http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3270764

He printed out his own barcode and slapped it on an iPod box so it would ring up for $4.99.

Same thing the Lego theif did - though he had over $200,000 of merchandise.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20051125/D8E3G5880.html

I love how they tell you what program was used, what search engine to find it off of, how to get the original barcode and switch prices...

Man, is there any intelligence there?

What about the check-out staff? I mean, wouldn't someone realize something's wrong with someone paying less than $20 for a brand new iPod while checking out?

LOL!

All barcode scanners do is read the UPC - the barcode is a digital representation of the numbers which may or may not be present below. The number represents a description, a price, and certain tags - in the case of liquor/beer, the item can't be sold during certain hours, and in the case of alcohol/tobacco/firearms, it triggers an age-check.... switching UPC/SKUs is just a high-tech way of switching price tags.

The problem is, if they check your receipt, you haven't paid for the iPod, because the iPod wouldn't be on the receipt - the $4.99 item would be. So there's no two ways about it, it's shoplifting plain and simple.

It's Target. They get thousands of customers a day. Scan, bag, repeat. It's feasable the checker missed it.

I used to have a barcode font... given a UPC/SKU and the right printer/ink/paper, I could have done the same thing without some trialware software.

I used to be a Customer Service Manager at a Major Grocery Store back in High School.

This is very common in all stores and markets. I cought people doing this at least twice, one of my specialties while there was loss prevention

Self check-outs, no check out clerks to watch you there. Except a camera that makes sure you are bagging it all.

I LOVE self checkouts

Self-checkouts are actually more complicated than you think.

They weigh everything put into the bags, so verify it's actually the item scanned.

If it's off by more than 0.03 from the weight stored by the computer, it'll stop you.

The self checkouts I've experienced in the US are an absolute nightmare to use and don't save you any time anyway. The system they use in UK supermarkets is much better - you scan the items you're buying as you walk around the store and bag them as you do it, then to pay you just had a cashier the scanner and pay the balance. They do random spot checks and if you're caught with unscanned goods you can't do self service again. It's better because you don't have to unpack your shopping again and you don't have that seriously annoying weighing system to contend with.

How do they remember who you are to make it so you're not allowed to use it again?

In the safeway we used to have over here they would allow you to do self service again but I think they put you on a black list, because we always used to get checked. It is very easy to forget to scan items when there are more than one of you shopping. It was nice and quick if you didn't have to get re-scanned. If you did then it was just a waste of time. On a number of occasions I over-scanned so the check was worth it

Here you can skip bagging by pressing the "skip bagging" choice.

You could only do self serve if you had a store loyalty card (like a Kroger tag thing in the US). If you were blacklisted then they'd just put it on your card.

Oh, okay... makes sense now.

Well, that system sounds much better than what we have around here in Wal-Marts and supermarkets.

Sometimes it shouts out so loudly "Your total is forty seven dollars, sixty three cents" to the point where the entire store can hear it. I find that unnecessary.

They are currently developing something like that over here.

It's something to the effect of using RF ID's.

Here we usually have one person watching every 4-6 people who are using self-checkout. o_O


It really depends on the self-checkout system they use. My guess is you're referring to the scan and bag style systems which usually do not save any time at all, since it takes people more time to scan and bag everything then to have the cashier scan and them bag everything. Those systems are an absolute waste. Then there are some that also accept cash without handing it to a person. Those annoy the hell out of me since it takes way too long for someone to put cash into the machine.
The best system is the one used by the WalMart next to me, where you scan the stuff and you put it on a conveyerbelt like the one that is used by regular cashiers, except its after the scanner. It weighs it while you continue scanning, and then also senses the smart chip things in the more expensive items as well for extra security. You pay (some form of card only, if you want to pay with cash you go to the person watching over everyone else in front to pay in person)...Then you bag while the next person starts scanning. It gets people in and out a lot faster. The only exception is if you have a ton of stuff, where then it ends up being slower because the bagging area fills up and it tells you to bag before continuing. It also calls the person in front over to come help you. The only problem with it is that it screams out your total so everyone can hear it. Actually, it goes one step further. If you don't scan items fast enough, it screams out your current total, so when an old person is doing it, you usually hear their total as they scan each item

Actually, we do have something like this in the US in the Albertson's Stores called Shop-n-Scan, allowing you to do exactly what you described above.

Oh yeah, back on topic, where do they have the iPods and other expensive items just sitting out? EVERY place I know they have them locked up and you need to either buy it right there or have someone escort the item for you until you pay for it, as with any other expensive item that isn't huge.

At Target, according to the article. Though you're right, they seldom if ever put things like iPods right on the shelf.

Self-checkouts are great, but most places haven't got them. In California, there were a couple places, but they only enabled the self-checkout kiosks during certain hours. Out here, as far as I know, nobody has them yet.

Well, problem is, most places that do have them, people don't know how to work them.

wow ... someone's smart

Ah yes, those are interesting. They have those at the Fortinos near my dads house.