41–50 of 108 posts
If you're stealing from Dollar Tree, you're either truly needy or just in it for the thrill of being antisocial. Their stuff hasn't got any value in the store, much less fenced.
They often sell products that are just overstocked elsewhere. Near me, they've lately been selling bags of Starbucks brand coffee for their typical $1.25, and my wife used to buy a brand of juice that easily cost 2-3x that much elsewhere.
Casual reminder shoplifting figures report the msrp value of goods stolen, not the cost to the company itself. Discount the figure by about 300%.
That’s fair though, isn’t it? That reflects the lost income potential from the shoplifting. Not just how much money it took to physically build an individual unit (and package and ship and stock it etc). Now if they never sell at MSRP, then probably a slight discount from MSRP when reporting is fair. But definitely not just the BOM cost or similar…
How many of these reports have to come out before the State reacts appropriately?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you, personally, ever known anyone who couldn't afford food? But you know people like that exist, right?
I was unable to afford food around 1995. I have both dated and had family members on food stamps/EBT, which will easily keep you alive in California and Washington state (don't know about the rest of the nation). I know multiple people who could afford food, but spend it on alcohol/drugs consistently and end up with very little to eat (going to food banks and such).
Even if you have EBT though, not all stores accept it, and you can't put gas in your car using EBT, nor buy non-food items like booze.
So it's easy to understand why broke people would shoplift. Baby formula in particular is a hot item for shoplifters since it's so easy to turn into cash. (and also why it's locked up near the cigarettes in many stores)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is anyone truly needy enough to shoplift? I’m not sure how we would get good data but I’ve known a lot of shoplifters and none of them needed the food.
From what I've heard, the most commonly stolen items are things like chewing gum and energy drinks. So in the cast majority of cases, probably not.
OTOH you shouldn’t necessarily trust what corporations say about this. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shopliftin...
OTOOH, I have worked in SF for 24 years. Back then I don't think I ever saw anyone shoplift. I'm sure it happened, but I never personally witnessed it. In the last year or so, I have personally witnessed people shoplifting in various SF retail establishments probably more than 30 times. On only two occasions have I seen anyone attempt do anything to try to stop the perpetrator. In my opinion, I think the CNN article…
This has a cascading effect where the law abiding will consciously avoid the locations where these thefts happen, causing even more of them relative to the legitimate customers entering the store. It’s a vicious cycle.
> I think the people who do it should be punished.
It’s really that simple.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s fair though, isn’t it? That reflects the lost income potential from the shoplifting. Not just how much money it took to physically build an individual unit (and package and ship and stock it etc). Now if they never sell at MSRP, then probably a slight discount from MSRP when reporting is fair. But definitely not just the BOM cost or similar…
Is it though? When I share a song on a public BitTorrent tracker and get caught. Should each infringement be worth six figures?
Eg an Apple laptop has a cost to build (cost being money, materials, time). If Apple sold that laptop at $2k, I don’t think they would value the loss at six figures. Given how little Apple discounts things, they probably value the loss (fairly) around the MSRP or ~10% or that.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is anyone truly needy enough to shoplift? I’m not sure how we would get good data but I’ve known a lot of shoplifters and none of them needed the food.
Have you, personally, ever known anyone who couldn't afford food? But you know people like that exist, right?
With all of that, no, I don't believe that there are people who actually starve in here. There are extensive food bank networks, generous religious organizations (most of them not that pushy), and in general people in the US are kind, despite what media says. I saw plenty of videos of people from my country showing food they got from a food bank, and most of them highlight how generous it is.
Despite all the struggle, my family never stole. And poor people around me rarely stole as well. Thieves whenever caught were judged by people around, and there was always social pressure to keep everything orderly.
What surprised my in the US is how normalized the whole thing is. It's always "stores have an insurance", "they are just trying to survive", and other excuses from people who never lived in poverty and just want to feel better about themselves.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is anyone truly needy enough to shoplift? I’m not sure how we would get good data but I’ve known a lot of shoplifters and none of them needed the food.
I like this reasoning. To take it further, is anyone truly needy enough to shop at a dollar tree? I’m not sure how we would get good data, but I suspect everybody has what they need at all times based off of the fact that I’ve never known anyone that is starving.
For one thing, shopping at Dollar Tree is not an antisocial behavior that harms other people, so you do not need to justify it by saying you needed to do it. You are free to shop at Dollar Tree whether you "need" to or not if it pleases you to do so.
The equivalency you're trying to draw between shoplifting and shopping at Dollar Tree isn't there.