• LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Before going to the store to pick up some menstrual products for my partner, I shave and put on a full face of makeup so the cameras read me as female and don’t give me the “clueless man” price gouge.

    • Imagine walking up to the products and watching the price go up. This will probably end in a lawsuit. Grab a product at x price and when you scan it it’s y price. They can justify that in court, I don’t care how business friendly the system is it’s going to be struck down.

      • ryepunk [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Well let’s be clear about the tech they use. It’s too slow to dynamically change based on who is shopping. The labels typically use eReader type displays which only update periodically for price updates. Need a 2450 cell battery that can last about 6 months with a single price change a week. Changing the prices more often drastically drains the battery life. And they require constant vigilance to make sure they haven’t just randomly turned themselves off (seriously sometimes they randomly forget what price they should be showing).

        I guess what I’m saying is if you want to ruin one of these stores those labels are expensive as fuck so bring a small jewelry kits and destroy as many as you can to fucking ruin a stores bottom line because no way in hell head office will approve sending out another thousand labels so they’ll be forced to go back to paper labels.

      • Belly_Beanis [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Probably end in a lawsuit

        I fucking dare them to change the price on me when I’m at the store in my wheelchair lmao easiest $200k I’ll ever make.

      • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        There’s definitely a limit with how hard big corps can fuck people on pricing. Even whole foods/amazon got in trouble for incorrectly weighing and overcharging people for prepared foods.

        • the_post_of_tom_joad [any, any]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          There’s definitely a limit

          currently? Where? I only see companies with one foot over the line waiting to see if the govt blows the whistle and it looks like the ref ain’t blowing.

          It’s gonna accelerate even more. There’s definitely a limit but it will be ours

          • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            It’s mostly when they break the illusion of being “fair” like in the whole foods example or when someone price gouges during a natural disaster and enough people draw attention to it.

            Kind of like with other injustices, the system will only make a token adjustment on the release valve when the pressure builds high enough.

            • the_post_of_tom_joad [any, any]@hexbear.net
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              3 months ago

              Yeah, agreed. There’s still a long way to go before we hit that hypothetical moment when we cannot take anymore. Thing is i just don’t see the folks in charge not dragging us to that future.

              I’m just using my personal observations to bolster this feeling but roll with me a minute take a look at cereal boxes for example. They’re constantly morphing in size, shape, and price to find that sweet spot of how much we can take, but what they apparently cannot do is reduce “growth”. They also can’t seem to allow the rate of shrinkflation to slow down to where it’s unnoticeable, the rate ‘sustainable’.

              They’ve already decided this is the line. We aren’t getting raises, we aren’t getting healthcare, we aren’t getting food, we aren’t getting anything from them unless we take it by means outside electoralism, and with a stance that firm and no release valve comin’ from them they’re creating a future where we’ll have to.

              Even if we only end up getting a release valve like The New Deal it’ll come from all of us seeing the system is unbeatable from within, taking direct action and the power of our labor into our own hands… and i think (hope) that this hard-line stance they’re taking will force a majority to understand what only a small portion do currently.

      • Black_Mald_Futures [any]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Grab a product at x price and when you scan it it’s y price. They can justify that in court, I don’t care how business friendly the system is it’s going to be struck down.

        Imagine being a customer service worker dealing with this shit, people already lose their fucking minds if “the price is wrong” even if they just read the wrong fuckin sign

  • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    This is going to be defended among the general public with claims like smuglord “Actually, if you game the system you get discounts, so only stupid people will suffer from this,” in much the same way that McDonald’s price hikes were excused/justified, isn’t it? debord-tired

    • Dolores [love/loves]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      don’t forget ‘if you don’t like it shop somewhere else!’ most 'somewhere else’s available being premium stores or places doing the exact same thing

      yeah i’ll take my angry customership to target which already has digital tags, and costs more money or whole foods, which costs even more money

      • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        ‘if you don’t like it shop somewhere else!’

        “Vote with your wallet!” feels especially hollow when the other choices were hollowed out and crushed by economy of scale tactics.

        Fortunately, where I am now, there’s a lot of good local food, including farmer’s markets and actual farms open to the public to buy things directly.

        There’s a McDonald’s and a few other such franchises here and there… but to my delight, most of the time, they seem nearly deserted. sicko-wholesome

        • peeonyou [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          the mcdonalds near me has big ass promotional sticker things plastered over every window so you can’t see just how empty it is most of the time

          • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            the mcdonalds near me has big ass promotional sticker things plastered over every window so you can’t see just how empty it is most of the time

            bloomer yes-hahaha-yes-l

    • KoboldKomrade [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      The only time I’ve personally seen price controls is during hurricane season. Hopefully, some company will do this shit, the government will actually do something, and then these things are killed forever.

    • Dolores [love/loves]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      there was a, i want to say amazon? store that “did” that and by facial recognition–automatic pricing they actually meant laborers in a third world datacenter combed through video footage to tally people’s bills

      • barrbaric [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Yeah, Amazon Go. It wasn’t personalized to your income or anything, and yes it was the ol’ classic “by AI we mean a bunch of people in India”.

  • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Taking measures that make shoplifting obviously more moral than actually paying for things, absolute galaxy brained moves.

    Capitalism does inspire innovation; though everyone who is not an investor or executive that can capitalize from said ‘innovation’ finds it repulsive.

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      My store has a security guard with a gun present at all times. Some of them just have the blue polo, black military pants, combat boots, and gun. Other times the guard on duty will be in full CoD drag with a plate carrier (often without plates) boots bloused in to their black bdus. They always hang out right next to the exits with the self checkout.

      • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Which is why I advocate lazy shoplifting instead of the running out of the store variety.

        Go in, have 70-ish dollars worth of merch in your cart, scan and pay for maaaaybe 15-20 (less if possible), and leave; easily repeatable, and you will get way less scrutiny. Admittedly harder to do if store has RFID gates

        Exact method varies store to store; if the store has a pressure sensor in bag area, just don’t bag your stuff up, scan it in cart with scanner gun, and make it look convincing that you’re getting everything if there are store staff members watching. If asked why you’re not bagging, just say you’re trying to help the environment (which you are also doing by helping screw over a megacorporation). And always, be nice to the staff (sans rent a pig), they’re just trying to get by, and being nice to them also makes it easier on you as you will likely get less attention.

          • SoyViking [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            One of the supermarket chains I shop at recently removed the free small plastic bags that used to be at the checkout. They even had the gall to claim they did it to be green and sustainable.

            So now you either have to buy a big overpriced plastic bag, even if you just have a couple of items or you have to balance your groceries in your arms.

      • Ithorian [comrade/them, null/void]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        You don’t have to let them search your cart when you leave the store no matter how much they protest. I fucking love telling them “no” and just keep walking, the look of confusion and anger on their face chefs-kiss

        • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          Depends on your local jurisdictions. Some places have what’s called “Shopkeeper’s privilege”

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege

          Small business tyrany, amirite? I think most places have a policy to let people walk and then use surveillance to build a case over time so they can avoid liability, but the security pukes don’t necessarily know that.

          Also- exercise extreme caution at Target. Target spends a lot of money on cutting edge surveillance and coordinates with the cops. They’ll build a profile and let you walk out with stuff until you trigger the dollar amount for felony charges then set the cops on you.

          Fun '2020 George Floyd uprising fact; The Target that was looted and burned in Minneapolis was a laboratory location for testing new surveillance and repression techniques. They worked very closely with the MPD. It wasn’t targetted randomly or opportunistically, it was a source of oppression in a mostly PoC community and was destroyed in retribution.

          • Ithorian [comrade/them, null/void]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            Fun '2020 George Floyd uprising fact; The Target that was looted and burned in Minneapolis was a laboratory location for testing new surveillance and repression techniques. They worked very closely with the MPD. It wasn’t targetted randomly or opportunistically, it was a source of oppression in a mostly PoC community and was destroyed in retribution.

            I had no idea, that does kinda change the narrative. Not that I have any problem with people fire bombing target just for shits and giggles but this seems like really good reason…

  • NuraShiny [any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    If you see this, you leave the store and never return. And if you work there, you want to burn down the store first.

  • KoboldKomrade [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Fuckin’ Kroger. Moved to an area where they and other big stores are the only options.

    Where I used to live, they had a sub called “Lucky’s Market” that was semi-fancy, but had decent deals. They killed it to move in directly, dragged their feet, then covid hit and they pivoted to deliver only. So I was already bitter having to shop there.

    My opinion improved a bit when people there said they were unionized. Decent deals (but you gotta use their stupid card).

    Then their self checkouts started yelling if you move too quickly or slowly scanning.

    Now this shit.

  • KnilAdlez [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Did you know you can buy the tags online? and with some electrical know-how you can make them say what you want. A little time and effort and now you have a tag that says whatever price you want on it. If they got switched at the store at that point, well, how would you know? Just work in teams to make the switch less obvious on the cameras.

    • Tabitha ☢️[she/her]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      how you can make them say what you want

      ok, so I should steal them.

      I thought the video was going to be about making fake barcodes, for example, photocopy the barcode of the cheap item, print it to a sticker, put the sticker on the expensive item of the same weight, enjoy discount, or be about generating unauthorized clearance barcodes, but going to the grocery store and changing them all to say cool things like crakkka down, ACAB, America Delenda Est, etc. is cool too.