# Is Sears selling stolen merchandise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728 "2016-06-07T12:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/1 "2016-06-07T12:52:45Z")
You often see “carded” on the description of items on [Sears.com](http://Sears.com) [Like this](http://www.sears.com/wera-impaktor-bit-holder-with-ringmagnet-1-4-inch/p-00903135000P?sellerId=SEARS&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1). I have a friend who is obsessed with the dark net, and often talks about carded merchandise that you can buy at a massive discount. This isn’t the same thing is it? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/2 "2016-06-07T13:04:45Z")
“Carded” means that the item is attached to a piece of cardboard which allows it to be displayed by hanging from a pegboard, as opposed to being loose or in a box stacked on the shelf. I have no idea what your friend is talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/3 "2016-06-07T13:07:13Z")
No. It refers to the item being packaged on a a piece of cardboard with a plastic bubble attached. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/4 "2016-06-07T13:09:19Z")
One way criminals get money off of stolen credit cards is by “carding” goods. They will offer to sell goods at a massive discount. What they then do is buy merchandise from various retailers using stolen cards, and have the retailer ship it to the criminal’s customer. He has showed me some of the dark net stuff and you will see ads like “Carded Xbox One Brand New $175”, which again, means that it is stolen. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/5 "2016-06-07T13:11:46Z")
“Carded” in this context means that the item comes in retail packaging with a cardboard back. As opposed to a simple plastic bag or some such. It’s an important distinction in wholesaling, but I’m not sure why Sears did this for something sold in small amounts, e.g., 1. There is absolutely no “woo” involved in this. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/6 "2016-06-07T13:57:05Z")
Nevertheless, if Sears were selling stolen merchandise I’m sure they would make a point of announcing the fact. What’s the sense in breaking the law if you can’t make sure you’ll get found out? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/7 "2016-06-07T14:00:23Z")
Think ideas like this (a big company selling stolen merchandise) through to their logical conclusion… 1. Criminals eventually get caught. 2. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE working for a large company to do such a thing and no one ever find out about it. As soon as an employee is fired, they would turn-in the company to the police. Right? 3. It would NOT be in the company’s long term best interest to sell stolen items. No one with common sense working at such a company would ever agree to do such a thing. And if I was working there and was asked to do something illegal - for minimum wage, I would say NO WAY! BYE! Think about these things! ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/8 "2016-06-07T14:43:23Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Think ideas like this (a big company selling stolen merchandise) through to their logical conclusion… > > 1. Criminals eventually get caught. > > 2. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE working for a large company to do such a thing and no one ever find out about it. As soon as an employee is fired, they would turn-in the company to the police. Right? > > 3. It would NOT be in the company’s long term best interest to sell stolen items. No one with common sense working at such a company would ever agree to do such a thing. And if I was working there and was asked to do something illegal - for minimum wage, I would say NO WAY! BYE! > > Think about these things! Not only that, but: 1. How would a chain the size of Sears steal enough credit card numbers to buy the amount of merchandise they carry without anyone noticing? That’s national news level stuff. 2. Large stores don’t just hand someone a credit card and send them on over to a vendor to buy 10,000 drill bits or whatever. They have buying teams who work with sales reps so there are emails, purchase orders, invoices, bills of lading, stuff like that. [QUOTE=ftg] It’s an important distinction in wholesaling, but I’m not sure why Sears did this for something sold in small amounts, e.g., 1. [/QUOTE] In some cases, it’s easier just to copy the vendor’s description of the item instead of making up your own. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/9 "2016-06-07T15:28:31Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > One way criminals get money off of stolen credit cards is by “carding” goods. They will offer to sell goods at a massive discount. What they then do is buy merchandise from various retailers using stolen cards, and have the retailer ship it to the criminal’s customer. I don’t understand why a customer would do this (assuming they understand the whole process). So I buy some carded merchandise, knowing that it’s paid for with a stolen credit card. The cardholder disputes the charge, the credit card company discovers the fraud and reports it to the police, the police see where the merchandise was shipped and show up on my doorstep asking a bunch of questions. No thanks. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/10 "2016-06-07T15:32:32Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > \*\*I don’t understand why a customer would do this \*\*(assuming they understand the whole process). So I buy some carded merchandise, knowing that it’s paid for with a stolen credit card. The cardholder disputes the charge, the credit card company discovers the fraud and reports it to the police, the police see where the merchandise was shipped and show up on my doorstep asking a bunch of questions. No thanks. > > –Mark “Hey, it’s cheap!” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/11 "2016-06-07T17:40:46Z")
C’mon guys, this is the Dope. We can tell him the truth. It’s stolen and the “carded” is a dead giveaway. Just like a SALE sign on a product. SALE means Stolen and Laundered Ellegally. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/12 "2016-06-07T17:44:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > C’mon guys, this is the Dope. We can tell him the truth. > > It’s stolen and the “carded” is a dead giveaway. > > Just like a SALE sign on a product. SALE means Stolen and Laundered Ellegally. Oh, that’s just great. Now everybody knows what used to be our little secret. Blabbermouth. ---
**Author:** ![vtxrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d26b3c/32.png) [@vtxrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vtxrider)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/13 "2016-06-07T17:58:54Z")
I had read that Sears has a vast network of thieves that hijack shipments from various competitors and then drive the merchandise back to their secret warehouse and remove the manufacturers label and replace it with a Kenmore label. Then they box it back up and sell it at virtually 100% profit (minus what they pay the thieves and for the warehouse and relabeling and such. This also hurts their competitors because of all the lost merchandise and the insurance companies that have to pay out for all that. And you of course pay even more for the Kenmore name, so you don’t even get a good deal out of it. They are so devious. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/14 "2016-06-07T18:03:40Z")
Wow, there sure are a lot of things that cause cancer in California … that Proposition 65 warning in the OP’s link is scary. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/15 "2016-06-07T18:12:44Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Wow, there sure are a lot of things that cause cancer in California … that Proposition 65 warning in the OP’s link is scary. There are now some online sellers who won’t sell to people in California because they don’t want to have to include the Prop 65 warning on their merchandise. It tends to be very alarming to people outside of California. OTOH, we Californians see it so often that we pretty much ignore it entirely. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/16 "2016-06-07T18:37:07Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > There are now some online sellers who won’t sell to people in California because they don’t want to have to include the Prop 65 warning on their merchandise. It tends to be very alarming to people outside of California. OTOH, we Californians see it so often that we pretty much ignore it entirely. I spent a few nights in a hotel … there were big square foot placards every ten feet warning me that building contained cancer-causing substances … why bother if y’all just ignore the warnings anyway … you’d save more lives enforcing your speed limits … ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/17 "2016-06-07T19:23:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Just like a SALE sign on a product. SALE means Stolen and Laundered Ellegally. I thought it was Stolen and Laundered Extra-legally. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/18 "2016-06-07T20:33:07Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > I thought it was Stolen and Laundered Extra-legally. A common misconception due to folk etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/19 "2016-06-07T21:13:53Z")
I wanna know more about this “Dark Net” thing! Is there a secret handshake involved? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728/20 "2016-06-07T21:28:29Z")
Sears doesn’t sell stolen merchandise. They haven’t sold anything in years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sears-selling-stolen-merchandise/756728.md?page=2)