A Shopper's Transgression?

Once I found a beautiful palm tree at Lowe's, a kind new to the area here at the time, so I hoisted it into my cart. There was no price tag but there was only one. I really wanted it and figured if it was an outrageous price, I'd handle it at the checkout.

Some woman came along, with a store employee in tow. She said it was rightfully hers because she had just left it momentarily to go track down an employee to find out its price.

I zoomed away with my tree and bought it while she sniveled after me.

Now it's, maybe thirty feet tall in my back yard and gorgeous. Ha ha, I won.

Jill is right. Finders, keepers!

Until money changes hands, the coat is nobody's property except the store's.

If Mary meant to buy it, she should've picked it up and carried it with her. While on the rack, it's fair game.

JMHO...

Book Chic said:

Mary comes rushing down the aisle and says, "That's mine. I was going to buy it."

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"You can still buy it - except now I'm doing the selling. How much is the coat worth to you?"

Book Chic said:

Jill is shopping, for nothing in particular. Just an addiction of hers. Mary is also shopping, racking up several items. Jill walks down the aisle and spots a spectacular coat. Fits just right. Beautiful!

Mary comes rushing down the aisle and says, "That's mine. I was going to buy it."
Jill cocks her head in confusion. "The coat was sitting on the rack, nowhere near you."

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If I were Jill, I would have said, "Sorry, you've picked up a lot of things already. Since you didn't grab this one, it's mine now."

And then I'd wear it the next time I was seeing her.

If I were Jill and Mary had been nice, I probably would have given her the coat and tried to find another one another time. I know this because I am a sap and have done this before. *headdesk* Although to be fair, I was also an employee of the store, but I was done with my shift and buying something for myself. Got in line and the guy in front of me asked if we had any copies of the exact rare game I was buying. *sigh* (I eventually got a copy elsewhere.)

That doesn't mean I think Jill should have done that. The coat was in her hands, therefore, hers to do with as she wished. Like Maryn said, people will try to hide things they want but can't get yet. If it's on the floor, even in the wrong spot, it's fair game. Mary should have carried it with her, no matter the inconvenience.

Brightdreamer said:

Until money changes hands, the coat is nobody's property except the store's.

If Mary meant to buy it, she should've picked it up and carried it with her. While on the rack, it's fair game.

JMHO...

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This, except, I will go one step further and agree with Maryn that removing an item from someone else's cart or shopping bag is also verbotten. It may not be strictly illegal, since the item has not been paid for, but it is far beyond the bounds of shopping etiquette.

Myrealana said:

...I will go one step further and agree with Maryn that removing an item from someone else's cart or shopping bag is also verbotten.

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Ohhhh, I hope that's not a thing, 'cause I will Lavern somebody real bad, if that ever happens to me.

I have an extremely hard time finding things that fit and that I like, so if I found something, I'm buying it, no matter what claim anyone else suddenly makes. So Mary would not have gotten my coat.

The same does not hold, exactly, with restaurant booths. We like booths, so we went a breakfast place recently and sat down in one.

A few minutes later, an elderly woman comes up and meekly says, "This is my booth."
My husband says, "It was empty when we got here."
She says, "I went to the bathroom."
He says, "Well... that was a while ago. You should have left something on it, like a coffee or a water."
But then she just stood there for like five whole minutes, starring at us. I finally got creeped out and moved to a table.

So I guess Mary could have followed Jill to the register and just stared at her until Jill assumed she was unhinged and gave her the coat.


Here's a story I'm not proud of:

I was once shopping for blue jeans in a very crazy store. It was one of those time when the dressing rooms are just up for grabs. You get in one, if you need a different size, you take all your stuff with you because someone else is going to take your dressing room as soon as you leave it and you'll have to wait for another.

Anyway, I'd tried on just about every pair of jeans in my size in the store and hadn't liked any of them. And then, I look down and someone's left some clothes in the dressing room I'm in (you know, how people don't take the rejects out to the hanging rack to be put away). I spy a pair of jeans I haven't tried on and do so. They fit like a glove. I love them. They're even that faux distressed look, which is what I wanted. The shopping trip that has reduced me to tears has suddenly turned to gold. So I take them to the register. No price tag, so the associate calls up a manager who decides they're clearance and prices them accordingly. I pay and leave.

Some weeks later, I run into someone wearing those same jeans. I say, "I love those jeans. I just bought a pair!"

She says, "Really? I bought these two years ago, I think. They're still selling them?"

Oh, no. Crumpled in the corner of the dressing room. No price tag. Manager couldn't finding them in inventory. The distressed denim.... I'm pretty sure, now, that I walked off with the pants someone wore into the store while they were out looking for a different size of something. Not only did I take her pants... I got a good deal on them.

I'm pretty sure, now, that I walked off with the pants someone wore into the store while they were out looking for a different size of something. Not only did I take her pants... I got a good deal on them.

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You did not walk off with someone else's jeans!

That poor woman!

It is funny though......

As for the coat in the OP... if it's on the rack, it's mine.

I remember being in the sale of a lifetime. I was with my sister and she was going wild! I ended up with 3 dresses hanging from my neck by their hangers, two coats on me and four pairs of shoes in a pile in my arms. NO way was she letting anything get away from her!

mirandashell said:

You did not walk off with someone else's jeans!

That poor woman!

It is funny though......

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I'm wondering what the chances are that a woman came back to find her pants missing compared to the chances that she either purposefully or accidentally walked off wearing store pants instead of her own. Just knowing the circumstances of how busy it was, I can't imagine someone would walk off and leave their normal clothes behind, expecting everything to be there when she gets back.

It's a hilarious story, all the same.

TAMaxwell said:

I'm wondering what the chances are that a woman came back to find her pants missing compared to the chances that she either purposefully or accidentally walked off wearing store pants instead of her own. Just knowing the circumstances of how busy it was, I can't imagine someone would walk off and leave their normal clothes behind, expecting everything to be there when she gets back.

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That gives me comfort.

Lavern08 said:

Ohhhh, I hope that's not a thing, 'cause I will Lavern somebody real bad, if that ever happens to me.

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Myrealana said:

This, except, I will go one step further and agree with Maryn that removing an item from someone else's cart or shopping bag is also verbotten. It may not be strictly illegal, since the item has not been paid for, but it is far beyond the bounds of shopping etiquette.

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My aunt has this happen all the time in a particular thrift store she frequents; outside of Black Friday, I don't expect it happens much at general retail establishments. But, then, I rarely shop just to shop, and I don't tend to load up the cart (save during grocery trips, because I despise it so much I want to do as much in one go as I can), so maybe it's just never happened to me. Or maybe my taste is that terrible, that even shopping cart vultures won't bother picking that carcass.

mirandashell said:

You did not walk off with someone else's jeans!

That poor woman!

It is funny though......

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"Honey, where are my pants?" (- from The Lego Movie)

I agree with the other posters who suspect that the jeans weren't accidentally left (unless you wandered into an episode of CSI or Law & Order).Someone would've noticed a pantsless woman wandering around, I'd think, so whoever it was left fully clothed. My first impulse is that someone helped themselves to a new pair of pants... so that sale helped offset a store loss. (It's also vaguely possible that someone suffered from dementia or other memory issues... but, again, I'd think their erratic behavior would've been noticed, or they would've been out with someone who should've kept better track of where they were. Plus most clothing has inventory control tags that don't just fall off.)

At one point in time I worked at J.Crew for almost two years. For some reason I always got stuck covering the women's fitting room. I cannot tell you the number of people I caught trying to leave with a new piece of clothing, leaving their old thing behind.

Of course my favorite were the people who would try to layer a bunch of our clothing under theirs. One woman took it to a point it was ridiculous. Anyone see the old episode of Friends where Joey wears all of Chandler's clothing? Kinda like that, except about half the clothes.

One other funny one, once I had a pregnant woman go into the dressing room and when she came out she was significantly MORE pregnant. Because that's not obvious... And when mall security got her, she wasn't pregnant at all, it was clothing from a variety of stores straight down the line. That had to have looked funny, she starts out not pregnant and five stores later looks like she's ready to deliver...

Taking something out of someone's cart, oh hell no. I might go upside their head for that one!

If I really want something, have no particular reason to pity the rival, and the rival has no evidence as to the validity of their claim on the item, the rival can go curl up in a dressing room and cry into the crook of their elbow. If I feel like rival wants it a LOT more than I do and they're being sweet and heart-rending about it, I may have mercy.

I've accidentally done the cart thing before. But apologised and returned the item to its exact position.

That's an easy mistake to make sometimes: The stores here occasionally have a trolley / cart full of discount items, just products that they want to get rid of because it's been discontinued or they're reshuffling their product lines and such objects have no place in them any more. However, in this situation, everyone understands and no one seems to be too bothered by the errors made. At times, makes for a good brief conversation. That makes someone's day on the odd occasion.

However, if I really want something and I have a rival, depending on whether I know them (and how well), I will either:

(a) Take it and buy it
(b) Let my excellent friend(s) have it
(c) Take it, wander around a little, and put it back -- applicable only if rival is being obnoxious. Petty, yes, but... can't fault the amusement in it.

Otherwise, it's:

(d) Do I really need it? Nope, 'cos I've just spotted something that I really​ must have!

I don't like shopping and if she wants a coat enough to tell me she wants a coat, she can have the coat. If I LURVED the coat, I'd say "Let me check the label then" and I'd see if I could buy it online. If I remembered. More likely though, I'd buy books because that's the thing that happens when I buy online. Or heritage seeds.

ETA: Or sometimes real estate.

You bought real estate online?

mirandashell said:

You bought real estate online?

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Not really, but it sounded really funny in my head....

I have no idea what is happening.......