I discovered why otherwise normal and law abiding people shoplift, much to my sorrow. Keep reading as it amuses you to do so.
So I'm up in Sylvania, Ohio visiting my brother California Dave, yeah? I lost my favorite reading glasses about a week ago and have been wearing the various emergency back-up cheaters that I find stashed among the flotsam and jetsam of El Dumpo, otherwise known as The Shack. Most of these glasses are usable even if somewhat damaged. Well, I naturally forgot to bring a pair, and the cheaters that I keep in the console of my car have vanished, so I eventually sobered up enough to drive down to the local CVS Pharmacy and get shafted for a new pair.
This whole business wouldn't be worth mentioning if not for something I ate that turned my digestive tract into an industrial level biology experiment. So Pepto Bismol as well as spectacles, and this has to be a quick trip.
- Pepto Bismol: $14.19
- Reading Glasses: $37.99
The high prices charged by merchants is, I think, the main reason people shoplift.
3 comments:
The Pepto you didn't have any options on, but I would have left the glasses on the shelf. And resolved to never shop at CVS again. I would have driven 50 miles (after the other situation was resolved) to get a set at a fair price somewhere else.
For shoplifting, things get more complicated. Price is sometimes a factor, but rarely in the hardship sense where people are stealing food to eat. That same CVS would tell you that the prime shoplifting targets are cosmetics and beauty supplies along with other high-value luxuries. The usual rationale is that the store is big, has lots of money, they can afford the loss and the shoplifter is entitled to steal because little guy vs. big store. Yes, other motivations exist, but this is a major one.
After enough losses, the store gives up and closes. The same people who regularly boosted stuff now wail about the loss to the community.
I know you were being tongue in cheek and I'm taking this way more seriously than it was intended, but it sticks in my craw. Joking about it often eventually turns into doing it...or helps convince others that it's OK.
The choices aren't "pay the ridiculous price they're asking or steal it" The choices are "pay the ridiculous price they're asking or leave the things I need sitting there and buy them somewhere else or make do without."
In other words, that doesn't explain to me why people shoplift. If they're not literally going to die if they don't steal what they need to survive, then the only reason they're shoplifting is because they're immoral, dishonorable assholes. Period.
2. Note that Amazon's price for the brand name Pepto Bismol wasn't quite so much different than that at CVS whereas the reading glasses were WAY cheaper. Why? Because the Pepto is a brand name product of recognized quality and you pay a premium for that even at Amazon. The difference in price is accounted for in economies of scale. CVS pays the salaries of 5 or 6 employees to sell the same number of bottles of Pepto as Amazon does paying the salary of 1. And that's just the tip of the "price difference" iceberg. It's not that CVS is robbing you, it's that the convenience of being able to drive down the street and buy it "right now" is not free.
The reading glasses, on the other hand, are cheapo knockoffs from China, slapped together as cheaply as possible from the cheapest components possible, whereas the ones at CVS likely were a brand-name product. Apples and oranges.
Not necessarily saying the brand name product at CVS is made any better...possibly made in the same factory in China...but you're paying for that recognizable name. If you don't want to pay for the name...don't. Buy your reading glasses from Amazon, or Big Lots, or Family Dollar or any number of other discount places that sell the knock offs.
But the fact that you didn't plan ahead and order things before you needed instead of when you were desperate doesn't mean it's OK for you to just steal them. The legal system may not do anything to you for it, but it still makes you an immoral, dishonorable asshole in my book.
The fact that you didn't do that but just posted about your frustration tells me you're not that. Good on you.
Neon Madman: Nice to hear from you!
I didn't know about cosmetics, etc., being the most common items stolen, but it makes sense. Thieves can rationalize it easily - I want it, they have so much, I'll just help myself. I have a convenience store nearby and one day I watched as a teenage black girl just walked out with a shopping basket filled with items - mainly cosmetics.
Sailorcurt: Thanks for the comment. You're quite right. I don't steal things, and it isn't my intention to encourage anyone else to steal.
Post a Comment