Five Years of Service
Posts: 96
Threads: 12
RE: Supermarket / grocery SE's physical and online, what you got ? 03-27-2023, 04:06 PM
#49
An in-store method that works well if you live in area were reuseable bags are common is to get reuseable bags that have a removeable bottom. Plastic is best. You can find these in packs online. You use the bags instead of a basket get some items, ideally your most expensive ones and put them in the bottom of the bag. Then put the plastic on top, and get some cheap items that take up a lot of space like bread, chips, bottled water.
You can go to the self-checkout, but make sure to leave your bags where you load your groceries before scanning. So move them from your bag, scan them, and into the bagging area. When you have paid, move the items you paid for back into the bag and leave. Ideally pay in cash to be safe. If you've done this right, the camera that points down onto the scanner shouldn't see anything under the false bottom of the bag.
You can also go to the cashiers, but try to go to one that doesn't have a bagger, and say you'll just throw the items back into your own bag. In one instance I heard of, a cashier insisted on bagging and noticed the items under the bottom. Just feign ignorance and pay for the whole bag.
I have heard very good things about this method and it's ability to be used consistently. It is lower risk than concealing items on your person or doing a walkout. The downside is that you can't get a ton of groceries at once since the most you can carry is two bags, you have to spend money, and you have to be careful about managing your bags so you don't mess up at the checkout. One could probably construct something in their bag to make this more reliable.
But do note, one of the biggest red flag for loss prevention is people putting items in their reuseable bags, and people doing shady stuff at the self-checkout. Just act normal, place your bottom items in quickly, and pay
Also, like any in-person SE, dress nice but not too nice. Try to look like you have some money or are too square to be doing anything that's frowned upon. Don't do the same stores over and over again.