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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

#341

Post by mancerayder »

standardUser wrote: post #112
Vaslo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What punishment do you suggest then? The unacceptable answer is none.

The fact that the only solution you see is "punishment" is exactly the problem. No reasonable punishment will stop these crimes. Period. And unreasonable punishments, like locking a human in a cage without rehabilitation for years of their life, only make the problem worse and cost us a ridiculous amount of money (and humanity). So maybe take a step back, or five, and think about the causes of petty crimes and why th…

>The fact that the only solution you see is "punishment" is exactly the problem. No reasonable punishment will stop these crimes. Period.

Reasonableness can be debated. That these crimes are unstoppable less so; not only is any crime stoppable, if stoppable means reducing the yearly instances of it. It's disproven because the crime numbers have gone up since these policies have been implemented and we've reduced incarceration rates. It's a correlation that you can't ignore.

Your humanitarian argument is absolutely legitimate, how we deal with people who steal, often out of necessity due to addiction, mental illness, or other desperation. It's hard to say that punishment is always an inhumane option though. We can't run a society and dense cities without an enforcement of some order, since that concerns the other 99% who aren't committing these crimes. If pharmacies close and parks are unusable, everyone suffers.

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

#342

Post by nradov »

WalterSear wrote: post #339
nradov wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A database of serial numbers alone wouldn't be sufficient. Counterfeiters frequently copy real serial numbers and print them on fake products. There are more effective means such as tamper resistant RFID tags, but those aren't cost effective for cheap items. And often no one bothers to check anyway.

None of this refutes the fact that a blockchain would have all the same problems plus a whole load more.

I never claimed that a blockchain would help.

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

#343

Post by [deleted] »

standardUser wrote: post #112
Vaslo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What punishment do you suggest then? The unacceptable answer is none.

The fact that the only solution you see is "punishment" is exactly the problem. No reasonable punishment will stop these crimes. Period. And unreasonable punishments, like locking a human in a cage without rehabilitation for years of their life, only make the problem worse and cost us a ridiculous amount of money (and humanity). So maybe take a step back, or five, and think about the causes of petty crimes and why th…

[deleted]

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

#344

Post by rdtwo »

prvit wrote: post #318
ALittleLight wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But also blame Amazon. If you ran a store that repeatedly sold stolen goods do you think local police and prosecutors would ignore you? Trafficking in stolen property is a felony. That's true whether you definitely know it's stolen property or if you definitely should have known (recklessly trafficking). You, if you repeatedly did it out of your small business and ignored complaints, would face prison. Why does the l…

>If you ran a store that repeatedly sold stolen goods do you think local police and prosecutors would ignore you? Yes, if you operated your business in a way similar to Amazon the cops and prosecutors would in fact almost certainly ignore you.

Yeah no they wouldn’t. How long did Amazon collect no sales tax before that loophole closed? How much did they have to pay back? If you tried that the state would stream roll you

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

#345

Post by QuizzicalCarbon »

MomoXenosaga wrote: post #284

How bizarre. In my country supermarkets have self checkouts. You'd think they'd lose a ton of money on shoplifting. Maybe it is because society hasn't broken down thanks to a social welfare safety net?

I have not been to a modern supermarket in the U.S. that didn’t have self-checkout. Self-checkout is common.

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

#346

Post by schrectacular »

xwdv wrote: post #330
z9znz wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? Perhaps I really am missing something obvious. What kind of doctor will she be?

Do we really have to explain? She is patient because she is willing to unlock multiple deodorants for a customer until they find one they are satisfied with, she’s a hard worker who puts others needs above her own. Her family relies on the store for income and she is working there even when she should just be focusing on school. Because of rampant theft, the family cannot afford to lose inventory the way other stores…

I think GP was looking for "pediatrician" or "oncologist".

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

#347

Post by JamesianP »

lupire wrote: post #262
JamesianP wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't everyone use words to mean what they want to mean by the words?? I seriously though your post was a defense at first. Why would their rule not protect you from liability also? If it's legal it isn't vigilantism. Isn't it the law in some states that you are allowed to use force to prevent theft? I assume that's what they meant. Yes it has its drawbacks but I think the current pacifist course has us headed for…

OK so we have something like this: Stand Your Ground laws. A bunch of states passed then recently and saw a large increase in shooting deaths that legally weren't proven to be either self-defense or murder, becuause the witness is dead . Now what?

We have something exactly like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper%27s_privilege

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

#348

Post by rtpg »

sokoloff wrote: post #190
rtpg wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, people steal shit from stores and do a bunch of work shipping stuff through FBA because they are anti-social \s You think fencing happens because of anti-social behavior? Fencing _is_ work! The simplest explanation for why people steal and resell stuff is money. You do a thing, and at the end you have money in your pocket that you didn't do before. Not complicated!

Take the act of stealing and project it onto the {anti, neutral, pro}-social dimension. It’s clearly not pro-social; I think it’s easy to argue that it’s not neutral either.

Maybe I misread the original point of the post, but I read it as "the anti-social component is the motivator".

Of course it's ... not good! Stealing is generally pretty bad, all things considered! But this idea that there are some deep psychological flaws that cause this behavior does not, I believe, represent a primary motivator for a significant portion of these acts.

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

#349

Post by adrr »

anonu wrote: post #322
adrr wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a whole industry based around arbitraging price differences between Amazon and brick and mortar merchants. Just search YouTube for “get rich with FBA”. How would Amazon know if it was stolen or retail arbitrage?

Who wants to buy a $10 deodorant from a NYC CVS when you can buy the same thing for much cheaper online. The thieves are only accelerating the demise of overpriced brick and mortar stores. Plus the experience of going into a CVS and having to press a button and wait for an employee to hand you a deodorant is horrible. (Not condoning theft, but at least the free market is speaking here somewhat)

I challenge you to find deodorant for under $10 on Amazon.

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

#350

Post by TillE »

prvit wrote: post #335
ransom1538 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea how a prosecutor can take down these organized rings. The entire method prosecutors use for say exotic drugs, guns, etc: "Ok we have you for 5 years here, who do you work for, make these phone calls, we can get your sentence down to parole". This allows prosecutors to work their way up. But if a prosecutor is sitting in front of a low level shop lifter - who gets out that day - i don't see any prosecut…

Quoted post unavailable.

Without American cop show bluster, without pretrial detention except for serious crimes, and without lengthy prison sentences.
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