Why does Costco inspect your receipt and items at the exit?

[dbk]

Love Costco..

 

[Muse]

I don't think they do either. They just make a show of checking, they're not counting items or reading the entire receipt. Hell, when the store is busy and the line to get out is backing up the guy just grabs the receipt, swipes a black marker over it and hands it right back. He doesn't even pretend to read it or check the cart.

In my experience they always make at least a show of checking, they look in the cart, take a look at the receipt. They never meticulously check that everything in the cart matches up with what's on the receipt. That would take 4x as long as what they do. I can't guess how they are trained. If they are really trying to deter theft they should and maybe do have a plan in place and training.

 

[Muse]

I think they usually only really care for big ticket items, especially during rush hour.

During slower times, they will do a slightly more in depth look.

How would they know if a big ticket item is in your cart? Something that costs $1000 can come in just a box. You might have $150 worth of stuff obscuring such a box. I suppose some expensive things you might not be able to just put in your cart, you put a dummy box in your cart and the real thing is provided you upon payment. They might do that, some stores do.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When I was out of town for LASIK we went to Costco. It was great. With all the halos from fresh LASIK it was really like I was in consumerist heaven.

Yeah they checked our stuff too, real quick.

 

[Muse]

Literally maybe once or twice in a month of working the door. We would catch hundreds of dollars a week in overcharges, though.

I was charged for one more of a ~$20 item than I actually bought at Costco around 3 months ago. They did not catch this at the door. I realized it when I inspected my receipt at home. I double checked that I was absolutely right and called them and the guy said I should just bring my receipt with me next time I came to the store and I would get reimbursed, and I did that.

I think that Costco is one of the friendlier, consumer oriented retail businesses around. They are on my short list (the list is short) of favorite stores. I absolutely do not mind the receipt check when I leave. I am not insulted. I always go in with a plan, leave having fulfilled my plan. Today, I found an extra item or two. It happens. I paid for them. The total bill was big, but I can justify my purchases, every one. I'm like that. They have a ton of stuff I would never dream of buying, the great majority of stuff in the store.

 

[DougoMan]

Costco can install an x-ray machine at the door for all I care.

It's just too bad they don't have an idiot scanning machine so they could refuse you at the door.

 

[tommo123]

i would have assumed by now that all items over a certain amount would have an rfid tag or something that auto scans as you exit

 

[justoh]

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

 

[squarecut1]

i would have assumed by now that all items over a certain amount would have an rfid tag or something that auto scans as you exit

Yeah, but I guess not at Costco.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yeah, but I guess not at Costco.

Except theft prevention isn't the only reason why there's a checkout. Can't figure out why some of you keep on going on when the question has been answered over and over again in the thread.

 

[Insomniator]

Regardless of my member agreement, its REALLY annoying to have to wait online again to get my reciept for a 3 items worth a total of 50 bucks checked. I'm not a loser, I'm not stealing cat food. Let me out of your store already.

 

[Squisher]

They must hire savants to be able to scan a receipt containing 50 items for 3 seconds and align it with a fully packed buggy. Funny I've never seen an ad at Costco saying "Savants Needed."

 

[IronWing]

I don't know why they do it but I'm okay with it. It's the social highlight of my month.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

They must hire savants to be able to scan a receipt containing 50 items for 3 seconds and align it with a fully packed buggy. Funny I've never seen an ad at Costco saying "Savants Needed."

As somebody who has done similar mindless work, you get preternaturally good at it after a while.

 

[SP33Demon]

seriously. BJ's doesn't hold a candle to Costco in any way imaginable.

BJ's is great. Not as good selection but what they do have = good prices. The 2% back rewards is great as well. Not bothering with costco.

Oh, and bj's does do an item count when you're leaving the store. It doesn't bother me.

 

[gorb]

BJ's is great. Not as good selection but what they do have = good prices. The 2% back rewards is great as well. Not bothering with costco.

Oh, and bj's does do an item count when you're leaving the store. It doesn't bother me.

Costco's executive membership also gives you 2% rewards.

 

[Muse]

Regardless of my member agreement, its REALLY annoying to have to wait online again to get my reciept for a 3 items worth a total of 50 bucks checked. I'm not a loser, I'm not stealing cat food. Let me out of your store already.

"Give me convenience or give me death."

And as for "loser" a lot of very successful people have been caught shoplifting.

 

[Muse]

BJ's is great. Not as good selection but what they do have = good prices. The 2% back rewards is great as well. Not bothering with costco.

Oh, and bj's does do an item count when you're leaving the store. It doesn't bother me.

Who in the hell is BJ's?

 

[Muse]

Personally, I find someone looking in my basket and signing my receipt a lot less spooky than the thought that some unseen security system (whether human eyes are behind it or not) may have its sights on you and be prepared to have someone pounce on you once you exit the premises. This is a real good reason to never refuse an offer to take your receipt with you.

 

[Golgatha]

The Legality of Compulsory Receipt-Checking

Some members-only discount stores require their customers to give consent to be searched by an employee as a condition of membership. For example, the Costco membership agreement contains an unconditional consent to search on page 29. Customers who sign such an agreement (as all Costco customers must) would seem to have no grounds to complain if they are later required to submit to a receipt-check.

http://www.thelegality.com/2008/03/...-the-legality-of-compulsory-receipt-checking/

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Best buys - Just ignore and walk out.

This. You sign a contract and you agreed to the searches. Searching a bag at a public department store once you've paid for an item is an illegal search because there is no contract to sign. Around Christmas time stores like to stop you and check receipts. I just walk around the line and leave without issue normally. I was only significantly challenged once at a Best Buy. I asked the guy if I was being detained, held my cell phone up in the air, and told him I'd call the police for him. He let me pass.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Even employees leaving with purses, bags etc, get searched at the door.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Is this receipt check a common thing in the US?
I can't think that our petty theft levels are drastically different in the UK but I'm not aware of any place that does it here.

In the US most stores will not chase you if you run out. When I was shopping in Spain, they had two guards in suits standing at the exit of the store and if the alarm went off and you kept walking they would chase after you.

 

[WelshBloke]

In the US most stores will not chase you if you run out. When I was shopping in Spain, they had two guards in suits standing at the exit of the store and if the alarm went off and you kept walking they would chase after you.

Isn't that basically what people checking your receipts on the way out are though?

I find its the opposite though. If they forget to deactivate the tags its a ah heck finding anyone to deactivate them never mind being chased.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Isn't that basically what people checking your receipts on the way out are though?

I find its the opposite though. If they forget to deactivate the tags its a ah heck finding anyone to deactivate them never mind being chased.

Kind of. Spain gives off more of the impression that they were "security" and it was pretty wide spread (malls, small designer, stores, etc). Over here I think only the membership warehouses and big tech stores do it (Best Buy, Frys, etc)

 

[SP33Demon]

In the US most stores will not chase you if you run out. When I was shopping in Spain, they had two guards in suits standing at the exit of the store and if the alarm went off and you kept walking they would chase after you.

Our local BJs has a county cop car sitting outside the exit, so they must catch some people.