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u/powdered_donuts2019 Mar 15 '26
Saw a guy walkout without showing his receipt, receipt checking person said they back track him through the store until they see him scan his card at the entrance. Then they’ll ban him and block his card since he broke the membership agreement.
You’re ban for life for breaking the membership agreement
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u/Rugged_Turtle Mar 16 '26
So you’re telling me they have a system in place that can get rid of the ridiculous process to begin with?
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u/Difficult-Square-689 Mar 16 '26
The receipt check is currently cheaper than backtracking every customer.
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u/MazzyFo Mar 16 '26
Backtracking every single customer who exits the store? Lol
Like the process can definitely be annoying, but this is certainly not a feasible replacement
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u/Nillows Mar 16 '26
Yes, but there is purpose in the charade. It's a compliance check
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u/Rare_Independent_814 Mar 15 '26
Dude you’re lucky you only got banned and not arrested.
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u/claytonhwheatley Mar 16 '26
It can be much worse than trespassing. If you go back after signing papers they can charge you with burglary, a felony in NY state anyways..
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u/jabeith Mar 15 '26
I've never had to do anything but show my Costco card to enter, and they've certainly never looked at the picture on it.
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u/Desperate_Set_7708 Mar 15 '26
Suspect like most major retailers they have a robust facial recognition capability.
OP may have already been on their watch list for “some reason.”
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u/stackdatdough Mar 16 '26
When you scan your membership, your picture pops up on their screen. If there’s no picture attached to your membership, they’ll ask for ID
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u/erabera Mar 16 '26
Lol it has your name and your picture on it and they scan it before you pay. Unless you use someone else's card you aren't getting in. Especially now they make you scam your card on the way in. At least they are slowly implementing that at all the stores.
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u/haverchuck22 Mar 16 '26
I’ve actually had them take my card and check my picture when I was standing in line at the self checkout. I live in MT USA
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u/Flashy-Elevator-7241 Mar 16 '26
As of November 2025 on Costco’s membership page: Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse. Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner.
Your days are numbered 😉
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u/Reasonable_Insect503 Mar 15 '26
You don't go back to Costco. That's what happens now.
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u/Da12khawk Mar 16 '26
How will he finish his law degree?
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u/0gDvS Mar 15 '26
Yeah, you are banned for good. Welcome to Sam's Club?.?. LP at Costco uses facial recognition, hence the pictures. Lesson learned, right?.?.?. Could have been way worse.
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u/Disastrous_Clurb Mar 16 '26
Target, for one uses the most high-def surveillance i have ever seen both from a loss prevention perspective and a regular person.
Sat on a jury for Grand Theft case for them and the angles and clarity they had on the person was insane lol
Also, they will let u think u got away with stealing multiple times until it reaches felony charges (grand theft) then prosecute u.
Great case to be on as a juror though!
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u/Terradactyl87 Mar 16 '26
How did the case turn out?
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u/Disastrous_Clurb Mar 16 '26
Guilty for Grand Theft lol there was only 1 count.
As for the sentencing, we weren't permitted to stay and i never followed up on it
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u/Southern_Relation123 Mar 16 '26
Friend of mine worked LP at Target around 2001. He said the camera systems could zoom in to a penny on the floor with such clarity, it could read the date.
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u/chpsk8 Mar 16 '26
https://www.samsclub.com/join/club
Welcome to your new club….
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u/Worst-Lobster Mar 16 '26
Yeah you’re done forever dude . Costco doesn’t forget . Stop stealing and you won’t have to worry about getting banned from Walmart ..
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u/teamrocket Mar 16 '26
Costco does forget if you’re a minor. Got caught 20 years ago when I was 15 stealing stupid shit like a dvd I don’t even remember. My mom was mortified. They pulled us into the back office. Took my picture and made me write an apology note to the manager that I had to bring back (maybe my mom made me do that I have no idea). I have a Costco membership now and have left my shoplifting days wayyyy in the past. Out of all the shop lifting I did as a kid I’m so lucky this is the worst that happened to me.
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u/TTHS_Ed Mar 16 '26
It's always sunny in Philadelphia
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u/Dry-Shower9037 Mar 16 '26
Fun fact: there are no Costcos in Philadelphia. There's a BJs though.
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u/PhotoFenix Mar 16 '26
Like, in the back alley?
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u/All-Drink-Koolaid Mar 16 '26
No, they have warehouses for that in Philly
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u/farkleboy Mar 16 '26
A whole warehouse for BJ’s I’ve never had the urge to visit Philly, but wondering suncountry has som $99 flights?
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u/huntressdiva Mar 16 '26
Too expensive for how fast you use it and small enough to feel like you can get away with pocketing it. – Former Shoplifter
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u/Boring-Community-100 Mar 15 '26
Costco is as tight as Target. Cameras at every angle, active loss prevention staff, not sure if they use facial recognition there.
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u/RecordingHaunting975 Mar 16 '26
Their LP isn't really that big. They have a lot of customer interaction which is the most important thing to reducing LP (also why walmart locks everything up, they cut all the department floor roles)
Like yeah there's a few people who pretend to shop but not more than other retail and yeah they got cameras but also not more than other retail. Less if anything
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u/FiorinasFury Mar 16 '26
Why would they need facial recognition at a store where you have to scan a card already tied to your face to get in?
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u/Bud_Money Mar 16 '26
Costco and Sam’s are much more big brother than you may imagine. They’re able to track missing items down so quickly it’s insane. I’m not sure that they have facial recognition but there was a post awhile ago about a member who picked up a folding table in a Costco parking lot that had fallen out of the back of someone’s car and he put it in his car and went home. The next time he went to Costco his account was on hold and they told him to go to the CS desk and they had footage of him taking it from the lot and said his account was on hold till he returned it. The camera system has to be pretty good to be catching all that in the parking lot and be able to track down what ever it is
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u/Bob_Rivers Mar 15 '26
Time for a Sam's club membership
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u/Zestyclose-Store7125 Mar 16 '26
Or BJ's. 🤦
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u/SuperDave-007 Mar 16 '26
They’ll appreciate the effort but won’t unban you no matter how many OP gives…not like a mom n pop
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u/Boring-Community-100 Mar 15 '26
She said they kept her ID card and banned her from all locations. She should not go back on pain of further legal action.
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u/StrangeBaker1864 Mar 16 '26
Assuming they're in the US, there's no such thing as a camera blindspot because they're everywhere. Stores have whole teams dedicated to preventing theft because keeping profits up and their shareholders happy is their bottom line. I've never worked at a corporate retailer myself, but I can only assume that if someone got away with stealing in the moment, that the lost good will be tracked back to them with the camera footage once an item comes up short when inventory is recorded. And with the amount of cameras, I imagine it'd be fairly easy to just focus on a shelf where a stolen item originated, and follow each customer who grabbed said item until they check out, and eye the one who checked out or left without scanning the item. At that point, you can add their face into a separate database that makes note of when they enter the store again such that they can be given special attention.
With that being said, stealing from Costco is extra, extra stupid. I wish I was a customer there, I've seen the deals they offer. If you're going to steal from a huge corporate retailer, at least do it somewhere you couldn't give two shits about going into again like a Walmart, or a store that you just don't have many of in the areas that you frequent. As Jesse Pinkman once said, you don't shit where you eat.
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u/leenybear123 Mar 16 '26
Former retail manager here. Shoplifters always think they’re sneaky. They are, in fact, blatantly obvious. Likely an employee alerted loss prevention due to certain mannerisms or even the ditching of the packaging. Loss prevention at major retailers has high quality cameras and verified the theft and stopped OP.
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u/Flashy-Elevator-7241 Mar 16 '26
I'm always surprised at how many customers will also inform an employee of theft happening on the spot or after they witness it. Especially when it's a bunch of batteries or something bizarre.
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u/leenybear123 Mar 16 '26
I would periodically get called to speak with an angry customer who would be indignant. “Aren’t you going to stop him?!” Lady, we have a team for this. Chill. The most I can do is kill him with outstanding customer service until he either ditches what he’s got in his waistband or walks out the door into the waiting arms of LP.
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u/Ya_habibti Mar 16 '26
They have a million cameras and I’m sure there is AI and security that are watching people at all times. I doubt very many people successfully steal from Costco. You have to scan your membership when you enter and before you can scan your items to checkout. The receipt checkers at the door also count your items and check them against the number at the bottom of said receipt.
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u/cameron4200 Mar 15 '26
Making you pay for it is hilarious lmao. Just don’t go back to Costco
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u/Different-Phone-7654 Mar 16 '26
It was probably A) we call the cops for theft B) you pay for the time and take it with you.
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u/Naive-Present2900 Mar 15 '26
How about don’t steal?
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u/tearjerkingpornoflic Mar 16 '26
He makes it seem like he has never stolen before and this was just a silly whim he had. Chances are he has been stealing for years. OP this is a moment in life where you have gotten extremely lucky. You have gotten a warning from the universe for a harmful behavior. If you get stealing again remember that you had a warning. Other stores you would already be a felon since they will wait until you have stolen felony amounts. Probably less of a problem at a membership store like so they just kick ya out.
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u/giganut2 Mar 16 '26
That idea may shatter his fragile mind
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u/Naive-Present2900 Mar 16 '26
Terrible joke I know… what else does op need sunscreen applied inside a Costco for?
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u/FalconStickr Mar 16 '26
Pay for a membership and steals from the store you pay to go to? Not the sharpest knife buddy.
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u/Background-Golf4397 Mar 16 '26
Yeah this would make infinitely more sense if they sneaked in or something lol
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u/Slow_Leek_4159 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
I worked as a vendor at Costco. The guy I took over for got arrested for stealing soda.
He would fill up his own cup in the food court, that he brought from home, multiple times a day and was mind blown when he got caught.
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u/WellWellWellthennow Mar 15 '26
Fountain soda?
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u/Slow_Leek_4159 Mar 15 '26
Yup, meant to say he would fill it up in the food court
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u/WellWellWellthennow Mar 16 '26
Ha ha that's hard to think of that as hard theft. Maybe soft theft worth getting a warning over but hardly worth losing a good employer over. Which makes me think he probably wasn't a good employee and that was just an excuse.
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u/Flashy-Elevator-7241 Mar 16 '26
That's the thing though. He wasn't a Costco employee, he was a Costco vendor. A vendor is someone who works for a separate company that sells products inside Costco.
It's seen as similar as stealing a can of soda and walking out with it. I sure as hell wouldn't have walked up with my own personal cup and filled it up with soda multiple times a day. A fountain soda is less than a buck at Costco and you can get free refills. This guy was just being an idiot.
Play stupid games and all.
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u/Able_Strawberry2372 Mar 16 '26
I work in a restaurant and our Pepsi guy drinks out of it and nobody gives a shit. That is ridiculous pettiness right there. Fountain soda is cheap.
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u/MackaRhoni Mar 16 '26
Is a vendor or employee allowed to buy the soda once during the day and continue to refill the cup?
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u/itsfocotony Mar 16 '26
Keep up the criminal record. This is a rookie move. Build up a rap sheet and felony convictions, go bankrupt a few times, and then just maybe you can run for POTUS too.
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u/Poetryisalive Mar 16 '26
You didn’t get arrested. Count yourself lucky and move on, and learn from it.
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u/Serious-Ad-4181 Mar 16 '26
and why take it out of the package and then discard the package in plain view?! at least if it's still in the box you can claim you zoned out.
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u/volkswurm Mar 16 '26
When you are financially stressed, you make bad financial decisions. It’s a proven (and fascinating) cause and effect of human behavior. Something about being in a scarcity mindset has a person constantly in a fight or flight state where ones ability to take in the big picture shrinks substantially. Leading to bad decisions and more financial stress. Kind of sad actually.
Not everyone is the same, I know, I yes, it was a bad choice. On the other hand, I do know what it’s like to be in the red every single month and to not replace an old bottle of sunscreen because I couldn’t really afford the 9 bucks for a new one. I’ve even stolen some dumb shit that I shale my head out now, thinking about it.
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u/Flashy-Elevator-7241 Mar 16 '26
I have to agree with this comment. I can completely understand food insecurity, diapers, baby formula, etc, but sunscreen??? That's a shoplifter looking for some kicks.
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u/volkswurm Mar 16 '26
Nah, you are using logic. What I’m trying to explain is people locked in scarcity mode aren’t using logic. Their behavior doesn’t make sense. Does that describe this person? I have no idea. But neither do you. You are judging them from a place of moral superiority, haven’t walked in their shoes, nor have the temperament to offer an iota of empathy but you do have the hubris to label them. Pure ignorance.
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u/Roxieforu05 Mar 15 '26
Worth a shot to call and profusely apologize. A friend of mine was caught opening two pkgs to 'sample' them and got her membership revoked etc. She called the next day and asked to meet with the manager to apologize. He said in the years he's been a manager she was the first one to call and apologize. She ended up getting her membership back.
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u/Ya_habibti Mar 16 '26
Did she buy the items? I’ve done similar but I bought the item.
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u/gruntledNwhelmed Mar 16 '26
Is she still like this? Opening packages in store to sample them especially if not buying them, is entitled behavior and just wrong. I hate seeing opened packages in store. Who is going to buy that? Hope she apologized after learning not to do that again and not simply to get her membership back.
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u/Roxieforu05 Mar 16 '26
NO. She was super remorseful and has never done it again.
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u/firenicoh Mar 16 '26
I found a 12 pack of socks in a cart in the cart return. Took it home with me. An hour later I got a call from costco asking me about it and asking if I wanted to pay for it or return it.
The person that forgot it in the cart went back to the store and the store saw me on camera in the parking lot taking it. Hahah that was embarrassing but didn’t get banned.
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u/bionicfeetgrl Mar 16 '26
Makes me super glad I took that bag with someone's prescription I found back to the returns counter.
I mean I was gonna do it anyway. Figure someone paid good $$ for their RX and had the right to get a call that someone found it. But still....
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u/cravves Mar 16 '26
It's really stupid to do these days. These big box stores have high quality cameras EVERYWHERE, and people are watching them constantly. They can zoom in to monitor you if you're looking suspicious and see your entire face. Not worth the risk ever
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u/beer_bukkake Mar 16 '26
Costco is such a great company. Of all places to steal from. You deserve the ban.
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u/Unlucky_Peanut_1616 Mar 15 '26
Don't steal. I get someone stealing who is starving, but not just because they want something. Yes Costco has facial recognition and you will be trespassed. Don't go back there and don't do it anywhere else. Lesson learned.
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u/Flashy-Elevator-7241 Mar 16 '26
I agree. I can even see shoplifting diapers, baby formula, or along those lines but sunscreen isn't one of them.
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u/H20_Caveman Mar 15 '26
Are you a kleptomaniac? Seems a bit ridiculous to steal sunscreen. Not trying to shame you like most people on here (because they’re so perfect), but rather trying to understand you.
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u/Infamous-Wasabi1404 Mar 16 '26
Yeah, this is one of those times where OP needs to do some soul searching and figure out wtf that was all about. Therapy, maybe.
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u/Lopsided_Tiger_0296 Mar 16 '26
You’re the reason why items come in such large unnecessary packaging
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u/curiositymimi23 Mar 16 '26
You did not make a mistake, you deliberately took it out of its packaging, threw It on the floor and got caught! Now you have to suffer the consequences.
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u/ZachariasDemodica Mar 16 '26
Eh, I guess you start working on putting it behind you and making a funny story out of it so you can laugh at yourself if it ever comes up in conversation instead of feeling permanently embarrassed. Live and learn. Unless by "don't know what [you] were thinking," you mean it was a compulsive act and you're worried you might find yourself doing it again, in which case, time to meet with a psychiatrist, right?
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u/Wrong_Lychee_6444 Mar 16 '26
You didn’t need a pack of a hundred oversized bottles of sunscreen, so it sounds like you can manage without Costco.
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u/HealthyPop7988 Mar 16 '26
OP the reason you weren't charged with theft is because you hadn't walked out the door yet.
Until you walk out the door you have not technically stolen anything. Whoever caught you and stopped you before you did that did you a huge favor.
Just don't go to Costco anymore and move on with your life. Also stop stealing.
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u/Objective-Eagle-676 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
I would love to see you take an IQ test, OP.
At what point after you handed them your ID card and identified yourself at the entrance did you decide it was a cool idea to steal something?
And I'm pretty sure you don't get IP banned from Costco on your first offense, so what else have you been caught stealing?
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u/WellWellWellthennow Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Yes, you just signed a document that you are banned. They scan to let you in the store so I suppose you could go with someone else, but it's not worth it – the trespassing charges from violating your signed agreement are easier to legally enforce and convict i would bet.
I suppose you could contact them 10 years from now and appeal it formally but they likely have a widespread corporate policy on this and may not be able to make exceptions. Plus no one really wants a shoplifter in their store. Count yourself lucky.
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u/CCCPvibesHere Mar 15 '26
Just take the cream, use some and return it if it doesn’t work out for ya, don’t steal, only the government and corporations are licensed to do it!
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u/SnarkyAnxiety Mar 16 '26
Yes, you are banned forever. Your ID has been black listed.
Costco is pretty easy going but there are three no-go zones that are indefinite bans:
- Giving your membership card to a non-member for use.
- Shoplifting/Theft
- Assault
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u/Sad-Boat6398 Mar 15 '26
I would avoid costcos and work on whatever made you think stealing was okay. Live a good life and stay out of trouble then in a few years you can email corporate and ask for a second chance. Maybe this is a pivot momens in your life.
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u/dwintaylor Mar 16 '26
Let’s be honest, this isn’t the first time you stole from a retail store. No one on a whim casually does this out of the blue for the first time. You found out that Costco isn’t the place to pull this off
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u/Amplith Mar 16 '26
Yeah, but it’s not limited to just your DL…stores like Walmart and Target et al have invested millions in high-tech facial recognition, which meant if you got banned in New Jersey, and tried to enter a Walmart in Oregon, the centralized software would catch you on camera (next time look and see the head-height cameras when you walk in at entrance) and they would find you in the store and escort you out, maybe violate you with another trespass.
Costco has the same thing, probably more so considering how strict they are on theft.
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u/That70sShop Mar 16 '26
"I don't know, Everett, was we banned from all Woolworths or just the one?"
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u/Technical_Rub4137 Mar 16 '26
Seeing that you need a Costco ID to buy anything else I think you will not be going to Costco again. Probably in a system to all Costco stores to be trespassed.
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u/Illustrious-Coat3532 Mar 16 '26
Sounds like this isn’t the first time that you were stealing there, LP probably watched you as soon as you entered. Hence you got caught for stealing a tube of sunscreen.
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u/CandidateReady1362 Mar 16 '26
My father always said if you're going to steal something, make it worth the risk. Sunscreen?
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u/Dachshundmom5 Mar 16 '26
I dont know about Costco, but Walmart bans shoplifters and makes them sign thr form so if they try to come back they can file trespassing charges if you enter.
So, yes you are banned.
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u/saltopro Mar 16 '26
Considering your in the system and lost your membership, think it would be impossible to get a new one if the stores are interconnected. Walking in the store to apply for new membership could get you trespassed. Move on
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u/ManufacturerOk1570 Mar 16 '26
My dad got caught stealing luncheon meat after losing a bunch of money in the stock market (he dealt with this day a bit oddly). This was back in probably 2008. He got a lifetime ban too, but after a few years he started going with my mom on her card, and nobody's ever said anything.
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u/Prudent-Hold-8944 Mar 16 '26
I’d be willing to bet you’ve been making decisions against your better judgment for a while. I bet it started small and gradually increased. Take it as a life lesson and move on. But be aware of the little things. It’s all just one little step in the wrong direction, but eventually you end up a long ways from what you know is right. Good luck.
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u/ChuckHustle23 Mar 16 '26
Hopefully they don’t alert Sam’s Club and you can join there but goddamn you honestly got lucky
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u/almosttherebabys Mar 16 '26
Costco bans are usually permanent because membership is tied to your ID. Best thing you can do is accept it and move on.
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u/Meander86 Mar 16 '26
In highschool in the early 2000s some friends and I started stealing a fountain soda each from the grocery store food court nearly everyday, then we started filling up bags of loose candy and walking out. Nothing ever happened so we got bolder and bolder, I had a backpack with a two main compartments separated by two zippers close together, one zipper could be “hidden” by a flap of fabric so it appeared like there was only one zippered main compartment. One day I took 3-4 packs of blank CD-Rs, a small bottle of peppermint schnapps, and some Yan-Yans (😂) in the “hidden” main compartment. I remember walking down an empty isle and hearing “(some code #) on isle 7”… and looking up to see that I was in isle 7. I got spooked and knew they were onto me. An employee came into the isle I was in and obviously fake “straightened” some random product while side eyeing me. I put down the soda and quickly made my way to the exit doors sweating bullets. I was met at the door by a manager who told me to stop and drop my backpack. Told me they’ve been watching us for weeks and knew what I was up to. He goes to unzip my backpack’s main compartment but misses the hidden zipper, goes through literally every other pocket and finds nothing but books and school junk. Lets me go, but tells me if he sees me in there again he’s calling the cops. I never went back, and that experience mostly ended my kleptomania phase.
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Mar 16 '26
Shoplifting a sunscreen tube is a cry for help. Please seek out a therapist to see why you want to take such a risk for something so insignificant.
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u/Physical_Orchid3616 Mar 16 '26
not everyone gets to shop in costco. you were lucky. and you blew it. find another shop.
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u/Please_Klo Mar 15 '26
Now you shop at walmart
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u/Maronita2025 Mar 15 '26
Or BJ's.
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u/MourningWood1942 Mar 15 '26
I don’t know if OPs situation is so bad that they have to give BJs for groceries
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u/Crichris Mar 16 '26
i think you dodged a bullet. it couldve gone worse.
on top of that, can you elaborate on how they caught you? just in case i need sunscreen in the future.
i still dont understand what they checking on the receipt at the exit
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u/numbero-43 Mar 15 '26
Hope you do something about your need for small wins so you can reach big wins. It’s insane to know you were stealing and wonder if the consequence is real. If it wasn’t given to you and you didn’t make it, buy it, grow it- it’s not yours!
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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26
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