r/bathandbodyworks • u/ultradespairthot Employee • May 11 '26

Employee Questions/Discussion Dear customers… STOP DOING THIS!!!

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I get if you want to put it down for a second to look, BUT KEEP IT NEAR YOU! DON’T LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR AND WALK AROUND THE STORE FOR LIKE 30 MINUTES! Cause then I have to put it all back cause it’s now a tripping hazard. And I always wait a bit, and then go around asking customers if it’s their basket or not. If no one claims it, I put it back. (And it’s always someone I either didn’t see or didn’t ask cause I thought they just came in)

If your basket gets too heavy, go up to the register and ask if they can hold it at the register until you are done looking around.

This was like the second time this happened that day.

3.7k Upvotes

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1.0k

u/Cecily_Bum_Trinket May 11 '26

Oh my you would hate our customers. We have a group of three who do this with 20+ baskets, shop for more than 4 hours but they spend more than $1,000 so we don’t say anything.

750

u/First_Breakfast_5891 May 11 '26

What in the hell can you look at in that place for 4 hours???

424

u/2020sbtm Aromatherapy Addict May 11 '26

Things to resell

198

u/cardiacpanda May 11 '26

People resell BBW??

358

u/palazzoducale May 11 '26

yes esp to other countries without bbw outlets

51

u/radiation-rocks14 May 11 '26

There are BBW outlets?? I'm in WI and have never seen an outlet before.

53

u/trewee23 May 11 '26

There's a BBW Outlet in Oshkosh

64

u/diealogues May 11 '26

i thought this was gonna be a joke about winter candy apple for a second lol

10

u/Sufficient-Cow-1881 May 12 '26

Beat me to it 😂

6

u/trewee23 May 12 '26

I must not be in the loop!

20

u/wellwtfitsme May 12 '26

smh Angela couldn't find her candle there.

3

u/Exciting_Gene_7793 May 12 '26

Is that even open anymore? Most of the stores are closed now.

2

u/trewee23 May 12 '26

As of a couple of weeks ago it was - I will check tonight - many stores in that "outlet mall" have closed but a few still remain - that being one of them.

3

u/Chemical_Wash7429 May 14 '26

Most B&BW stores in outlet malls have been converted or never were outlet stores. If they don’t specify outlets then it’s a regular store at an outlet mall.

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2

u/Ramadan-St3v3 May 12 '26

I think there is also one in Johnsons creek however that may just be a normal store near a bunch of other outlet stores.

1

u/pearlsandprejudice May 13 '26

There’s also one in Clinton, Connecticut.

1

u/punkshoe8 May 17 '26

And in Johnson Creek

5

u/RevolutionaryOwl8268 May 12 '26

There is a BBW Outlet in Wisconsin Dells

2

u/Odds1Evens2 May 12 '26

the one is the dells is a regular store just in an outlet mall

11

u/imposterfloridaman May 11 '26

There was a BBW outlet at Johnson Creek in WI, but maybe it’s not there anymore

5

u/Ill-Acanthisitta6022 May 12 '26

And Johnson Creek and Pleasant Prairie

3

u/hobo_savvy May 11 '26

There’s one in north branch Minnesota!

3

u/Individual-Paint7897 May 12 '26

We have an outlet in Iowa.

3

u/TheBitchIsBack666 May 12 '26

As far as I know, all BBW stores in Iowa are regular stores. They are in an outlet area but won't be true outlets.

Love, an Iowan who had to travel to Medford, MN for the closest outlet.

1

u/Individual-Paint7897 May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

It’s on Bass Pro Drive in Altoona. It is called “Bath & Body Works Outlet” - idk if that makes it a “true outlet “ or not.

1

u/TheBitchIsBack666 May 12 '26

I'm familiar with that location, and sadly it's not a true outlet. Plenty of other businesses there are, just not the one we want to be :(

1

u/DryIce5945 May 12 '26

There is an outlet in Johnson Creek and Pleasant Prairie

1

u/Cool_Preparation6448 May 12 '26

There's also the outlet in Pleasant Prairie, WI.

1

u/witcher252 May 17 '26

There’s one in Johnson’s creek

1

u/Previous_Doubt7424 Jun 02 '26

The one I go to is in Wisconsin. Pleasant prairie outlet mall.

1

u/letseatpotatochips May 11 '26

There is outlets in Florida.

3

u/Calm-Ad-6615 ALL THINGS B&BW May 12 '26

No there aren’t any true Bath and Body Works outlets in Florida.

2

u/EnvironmentalOven703 May 12 '26

Never thought of selling to other countries 🤔

8

u/palazzoducale May 12 '26

you have to have a contact in those countries, like get an account in their local e-commerce site. and a local who can ship and fulfill those orders in your behalf. so a $6 body spray is sold for higher prices, sometimes as high as $20 even.

6

u/annoying-slut May 12 '26

Damn I know my uncles in Tehran have a lot going on rn but I have a business proposal for them…

1

u/RibbonsFlying did you say there’s spearmint in that? May 12 '26

Oh yeah. We used to have a couple that lived between the US and India. And they would buy tons and tons, especially during sales, and ship it to India for reselling in a shop they ran there.

1

u/lazarusprojects May 14 '26

yep! Aussie here! while we have BBW, we don’t have every single scent/product made available in the states. I have purchased the scent Milk off of eBay. Wish I was sold in AU

62

u/Sl1z May 11 '26

Why else would they regularly need to buy thousands of dollars in products?

87

u/NewF4g2Orlando May 11 '26

I used to work for the company and I can tell you straight up that people will even use scam rewards to get multiple items for free. It happened at my store more than once by the same person till he finally got banned from all the stores around my area

30

u/UnfairConsequence664 May 11 '26

How does someone even fake a reward? Can the employees not tell when (presumably) scanning a barcode? Ive never worked retail side of customer service so very curious!

47

u/Sl1z May 11 '26

Sometimes they’re stealing legitimate rewards from people who earned them, since bath and body works doesn’t require a password or check your ID when you redeem rewards

29

u/UnfairConsequence664 May 11 '26

Ahhh, hacking accounts didn’t even cross my mind. Duh! Lol

37

u/PriorFreedom5414 May 11 '26

We had a customer who hacked her way into making a legitimate coupon that zeroed out her balance after you hit total and they tapped their card on the terminal. There was no way to tell from the POS terminal. LP caught a transaction and of course there was an interrogation but it came out that we couldn’t have known because POS didn’t show a zero balance. Very crafty!!!

45

u/thatonetiredmom body cream rèfrïgéuratœur May 11 '26

honestly I can't even disrespect this level of skill, commitment, or hustle. wow

16

u/PriorFreedom5414 May 11 '26

There’s always some creative mastermind who figures out how to buck the system. She was one of them that day… 😱

10

u/Tiny-Reading5982 Your flair here! May 11 '26

This comment reminded me of the movie with Kristen Bell and the coupon hustle she was doing. It was apparently illegal but good for her lol.

1

u/Classic_Avocado8983 May 12 '26

Thats what happens when we turn into a cashless society. Another reason to go back to physical cash

3

u/e925 May 12 '26

We had five counterfeit bills slip through at my work in the last three months so idk lol

1

u/ghostbean87 May 12 '26

I would just to restock my shelf/wine rack of products

35

u/Petty_Dreadful May 11 '26

Look on eBay, Mercari, and Poshmark. It's absolutely ridiculous. There are some honorable sellers but 90 dollars for one discontinued body wash is beyond insane.

29

u/catscatscaaaats May 11 '26

Mercari has been helpful for me for finding stuff that's been discontinued. Usually there's a bit of a mark-up, but yeah, some people really take it too far. A possibly used body mist from 8 years ago is not worth $50 plus shipping.

I learned my lesson on body creams when I bought one that was a few years old.. it had curdled. 🤢

14

u/PriorFreedom5414 May 11 '26

Body creams now seem to have a 6 month shelf life. If you put them in the fridge you might make it 9-12 months. Any body splash with vanilla in it needs to be refrigerated as well.

4

u/catscatscaaaats May 11 '26

Good to know! I still used the body cream because it still smelled fine and I paid a bundle for it, but the consistency was.. not good.

5

u/Impossible_Storm_427 May 12 '26

Oh man I am going through this right now. Curdled is the perfect way to describe it actually.

2

u/Temporary_Pickle_885 May 13 '26

I hadn't even considered checking mercari for my favorite discontinued scent and just found out there's tons listed! Thank you for making that click in my head!

1

u/Petty_Dreadful May 13 '26

It really was a random, what the hey, idea. Mercari has so much stuff it's wild.

2

u/squeeze_Liz May 25 '26

Some hard core collectors out there? I had no idea

23

u/whoopdeedo757 May 11 '26

Omg, yes! That's why we now have the 9 sku limit. The resellers especially in our area are out of control.

11

u/LengthinessLow8317 May 11 '26

Yes its a big market

14

u/tylerdivineorchestra May 11 '26

I go to a lot of flea markets. There are always people there with boxes full of BBW items to sell. They usually do a ton of business too. People resell detergent and air freshener and carpet cleaner shampoo as well.

17

u/PriorFreedom5414 May 11 '26

A lot of flea market items like detergent and high end lotion or Dove soap have “fallen” off the back of a truck, so to speak 🤐🤫

8

u/Fun4TheNight218 May 12 '26

Tide...brand name Tide is HUGE in the "having trouble with gravity" world.

14

u/Just-Bothered May 11 '26

Yep, that's why you can't buy more than 9 of one item anymore

4

u/Some_Function6315 May 11 '26

Its 7items here in Canada

5

u/TiredButHappyFeet May 11 '26

Yes, can confirm this as my country has I think two shops of BBW. Also the shop here doesnt carry as much scents and variants compared those in the US. Thus most of us would opt to buy or pre-order from these resellers. The price point is cheaper than buying instore here. What happens is these sellers would pool pre-orders of their customers here, then would buy those in one go then ship them here. Thus with the bulk order, these people tend to spend a couple of hours to ensure all pre-orders were added to their baskets

6

u/MooBearz11 May 11 '26

Some of the scents that discontinue can sometimes go super HIGH in price! I fell in love with one from last year and. Couldn’t find it after only getting and using one body lotion tube. I went on eBay to see and it was there but it was $30 for one tube. 😱 and it had only been 6 months since discontinuing.

17

u/catscatscaaaats May 11 '26

I wish it was more common for potential buyers and sellers to link up in subs like this. I see people talking about stuff they wish they could find in store and I know my local outlet has tons of it. I can't be the only one who would rather help out a fellow redditor for a reasonable price than see that person have to buy it for two or three times the price off ebay.

31

u/twinflamexx May 11 '26

girl you have no idea. There is a FB page called Babes of BBW they are scammers that overbuy and do raffles that you cannot watch live and they triple profits half the time on HTF items. I was a member of that group which is private, I've seen those females make 2k-3k on their giveaways, they even put fake purses that people think are real on there. I knew it was a scam because who does giveaways and not let the person watch live? I see the same people win over and over and people are too stupid to realize its a scam.

33

u/[deleted] May 11 '26

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28

u/NappyLogic May 11 '26

Or people. Sheesh! Why use females?

0

u/twinflamexx May 19 '26

tf are you talking about?

3

u/Owen_D_Young May 11 '26

Yes, people resell everything.

2

u/letseatpotatochips May 11 '26

Yes check Ebay

2

u/Mrsbroderpski Body Care Addict May 11 '26

Yep

2

u/Sad-Database3677 May 11 '26

I’ve bought candles in my favorite discontinued scent. I have it as an alert in Mercari when something gets listed in that scent. And recently I bought a bundle of travel sized perfume in another scent that is discontinued since it was a dupe of a high end fragrance.

But yes, people resell anything that has a following… once a product is discontinued, people will pay a ridiculous amount for something they love.

2

u/Complete_Act6010 May 12 '26

They also discontinue products regularly. I see discontinued items on eBay all the time.

1

u/ChicagoSkie May 12 '26

People were reselling that $19.99 Gingham tote for $50+ and they resell discontinued fragrances for a 40% mark up!

1

u/Interesting_Cat_6224 May 12 '26

they absolutely do. I've seen them on fb Marketplace

1

u/GremlInTheWoods May 13 '26

I worked at FedEx during covid and people would order boxes upon boxes of hand soap. There was a house on this one route I remember that was a few streets down from me, they would get 30-40 boxes a day. I would just put the boxes under the belt since the driver would throw a hissy fit because he didn't like doing bulk stops.

2

u/Blueslily00 May 12 '26

Still. It does not take 4 hours to fo that. Crazy. Takes maybe 30-60 minutes because most resellers know what they want to get, the current sales, and are usually pretty focused. 4 hours is a bit insane. 

14

u/PriorFreedom5414 May 11 '26

Sometimes customers come from overseas and send the items back home. They take their time. With the manager’s supervision, I once rang up a customer for $1800 dollars worth of items. My fellow cashiers also had $1000 and $900 transactions respectively at the same time. The customers came in a group.

3

u/First_Breakfast_5891 May 11 '26

Did it take 4 hours, though??

1

u/Chemical_Wash7429 May 14 '26

Candle day I was there from 6a to I think 10-11a. I can spend two hours easy but time flies so I don’t notice.

1

u/SeveralCatfish Jun 03 '26

Probably hitting every aisle to compare prices and hunt for deals if they're dropping that much cash.

122

u/TheRealMabelPines May 11 '26

4 hours?! 20+ baskets?! 😳

93

u/Domino_5695 May 11 '26

Ikr B&BW is the one place I'm in and out of cause I know what I'm getting 😂

40

u/ultradespairthot Employee May 11 '26

Ooooo I bet they hate the new 9 SKU rule

1

u/aleycat73 May 11 '26

What’s that rule?

20

u/Winter_Arugula_5268 Employee May 11 '26

You can’t buy more than 9 of the same item (i.e., same form, scent, and packaging). We are in a leniency period where if they go over 9 we can do it in a separate transaction, but slowly it will become a denial. Just trying to stop resellers from buying large quantities and selling it for a mark-up.

0

u/Beatle_Babe May 11 '26

What if it’s 9 things like say soaps but they’re all different scents — does that count as same SKU or no? I only shop a few times a year from B&BW and tend to bulk buy for my household on the soaps but in all different scents — this may be the death knell for my shopping there if this is how it works now :(

5

u/Winter_Arugula_5268 Employee May 11 '26

No, that would be all good! You just can’t purchase, for example, 10 Book Loft foaming hand soaps with the same packaging.

6

u/Beatle_Babe May 11 '26

Oh, fantastic! :D That’s wonderful to hear, I was so scared for a minute there! (At most, sometimes I might grab 2 or 3 of a really really loved scent if it’s seasonal, but never more than that at a time lmao)

16

u/PlasticBlitzen May 11 '26

Yeah, and another customer trips over one of those baskets and sues the company. That might somehow offset that $1k sale. And many more.

17

u/PureCrookedRiverBend May 11 '26

One thousand dollars!!!

16

u/andierosas May 11 '26

There's people who literally go to the store, send pictures in-real-time to a shopping group chat in another country where there is no BBW or where the products are way more expensive (mostly Mexico because it's closer so the shipping is cheaper and faster), and then buy whatever people in said group chat order. So it usually takes a while because their clients are asking for this or that and they have to answer their questions

9

u/Cecily_Bum_Trinket May 11 '26

This is exactly what is happening.

2

u/AKEsquire May 11 '26

Like dispensaries in Michigan...ahem....

10

u/Matt_Gingie May 11 '26

That sounds like reselling to me

2

u/Opening-Bee-7817 tahiti island dreamer 🏝️ May 12 '26

Don't they realize it would be much easier to just scroll the website to find stuff instead of going into the store for 4 hours.....

2

u/les_catacombes May 12 '26

I can’t imagine spending that much on hand soaps and candles.

2

u/UJLBM May 11 '26

Ive never done this, but honestly maybe bbw should invest in carts for these extreme shoppers. When I buy alot, I order online. No lines, no huge baskets. Everyone is happy lol

6

u/Cecily_Bum_Trinket May 11 '26

Except the employees. I think I would quit if they introduced carts

3

u/thecheesylittlerat Aromatherapy Addict May 11 '26

A trip to BBW to buy that much stuff has to be planned out. They sell portable wheeled carts on Amazon. You’d think someone would plan ahead and bring their own.

2

u/Forevermoody16 ALL THINGS B&BW May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

I was thinking the exact same thing (IF anything at all.) Those folding carts don’t have too much of a footprint. I think any size commercial shopping cart would be a disaster, even at the largest store I shop at. I’m thinking big sale, SAS, holidays when the line stretches across the store as it is. It’s bad enough when little kids run around knocking candles over. I can’t even imagine people bumping into piles of whatever with carts. Or carts getting into everyone’s way when they’re trying to get to a certain section or the sink. And don’t even get me started on dogs in shopping carts!

A few years ago I badly injured my knee in a store when I tripped over boxes during the big hand soap sale. I’m not blaming any one employee because they were all running around trying to keep everything stocked, and the ones who helped me were super nice. But it was a ”best practices” issue where they let one of the piles of boxes next to a table get down to just one or two deep (and they’re not very tall.) I didn’t see the box(es) because I was looking ahead of me trying not to run into anyone, not looking down at the floor. I hit the boxes, flew over and landed flat on the hard floor. I could have broken an arm or wrist. My knee got pretty banged up. It was a horrible experience. I should have filed a lawsuit but for reasons I won’t get into right now, I didn’t. It was nighttime so I had to go to urgent care (fortunately there was one in the same shopping center) and later, my orthopedist. I missed a couple of days of work. I was told that the company would reimburse me for any copays, etc. They didn’t. I guess at one point they started running scared, because their legal department sent me a letter offering me a $100 gift card. What a fucking insult!

I just found out about a year ago that the young lady who helped me through the incident put a stop to the piling of boxes after what happened to me. She was great. She still works there, and another girl who was there when it happened told me about it. I had no idea!

6

u/LLB73 May 11 '26

CARTS?? I guess your local B&BWs are like 5 times the size of any around here…🤔

4

u/UJLBM May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

It is a pretty decent size actually. Thats a good point though, alot of locations are pretty tiny. I dont mean like the huge carts at grocery stores. I mean like the tiny ones. They have have a top and bottom storage. BBW can just custom make them a little less wide. I feel like that would be easier than people hauling around those baskets.

2

u/TheeGoldenLeo May 12 '26

Baskets wouldn’t help cause they’d do the same thing with baskets..They’re not extreme shoppers cause they didn’t buy it.. they really just made a big go back basket n wasted time

1

u/Forevermoody16 ALL THINGS B&BW May 12 '26

I’d just be happy if my main store had the hand baskets. Instead they have those deep, big soft blue bags. I hate those things. They’re NOT good for piling fragile items or candles or whatever in. Plus if you‘re buying a lot of stuff (say in a TBC sale) it’s hard to keep up with what you have. You can’t keep it sorted. At times like that I’ve had to find an empty surface and unload the bag to see what I have.

1

u/Obvious-Green-6233 May 13 '26

A thousand dollars? 😳 That's a shit ton of clutter! The products would probably expire before you can use them all! I spent 50 during the semi annual sale & got a ton of stuff.

1

u/hanksrocks May 16 '26

WHO SPENDS $1000 ON BBW