I was in TJ Maxx and noticed that there was an old pair of shoes on the shelf. I pointed it out to one of the people who work there. She called her boss who came over and removed the old shoes. Obviously, someone had walked out with a pair of new shoes on their feet.

A few months ago while shopping at Target I had just entered the deodorant aisle and saw a woman putting stick deodorant on, then put it back on the shelf and continued on her merry way. She didn't seem embarrassed at all, but I was stunned and speechless. I brought an employee to the aisle to remove the offending item and gave description of the person. He said it happens quite often with various products, but the store policy is not to confront. Note to self....always check deodorant before buying. Yuck!

I worked retail for many years and would guess many of you have not based on the surprise.

Stores like TJMaxx can only do so much. Having vulnerable stock displayed like that is inviting to all kinds of thieves. I never buy anything there that isn’t sealed.

I’ve seen people shove merchandise in everything you could imagine, hangers broken and shoved in boots, tags switched and then there are those (not) random tags you see lying around on the floor.

I’ve seen clearly wealthy women cuffed to a bench for felony grand theft crying and saying they had to get back to the office.

I’ve heard little kids asking mommy in the dressing room if they were going to steal the _______.

I’ve watched a woman shove a cashmere sweater into her small handbag right in front of me and then dump it in a rounder when I wouldn’t stop following her.

I’ve known of employees getting caught assisting their friends steal thousands of dollars in merchandise.

I’ve watched two-person teams hiding merchandise by double hanging and moving items then taking those hangers to a dressing room and stealing the hidden items.

It’s amazing what people will do. Talk about an under appreciated job!

ETA: Most retailers have a do not confront policy to mitigate the risk of employees being assaulted.

I don’t get how people think this is right. I feel sort of guilty unscrewing the cap of a shampoo bottle to take a sniff before buying. And it’s not “like stealing,” it is stealing. The store can no longer sell the item as new, a portion of its value has been stolen.

I agree, localeater. It won’t be purchased, or if it is, it will be returned, so it is a loss item already once someone uses it. It’s so awful just thinking about it, but I know from reading about it in other places that this happens, especially with cosmetics in stores like TJ Maxx where everything is just out in the open. I too feel guilty when I open a lid to sniff shower gel or something along those lines.

I have worked retail - in department stores too.

If anyone hasn't shopped @ TJ Maxx, etc., there's no practical way to have samples or testers for the huge amount of varied toiletries they sell. There might be only 1 or 2 packages of a brand of face cream, etc. on the shelf.

I agree it really is theft, and I find it kind of amazing that people would do it in front of store employees. That seems somehow malicious. I never experienced such brazenness when I worked retail, though I did meet plenty of weirdos.

Always pictured teenagers being the ones who were inappropriately testing items. This is so wrong. Like others here I will open an unsealed item to see if the scent is something I am okay with buying. I usually won’t buy a scented product that I can not smell. But I do not touch the actual product and do not break any seals. Not TJ Maxx specific but I get really annoyed enough at the mess people leave in dressing rooms too, trying products out of non-tester containers is even worse. Just do not understand the rudeness that is so common these days.

This is why I don’t buy cosmetics or food at Tj Maxx, not that revolting things don’t happen elsewhere. At least in department stores there are testers to sniff or try and the products are behind the counter.. I’m also guilty of sniffing shampoos at the drug store.

Worked retail all through high school and college. People are very entitled when shopping. Now I know why in our cosmetic dept. there was a gal always there and everything was under glass except the samples. I always thought the way people used them was gross...but deodorant in the store then returning it to the shelf is over any line of decency. I worked in the men's department--and no one wants to hear what you find left behind in dressing rooms.

I was at Nordstrom's Chanel counter with my DIL before her wedding and a woman came up and started asking the sales person at the other counter to get various items. She carried a large tote bag. The woman helping us excused herself to call security. She told us this woman is a known shoplifter and they have been told to always call to have her monitored when they see her in the store. We were told she is a professor at a well known and regarded local university. Clearly a mental health issue. The sales person was also wrong to share this info with us. I guess I'd rather someone steal outright rather than use and return!

Shoplifting makes my blood boil.

I worked at a very high-end furniture store/design center and we had a display of expensive copper sinks. One day a woman came in, went straight to the display, grabbed a sink, and ran out the side door. It happened so fast, we were all just stunned.

We set up cameras outside (we had numerous displays of gigantic pots, outdoor furniture, etc) ... came in one morning and saw on tape that two guys in a truck backed up to a display and loaded as much as possible. Never caught them. They took thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Then there were parents who allowed their kids to jump on beds (on thousands of dollars of brand name bedding), climb all over furniture, break fragile decor, run around knocking things over, etc. The owner had to ask one lady with three rambunctious boys to not ever come back. She loved to just stroll around by herself and let the boys go free. The owner gritted her teeth, but had enough when the boys jumped on a bed and broke it one day.

It boggles my mind, this kind of behavior. Luckily, we didn’t sell cosmetics or other toiletries, I can only imagine the stealing that would’ve occurred!

From what I understand, Home Depot does not go after shop lifters anymore in case there is an altercation, it's cheaper to let people steal things.

^^^ it’s safer

I read or heard something not long ago about how in some jurisdictions, shoplifting crimes are not even being prosecuted if under a certain monetary amount, so the thieves are basically acting with impunity. This may vary by location, but has anyone else heard such a thing?

I could post a long string of those emojis here but y’all probably know what I’m thinking about all the retail hijinks described here.

Ewww, that is disgusting. Was the woman stealing the shoes? Shoplifting costs us all money because we pick up the tab for it by paying higher prices.

Even if my hands are freshly washed, I don’t put my fingers in my own creams! I use a fresh q-tip to remove the amount I need.

so the thieves are basically acting with impunity

And they know it; and they also justify it by "it's covered by insurance" or "the store makes plenty of money" even " I deserve such and so just as much as..." (all excuses I have heard straight from someone's mouth!) and so on and so forth.

And the more we (society, companies) just put up with it, the more we have to put up with it.

IdaClaire... yes, California Prop. 47 says any theft under $950. is a misdemeanor. Police don't bother arresting, so stores don't call police. There is news footage regularly of thieves walking into stores and just walking out with stuff.

Last summer the manager of a super Walmart in a nearby county told my husband that his one store loses over 1 million dollars each month because of theft. $1,000,000.00!

When I questioned the amount claimed, I learned that this one store was one of the top of the WM list for loses. The chain looses almost 4 billion a year. That’s a whole lot of bad people out there.

Wow, that is crazy. One more reason to vacation in California. And I won't even need to pack anything!

My friend's then toddler daughter took a dump in a display toilet in Home Depot-which they caught later-after the fact.

^^^ That is really funny!!

We have had 3 grocery stores in the north-northeast part of the city close in the past 2 years or so. I had it on good authority (an exec with one) that the closures were due to the excessive losses they suffered from theft..

@raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio that is really really sad. Look how many people are now without a job. Not only that, but fewer grocery stores equals fewer people having access to fresh food.

Ida, yes, people passed that law in CA and now they are seeing many unintended consequences. I did not vote for it, because it was obvious it had not been thought through. CA loves to pass many "feel good" laws that end up rewarding crime and punishing law abiding citizens and businesses. Burglaries have gone up since they passed prop 47. If they catch the criminals, they get a slap on the wrist and are out in a few hours.

theft amounts before the crime becomes a felony vary by state. Florida thefts become a felony at $300.00 (probably going to be raised soon)., NJ is $200.00. Texas is $2500.00! Some states, like Texas, have different degrees of misdemeanor.

For discount stores like TJ Maxx, et al., their merchandise is purchased in lots, isn't it? The store is already stocking things at a big discount, and you have to know that even at the low prices they charge, they're still making a profit.

Loss is part of business expense, isn't it?

“ In 2019, retail crime remains one of the most serious problems facing superstores, retail chains and grocery stores. How big of a problem is it? Inventory shrinkage costs the U.S. retail industry over $45 billion each year. Internal theft, shoplifting, fraud and organized retail crime (ORC) can have a crippling effect on profit margins. In fact, almost all retailers have been impacted by ORC. But more importantly, retail crime puts shoppers and employees in danger. That’s why it’s so important to have a forward-looking strategy for preventing retail crime.”

See here for full article

https://www.facefirst.com/blog/retail-loss-prevention-and-violent-crime-statistics/

carolb said:

"For discount stores like TJ Maxx, et al., their merchandise is purchased in lots, isn't it? The store is already stocking things at a big discount, and you have to know that even at the low prices they charge, they're still making a profit.

Loss is part of business expense, isn't it?"

Are you saying they deserve to be robbed because they still make a profit?

Theft is wrong and making excuses for criminals is even worse.

Unfortunately things are going to get much worse before they get better. Watching security videos of robberies you can see in many of them how the criminals are so confident that no one will stop them and they will get away with it, which leads to more robberies.

Home robberies in my area were up like 30% this past year and it had to do with the laws that decriminalize the behavior.

That "crippling effect on profit margins" directly impacts those people working at the cash registers for already very low wages. Decriminalizing theft is NOT the answer to the problem of poverty; in fact, it only serves to send out even wider ripples of suffering.

I imagine the decriminalization might be an attempt to lighten the load for local law enforcement and adjudication, and lower costs for govt.?

And of course I don't think stores deserve to be robbed, I was suggesting that they take losses into account and probably just write it off. If they didn't, I'm sure there would be a much different attitude on the part of certain retailers. Sometimes, the ROI isn't worth it, I suspect. Prosecution & putting people in jail costs taxpayer $$.

IMPO, it's a bit like if you ran a thrift store where all your merchandise was donated, would it really be worth it to try to pursue people who steal stuff you got for free? I've worked at different ends of the spectrum in retail. One tourist gift shop I worked at during college didn't even bother with taking inventory because the merchandise they got in was so cheap.

U.S. retail sector has been flooded with cheap goods for years now, and this might be a symptom of that. There are so many retailers here where I live I often wonder how there can be enough consumers to keep them in business. The discount stores are packed to the brim with goods - it's kind of crazy. TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods are all owned by the same company, and all 3 are within 1/2 mile of each other here. A Marshalls is just across the street from the TJ Maxx where I was shopping, and there's a Ross in the same strip, and the shopping center is right next to our big mall here.

Perhaps it also depends on the value of the things being opened/damaged? A $5 pkg of skin cream isn't the same as a $100 bag.

Honestly, I think it just goes to show there are always some people who'll help themselves to anything that's not nailed down. What struck me was how she wasn't even hiding what she was doing.

P.S. I don't think the woman could've walked out with the shoes on, because they're all tagged with those alarm thingies. However the shoe racks were not exactly around the corner, she was quite a distance away.

I was suggesting that they take losses into account and probably just write it off.

LOL. This makes me think of the Seinfeld bit.

The accounting/tax treatment for, in the vernacular, "shrinkage," is neither here nor there. Criminals are benefiting. They benefit at the expense of non-criminals ... be they store owners and employees, equity investors, taxpayers, or shoppers. Who bears the burden simply depends on the relative power, no? If the retailer has a lot of pricing power because they have an exclusive product in high demand, prob the customer bears it. If unemployment is at 3.5%, the cashier may not bear it. etc

In re the gift shop, SMH. I'm no accountant but that doesn't seem possible. Even if the owner had no one else to account to, how can they calculate income w/o knowing the cost of goods sold and thus knowing inventory. And if you cannot calculate your income how can you calculate your taxes? And if you can't do that right, well it's time for striped PJs.

Re: the gift shop - the owner had multiple souvenir/shell stores up & down the beaches, along with a couple of motels. He ordered giant lots of cheap ceramic geegaws, beach toys, keychains, shells, etc. from companies that specialized in such stuff, along with big cartons of tee shirts that he sold 3/$10, along with slightly more upscale nautical themed merchandise that had been on the shelves for so long it was likely already written off. This was in the early 80s and most of the shops are no more.

I have no idea what his bookkeeping entailed, but I do recall his bookkeeper lived upstairs from the shop and that she smelled boozy and had gout. He was sort of a sketchy guy, and apparently made a bundle on his businesses. Beach aristocracy in the land of pirates 😆

Income was whatever was in the drawer over the $100 we kept in there, I suppose, because counting the drawer after closing and putting aside whatever was over that $100 for the bookkeeper to pick up was part of the job. I can imagine some people might've been helping themselves to cash and never got caught.

LOL what a picture you paint, Carol!

Shortly before Christmas I was in Target and witnessed a woman who opened a tube/jar of some type of pomade and used it to style her teenage son's hair! They then just casually continued their shopping. They were not the least bit flustered by my seeing this.

I am always disturbed by the people who " eat their way " through the produce department of the grocery store. A few grapes here, a handful of cherries there.... WHY do they think that is okay?

And kind of gross, don't you think? I never want to eat produce that hasn't been washed first!

IMO, if they get sick, it's comeuppance.

The idea we have come to be such a mess as a society that people steal and shop owners 'just write it off' has me sick for us all. Store owners don't bother prosecuting shop lifting, that's tantamount to hanging a sign on the door 'free'. Even if they don't prosecute I would want the police called, their asses hauled in and the merchandise taken away from them. What I know about tweens/teens if you don't catch them doing wrong and TELL THEM with a consequence they feel they are justified.

To be fair, I just can't see a huge company prosecuting someone just for opening a jar of face cream that's sold for less than $10. That seems extreme.

And FYI, the more expensive products on these stores' shelves - anything marked $20 & over usually - are in locked plastic jewel boxes & locked displays, presumably as a preventive.

In November Home Depot said its profits were down due to theft, which is up significantly.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/22/inside-home-depots-efforts-to-stop-a-growing-theft-problem.html

They believe that the opioid crisis has contributed to this. But it is a significant problem.

My local WalMarts have installed gates at the inside entrance to the stores, so it's a bit harder to just walk out with something in hand. And one of them has put certain cosmetic products behind locked glass doors. One of the products is Oil of Olay moisturizer, and - unfortunately for me - their generic version of it.

Major problems here as the store personnel are told not to pursue for their own safety! At the large gas station on the corner (Quick Trip if anyone has them, kind of like Sheetz), they used to stock some decent wine and local craft beers, but they were constantly getting stolen. People run in and grab and go. I do not go in there. I won't stop for gas there unless my car is on fumes, and only during the day.

Also problems around the holidays at the local Lowe's where they do grabs of expensive merch like Dyson vacuums.

CVS has all the Oil of Olay behind glass, too.

Obviously it's pandemic. Can you envision a day when there are no more brick and mortar stores? I almost can.

I can see this discussion evolving into a broader critique of our culture and society, and I'm sure many of us have differing views on that subject, and I do not wish to open a can of worms.

I prefer to leave it at sharing our experiences with apparently shameless weirdos.

Humanity as a whole is very disappointing. Most people are good people, but there's a large enough percentage who care about nothing but themselves.

Ida, no brick and mortar stores? Not a problem for crooks. The porch pirates will just take the item from your front porch, which is already happening, increasing and pretty lucrative for them!

Yes, I'm aware that porch pirates exist. Online shopping has already become a way of life, though, and I simply wonder if b & m stores will go by the wayside eventually. Loss by theft must take a pretty hefty toll on all businesses.

IMO, smaller stores aren't going anywhere, tho I understand some businesses won't survive. It's those ginormous big box stores that seem to be downsizing or going belly up. In many areas, it seems there isn't much advantage in dealing with mountains of inventory and the staff needed to take take care of it, along with huge buildings and the costs of upkeep/maintenance.

Trader Joe's is doing great, so is Aldi. both have smaller stores and limited, well curated inventory, and you have to shop early at the ones here, because a lot of stuff is gone by the end of the day. They're always busy.

I think discount resellers can also stay afloat because their inventory is not as big a part of operating costs.

We just had a huge Whole Foods-type store (Lucky's Market) close down here after barely 2 years. It was announced this past week, and it's already almost empty. Kroger even halted construction of 3 other planned stores in our state. Reportedly, the ROI was not satisfactory.

I think the problem with big box stores, like Home Depot, is when they start to build them barely 5 miles apart. Some supermarket chains do this too.

Some of the burglaries in my area seems to be pretty well organized. Many show up in high end SUVs or sedans (Porsche, Mercedes), either stolen or rented, with fake plates, so they blend in and don't attract attention from neighbors.