Did This Woman Commit a Crime?

[RedSwinglineOne]

@Wallenstein

Is ther shirt-swap the key part of this?..

To me, this is key. By giving the girl his shirt, the employee implicitly allowed her to do what she did. Whether or not she was a real employee is unimportant.

[Arkcon]

@robert_columbia

But is there such a possessory interest at all? Can I take a big-screen TV off the shelf at Best Buy and then mortgage my “right to purchase merchandise” interest in it to you for a $50 loan?

Doesn’t that happen on TV shows all the time? The last toy is up for grabs, and our protagonist has to bribe the holder of the item with cash to get them to transfer it, so they can buy it? Usually, with the store representative standing by, waiting for them to decide who will then purchase the item? Maybe by relinquishing the “first come first serve” policy, they validate the right of non-paid item holder to sell holder rights.

'Tho I’d suspect a store in real life wouldn’t want to allow this at all. What if I went through the store, doing that time and time again earning a stack of cash. Kinda like a violation of “No soliciting on premises”

[robert_columbia]

@Arkcon

Doesn’t that happen on TV shows all the time? The last toy is up for grabs, and our protagonist has to bribe the holder of the item with cash to get them to transfer it, so they can buy it? Usually, with the store representative standing by, waiting for them to decide who will then purchase the item? Maybe by relinquishing the “first come first serve” policy, they validate the right of non-paid item holder to sell holder rights.

'Tho I’d suspect a store in real life wouldn’t want to allow this at all. What if I went through the store, doing that time and time again earning a stack of cash. Kinda like a violation of “No soliciting on premises”

If such an interest exists, it could get bizarre. I could go into a 7-11 (which, in the US, is open 24/7, 365 (i.e. they never close unless there is an emergency)), grab all the bottles of shampoo, then stand there and sell my “right to purchase merchandise” interest in them to customers walking in hoping to buy shampoo, making them pay me $x as well as pay full retail to the store. Since they never close, I can just set up shop there permanently, waiting for new shipments of shampoo to be stocked on the shelf, then grabbing them to add to my “purchase right interest” personal store. To what extent does the store have the right to take away my “right to purchase merchandise” interests that I’ve already claimed?

I could even grab a “hot” item off the shelf and pull out my smartphone and post a listing for my “right to purchase merchandise” interest on ebay.

Has a court ever recognized such a right? E.g. in a circumstance like the OP’s where someone claims that their right to purchase an item has been breached.

[Hail_Ants]

@robert_columbia

If such an interest exists, it could get bizarre. I could go into a 7-11 (which, in the US, is open 24/7, 365 (i.e. they never close unless there is an emergency)), grab all the bottles of shampoo, then stand there and sell my “right to purchase merchandise” interest in them to customers walking in hoping to buy shampoo, making them pay me $x as well as pay full retail to the store. Since they never close, I can just set up shop there permanently, waiting for new shipments of shampoo to be stocked on the shelf, then grabbing them to add to my “purchase right interest” personal store. To what extent does the store have the right to take away my “right to purchase merchandise” interests that I’ve already claimed?

I could even grab a “hot” item off the shelf and pull out my smartphone and post a listing for my “right to purchase merchandise” interest on ebay.

I would imagine that the store clerk would call the cops and you could (legally) be told ‘either buy all those items or put them back and leave’ and if you refused you could be charged with various misdemeanors like disturbing the peace or creating a public nuisance etc. And I think those charges would be completely legitimate as that’s exactly what you’d be doing.

[EKDS5k]

@Hail_Ants

I would imagine that the store clerk would call the cops and you could (legally) be told ‘either buy all those items or put them back and leave’ and if you refused you could be charged with various misdemeanors like disturbing the peace or creating a public nuisance etc. And I think those charges would be completely legitimate as that’s exactly what you’d be doing.

Once they were asked to leave they’d be trespassing, at least.