And neither store has enough employees to get you any of the locked up stuff unless you wanna sit around and wait for 20 minutes for the one guy with the padlock code.
Inside this device there is a spring-loaded (I think) plunger that locks it in the closed position, preventing the device and anything behind it from being removed from the hook. The "key" is really just a magnet, which when applied to the bottom of the plastic housing, pulls on that hidden internal plunger to unlock the device.
One evening, after searching to no avail for an employee to help, I went to the furniture hardware aisle where they sell small magnets that you could use for drawers and the like. Borrowed one, still in its plastic clamshell packaging, and used it to remove the peg hook lock and retrieve the router bit I wanted. Then I returned the peg hook lock to its locked position, returned the magnet to its aisle, and purchased the bit feeling rather proud of myself for solving this puzzle game.
Edit: Example from Michigan https://www.michigancriminalattorneysblog.com/tampering-thef...
I didn't find any employees walking the aisles, just the guy working the register, who glibly advised me "yeah, you should probably look for somebody to unlock that" and provided no further assistance. Only after another fruitless search for such a somebody did I resort to my DIY technique.
Edit: A funny side note, some months prior to this event I had been in the same store to buy a different router bit. On that occasion I did find a very helpful employee who wanted to unlock the bit for me but did not know how. He cut it off the peg with a utility knife on his belt, slicing through the plastic packaging. I was more nervous going to the cash register with that!
Yeah. For sure! However, AP guys and cops can be pretty unreasonable.
Nobody gets arrested for only tampering with the device.
> If you are arrested for tampering with a theft detection device, retail fraud, organized retail theft, or any other shoplifting offense it is extremely important to not make statements to loss prevention, police officers, or anyone else about what allegedly occurred.
Intent is almost impossible to prove unless the suspect voluntarily admits it during questioning or walks out the door without paying (which speaks for itself).
Tampering with the device is not enough to get you arrested. AP/LP may detain you (and the cops may even be called as a show of force). There's only one way you get arrested in this situation.
When I was working retail you couldn't stop anyone until they tried to leave the store.
And since the salesman with the key was thinking they were going to score a big bounty would usually just ask me to wait my turn.
For me, Best Buy was notorious for not putting their stuff - not even a placeholder - on the shelves, but still had it in stock behind the counter. So you had to wait in the purchase line to check if they even _had_ the item you wanted. Pre-covid, before online checkout was popular and expected.