# Tide Detergent Thefts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994 "2013-01-22T12:03:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Milton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@Mr.Milton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Milton)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/1 "2013-01-22T12:03:35Z")
What’s going on with the thefts of Tide brand laundry detergent I’ve been reading about? It’s being shoplifted so much that some stores put security tags on the jugs, and in at least one case, some flake was stealing pallet-loads of it from a Wal-Mart. Apparently it is just Tide and not other brands. They say Tide is some sort of currency on the street. I knew the US Dollar was in decline, but this is a bit much. What are they doing with this detergent, making bombs or methamphetamines out of it? Why not other brands —or are other brands also being “boosted” like this? ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/2 "2013-01-22T12:13:06Z")
[Snopes gives it an “undetermined”](http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/tide.asp) A quick Google shows a lot of articles, but most seem to lead back to the same source from the Snopes link. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/3 "2013-01-22T12:16:24Z")
This seems to be an old story and not very widespread. > **[People Are Stealing Tide Detergent and Using It to Buy Drugs](https://business.time.com/2012/03/14/people-are-stealing-tide-detergent-and-using-it-to-buy-drugs/)** > > According to multiple news sources, theft of Tide Detergent is soaring across the country Snopes is skeptical that there are widespread Tide focused thefts. > **[Tide Detergent Thefts](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tide-of-thefts/)** > > Are U.S. stores experiencing a rash of thefts of Tide brand laundry detergent? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/4 "2013-01-22T13:08:19Z")
It’s true. [This recent article](http://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/) from New York Magazine describes why. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/5 "2013-01-22T13:54:38Z")
In summary, it’s stolen because doing so is a low-penalty crime (compared, for example, with holding up a convenience store at gunpoint); basically it’s a shoplifting offense. For the buyers (retail stores, mainly) they get inventory at a price below what the legitimately purchased product costs. The article goes into how expensive Tide detergent is and why; the expensive ingredients mean that it’s a low-margin item for the retailer. And for the end users, it’s desirable as a status symbol (it costs a lot more than other brands of detergents). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/6 "2013-01-22T14:00:21Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The article goes into how expensive Tide detergent is and why; the expensive ingredients mean that it’s a low-margin item for the retailer. And for the end users, it’s desirable as a status symbol (it costs a lot more than other brands of detergents). I dispute the middle statement; Tide may be heavily marketed and thus “prized” as a status symbol over generic brands, but I seriously doubt it costs one dime more a bottle than any other brand. Detergent is detergent, blue crystals and smothering scent aside. Besides, it stinks so much I don’t know how anyone can stand to have a bottle in the house. (In general, I don’t know how that overpowering chemical-floral scent got associated with “clean” in the public mind… well, yes I do, but I can’t believe it.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/7 "2013-01-22T14:23:22Z")
Did you read the article? It says, “P&G’s proprietary surfactants and enzymes are relatively expensive to produce, notes Bill Schmitz, a Deutsche Bank analyst, so Tide’s wholesale cost is steep. Only so much of that can be passed on to customers. ‘It’s so tight,’ says Schmitz of the profit margin. In general, a retailer clears just a few percentage points on a Tide purchase. A store that charges $19.99 for a 150-ounce bottle might claim $2 in profit. But if it buys stolen bottles for $5, that jumps to $15.” By the way, if you object to the odor of the regular stuff, you could do as I do and buy the unscented version. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/8 "2013-01-22T14:47:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s true. [This recent article](http://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/) from New York Magazine describes why. But it’s the same old reference from Maryland that Snopes talks about. So yeah, maybe sometimes, but I doubt it’s the latest underground currency all over the US. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/9 "2013-01-22T14:50:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Did you read the article? It says, “P&G’s proprietary surfactants and enzymes are relatively expensive to produce, notes Bill Schmitz, a Deutsche Bank analyst, so Tide’s wholesale cost is steep. Only so much of that can be passed on to customers. ‘It’s so tight,’ says Schmitz of the profit margin. In general, a retailer clears just a few percentage points on a Tide purchase. A store that charges $19.99 for a 150-ounce bottle might claim $2 in profit. But if it buys stolen bottles for $5, that jumps to $15.” Yes, I read this and it comes straight from P&G press handouts and marketing materials. There are decades of reports that show almost zero difference in brand-name laundry detergents, other than scent and the color of the Magic Crystals tossed in. I doubt P&G is really paying any more than any other maker for their ingredients, and I suspect that margin cost is exaggerated as well. > [@](#): > > By the way, if you object to the odor of the regular stuff, you could do as I do and buy the unscented version. I do. But it means walking down an aisle as choking as any hard-hat chemical or processing facility I’ve ever been in, and I am perpetually boggled that the P&Gs of the world have sold people on the idea that that lung-searing FRESH, I SAID FRESH GODDAMMIT scent equates to “clean.” ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/10 "2013-01-22T14:50:18Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I dispute the middle statement; Tide may be heavily marketed and thus “prized” as a status symbol over generic brands, but I seriously doubt it costs one dime more a bottle than any other brand. Detergent is detergent, blue crystals and smothering scent aside. You’re wrong. The price difference between Tide and the other brands of detergent is staggering…I’m always SHOCKED whenever I see the “per ounce” price posted at the grocery and I NEVER buy Tide for just that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/11 "2013-01-22T15:18:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > For the buyers (retail stores, mainly) they get inventory at a price below what the legitimately purchased product costs. This is the part that doesn’t make sense to me. Besides a very few instances where someone steals the stuff by the pallet, I have to assume they are stolen one detergent container at a time (note: it’s hard to stick more than one container of detergent in your jacket or pants without it being obvious). What retail owner wants to consitently buy their detergent inventory onesie twosie from thieves in an dark alley? It just doesn’t make sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/12 "2013-01-22T15:21:56Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > You’re wrong. The price difference between Tide and the other brands of detergent is staggering… I’m not disputing that Tide is PRICED high but that its production cost is any higher than any other national brand. Both consumer laundry tests and chemical analyses have shown next to zero difference between the performance and composition of the major brands, and little between them and lower-tier brands. Any R&D costs were likely amortized before most of us were born. Tide’s main and costliest ingredient is the sort of intense marketing usually reserved for men’s razors and beer. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/13 "2013-01-22T15:56:57Z")
I don’t believe it is accurate that consumer tests show no difference. I remember seeing tide consistently at the top of Consumer Reports. I just checked - and it is the only brand - with a full red circle - under cleanability - in their latest test. Granted this was the powder - and not the liquid I think the article referred to. Not all of their versions got the full red circle, but they were all clustered at the top - with a version of wisk, all, and up&up in between. I was very surprised about this article. Most crack addicts/members of the criminal underground - don’t drive. A 150 oz bottle is almost 10 pounds. This is - as already has been mentioned - not very portable. While I don’t doubt that this happens in some cases (I had a homeless guy try to sell me a cake a few days ago) - I find it hard to believe this is more than a few isolated incidences. I think this is great PR for tide. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/14 "2013-01-22T16:03:44Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I’m not disputing that Tide is PRICED high but that its production cost is any higher than any other national brand. Both consumer laundry tests and chemical analyses have shown next to zero difference between the performance and composition of the major brands, and little between them and lower-tier brands. > > Any R&D costs were likely amortized before most of us were born. > > Tide’s main and costliest ingredient is the sort of intense marketing usually reserved for men’s razors and beer. OK, I misunderstood. By “cost” I thoiught you were talking about the cost to the end user. And I totally agree, that’s why I consider buying Tide a big old waste of money…I’d rather take that extra 10 bucks and buy a couple of cartons of good premium ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/15 "2013-01-22T16:19:23Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > This is the part that doesn’t make sense to me. Besides a very few instances where someone steals the stuff by the pallet, I have to assume they are stolen one detergent container at a time (note: it’s hard to stick more than one container of detergent in your jacket or pants without it being obvious). What retail owner wants to consitently buy their detergent inventory onesie twosie from thieves in an dark alley? It just doesn’t make sense to me. Simple answer. because its pricey ($20 big bottle) If you are equipped a steal a pallet or two you are looking at around 100 bottles or $2K retail per pallet. head for the nearest swap meet, sell for $10/bottle. any full size pickup can handle two pallets, the trick would be not being noticed. Once you have the stock, moving it via swap meets, craigslist, even legit places like amazon or ebay, would be simple. Even onesie twosie thefts from a dozen stores a day could make for quite a basic income. I’m sure the thieves target other items as well. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/16 "2013-01-22T16:29:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s true. [This recent article](http://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/) from New York Magazine describes why. The writer believes everyone did their laundry using washboards and bars of soap until that stupendous, magical year of 1984. From the story (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > **Before the advent of liquid detergent,** the average American by one estimate owned fewer than ten outfits, wearing items multiple times (to keep them from getting threadbare too fast) before scrubbing them by hand using bars of soap or ground-up flakes. [**Wikipedia’s Tide entry**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide_%28brand%29): > [@](#): > > Tide was first introduced in U.S. test markets in 1946. . . . > > These other brands came in the more familiar soap-powder and soap-flake forms. Tide, however, initially came shaped as a white powdered bead. The line was expanded to include an orange-tinted clear liquid form in 1984. “Hi, honey. I hope you fixed the washboard yesterday and scrubbed my other white shirt because I’ll need a clean one after a hard morning splitting atoms down at the cyclotron.” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/17 "2013-01-22T16:39:48Z")
You people are really over thinking this thing, it’s pretty simple really. You cannot buy detergent, toilet paper or tooth paste with food stamps. So people steal them them for themselves or for trade. When you got kids and you are not a drunk/druggy this stuff matters; drunks and druggy thieves will bring it to you at a reduced cost vs going to the dollar store. If you are going to steal/barter anyway you want the best so that you can swing the best deal; thus you go for Tide, Cottonell and Crest when you can. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/18 "2013-01-22T16:41:11Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > I don’t believe it is accurate that consumer tests show no difference. I remember seeing tide consistently at the top of Consumer Reports. You’re talking about the miniscule differences of a CPU benchmark test, where the chart bars might range all over the page but in the wider view (such as, two years later when performance has multiplied by 2-4 times) are so close together as to be identical. All modern detergents clean equally well, slight variations on stain types and test variations aside. To put it another way, either the Camaro or the Mustang wins every time Car and Driver tests them… but it’s rare for them to be more than a few percent apart in any one test. Tide is an all-time marketing success story and little more. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/19 "2013-01-22T16:43:50Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > From the story (bolding mine): Like most such stories where a business writer spends three days writing up a nationally significant product, it’s about 90% unquestioned manufacturer information and 9.5% a quick glance at standard references. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994/20 "2013-01-22T16:54:53Z")
I appreciate the analogy to CPU tests, but consumer reports doesn’t do that - they have no problem producing a report where everyone is given the same rating. But perhaps it is semantics - they do say all clean “reasonably well” - and mention the difference in stains that you do. > [@](#): > > Our tests show that some laundry detergents deal especially well with specific stains, such as ring around the collar, grass, tea, chocolate, or clay. But most people need a detergent that can tackle a wide range of common stains. > > CR’s new tougher tests of more than 60 laundry detergents also revealed that more brands are pricing low-sudsing, high-efficiency detergents designed for front-loading and high-efficiency top-loading washers comparably with those for top-loaders. We compare conventional and HE detergents on the same scale. > > All the detergents we tested cleaned reasonably well overall, with scores ranging from fair to very good. None of the products we tested use nonylphenol ethoxylates, chemicals that help to get clothes clean but that are toxic to aquatic plants and animals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-detergent-thefts/647994.md?page=2)