Where were the goods identified to the contract? Where did title to the goods pass?

Circuit City, which sold electronic goods, permitted customers to pay for goods at one store but pick them up at another. Because Massachusetts imposed a 5 percent sales tax on all goods sold in the state, but neighboring New Hampshire had no sales tax, many Massachusetts customers chose to save the 5 percent by collecting their goods at a New Hampshire store.

For these “alternative location” sales, the customer receipt indicated where the item had been bought and where it would be picked up. The receipt also said, “reserved,” meaning simply that in the collection store, one less item was available to other customers. Until the merchandise was picked up, the customer could demand a refund or request to collect the item in the store where she had paid for it.

The Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue demanded sales tax on the “alternative location” sales, claiming that it was a sale in Massachusetts because that is where title passed. Circuit City claimed that it owed no sales tax because
(1) The goods were not identified to the contract until a customer picked them up in New Hampshire, and
(2) Title passed in New Hampshire. The case reached the highest court in Massachusetts.