# Pet Peeve - receipts **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239 "2002-10-14T14:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/21 "2002-10-15T18:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I cannot freakin’ wait, because then the clerk can simply point a “receipt gun” at my forehead, and zap a record of our Doublemint transaction directly into my own personal chip. But that means taking the Mark of the Beast, and then you have to deal with the whole Tribulation mess, and that pesky Antichrist. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/22 "2002-10-15T18:57:24Z")
I hate the fact that sometimes receipts print the entire credit card number, and sometimes they don’t. I’m paranoid about shredding vital info like my credit card numbers, so I have to save all my receipts and go through them once in a while, throwing out the “safe” ones and shredding the ones with the credit card number on them. I suppose I could just shred them all indiscriminately. I tend to use the debit card for even small purchases, and those receipts do add up. Every single one has to be carefully checked before being tossed out, because you never know. Last week I bought a pair of sweatpants that don’t fit. I lost the receipt. I haven’t battled with the store yet, but I’m sure they’ll refuse to exchange them, or else make me endure customer-service hell before they do. Now why do I need that receipt? Is this huge store (Fred Meyer - equiv. to Walmart) telling me that they have utterly no record of my purchase, and the ONLY way I can prove to them that I bought the sweats is to produce the paper receipt? Please. I hate receipts. Why wouldn’t store databases work just as well? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/23 "2002-10-15T18:58:35Z")
Uh, I’m a little alarmed to hear leaving the receipt on the counter is “rude.” I try pretty hard not to be rude – Hey! Stop laughing! – and I routinely leave the receipt on the counter. I didn’t ask for it; I don’t need it; I don’t want it. Why should I take it? You printed it, you keep it, and then you’ll have a record that, yes, I did in fact buy a roll of Chewy Sprees at 3:26 p.m. So I’ve never thought it was rude to leave the receipt behind. Am I wrong? It never pissed me off to have the receipt left when I worked in retail, but that was a while ago so maybe the standard of “rudeness” has changed. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/24 "2002-10-15T19:09:02Z")
Not rude, but it is kind of littering. Of course, I would just pitch it. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/25 "2002-10-15T19:14:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Myrr21 \* > \*\*Blockbuster is a terrible offender, as well. I got FOUR receipts the other day, and not one of them even told me the return date! \*\* Highjack: FUCK Blockbuster! Blockbuster is the devil. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/26 "2002-10-15T19:21:50Z")
Oh yeah, and I just thought of something that actually IS related to the thread. I don’t mind getting a receipt, but I can’t stand the way they pull your change out of the drawer, wait for the receipt to print, then stack everything up: bills, receipt, coins, and place the whole mess in the palm of your hand. NO! Bills go in Blowero’s wallet, coins go in pocket, receipt goes in bag. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/27 "2002-10-15T22:46:50Z")
Guin, what about what I do (when I pay cash, and it’s for an item where 99% of the people are not going to want the receipt, like a pack of gum for most of us) - hand the receipt back to the cashier, smile and say “Could you throw that away for me? Thanks.” Nobody’s rolled their eyes at me yet (externally at least). ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/28 "2002-10-15T23:17:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blowero \* > \*\*Bills go in Blowero’s wallet, coins go in pocket, receipt goes in bag. \*\* A-men, brother. My filing is a bit different than yours, but the concept remains. Don’t sandwich my receipt between the bills and the coins. Then I have to shuffle off to the side with my purse still open & my wallet out to get everything in its rightful place. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/29 "2002-10-15T23:30:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\*Uh, I’m a little alarmed to hear leaving the receipt on the counter is “rude.” \*\* I think what I actually said is that walking away before the cashier has a chance to finish the transaction (by asking you if you want/giving you the receipt) is rude. You can always just wait and say “no thanks.” And I was feeling snarky that day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/30 "2002-10-16T00:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\* > But that means taking the Mark of the Beast, and then you have to deal with the whole Tribulation mess, and that pesky Antichrist. \*\* Which raises another pesky issue: If you sell your soul to Satan, does he give you a receipt? Or do you have to provide the receipt to him? He might need it for tax purposes. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/31 "2002-10-16T02:04:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > \*\* > > Which raises another pesky issue: If you sell your soul to Satan, does he give you a receipt? Or do you have to provide the receipt to him? He might need it for tax purposes. \*\* Conversely, what if Heaven is like the IRS? Should we be getting receipts for all our good deeds? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/32 "2002-10-16T02:28:48Z")
I do believe that income from soul sales is non-taxable by any earthly authority. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/33 "2002-10-16T02:45:26Z")
I bought a shirt at Foley’s once, a tank top. I got a small, and when I got home, it was too small. I still had the receipt, so I took it and got a medium. When I tried it on after getting home, it fit, but I noticed several days later when I actually went to wear it that one of the straps was sewn upside down. I had thrown away my receipt after exchanging the shirt. When I went back to Foley’s, they gave me a refund, because I’d purchased it with a credit card, and apparently the computer keeps records of CC transactions on file. So I got my money back without a receipt. I was amazed. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/34 "2002-10-16T03:26:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > I do believe that income from soul sales is non-taxable by any earthly authority. Actually, Section 61(a) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code provides that “gross income means all income from whatever source derived.” So income from the sale of your soul would be included in taxable gross income. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/35 "2002-10-16T05:30:33Z")
The IRS is an “earthly authority,” you dodo! ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/36 "2002-10-21T06:25:36Z")
And thus, the “income from soul sales” _is not_ “non-taxable by any earthly authority”, making your statement false. So apparently **Billdo** is a coelacanth, not a dodo. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239/37 "2002-10-21T18:55:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > \*\*The IRS is an “earthly authority,” you dodo! \*\* Sometimes I wonder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-peeve-receipts/132239.md?page=1)