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Another Reason to Avoid the Malls--Thieves Will Cost You an Extra $423

From CNN Money. The cost of stealing always comes back to bite customers in the butt. If you avoid the malls in the FIRST place, you avoid the debt.

"Store theft added $423 to the average American family's shopping bill this year according to a new report on retail theft released Tuesday."

...

"Despite the eye-popping figure, losses were 6.8% lower from the prior year. Still, those losses are passed on to consumers.

Consumers lost $422.68 from their shopping budgets this year, down slightly from $435.17 last year.

Bamfield said the decrease in retail crime in the U.S. correlated with retailers boosting security spending by 12.5% this year.

The same trend was seen globally."

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"For American merchants, Bamfied said "organized retail crime," more than employee theft or shoplifting, has their biggest concern.

Organized retail crime involves a "gang" of people who steal entire shelves of products such as beauty care items, baby food and trendy jeans -- not for their own personal consumption -- but to resell them for a nice profit."

Do you seem to always have lingerie party ads in your newspaper? Guess where that lingerie comes from? Oh, and it's not always lingerie at these parties--sometimes it's jeans, shirts, shoes, makeup, whatever the stolen booty was.

"Thieves bagged a wide range of items, but tended to focus on expensive, popular branded items, including perfume, cosmetics, even deodorants.

In groceries, thieves targeted fresh meats, coffee and infant formula. Clothing and auto parts also were popular items for theft this year.

"Criminals also loved anything with the 'Apple' logo," said Bamfield. He also noted an increase in theft of pharmaceutical products, either for resale or for illegal use."

Craig's List is littered with hot merchandise, as are those small flea markets (both indoor and outdoor). For safety, stick with yard sales and thrift stores--that way, your chances of being arrested for receiving stolen property are low.

Posted by Cute at 6:06 PM

Labels: financial (non-tax)