TMCnet Feature

June 15, 2012

Online Retailer Kogan Charges Users More to Shop with Internet Explorer 7

By

Steve Anderson

,

Contributing TMCnet Writer

Yesterday, online retailer Kogan announced that it would be charging users of Internet Explorer 7 an additional 6.8 percent to use the browser when shopping on their site, amounting to what’s being described as the first ever tax on the Microsoft (News – Alert) browser.

The charge goes into effect for Australian shoppers using Internet Explorer 7 to shop Kogan’s site, and represents part of a continuous plan of surcharges applied to the browser. Kogan determined the rate by applying a 0.1 percent charge for every month since Internet Explorer 7′s release, which yesterday brought the charge to 6.8 percent.

Some didn’t believe that Kogan would do such a thing, and when asked about it, Ruslan Kogan–Kogan’s founder, chief executive and namesake–said that the charge was indeed active and was being assessed right now. Kogan went on to elaborate: “Based on what Kogan stands for with efficiency it just didn’t seem right, we should not be punishing our savvy customers who are using a proper browser.”

The so-called tax on Internet Explorer 7 users has drummed up a measure of extra publicity for Kogan, adding on to previous efforts which included challenging Harvey Norman to a live television debate and carrying on a long-term dispute with JB Hi-Fi over just how much of JB Hi-Fi’s sales come from Apple (News – Alert) products.

Kogan, for his part, claims that the move has actually garnered support from those in the Web community, who have praised the move as a time- and money-saving move, by moving to require less IT work in supporting an outdated browser. When asked, Kogan didn’t know just how much time and money was spent in supporting the browser, but described it as “a significant amount”, and says that the costs throughout the Internet economy represent millions of dollars in waste.

While some will likely be incensed at the thought of having to pay more to use a certain Web browser online, the response to that is to simply download a new browser for use in shopping Kogan. Kogan takes a variety of browsers without incident, from Google’s (News – Alert) Chrome to Mozilla’s Firefox and beyond, even taking Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer 8, available for free upgrade to anyone with Internet Explorer 7. However, it’s the implications of such a move that likely have many concerned. Sure, today it’s an old, defunct browser like Internet Explorer 7, but how long before Android equipment sellers levy similar “taxes” against anyone not using Chrome? Or Windows Phone (News – Alert) equipment dealers put them on non-Internet Explorer users? Or anything Apple not purchased via Safari?

It’s easy to see where this could eventually be a serious problem, or it could ultimately turn out to be a tempest in a teapot. But at the end of the day, it’s only a controversy as opposed to a full assault against freedom on the Internet.

Edited by Brooke Neuman