227 replies to this topic

[fxckyouguys]

Many people I know today have recently gotten into the habit of shoplifting...including myself, on a mere hand full of occasions. When I do it's usually things like over-priced make-up and such. (I'm not paying 15$ for a small bottle of foundation....HELL NAH!)

Or even because the line was too long and we're too lazy to wait ten minutes to pay, or the items were really cheap and small enough to hide anyways.

But i've been witness to it hundreds of times, and I just wanted to know what you guys think of it.

Another popular thing the kids are into are doing returns. This is where they'll steal a few expensive items (flashlights, fishing reels) and do a return to get wal-mart credit, and then go buy things like cigarettes.


Have you ever shoplifted? Would you?
Are you afraid of the consequences, or do you just think it's below you?

I'm very eager to hear what other people think about this since even if i'm not involved, it's pretty much incorporated into my life every day...

Edited by oreo12, 17 October 2010 - 09:25 AM.

[Mr. Hobo]

Don't you need a receipt to return stuff for store credit?

[fxckyouguys]

Don't you need a receipt to return stuff for store credit?

Nope, you can do up to 3 returns every few months without a receipt. At the Wal-Mart by my house, anyways.

[Derriere]

I feel that shoplifting is stealing, plain and simple. I wouldn't steal from another individual, and although stealing from a mega corporation is further removed from the humanity of it all, it's still stealing. =/

It is.
But everyone's stole something from someone one way or another
may have been different forms of it but still stealing.

I've jacked candies/drinks(soda etc) from convenience stores and who hasn't stolen from wal-mart haha.

[Boggart]

I've done it before

I was 10 though. So that was my excuse... and i got caught *cough*.

[Waser Lave]

Thieves just put the price up for the rest of us so you owe me money.

[fxckyouguys]

I think it's ridiculous how they'll stop someone with a full cart of groceries when the alarm goes off but they won't stop someone who comes in with an empty purse and leaves with a quite bulky one.
Most of the time if you set the alarms off you can just keep walking and they won't do anything.... or even just use the excuse "It was my cell-phone" and they'll just be like whatever, and let you go.

Edited by oreo12, 17 October 2010 - 10:17 AM.

[Torque]

i used to steal. only from walmart and a couple other stores like them. i would get about $400 worth of movies and games on every visit. did it about 5 times a month every month for about a year. i finally got caught cause i brought a friend in and instead of watching for security, he decided to play with a toy guitar. they brought me in, called police, all that. they didnt even take all the stolen items. i still had movies and games when i walked out. charges were never pressed, i was never fined, nothing ever happened.

[Frizzle]

Gives me an easy day at work so I'm all for it.

[Melchoire]

At Walmart = ok
At a corner store = not-ok

[Lallard]

At Walmart = ok
At a corner store = not-ok

You meant anywhere = not ok.

Never shoplifted before, but one thing worth mentioning is that it's usually the teenagers who work in the store that actually robs the store the most. I know a couple of friends back in high school who used to work on Hollister that talked about grabbing some clothes in the inventory when at work.

[MiladyM]

When I do it's usually things like over-priced make-up and such. (I'm not paying 15$ for a small bottle of foundation....HELL NAH!)

I dont really understand how you find a small bottle of foundation for 15 dollar expensive... how much do you use of it for it to become expensive, the whole damn bottle lol? I buy lipsticks for 35 euro, but they last for quite some time so in the end it's not really that much money anyway. Ofcourse I could buy cheaper ones, but I cant find any that are alright, it would end up more expensive in the end.... Even if you do use the whole bottle per day, you choose to do so, not a good reason to steal.

Or even because the line was too long and we're too lazy to wait ten minutes to pay, or the items were really cheap and small enough to hide anyways.

Guess people need an excuse for it to look more okay..It isn't more okay even with a reason. Maybe if a person is desperate and trying to survive it's easier to understand why a person did it, but it's still wrong no matter how you put it.
I shoplifted once before, when I was like 15, more just for the thrill. Didn't get caught but never shoplifted after that again. I'm definitely against shoplifting, since it is stealing.

Edit: spelling: http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/

Edited by Milady, 17 October 2010 - 02:34 PM.

[epheris]

I occasionally steal gummy worms at the grocery store :|.
IMO, shoplifting isn't ok, but if you REALLLLLY have to do it, shoplift from a corporation.

[fxckyouguys]

I dont really understand how you find a small bottle of foundation for 15 dollar expensive... how much do you use of it for it to become expensive, the whole damn bottle lol? I buy lipsticks for 35 euro, but they last for quite some time so in the end it's not really that much money anyway. Ofcourse I could buy cheaper ones, but I cant find any that are alright, it would end up more expensive in the end.... Even if you do use the whole bottle per day, you choose to do so, not a good reason to steal.

That's expensive for drug store make-up o__O Even so i'd rather save that 15$ for something more worthwhile.

[iargue]

Many people I know today have recently gotten into the habit of shoplifting...including myself, on a mere hand full of occasions. When I do it's usually things like over-priced make-up and such. (I'm not paying 15$ for a small bottle of foundation....HELL NAH!)

Or even because the line was too long and we're too lazy to wait ten minutes to pay, or the items were really cheap and small enough to hide anyways.

But i've been witness to it hundreds of times, and I just wanted to know what you guys think of it.

Another popular thing the kids are into are doing returns. This is where they'll steal a few expensive items (flashlights, fishing reels) and do a return to get wal-mart credit, and then go buy things like cigarettes.


Have you ever shoplifted? Would you?
Are you afraid of the consequences, or do you just think it's below you?

I'm very eager to hear what other people think about this since even if i'm not involved, it's pretty much incorporated into my life every day...

You also forgot that shoplifting makes you feel naughty, and you like to be spanked afterwards.


Anyways. When I was young, I didnt get an allowance like you spoiled brats. So I would steal small things and promised myself I wouldnt steal once I could afford things on my own. So I don do it anymore. I dont want people comming and taking my shit :|

[jcrdude]

Times I have stolen:

From a retail establishment as a customer: 1 (I was about 6 and my mom saw me with a toy that wasn't paid for. She made me apologize to the manager and return the lifted item)
From an employer: uhhh... too many

As an employee, it's easier to get away with shit as you know where the cameras are and can get to know the managers well enough that they wouldn't look twice at you anyway.

Things I've stolen:
Books
Magazines
Cola
Medicine (I felt like shit a few days at work and had no benefits, so this was semi-justifiable)
Expensive Cologne (I was making $9/hr at a place that sold shit for $75 for a single item... I'm not proud of this one, but it's my one big-ticket item)

Now that I'm making decent money, I feel no impulse to steal whatsoever.

In terms of how I feel about it morally, it all boils down to
a) Was it an unaffordable necessity?
or
b) Was it theft for the sake of theft?

a) falls into a gray area where I can understand the rationale, but b) is unexcusable (even though I did it, I'm not proud of it, and feel shame when I talk about it, but feel the need to clarify that I'm no saint even though I pass these judgments)

[Trichomes]

I work in retail, so I know exactly how I could get away with shoplifting, but I've actually never shoplifted intentionally because it's just unethical. At the shoe store I work at, people walk out in our shoes and leave their old dirty ones in a box, or just dump shit into their bags and hide the empty boxes for us to find. Some assholes even get their little kids involved, or they come in groups, communicate with each other over the phone inside the store, and have one person leave the store ahead of time so they can get away more quickly. We try to sensor as many of the expensive shoes and accessories as possible, but there isn't always someone to stop shoplifters at the door, or they even go so far as to risk damaging the shoes by breaking the sensors. We have security cameras, but of course there are blind spots, and we can't afford to pay someone to monitor all day. At our store, we give store credit to customers without a receipt, given the merchandise is in new condition, so anyone could walk in, grab something, and try to return it. Yeah, shoplifting may be easy, but there are customers paying their hard earned money for the same products you're selfishly pocketing and walking out with, and you don't know if the employees may be held accountable for the store's shrink.

Edit: Fairly recently (within the last couple of years), I was shopping at a poster store that sold various novelty items, and I accidentally walked out with this huge tote bag that said something like, "Lookin' Good For Jesus," with silly religious imagery. I guess I'd put it on my arm to look at something behind it and forgotten that I was holding it. Nobody at the store seemed to notice, and I thought it was kind of ironic, so I decided not to return it. It was an accident, but I have to take responsibility for being dishonest. I also stole this generic Barbie-type doll in a dollar store in Boston when I was around 4 or 5, but we were already back on the road home when my parents realized. I do remember them mentioning an apology, though, so I guess I'm not too clear on the details.

Edited by Trichomes, 17 October 2010 - 03:57 PM.

[luvsmyncis]

OMIGAWD.
I hate shoplifters and hope you all die a slow and painful death. 

Thieves just put the price up for the rest of us so you owe me money.

Exactly.
Not only that, thieves make the store employee's jobs harder. I used to be in charge of inventory at my store and every time things got stolen, it ruined the inventory count and made it difficult to keep enough items in stock for the people who actually PAY for what they pick up in the store. And it's worse when the make-up you steal goes on sale, because then we have empty spots and customers looking for the bargain bitch and moan about how we "never have what's featured in the ad". And when you steal enough Pepcid-AC (for whatever fucking reason you shitballs steal Pepcid-AC) we have to invest in lock boxes and then take even more time out of our busy work day to go and unlock it for people who can't figure out that if pizza gives you heartburn, then don't fucking eat it.

And then you have the nerve to take things you didn't pay for and return it for store credit? 
You should be fucking ashamed of yourselves.

I may be a little disgruntled about shoplifting from my past experience, but honestly, you motherfuckers have no idea.
You think you're screwing the big corporation? You're wrong. You're screwing the little guy who has to clean up the mess you fucking make.


Eat shit and die, bitches!!!

[Scot]

Everyone of you has stolen something whenever you don't put forth your best effort. It's called "stealing time" and when you do it, you cost your business just as much as shoplifters do, without the taboo and stigma. When you surf Codex at your job instead of doing work, you're stealing wages for time you didn't work. When you take an extra time on your break and come back late, you're stealing time. When you slack off because you're getting paid by the hour instead of by whatever objective you're getting hired for, you're stealing. I just think it's worth pointing out that theft is relative and does not have to be tangible.

[luvsmyncis]

Everyone of you has stolen something whenever you don't put forth your best effort. It's called "stealing time" and when you do it, you cost your business just as much as shoplifters do, without the taboo and stigma. When you surf Codex at your job instead of doing work, you're stealing wages for time you didn't work. When you take an extra time on your break and come back late, you're stealing time. When you slack off because you're getting paid by the hour instead of by whatever objective you're getting hired for, you're stealing. I just think it's worth pointing out that theft is relative and does not have to be tangible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq97pW5ayk0

[MiladyM]

That's expensive for drug store make-up o__O Even so i'd rather save that 15$ for something more worthwhile.

So dont get it. Pretty sure youll look fine with a cheaper version. Maybe you cant find a cheaper one that is good and thats probably the reason the more expensive one is more expensive..cause it works. Doesnt that mean the 15 dollars for it is worth it in your eyes anyhow? You do choose to use it, just because the price isnt to your liking is a random reason.

[iargue]

Pretty sure youll look fine with a cheaper version.

Damn straight. Shes a stone cold fox.

[MiladyM]

Damn straight. Shes a stone cold fox.

yes, this was exactly my point, tyvm

Everyone of you has stolen something whenever you don't put forth your best effort. It's called "stealing time" and when you do it, you cost your business just as much as shoplifters do, without the taboo and stigma. When you surf Codex at your job instead of doing work, you're stealing wages for time you didn't work. When you take an extra time on your break and come back late, you're stealing time. When you slack off because you're getting paid by the hour instead of by whatever objective you're getting hired for, you're stealing. I just think it's worth pointing out that theft is relative and does not have to be tangible.

That made me wish I had internet at work.

Edited by Milady, 17 October 2010 - 04:23 PM.

[iargue]

Yes, this was exactly my point, tyvm.

I'm good at seeing what people really mean. Like every time PRBM says she hates me, I know shes just expressing her affection.

[MiladyM]

I'm good at seeing what people really mean. Like every time PRBM says she hates me, I know shes just expressing her affection.

Sorry I actually wasnt being real. Had no clue what she looked like, untill I just checked. But im sure youre right about the affection part