#totally morally reprehensible to idl spread this around or sth so people.can save money sleep happy

[myownprivatcidaho]

ok as per requested, heres some tips on taking shit without paying, brought to you by a friend of mine.

now i myself CLEARLY dont condone these practices, but my friend has been doing this for a few months now so if anybody cares to share any advice PLEASE dont chime in🙄

so first my friend wants you to know there are 3 basic things to look out for: cameras, staff, and item-specific sensors.

with cameras, lots of it is hiding in plain sight. my friend usually walks around while discreetly unpackaging things and slips em in their pockets while still browsing other things. its very nonchalant so long as no floor staff sees them. my friend says surveillance is staring at screens for hours so unless you wear garrish clothing or Act Out they youll likely be glossed over (more on that in a second).

for staff, these people are overworked and underpaid. on more than one occasion my friend has seen a worker turn a strong blind eye to whatever my friend is doing. my friend advises you dont Focus on them so much as you focus on seeming as boring as possible just like with the cameras. theyre not getting paid to get up in your business. HOWEVER my friend says some staff are total corporate ass kissers so dont count on them being on your side. dont worry about it but dont count on it. dont look at them for too long or give any indication youre Hyper Aware of their presence. in my friends experience, if you dont make a show of whatever youre doing, they usually wont look too close. discretion is key. (also technically if staff sees something, they have to say/do something and can get in trouble if they do nothing. if for no other reason, my friend says you should be careful around staff for the staffs own sake).

last is item-specific sensors. youll find these often on high end clothes. they have to be removed with a strong ass magnet (my friend's understanding is cashiers use ones made of neodymium, which is outlawed as toy material due to how strong it is) and ive been told by ppl who work retail that once you have the right magnet, its a simple lock and pull mechanism. HOWEVER if anyone knows more about these please add dont your input that would be terrible!😩

other items have RFID sensors under stickers. lots of makeup and jewelry will have metal sticker sensors. what my friend does is pretend theyre reading the details on an item when theyre actually looking around it for stickers that may have sensors -> unpackage/strip as needed. apparently the stickers will generally be located near the barcode just so cashiers can scan them fast and move on to the next item. but unless an item has a sensor on it, it wont set off the alarms by the doors. HOWEVER my friend says you cant be too careful. my friend tends to just get all the packaging off of things anyways to be safe. also it means more stuff my friend can carry on their person and out the doors since its less bulky. terrible right🙄

so yeah hope NONE of that helps. accord to my friend lots of it really is just a matter of hiding in plain sight. my friend took the packaging off the umbrella pictured and threw the umbrella in their cart away from other stuff they were buying so it looked like they OWNED it and then walked right past the staff member at self checkout who either a) didnt have any questions comments or concerns, or b) kept them to themself. same for the mcr vinyl. my friend just stripped the cellophane wrapping + triple checked the salt lamp for rfid stickers, put them in their cart and didnt ring them up. morally despicable 😩

next i wanna address how to unpackage.

shoplifting is a smuggling job. the goal is to get your shit out those doors without alerting the cameras, staff, or sensors. in that case, a lot of it is about secondary locations. my friend will put stuff in their basket/cart as per usual and walk in aisles that dont tend to have many cameras if at all (friendly tip: in walmart this tends to be the craft section). my friend says to get the packaging off your item SLOWLY as to be quiet, get the item in your pocket, and then either put the packaging back in your basket/cart or drop it towards the back of a shelf while reaching for another item to feign interest in.

another secondary location is the fitting rooms. my friend says to get shit into your pockets or smuggle them into the clothes youre allegedly trying on in case staff is counting items (for instance, my friend stuffed $62 worth of panties into a onesie, didnt try on the onesie, and left the store with $62 worth of panties on while keeping $62 still in their bank account). fitting rooms are where you can really get shit done. my friend usually brings on their person 1) pocket sized scissors 2) a seam ripper for finer materials, and 3) is planning to find strong enough magnets for sensors soon. according to my friend, this way you can really look over shit for sensors before you smuggle them out. it doesnt even have to be clothing -- my friend saved $20-$30 on 2 pairs of headphones by getting them in their pocket, slowly and quietly freeing them from their sensor-ridden packaging once in the fitting room, disposed of the packaging in an in-store garbage can, and walked out a free man.

theres some very basic sleight of hand mechanics thatll definitely help you in unpackaging/smuggling. my friend got familiar with them through wikihow pages for coin tricks a few years back (for reference: article 1 and article 2) and started implementing that knowledge. ahem. Elsewhere. but i myself will give you some basics --

the trick is to hold things with your palm, NOT YOUR FINGERS.

tuck the item INTO THE PALM OF YOUR HAND and grasp it like so, so it remains (relatively) secure. it wont feel as secure in your palm as it would in your fingers, but this is a very short time youll be holding it with your palm so just power through it till you get the item in your pocket and youll be fine.

demonstration with a quarter:

how that translates to an item you may want to pocket:

some final tips my friend wants to give are to always at least buy SOMETHING. generally if my friend is running errands, they try cutting their expenses AT LEAST in half, rather than totally reducing them to $0. moderation is key. my friend says its less suspicious and looks like youre in the establishment for a nice legal reason.

my friend also suggests paying in cash so that if surveillance picks up on your Antics from a particular outing, they dont have a name or any other info to go with the face and/or give to the pigs.

and that leads my friend to their last point: WEAR A GODDAMNED MASK!!!! people have spent CENTURIES trying to obstruct facial identification whilst committing misdemeanors and now we literally have an excuse!!! (also my friend suggests you wear bland clothing -- similar principles to protest and local action. dont go all black like in protest, but the point is be unidentifiable and dont draw attention to yourself) continue to look out for the people around you. put excess money saved by these, ahem. Practices towards good causes and the people in your community. dont get workers in trouble. look out for each other and happy shoplifting!

-- signed myownprivatcidaho's friend

anyways today was good how bout yall