Neiman Marcus has the bags chained to the wall!
- Thread starter shop-ho
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Yes, I guess it can be somewhat of a pain having to have a SA help you, but they probably really have to do that, theft and all. I know, I like to look at things myself w/o an SA hovering over me but when it comes to high-priced bags they probably have no choice.
The strange thing is, it would be VERY easy for thieves to cut the wire. I've seen laptops disappear in 5 seconds that were tethered, simply by cutting the wire, and the wire NM is using to tie up the bags is a lot thinner than a laptop cable.
I was in a NM two months ago when two thieves attempted to make off with some handbags. As they were running out to their getway car, security grabbed them.
The economy is tough right now, and there are plenty of places to buy bags. I think NM is treading dangerous ground by inconveniencing shoppers.
I was in a NM two months ago when two thieves attempted to make off with some handbags. As they were running out to their getway car, security grabbed them.
The economy is tough right now, and there are plenty of places to buy bags. I think NM is treading dangerous ground by inconveniencing shoppers.
It's not just bags, but at our saks they have large numbers of their denim being stolen. Thieves rip.cut the tags and bolt before security arrives. I don't blame Neiman's for chaining as a lot of theives target handbags because they are hard to trace and easy to offload. Is it really that big of an inconvenience? There is enough slack to look at the bag, you just can't carry it very far.
In dept stores, this isn't abnormal to me. Higher end bags are secured with some kind of security being it corded, sensor tagged etc. This has to be done to protect the company from losses which is good b/c if a company losses money they pass the cost from the losses on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. 
Wouldn't you rather ask for help than to have to pay even higher prices for bags than we already are?
IMO, chaining (even though no actual "chains" are involved) is necessary as you would seriously be surprised what a thief will do to get merchandise. I know people in retail who've told me that people have actually pee'd on sensor tags in the store to get them unattatched as there is something thing in urine thats deactivates the tags.......supposedly. Ridiculous and senseless? Of course, but makes the wall attachments necessary.
Wouldn't you rather ask for help than to have to pay even higher prices for bags than we already are?IMO, chaining (even though no actual "chains" are involved) is necessary as you would seriously be surprised what a thief will do to get merchandise. I know people in retail who've told me that people have actually pee'd on sensor tags in the store to get them unattatched as there is something thing in urine thats deactivates the tags.......supposedly. Ridiculous and senseless? Of course, but makes the wall attachments necessary.
Last edited:
Actually, the way Neiman's in San Francisco has them tied, you can't pick up one bag without knocking over three or four others that are tied to it. The bags end up hanging off the cord and, as the OP said, nearly pulling your arm out of the socket. There isn't enough "slack" in the cable to pick up one bag at a time.
And it's *all* the handbags, even the sale ones. I can see locking the high end bags but this is ridiculous. It really is inconvenient.
Last edited:
maybe a slight inconvenience . . . but important? Not in the big picture IMO.
I mean seriously, if I head to NM to shop for a $2k bag, they're going to unlock every one of them I look at, it may waste an extra 2 of my minutes.
The good news is people can't walk through w/ Auntie Anne Pretzel butter all over their fingers and paw at them too much, trying them on and then expecting me to pay full price for a very handled bag
It's all good.
It's just perspective.
I mean seriously, if I head to NM to shop for a $2k bag, they're going to unlock every one of them I look at, it may waste an extra 2 of my minutes.
The good news is people can't walk through w/ Auntie Anne Pretzel butter all over their fingers and paw at them too much, trying them on and then expecting me to pay full price for a very handled bag
It's all good.
It's just perspective.
I shop because it's fun, so if a store or seller does anything that inconveniences me or makes me uncomfortable in ANY way you can be sure I'm never coming back. No matter how much I want whatever I was going to buy.
If they ruin the experience for me they have lost a client.
Just MHO.
If they ruin the experience for me they have lost a client.
Just MHO.
^^Unfortunately I can only see all the high end dept stores and boutiques follow suit; personally I don't think it's that big of a hassle, you can even touch the bag? I don't even mind them in cases; just ask for help and that's all that's needed, that's what's SAs are there for anyway, no? As others say, I actually like the idea as then the cost will not be forked out over to the consumer in the form of higher prices; for travels I like the security system in airpots too and would much rather going through the security system than being on the same plane with a psychopath. Getting security checks doesn't ruin any of my fun over my vacations.
Last edited:
I noticed this recently at my local NM (in BH) too. I understood the reasoning behind it, but I am concerned that it might affect sales because:
1) I like to stroll and try on lots of bags on before I make my choice, and I'd feel bad if none were right and I ended up leaving empty-handed after asking the SA to unlock them all.
2) I sometimes impulsively grab a bag and try it on when passing through the bag department, go "Wow, that looks good on me!" after seeing myself in the mirror, and end up buying it. Now that can't happen. :cry:
1) I like to stroll and try on lots of bags on before I make my choice, and I'd feel bad if none were right and I ended up leaving empty-handed after asking the SA to unlock them all.
2) I sometimes impulsively grab a bag and try it on when passing through the bag department, go "Wow, that looks good on me!" after seeing myself in the mirror, and end up buying it. Now that can't happen. :cry:
maybe a slight inconvenience . . . but important? Not in the big picture IMO.
It's all good.
It's just perspective.
While I doubt this makes a huge impact on high end designer items, such a huge percentage of cost for any retail location is to offset the money lost from shoplifters. I would much prefer that amount were able to get passed on to actual customers in savings rather than giving it away for free to people who don't have the decency to pay for what they want. So I definitely agree--from the perspective of the big picture, I can deal with asking to see an expensive item from a SA.
wow... i don't recall the NM in White Plains having those chains. Then again I haven't ben in their handbag department since January. Also, Saks and Nordstroms as the boutiques that I do frequent more don't have them chained either. They have these small sensors that don't take away from the trying on experience. I didn't know that handbags were a huge stolen time.
With the way the economy is who has time to steal a bag? I can't picture someone walking into a store, picking up a bag and leaving. There are too many people around. Doesn't anyone see anything? Don't they pay lots of money for security personnel in suits and mystery shoppers?
With the way the economy is who has time to steal a bag? I can't picture someone walking into a store, picking up a bag and leaving. There are too many people around. Doesn't anyone see anything? Don't they pay lots of money for security personnel in suits and mystery shoppers?
Last edited: