Stores messing up prices to your benefit.

couple years ago my local grocery store marked down their remaining few 4 packs of 08 bcbs so 50 cents per bottle. My dad bought every bottle they had.

 

In a weird way this does raise a point. Don't take this as cracking specifically on your post, ChanChan.

Personally (i.e. for me), it's pretty simple. The original premise was, in effect, someone put four Loons in a Burton Baton sleeve and got Cantillon for less than half its value. Whether this was done intentionally to hide them or not is irrelevant - the final result is the same. The premise was not that the bottles were incorrectly priced. Under the "camouflage" scenario, the simple part (for me) is this - the moral obligation to do the right thing is ultimately my responsibility. I have to look at myself in the mirror in the morning and that's rough enough as it is...

From the perspective of the store - training and consistent policy would help. Stores use empty "sleeves" of whatever for mixed sixes/fours. It is easy to hide bottles. Should the check out person know? Maybe yes, but they probably don't. Cantillon vs. Bud - yes, obviously. Cantillon in another slick looking craft beer sleeve - maybe not so much. When is the last time a six of Burton was checked out and who rang it up? Unless they looked, would a check out clerk really know those four identical bottles didn't belong in that sleeve? I'd guess no, especially for a larger store where check out people probably don't get out to the shelves much. Are all the check out employees intimately familiar with inventory and can they recognize bottles that well? At a glance, this looked like four of the same bottles right where they belong, especially if the bar code is "live". If they were trained to pull bottles and check they certainly should notice.

If mixes are allowed, at least use generic sleeves or blank out the bar code, which is of course no guarantee either. Why bother with sleeves out on the floor at all? People could use a carry basket/cart for mixed six packs. The store could still give a discount just by bottle count, sleeve 'em up at the register for customer convenience, and know exactly what people are buying.

Regardless how people feel about this, the obvious ultimate solution is for stores to eliminate the mixed pack policies completely, charging full price for a limited selection of singles (or not selling singles in 12 oz at all). Then "what a score" might turn into "it sucks because I can't mix sixes/fours".

 

When I first read this post my original sentiment was "oh cool the employee didn't even notice or check the bottles" and I thought all was good. the more posts to follow and more time to think i feel it was a dirty move if intentionally done. Knowingly doing this is theft. Just like an hourly employee not punching out for lunch but still taking an hour lunch is time clock theft.

Most of the places I get mix 4's and 6packs are required to scan all bottles individually then total it all up. This works. They also keep more expensive, non mix6 individual bottles in a section with the bombers and 750s.

I feel both parties can be held accountable for this situation.

 

I've bought Jester King Das Uberkind (originally 16-17 bucks) for the Das Wunderkind price (13 bucks) a few times and I've brought it to their attention that they have the wrong thing ringing up and they don't seem to care because it still rings up as "Das Wunderkind" @ $12.99 instead of "Das Uberkind" @ $15.99.. I tried to tell them, but they insist on giving me $3 off apparently, but I'm not complaining.

 

Ultimately, I think this was a good score but it would make me feel ashamed of myself if I had picked it up!!

 

Lady in a ghetto store in south LA sold me a bottle of Knuckle Sandwich for $3.99(usually around $8-$9). I said really, that's a really low price?? She said that was the price, so I went and bought all 6 bombers she had.

 

I would hope that no one would take advantage of a situation like that. It's pretty cut and dry. If you know that you're not paying for what you take, it is theft. Pretending that it's any different than taking money out of the register is lame.