I was browsing an online auction site and found several items that I purchased. During my search I was finding a lot of video game units and video game system software. While most of the prices of the games appeared reasonable for how new they were and how recent the release of those games were there were some that caught my attention. It seemed to me the prices were low considering the item being offered by the buyer. My experiences as a retail Loss prevention Manager started to make me question those prices. Something just didn’t appear legitimate about those items. If I had purchased them would I sell them at such a discounted rate? I am reasonably certain there are stores I could take them to and get more money for my game. My inclination tells me that there are some stolen games being sold on these sites. I can remember numerous cases I had involving the theft of video games and I knew some were being pawned and some were suspected of going to flea markets. Some games were being traded for drugs and others were being sold to video game stores or mom and pop shops. Most of the theft involved shoplifters but I did apprehend a dishonest employee every now and then who was also stealing from the store. I had several options for trying to prevent shoplifting and pilferage but at the time Alpha Keepers were not one of my choices. Had they been we would have prevented even more video game theft than we already were.

 

 Alpha Keepers are a line of retail anti-theft devices that provide showcase quality security with the added benefit of a tamper alarm. They eliminate the necessity of having an employee with a key readily available to open it at any moment of the day. Keepers are boxes made of a clear, solid material that allow your patrons to pick up and carry merchandise through the store as they continue to shop. Since they are clear your customers will be able to look at the product packaging and read the information on the labels without waiting for someone to open a showcase and babysit while the customer looks over the item. Keepers have a locking hinged door that can only be opened by a cashier at a register. Any effort by a would-be thief to try to get to the merchandise and steal it results in a tamper alarm. The alarm is a shrill, obnoxious screech (for lack of a better description) that can be heard throughout a store. The sound draws employees over and they provide extreme customer service in order to recover merchandise.

 

 There was a shoplifting case I had that was hurting my shortage in the electronics department. The store had $29.99 games and under on open shelf display. We had a problem with criminals removing the cellophane on the games and removing the discs from the plastic case. The cases were left on the shelf making it more difficult to see where concealment was taking place since the suspects were not walking around the store. After a number of situations where we would see members of the group in the store and being unable to see the theft take place I decided to try to deter them. I walked up on one suspect who started digging through the game packages. When I found one that was empty the suspect got nervous and started to walk away. Eventually he walked behind a fixture of jackets and came out. I went behind him and checked the pockets of the jackets and found several discs in one of them. I knew I could not stop him but I also knew he was aware that we knew who he was. I did not have a problem from this group again. The thing about this story is, if we had Alpha Keepers at that time there wouldn’t have been a problem removing the games from a locking showcase and putting them on open shelves.  Keepers would have allowed us to still prevent shoplifting and provided easy access to the majority of the customers in the store who were honest. In fact Keepers not only prevent shoplifting they encourage sales since customers no longer have to wait for assistance.

 

 There can be no argument, access to merchandise drives sales. Retail anti-theft devices deter and prevent shoplifting. Combine the two and the sky is the limit on how profitable a store can be. Start reaching for the sky today.

 

Alpha Keepers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.