K
the way I see it is that all the items are priced slightly higher than they would be if we lived in some magical world where nothing bad ever happened.

I am quite happy to pay 1 or 2 percent more, if it means that people will steal from shops rather than steal from me.

I think there is less harm in taking £50 worth of stuff from Tescos or Boots than there is in taking the same value from a private individual.

And speaking of Tescos, what do you think happens to all that stuff that is passed its best before date or worse, stuff that is approaching the best before but is still in the warehouse? They throw it out. A friend worked at the warehouse with a Sudanese refugee who was close to tears when he saw it for the first time. £10,000's of perfectly good food thrown out daily. There's wastage there, too.

The whole systems fucked. Get used to it.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 16:29, 2 replies)

It is fucked, yes.
But shoplifting isn't the cure.

I wish people would be honest about why they do it instead of coming up with a million excuses about how their criminal behaviour is acceptable.

People do it because they feel as if they are entitled to do it.
(TheSnark oh, c'mon, like you didn't see me coming, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 16:41, closed)

Or feel they can get away with it
Which tells you all you need to know about human nature
(Godwin's Lawyer is more evil than Hitler, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 20:55, closed)

There's also another cure for stealing from a private individual.
Most people don't like it. It is called 'helping out your fellow man'.
(TheSnark oh, c'mon, like you didn't see me coming, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 16:42, closed)

he's right you know
ok, I work in the glorious world of retailiness so here's the low down - yes, there is an "expected level of shrinkage" in most companies this includes shoplifting, internal theft, human error etc.

However, in terms of impact, store managers can lose their jobs if they do not meet acceptable shrinkage targets, if loss is severe enough companywide, yes, redundancies can happen, payroll is reduced (biggest controllable expense you know), staff get fewer hours making it harder to make ends meet sometimes.

The only "insurance" most retailers have is for stock damaged though flooding, smoke damage etc, not theft unless it's massive scale, and the excess for my company is £50,000 for any claim against loss so when you shoplift you will impact the little man, there is a victim and it's not big, clever or rebellious.

bathtub
(bathtub has renounced CS3 for paint.net, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 17:11, closed)

She.
Swearing is un-ladylike, but fuck it.

Straight from retail's mouth.

People want something for free, and they'll always attempt to use any excuse to claim what they do is right.

I work with destitute refugees and asylum seekers. They don't shoplift, so why do the Middle Class?
(TheSnark oh, c'mon, like you didn't see me coming, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 18:32, closed)

Shoplifting
is a very interesting subject and I think it almost fascinates people as much as it infutiates. I know a handful of middle-class blondes who thrive off it, it's a hobby for them. They never claim it's "right", they do it simply because they enjoy it and because nobody ever stops them; on the handful of times they've been stopped, they've been let off without punishment.

The Wikipedia article on shoplifting is particularly interesting because it details dozens of scams people do and almost instructs you on how to get away with stuff. I read through it with one of my mates once, and she was surprised because a lot of the stuff she figured she'd discovered - she thought she'd been so clever to invent an infallable shoplifting technique, but of course the security guards have seen it all before.

Recently there's been loads of newspaper and magazine stories along the lines of "diary of a middle class shoplifter", and even the b3ta newsletter recently called out for a 'guide to shoplifting' - there seems to be some sort of fascination for the subject.
(foxx, Tue 22 Jun 2010, 22:45, closed)