Community Chat

[gardenman]

It's for theft. Bad guys/gals are very sneaky these days. Big-ticket items like HDTVs, laptops, etc. are often stolen through subtler means. You can buy a low-end 65" Samsung HDTV for $500. A high-end Samsung HDTV might sell for $3,500. Clever thieves will print out a copy of the UPC sticker for the $500 one and slap it over the original UPC sticker on the $3,500 set. They take the $3,500 to a self-checkout, scan the fake UPC code, get their receipt, show it to the exit police and wander off with a set worth seven times what they paid. The exit police these days are trained to match up the model number, but if things are busy they may not do so. The thieves may even print up a fake model number and display it on the set for the exit police. Stores lose a lot of money through this type of scam. They often don't even know it happened for weeks/months afterward when they're checking inventory and find out they have a lot of the $500 sets but none of the $3500 sets despite records showing the $500 sets were sold out. 

Swapping the UPC codes has become a fairly common scheme for higher ticket items. The thieves "buy" something and pay what they're told to pay and get their receipt. Unless the exit police are on their toes, it can work very well. Best Buy has (well had the last time I was there) some of the most diligent exit police who checked everything like mad to ensure it doesn't happen to them.

[mimomof4]

What I find annoying about the whole process is that I shop at Sams and use the Self Checkout on the App to avoid lines then I have to wait in a line in order to exit the store.  

[geezerette]

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@Cakers3 wrote:

Many moons ago when DS was only around 3 or 4 years old we were stopped on the way out of a local store-this was long before BJ's, Sams, etc. were popping up.

He was holding his favorite stuffed puppy dog and the big bad store police stopped us and demanded where did he get this toy??

It had it's shirt obviously resewn to the body as well as an arm obviously restitched to the body and one eye missing (fell off in the car lol)  It was as flat (almost) as a pancake from being held so close.  I held it up and asked if this was the quality of stuffed animals sold here. 

Now keep in mind this over-zealous employee actually stopped us going in the store-claimed we couldn't bring in a toy since it could considered stolen on the way out.  I ignored him.

So here we have a police-wannabe seeing a well-used toy going in the store and asking for proof of purchase leaving.

Darwin would be proud.

I think he was just ticked off I had ignored him and tried to embarrass me.

And yes, DS still has that stuffed puppy stored away.  LOL

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@Cakers3 

Some years ago our Walmart (and I assume it was company-wide policy) would put a sticker on anything you wanted to bring into the store.  Like an exchange, or an item that you might want to use to compare or match a product in the store, or even a child's favorite toy, as in your case.  

They quit that policy sometime before they discontinued the store greeters.

[barbie mae]

I was behind a lady at Sam's one afternoon. We were in the exit line,

she handed the gentleman her receipt , he told her that her cartons of water

and baby items were not on receipt and he sent her to customer service!!!

So, they do catch people trying to sneek out merchandise!!

[suzyQ3]

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@Beauty Maven wrote:

Preach it! @caroln242  -- This is a huge pet peeve for me.  I can't believe "we the people" submit to the exit police so easily.  Then again, we're submitting to a lot of things lately. I pray one day we all wake up!!!

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Yes, how dare they try to stop the all too common act of shoplifting, @Beauty Maven.

[chrystaltree]

I don't believe that at all.  LOL  I think they scan the receipts to make sure that you paid for a high ticket items like electronics.  

[Wsmom]

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@Beauty Maven wrote:

Preach it! @caroln242  -- This is a huge pet peeve for me.  I can't believe "we the people" submit to the exit police so easily.  Then again, we're submitting to a lot of things lately. I pray one day we all wake up!!!

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Fortunately nobody has to submit to the "exit police".  You just go to a store who doesn't have them.  Problem solved for that.  As far as the other things of which you speak, there I say Preach it!

[suzyQ3]

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@Wsmom wrote:

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@Beauty Maven wrote:

Preach it! @caroln242  -- This is a huge pet peeve for me.  I can't believe "we the people" submit to the exit police so easily.  Then again, we're submitting to a lot of things lately. I pray one day we all wake up!!!

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Fortunately nobody has to submit to the "exit police".  You just go to a store who doesn't have them.  Problem solved for that.  As far as the other things of which you speak, there I say Preach it!

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@Wsmom, I don't get it. What are we all submitting to lately?

[DiAnne]

I have never shopped at Walmart or Sam's Club but I am a longtime Costco shopper.  I have seen them count the number of items in my cart.  The only problem I have ever had was a bag of potting soil that I was charged for but was not in my cart.  I sure they are taught to look for certain things.  If it bothered me there are plenty other places to shop.  

[Anonymous032819]

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@Beauty Maven wrote:

Preach it! @caroln242  -- This is a huge pet peeve for me.  I can't believe "we the people" submit to the exit police so easily.  Then again, we're submitting to a lot of things lately. I pray one day we all wake up!!!

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@Beauty Maven 

Then don't shop at any place that has "exit police" .

Problem.

Solved.