Tide detergent is becoming liquid gold to criminals

[Liberal_in_LA]

Loads of Tide thieves clean up nationwide

From Maryland to California, Tide detergent is becoming liquid gold to criminals, who are stealing the bright orange bottles and using them as a form of currency on the streets.

At $15 a pop for Tide in the 100 fluid ounce container, it's not surprising thieves across the country are scrubbing store shelves clean of the laundry detergent.

Earlier this month, a Tide robber from St. Paul stole $25,000 worth of the detergent and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation, according to a story in the Pioneer Press.

And a Maryland supermarket surveillance camera caught a suspect loading his car with 15 to 20 bottles of Tide, hauling them away, and then an accomplice selling the detergent to a nail salon. The footage was aired on an NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, which reported that national retailers such as CVS were taking extra security measures to keep “Tide tied down.”

And it’s not just Tide, the NBC story found. A spokesperson for Ralphs Grocery Stores, a California supermarket chain, said the thieves are also stealing Red Bull and shampoo.

http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/13/10669349-loads-of-tide-thieves-clean-up-nationwide

[TheWraith]

1. I'd have sworn this was The Onion. nt

[hifiguy]

2. Why?

This is the weirdest story not involving the Klown Kar I have read in a while.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. "Tide is highly recognizable, it's very difficult to trace and it's easily resold," said Brad Garret

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/17148140/tide-theft-tied-to-drug-trade

[hifiguy]

8. So are other laundry detergents.

This is just odd as hell. It isn't as though you can use the stuff to cook meth or something.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. the recognizable nature of the bottle.

[murielm99]

6. I second your question:

WHY?

And what do nail salons have to do with it?????

Does anyone here have an answer?

[zorahopkins]

10. Here's My Guess

If Tide is selling for $15.00 a bottle, then someone who steals it pays nothing for it.

If the person who steals one bottle of Tide can sell it for $8.00, then that person is $8.00 ahead.

And if a person who has lost a job or is desperately poor cannot afford a $15.00 bottle of Tide, an $8.00 bottle is much more affordable.

Everyone wins.

Except, of course, the Big Chain supermarkets that overcharge anyway.

[csziggy]

26. Maybe Madge switched from Palmolive to Tide?

[Control-Z]

19. Poorly written article.

I knew little more after reading the complete article than I got from the title.

[hedgehog]

3. The local convenience store keeps infant formula

behind the counter!

[barbtries]

7. that is sad

since you know anyone who would steal infant formula has to really need it.
but then again, steal the formula so you have money for your beer. i could see such a scenario.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. no. Infant formula is stolen for profit. It is liquid gold also. Small size but costs a lot.

[Ikonoklast]

18. One of the most shoplifted items in a retail grocery store.

Easily re-sold for cash.

Poor mothers weren't the ones stealing it, almost every time we caught them it was someone who needed money for drugs.

[SoCalNative]

4. I guess this will be the next thing

the stores will put under lock and key, next to the baby formula and razors.

[dipsydoodle]

9. Red Bull and shampoo

whatever grabs you as a cocktail I guess.

[Robb]

11. Amusingly I JUST got a great deal on those.

Sale plus a store coupon AND manufacturer's coupon. Got ten of them for 3.99 each.

Where do I go to trade them for guns and drugs? And can guns and drugs clean clothes?

[DianaForRussFeingold]

16. 3.99 for Tide

Now, that's a steal...

[Rex]

13. This is a very strange story imo since the whole goal of a thief

is to steal items. Thieves are stealing Red Bull and shampoo...and? Water is still wet. Thieves steal items out of a store. Water is still wet.

[Newest Reality]

15. That's

a glitch in the Matrix. Pay no attention to anything that does not seem to be a part of the Official Simulation.

Now, back to "our" recovery. Everything is absolutely fine and we are getting it all "under control".

[dipsydoodle]

17. In the UK

its been complete cartloads of chewing gum being stolen by Romanians. Apparently its used instead of coins for use in shops there.

[Julian Englis]

20. There's note even good evidence that it works any better than the generics.

The unintended benefits of good marketing.

[joeybee12]

21. Why Tide? My guess, the clerks don't bag that item for you...

So it's easier to walk out with it in your cart because it wouldn't be in a bag...if you walked out with a couple small cans of some item and that wasn't bagged, that would look suspicious.

[yellowcanine]

22. I have always said to stock up on soap rather than gold to prepare for the apocolypse.

Barter goods will be the name of the game when all H breaks loose.

[Juneboarder]

23. Tide is SO overrated!

I make my own laundry detergent at home and it costs me maybe $3 for a 2 month supply. The hardest part is grating the soap to mix with your other ingredients.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

24. Dirty crooks!

or not

[TlalocW]

25. I'll talk to my sister

Who is a coupon queen and can go to CVS, buy over a hundred dollars of product, and come out with the store owing her 5 bucks. We'll ship the bottles to these place to be distributed for free.

TlalocW

[surrealAmerican]

27. I've wondered why Tide ...

... is so much more expensive than the other brands. It's got the same stuff in it, but you can get All or Arm & Hammer for less then half the price.