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Retail theft (Read 686 times)
JimB
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Retail theft
06/14/07 at 10:15am
 
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070614/D8POH86O0.html
 
41.6 billion in retai theft in the US last year.  How much do you think ends up on Ebay?
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Carmine_Difazio
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #1 - 06/14/07 at 10:57am
 
Quote from JimB on 06/14/07 at 10:15am:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070614/D8POH86O0.html

41.6 billion in retai theft in the US last year.  How much do you think ends up on Ebay?

 
 
Hello again my friend JimB:
 
On a related note and from the archives:
 
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 02/28/07 at 8:29am:
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 12/29/06 at 7:58am:

And now begins the season of many unhappy returns.

At least 1 in 3 US consumers is expected to return one gift from the holiday season.  Return fraud costs retailers $9.6 BILLION per year and $3.5 BILLION occurring over the holidays.

To combat the problem big box retailers are tightening their return and refund policies.  This means more hassles and/or restrictions.  Retailers are shortening return periods, charging substantial restock fees for boxed items, setting amount limits on returns by customer, and offering no refunds.  The liberal return policies are fading away according to Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, a Massachusetts consumer guide.

Nordstrom did away with the return policy altogether.  John Bailey, a spokesman for Nordstrom in Seattle, said the company handles returns case by case.  Nordstrom says it builds customer loyalty by not having a return policy.

Carmine D.


COSTCO Wholesale Corp has altered its return policy, aiming to alleviate the squeeze put on its profit margins by customers bringing back consumer electronics for full refunds.

COSTCO will roll out the revamped policies in its 482 US locations over the next five weeks.  The change limits to 90 days the time frame in which customers can return various consumer electronics for a full refund.  This is a change from the unlimited grace period to return purchases for a full refund (the only exception has been the six-month deadline for computers).

The unlimited time frame still applies to COSTCO merchandise other than consumer electronics.  Some say even with the change COSTCO has the best return policy in the retail industry.  

COSTCO estimates that returns of consumer electronics pared eight cents a share from earnings last year when the company reported earnings of $2.30 per share.

COSTCO also introduced an 800 number that customers can call to get answers to technical questions about their purchases.

COSTCO Execs forecast that the number of stores in the US will double by 2010.

Carmine D.

 
 
Although a sidebar, it is in the same vein as your topic.   Wink
I recall at least one former Forum poster, a vacuum professional, who consistently bragged about buying, using and even abusing the vacuums and then returning them to a host of different retailers.  And wouldn't you know it, some Forum posters, even a pro, sympathized, defended, and condoned the heinous practice.  For shame, for shame.  
 
What does this do to the costs and prices of the vacuums at the retailers?  And I have to wonder how that's working out for him now that all the retailers have stiffer rules and regulations for merchandise returns.  Do you think these retailers read this Forum?  I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. 
 
Carmine D.
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #2 - 06/14/07 at 3:19pm
 
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 06/14/07 at 10:57am:
I recall at least one former Forum poster, a vacuum professional, who consistently bragged about buying, using and even abusing the vacuums and then returning them to a host of different retailers. And wouldn't you know it, some Forum posters, even a pro, sympathized, defended, and condoned the heinous practice. For shame, for shame.

I was critical too of this practice until the former poster clarified that when he tested the vacuums, if the vacuums worked properly, he kept them, and he only returned ones that did not work up to his expectations. Given that, I don't consider his behavior "heinous", so long as he wasn't "abusing" the vacuums. The question remaining, then, was whether his tests, primarily the vacuuming of fine dirt such as Capture, were "abusive". If the tests involved vacuuming up items not recommended by the manufacturer, such as drywall dust, they would be abusive. I'm not sure what vacuum makers say about vacuuming up Capture.
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Carmine_Difazio
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #3 - 06/14/07 at 3:49pm
 
Carl:
 
I recall your responses very well.  Not one of your shining moments on the Forum.  Why?  The so called "test" was to vacuum up hot/warm fireplace, outdoor grill, and furnace ashes.  Despite the manufacturer's instructions stating clearly that the maker would not assume any liability and responsibility for the product if this was done.  And the person, a professional, knowing these instructions, did it anyway.   Sad  And bragged about doing it and returning it.  What's also very interesting is the guilty person did not defend his actions or respond to my criticism of this "heinous" practice.  I suspect he knew he was wrong even though others quickly "fawned to him" with words in his defense.   Shameful.  
 
This "professional" allowed a door-to-door salesman to plug a high priced vacuum into a 220 volt outlet in his home.  Then bragged and joked about it on the Forum saying "it fried the vacuum's motor."  Do you recall that incident too?  Shameful.
 
Carmine D.
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« Last Edit: 06/14/07 at 10:51pm by Carmine_Difazio »  
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cprohman
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #4 - 06/14/07 at 11:58pm
 
I recall that in some cases he used fireplace ashes, and on other vacuums he used Capture. The Capture test seems reasonable enough, since an average consumer might use Capture, but I'm not sure about fireplace ashes, which seems like a strange choice to me. I know that many vacuum makers do not recommend the use of their vacuums with drywall dust, so if he tested vacuums on drywall dust that would be inappropriate. I guess I would be surprised if any vacuum makers void the warranty if it is used with Capture. I have no idea about fireplace ashes.
 
As far as allowing a door-to-door salesman to plug a vacuum into a 230 socket, I agree that that was not appropriate. The same could be said for throwing a screwdriver through the rear window of a car.
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Carmine_Difazio
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #5 - 06/15/07 at 6:55am
 
Quote from cprohman on 06/14/07 at 11:58pm:

The same could be said for throwing a screwdriver through the rear window of a car.

 
Really?  Do you know the facts of the case before you pass judgment?  I've gone over the facts before on this and other Forums.  Here they are again, 50 years later.  I take full responsibility for my actions.
 
I was in my store of business with a male customer who was torn between a rebuilt HOOVER 29 for $39 and a HOOVER Convertible for $70.  The Saltez brothers, both older than me, one a HOOVER branch manager and another a new HOOVER rep (replacing my HOOVER guy Richard Wolin who was fired by the HOOVER branch manager Richard Saltez to give the job to his brother), were there too.  They almost cost me the HOOVER sale trying to push the new HOOVER Convertible over the H-29 although the customer didn't want to go the price.  
 
When the customer left with the rebuilt HOOVER, the 2 Saltez brothers and I had words about meddling in my store business.  2 against 1.  Richard Saltez, the branch manager was bullying me to impress his brother.  He pushed and I pushed back.  I took them both on.  My store, my business.  I literally threw Richard out of my store by the seat of his pants and Ernie ran out before I could grab him too.  As they got into the car to drive away, I took the only thing I had, a large screwdriver on my desk (work bench) and hurled it through the rear window.  I would do the same thing again for the same reasons.  I took the bull by the horns.  The judge agreed with me.   Threw the case out.  Wink
 
HOOVER stayed out of my store until Lou Ludivico, a new HOOVER rep, came by several years later and made amends (after calling first to ask if he could drop by).  The sense at the time and after was I was right despite my actions and the Saltez brothers were absolutely wrong.  Lou ultmately rose in the ranks of HOOVER management and we had a long business relationship that spanned several decades.
 
Wolin went to Westinghouse as a rep shortly after this incident in my store.  I took the entire new Westinghouse line into my store.
 
Thank you Carl for the opportunity to defend myself and my actions rather than having someone else do it.  
 
Carmine D.
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #6 - 06/15/07 at 7:27am
 
Hello again Carl:
 
Probably the biggest kicker in this scenario, is that I too bought a new vacuum, a dyson DC07 pink.  It did not work on my rugs.  Real life situation cleaning.  Not made up tests that violate the manufacturer's safeguards, and designed to beat and abuse the vacuum.  And after several calls to the dyson HELPLINE, and emails, I was told repeatedly to return it to the retailer for full refund.  Why?  It just won't work on my wool rugs is what I was told by dyson tech support reps.
 
When I mentioned on this Forum that I planned to take dyson's advice and return the dyson, guess what happened?  The same Forum posters who defended the other "professional" for his heinous practice criticized me in a flurry of posts.  And they questioned my professional integrity and ethics.  Not his!  Mine.  Isn't that irony?  
 
I ended up gifting the DC07 away.  Now, 9 months later and the dyson donee has new carpets (new house).  Guess what?  The dyson is again not working just like the dyson tech reps said it couldn't.  Gawdawful ratcheting noises.  Can't push it.  Falls into the carpet, stopping the brush bar.  Won't do the rug cleaning job.  
 
BTW, clearly written on the side of the dyson carton, it says "picks up excellently on ALL surfaces including carpets."   Just like "Never clogs and Never loses suction.  Wink
 
Carmine D.
 
  
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« Last Edit: 06/15/07 at 8:54am by Carmine_Difazio »  
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JimB
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #7 - 06/15/07 at 10:02am
 
Interesting you defend violence by saying "my store, my business".  Yet when someone follows the rules of a stores liberal return policy (their store, their business) when not satisfied with a product you think it an act so heinous it even stains those who don't condemn it.  I agreed with some of the tests, disagreed with some but each consumer has the right to set their bar of expectations wherever they choose.  If you want to start a thread on big box stores liberal return policies please do, but a consumer using those return policies because of argueable expectations is not the same as retail theft.
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Carmine_Difazio
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #8 - 06/15/07 at 12:32pm
 
Hello My Good Friend JimB:
 
As the saying goes, where you stand depends on where you sit.
 
Carmine D.
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cprohman
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Re: Retail theft
Reply #9 - 06/15/07 at 1:06pm
 
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 06/15/07 at 7:27am:
...I ended up gifting the DC07 away.

That was your choice, but had you chosen to return it, I think you would have been fully justified.
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