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Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

economist.com

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Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#221

Post by mixmastamyk »

partiallypro wrote: post #179

This is such a big nationwide problem that Target actually mentioned it during their earnings report (this is stated in the article.) Some states/cities have made it near impossible to prosecute these people, so the risk/reward is very favorable to stealing and reselling. Some stores have even closed down in certain areas because of it. When we talk about "food deserts" in some cities, it could one day be we have mas…

What is the real liability to apprehend when someone is attempting to steal a large amount of merch?

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#222

Post by dsfyu404ed »

yalogin wrote: post #118

Piggybacking on this thread, is stealing a common thing across the whole of the US or is it restricted to some areas? I keep getting asked how people in n San Francisco are living with crime so rampant and they send a video of gangs stealing from a store/mall.

Restricted to some areas.

I live in the kind of city that most HNers would sneer at (we're kind of known for being rough) and it's not like described.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#223

Post by lmm »

standardUser wrote: post #156
lmm wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, or worse. Fuck 'em, frankly.

We have been, obviously. That's why we have the largest prison population in the world (and we have to pay for it). It just doesn't work. So if you actually care about reducing crime, and not just getting petty revenge, shouldn't we try something different finally?

And yet the bump in property crime is coincident with noticeable recent slackening off, especially on property crime. I'm all for exploring what works, but not prosecuting shoplifters goes in the failed experiment bucket at this point IMO.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#224

Post by lupire »

notch656a wrote: post #188
blululu wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. In most states (CA for example) it is a felony to sell stolen goods when the amount exceeds a pretty modest threshold. If, as alleged in the parent comment, they are committing a crime on a large scale then the blame is very well placed. *of course this does not exonerate the original thieves, but as a matter of practicality it is going to be easier to hit a single large offender than a myriad of small ones.

mens rea

Willful negligence, and creating a public nuisance.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#225

Post by SpelingBeeChamp »

blululu wrote: post #170
nostromo wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blaming Amazon is misplaced. Blame the people stealing and the system that refuses to prosecute them.

Nope. In most states (CA for example) it is a felony to sell stolen goods when the amount exceeds a pretty modest threshold. If, as alleged in the parent comment, they are committing a crime on a large scale then the blame is very well placed. *of course this does not exonerate the original thieves, but as a matter of practicality it is going to be easier to hit a single large offender than a myriad of small ones.

I am fairly sure that trafficking in stolen goods is only a crime if the person knew, or if a reasonable person should have known, that the goods were stolen.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#226

Post by thewebcount »

bityard wrote: post #175
jakelazaroff wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s one perspective. Another is that the truly greedy thing is to construct a society such that some people can’t afford basic necessities, and that inflicts far more suffering than people stealing what they need to live.

Ah, the old "two wrongs make a right" defense

Isn’t there a difference between “I think your conclusion is wrong, here’s another possible scenario where this could happen,” and “I think your conclusion is wrong, and here’s a legitimate scenario that I totally agree with that could explain why this happens”? They didn’t say it was right, just that there are other motivations for why people do these things.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#227

Post by ulfw »

alar44 wrote: post #191
c_hackett wrote: post #133

As someone not from the US can anyone shed some light why deodorant and other personal care goods are so expensive in the US? The prices are so ludicrous compared to the UK that on my trip I had to take a photo as friends would have thought I was exaggerating when telling them! Take for example Dove Men+Care antiperspirant. In the US what is a rather compact can 3.8oz/107g was on the shelf at $9.55 (plus sales tax).…

Where is "the US"? You realize that's an entire fucking continent with vastly different economic situations? Just looked it up on instacart, it's $4.29 here.

The US is not a continent, let alone "an entire fucking" one. Sorry mate.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#228

Post by notch656a »

lisper wrote: post #211
notch656a wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it illegal to sell deodorant you got from the store after they put a tag on it?

Of course not. But it is really hard to turn a profit reselling a product you purchased at retail.

Sometimes consumers sell something they decided not to use. Either directly to another consumer, or to an aggregator who can turn a profit on the consumer's loss by obtaining lots of previously retail bought goods.

It's sunk cost fallacy to just think "I must use this thing if I can only sell it at a loss."

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#229

Post by bombcar »

lupire wrote: post #218
Spooky23 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There used to be a pretty active market in selling clearance stuff on Amazon and eBay.

So to block counterfiets and fencing, we need a verifiable chain of custody.

Or just a database of serial numbers.

Re: Why it’s hard to buy deodorant in Manhattan

#230

Post by jfengel »

public_defender wrote: post #159

Expert in stolen goods here. I was talking to a NYC colleague the other day about how there are trends in favor of not punishing people for certain criminal activity in the city. We were talking about driving with a suspended license, but I asked about shoplifting. She said, "Oh, no. That's on the opposite trend. Not only are they prosecuting it to the maximum, but they just changed the law to make it easier to hold…

What is more effective and humane? Is it about removing the poverty that drives that kind of theft, or were you thinking of something more direct?
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