store customers from area to area.

[Dave Zellers]

What I like even better is Sam's Club has the self scan app on a smartphone. No need to unload the cart to pay. You (s)?can each item as you load it in the cart.

I don't understand how this would work without RFID.

[Jim Koepke]

I don't understand how this would work without RFID.

This also puzzles me. One of our local grocery stores does this. How do the keep dishonest people from taking advantage of this by not scanning every item?

Could it be they have tracking cameras in the store tracking the scanners?

What about items sold by the pound?

jtk

[John K Jordan]

Hmm, maybe it's something in the water.

I grew up south of Pittsburgh and people were not like that so it's probably not just the southern part of the state! (I tell people Pittsburgh is a good place to be FROM, but not because of the people but because of the winters. I don't think I'd last long in the real frozen north. )

[Bruce Wrenn]

A friend, now deceased, ran a pawn shop. He got some tools in that customer wanted to sell. They were new in the box, which he opened and bought for ten cents on the dollar. He reports purchase to local law enforcement every day as required. Customer returns a week later with more NIB tools to sell, which he refused. Calls HD and tells them that tools are being stolen and resold. Even told them how crooks were doing it. They were using fake credit cards at self service check out to pay for tools. Since there was no one to check credit card, this system worked very well for crooks. Couple weeks later, security guy from HD shows up, and wants their tools back. Tom looked at him and laughed, as he had followed the letter of the law on buying and selling of tools. Told HD guy he should have given him a reward for figuring out how tools were being stolen. As a side note, many years ago, went into local pawn shop, and there were several NICE tools with an individual's name on them. I wanted to purchase some of them, thought they might be stolen, so that night look up owner and called him. He told me they weren't stolen. It seems that local judge had told him that if he had $500 towards his back child support. when he came to court, then he didn't need to bring his tooth brush with him

[Brian Elfert]

I don't understand how this would work without RFID.

They have the employees at the door who check carts as customers leave. They have a hand held device that they scan the bar code on the customer's phone and it brings up the customer's purchases on the device. They are supposed to check the list against the contents of the cart, but my experience is they barely glance at the cart. They check those with paper receipts more than than they do the ones who use their phone. Sam's Club also has self checkouts. The register paper for the self checkouts is/was a different color presumably so that the ones that did self checkout could be checked more closely at the door.

Sam's Club doesn't sell by the pound that I am aware so no issues there.

[Brian Elfert]

A friend, now deceased, ran a pawn shop. He got some tools in that customer wanted to sell. They were new in the box, which he opened and bought for ten cents on the dollar. He reports purchase to local law enforcement every day as required. Customer returns a week later with more NIB tools to sell, which he refused. Calls HD and tells them that tools are being stolen and resold. Even told them how crooks were doing it. They were using fake credit cards at self service check out to pay for tools. Since there was no one to check credit card, this system worked very well for crooks. Couple weeks later, security guy from HD shows up, and wants their tools back. Tom looked at him and laughed, as he had followed the letter of the law on buying and selling of tools. Told HD guy he should have given him a reward for figuring out how tools were being stolen. As a side note, many years ago, went into local pawn shop, and there were several NICE tools with an individual's name on them. I wanted to purchase some of them, thought they might be stolen, so that night look up owner and called him. He told me they weren't stolen. It seems that local judge had told him that if he had $500 towards his back child support. when he came to court, then he didn't need to bring his tooth brush with him

How did the pawn shop owner know how the thieves were stealing the items? How would a fake credit card work with the register? They must have been real card numbers that were stolen or the cards would be rejected.

[Bruce Wrenn]

How did the pawn shop owner know how the thieves were stealing the items? How would a fake credit card work with the register? They must have been real card numbers that were stolen or the cards would be rejected.

He put two and two together when same guy came if with a second set of tools. HD happened to be right across the street from his shop. What they were doing is scanning CC elsewhere, and then transferring to VCR tape, which was then attached to a piece of poster board and run thru CC machine. That's why we now have chip and pin cards, but no one ever asks for online purchases.

[Mike Henderson]

They have the employees at the door who check carts as customers leave. They have a hand held device that they scan the bar code on the customer's phone and it brings up the customer's purchases on the device. They are supposed to check the list against the contents of the cart, but my experience is they barely glance at the cart. They check those with paper receipts more than than they do the ones who use their phone. Sam's Club also has self checkouts. The register paper for the self checkouts is/was a different color presumably so that the ones that did self checkout could be checked more closely at the door.

Sam's Club doesn't sell by the pound that I am aware so no issues there.

That's a good system. I wish Costco would do an app like that. There's always a long line to checkout at Costco.

Mike

[Myk Rian]

We had a Walmart in our town that lasted 3 years before they bailed out. We don't have Wal-Martians around here.
A Rural King is there now, and is a very busy store. It's like a Tractor Supply on steroids.