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but then they'd have a local presence in the states they ship to and would have to charge sales tax. they'd lose their ~10% price advantage.

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If they could save at least 10% on shipping, they would still be in the positive on the transaction. That seems like it would be possible since the shipping part wouldn't have to be a profit center, just break even.

That would be a bit too vertical for my taste. I'm not sure massive hassle of trying to staff & run their own to-the-door shipping empire would beat the UPS service I get now.

10% of shipping costs is much less than 10% of the sale price.

Couldn't they use the same legal mechanisms (wholly-owned subsidiaries, etc.) employed today to avoid charging sales tax to customers in located in states with Amazon distribution centers?

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