The regular supermarkets like Safeway here in Silicon Valley are quite expensive but places like Sprouts and independent fruit and vegetable stands have lower prices and better quality produce than Costco and they sell from bins so you can buy as little or as much as you want.
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Great lawsplainer on checking receipts at the door.
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So our constitutional rights only apply when dealing with the government, and itâs reasonable to suspect all customers are thieves simply because they are in your store and want to leave?
I guess the first may be technically correct, since it is other laws that address things like discrimination in private business. But it is not remotely reasonable to claim they suspect all customers of theft merely because they are walking out the door. The question isnt if a store has the right to detain you, itâs if they can do so as a matter of policy rather than observed suspicion.
TL;DR version (i.e. what I got out of watching this 15 minute video):
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Membership clubs: You probably agreed in advance when you joined the club that you would show your receipt upon exit. So forget about arguing with this.
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Non-membership clubs: There is no one right answer to this as it is covered at the state level by various âshopkeeper privilegeâ laws. What you believe to be the case in your state may or may not be interesting to someone in another state. Generally speaking, subject to the state variations, is that the store may detain you for a reasonable time if they have probable cause that you have stolen something. And, in his opinion, your refusal to show your receipt at the door may be sufficient to establish that probable cause.
He spends a lot of time saying you should just do it since it isnât a battle worth fighting. That may be solid advice, but doesnât answer the question that is in the title of the video.
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The question should be, if you are bothered by the inconvenience of a store that has a policy of stopping everyone on the way out regardless of if they saw you do anything suspicious, why are you choosing to give that store your business in the first place? His advice of going to the manager and telling him/her that you donât like being treated like a shoplifter and plan to take your business elsewhere makes sense to me as the best way of dealing with this sort of stuff.
The answer I got from it is, generally, yes they can. Sure you can just keep on walking, but donât be surprised to get a visit from the police if you do.
But again, itâs a matter of state laws. And he offers one personâs opinion and you can find the opposite point of view from other attorneys (as he notes). Further, even he admits that the basis for it is a little sketchy ⌠the notion that your refusal to volunteer your receipt is probable cause that you committed a theft. That probably holds up in court no more frequently than it doesnât.
Personally, I donât mind showing a receipt when asked. I consider it security theatre and I can play my role just for fun. And for the purposes of this thread (Costco), the video makes an excellent point that youâve almost certainly agreed in advance to the procedure. so thereâs nothing to gripe about.
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Only if you accept the premise that walking out of the store is âreasonable suspicionâ. Unless youâve actually been targeted as a thief, just walking past them will have absolutely no consequence. Worst case, they keep an eye on you when they see you in the store next time.
Theyâre only calling the cops when they have someone dead to rights, I can imagine the officerâs reaction to being asked to chase down a customer based solely on the fact they got in their car and drove away. Besides, unless the store has tangible evidence of you taking something, there is absolutely nothing the police would be able to do even if they did show up at your house.
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I agree 100%, but security guards are human and make mistakes, so I would NEVER do it because itâs not worth the hassle if you have the bad luck of being dressed the same as the real shoplifter that walked out right before you. Iâd rather prove that Iâm not doing anything wrong for 5 seconds in the store than later on in court facing a charge because of mistaken identity.
Thatâs why I would advise anyone that hears âexcuse meâ or âstopâ as theyâre walking out of a store to just go along with any reasonable requests from store personnel. Itâs amazing how far being polite will get you.
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Again, only if you accept the premise that walking out of the store is evidence of guilt.
Walking out of the store is reason for them to go write down your plate and note what you are wearing and then review the tape to see what you did. Thatâs where they could make a mistake and your behavior is just confirmation that they arenât mistaken.
As for Costco, I see it as a beneficial security measure to the customer and one I appreciate. All locations I have ever been to (in 3 states) all have food courts near the exit, after you pay. Most people park their carts full of paid items by the tables and wait in line to order food. Without a receipt at the door, anyone could just jack your cart and leave, stealing your items. You could always have someone steal an item or two unawares but they canât just take your cart and leave without your receipt.
Walmart, etc is a different matter but I get they are only trying to minimize theft. Annoying, yes, but Iâll play along. There are bigger issues in the world than having to provide a receipt. Detaining you though is an entirely different matter and obviously more to the point of this thread.
Thatâs just a nice coincidence. Every Costco Iâve ever been to (in a few states and even countries) has the food court outside, beyond the receipt checkers.
It doesnât take too many purchases to make it worthwhile. First, at least get a deal to sign up, they are on Groupon and many employee benefit sites.
The real value:
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If you have babies: switching to the cheapest you can find often isnât worth it because babies skin canât deal with it. Getting diapers and wipes, Costco/Sams is the cheapest consistent way to get quality products.
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Pets: having pets isnât very wise financially, but if you have them the food is generally good. We have a Great Dane and it was hard to find quality food that would keep weight on her. The salmon and sweet potato Kirkland brand does the trick. It is relatively inexpensive and I donthave to give her fish oil to keep her skin healthy.
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Sales: They often have sales on products that wr use. I stock up then. Toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning wipes, toiletries. Basically all of the non-perishable stuff we regularly use.
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Returns: They have a generous return policy, so many big ticket items that already have a good price, we get there, like furniture.
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Tires: Theyâre in stock, rotate and balance is free, and they typically have deals on good tires. They are all over the country so it works if I am out. I had a nail in a sidewall while traveling for work, found a store and had it repaired.
Saving money is good. Getting a good value on quality stuff is better. Not wasting my time on trivial things like routine consumables is great. I canât save enough money on that stuff to be worth the time it would take. Seems worth it to me. Plus we do the 4% back there.
Maybe one day I will switch over to just Prime and do everything as Subscribe & Save. Not there yet.
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I assume you mean ânail in the tread.â No tire shop would ever repair a tire with a hole in the sidewall.
NEVER REPAIR A SIDEWALL PUNCTURE
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No the nail was in the sidewall. The ârepairâ was a generic term. The method of repair was to replace the tire.
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I gave up on getting tires from Costco and Samâs. Maybe itâs different in other parts of the country, but the wait times at my local stores are ridiculous and appointments are scheduled at least a week out (longer for weekend appointments). Tire Rack is about the same price, my local Firestone is awesome, and there are more Firestone locations than Costco and Samâs combined.
Same with gas, the lines are crazy at the local Costco (not so bad at Samâs for some reason) and the Kroger a quarter mile away is the same price (even cheaper with gift card fuel rewards).
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Played Costco hide the stuff game again on my last visit. I noticed they had sardines on sale and being a junkie I decided it was worth an expedition. I go to the usual location and nada. They have other canned fish but no sardines. I look around for someone to ask and of course no store employees around. I finally find a young lady sorting clothes but she is clueless as to sardines. She points me to a doorway at the front of the store about a hundred yards away. I go there and after about five minutes get the attention of an employee. He looks in computer and says we got em. He calls a guy over and says look for them. We wander around and finally find them in a pile near the frozen food.
A five minute shopping trip turns into half an hour. Why couldnât they put a sign at the usual location saying where they were since they are on sale?? They deliberately want you to wander around.
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This goes for every store, even online ones.
Of course, nobody goes to Costco anymore. Itâs too crowded.
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True, very crowded! Never shop at Costco on weekends, disaster⌠
But, Costco has good quality meats, sweets, breads, blueberries, etc. Shop early in the morning on weekdays.
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The Kirkland wipes are just as full of harmful chemicals as most other brands.
True for expensive / fancy / needy pets 
. Cheaper/smaller pets 
are good for mental (companionship, happiness) and physical (walking) health, which may reduce healthcare costs
