at either because they have cheated me on fabric or they are just not nice people.

As far as on line I have heard from women that they have been cheated quite a bit and didn't get the yardage they ordered.

No because the shipping costs are more than taxes. And in NY state the taxes are less if you are using the fabric to make a garment. Interesting no one ever asks this question in a fabric /quilt fabric store. I make plenty of quilted garments... but even if I bring it up they just look at me like they really wish I had not brought it up.

It may well be true that they wish you hadn't brought it up... because they may not know what to DO about it!

It's one item, that can be taxed two different ways. That's kind of a nightmare.

Why does NY make everything so HARD?

I shop in person mostly. I like to see things up close and I know pictures are never true to the real color. That's not to say I won't buy something online if I like it. Now, I also live in a tax free state. Delaware even goes so far as to advertise "The home of tax free shopping" to lure in customers from PA, NJ, NY, MD. So as far as I know, I still don't pay tax if I'm online, because the transaction takes place in DE. I may be wrong, maybe I just haven't noticed. When I shop in other states, I know there is a tax but it doesn't stop me from buying it.

I do shop in my own state, our state needs all the help it can get!!

I shop at local LQSes and Joanne unless I run across a fabric online that I can't get there.

I purposly look for sellers from my state on ebay. I don't mind paying more they are my neighbors.