Bought a St. Louis through Distance via SF about 5 weeks ago. Was asked to pay the "premium shipping" fee in lieu of tax, which included ground shipping and the estimated collected tax which was set as the local tax rate in CA. It appears others have written of this in the past months. Is this the new situation for the brand? Can anyone speak to the validity of this? Incidentally, I could have had it shipped to a tax free state, but suspect they would have done the same. What could anyone say of this in particular? Just trying to think back on the whole purchase process. On one hand, I'd have to travel to a boutique and spend money to do that, but the premium seems like more of their premium than a "premium shipping" experience.
Would love to know other people's experiences with this and/or the explanation or how legitimate this is.