Seattle is a good place to work out cycle pricing for a refill product, because its calendar is easy to read and its tax line is easy to get wrong. The Washington Department of Revenue lists Seattle at a 10.55 percent combined rate for October through December 2026, and it says rates update each quarter, which matters to anyone with an order that renews across a quarter end. NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for the Seattle-Tacoma airport station put 32.83 of the 39.34 inches of annual precipitation between October and April. None of that is a claim about demand, and this page does not make one. It is a calendar and a rate to price against, and the plan below uses them to set what the first box, the second box and later boxes of a coffee-style subscription cost.
Work out profit per box at full price, then price the first box and the later boxes separately. On the assumed 18 dollar refill that costs 8 dollars, profit is 9.18 dollars at full price, 5.68 on a 20 percent first box and 7.24 on later boxes at 2 dollars off. Decide how many boxes a typical subscriber must take for the schedule to pay.
Pick the launch week from the calendar: the NOAA normals put the wetter months at October through April. Use that to choose when to start the first-box price, and run it for a fixed number of weeks so it does not become the regular price.
Check the Department of Revenue's table when it updates. The fourth-quarter 2026 table, valid through Dec. 31, 2026, lists Seattle at 10.55 percent combined, so re-read the Department's table for 2027 before you quote any rate. An order that renews across a quarter end can be taxed at a different rate, so keep your plan page in before-tax prices.
The Port of Seattle lists its cruise season as April through October and reported 330 vessel calls for 2026. That is a local calendar marker, not a pricing input: leave the subscription schedule alone in those months unless your own order data says otherwise.
Source: Port of Seattle: Cruise Season Kicks Off With 330 Calls and Two New Cruise Lines (Apr. 16, 2026)
Build it with the Subscription cycle pricing template.
Requires: Pro plan or higher.
Assume a refill that sells for 18 dollars and costs you 8 dollars landed, with a card fee of 2.9 percent plus 30 cents (an assumption, not a quote). Twenty percent off the first box leaves 5.68 dollars of profit, 2 dollars off each later box leaves 7.24, and full price would leave 9.18. Over three boxes the schedule gives up 7.38 dollars against full price, which is the figure to compare with what a retained subscriber is worth to you.
Source:
The Department says Seattle's rate updates each quarter, and the table in force is for October through December 2026. A subscription that renews on the first of January may be taxed at a rate that differs from the one on the first box. Show prices before tax on the plan page and say tax is added at checkout.
Seven months from October to April carry 32.83 of the airport station's 39.34 inches of precipitation, while June, July and August together carry 3.02. If you want to test whether the start of the wet months is a good time to launch a first-box price, run it as a test against the same weeks of the previous year, and treat the weather as a way to pick the weeks, not as a reason shoppers buy.
Seattle is a place to test subscription cycle pricing against a seasonal backdrop: NOAA's 1991-2020 normals put 32.83 of the airport station's 39.34 inches of annual precipitation between October and April, a pattern the offer plan uses as a calendar and not as a demand claim.
The Washington State Department of Revenue's local sales and use tax table effective Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026 lists Seattle (location code 1726) with a local rate of 4.05 percent, the 6.5 percent state rate and a combined rate of 10.55 percent, and notes that rates update each quarter.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Local Sales & Use Tax Rates, effective Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026 (accessed October 10, 2026)
NOAA's 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport station are 3.91 inches in October, 6.31 in November, 5.72 in December, 5.78 in January, 3.76 in February, 4.17 in March and 3.18 in April, which add to 32.83 inches.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport station (accessed October 10, 2026)
The same normals give 39.34 inches of precipitation for the year, with 0.60 inches in July, 0.97 in August and 1.45 in June, so the three summer months together total 3.02 inches.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport station (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate for the city of Seattle is 784,777 people.
U.S. Census Bureau: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places (Vintage 2025, SUB-EST2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of Seattle's April 16, 2026 announcement says its 2026 cruise season begins Friday, April 17 with 330 vessel calls and 2.1 million revenue passengers, the most in the Port's history, and that new infrastructure coming online next spring will let every 2027 homeport ship plug in.
Port of Seattle: Cruise Season Kicks Off With 330 Calls and Two New Cruise Lines (Apr. 16, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of Seattle's cruise page describes the season as running every April through October.
Port of Seattle: Cruise (accessed October 10, 2026)
Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.
