Stacked on top of an old molester-van - a big sign that says "TIDE - $25" and a bunch of filled gallon jugs next to it. Wish I had gotten a photo.
This was by Calumet Fisheries on Chicago's south side, in case you're familiar with the area. The smelt there was worth the trip.
Tide has become a commonly stolen and resold product.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-14/news/31163681_1_tide-laundry-detergent-retail-crime
I can't help but wonder why Tide, of all things, has such a high street value.
Buy Tide in the Ghetto for $25?
No thanks, I'll run down to Wally World and buy a jug for $13.
I'm guessing a case. I read an article on how item like tide, toothpaste, etc are stolen and sold in similar market as drugs.
no serial numbers to trace
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Buy Tide in the Ghetto for $25? No thanks, I'll run down to Wally World and buy a jug for $13.
Maybe it was for all of them?
It sort of makes sense, what else does everyone use and use up that doesn't need refrigerated or plugged in to see if it works . Detergent is the highest price thing I can think of off the top of my head.
BoostedBrandon wrote: I can't help but wonder why Tide, of all things, has such a high street value.
Everyone needs to wash clothes, and Tide is a popular brand. It's also a lot safer than selling drugs.
Razor blades, too. If you ever see razor blades in a flea market they are almost guaranteed to be hot.
Doesn't explain the 100% over retail markup on a completely legal substance, however.
Had a guy offer me a full auto AK for 75 bucks once. Ant the black market nice? (I didn't buy it. Not looking for a felony.)
Grtechguy wrote: no serial numbers to trace
Ding ding ding. I heard about this a couple of months ago.
The other big one when I was working retail was baby formula. Stuff is expensive.
I thought Tide was supposed to keep your stuff from shrinking, not be a component in shrinkage itself.
I know sometimes cheap detergent can ruin your clothes in one way or another. Been there done that. But there are plenty of detergents that don't that are still only a fraction of the cost of Tide.
Ive had good luck with Arm and Hammer. I've used Tide in the past, and don't really find it to be measurably better, so I cant justify the price difference.
Good marketing I guess on Tide's part, making everyone think their product is soooo much better, worth stealing and selling at a discount. Maybe they should make a commercial addressing that. lol
wearymicrobe wrote: The other big one when I was working retail was baby formula. Stuff is expensive.
Same with flea market batteries... most places around here lock up the baby formula anymore.
Yeah, baby formula is better protected than just about anything else in a retail store. A quick Google shows that a lot of this Tide stuff is bogus, it claims to be the same formula made by some retired chemist for P&G.
I bought a quart of acetone at Home Depot a while back. Before I'd used any my wife asked for some to refill her nail polish remover bottle, and shortly thereafter informed me it didn't dissolve nail polish worth a E36 M3, and wondered if it had been reformulated.
"Nonsense" I said..."acetone is a chemical - it can't be reformulated"...
On a hunch I poured some out and evaporated it which substantiated my theory: Some P.O.S. bought the can, used most of it, refilled the can with water and returned it.
Laziness in conjunction w/ a diminished sense of right and wrong breeds creativity.
motomoron wrote: On a hunch I poured some out and evaporated it which substantiated my theory: Some P.O.S. bought the can, used most of it, refilled the can with water and returned it.
This is how whiskey used to disappear from my father's liquor cabinet.
I worked at Best Buy for a while as a tech and we had people buy high end computer parts, swap the high end parts for their old stuff, then shrink wrap the box and return it.
The people at the customer service desk assumed a shrink wrapped package had never been opened, so they returned the money and put the boxes back on the shelf.
We eventually had to institute a policy that all component returns had to be opened and checked by a tech before a refund could be issued.
Curmudgeon wrote: Yeah, baby formula is better protected than just about anything else in a retail store. A quick Google shows that a lot of this Tide stuff is bogus, it claims to be the same formula made by some retired chemist for P&G.
I regularly pass by a place that advertises "5 gallons of Tide like detergent $37".
wearymicrobe wrote: The other big one when I was working retail was baby formula. Stuff is expensive.
When I worked there there was a guy that would load up a cart with baby formula and nicorette gum. The security guy said he was making fake drugs with it.
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Buy Tide in the Ghetto for $25? No thanks, I'll run down to Wally World and buy a jug for $13.
Sure, YOU have that option.
There aren't too many big stores in poor areas, and the stores that are there tend to have high prices. Confonted this head-on when I became "alternately employed" and my transportation was how far I felt like riding my bike. You know those packets of Maruchan ramen, 10/$1? Try 89 cents each. If I wanted it at a non-crappy price, I could go five miles to the Super K.
Extrapolate that by all consumer goods.
failboat wrote: I know sometimes cheap detergent can ruin your clothes in one way or another. Been there done that. But there are plenty of detergents that don't that are still only a fraction of the cost of Tide. Ive had good luck with Arm and Hammer. I've used Tide in the past, and don't really find it to be measurably better, so I cant justify the price difference. Good marketing I guess on Tide's part, making everyone think their product is soooo much better, worth stealing and selling at a discount. Maybe they should make a commercial addressing that. lol
My old lady makes our detergent with stuff like Koolade, borax,Oxiclean, and some bar of something shredded up. For $15 we don't have to buy detergent for a year.
Ask her to share the secret. A lot of my clients are very low income and this could help them...and me too.
In reply to jere:
Octagon?
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