1. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    How would my character get this get done?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Show, Jun 14, 2010.

    Does anybody know how a character would be able to get clothes out of a clothes store that he didn't pay for at a register(he left money; he's honest :p), without sounding the alarm? (Don't ask why, too long to explain.) Is there something other than the tag he'd need to remove? (Yeah, this is a fairly stupid question but I just want to make sure I get it right.) Thanks of any help you can give. And let me know if you need clarification.
     
  2. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    uh... i think i might be breaking a rule or encouraging illicit activities if i were to relay my own technique...
    PM me i guess
     
  3. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    :p Technique eh? Don't want anything too advanced. (Not planning on ever doing it. Just need a character to do it) It's not somebody too savvy but I guess I'll see what I can do. I'm basically just wondering if cutting off the tag is believable enough to not trip an alarm or if there's something else most stores put on that comes off at the register.
     
  4. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    If it's anything like the local Walmart, yeah, the tag should be enough to avert the alarm. Getting it out of the store is the harder part really. for me atleast, way back when
     
  5. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    Well, I don't plan to practice this. I am just making sure yanking the tags off would believably be enough to have him believably make it out of the store without tripping the alarm.(It's a mall store and not really an expensive one either.) I don't buy my own clothes much so I honestly wanted to make sure there isn't something else they take off at the register that would trip the alarm. If he can just yank off the tag in the dressing room and get out without making the scene too unbelievable, it should work.
     
  6. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    From personal experience, i believe it should work.
     
  7. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    Well thanks! :p I hope to never have any personal experience aside from having a character do it. But as long as I can get away with the scene, I'm satisfied. So thanks again.
     
  8. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    i hope to never need to again myself, but yeah, as long as it works. no problem, you're quite welcome.
     
  9. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Depends on the store. Some places I've seen attach a plastic container/tag with an ink reservoir. (Search "ink tag" on Google. It's kinda hard to explain if you've never seen one.) Trying to pry it off yourself will ruin the clothes because (duh) it'll spill ink or dye on them. They usually remove it at the register using a handheld device that safely pops it off.

    As for your writing, if the character can leave the money on the counter and walk out, I suppose it's reasonable that he also got his hands on the device that removes the ink tag. Or you can skip it altogether by assuming the store in this scene doesn't use those types of tags. I usually only see them in malls that have a big problem with theft, so it's totally understandable if the store you're writing about doesn't have them.
     
  10. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    Very good point. Given how podunk my town is i'm not suprised they don't have em here lol
     
  11. smerdyakov

    smerdyakov Member

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    Your character :)) ) would need a strong scissors to cut the tag off in the changing room. Best practice is to bring 4 or 5 items into the room and come out with one less. They usually have a person beside the changing room who checks how many items you are bringing in, so make sure your character waits til they have vacated the area.
     
  12. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    Well than it's all good. As long as it's believable for him to not get caught, I don't have a problem.
     
  13. Sonata

    Sonata New Member

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    If you wrap tin foil around the tag or have a foil lined bag or something similar to put the item in then you don't need to remove the tag as it won't set the alarms off.

    Am I allowed to say that on a public forum?
     
  14. Thanshin

    Thanshin Active Member

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    Cheers for giving the right reply.

    Foil lined bags are the most common method and they are surprisingly hard to fight.

    The only perfect solution (reverse detection) is so cumbersome it will probably never be used.

    The non perfect solution are the magnetic hard plastic round thingies that are hard to remove without tearing the clothes; unless you know how they work and have magnets at home (or batteries and cable).


    P.S.: I've never stolen clothing, but I did build an RFID inventory and security system.
     
  15. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    We give advice on how to kill characters quickly or slowly, so I don't see how this would be any worse. :rolleyes:
     
  16. Thanshin

    Thanshin Active Member

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    Taking into account it takes about ten minutes of googling to get detailed blueprints for grenades, thermite, various drugs, etc. I think that kind of worries are a thing of the past.

    Security by obfuscation is dead.
     
  17. Show

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    Just saying, if people can give tips on ways to kill a character, I think ways to get a shirt out of a store for a story shouldn't be a concern.
     
  18. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    Obviously, you
    a) don't have CCTV in changing rooms and throughout the shop in the US (?)
    b) don't have very alert store detectives and
    c) don't have the same kind of heavy plastic tabs we use in Europe, since they are impossible to 'rip off' without taking a chunk of the garment with it...

    However, a couple of times I've gone out of the shop with my shopping when the assistant has forgotten to remove the tab, and the alarm hasn't gone off at all! You could have an innocent-looking accomplice with a cheap item, who would trip the alarm at the same time you went through it, who would then say they were trying to see what the colour was in daylight, or that they were getting more and more absent minded because of their medication after their mother died or something...

    Very annoying once when it was a present for someone, she had to give it back to me to return to the shop so the tab could be removed (see c above). This usually happens when the shop is very busy, e.g. just before New Year (which is when we give presents here, as we don't celebrate Christmas).
     
  19. TerraIncognita

    TerraIncognita Aggressively Nice Person Contributor

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    It depends what sort of security the store has. If they are like kohl's as long as there isn't an ink thing on there or a tag that has something embedded (places like old navy have sometimes kohl's does) or someone counting the items he has then he's good as long as he gets off the ink thing or the security tag.
     

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