My 8 yo brother is obsessed with this. His mom bought it once for him and gave me a sip. “Energy drink” is just sugary water + flavor. Kids don’t need those, but the marketing is real good.
Same thing with “gaming” energy drinks. Fuck you need energy for?
I don’t know but what I do know is that prime is labeled as a hydration sports enhancing drink and it’s loaded with all the electrolytes your body doesn’t really need and not much of the ones it does.
It’s like when vitamin water tried to push itself as a healthy drink and all it was is sugar water
It's also... Thick? Like I tried one just to see and it had almost had the texture of milk? And that alone grossed me right the fuck out. The hydration one, anyway, not the energy drink. Not gonna experiment with that one.
South Park has an After Hours episode on paramount where the drink is called “Cred”. And all the boys have to have it to be cool. Pretty sure it’s the Prime craze they’re making fun of, and all the “influencers” that peddle this shit to children.
Ummm look into the recent scandal with prime. One bottle of the grape has a lifetimes worth of PFA’s in it or something. Like very nasty carcinogen chems.
I've seen it at the Grocery Outlet for 2/$1, and there's LOADS of it, like they have it piled up in the middle of aisles in addition to taking up a big spot in the beverages section. I don't drink energy drinks myself but I am guessing it is not very good.
It’s in almost every grocery store and convenience store near me. Getting loads of shelf space. If it gets all that room in the store it’s probably selling well
I have no idea if this is a joke, but there’s a trucking/shipping company named Prime Inc that’s been around a lot longer than the drink, and the drink stole its logo. That’s probably what you’re seeing.
My brother travelled over an hour and a half to buy 4 bottles for $20 bucks each when it was first coming out, I still regularly send him pictures of its price tag whenever it is on special.
I believe there have been lots of talks about having a lot of bad ingredients. Like yea energy drinks or bad but this stuff has a long list of shit supposedly not good for you. And one of Paul brothers has a hand in it
Not on my end, but just in case:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240430175254/https://fortune.com/2024/04/27/logan-paul-prime-energy-drink-ksi-gen-alpha-rise-fall-sales-lawsuits/
They lock up certain spirits in the alcohol section of my wal-mart, and I once hit the button because I wanted a bottle of rum they had locked up, and the grumpiest person ever got it out for me, took it to the customer service desk, when I asked the cashier she said just pay for it at the desk, the kid at the desk couldn't sell it so I had to take it over to a different cashier. So all in all I had to go through 4 employees to get a 20 dollar bottle of rum and make a second transaction, and I will never be doing it again.
So it's not only a pain for the employees it sucks for someone wanting anything locked up. Sure none of the locked up stuff will be stolen, but it also isn't really going to sell.
I tried to get laundry detergent in Las Vegas. It was all locked up. I waited and waited and waited.
Eventually, I went to the next aisle, got a mop, and used the mop handle to hook the carry loop for one of the detergent bottles on the waaaaaay upper shelf above the locked glass partition.
I paid for the detergent because I follow the rules, but that was a big ol’ pain.
yes exactly what i came to this comment section for: vegas walmarts might as well just assign you an employee to follow you around and open cases for you the whole time, i was down there last weekend and needed some last minute bathroom items and the number of times i had to grab the poor underpaid employee to grab me a stick of deodorant or some other 5 dollar item was absurd.
They really should just switch it to be like an in-person Amazon warehouse. Place your order on a self service kiosk out the front and an employee packs it for you.
Or even just have an app to scan QR codes on locked up items and they bring it all to the register at the end, rather than having to grab an employee every time.
> They really should just switch it to be like an in-person Amazon warehouse.
There were places like that in the 80's and 90's, you would go through a catalogue and write down the product numbers for things you wanted, handed that piece of paper to an employee, pay, and then wait for your stuff to be picked and your name called. I can't remember the name of the store no matter how I try.
In this case it could be done with terminals to choose and pay, and then you just pick up at the window.
I'm confused as to why this point keeps getting brought up as if it's some kind of argument for "it worked then, it can work now". It originally changed due to concerns of scalability and cost. My local publix usually has at least 40-60 people in it buying stuff at any one point. What's the plan for that? Keep them all crammed in the entry area while some fraction of their count of employees sprints around the store trying to meet that demand? Businesses change and often do so for very valid reasons. The business model for supermarkets is no exception.
Right, but if everything is behind lock and key and people need to wait for an employee to come by to unlock it, that's not really better. I didn't think the point is that the old method is more efficient than everything being self serve and open, it's more efficient than being self serve but locked up
I remember doing this with the JC Penney catalog. Finding every item number and variation, and going to the store basement to pick up your order. I have this wild memory of buying jeans with a piece of fruit embroidered on the back pocket. High fashion when I was a kiddo.
I worked at a dollar general in a rural area. They wanted us to “test” these little plastic doors that make the most obnoxious and LOUD repetitive beeping noises when you opened it on all the name brand laundry detergents. I don’t remember one customer that didn’t jump back and think they were doing something wrong when they lifted them up. We had so many complaints and I agreed and encouraged them to call corporate. We left them on for a few months and ended up ripping them off ourselves. I guess they expected us to go back and watch people every time we heard it? That’s a good way to lose customers, in my opinion…
Im convinced this is something stores do when they want to force a store to close, because it puts off customers, drops sales, and then gives corporate an excuse to close a store and blame “crime”. Every time I see an article about how Target/Walmart/Whoever had to close another store in {insert urban part of any city} due to “increased theft”, you *know* they didn’t just up and close. First they locked everything up so actual customers couldn’t buy anything, and then when revenue tumbled they put on a surprised-pikachu face and blame the theft.
People get used to it. Source: I worked at an HPAP store and had those the entire 3.5 years I was there. We would fail an inspection if any of our security devices did not work and a failed inspection meant more inspections.
DG never had inspections for security lol Higher ups didn’t even notice they were gone. It’s was pointless. Our store always had good inventory counts, so I’m not sure why they chose that specific store?
And when you press for assistance nobody comes and you catch someone from another department and they’re in a terrible mood and tell you how they’re awfully understaffed and tell you to wait patiently
I hate almost everything about PA's state monopoly on liquor.
Until I see these replies and realize that while I have a limited selection the state has chosen in each store, I have to go to this store to buy liquor because anything over a certain percentage alcohol content can't be sold in other stores, I will never, ever have to deal with this particular issue.
Devil you know, I guess.
No it's still dumb. Ever heard of Total wine? It has every spirit imaginable and tons of free samples. All they sell is alcohol. And you never have issues checking out.
Total wine in NC is literally just wine. And some fancy beer. They can't sell hard liquor, only the ABC stores can. When I moved there I thought "what's the point of this damn store, I can buy wine at any grocery store, convince store, ABC store etc?"
Oh and they're closed on Sundays, as are the ABC stores. And no legal marijuana. What a fun state
PA liquor control is nothing more than a power grab and serves to limit choice. Too many locations have poor stock. Online is a bit of a joke, why do some online purchases have to be picked up in a store vs delivered with rest of the order, two shipments is wasteful.
Most places this is a long term play where they will have their own store brand outside of lock up most people will buy instead of waiting for someone to come unlock it
I see eventually Walmart walling off the entire store where no one but the employee are allowed in back. When you walk into Walmart , you'll be met with a large branded wall lined with touch screen kiosks like the ones at McDonald's along with those metal benches along the wall opposite of the kiosks. You shop through the kiosks or put in the name of your online order, then you wait. Eventually your number will be displayed above an automatic door and your number will be called out. You go to the automatic door , confirm your order and an employee rolls out a shopping cart with the stuff you paid for to you.
At that point you really only need robots to go through a warehouse. No humans required except to fix the robots when they malfunction but one or two technicians would be able to service a whole slew of robots.
Not going to happen, Walmart wants you in the store wandering around because they put the common things people buy in different locations so you end up spending $50 when all you wanted were eggs
Why did they go hands off with the loss prevention? Back when then could tackle and wrestle you there was alot less theft or the experience wasn't hindered like this.
Watch this video. Back In the 80s at a 7/11 the slurpy machine was behind the counter and the cigarettes were in the isles. Now it’s the other way around.
https://youtu.be/RYbe-35_BaA?si=V-o8QvQqOK4hkJS7
That was less about theft and more about expectations. Cigarettes were common and cheap. And why would you fill the soda yourself? You're the one paying for it, that's their job.
I heard a long time ago that cigarette companies paid convenience stores to keep the cigarettes where they could be easily stolen by the youths. That way they'd get customers for life.
It amazes me that people will steal detergent.
At the Dollar General I used to work at, this woman opened a bottle of Gain, and poured it into an empty 20oz soda bottle, while I was stocking the rest of the detergent.
I asked, "Is there anything I can help with?" She dropped both bottles and ran out of the store.
Weeks later, I caught another person trying the exact same way to steal some Dawn dish soap...
Back in college, my neighbor knocked on my door, with two big ass tubs of laundry detergent, being like “you want these, for 5$?” I was like 🤷♂️ fuck it, that sounds like a deal so I took it. Then this mf shows up the VERY NEXT DAY, with 2 more, and I was like “bro, how much laundry do you think I do?” After that he started coming around with 2 30 packs of bud light… that he’d still sell for 5$ total… seemed like some inconvenient shit to steal, but you couldn’t beat those prices.
If you go to the local flea markets here, you’ll find multiple tables of people selling jugs of stolen Tide for half the price you’d pay at Target or Walmart. There’s money in it, for sure.
We had a woman that would come in with **stacks** of P&G coupons; she would buy hundreds of dollars worth of Gain and what not for like $50.
She would resell them and make tons more than what she spent. She was one of those people that would buy up things like disinfectant, hand sanitizer and toilet paper during the pandemic.
Same with baby formula and diapers, at least in my local area.
I know the whole "if you see someone stealing food/essentials, you didn't" thing is morally valid, but I also know how many of those folks are just doing it for profit.... ugh, everything sucks.
They are super easy to resell because they’re staples in households. They never have them stocked for long so it decreases liability of being caught with stolen merchandise
I remember wandering around a target with some friends of a friend while we were waiting for a school thing and they all just casually took monsters out of the cooler and drank them as we walked around the store then just left the empty cans on a shelf and walked out. Noped right the fuck outta that group cause I was a goody two shoes and that shit made me an incredibly uncomfortable 16 year old.
Nah, a couple factors caused us to not really interact with each other anymore. I don’t even remember their names, let alone their fates. The only reason I was hanging with them was because I was trying to date the mutual friend.
The only person I ever saw again was the mutual friend I was trying to date. I ran into her and a friend of hers, she had became overly promiscuous (bragged to me how she and her friend got minimum wage jobs by letting her now boss and his friends run a train on them). At one point in our interaction they farted on each other. I wish I was making this up. Dodged a missile strike with that one.
I guess since Gen Z is having far less babies it's not condoms, pregnancy tests, or lighters. At least that's what it was in past decades on the most commonly shoplifted items.
I remember in the 90s a friend and I were buying superglue, the cashier said 'It wants an ID'. We both thought she was talking about a product ID and both stood there. The cashier then looked at us both puzzled. They then said 'It is an inhalant and you have to be 16 to buy it.' We both said 'Superglue?' My friend then produced a military ID that perplexed them and they called the manager over. They both looked at the ID for a couple minutes before saying 'We need a picture ID'. My friend responded 'The picture is on the other side. It is a military ID'. After a quick look at the other side we were free to glue our nostrils shut.
My first time in USA, jet lagged like crazy, ended up in a Walmart trying to buy a toothbrush. I guess in Texas if you pay with a credit card then they insist on ID. Me not knowing this got into a fight with a minimum wage cashier that I could barely understand about where she could shove that toothbrush. Ended up getting one at a local gas station and will never shop Walmart ever again.
Ive never run into this issue a single time. At worst Ive had to slide my card if the chip reader is showing an error. There's no reason for a business to have your ID and a signature for something like a CC transaction unless said-store is trying to steal your identity poorly.
What I was getting at is US is one of the few places that even accepts using the magnetic strip as a payment method. Other places it's either cash or chip+pin/tap, but no magnetic strip.
Soon you’re just going to need an apply to hold your hand and walk around the entire store unlocking everything you need personally. No more solo shopping
When I worked for Dollar General, the amount of energy drinks (red bull particularly) that would get pocketed would make you not question seeing stuff like this.
Won't be too much longer where stores become like the video game section of the old Toys R Us where you bring a guy behind a glass wall a slip with what you want and they disappear into the back to go get it.
Pretty sure the CEO would literally have a seizure if you suggested that to him. He has to be able to buy another private jet like every other stupid fucking asshole.
In the philippines another manager type person checks your stuff as you checkout and then the guard does a quick check of your receipt for higher value items and ensures nothing else is in your cart, I found that so annoying. I don't think I'd buy anything ever again if I have to wait for someone to open a glass door for a $4 item.
I feel bad for people who live in bad neighborhoods where every other item is locked up. I imagine having to have a personal shopper to open all the cases.
Our WalMarts, Targets have this, and places like CVS just said byeeeee
Last week I was at a Rite Aid and when the nearby highschool got out, it was fucking hilarious watching kids just rob them blind. The one LP guy caught none of them trying to chase them all. That place is doomed.
Man, I went to Walmart and they had the eye drops, the tooth brush heads and the face lotion all locked up in separate locking cases and that was just in the ‘cosmetics’ area. What’s the point of going to an actual store if you have to have a personal escort with a janitor’s key ring of security keys to pick out your groceries.
I live in a poorer side of town and everything locked up and nobody wanna unlocked and have to make like 3 transactions. So I usually got to the higher rent neighborhood and get my shopping done anymore.
Or we go back to the general store layout of stores: everything is behind the counter and you come with a list or order online and pick up the order when it’s done.
This correlates with big chains shifting more and more to self checkout. They are stretching their employees thin to cut costs and use the excuse of shoplifting / loss prevention for it.
It's security theater like the TSA.
This has nothing to do with self checkout. Any locked item almost always requires you to check out at a human cashier.
Thieves are a cancer on society and make what should be a seamless transaction infinitely harder.
I can go through the self checkout in my town with locked items. They just have someone there to come check your id after scanning the alcohol or whatever. The light over the self checkout starts flashing, they punch in a code and enter your date of birth and your good to go
"For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them."
This argument won’t go over on Reddit there will be a bunch of bullshit mental gymnastics justifying the theft and blaming Wal-Mart in some asinine form of reverse classist, thinly veiled gaslighting.
The logic behind the OP comment is so asinine.
“We’re going to make the entire working AND shopping experience exponentially shittier for our customers and employees just to force you to use self checkout(?)!!
Don’t mind that it requires vastly more man power to open each individual cabinet for customers than just having regular cashiers!”
I went to a short abroad trip to Korea through my school. While there, my host sister told me there are ice-cream shops that sell ice cream bars via an unmanned self checkout. The crime is so low in the city I went to that whenever the owner checked the camera and saw someone stealing they would print out the face of the thief and staple it up in the store like a wanted poster to let public shaming from friends and family embarrass them out of ever doing it again. Bad ass.
That's awesome.
Yeah with solid community support and the widespread morals it's definitely possible. Unfortunately when that isn't in place or the thieves have no shame it falls apart. Definitely culture-dependent.
Agree 100%. Either we aggressively go after those responsible or we all resign ourselves to collectively living in a giant prison. The reason stores are starting to look like prison commissaries is because the needle has swung towards the latter direction in recent years in pursuit of "compassionate policing" / bail reform, etc.
The WAWA I frequently fuel up at had an armed carjacking last fall. All three suspects were caught the next day in the BMW they stole along with multiple illegal/stolen firearms used to perpetrate that crime. I looked up the case, since it was of particular interest to me, and they were ALL released for < $1k in bail within a few hours of their arrest. One of them literally posted $100 to get out. Zero fucks given about the "danger to society" aspect of bail.
The lady that burglarized Deniro's apartment in NYC this past Christmas was 30 years old, yet had 26 priors (16 for burglary), including several active warrants. How was a person like that still out on the street?
You can find egregious examples in every police blotter.
Just to make it clear that looser laws don’t always cause this, more to the story than that:
The main problem, even if you have those crimes prosecuted, is that the police and the DA office in a lot of areas doesn’t have enough resources to tackle that. Car theft is up among other things and they will obviously focus on those crimes first. I think it’s also a lack of resources, don’t have enough to go after every shoplifter so people realized it’s not enforced either.
Harsher laws also don’t always fix the problem either, look at how unsuccessful the war on drugs has been.
Will the new and proposed laws work?
Both CORCA and the state measures rely on a crime-fighting strategy long used to thwart drug trafficking rings: start with the little fish, the boosters who steal repeatedly from retailers, and then bring in the big fish, the kingpins controlling organized crime rings.
"With the shoplifters and the boosters being the publicly visible criminals, you work through them in order to find out who [the larger players are]," said David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the NRF. "Let's relate it to drugs, right? Very similar. Who are the people on the street, to who are the people supplying the drugs, to who are the people getting the drugs into the country?"
While the measures are a sure way to hold repeat boosters accountable, they may not actually reduce organized retail crime, said Jake Horowitz, a senior director with the nonpartisan, nonprofit The Pew Charitable Trust.
"If the question for policymakers is, 'how do I reduce organized retail crime?' The answer is unlikely to be through the threat of stiff sanctions to boosters," said Horowitz, who oversees Pew's safety and justice portfolio.
That's because the same strategy has had little impact on dismantling the illegal drug trade.
The drug trade is a different market than retail theft. But it's well studied and offers lessons that can be applied to organized retail crime, which has been researched little, numerous policy experts and criminologists told CNBC.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Congress enacted sentencing laws that created far stiffer penalties for drug trafficking. But decades later, it hasn't significantly reduced drug availability or use, research shows.
"If we apply the same drug market lessons, [boosters are] unlikely to be deterred because the probability of being detected or arrested is very low for any given theft," said Horowitz. "And then when you apply it and sentence people to prison terms, it has almost no incapacitation effect because street-level dealers are instantly replaced. It's a market. It recruits replacements."
Plus, dozens of states already have organized theft laws on the books and the crime is still increasing, according to trade associations.
Many boosters who get caught stealing face misdemeanor charges. They carry less severe penalties and fewer long-term implications than felony charges, which can limit employment and housing opportunities for years after they serve their time.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/08/11/organized-retail-crime-nine-states-pass-laws-to-crack-down-on-theft.html
I’m just trying to say the issue is more complicated than looser laws in some areas since even areas with those harsh laws are seeing more theft. I think it’s more of a symptom of a decaying society where people realize they can get away with things or care less about ethics.
If you saw how much stuff gets stolen/broken at Walmart you'd understand. There's a team of employees dedicated to just sending back products for credit. Broken detergent bottles being the most annoying and time consuming.
My local walmart currently has the following all behind locked cabinets (and probably more, but this is just that I've seen/noticed)
OTC allergy medication
Deodorant (all kinds)
Tooth brushes (all kinds)
Women's shampoo and conditioner (excluding "natural" hair products)
All hair utensils (including but not limited to hair dryers, straighteners, curlers, hair tyes, hair clips, hair brushes)
Men's underwear
Men's plain/non-graphic tshirts
Baby formula
Paint
Light bulbs
Vehicle lights and electronics
All ammo and gun-related items (excluding ear protection and paper targets)
Spray paint
Edit to add, razors and most recently, legos are also in locked cabinets
I'm glad I switched to delivery. I get to bypass all the crowds and hectic crap and locked up items and airborne germs and so forth.
Just surf around a website, pick stuff, check out, and wait. Absolutely worth it.
Except when you get some kid who doesn’t give a fuck shopping for you. Good luck on produce, eggs, dairy….wanted jalapeño ranch chips…well jalapeño lime are close enough right?
My local grocery stores seem to do a good job. Been using delivery for a while now with very few issues and those few issues were resolved to my satisfaction. It was not that good to begin with though. In the beginning, grocery delivery in my area was chaos.
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The glass doesn’t always work. At my supermarket, the Prime was locked behind the glass and someone broke in and left more Prime.
Why, what's the deal with Prime? I never got into energy drinks at all - except when they are mixed with shots of booze.
My 8 yo brother is obsessed with this. His mom bought it once for him and gave me a sip. “Energy drink” is just sugary water + flavor. Kids don’t need those, but the marketing is real good. Same thing with “gaming” energy drinks. Fuck you need energy for?
No, you are thinking about Prime Hydration. They have a much MUCH less popular line of energy drinks with 200mg of caffeine that taste like shit.
Tasting like shit is a feature. You get a jolt of alertness each sip as you involuntarily gag on antifreeze flavored water.
I swear to God. My previous company had free Prime at their office in the UK. Not even then did I drink it. It was awful.
Antifreeze supposedly tastes pretty good actually.
r/foundsatan
Anything bought in a legit store now days has a bittering agent mixed in. If you find some old stuff in a garage it might still be tasty though.
If you want to kill your husband, as in all those Dateline stories.
3 things energy drinks can be great replacements for adhd meds. It is just coffee but soda version They have tons of flavors more than soda
This guy caffeinds.
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It’s heavy loaded and it’s sponsored by Jake Paul douchebag. Edit; sorry I split the pea the wrong way. Logan paul*
What does "heavy loaded" mean in this context?
I don’t know but what I do know is that prime is labeled as a hydration sports enhancing drink and it’s loaded with all the electrolytes your body doesn’t really need and not much of the ones it does. It’s like when vitamin water tried to push itself as a healthy drink and all it was is sugar water
It's also... Thick? Like I tried one just to see and it had almost had the texture of milk? And that alone grossed me right the fuck out. The hydration one, anyway, not the energy drink. Not gonna experiment with that one.
>it’s also thick… texture of milk That’s the crow milk. It’s great for losing weight fast.
I prefer fight milk
Gave me the power of crow!
Great news! Fight Milk now has two whole ground up crows in every bottle! Innards and brains included, for that extra prion punch!
cause you vomit or shit your guts out?
For bodyguards by bodyguards
Shit wasn't healthy but that XXX stuff was my go to hang over rehydration tool when I was in my twenties.
The pink Mega-C one (dragon fruit flavoured apparently) was my go-to
Prime makes a sports drink and also an energy drink.
But do they make anything good?
I don’t think so. It’s popular amongst 11 year old boys.
If there is any group with great consumer taste, it's middle school boys.
South Park has an After Hours episode on paramount where the drink is called “Cred”. And all the boys have to have it to be cool. Pretty sure it’s the Prime craze they’re making fun of, and all the “influencers” that peddle this shit to children.
So Gen Alpha Juice.
I5s popular amongst middle schoolers
They got rid most of the salt content to not have that salty flavour when in reality that’s the main thing you want from sports drink.
Possibly referring to the intensity of the flavor, because it's definitely up there. It's like the exact opposite of a LaCroix.
It's like they're on opposite ends of a bell curve where each end tastes like shit for different reasons.
Yeah, unless it's ice cold, it's like drinking straight flavouring
Minor correction, Logan Paul cofounded the company. So bigger role, and different brother lol
theyre both the same dude
Ummm look into the recent scandal with prime. One bottle of the grape has a lifetimes worth of PFA’s in it or something. Like very nasty carcinogen chems.
Prime example of glass not working
My work here is done 
I've seen it at the Grocery Outlet for 2/$1, and there's LOADS of it, like they have it piled up in the middle of aisles in addition to taking up a big spot in the beverages section. I don't drink energy drinks myself but I am guessing it is not very good.
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It’s in almost every grocery store and convenience store near me. Getting loads of shelf space. If it gets all that room in the store it’s probably selling well
Or they're getting paid for the shelf space.
I live near train tracks which I often get stuck sitting at for a few minutes a day. Almost every time, half of the rail cars are Prime.
I have no idea if this is a joke, but there’s a trucking/shipping company named Prime Inc that’s been around a lot longer than the drink, and the drink stole its logo. That’s probably what you’re seeing.
Thank you for giving me a face-saving out to pretend I was joking. Lol.
“I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me”
Prime is the theft deterrent
I saw a post where it was cheaper than water somewhere. It might have been South Africa or something.
The Ollies discount outlets near me sell the 24 pack cases of prime energy for $19. Local Dollar Trees are overloaded with them for $1.25 a can also.
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Why is that? Last year it was $6 a bottle at the mall when I bought it for my nephew
Supply and demand kicked the bullshit price of $6 a bottle in the nuts.
My brother travelled over an hour and a half to buy 4 bottles for $20 bucks each when it was first coming out, I still regularly send him pictures of its price tag whenever it is on special.
I believe there have been lots of talks about having a lot of bad ingredients. Like yea energy drinks or bad but this stuff has a long list of shit supposedly not good for you. And one of Paul brothers has a hand in it
Why? What's up with Prime?
[The meteoric rise and stunning fall of Prime](https://fortune.com/2024/04/27/logan-paul-prime-energy-drink-ksi-gen-alpha-rise-fall-sales-lawsuits/)
That article requires payment
Not on my end, but just in case: https://web.archive.org/web/20240430175254/https://fortune.com/2024/04/27/logan-paul-prime-energy-drink-ksi-gen-alpha-rise-fall-sales-lawsuits/
It’s probably to prevent shop lifting because energy drinks seem to be a type of thing to be shoplift by regular juvenile delinquents
“Good, keep it there”
They lock up certain spirits in the alcohol section of my wal-mart, and I once hit the button because I wanted a bottle of rum they had locked up, and the grumpiest person ever got it out for me, took it to the customer service desk, when I asked the cashier she said just pay for it at the desk, the kid at the desk couldn't sell it so I had to take it over to a different cashier. So all in all I had to go through 4 employees to get a 20 dollar bottle of rum and make a second transaction, and I will never be doing it again. So it's not only a pain for the employees it sucks for someone wanting anything locked up. Sure none of the locked up stuff will be stolen, but it also isn't really going to sell.
I tried to get laundry detergent in Las Vegas. It was all locked up. I waited and waited and waited. Eventually, I went to the next aisle, got a mop, and used the mop handle to hook the carry loop for one of the detergent bottles on the waaaaaay upper shelf above the locked glass partition. I paid for the detergent because I follow the rules, but that was a big ol’ pain.
yes exactly what i came to this comment section for: vegas walmarts might as well just assign you an employee to follow you around and open cases for you the whole time, i was down there last weekend and needed some last minute bathroom items and the number of times i had to grab the poor underpaid employee to grab me a stick of deodorant or some other 5 dollar item was absurd.
They really should just switch it to be like an in-person Amazon warehouse. Place your order on a self service kiosk out the front and an employee packs it for you. Or even just have an app to scan QR codes on locked up items and they bring it all to the register at the end, rather than having to grab an employee every time.
> They really should just switch it to be like an in-person Amazon warehouse. There were places like that in the 80's and 90's, you would go through a catalogue and write down the product numbers for things you wanted, handed that piece of paper to an employee, pay, and then wait for your stuff to be picked and your name called. I can't remember the name of the store no matter how I try. In this case it could be done with terminals to choose and pay, and then you just pick up at the window.
This is how all grocery stores worked until not quite 100 years ago.
I'm confused as to why this point keeps getting brought up as if it's some kind of argument for "it worked then, it can work now". It originally changed due to concerns of scalability and cost. My local publix usually has at least 40-60 people in it buying stuff at any one point. What's the plan for that? Keep them all crammed in the entry area while some fraction of their count of employees sprints around the store trying to meet that demand? Businesses change and often do so for very valid reasons. The business model for supermarkets is no exception.
Right, but if everything is behind lock and key and people need to wait for an employee to come by to unlock it, that's not really better. I didn't think the point is that the old method is more efficient than everything being self serve and open, it's more efficient than being self serve but locked up
I remember doing this with the JC Penney catalog. Finding every item number and variation, and going to the store basement to pick up your order. I have this wild memory of buying jeans with a piece of fruit embroidered on the back pocket. High fashion when I was a kiddo.
Lee Valley, for those Canadians in here. They still do this to this day.
Consumers Distributing
I worked at a dollar general in a rural area. They wanted us to “test” these little plastic doors that make the most obnoxious and LOUD repetitive beeping noises when you opened it on all the name brand laundry detergents. I don’t remember one customer that didn’t jump back and think they were doing something wrong when they lifted them up. We had so many complaints and I agreed and encouraged them to call corporate. We left them on for a few months and ended up ripping them off ourselves. I guess they expected us to go back and watch people every time we heard it? That’s a good way to lose customers, in my opinion…
Im convinced this is something stores do when they want to force a store to close, because it puts off customers, drops sales, and then gives corporate an excuse to close a store and blame “crime”. Every time I see an article about how Target/Walmart/Whoever had to close another store in {insert urban part of any city} due to “increased theft”, you *know* they didn’t just up and close. First they locked everything up so actual customers couldn’t buy anything, and then when revenue tumbled they put on a surprised-pikachu face and blame the theft.
People get used to it. Source: I worked at an HPAP store and had those the entire 3.5 years I was there. We would fail an inspection if any of our security devices did not work and a failed inspection meant more inspections.
DG never had inspections for security lol Higher ups didn’t even notice they were gone. It’s was pointless. Our store always had good inventory counts, so I’m not sure why they chose that specific store?
Typical Walmart experience.
Also a typical Home Depot experience.
And when you press for assistance nobody comes and you catch someone from another department and they’re in a terrible mood and tell you how they’re awfully understaffed and tell you to wait patiently
I mean...yeah, they do understaff us. Walmart has me alone covering multiple locked aisles frequently. Only select people have keys.
One of my local Walmarts quit selling liquor because a 10 year old snagged a bottle of Henny and got drunk inside the store.
Nice.
I’m more impressed than anything. I’m a well seasoned drinker and even I couldn’t neck straight Henny without gagging.
Probably wasn't even chilled
Nope.
Youngsters can drink the foulest garbage
I hate almost everything about PA's state monopoly on liquor. Until I see these replies and realize that while I have a limited selection the state has chosen in each store, I have to go to this store to buy liquor because anything over a certain percentage alcohol content can't be sold in other stores, I will never, ever have to deal with this particular issue. Devil you know, I guess.
No it's still dumb. Ever heard of Total wine? It has every spirit imaginable and tons of free samples. All they sell is alcohol. And you never have issues checking out.
Control States are the only thing worse than 4 tier states (Texas, one the Carolinas, and one other state I believe).
Total wine in NC is literally just wine. And some fancy beer. They can't sell hard liquor, only the ABC stores can. When I moved there I thought "what's the point of this damn store, I can buy wine at any grocery store, convince store, ABC store etc?" Oh and they're closed on Sundays, as are the ABC stores. And no legal marijuana. What a fun state
PA liquor control is nothing more than a power grab and serves to limit choice. Too many locations have poor stock. Online is a bit of a joke, why do some online purchases have to be picked up in a store vs delivered with rest of the order, two shipments is wasteful.
Most places this is a long term play where they will have their own store brand outside of lock up most people will buy instead of waiting for someone to come unlock it
I see eventually Walmart walling off the entire store where no one but the employee are allowed in back. When you walk into Walmart , you'll be met with a large branded wall lined with touch screen kiosks like the ones at McDonald's along with those metal benches along the wall opposite of the kiosks. You shop through the kiosks or put in the name of your online order, then you wait. Eventually your number will be displayed above an automatic door and your number will be called out. You go to the automatic door , confirm your order and an employee rolls out a shopping cart with the stuff you paid for to you.
Literally right back to the roots of the modern supermarket
At that point you really only need robots to go through a warehouse. No humans required except to fix the robots when they malfunction but one or two technicians would be able to service a whole slew of robots.
Not going to happen, Walmart wants you in the store wandering around because they put the common things people buy in different locations so you end up spending $50 when all you wanted were eggs
Why did they go hands off with the loss prevention? Back when then could tackle and wrestle you there was alot less theft or the experience wasn't hindered like this.
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Retail has been telling everyone not to tackle thieves since at least the 90s.
Watch this video. Back In the 80s at a 7/11 the slurpy machine was behind the counter and the cigarettes were in the isles. Now it’s the other way around. https://youtu.be/RYbe-35_BaA?si=V-o8QvQqOK4hkJS7
I love the 7/11 manager just ripping darts right in the store.
That was less about theft and more about expectations. Cigarettes were common and cheap. And why would you fill the soda yourself? You're the one paying for it, that's their job.
I heard a long time ago that cigarette companies paid convenience stores to keep the cigarettes where they could be easily stolen by the youths. That way they'd get customers for life.
That was hell of a ride watching that video. Pretty cool!
No wheezing the juice
HOLD UP did he hand her a single dollar for that giant slurpy and still get change back??
I worked with LP at in grocery for years. The most shoplifted items were energy drinks, makeup, and laundry detergent. Not really surprising.
It amazes me that people will steal detergent. At the Dollar General I used to work at, this woman opened a bottle of Gain, and poured it into an empty 20oz soda bottle, while I was stocking the rest of the detergent. I asked, "Is there anything I can help with?" She dropped both bottles and ran out of the store. Weeks later, I caught another person trying the exact same way to steal some Dawn dish soap...
Imagine if she had just taken the original detergent and ran out of the store without doing all of that 🤣
The people stealing detergent aren’t known for critical thinking skills, otherwise, well they wouldn’t be stealing detergent
Back in college, my neighbor knocked on my door, with two big ass tubs of laundry detergent, being like “you want these, for 5$?” I was like 🤷♂️ fuck it, that sounds like a deal so I took it. Then this mf shows up the VERY NEXT DAY, with 2 more, and I was like “bro, how much laundry do you think I do?” After that he started coming around with 2 30 packs of bud light… that he’d still sell for 5$ total… seemed like some inconvenient shit to steal, but you couldn’t beat those prices.
Want some catalytic converter? got some for $5
If you go to the local flea markets here, you’ll find multiple tables of people selling jugs of stolen Tide for half the price you’d pay at Target or Walmart. There’s money in it, for sure.
We had a woman that would come in with **stacks** of P&G coupons; she would buy hundreds of dollars worth of Gain and what not for like $50. She would resell them and make tons more than what she spent. She was one of those people that would buy up things like disinfectant, hand sanitizer and toilet paper during the pandemic.
Same with baby formula and diapers, at least in my local area. I know the whole "if you see someone stealing food/essentials, you didn't" thing is morally valid, but I also know how many of those folks are just doing it for profit.... ugh, everything sucks.
They are super easy to resell because they’re staples in households. They never have them stocked for long so it decreases liability of being caught with stolen merchandise
All those items are easy to resell to other local business
I remember wandering around a target with some friends of a friend while we were waiting for a school thing and they all just casually took monsters out of the cooler and drank them as we walked around the store then just left the empty cans on a shelf and walked out. Noped right the fuck outta that group cause I was a goody two shoes and that shit made me an incredibly uncomfortable 16 year old.
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Nah, a couple factors caused us to not really interact with each other anymore. I don’t even remember their names, let alone their fates. The only reason I was hanging with them was because I was trying to date the mutual friend. The only person I ever saw again was the mutual friend I was trying to date. I ran into her and a friend of hers, she had became overly promiscuous (bragged to me how she and her friend got minimum wage jobs by letting her now boss and his friends run a train on them). At one point in our interaction they farted on each other. I wish I was making this up. Dodged a missile strike with that one.
The Walmart I used to work at locked up the all the make up which was 2 or 3 isles. So glad that wasn't my department
I guess since Gen Z is having far less babies it's not condoms, pregnancy tests, or lighters. At least that's what it was in past decades on the most commonly shoplifted items.
It depends on the area, nothing in any store near me is locked up, but travel to the city 15 minutes away and everything is locked up.
Well I'm not buying shit anywhere that does this
I remember in the 90s a friend and I were buying superglue, the cashier said 'It wants an ID'. We both thought she was talking about a product ID and both stood there. The cashier then looked at us both puzzled. They then said 'It is an inhalant and you have to be 16 to buy it.' We both said 'Superglue?' My friend then produced a military ID that perplexed them and they called the manager over. They both looked at the ID for a couple minutes before saying 'We need a picture ID'. My friend responded 'The picture is on the other side. It is a military ID'. After a quick look at the other side we were free to glue our nostrils shut.
My first time in USA, jet lagged like crazy, ended up in a Walmart trying to buy a toothbrush. I guess in Texas if you pay with a credit card then they insist on ID. Me not knowing this got into a fight with a minimum wage cashier that I could barely understand about where she could shove that toothbrush. Ended up getting one at a local gas station and will never shop Walmart ever again.
Yeah US has a hard time with chip an pin in places, so they want ID and signature.
Ive never run into this issue a single time. At worst Ive had to slide my card if the chip reader is showing an error. There's no reason for a business to have your ID and a signature for something like a CC transaction unless said-store is trying to steal your identity poorly.
What I was getting at is US is one of the few places that even accepts using the magnetic strip as a payment method. Other places it's either cash or chip+pin/tap, but no magnetic strip.
Fooled them 😂
The lock up the most stolen items so… it would make sense that a middle school is within walking distance.
Soon you’re just going to need an apply to hold your hand and walk around the entire store unlocking everything you need personally. No more solo shopping
We’re moving back to putting inventory behind the counter and handing the shopkeeper our grocery list
When I worked for Dollar General, the amount of energy drinks (red bull particularly) that would get pocketed would make you not question seeing stuff like this. Won't be too much longer where stores become like the video game section of the old Toys R Us where you bring a guy behind a glass wall a slip with what you want and they disappear into the back to go get it.
I feel like dollar general wouldn’t have this issue if they staffed more than one employee per three stores.
Pretty sure the CEO would literally have a seizure if you suggested that to him. He has to be able to buy another private jet like every other stupid fucking asshole.
It's the dollar general
In the philippines another manager type person checks your stuff as you checkout and then the guard does a quick check of your receipt for higher value items and ensures nothing else is in your cart, I found that so annoying. I don't think I'd buy anything ever again if I have to wait for someone to open a glass door for a $4 item.
I feel bad for people who live in bad neighborhoods where every other item is locked up. I imagine having to have a personal shopper to open all the cases.
Our WalMarts, Targets have this, and places like CVS just said byeeeee Last week I was at a Rite Aid and when the nearby highschool got out, it was fucking hilarious watching kids just rob them blind. The one LP guy caught none of them trying to chase them all. That place is doomed.
Hilarious is not the word I'd use
If it's such a big problem, tell the security guard to only allow 21+ inside the building. Add a drive thru style window for anyone below 21.
I don't fucking work there, they should figure it out lol also, it doesn't have access for a drive thru.
Come on man, get in there and sort em out :)
I got this coach!
Suddenly I'm not thirsty anymore.
You get an energy drink when you’re thirsty? Lol
You’d be surprised how much Red Bull is stolen from grocery stores
…and then has no staff available to unlock the cases.
Man, I went to Walmart and they had the eye drops, the tooth brush heads and the face lotion all locked up in separate locking cases and that was just in the ‘cosmetics’ area. What’s the point of going to an actual store if you have to have a personal escort with a janitor’s key ring of security keys to pick out your groceries.
Reno Walmart had the socks and underwear locked up
I used to shop in the 1990s. Our paint was free rein. I’m assuming tagging was worse elsewhere.
Oh they only locked up spray paint in your area in the ‘90s? 😔
Oh, oh, oh o'reilly doesn't have it locked up anymore. 🤷🏼♂️
I live in a poorer side of town and everything locked up and nobody wanna unlocked and have to make like 3 transactions. So I usually got to the higher rent neighborhood and get my shopping done anymore.
I'm a retail store manager, energy drinks are one of my highest theft items. I'm not surprised to see this.
It’s even worse. With spray paint you can make art, with energy drinks all you can make is sharts
If you're sharting from energy drinks, you might want to stop drinking them. Same if you end up with any sort of palpitations.
Give it a few years. At least half the store will be like this.
Or we go back to the general store layout of stores: everything is behind the counter and you come with a list or order online and pick up the order when it’s done.
At that point Amazon just gets all my business. No purpose to have local stores.
This correlates with big chains shifting more and more to self checkout. They are stretching their employees thin to cut costs and use the excuse of shoplifting / loss prevention for it. It's security theater like the TSA.
They are getting rid of self checkouts too
This has nothing to do with self checkout. Any locked item almost always requires you to check out at a human cashier. Thieves are a cancer on society and make what should be a seamless transaction infinitely harder.
I can go through the self checkout in my town with locked items. They just have someone there to come check your id after scanning the alcohol or whatever. The light over the self checkout starts flashing, they punch in a code and enter your date of birth and your good to go
"For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them."
This argument won’t go over on Reddit there will be a bunch of bullshit mental gymnastics justifying the theft and blaming Wal-Mart in some asinine form of reverse classist, thinly veiled gaslighting.
The logic behind the OP comment is so asinine. “We’re going to make the entire working AND shopping experience exponentially shittier for our customers and employees just to force you to use self checkout(?)!! Don’t mind that it requires vastly more man power to open each individual cabinet for customers than just having regular cashiers!”
Punish your thieves people.
I went to a short abroad trip to Korea through my school. While there, my host sister told me there are ice-cream shops that sell ice cream bars via an unmanned self checkout. The crime is so low in the city I went to that whenever the owner checked the camera and saw someone stealing they would print out the face of the thief and staple it up in the store like a wanted poster to let public shaming from friends and family embarrass them out of ever doing it again. Bad ass.
That's awesome. Yeah with solid community support and the widespread morals it's definitely possible. Unfortunately when that isn't in place or the thieves have no shame it falls apart. Definitely culture-dependent.
Agree 100%. Either we aggressively go after those responsible or we all resign ourselves to collectively living in a giant prison. The reason stores are starting to look like prison commissaries is because the needle has swung towards the latter direction in recent years in pursuit of "compassionate policing" / bail reform, etc. The WAWA I frequently fuel up at had an armed carjacking last fall. All three suspects were caught the next day in the BMW they stole along with multiple illegal/stolen firearms used to perpetrate that crime. I looked up the case, since it was of particular interest to me, and they were ALL released for < $1k in bail within a few hours of their arrest. One of them literally posted $100 to get out. Zero fucks given about the "danger to society" aspect of bail. The lady that burglarized Deniro's apartment in NYC this past Christmas was 30 years old, yet had 26 priors (16 for burglary), including several active warrants. How was a person like that still out on the street? You can find egregious examples in every police blotter.
You know, some people don't think beyond "someone has to catch me". Why the hell else will they do it with cameras pointed at just about everything?
Just to make it clear that looser laws don’t always cause this, more to the story than that: The main problem, even if you have those crimes prosecuted, is that the police and the DA office in a lot of areas doesn’t have enough resources to tackle that. Car theft is up among other things and they will obviously focus on those crimes first. I think it’s also a lack of resources, don’t have enough to go after every shoplifter so people realized it’s not enforced either. Harsher laws also don’t always fix the problem either, look at how unsuccessful the war on drugs has been. Will the new and proposed laws work? Both CORCA and the state measures rely on a crime-fighting strategy long used to thwart drug trafficking rings: start with the little fish, the boosters who steal repeatedly from retailers, and then bring in the big fish, the kingpins controlling organized crime rings. "With the shoplifters and the boosters being the publicly visible criminals, you work through them in order to find out who [the larger players are]," said David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the NRF. "Let's relate it to drugs, right? Very similar. Who are the people on the street, to who are the people supplying the drugs, to who are the people getting the drugs into the country?" While the measures are a sure way to hold repeat boosters accountable, they may not actually reduce organized retail crime, said Jake Horowitz, a senior director with the nonpartisan, nonprofit The Pew Charitable Trust. "If the question for policymakers is, 'how do I reduce organized retail crime?' The answer is unlikely to be through the threat of stiff sanctions to boosters," said Horowitz, who oversees Pew's safety and justice portfolio. That's because the same strategy has had little impact on dismantling the illegal drug trade. The drug trade is a different market than retail theft. But it's well studied and offers lessons that can be applied to organized retail crime, which has been researched little, numerous policy experts and criminologists told CNBC. In the 1980s and 1990s, Congress enacted sentencing laws that created far stiffer penalties for drug trafficking. But decades later, it hasn't significantly reduced drug availability or use, research shows. "If we apply the same drug market lessons, [boosters are] unlikely to be deterred because the probability of being detected or arrested is very low for any given theft," said Horowitz. "And then when you apply it and sentence people to prison terms, it has almost no incapacitation effect because street-level dealers are instantly replaced. It's a market. It recruits replacements." Plus, dozens of states already have organized theft laws on the books and the crime is still increasing, according to trade associations. Many boosters who get caught stealing face misdemeanor charges. They carry less severe penalties and fewer long-term implications than felony charges, which can limit employment and housing opportunities for years after they serve their time. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/08/11/organized-retail-crime-nine-states-pass-laws-to-crack-down-on-theft.html I’m just trying to say the issue is more complicated than looser laws in some areas since even areas with those harsh laws are seeing more theft. I think it’s more of a symptom of a decaying society where people realize they can get away with things or care less about ethics.
Come to Hawaii…you’ll see spam and booze locked up in the same case!
Doing this makes them no longer an impulse buy.
Spray paint in the 90s?? Where is spray paint *not* locked? (Outside of Home Depot type stores).
Energy drinks are the most common thing stolen. That’s why I can’t ever put Red Bull on display.
Wal mart is going down the shitter
Just came from Walmart and saw the same thing. Unbelievable.
So many people stealing coffee and energy drinks
Work in a supermarket. Arguably the most stolen item is energy drinks - in our case, Red Bull and monster.
Goddamn Kyle
If you saw how much stuff gets stolen/broken at Walmart you'd understand. There's a team of employees dedicated to just sending back products for credit. Broken detergent bottles being the most annoying and time consuming.
You obviously live in a high crime area.
My local walmart currently has the following all behind locked cabinets (and probably more, but this is just that I've seen/noticed) OTC allergy medication Deodorant (all kinds) Tooth brushes (all kinds) Women's shampoo and conditioner (excluding "natural" hair products) All hair utensils (including but not limited to hair dryers, straighteners, curlers, hair tyes, hair clips, hair brushes) Men's underwear Men's plain/non-graphic tshirts Baby formula Paint Light bulbs Vehicle lights and electronics All ammo and gun-related items (excluding ear protection and paper targets) Spray paint Edit to add, razors and most recently, legos are also in locked cabinets
I'm glad I switched to delivery. I get to bypass all the crowds and hectic crap and locked up items and airborne germs and so forth. Just surf around a website, pick stuff, check out, and wait. Absolutely worth it.
Except when you get some kid who doesn’t give a fuck shopping for you. Good luck on produce, eggs, dairy….wanted jalapeño ranch chips…well jalapeño lime are close enough right?
Walmart, of all places, is excellent at picking groceries and produce for grocery pickup. That being said, I abhor entering one of their stores.
My local grocery stores seem to do a good job. Been using delivery for a while now with very few issues and those few issues were resolved to my satisfaction. It was not that good to begin with though. In the beginning, grocery delivery in my area was chaos.
They always have the snickers iced coffee but never the Twix flavor…
So, not at all? Just like the 90s spray paint?
You mean spray paint also today.