Costco Employee Reveals 7 Most Stolen Items in Store as Customers Say ‘Self-Checkout Really Pays for Itself’

A COSTCO employee leaked information about the most stolen items from a store in Manhattan, New York.

Customers think the rise in self-checkouts is to blame for the rise in theft.

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Costco suffers from criminals stealing merchandise like any other store, but customers rarely have any idea which products are most commonly stolen.

However, an employee recently leaked a photo on Reddit of the “shrink board” backstage at a Manhattan store.

Shrinkage is a retail industry term used to describe stolen or lost merchandise.

The council revealed the “largest reduction items” for the 2024 financial year.

At the top of the list was a wireless Dyson Vacuum Cleaner.

The theft of the vacuum cleaners has resulted in losses worth $6,210 for the year to date.

The second was a package of Gillette men’s razors, of which $6,189 was stolen.

Strangely, paper towels were the third most stolen item in the store.

Kirkland Premium Paper Towels lost $5,021 due to theft.

Duracell batteries came in fourth place, with $2,527 stolen.

The fifth was a bottle of Centrum women’s vitamin gummies, from which the criminals stole $3,407.

Batteries made another appearance again in sixth place, with disappearing packs of AAA Duracells worth $2,916.

And in seventh place was another bottle of vitamins.

This time, D3 supplements disappeared from the shelves at a price of $1,694.

Costco Membership Sharing Guidelines

Costco has strict rules for subscription usage that shoppers must follow and has been cracking down on violators in recent years.

• Core Member Usage: Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. It is not allowed to share it for purchases, as the photo on the card must correspond to the person using it.
• Domestic Card: Each Prime Member can add one free Household Cardholder who lives at the same address. That person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
• Guest Policy: Members can bring up to two guests per Costco visit. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by a member.
• Authorized cardholder: For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who does not reside at your address. They will receive their own card and will be able to make purchases independently.

Credit: Costco

WHAT IS THE BLAME?

Some Costco members in the comments thought self-checkout was to blame for the thefts.

“This self-checkout is really paying for itself,” wrote one.

Another asked: “How do you get out the door without paying for a Dyson vacuum?”

A third wrote: “How does shrinkage happen? They look at my receipt for about 5 minutes every time I leave the store.”

“They don’t even let me self-checkout anymore, someone comes and forces things to check for me.”

Discover two little-known perks of being a Costco member.

Or find out why shoppers are angry about a new card scanning process.