Prevent Shoplifting This Year

shoplifting3The shoplifting figures in the United States are nothing to laugh about. Billions of dollars are lost to shoplifters every year and the detrimental effect they have on business is serious. Loss prevention personnel are at risk every time they stop a shoplifter, and the solution to this problem has evaded the retail industry with costly consequences. Retailers spend millions of dollars in loss prevention systems, and studies show that these businesses benefit from the investment. The shoplifting is still there, but retailers are able to maintain and keep track of the inventory more easily. For more news about shoplifting, follow the links below.


Shoplifters Costing Businesses Billions

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Shoplifting is a crime police say affects all types of businesses, and it’s costing a fortune.

WFMY News 2 went to several Triad businesses Friday. Owners at those businesses said shoplifters are crippling their day-to-day operations.

One Greensboro store manager said shoplifters cost his business anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 each year.

“If somebody really wants to steal something, they’re going to steal it,” he said, “Ain’t nothing you can do about it.”

He’s frustrated, and he’s not alone.

Nationwide, shoplifters steal about $13 billion in merchandise every year, according to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention. The same organization reports one in 11, or 27 million people in the U.S., are regular shoplifters.


KCSO shoplifting task force makes record number of arrests

KNOXVILLE — A Knox County Sheriff’s Office holiday shoplifting task force made a record number of arrests for 2014.

KCSO’s Safe Holiday Task Force made 372 arrests between Nov. 24 and Dec. 29, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The team was credited with 342 arrests during the same time period in 2013.

While the majority of the 2014 arrests were for shoplifting, they also included 35 felony theft charges, 12 DUI arrests and two fugitive captures.

The annual operation also recovered a record amount of stolen merchandise, totaling $65,614 worth of goods, and located two stolen vehicles. About $50,000 worth of stolen items were recovered in 2013.


Drug habit fuels shoplifting ring in Richmond and around Macomb County

A shoplifting ring has targeted Richmond stores for more than two years, according to a detective with the Richmond Police Department. Thieves steal easily marketable goods to fuel drug addictions, particularly heroin addiction, the detective said.

“What we have seen — and what our counterparts in Chesterfield and at the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department have seen — is a loose ring of individuals shoplifting certain high-priced items like Enfamil baby formula, Red Bull and Crest White Strips, and then either taking these directly to the drug house and trading them for drugs or selling them back-door to another store for cash to buy drugs,” said Det. Julia Frantz.


Your Store’s Reputation

shoplifting4Your store’s reputation is based off of not only customer perceptions, but also how different elements of your community view your store. Beyond your customers, you employees, local law enforcement, criminals, and members of the court system all have a perception of your reputation. How you approach each of these community members plays a big role in how each one interacts with your store.

Customers are probably the easiest to understand. For the most part, they want a clean and safe shopping experience where they are going to get the best value for their money. The value placed on the goods you sell can be either through price reductions, or by offering designer or name brand goods, with stellar employee interaction as part of the shopping experience.

Employees are very similar to customers in their needs. They want a safe and secure place to work. They want to feel valued by their employers. When they see these things, employees are more likely to perform better at their jobs, and take better care of the people entering your store. When employees do not feel safe, secure, or valued, their job performance declines.

Employees are less likely to give good customer service, which can create a decrease in sales over time. It also allows for shoplifters and other criminals greater access to your store’s assets, without the same risk of getting caught. The more these events take place, the lesser of a reputation your store starts to have with the paying customers and your employees.

This can set of a chain reaction where it is now the criminals who favor your store. Your reputation becomes one where it is easy for shoplifters to steal from your store. This reputation will be passed from criminal to criminal and more thefts will begin to happen. The losses will become greater, and more brazen as the risk and fear of being caught diminishes.

Your local police station also has a perception of your store. If you are in a high theft area, but have low case production, they are wondering what is going on in your store. Is your reputation with the local police one of ignorance? Do they think you and your employees are incompetent and unobservant? Or do you maintain a relationship with the local police, and occasionally catch some shoplifters?

When you catch shoplifters, you send a message to your community that you are aware of what is going on in your store, and make efforts to eliminate the criminal element from your premises. Customer’s and employees feel safer and more at ease when they shop. Local police departments are more confident in your store’s level of awareness, as they see more calls and reports being filed from your store.

To maintain your reputation with law enforcement, you also need to show that your cases are reliable when you go to court. A reliable case equates to a stronger reputation for your store within the legal community. When you present shoplifting cases to the prosecuting attorneys and you have solid evidence as proof of who committed which crime, the attorney’s job is much easier. The more often you present solid cases, the better your reputation is within the court system.

Other things you can do to help perpetuate your reputation is to always show up to your given court cases. You should come dressed professionally, and should show up early. This allows you to confer with the attorneys ahead of time, creating a smoother case for everyone involved. You will find that many retailers’ representatives do not show up for court, or do not bring case files or other evidence with them. By doing these things your reputation starts to precede the cases that you bring. Having a consistent history of solid case work and reliability will also filter back into the criminal community, as they can’t plan on your absence to get away with their crimes in court.


Is Shoplifting Becoming More Violent?

shoplifting5The detrimental effect that shoplifting has on profitability in a retail business is monumental. While businesses compete by keeping prices low, shoplifting makes it difficult for those businesses to compete at any level. Retail businesses struggle to survive in any economy, and adding shoplifting issues into their struggle make it almost impossible to be profitable. Spending millions of dollars in security cuts into their profits as well and they do not get rid of shoplifting or employee theft by doing this. All these issues make it impossible for retail stores to offers prices that can be competitive with other stores, or make sense to the consumer. Follow the stories below for more news about shoplifting.


Shoplifters caught on tape fleeing Macy’s

SARASOTA, FLA — Detectives with the Sarasota Police Department are attempting to identify two women who were caught on camera stealing merchandise from Macy’s at Westfield Southgate Mall in Sarasota.

Officers were dispatched to Macy’s on Dec. 20, 2014 in reference to two women shoplifting. The loss prevention officer for the store observed the two women taking items off shelves and concealing them in a purse and other shopping bags. The loss prevention officer called the Sarasota Police Department as soon as he noticed the two women from the office, on camera, all while keeping dispatchers on the phone updated.

When the two women attempted to leave Macy’s, the loss prevention officer asked them to come back into the store and they took off running. No subjects were located but the two women shoplifting were caught on camera. When one of the women started running, she dropped a bag of items worth nearly $1,100.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Detective Kim Laster at 941-364-7327 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477) or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com


1 suspect still at large after Christmas Eve robbery, assault

Eighteen-year-old Hunter Thompsin Ackerman and 19-year-old Eden Araque were booked into Metro Corrections Monday night after police said they were caught on surveillance video shoplifting at JC Penney.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — Two of three people wanted in connection with a robbery and beating at the Mall St. Matthews are now behind bars.

Eighteen-year-old Hunter Thompsin Ackerman and 19-year-old Eden Araque were booked into Metro Corrections Monday night after police said they were caught on surveillance video shoplifting at JC Penney.

Police said the trio stole nearly $400 worth of merchandise and assaulted a loss prevention officer when she tried to stop them Dec. 24. According to police records, the employee suffered a broken nose during the assault..


APD reports string of violent shoplifting cases

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —As the holiday shopping season comes to a close, Albuquerque police say they’ve seen a substantial increase in shoplifting cases this December with offenders brandishing deadly weapons.

Officer Tanner Tixier couldn’t provide specific numbers, but says shoplifting cases where an offender threatens a store employee with a weapon have become all too common this holiday season.

“These attacks are becoming more and more prevalent,” Tixier said. During these attacks, Tixier says loss prevention officers who are trained to spot and confront shoplifters are being threatened.

“These criminals have the ability to escalate their violence very rapidly,” Tixier said.


Loss Prevention

shoplifting3During this time of year the number of shoplifters visiting your store is more than at any other time of the year. Stores across our nation invest millions of dollars in loss prevention, and still billions of dollars are lost due to this crime. Some of the measures retail stores use to prevent shoplifting are the use of video surveillance, security guards, and special tags that are attached to the merchandise and are set off when leaving the store without paying. These are some of the many other prevention measures that help retailers deterred shoplifters from entering their stores. Are your loss prevention measures adequate? Do you need to do more to prevent loses? Read the articles below for more news about shoplifting.


Police conduct holiday shoplifting operation, 19 arrests

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. —

Yesterday plain clothed detectives with the Department’s Economic Crimes and

C.O.T.A. Units conducted a one day operation with loss prevention officers at

the Wal-Mart Store located at 201 34th Street North.

The purpose of the operation was to address the problem of shoplifting that increases during the holiday season.

A total of 19 individuals were arrested, mostly on charges of retail theft although several had outstanding warrants and one juvenile was in violation of court ordered home detention for a previous burglary charge. Of those arrested, 9 were adults and 10 were juveniles.


Great Falls merchants go on guard against shoplifting

Downtown Great Falls’ Amazing Toys owner Dave Campbell said his staff noticed that a $350 Legos set was missing from its perch. They searched the store and found the valuable toy stashed near the front door where a thief planned to retrieve it later.

Dragonfly Dry Goods owner Alison Fried said her staff warmly greets customers, which most shoppers welcome. But some folks, possibly with bad intentions, turn around and walk out the door. She said she has a good camera system inside and outside the store that videotapes 24 hours a day. Fried lets other downtown merchants know who to look for if her store has been hit by a shoplifter.

“We use the team approach,” she said. “We’re a cooperative community downtown.”

“Shrink,” a business concept that includes shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud and administrative errors, cost the retail industry around $42 billion in sales in the United States last year, according to the latest Global Retail Theft Barometer. Worldwide, those factors cost businesses $128 billion.


Man Accused Of Abandoning Child While Shoplifting Speaks Out

A Lexington couple who allegedly abandoned their child while fleeing from loss prevention officers at Walmart say that the police have it all wrong.

Eric Powell and his girlfriend Samantha Barker are accused of shoplifting and taking off leaving behind their 9-month-old child.

Powell says that is not at all what happened.

“We was at Walmart shopping she was at the store shopping and I was by myself looking at magazines and stuff,” says Powell.
He says when they went to check out, he realized he couldn’t pay for the diapers they were trying to buy.


Conceptualize Dishonesty Using the Fraud Triangle

shoplifting7Honest people can have a hard time perceiving and understanding dishonesty in others. Because they have a difficult time conceptualizing it they have a difficult time detecting it. A common lament among managers who have discovered fraud among their employees, vendors and clients is, “I don’t understand how he could do this to me. I had no idea it was happening. I’m just too trusting.”

People too often identify themselves as being trusting, when they’re really being naive. Don’t be naive, protecting your business is vital, many small businesses have been closed due to the fraudulent behavior of their employees, venders or clients. If you don’t want to be taken advantage of it’s important to understand the 3 key factors of the Fraud Triangle.

Before discussing these factors it’s helpful to define fraud, people often have misconceptions about it. According to “Black’s Law Dictionary” fraud is “a generic term, embracing all multifarious means, which human ingenuity can devise, and which are resorted to by one individual to get advantage over another by false suggestions or by suppression of truth, and includes all surprise, trickery, cunning, dissembling, and any unfair way by which another is cheated.”

The 3 factors, which make up the Triangle, are typically present when someone commits fraud. Understanding these elements will help a manager spot dishonesty easier and earlier, because a person who exhibits these thoughts and characteristics is at great risk for deceitfulness.

1. The perceived pressures the person believes they are under.

2. The perceived opportunity the person has to commit fraud.

3. The person’s rationalizations for committing the fraud counter-act their innate integrity.

Here’s an example of how the Fraud Triangle works. Mrs. K has never stolen from her employer and is indigent when others do. She wants to take her immediate family to an expensive reunion. She can’t afford it, but all of her extended family are attending. Mrs. K perceives this as a personal and financial crisis (1st side). She’s the company’s bookkeeper and there are no fiscal controls in place (2nd side). Mrs. K rationalizes that she’ll “only borrow” the money for the trip and then pay it back (3rd side).

She embezzles the money, gets away with it and keeps on stealing. Because usually, once all 3 components are present, when people commit and get away with fraudulent acts they continue the behavior. Also, they may continue behaving dishonestly if they get caught but have no or too few consequences. This is why many managers have found that giving someone “a break” usually backfires on them.

When you understand the Fraud Triangle, and use it as a touchstone for conceptualizing people’s dishonesty, it becomes easier to formulate a defense against deceit. There are many ways to mitigate each of the 3 factors, which can greatly reduce or eliminate the possibility of being taken advantage of. After all, your honesty should be an asset to your business not a liability.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist


Employee Theft This Holiday Season

theft (2)Billions of dollars are lost every year due to shoplifting every year in the United States. Many retails stores prosecute every incident and some others choose not to contact the police. According to research, 64% of small businesses that have experienced employee theft, only 16% have reported the incident to authorities. One of the main reasons not to prosecute the employee according to the research is because the expense of hiring attorneys outweighs the theft committed by the employee. You can read more news about shoplifting by following the links below.


Shoplifters pepper spray Walmart employee during attempted toy theft

SAND SPRINGS — Police are searching for two women who used pepper spray on a Walmart employee while attempting to steal toys from the store Monday morning.

The robbery attempt happened about 1:30 a.m. when two women tried to leave the store with several toys, Sand Springs Deputy Police Chief Mike Carter said.

One of the women used pepper spray on an employee who intervened before they fled the area in a black or navy blue Chrysler PT Cruiser, Carter said.

Detailed descriptions of the shoplifters were not provided.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Sand Springs Police Department at 918-245-8777.


5 ways to avoid employee theft and fraud at Christmas

Christmas: a time when many businesses celebrate the harmony between carols and cash registers. But while Christmas may be a cash cow for some, the combination of temporary staff, increased business activity and financial pressure on staff can move your business from booming to busted.

Employee fraud and theft have fast become a major problem for small businesses in Australia. According to KPMG, workplace fraud more than trebled between 1997 and 2012, costing businesses millions of dollars.

While employee fraud and theft happen all year round, the hectic nature of Christmas produces the perfect environment for staff, both long-standing and new, to become opportunistic.

You see, opportunity is one of the key drivers of employee theft. In a recent global survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 85 per cent of respondents admitted that they would commit a fraud if the ‘right’ circumstances existed.


Employee Theft Is More Widespread Than You Think

Think of all the ways stores lose money.

Pricing Errors. Damaged Goods. But what about when employees steal merchandise? It’s actually a lot more common than you would think.

There’s a reason your average shopper doesn’t know about this problem.

“It’s kind of an embarrassing topic,” says Richard Hollinger. He’s a criminology professor at the University of Florida and he’s been studying why and how employees steal for more than 25 years.

It all started when he was 16. He was working at a small grocery store just south of Macon, Georgia.

“Some of the guys around me, they would graze or eat their way through the store. And I asked them: ‘Stealing food and eating it while you’re at work: isn’t that theft?’ And they go, ‘No, that’s part of your fringe benefits package.’”


Holiday Help

theft (13)The Help Wanted signs, advertisements, and postings are already popping up across the country. Retailers nationwide are starting the process of hiring their holiday help. By hiring them in October and Early November, retailers anticipate that these employees will be trained and ready for the big day after Thanksgiving sales, and throughout the holiday shopping season.

The plus side to hiring temporary help, whether it is during the winter holidays, or the summer garden season, is that the employees are there for the hours and days only when the store actually needs them. Hiring on a seasonal or temporary basis allows the retailers to terminate the employment at the end of the season with little future responsibility in the form of unemployment or severance benefits. This doesn’t mean that it is a one-sided employment relationship.

These temporary jobs are a great solution for people looking to make some extra money to pay for holiday gifts or toys. Teachers who have the summer off can pick up additional work that will not interfere when the school year starts back up. Many temporary workers are hard working, and enjoy the freedom that a temporary position gives them. Other temporary workers do so in the hopes of proving themselves worthy of a permanent position after the season is over.

The downside to hiring temporary help, regardless of time of year, is that many of these employees will not have a sense of ownership or loyalty for the company they are working for. In particular, near the end of their employment these disengaged employees who are about to be let go might try to take a little extra for themselves on their way out the door.

Just as with any other employee theft case where the employee steals because they feel they are owed additional compensation, temporary employees can fall into this same mentality. Perhaps it is because they were not offered a permanent position, or perhaps they feel like they gave up more of their holidays than what they realized they would working these seasonal hours, it is easy for a temporary employee to decide they want more.

With no ownership, a limited time frame of their employments, and a sense of entitlement, many seasonal employees historically end up in employee theft situations. These losses cut into very critical profits, as seasonal/ holiday sales often make or break a store’s financial success for the year. It is also problematic due to the short time frame that these crimes are executed within.

Typically, employees who steal do not want to leave their jobs. They might stay at a particular employer for years, building their safety net and refining their methods. They will usually escalate over a period of time, starting with very small thefts to see what they can get away with. This gives anyone investigating a pattern of shortages discovered over a period of time to look for and follow.

When a seasonal hire decides to steal, they know that they might only have a matter of a few months, or only a few weeks to take all that they can. They might decide to only make one large theft, or multiple small thefts that might not pop up on anyone’s radar. From an investigative standpoint, it is often too late to determine who is causing these shortages. By the time the losses are discovered, or a pattern of theft appears, the employee could have already left their employment.

One of the best ways to prevent these losses is to execute all policies and procedures at 100%, especially during these overly busy times. Any breech of policy is more likely to quickly red flag. Seasonal hires should not be given access to keys, codes, alarms, etc. Leave those to a permanent employee. Finally, conducting mini investigations during the season will help uncover any potential theft risks while they are happening, instead of waiting to find evidence after the fact.


Shoplifting And The Law

law-3Shoplifting has become a “silent crime” people want to ignore, and regardless of the time of year or the amount stolen, shoplifting is a serious crime that many states are finding hard to ignore. States across the United States are changing the law to prosecute shoplifters, and the charges can run from an “infraction,” or a misdemeanor, to felony charges. Shoplifting is a serious crime that we all need to take seriously. Read more news about this by following the links below.


Sales lure shoppers — and shoplifters

As shoppers finalize plans for a big weekend of holiday gift buying, retailers and law enforcement officers are making preparations to ensure merchandise is paid for before it leaves stores.

“It’s the Super Bowl of our year,” said John Leatherman, loss prevention leader at Scheels in West Des Moines’ Jordan Creek Town Center. “We’ll have a lot of people in here, and that makes our job that much more difficult.”

Retailers throughout Iowa and the nation have hired additional off-duty law enforcement officers to help patrol stores and parking lots during the annual Black Friday shopping bonanza, which attracts crowds of shoppers and shoplifters annually. In addition, police and sheriff’s departments have either staffed more officers or rearranged patrol routes Thursday through Sunday to keep tabs on potential traffic tie-ups, shoplifters and vehicle break-ins.
Individual stores such as Scheels beef up staffing in their loss prevention departments.
“Just because it’s a big shopping day doesn’t mean we won’t have shoplifters,” said Leatherman, whose team watches shoppers on a bank of monitors that are fed from


Retailers, cops prepare for holiday ‘shoplifting season’

Once the Thanksgiving turkey is wrapped in cellophane and days of leftovers lie ahead, stores prepare to be inundated with shoppers, as the Christmas shopping season begins.

As the number of shoppers goes up during the holiday season, the number of shoplifting cases increases as well.

In response, store security personnel prepare to be extra vigilant and police officers are prepared for an increase in shoplifting related calls.

“There is just that many more shoppers in the store,” said Layton Police Lt. Travis Lyman.

People feel pressure that time of year, Lyman said, and their dollars are spread a little more.

Each year, retailers lose millions of dollars in theft.

Utah has been hit by organized retail theft rings, which move from state to state, but for the most part, theft during the holiday season is a matter of volume.


Is Your Store Equipped To Handle Shoppers and Shoplifters?

shoplifting6Loss prevention personnel across the country are busy this holiday season.  Every year, shoplifters take advantage of this time of year to steal millions of dollars in stolen merchandise in the United States, making the retailer to lose profits and consumers like you and me to pay for the stolen goods by paying higher prices.  As a society, the loss of sales tax shoplifters take from communities are harmful to everyone. Read more by following the links below.


Tough penalties for shoplifting

Question: Is shoplifting a serious crime?

Answer: Yes. Every year, during the holiday season, shoplifting becomes a more common occurrence. In Louisiana, shoplifting is considered theft and does not require the item to be removed from the store, as explained by the statute itself.

According to LA R.S. 14:67.10, Theft of goods is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which is held for sale by a merchant, either without the consent of the merchant to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. Intent to deprive the merchant permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential and may be inferred when a person:

•Intentionally conceals, on his person or otherwise, goods held for sale.

•Alters or transfers any price marking reflecting the actual retail price of the goods.

•Transfers goods from one container or package to another or places goods in any container, package, or wrapping in a manner to avoid detection.

•Willfully causes the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the actual retail price of the goods.

•Removes any price marking with the intent to deceive the merchant as to the actual retail price of the goods.


How a Master Shoplifter Stole Thousands of Dollars’ Worth of Merchandise

As long as there have been shops, there have been shoplifters. Some are the grab-and-go types, others work in orchestrated teams, but few can compare to Michael Pollara.

Pollara is a Shakespeare of shoplifting, a maestro in the criminal art.

The 46-year-old has strolled out of hundreds of stores with at least $1 million dollars’ worth of merchandise over the course of his criminal career, according to Florida authorities. Easter Island, China, Africa—Pollara claims to have traveled around the world 25 times, but he says he paid for it all with travel points, not cash from stolen goods.

Pollara would hit toy stores, pharmaceutical stores, department stores, shopping mall specialty stores, just to name a few, according to police. He admitted to police that he worked with many “fences” — a name for criminals who traffic stolen goods, but he also sold some of what he stole on eBay, and he had shoplifting down to a science.

“There’s only five methods,” he said. “Either it’s on you, either, if you’re a female, it’s in the purse, either it’s in a bag or it’s in a shopping cart or it’s in a box.”

Pollara’s favorite shoplifting trick was to empty a box of its contents in a store and then refill the box with many expensive items. He would then purchase the box without the attendants realizing he was actually walking out with stolen merchandise inside the original box.


‘Shakespeare of Shoplifting’ Depicts His Many Retail Store Heists

This is a video link.  Follow it by clicking the link above.


Ho Ho Hope Shoplifters Don’t Walk off with Your Merchandise?

shoplifting1Shoplifters love this time of year. There are more people in the stores to help conceal their nefarious activities. There is also great new merchandise and a wide selection, plenty of stock in depth helps them also. What can you do?

Many of you are our customers already and have Checkpoint Systems and also utilize Alpha High Theft Solutions’ products. Unlike your unprotected neighbors, you have a serious advantage to control the thieves. The advantage for you is that your neighbors’ unprotected store merchandise is like a magnet to the shoplifters. When presented with equal valued merchandise that is protected by Checkpoint and Alpha or not protected, the shoplifter will certainly go after the unprotected merchandise.

As a Loss Prevention Systems customer who has purchased your system through us, purchases labels or tags or have PM agreements, you are also eligible for ongoing LIVE training. Our “Shoplifting, because LOSS is a four letter word” training will prepare you and your staff to deal with the shoplifter. This training teaches you how to go on the offense with shoplifters while delighting your good customers.

Keep in mind that we suggest that you use this training for existing and new employees. Because it is live we make it interactive.  Therefore it is a great refresher or ideal for a new retail associate. We will conduct these sessions as reasonably often as you need them. Just call us to schedule.

If you are not a Loss Prevention Systems customer and are interested in this training, simply call us for pricing. We will be happy to assist you.

Shoplifting is simply a business problem that we help you deal with utilizing business proven, commercial grade solutions and techniques provided by professionals that know shoplifting. As the founder and CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, I have dealt with shoplifters all the way from apprehending them during my store detective days to the Board room. With a degree in Industrial Security and over 35 years of experience personally, we are there for our customers. LPSI’s commitment goes on long after the sale.
Our shoplifting training covers:
-The law in your state
-Who is the shoplifter?
-How to spot a shoplifter
-How to go on the offense with them while providing a great atmosphere for your good customers
-What to do and not to do, if you have to confront a shoplifter
-And much more.

It is not too late to get on the schedule. Call today!

Have a great and prosperous holiday selling season!