Resellers clear out entire clothing line from Target store thanks corporate suck

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

http://consumerist.com/2012/02/targe...t-a-store.html

Summary: A couple in Miami bought practically every single item of a new Jason Wu clothing line from Target the moment they went on sale, planning to resell them for a profit. Store level management tried to stop them from buying so much stuff, but Target corporate said there was NO ITEM LIMIT with regards to store purchases and the resellers were in the clear to buy out the entire stock of clothes.

Here's the relevant snippet from the article (emphasis mine):

"And that's when things got ugly. A woman, who had been waiting in line as long as the rest of us, said she wasn't going to tolerate that and took something out of the vultures' carts. The male vulture showed her. Her husband threatened him. The police got involved. And then the insults started to fly. The rest of us who were shopping for ourselves with no plans to resell got mad. How was it fair that this guy was taking everything and then telling people around him they could "buy it off him outside" The angry mob called over the management and asked them to intervene. And they did. They took him aside and told him it wasn't allowed. But a call to corporate Target told them they were not allowed to enforce such a limit on items. And then we were back to square one."

I am torn on this issue. While on the one hand I HATE people who hoard items with express intent of reselling them all, there's nothing illegal about what they did. It's also the behavior of consumers in general that allows these resellers to do what they do. If folks weren't so willing to buy limited edition crap at vastly inflated prices, the resellers would be out of business.

I have purchased with the intent to resell before, but I've never been as brazen as the SCs in this particular incident. I bought at most, maybe 10 items at a time, but never came close to cleaning out an entire supply.

To me this story is a shining example of why per item limits and important and I really can't believe Target management was so dumb as to not impose one on these people.

[Silverharp]

Apparently management did try to impose limits, but were overruled by corporate office.
I run into this shit all the time at the local Goodwill when we go in looknig for fun things for the house. You've got resellers who run around grabbing anything that they think that they can sell for a profit and woe betide anyone who dares stand in their way.

[mikoyan29]

In around 1995 or so, Hasbro/Kenner started a new line of Star Wars figures (they looked like the 1980's line on steroids or something). I got my first one at FAO Schwartz in New York City and was waiting for them to make their way back home. It took a while and they finally started to hit the shelves around here only to find their way to the various comic shops in the areas to be sold at a greatly inflated rate. It kind of sucked because I was hoping to get at least the inital collection. Eventually, Hasbro was able to make them in quanitities that the comic stores couldn't keep up...but still. I guess it is the same way with Hot Wheels where if you want certain ones, you might as well shop e-bay or the collectible stores.

On the Star Wars figures, I can only hope the bottom fell out on the MIB market and those comic shops got stuck with a bunch of inventory they can't move.....but I doubt it.

On a side note...what is the point of putting out a limit on certain items if that limit isn't going to be enforced? It would be like setting up laws and not enforcing them for the loudest and most insistent folks....

[DrFaroohk]

Hey, it's within the rules and legal, right? What's wrong with that? I find it amusing that many of the people who would bitch about this are the same ones whining like little girls any time someone dares to break a rule. "RULES ARE RULEZ!!!!!"

[Canarr]

I thought YOU were the one who's always complaining how breaking the rules isn't working out so well for you? Like, not following agreed-upon payment cycles resulting in unwanted consequences?

[DrFaroohk]

I tend to argue that some rules are wrong in the first place, and I am usually met with the "Rules are rules" argument. It's illegal, therefore, it's wrong. I just like to point out that if one maintains that attitude, then one must also concede that the people in this story did absolutely nothing wrong.

[Andara Bledin]

Not quite. But that's an argument for another thread (or five) that already exists.

In this case, the resellers aren't breaking rules, but that doesn't make what they're doing ok to do, and corporate totally dropped the ball by making 1 customer happy and making 30 pissed.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

A grocery store near here promises both "no limits" and "no sales to dealers." Why they would need the second policy at a grocery store I don't know, but perhaps other places could benefit from the same rule.

[Andara Bledin]

Because there are little convenience stores out there who will clean out a loss leader grocery item to resell in their shops, screwing over all of the people for whom the advertising is aimed and the store, because they won't buy any other item, meaning the store is losing potential profits.

^-.-^

[mikoyan29]

Hey, it's within the rules and legal, right? What's wrong with that? I find it amusing that many of the people who would bitch about this are the same ones whining like little girls any time someone dares to break a rule. "RULES ARE RULEZ!!!!!"

If corporate is going to make a rule then they should enforce said rule rather than making the store enforce only to later go against the rule. Basically that sends a crappy message to the stores and the people that break those rules....

[Silverharp]

Most stores have a disclaimer that if they believe a purchasse is for a reseller that management can stop the sale. It's a good policy, it keeps greedy fucks like this from screwing over the real customers.
Hell, I'd have gotten their website info just so I could pass along how they got their merch.

[Amanita]

^Yeah, even if technically these people are allowed to grab up the store's entire stock for themselves, just to resell..
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should"

[Peppergirl]

I used to work with a lady who had a part time job at the huge clearance center for the Gap corporation. One can occasionally literally get a pair of jeans for $2.00, or a sweater for $3.00. All with just slight irregularties or blemishes.

Anyway, these crazy resellers would come in the store and not only buy everything up (which sucks, but was 'legal'), they would absolutely TRASH the store. I mean DESTROY. She showed me pictures of the destruction left in their wake. It was appalling.

It would take the sales associates literally hours to straighten out the mess, yet they weren't allowed to say anything to them, per corporate.

[Ginger Tea]

"Yes I'll ring up your purchaces. Right after I've tidied up the place."

I doubt corporate cared that much in the first post, as hey its stock sold at face value.
stock sold to one person and not 100 mind, but stock sold is stock sold.

[Gravekeeper]

While not illegal or apparently against any specific rule at Target....what sort of business sense does pissing off 30 customers in favour of 1 and causing bad publicity make? Bad word of mouth is the worst kind of publicity you can generate as a business.

Heck, its pretty stupid just to piss off a mob of people in your store to begin with ;p