This must have me confused. They buy a skill saw. Take it to the truck. Give the receipt to a buddy who goes into the store and picks up a saw and walks out without paying for it because he has the receipt. At this point they have two saws but only paid for one. Then they go to another store and turn the original equipment back in and get their money back. Now they have a saw they didn’t pay for. What do they do with it?
Why not just go back in the store, pick up a saw and take it to customer service with his friend’s receipt and get a refund. He has the money and the first guy is in the truck with a saw. And they didn’t have to drive anywhere.
What am I missing?
Plus, here in NY the receipt checkers not uncommonly mark the register receipt with a day-glo marker and/or put a puncture mark through the receipt to make sure that it cannot be used again in the manner described.
Good point.
Of course I don’t understand how they could just go directly to the door without anyone noticing they hadn’t gone through a checkout line.
They sell the saw they didn’t return for a discounted price on eBay or craigslist.
Going into the same store repeatedly will get you noticed quickly. You would have to make a ton of trips to the same store to accumulate the amount of cash these guys did. Go to multiple different stores and you appear to be just another customer. It’s a very common tactic for Organized Retail Crime (ORC) groups. I’ve also known some of these groups to create their own receipts rather than purchasing an item to get one.