Unsurprisingly, there was a theft, but let's try to understand why there was such a vending machine in the first place:
Manhattan jewelry designer Marla Aaron planted the vending machine in the park outside the William Vale Hotel on N. 12th St. in Williamsburg. She called the machine a “crazy amazing” experiment — an “unexpected place” where her customers could buy her pieces....
In a pair of videos on her website, she says she got the idea while traveling in Japan, where high-tech vending machines dispense an eclectic variety of items.
Brooklyn is not Japan in many ways, one of which is the prevalence of crime.
“Putting it in a store would have been a cop-out. And I wanted it in an unexpected place. The coolest place I could think of would be outdoors. That’s amazing. In Brooklyn. And guess what, we found a park,” she said. “You’re in a park! That’s crazy amazing, and the vending machine is in front of you, and you can buy something.”
Okay, that's called advertising. And she's getting several thousand dollars worth of advertising from the existence of the machine and even from this theft. I say "several thousand dollars" because I assume $13,000 is the
list price of jewelry that was stolen.
Cops describe the crook as a black man in his 20s or 30s, 5-foot-10 and about 220 pounds, wearing a black T-shirt and gray pants....
I think "crook" is an inappropriate word. I'd suggest "dupe."
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My people.
However, I would expect a better party bus scene in Brooklyn than I would Japan.
She should have gone with used school girl panties. You know, an Asian fusion sort of vibe. Black men are much too sensible to steal dirty panties.
I was in Kyoto years ago and came across an unattended vending machine out on the street selling beer (and they have some mighty big beer cans in Japan). You could never do that in the US.
If I were going to explore an abandoned gold mine, those aren't the carabiners I use.
I think "crook" is an inappropriate word. I'd suggest "dupe."
I'd suggest "round".
So if this is a public park, who gave permission to place a jewelry vending machine there? I've seen vending machines in parks for drinks and snacks, which makes sense because those are things that people enjoying the park might want while they are in the park, so there is a public interest in having such vending machines there.
There is no such public interest in a jewelry vending machine, so why was it allowed? Is it just that the city allows any vending, as long as the vendor pays some fee?
I think "crook" is an inappropriate word. I'd suggest "dupe."
Indeed. Picking up trash off the street isn't a crime, is it?
It's nothing to see people selling vegetables around here without anyone running the stand, just a coffee can with a slit in the top. My neighbor has been selling sweet corn with that arrangement for 40+ years and he's only been ripped off once. No colored people where I live might have something to do with it, but there are assholes from every race.
Do not put obstacles before the blind (or bling before the sighted).
Or just risk vs. reward: if the markup is high enough, selling jewelry this way just might be profitable.
In addition to being a publicity stunt.
Insurance scam.
A couple hundred dollars worth of costume jewelry at wholesale nets her $13,000.
Insurance scam.
A couple hundred dollars worth of costume jewelry at wholesale nets her $13,000.
Bingo! [Blingo?]
"Insurance scam."
Would you insure that?
I think it's more of a publicity scheme, where the risk of loss was worth it.
Would you insure that?
I wonder how retail jewelry is insured.
If you watch the TV commercials for the stores, they'll tout "70% off" on this or that diamond-holder every Christmas, Valentine's, and Mother's Day.
But the fine print at the bottom of the screen says something like "retail price may not reflect actual sales". Meaning: nobody pays $2000 for this $400 item we've "discounted" to $600.
Is it insured for $2000, $600, or some other value?
I just don't think an insurance company would cover jewelry in a vending machine in an unattended outdoor location, especially not at the retail price.
Americans like to bring home stupid ideas from their travel abroad.
When I was an Assistant DA, by boss refused to prosecute a drunken idiot who attempted to cheat at a casino. He and an equally drunk buddy tried (very badly) to pass cards to each other in some card game. My boss took the position that the casino plied the gamblers with free drinks in an intentional attempt to cause them to have poor judgment, and he wasn't going to penalize the two idiots whose judgment wound up being just a bit worse than the casino intended.
This idiotic vending machine incident reminds me of that. I'm not sure I would prosecute the hapless sap who fell for this trap.
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