A Rising Tide of Tide Thefts

[Ben]

So many pun possibilities, so little time. I had to first check that it wasn't actually April 1st, then check that I wasn't mistakenly at The Onion.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/12/police-take-on-rising-wave-tide-detergent-theft/?test=latestnews

[RevDisk]

Wait, what?

[TechMan]

WTF???  Must be an ingredient is a (new) drug?

[Nick1911]

It being only the brand Tide that's targeted...

Chemical precursor to something?

A simple, easy to steal currency medium?

[makattak]

A simple, easy to steal currency medium?

From the articles I've read, this is the most likely. Necessary for pretty much everyone. Small package (relatively) and a very stable price ($20 in the store $10 on the black market.) Untraceable, ubiquitous and innocuous from a legal perspective (i.e. not illegal per se, just stolen.)

It would be a very interesting economic study.

[HankB]

At first, I thought it might be a case of interstate smuggling of detergent that works into someplace where "green" laws have mandated non-working detergents. (A year or two back, I remember seeing a story about Spokane, WA residents smuggling "good" dishwasher detergent from Idaho. The "green" stuff simply didn't work.)

But it seems that Tide thefts are just that - thefts. Thieves are selling the stuff for half price.

(Hmmm . . . how long until there's a counterfeit Tide problem?)

[Perd Hapley]

Small package (relatively)

Relative to what? They're apparently talking about liquid detergent. I don't see why someone would steal something that large and heavy, instead of something smaller and lighter, with a similar price and level of demand. OTC meds? Razor cartridges? AA batteries?

I'm going to go with the crooks are stupid explanation.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/12/148448368/people-are-stealing-lots-of-tide-detergent

[AJ Dual]

Relative to what? They're apparently talking about liquid detergent. I don't see why someone would steal something that large and heavy, instead of something smaller and lighter, with a similar price and level of demand. OTC meds? Razor cartridges? AA batteries?

I'm going to go with the crooks are stupid explanation.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/12/148448368/people-are-stealing-lots-of-tide-detergent

I think it's this.

Someone else stole Tide, so someone else did, and someone else... Essentially a ghetto-fad, with no more real reason behind it but "just because". The same way gigantic chrome spinny-rims on cars or pants you wear halfway down your thighs, and have to hold up with one hand are popular.

A large discount department store has many common desirable items that are either more expensive, or much more concealable and portable than big heavy jugs of Tide liquid detergent.

To me, what's more scary is the fact that the rational basis behind our own fiat Federal Reserve Notes really isn't that much different, than "just because". 

[makattak]

Relative to what? They're apparently talking about liquid detergent. I don't see why someone would steal something that large and heavy, instead of something smaller and lighter, with a similar price and level of demand. OTC meds? Razor cartridges? AA batteries?

I'm going to go with the crooks are stupid explanation.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/12/148448368/people-are-stealing-lots-of-tide-detergent

AA batteries are mainly useful (anymore) for childrens toys and flashlights given the proclivity of manufacturers to make rechargeable batteries part of our multitude of consumer electronics. OTC meds are only useful if you are sick. Razor cartridges are only useful for specific razors.

As I said, pretty much EVERYONE needs laundry detergent and needs it every couple of months. Find another product that fits that description and you may have a point. (And is also a product that does not spoil quickly.)

It very well could be just a fad, but it is an extremely logical fad if it is.

[Doggy Daddy]

I would imagine that it is also a commodity that is eligible for purchase on pretty much all assistance programs (WIC, food stamps, etc.), making it easy to "buy" and then re-sell or trade for money, drugs, etc. That, and the relatively long shelf life compared to other WIC-eligible products would tend to make it a more or less standard.  So, having become a standard, it then becomes a prime target for people wanting to steal a tradeable commodity.  The thefts are more noticeable by the retailers than the WIC purchases so that makes the headlines.

Just a theory.

DD

[lee n. field]

WTF???  Must be an ingredient is a (new) drug?

That's what I was thinking.  They're making meth out of it now.

[Perd Hapley]

AA batteries are mainly useful (anymore) for childrens toys and flashlights given the proclivity of manufacturers to make rechargeable batteries part of our multitude of consumer electronics. OTC meds are only useful if you are sick. Razor cartridges are only useful for specific razors.

As I said, pretty much EVERYONE needs laundry detergent and needs it every couple of months. Find another product that fits that description and you may have a point. (And is also a product that does not spoil quickly.)

It very well could be just a fad, but it is an extremely logical fad if it is.

Laundry detergent is only "necessary" if you want to wash your clothes, and if you want to use some kind of soap, and a soap actually made for that purpose. If you're buying your detergent on the black market, how concerned are you with such things? I don't know.

Small batteries and OTC meds are about that "necessary" and also last a while. Small, lightweight batteries are used in a number of things besides toys and flashlights. Things essential to people who buy their detergent from the trunk of a car. Things like remote controls and cell phone chargers.

On the razors, yeah, you have a point. Of course, it depends on how many regular clients our household goods black marketeer has, with whose choice of razor he is familiar. I can't believe I just typed that last sentence, but I also can't believe we're discussing Tide theft rings. 

I think it's this.

Someone else stole Tide, so someone else did, and someone else... Essentially a ghetto-fad, with no more real reason behind it but "just because". The same way gigantic chrome spinny-rims on cars or pants you wear halfway down your thighs, and have to hold up with one hand are popular.

That would explain why that brand is being targeted. If the explanation were all that pragmatic, there should be other brands disappearing from the shelves, or at least the big names.

[makattak]

Laundry detergent is only "necessary" if you want to wash your clothes, and if you want to use some kind of soap, and a soap actually made for that purpose. If you're buying your detergent on the black market, how concerned are you with such things? I don't know.

Small batteries and OTC meds are about that "necessary" and also last a while. Small, lightweight batteries are used in a number of things besides toys and flashlights. Things essential to people who buy their detergent from the trunk of a car. Things like remote controls and cell phone chargers.

But every individual (who washes clothes... I'll put that down as 95+% of the United States) will require $20 worth of tide every few months. (More often for larger families.) How long will $20 of batteries last you? (I bought $10 of AA at Christmas and I have a multitude of children's toys to provide with power. I have over 1/3 of them left right now. We've bought three boxes of laundry detergent in that time.)

The choice of currency is rather strange to me, but it does make a lot of sense. DD's theory is a rather interesting one for the explanation.  

[Doggy Daddy]

Laundry detergent is only "necessary" if you want to wash your clothes, and if you want to use some kind of soap, and a soap actually made for that purpose. If you're buying your detergent on the black market, how concerned are you with such things? I don't know.

So you spend your WIC allowance on a bottle of Tide to sell to the rich folk or trade to the dealer, and a bottle of the K-Mart special to use.

DD

[Perd Hapley]

So you spend your WIC allowance on a bottle of Tide to sell to the rich folk or trade to the dealer, and a bottle of the K-Mart special to use.

We're talking about out-and-out theft here, not WIC purchases.

[Doggy Daddy]

We're talking about out-and-out theft here, not WIC purchases.

I guess you may have skipped over my Unified Theory of Tide Currency.

DD

[vaskidmark]

I would imagine that it is also a commodity that is eligible for purchase on pretty much all assistance programs (WIC, food stamps, etc.), making it easy to "buy" and then re-sell or trade for money, drugs, etc. That, and the relatively long shelf life compared to other WIC-eligible products would tend to make it a more or less standard.  So, having become a standard, it then becomes a prime target for people wanting to steal a tradeable commodity.  The thefts are more noticeable by the retailers than the WIC purchases so that makes the headlines.

Just a theory.

DD

Sorry to burst this bubble, but all the assistance programs limit purchases to food items (do not eat Tide) that have not been pre-cooked and packaged for consumption.  Yes, pre-cooked bacon cannot be bought by folks on welfare - they are forced to heat up a skillet and smell that goodness while it cooks before eating that BLT.  It's a government rule.

Next thought?

stay safe.

[41magsnub]

It's the latest drug!

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/my-strange-addiction-eating-laundry-detergent.html

[BlueStarLizzard]

I'm glad this makes sense to some of ya'll...

Cause it sure makes no sense to me.  

Lots of things are household nessesities that everone goes through. Dawn, Clorox, Charmin, Bounty could all quilify, so why Tide?
All items have multiple big brand names, all have generic counterparts and some of those generics are, literially, the exact same thing.

I think it has to be a stupid fasion statement. Razor cartridges would make more sense. Theres a few major brands (although, I don't know any women that don't use Venus, and all the diffrent cartridges fit the same handle) but there all portable, small and more expensive them any bramd of soap and you go through a package of razors faster them a bottle of laundry deterigent.

[Nick1911]

It's the latest drug!

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/my-strange-addiction-eating-laundry-detergent.html

Wow.  This person is mentally ill.

[makattak]

I'm glad this makes sense to some of ya'll...

Cause it sure makes no sense to me. 

Lots of things are household nessesities that everone goes through. Dawn, Clorox, Charmin, Bounty could all quilify, so why Tide?
All items have multiple big brand names, all have generic counterparts and some of those generics are, literially, the exact same thing.

I think it has to be a stupid fasion statement. Razor cartridges would make more sense. Theres a few major brands (although, I don't know any women that don't use Venus, and all the diffrent cartridges fit the same handle) but there all portable, small and more expensive them any bramd of soap and you go through a package of razors faster them a bottle of laundry deterigent.

I've noticed many of the razor packages are also in "theft deterrent" dispensers.

A higher percentage of people wear and wash clothes than own and use dishes. Further, there is different dish soap for washing by hand and by machine. Thirdly, do you know how much dawn would be $20 worth? http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Ultra-Dishwashing-Liquid-Original/dp/B001XQ7LOS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331665518&sr=8-1

That's a 2 pack for $7. You'd need six to get to a single $20 laundry bottle. Charmin and Bounty are even more difficult to carry $20 worth.

I'm not saying those could not work, just that laundry detergent seems a pretty good choice of commodity.

Also, there are network effects to using the same commodity as others for exchange which may be why a specific brand has become the "go to" theft.

[Doggy Daddy]

Sorry to burst this bubble, but all the assistance programs limit purchases to food items (do not eat Tide) that have not been pre-cooked and packaged for consumption.

Correct you are!  I shoulda Goggled first.

Nevermind.

DD

[MillCreek]

I am thinking that since Tide is the official track de-greasing substance of NASCAR, it must be NASCAR fans who are snapping it up!

[MechAg94]

Wow.  This person is mentally ill.

"I'm so bored I'm drink'in bleach"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCOMSlPZz4c

I think that is why Ringo bought a rifle.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pezj1iJ3dlg

"I like you.  You're not like the other people, here, in the trailer park."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xuvcpjf1JU

The idea of it being a recognizable and reasonably valuable comodity is interesting.  Most bottles of the stuff are not cheap.  Occasionally, you can find the small bottles on sale for $5 each and stock up.
The only think I can think of that might be close is toilet paper.  Charmin is expensive.

[brimic]

I am thinking that since Tide is the official track de-greasing substance of NASCAR, it must be NASCAR fans who are snapping it up!

Along the same lines, I was talking with some friends at lunch a few days back and was surprised to find out from them that NASCAR has become a part of ghetto culture. No foolin'

Its not a big leap from wearing Tide 'colors' to stealing Tide for the 'just because' factor that AJ outlined.