Wal Mart security measures

[Shelus]

Alright... simple topic here. I was out buying some movies today and the movies are some of my favorites, hence... that's why I got them. Anywho... I get home to enjoy these lovely movies. But I realize something. I know getting movies is cheap and wrong, but.... when it's the closet store around at this moment... what the hell.

What sucks about what I have realized is I notice the security "Anti-Theft" measures on every ****ing movie I have just bought. three anti-theft stickers for each side that becomes open and the plastic wraping. I swear these stickers they use are getting bigger and harder to remove every day.

What I ask is simple...

Are you getting annoyed by recent anti theft security measures plaquing the Wal Mart stores, or any other store of the sort?

I'm starting to think that it would be cheaper for them to just let people steal them then to have a whole bunch of people surrounding their offices complaining about it. It shouldn't take people 15-30 minutes to get all of the stickers off when he or she decides to use a brand new ****ing knife for test cuts on plastic!!! This knife is sharp by the way. I give my self slight cuts on the first layer of skin hovering around y thumb to test it myself. So that way I know it is sharp.

By the way... the movies I got are Hot Shots 1 & 2, The Goonies and Martial Arts Masters with Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba. ^_^

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I figured this would be the best place for this since it is quite the intellectual discussion and my knowing of me not being the only one who is irritated by these facts. But if you must move it... than so be it. v_v

[Rikkuffx]

I understand where you are coming from.I work in a clothing store and we have sensors that don't even work. I don't understand why we have sensors on the clothes if none of them work. Someone could steal it,eventually get the sensor off with some rubber band and pen trick.(can't remember exactly what the trick is,we warned about it at a meeting)or they could just come in with the garment on and say we forgot to remove sensors and tada they still didn't get caught. Now on the Seven7 jeans theres a new sensor that we have to cut off with scissors that are sewn into the jean like a tag,bleh,its a pain in the butt to remove sensors when they don't even work,why even put them on the clothes if they don't work?

[Blacksmith]

These security issues are a joke, yet still VERY annoying. For example, I had bought a DVD from Wal Mart one day and was trying to move the third sticker on the bottom. Through great frustration, I not only rip off the sticker, but nearly rip off the plastic cover of the DVD! Their company is really getting too paranoid about all this. If they want to deal with it I suggest there should be like ten people covering all the ****ing camera's they have, (which I personally think are there just to scare you).

Another story (that I laughed pretty hard at) was just earlier this year when I was with two friends at walmart. We were buying MTG packs and picked out certain ones. Now, I placed one of them in my hoody pocket as to picking it for the few I was getting. Minutes later after we were finished we placed all our shit on the counter and bought them all. So, we got in the car and went back to my house, however, 3 minutes before we get to my house I'm looking around through the plastic bag and have a feeling I forgot something. From that I felt the inside of my hoody pocket and THERE IT WAS! I had stolen a huge MTG pack without even knowing it myself. I laughed the entire way home after telling what happened.

When some people get overprotective of their items, they tend to blind themselves. This probably why so many people are able to successfully steal things everyday and usually it's small stuff. Now, for the past year or two both Sam's Club and Wal Mart have been posting people at the exits to check the receit to see if you have everything you bought and anything else. The pathetic part of this is how I got through their sensors without setting them off.

Still, even if they are overlooked and overprotective, it still is extremely annoying when you don't steal shit and still have to mess with the damn stickers and whatever!

[Angantyr]

I know, I hate it too especially those "PG" or "R-18" stickers, the make the case look ugly and if you try to rip them off they leave that white mark. Its the same with CD's "Bonus Recording Video" or "Free Stickers!" which you can only peel off if you are lucky. Occasionally its not so bad when its on the outer plastic and you can wipe the extra markings off but hrmmm.

A lot of my games have those stickers, I peel them off straight away but if its on a cardboard case then it leaves a permanant "tan mark" if you will. If there is a site you can buy DVDs and shit with out these annoying marks then tell me. I don't mind if it comes with extra shit though

[Chez Daja]

Well, y'know, if you pull them off and they leave a mark, or the remains of a sticker... you can use a soapy, warm sponge to get it off.
Anyways! Hmm... I'm not a fan of those annoying stickers, however, I just live with it. It's easy for me to get them off... Maybe that's just me though.


Also, Shelus, I wasn't sure whether to move this, so I'm keeping it here, since it IS a discussion. And people have been giving sensible answers. So yeah.

[Tiffany]

I got stopped by the walmart security last week actually.

As I was walking out the main doors, the sensor thingies beeped and the automated voice (reeeeeally loud I might add) "Pardon us, it appears that we have forgotten to remove a tag from your purchases. Please report to the nearest sales associate. Pardon us, it appears we have forgotten to remove a tag from your purchases. Please report to the nearest sales associate."

And so on, and so on (yes, it repeated enough for me to memorize it). But it was the truth, they forgot to de-activate one of the security tags on a pair of pants I had picked up for work.

But man, do they ever like to try and shame would-be shoplifters! Ha ha ha. As for those DVD things, I just slice through the middle with a knife and then pull out from the split. Works like a charm and you don't ruin your DVD caseing.

[Alizée Jacotey]

Its a pain, but you cant really do anything about it. Maybe you could stop shopping there, but as the years pass, there are less local stores and more major corporations. You could just steal the music/movies/games online. Stick it directly to them.

In small doses, it is not hard to steal. A DVD here, a CD there, a soda or two. We used to steal Pokemon cards when we were younger.

[Shelus]

Originally Posted by Tiffany

As for those DVD things, I just slice through the middle with a knife and then pull out from the split. Works like a charm and you don't ruin your DVD caseing.

Yup... that's what I did. I tried it out with my brand new very sharp knife and it still took forever to open. Of course i could get it to open once I made the slit down the middle, but I can't stand the sticker residew it lelaves behind. Just gets on my nerves for some reason.

Originally Posted by James

Its a pain, but you cant really do anything about it. Maybe you could stop shopping there, but as the years pass, there are less local stores and more major corporations.

Sorry... that won't be possible for some time to come. Sure I would just like to go to some different store and start buying my $20 dvd out of tiredness of the stickers, but why? As much as I hate buying ones with all of the stickers... I'd rather do it anyway and only pay anywhere from $5.50 - $12.00
regardless of the sticker count. *shrug*

Originally Posted by Chez Daja

Also, Shelus, I wasn't sure whether to move this, so I'm keeping it here, since it IS a discussion. And people have been giving sensible answers. So yeah.

Thank you. ^_^

[Mistress Sheena]

Well. It's easy for me to remove the stickers, I don't know why it takes someone 15-30 min. It takes me about 2 minutes, maybe even less than a minute.

I take a nail-file that's included in nail clippers, and slowly peel off the stickers. I mean, there's no rush in taking off the stickers. You have to have patience and be careful. Just slowly remove the sticker, and there will hardly be any residue. And if there is, it's barely enough you can remove with your nail. >.>

And yea, one time, a friend of mine and I went to K-Mart with K-mart bags and fake receipts in our pockets. We went to the trading card section (Which still isn't watched...at all.) and stuffed a huge amount of them in our bags and left.

Nobody did anything. I also happened to wear a whole set of clothes underneath my regular clothes and walked out without any alarms going off. (Some of their clothes don't have the sensor things.)

Of course, this isn't a daily activity. It's a very rare occurance. Although when I was a teenager, I did it every opportunity I could get. >>;

I remember at Sam's Club, when it wasn't with Wal-Mart, I would steal a cd or a VHS tape by putting it in my pants. >>; (Taking out the wrapper, too. They didn't have censors then. They did, but I was able to take the CDs out of those big box things very easily.)

All I can say is... nowadays, it isn't worth it. It's easier to get the stuff online. (I didn't have the internet back then.)

You'll slip up and get caught eventually. I got caught once and I was banned from K-mart. no charges or anything. Just exile. And I guess the employees that exiled me no longer work there, because I go there again and nobody says anything, lmao. (Then again, I waited several months before going there again.)

Oh, right, the security topic. Sorry, I got carried away.

Yes, it's a bit annoying, I even encounter security devices that give instructions how to remove them. It's like the kind of plastic security devices that you take off at home. Scissors aren't detected, so you could bring a pair with you and cut the bars. >>; Seriously, at the place I work, nobody ever watches the cameras. At all. And on the opening night of the store, two D&D figurines were stolen. I found two empty boxes behind some Sci-fi books. Sad, really.

I think the cameras are really just there to scare you afterall. I mean, what you can do is case the place. Just go there and roam around the store, check to see what places have cameras and what places don't.

...What the hell am I saying.. I'm practically giving instructions on how to steal without getting caught.

I'm stopping right now.

[Shelus]

Originally Posted by Piroblaze

Well. It's easy for me to remove the stickers, I don't know why it takes someone 15-30 min. It takes me about 2 minutes, maybe even less than a minute.

Alright... I guess I over-exaggerated that just a bit... >_> *cough* But another point which I forgot to state about the stickers. The part of them that overlaps to the sides are sometimes the hardest parts to remove... regardless of what utinsle you use. I realize that some people get lucky and might go there whole entire lives without getting that one sticker that takes forever to get off, but... meh. I just hate haveing to leave the sides of the stickers there either way.

Another trend in these stores is something else I'm starting to notice. I have always known about the secret shoppers that pretend to shop around when they are really keeping an eye out for ya. I notice one almost everytime I go they are so ****ing easy to spot if you notice what does and doesn't go on certain outfits during that part of the day. But myabe that's just me. And again... I can go into a section that someone might have no buisness going into and sure enough... he's still following me. But then again... I'm jsut paranoid half the time.

[ariko1080]

you are so correct. as the years went by i noticed the same thing. they do get bigger, and i thought i was the only one. easy way to open them is with a box cutter and this way you wont destroy any of the original packaging. this is wat walmart wants you to do honestly i talked to a manager about it and he told me."they put those on there to eliminate theft and in hope peole would break the plastic so they come back and buy the replacements for 6.96." so i do know what your saying.

[Arkaine]

I am in accordance with the fact that the modern security measures in most chain stores nowadays has gone above and beyond the call of duty. And yes I find myself most certainly annoyed when I have to remove not one, not two, but three or more devices from a purchase when I buy something. The problem is that people have started relying more and more on electronic security and less on a more effective security measure. Paying attention to your customers. In most cases a shoplifting can be prevented by paying attention to the people in your store and giving good customer service. A thief does not want to be noticed, so if you make it a point to notice everything in your area, then there is little need for additional security.

The other problem is law suits. I remember when I worked at a Target store back in 1992 and we had a 4 member security team. And if someone was trying to run out the door with stolen merchandise, they got tackled, cuffed and held til the police arrived. But these sleazy defense lawyers and wussy interest groups, security forces have been effectively neutered. Now if you tackle a thief and he gets a bruise he can sue the security officer for damages, what kinda crap is that. I feel if you are wounded in the commision of a crime, then you have just given up your rights to not be assaulted. If security personnel were still able to take these would be theives down, the current level of electronic security would be unnecessary.