8.2 MHz · 58 kHz · AM/RF active · Call 1-888-909-TAGS
Used Security A field journal on refurbished retail loss-prevention equipment
Lead Story · Refurbished EAS

The quiet
infrastructure
of the checkout.

Welcome to Used Security — a reference publication on Electronic Article Surveillance, refurbished pedestals, security tags, and the rest of the quiet machinery that keeps retail shrink in check. Maintained by Retail Security Group Inc., operating from Boca Raton, Florida since 2004.

A luxury clothing store floor protected by EAS systems
Apparel retail protected by EAS pedestals & tags
$112B
annual U.S. retail shrink
2024 NRF retail survey
≤ 50%
typical shrink reduction at EAS-equipped stores
industry benchmark
25–50%
cost savings on refurbished systems
vs. factory-new
8.2 MHz / 58 kHz
dominant EAS frequency bands
RF / AM respectively

The case for refurbished tags.

A typical big box store may need to supplement tens of thousands of security tags every year, and that’s per location. Multiplied across a national footprint, tag purchasing is measured in the millions annually. At that scale, every fractional saving per tag compounds into real money on the bottom line.

Hard tags are engineered for thousands of use cycles. The RF and AM electronics inside typically don’t age out. Refurbishment capitalizes exactly on those features and returns the tag to service while keeping functional circuits, copper coil, and polycarbonate out of landfills by the pallet load.

For big box operators specifically, refurbished tags are the obvious call. The cost savings at volume flow straight to margin, supply chain risk drops because you’re no longer tied to a single manufacturer’s production schedule, and the environmental footprint of your loss prevention program drops by an order of magnitude. We buy security tag liquidations from warehouse closings, store closeouts, and brand resets, then bench test, refurbish, and put them back in rotation. Tags in, tags out. No landfill.

On the floor this month.

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Reading from the dispatches.

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