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Comment by edgyquant | Hacker News Reader

#3 really irks me, because they don’t check everyone’s receipts. I was stopped and asked for a receipt two days ago for a gallon of milk I had in the cart because it “wasn’t in a bag” while other people walked past.

I can understand e.g. when I buy a TV, but a gallon of milk is ridiculous and profiling.

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In most states in the US (all?) you are not obligated to stop and show your receipt. It may be polite, and you may do it, but you are not required to do so. For membership stores, it may be a condition of membership, but it still may not be legally required.

Any employee that stops you might be guilty of kidnapping.

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/consumer-protection/prote...

Yep, just keep walking.

Just say no. They won’t/can’t stop you. Costco has it in their membership agreement but stores that aren’t memberships; you didn’t agree to it and you have no obligation to show it. Worst case you get banned.

> Worst case you get banned.

I would much rather stop for 30 seconds than be banned from my local grocery store.

They're not going to ban you for saying no. This is pretty well settled stuff.

I used to say no all the time at frys and never once did they say anything.

I understand I can say no but this is the only Walmart in my routine that isn’t a super center (it’s a “neighborhood market”) so I don’t yet want to get banned from there. I am planning to start shopping at somewhere besides Walmart in the near future though.

If you think about what they are doing, they are searching your personal belonging. That bag is yours. Do you want to give money to a store that thinks it reasonable to randomly search customers?

I just hand them the receipt and keep walking. Nobody’s ever said a word about it.

> Worst case you get banned

Worst case is they call the local PD who are having a bad day and want to point a gun at a black man

I think this is a sign of a regional monopoly, like when the cable company gives you a six hour window for a service call. It probably isn't worth the small amount of theft you stop to alienate customers (otherwise grocers in Los Angeles would do it) by checking receipts. But if you are the only affordable store in town you don't really have to worry about alienating customers.

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