Shopping cart security tokens

[DieselTech]

I know you said your Keychain is working out OK. 

But for a flat low profile fastner. Look into Glove Snaps.

[AlZilla]

I'm probably going to feel like a dummy when I get the answer, but ...

What is this thing for? Are shopping carts in the rest of the world locked up somehow? 

[fredk]

Yes they are. They are fastened to each other with a short chain which is released by inserting a coin, usually a £1 coin here. When you are finished with your shopping you return the cart to the line of the rest, re-insert the locking chain fitting and you get your coin back.

Its aim to stop people stealing the carts

[BlackDragon]

43 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

I'm probably going to feel like a dummy when I get the answer, but ...

What is this thing for? Are shopping carts in the rest of the world locked up somehow? 

They had these in NY while I was there.

[Cumberland Highpower]

1 hour ago, AlZilla said:

I'm probably going to feel like a dummy when I get the answer, but ...

What is this thing for? Are shopping carts in the rest of the world locked up somehow? 

I think it's more of a way to get the customer to put the cart back (reducing labor) than to keep the carts from getting stollen.

Only place in the USA I've seen this is at ALDI. (A German company).  If you've ever been to an ALDI you'll see they have about 1/2 the employees they should at any given time.

They use a quarter at Aldis.  I'd definitely return the cart if a whole Pound Sterling was at stake :O 

I went to Lidl a couple times in Romania, there customers buy some plastic poker chip at the counter and then put it in the cart in lieu of a coin. (Or in Lieu of a Leu?)!! At least they did it when I was there last.  

In NY, hard to say, from what I see on tv they lock pretty much everything up, not just the carts?

 

 

Edited December 28, 2024 by Cumberland Highpower

[fredk]

2 hours ago, fredk said:

Its aim to stop people stealing the carts

Here is definitely this

[Klara]

Can't be that because if you really want or need a cart, you pay the Euro, Pound or whatever. Since they mostly cost over a hundred Euros when bought new.

(It's that example that makes me ask in places with a deposit on beakers whether it's ok to keep it. For people in other parts of the world: Germany and France (and probably others, but I stick to what I know) try to reduce plastic waste and at events where you'd have gotten your drink in a disposable plastic cup, you nowadays get a reuseable one which you are supposed to take back to the counter and they'll return the deposit. Except sometimes the cups/beakers/whatever have really nice pictures printed on them and make useful souvenirs and so people keep them. Which at 1 Euro per plastic cup is ok, as far as I've asked... At the soup festival it even was ceramic cups, but for 2 Euros I believe. A potter must have gotten rid of her overstock...)

Edited December 28, 2024 by Klara
Info added

[AlZilla]

Well, thanks for all that shopping cart and drink cup information.  I could see it working. In my part of the world, our politicians outlawed plastic shopping bags and mandated a 5 cent fee for paper bags. Some people go to all sorts of lengths to avoid "paying" for grocery bags. It's become quite a bone of contention.

[chuck123wapati]

11 hours ago, fredk said:

Here is definitely this

Wouldn't they just put the coin in and steal the thing??? 

[fredk]

We are hijacking this thread. I'll ask for this discussion to be moved

In the mean time; if honest shoppers return their cart to the cart park to get their coin back it stops there being a lot a loose carts in the car park which are easy pickings for the thieves. In the UK scrap metal gets a good high price, so if you can get the metal for nothing, ie steal it, you're 'quids in' as we say

I was just reading that in area of England thieves stole £100,000 of electric cable which is part of a railway electric system. The trains can't run until its replaced. I've known thieves to have stolen a 15t bridge! as well as man-hole covers, the plaques on war memorials, a town's metal public artwork and so on

Some shops have tried a self-locking wheel on the cart. It locks up when the cart tries to go out of certain area but that didn't stop the thieves, they just lifted the cart away,  so they went back to the coin operated chain lock. Of course most regular shoppers keep a 'trolley token' on them because it happens you never have that £1 coin on you when you need it

Over here paper shopping bags are rare but free. The plastic bags range from 40p/50c  to about £1/$1.25 but plastic bags used by butchers and greengrocers are free. Nearly every one has a 'bag for life', about £2 to £4, that they use all the time for their shopping

Edited December 28, 2024 by fredk