My new shoes make me feel like a criminal - alarms go off.
Anyone know how to deactivate apparently hidden anti-theft devices in products?
I found a really great clearance sale last spring on dress shoes I really liked, so I bought three pair.
I broke out a new pair last week. Every time I go into or out of a store, I now set off the alarm system. It's rather embarrassing to say the least. It has to be the shoes, nothing else has changed.
I've looked all over the dumb things, and can't see or feel any visible anti-theft tag, I can only surmise it has to be hidden or built into the product somehow.
I can't take them back, its been far too long and I doubt I could find the receipt anyway.
So, how do I stop them from setting off alarms without destroying them to search for a hidden tag? Magnets maybe?
TIA.
= new reply since forum marked as read
On shoes they're one of two types usually.
It's either a sticker, usually inside the shoe sometimes stuck to the bottom, that looks like this.
Just remove it and your problems are done.
The other type is built into the sole and works the same way. The dead-give away here is that it'll either go off when you enter the store or when you leave but not both; it works like a toggle: First pass reactivates it, second sets it off. This is intentional, much like the dye-tags on clothing it renders the garment unwearable, it should have been deactivated at the time of sale but sometimes the pass-over the deactivator doesn't take. If you take them back to the store you bought them at, their mag-swipe at the register or customer service should permanently deactivate it. Trust me when i say this is not going to be a strange request, it happens a lot. Alternately, it'll just burn out in time from use and stop working. It's a cheap chip-set and usually the chip cracks after a few good solid days of being trod upon...you can speed up the process by wearing them around walking on hard surfaces like concrete or linoleum
Magnets, microwaves, and fires. What more fun could a guy have on a Monday night in December.
I'll let you know if I burn the house down or get arrested for shoplifting my own shoes.
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