One ring of 23 people was doing 2 million a year in one county
Ilike this quote out of a Forbs article
“Take Walmart, which sold $1.3 million in gift cards to the fraudster and was tasked with reviewing a sampling of them. It found that 200 cards were purchased at Walmart stores across the country. The majority of the credit and debit cards that were used, according to the banks, were ultimately closed due to fraudulent activity traced back to Walmart.”
But that’s getting off topic.
Interesting anecdote on the gift cards. About a year ago I wanted to give a combined birthday + Christmas gift to my young adult niece. So I went to Kohl’s intending to buy a gift card for $1000. They wouldn’t let me charge that to my Kohl’s charge. They wouldn’t let me charge that to my Visa or Mastercard.
Thinking the problem was maybe the amount I asked how big a gift card I could buy on my credit card(s). The answer was $0; they only sold them for cash. Or paid via bank debit card.
1 year previously they’d let me do the exact same $1000 purchase on my Kohl’s charge without batting an eye. Same store, nice neighborhood, lots of multi-hundred dollar cartloads of merchandise sold every day to typical comfy-class suburbanites.
But no more gift cards via credit.
You seem to assume employees are stashing items in their coat pockets before sneaking out the employee door. While some of this undoubtedly occurs (and yes, most bigger stores have security cameras at employee exits), a lot of retail employee theft involves larceny, embezzlement, and skimming. When employees do steal property, it’s often with an accomplice who simply isn’t charged for an item at the cash register.
I’m going to assume that was a response to me since that’s similar to the phrasing I used, but if so, you misunderstand my point.
I’m not saying that stores shouldn’t try to check receipts to deter shoplifters. I’m saying that unlike wearing a mask (which I should do because I might be contagious), my stopping to have my receipt checked will not stop any shoplifters. I’m not angry at them for asking, I just choose not to participate.
This is clearly what most receipt checks are really set up to stop. If they trusted the cashiers, you wouldn’t have to check everyone’s receipt. You’d just have to check receipts of people trying to bypass the cash registers with merchandise, which is a much smaller group of people.
Yes, I’ve never seen any credible evidence that stores base their prices on expenses like that. Every time I’ve seen information about how stores determine pricing or talked to someone working retail, they set the price based on getting an optimal number of sales in the market will still remaining profitable. A store will ditch a money-losing item (unless it has other value, like loss-leaders or prestige items), but if they reduce theft taking 10% of the effective cost of the item, they won’t drop the price by 10%, and if theft ups the cost by 10%, they won’t raise it 10% either.
It is a common misconception that the price of an item is based on the cost the store bears for that item. While some smaller shops may determine their prices by what their costs are (it’s an easy way to do it), more often than not the price is determined by what the market will bear. Even the small shops will routinely check for comparative prices at other businesses and, if they find that their price is significantly lower than the competition (or higher), they are likely to change their price to match the going price, regardless what it cost them. If they raise their price (and are able to replace their stock at their old cost), they just keep the difference. If they have to drop their price to remain competitive and are unable to replace the stock at a lower cost, they discontinue the item. Of course, this ignores special situations such as loss leaders or promotional programs designed to generate responses from the customers instead of profit. These special situations, in a way, prove the premise that the sales price is not simply a function of the store’s cost but, rather, reflect what the buying public is willing to pay.
So, no, a store is not going to lower (or raise) it’s prices in direct response to shoplifting (or varying utility costs, or even real estate costs). Their prices are going to be based on what their sales/marketing group has decided will generate the highest profits. If a store’s business model is to be a low-price, high volume supplier, they are likely to do things to keep their overhead low such as locate in the low-rent district, operate low-cost, low-maintenance facilities, outwardly deter theft, as well as keep wages and staffing as low as they can. Perhaps some of these actions are more theater than substance, such as the receipt checkers or industrial lighting and warehouse shelving seen at stores such as Costco. But, even if it is theater it doesn’t mean it has no function or does not produce desired outcomes. For example with the receipt checkers, they may not catch many shop-lifters, but merely their presence prevents many would-be thieves from even trying.
Of course, if you don’t want to shop at a business that engage in such practices, you don’t have to. Not all businesses have a low-price, high volume supplier business model. You can shop at other stores where a salesperson will interact with you directly, answer every question you may have, behave in a polite and courteous manner, and allow you free and unfettered egress once you have paid for your merchandise. See JC Penny, Macy’s, and smaller specialty shops. In general, however, it seems the buying public is more than willing to put up with many minor inconveniences in the name of lower prices, which is why such businesses are in decline.
Of course, you will always have people who want it both ways. Those who want low prices, but don’t want to wait in lines and deal with receipt checkers, or will complain loudly when they don’t get the service they want in a discount store.
The trick of it is that the “market price” is deeply impacted by the cost of the item sold. If any factor in that item’s supply chain causes the cost of bringing it to market to increase or decrease substantially, you can expect a change in the market price as well.
Now, if ShopRite’s cost of putting strawberries on their shelf goes up 10%, they may not be able to increase their price. But if every supermarkets strawberries get 10% more expensive, and stay that way, you can bet that prices will go up.
My conclusion is once the items are paid for and you have a receipt, they are your property.
The store can certainly ask to see your receipt, but you don’t have to show it. If the store doesn’t like your refusal they can ban you from the store. But that wouldn’t be good business.
If the store has reasonable suspicion you have shoplifted something, depending on the locality they may be able to detain you (shopkeeper’s privilege). But that takes it to a whole new level and they better have solid suspicion in this litigious society. It seems to be getting more common for big business to not pursue shoplifters because of legal concerns and the safety of their employees. That sucks too.
The profit-maximizing price of something depends on the costs to supply it, and loss due to theft is one of those costs.
Yes they are. Try carrying out an item or putting it in your pocket so that the count is wrong.
I don’t say that they always count all the items: I’ve not done the job, or spent time watching them. But that quick flick of the eye over the cart is enough for an experienced person to count the cart, and they stop people when the count is wrong.
I’m sure it varies. We never leave Costco without an overflowing cart. You couldn’t see stuff in the middle without unloading. I’ve never had anyone spend more than 5 seconds glancing at the receipt and letting us head out.
I don’t mind stopping for the check, but it’s got to be more theater than a real comparison of items to receipt.(the way I’ve seen it done)
Most of our food gets bought at the commissary. Then we go to the Super Walmart across the river; they have some things we like that the commissary doesn’t carry, and their prices are often close to the commissary’s (occasionally even lower). I pass two regular supermarkets (Stop n Shop and Big Y) on the way to either of those, but they’re more expensive. We also go to BJ’s once a month or so. Google Maps says it’s about five miles to the commissary, and a little over nine to Super Walmart or BJ’s.
Sears was about seven miles away, but it closed early last year. That leaves Macy’s and J C Penney, which are in the same mall Sears was, and Target which is a little farther away.
(There’s a much smaller Walmart about four miles away, which is useful for some things.)
And in California shoplifting is a misdemeanor if the stuff is worth less than $950.
I was at a pizzaria waiting for my order and a lady walked in and over to the soda fridge and grabbed a soda and then walked right back out. After she left I told the person at the register that the lady had just stolen from them and she said she knew and that that lady does it about once a week. She said that corporate told them not to engage with people that steal because it is under the $950 amount and isn’t worth corporates time and money to pursue them legally and by engaging with the thieves it might put employees in harms way and that an employee that did confront a thief would most likely lose their job.
A lot of that depends on exactly where you live and exactly what you buy - I spend a long weekend in Greene County and from what I was told by people who lived up there, until the Walmart opened, “you couldn’t buy underwear in the county” and from what I saw, that was very possibly true. But that’s the only time I ever go to Walmart. The closest one is about 9 miles from me, but I can’t imagine what I would buy in Walmart* that I can’t get at the supermarket, BJs, a hardware store/Home Depot , the drugstore or online.
I wouldn’t buy clothes from Walmart, but what’s the problem with Target? I have plenty of things from Target that are fine and have lasted a while. Target is on a higher level of quality from Walmart.
I buy clothes at Walmart. Admittedly, I pretty much wear jeans and t-shirts all the time. But the ones at Walmart are decent brands like Hanes and Levis, so why not?
I believe the Levi’s at Walmart are a separate line (I think the product line is called Signature) they created so they could meet Walmart’s price point. (NYT story) A lot of what’s sold at Walmart (and even outlet malls) is well-known brands but lower priced and lower quality lines.
I didn’t mean there was anything wrong with buying clothes at Walmart or Target - I just find that I like the clothes/sheets/towels at places like Burlington or TJ Maxx and some outlet stores better so I wouldn’t buy those items at Walmart.
I fear many of you are forgetting the workers in porn’s loss prevention subset. Where can inexperienced teens get the experience blubbering, “Oh no, don’t call my mom;” or their “aunts” get that last loop paid for to cover the rent. Not to mention the guys.