From: "Herbert Graf" Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 9:56 PM > Well, that depends on the store. As I've said before, shoplifting CANNOT > be eliminated. The extent a store will go to to "get rid" of shoplifting > is completely up to them. > > There are already stores out there that have LCDs on their carts with > maps of the stores, so adding an RFID reader and integrating a scale > isn't that big a deal, especially if it's done in volume (i.e. Walmart). I haven't see an store with an LCD map, I'm sure they exist, but I can't see why that would be useful either. Even a big-box store isn't that big, and there's a substantial cost to the store. > But "pranksters putting items in carts" is something that can happen > right now. Sure, there is the "added" check of the person unloading the > cart, but I can't imagine the "threat" of a prankster doing this in the > "RFID world" is enough for you to COMPLETELY dismiss it?? No it's not enough, but it's one more disadvantage, and the threat of that will slow things down so you lose the only potential advantage. Because there's no failsafe check, pranksters will have a much greater payoff so they'll do it a lot more. > Plus, almost every store I go to will likely GLADLY except "prankster" > items for return. It's means wasting far more time than you save, it's a lot of aggrivation, and you'll probably figure it's not worth it for a $5 item. My time is more valuable to me than $5 for the time it would take to return an item. So I would just be left annoyed with the store and out $5. > Even so, fine, put a screen on the cart that updates, the person will be > "checking" their receipt as they add items to their cart. More expense...how much will these carts cost. A screen, onboard computer, scale, RF reader, rechargable batteries. What about costs for downtime when the system breaks on the cart? repairs? employee and customer training? > Again, I'm just ONE non expert, and I'm coming up with solutions. The > fact that you think the problems are SO insurmountable confuses me. There are so many major problems, even if they're not insurmountable, you're talking about a major expense and a lot of added risk for the store and customer. The *only* advantage you've cited is faster checkout time, and I've given a lot of reasons I don't even believe that will happen. I rarely wait more than a couple of minutes in checkout lines except around the holidays. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist