Aussie Online Retailer Impose IE7 Tax

First time accepted submitter Techy77 writes "Online retailer Kogan will impose a new tax on its customers that visit its website using Microsoft's outdated Internet Explorer 7 web browser, which means they will spend 6.8 percent more than customers on browsers like Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome. From the article: 'Kogan said his company was able to keep prices low by using technology to make its business efficient and streamlined. however its web team was having to spend a lot of time making its new website look normal on IE7. "It’s not only costing us a huge amount, it’s affecting any business with an online presence, and costing the Internet economy millions,” Mr Kogan said. “As Internet citizens, we all have a responsibility to make the Internet a better place. By taking these measures, we are doing our bit.”'"

Comments

All posters above deprived of a sense of humor?

[SmallFurryCreature]

This is a stunt, pure and simple. IE7 use is trivial and you can readily conclude that people who haven't upgraded in 10 years are NOT the primary customer of a computer retailer. People that cheap, don't buy stuff.

The owner of the company is well known for pulling publicity stunts. And hopefully most aussies got a better sense of humor then the whiners above.

As for those saying he should instead display a warning, the site does exactly that, http://www.afr.com/rw/2009-2014/AFR/2012/06/14/Photos/724adc40-b5bf-11e1-a3fb-e6c175e978e8_IE%20tax--236x197.jpg

I wonder why so many are offended by a joke, maybe a lot of them really shouldn't be on this TECH site because they still run IE7 themselves?

This is NOT a business plan or a real tax. It is a publicity stunt to create traffic at the cost of non-existent customers. You don't think that this company really thinks that after a plain warning that customers will be charged more, IE7 users will really pay the increased price? Mind you, they are IE7 users. In reality Kogan looked at their stats, saw a tiny non-significant IE7 usage that their web dev team still had to develop for at greater cost then this groups produces in profit and decided to stir the pot, get some free publicity and be considered by anyone with a sense of a humor as a bunch of all right blokes.

Re:Erm...

[History's Coming To]

Skin pigmentation != Browser choice.

If you want a proper analogy, this is like charging a customer more because they want to pay with Amex, which is quite common here because Amex costs retailers more than Mastercard or Visa transactions.

Re:Block or ignore IE7 perhaps?

[psiclops]

i only hear about them earlier this year. Samsung sent them a C&D to stop advertising tat their TVs used Samsung panels............which they bought from Samsung and still have Samsung logos on them. Apple also successfully stopped them from selling grey import iPads at international prices. (we get quite stooged on electronics here)

i can't quite understand how grey market could ever be deemed illegal.