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Comment by joshruby16d | Hacker News Reader

I was in a CVS where they had all the Tylenol/Advil behind a locked glass display, and all the CVS headache relief on the shelf. I mentioned to an employee that this seemed unfair/illegal, and they responded that "people only steal the brand name Advil, so that's what we lock up". Seems unlikely to me.

Anyone else see something like this at CVS?

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This makes perfect sense: Advil might have resale value, CVS brand certainly doesn't.

Tide also has brand currency and is stolen a lot.

> I mentioned to an employee that this seemed unfair/illegal

Complaining to employees about about shit the employee had no control over should be illegal.

It's a job - they don't set the rules and often are not even told why the rules exist...

What law would this be breaking?

Unlikely that its problematic, brands/stores know that positioning/caging on shelves matter and negotiate accordingly. Eye level sells more than top/floor shelf.

I ran into that at a CVS a few years ago and stopped shopping at CVS.

People buy Tylenol off Amazon all the time. Who buys CVS brand acetaminophen on Amazon?

You really think the market for CVS brand acetaminophen is as big as Tylenol?

buying chems off of Amazon I'd lead to a legit brand too. lord knows what you'd get if you didn't.

reputable first world grocery stores selling their brand are probably fine. on amazon it could be repackaged cornstarch

CVS doesn't sell through Amazon though. If you're buying CVS-branded chems off Amazon, its definitely not the reputable first world grocery store selling it. Its a fly-by-night third party seller, probably selling stolen goods.

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