No matter what size or type of product you are trying to secure, Checkpoint labels can be placed on virtually any type of merchandise. It’s no secret that the labels have been used to protect all kinds of products for several decades, but some shoplifters still don’t understand the technology. Yes, there are shoplifters that have really done their homework and know what they are doing, but I’ve also witnessed some pretty clueless individuals in action. Some shoplifters will do anything to get around the system and they will get creative…and weird.
I’ve seen shoplifters cut the UPC (Universal Product Code) labels off of packages that didn’t even have any form of merchandise protection, because they thought it was what set off the alarm as they exited the store. In their defense, some anti-shoplifting devices come with a UPC label printed on them, but that wasn’t the case in any of the occasions I am referencing. It’s almost as if they are paranoid that anything could really be a security tag, so they don’t take any chances and just cut off whatever they suspect could be a retail theft prevention device.
One especially strange occurrence I had the pleasure of observing was someone actually pick up a tube of toothpaste and bottle of shampoo. There was nothing strange about that itself, but I knew something was about to happen because of how the person acting and constantly looking around. There wasn’t any kind of merchandise protection attached to these items either. To my disbelief, the shoplifter then removed two sandwich bags from her purse and opened them. She then looked around again before squeezing the tube of toothpaste into one of the bags, and pouring the shampoo into the other bag. Once the bags were filled, she put them in her purse and discarded the empty packages on the shelf.
This was undoubtedly one of the strangest things I have witnessed in my career in retail loss prevention. I continued watching the shoplifter, as she unsuccessfully attempted to remove a couple Checkpoint labels from items in the cosmetics area. She finally succeeded at removing one of the labels several minutes later, but then she ran into another problem. After getting the anti-shoplifting label off of the package, she started waving her arm around in the air quickly and at first I had no idea why she was doing it. I then realized that one of the Checkpoint labels that she took off of the cosmetics package was stuck to her finger. She eventually removed it and stuck it onto the shelf, but she was extremely nervous at the time. If I wasn’t already watching her, that surely would have gotten my attention.
She ultimately left the store with the merchandise hidden in her purse, and we apprehended her for the theft. She was quite proud of herself for the sandwich bag trick even though she knew that she was caught. Not all shoplifters stick to the norm and steal with the same methods, so if you ever find an empty shampoo bottle or tube of toothpaste in your store, or anything similar that you wouldn’t expect to happen, you just might have been visited by a creative shoplifter. Although Checkpoint’s intentions may not have been to make the evidence stick to the shoplifter or confuse them, a paranoid shoplifter is easier to spot, which adds to the list of benefits.
For more information contact us: (Checkpoint Labels) or call 1.770.426.0547
No matter what size or type of product you are trying to secure, Checkpoint Labels can be placed on virtually any type of merchandise. It’s no secret that the labels have been used to protect all kinds of products for several decades, but some shoplifters still don’t understand the technology. Yes, there are shoplifters that have really done their homework and know what they are doing, but I’ve also witnessed some pretty clueless individuals in action. Some shoplifters will do anything to get around the system and they will get creative…and weird.
I’ve seen shoplifters cut the UPC (Universal Product Code) labels off of packages that didn’t even have any form of merchandise protection, because they thought it was what set off the alarm as they exited the store. In their defense, some anti-shoplifting devices come with a UPC label printed on them, but that wasn’t the case in any of the occasions I am referencing. It’s almost as if they are paranoid that anything could really be a security tag, so they don’t take any chances and just cut off whatever they suspect could be a retail theft prevention device.
One especially strange occurrence I had the pleasure of observing was someone actually pick up a tube of toothpaste and bottle of shampoo. There was nothing strange about that itself, but I knew something was about to happen because of how the person acting and constantly looking around. There wasn’t any kind of merchandise protection attached to these items either. To my disbelief, the shoplifter then removed two sandwich bags from her purse and opened them. She then looked around again before squeezing the tube of toothpaste into one of the bags, and pouring the shampoo into the other bag. Once the bags were filled, she put them in her purse and discarded the empty packages on the shelf.
This was undoubtedly one of the strangest things I have witnessed in my career in retail loss prevention. I continued watching the shoplifter, as she unsuccessfully attempted to remove a couple Checkpoint labels from items in the cosmetics area. She finally succeeded at removing one of the labels several minutes later, but then she ran into another problem. After getting the anti-shoplifting label off of the package, she started waving her arm around in the air quickly and at first I had no idea why she was doing it. I then realized that one of the Checkpoint Labels that she took off of the cosmetics package was stuck to her finger. She eventually removed it and stuck it onto the shelf, but she was extremely nervous at the time. If I wasn’t already watching her, that surely would have gotten my attention.
She ultimately left the store with the merchandise hidden in her purse, and we apprehended her for the theft. She was quite proud of herself for the sandwich bag trick even though she knew that she was caught. Not all shoplifters stick to the norm and steal with the same methods, so if you ever find an empty shampoo bottle or tube of toothpaste in your store, or anything similar that you wouldn’t expect to happen, you just might have been visited by a creative shoplifter. Although Checkpoint’s intentions may not have been to make the evidence stick to the shoplifter or confuse them, a paranoid shoplifter is easier to spot, which adds to the list of benefits.
For more information contact us: Checkpoint Labels or call 1.770.426.0547
Pretty recently I was flipping through the television stations on a Friday evening. It had been a long week at work and I felt like staying in. As I’m flipping through the 400 channels that I pay for and don’t use, I stumbled across an older sitcom that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was another rerun, but I didn’t care. To my surprise, the main plot of the show was based on the main characters wife wardrobing. It was funny to watch, since the show was filmed about 15 years ago and they didn’t have all the cool LP advancements like we have today. Sure, they had EAS systems and Checkpoint tags, but retailers didn’t have a way of spotting fraudulent refunds like they do today.
The basic plot was the main characters wife was buying high end clothing since she worked for a very reputable law firm. Since she felt that she needed to make an impression on her bosses and clients, she had to wear designer names daily. She was only a paralegal, so her salary couldn’t keep up, so she realized that she could wear the product once, then return it, just as long as the tags were still on the clothes.
Her argument, like so many people today when it comes to wardrobing, is that it really doesn’t hurt anyone. She was not stealing the merchandise, nor was she damaging it, so what’s the big deal? He husband though, saw the problem. Just like in today’s world, it is ethically wrong and detrimental to a store’s business to conduct this act. So much so that there are tags, like the Alpha Shark Tag, that are designed to specifically combat this scheme.
The tags can be affixed to any garment, and they are then removed by the customer at home. If you are a small boutique store, or high end retailer, you can then clearly state in your return policy that if the tag is tampered with, or removed, returns cannot be accepted. Placement of the tag is also key. You want to have it in an open and obvious place that can’t be covered with an accessory like a scarf, or belt. By placing the tag in this manner, you assure that the customer cannot simply cover the tag for their night on the town and bring it back to you the next day. After all, you’re in the business to sell clothing, not rent it!
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Pretty recently I was flipping through the television stations on a Friday evening. It had been a long week at work and I felt like staying in. As I’m flipping through the 400 channels that I pay for and don’t use, I stumbled across an older sitcom that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was another rerun, but I didn’t care. To my surprise, the main plot of the show was based on the main characters wife wardrobing. It was funny to watch, since the show was filmed about 15 years ago and they didn’t have all the cool LP advancements like we have today. Sure, they had EAS systems and Checkpoint Tags, but retailers didn’t have a way of spotting fraudulent refunds like they do today.
The basic plot was the main characters wife was buying high end clothing since she worked for a very reputable law firm. Since she felt that she needed to make an impression on her bosses and clients, she had to wear designer names daily. She was only a paralegal, so her salary couldn’t keep up, she realized that she could wear the product once, then return it, just as long as the tags were still on the clothes.
Her argument, like so many people today when it comes to wardrobing, is that it really doesn’t hurt anyone. She was not stealing the merchandise, nor was she damaging it, so what’s the big deal? He husband though, saw the problem. Just like in today’s world, it is ethically wrong and detrimental to a store’s business to conduct this act. So much so that there are tags, like the Alpha Shark Tag, that are designed to specifically combat this scheme.
The tags can be affixed to any garment, and they are then removed by the customer at home. If you are a small boutique store, or high end retailer, you can then clearly state in your return policy that if the tag is tampered with, or removed, returns cannot be accepted. Placement of the tag is also key. You want to have it in an open and obvious place that can’t be covered with an accessory like a scarf, or belt. By placing the tag in this manner, you assure that the customer cannot simply cover the tag for their night on the town and bring it back to you the next day. After all, you’re in the business to sell clothing, not rent it!
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Sometimes, and I really don’t like to admit it, I’m impressed at what a shoplifter will go through in order to make off with goods. I often sit back and watch cases where lots of time and energy are put into a theft. I think what would happen if this person would put that much effort into an actual job. Throughout my career, I have met plenty of individuals that rely solely on the income of shoplifter. Boosting is their 9-5. I’ve also learned that they can find clever ways to try and defeat your Checkpoint Systems as well.
Last football season, I had a pair of coast to coast boosters that were tearing my stores apart. They were targeting jerseys, which sell for about $139 each. They would start their run out East, and within a day or so had traversed the interstate and had hit every single one of my stores. Even with the company alerts, the emphasis on Checkpoint Tags and the prominent display location, they were able to hit each store for about 5 jerseys each, per run. They made 5 total runs last season, causing me a loss of about $35k in a very short amount of time. It was very frustrating how good they were. One would distract the sales clerk while the other would use a pair of pliers to remove the Checkpoint Tag. Once the first booster would conceal a jersey or two, they would swap roles and repeat.
I knew that these guys were aware of the Checkpoint System, so I had to use that to my advantage. The Checkpoint Tags we were using were clearly not effective against these guys. They knew all they needed to do was break the tag and it wouldn’t cause an alarm at the door. I needed something better, so we tested out ink tags on the jerseys at a few stores. The results were pretty funny to watch on video.
The first time I saw a report of where the Checkpoint System worked came a few weeks after rolling them out to the test stores. One of my stores reported them as being in the store, and I was able to find them on video. They came in with their usual routine, but they actually scratched their heads when they saw the ink tag. You could quite literally see the confusion on their faces as they attempted to defeat the tag, but agreed that it might not be such a good idea. The left the store without stealing a single jersey. This was the proof of concept that I needed. This football season, all of my jerseys will be secured with an ink tag. I already know we’ll see a reduction in theft. I’m just curious to know if I’ll see my boosters again.
For more information, contact us: Checkpoint Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547
Sometimes, and I really don’t like to admit it, I’m impressed at what a shoplifter will go through in order to make off with goods. I often sit back and watch cases where lots of time and energy are put into a theft. I think what would happen if this person would put that much effort into an actual job. Throughout my career, I have met plenty of individuals that rely solely on the income of shoplifter. Boosting is their 9-5. I’ve also learned that they can find clever ways to try and defeat your Checkpoint Systems as well.
Last football season, I had a pair of coast to coast boosters that were tearing my stores apart. They were targeting jerseys, which sell for about $139 each. They would start their run out East, and within a day or so had traversed the interstate and had hit every single one of my stores. Even with the company alerts, the emphasis on Checkpoint Tags and the prominent display location, they were able to hit each store for about 5 jerseys each, per run. They made 5 total runs last season, causing me a loss of about $35k in a very short amount of time. It was very frustrating how good they were. One would distract the sales clerk while the other would use a pair of pliers to remove the Checkpoint Tag. Once the first booster would conceal a jersey or two, they would swap roles and repeat.
I knew that these guys were aware of the Checkpoint System, so I had to use that to my advantage. The Checkpoint Tags we were using were clearly not effective against these guys. They knew all they needed to do was break the tag and it wouldn’t cause an alarm at the door. I needed something better, so we tested out ink tags on the jerseys at a few stores. The results were pretty funny to watch on video.
The first time I saw a report of where the Checkpoint System worked came a few weeks after rolling them out to the test stores. One of my stores reported them as being in the store, and I was able to find them on video. They came in with their usual routine, but they actually scratched their heads when they saw the ink tag. You could quite literally see the confusion on their faces as they attempted to defeat the tag, but agreed that it might not be such a good idea. The left the store without stealing a single jersey. This was the proof of concept that I needed. This football season, all of my jerseys will be secured with an ink tag. I already know we’ll see a reduction in theft. I’m just curious to know if I’ll see my boosters again.
For more information, contact us: Checkpoint Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547
