I would probably find somewhere to open a box to double check. If you need to, go after hours if you're at the Wall (typically no LP works from 12am-6am).

Idk what kind of cards you're going for, but I will warn you that MTG booster boxes (with 10 packs, a thing of lands, and booklet inside) are source tagged at most big box stores. As are the individual booster packs inside the small cardboard boxes. I used to just open the booster boxes before concealing them and take out the source tag - or dump the plastic booster packs into my bag. Same with the individual booster packs inside of cardboard, since the source tag is between the cardboard pack and the plastic booster pack.

Never use your credit/debit card at the same stores you lift from. Obviously NEVER do this on a trip when you are lifting (I was an idiot a few months back and this got me caught by local PD after a warrant), but it can still bust you if you ever go back to that store for legit purposes. If LP recognizes you as that one dude who lifted that one time weeks/months ago and sees you in the store again, paying with a credit card, suddenly they have your name and can pass that on to PD.

Yeah, definitely turning yourself in is the right call. I could have gone through my whole getting busted experience without my family finding out if I had known about my warrant before they came to pick me up at my parent's house. Also spending a night in jail and having to do the whole "rough ride in the back of the cop car" (because the cop picking me up had a hate boner for me due to an earlier meeting that went poorly), due to the asshole cop driving like a prick with me handcuffed in the back, was not fucking fun.

Knowingly possessing stolen items is a crime. A lot of crimes require intent to commit said crime. So if you can reasonably claim/prove that you did not know that whatever you have was stolen, you're fine.

It's not really that hard. Too many LPs are too overzealous. Just act shady as fuck, grab merch and take it to a blind spot. Instead of concealing in the blind spot just hide it somewhere in the aisle. Then walk out acting super suspicious, like a first time lifter. The basic goal is to make them so sure that you're stealing something that they skip steps on their protocol, so that when they stop you they are definitely and obviously in the wrong in hindsight. Then act really offended that they would accuse you of stealing, make a huge deal out of it, bring their manager into it, etc. Demand some sort of compensation for your time and that the LP agent get punished for acting rashly with insufficient evidence.

What's the method? PM me if you don't want to post it out right

That's awesome. I steal fat packs all the time, and it drives me nuts how they're source tagged. I usually stash them in my bag, though. Can get out with ~5 at a time from any one walmart. It takes a little longer, but upon realizing they are source tagged now I started taking a knife and cutting off the plastic wrap and opening it up to take out the source tag. All I ever leave behind is empty plastic wrap. Sometimes if I'm trying to get more than 5 packs worth and I'm at a walmart where I never intend to come pack to I'll just open it up and take the booster packs out of them and stash the packs in my bag and leave the packaging sitting around.

Not even close. Your reading comprehension may need work. I said that it can't be used to prove anything - it can be used circumstantially at best. They would need real evidence, as I said. So unless you say something like, "on x date at y time I stole A, B, and C, from Z store using D method. I then stored the stolen goods at my home where you can still find them today. I being, [insert full name here]," they won't be able to use it as evidence. As opposed to saying, "hey I stole some stuff from some store on a random date that may or may not have been recent," which they definitely could not be used for evidence.

MTG is particularly interesting to lift. I actually play the game, though I've shifted more to MTG Arena recently (online version), so lifting booster packs is fun and profitable. I open the packs and collect the cards. I sell rare cards that I don't want that happen to be worth decent cash, and keep the rest to build my collection (and also sell duplicates after I have as many as I want). I have a huge Magic collection now from the 6 or so most recent sets (thousands of cards), and have sold ~$500 worth of singles, and probably have another $1k worth in my collection at least.

Electronics. MTG packs (can fit 50-100 in my bag at a time and they run about $4 each). Handheld power tools.

You can be as sorry as you like. You're still wrong. And unless you have some sort of proof to back up what you believe, you can keep on being sorry about what I think.

I hope you're being sarcastic, because that sounds extremely unlikely.

Best Buy can be done, but it's probably one of the hardest stores to hit. You gotta be good and get a little lucky to pull it off. I've never even tried, myself, but I've known people who have done it successfully.

Jesus dude did you really MESSAGE THEM? For what it's worth at this point, they didn't have anything on you. They were bluffing. As everyone else has said. I honestly can't believe you would try to contact them on FB. Even if you tried to be vague, they sure as hell know it was probably you. You should post an update for us, btw. If they haven't come to get you by now, they probably won't do anything. $10 is really low, and most stores won't even charge you for that little. But if the police posted about it on their FB page they may want you. But whatever you do, do NOT go back to that store.

For anybody who wants to try the savings card trick, I would advise you not to use your real name. lol, for obvious reasons. It should probably go without saying, but it's worth mentioning just in case.

Pretty much exactly what I do. It's pretty hard to conceal and lift 2 liter bottles or a 6 pack of drinks, unless you're carrying a bag and even then what's the point of concealing a 2 liter that costs 70 cents that takes up a ton of room in your bag. When I lift with a bag, I usually consider the value to space ratio when considering what to lift (since I usually hit wal-mart late at night when I use a bag and end up lifting 200+ worth of stuff).

Never never never never admit it, dude. Unless you are 100% for sure caught and pleading guilty for some sort of deal if you're being charged (and even then be wary about taking any deals, because they often offer bullshit deals when they know they have a bad case just to scare a guilty plea out of people).

You should also use a different account, lest they look at your accounts login activity and IP addresses and such.

Not true. Nothing posted online can be used against you legally unless what you are posting is itself illegal (i.e. impersonating a government/police employee, threatening someone, etc.). Telling stories about alleged acts, even if they uncannily match the details of a real life case, is totally legal and not incriminating in the least. It's circumstantial evidence at best. All it could do is indicate to someone already investigating you that you are probably guilty - they would need to find real evidence to do anything to you legally though.

Clearly this is a role-playing forum, dude. None of us actually shoplift. That would be illegal.

Holy shit. I'm not even that upset at how he treated me (I mean, I was stealing...), I just don't want him pulling this shit on other customers. It's crazy that they would let their non-LP employees get away with that kind of thing, though.

I have to ask, how is dxm syrup labor intensive? I'm into opiates and lift dxm regularly bc of the NMDA activity dxm has with opiates (basically reduces tolerance and prevents tolerance build-up for chronic opiate users). I can't afford to buy 3 or 4 bottles of delsym a week @ $10 each, so I just lift them. They are INSANEly easy to lift. Unbox, stick in pocket, leave. GG. I've lifted them from almost everywhere that has it... pretty much if they sell it I've gotten it from there for free.

I'm half tempted to try to get the receipt checker fired. He definitely far outstepped his job and violated Wal-Mart policy regarding touching me and my personal property. He wasn't even LP. Just a receipt jockey. I know I handled the whole thing poorly. I should have just left and let them have my plate number. But this is my local wal-mart and I didn't want to end up on Facebook. I know my activity in the store would look suspicious, but everything illegal I did I did where no cameras could see me. I even hit the restroom with my bag right before leaving. So I was confident that the cop wouldn't find anything criminal on the tapes, even if it looked suspicious.

edit also the receipt checker was a pure asshole, and his attitude ultimately led to my shitty mood when the cop got there. If not for him, I wouldn't have wasted over an hour.