He remembered seeing you at the jewelry counter and was having fun with you.

The bras did not have the activated sensors is my guess. Someone dropped the ball there.

Side story: Years ago I bought a sweater at Macy’s NYC. I set off alarms going down the escalators and out the front door. I rode home on the subway and decided to stop in at my local GAP. The alarm went off. Luckily they had the same sensor, those big white clamps and took it off for me.

I was the one tripping off all the alarms yet security at Macy’s did not know it was who was doing it.

A friend of mine walked out of a Lord and Taylor wearing a belt that she tried on and didn’t realize until she got home. These things happen.

I agree with Wild, the guard was bored.

So you believe EVERY item in a store has a tag that buzzes if it's not scanned? Your initial premise is wrong and the sales person you were talking to was pulling your leg. What you are proposing would send costs sky rocketing. Most doesn't cost the store enough to spend the time/effort on the item. Only certain things are tagged that way.

FWIW, I haven't witnessed many security devices other than those big conspicuous plastic clamps and buttons attached to high value items. I know our library has flat magnetic strips on their books, but I haven't encountered that in a retail setting.

Here's a selection of security devices for retail merchandise. Now that see it, I realize I have encountered the fabric tags in a couple of rare instances.

I'm not sure the why or what matters much.

As my age increases, I've come to realize I'm no longer infallible nor invulnerable. With the potential risks in mind, I conduct myself differently. I try to do things thoughtfully rather than automatically or instinctively, to avoid problems. Putting unpaid items into a bag you're carrying runs contrary to that - it's potentially something you wouldn't remember having done that could cause a problem. Better to go pay for them first, or leave them out and on the counter. Who cares, we all wear underwear.

Take care of yourself, think about what you do before any act, no matter what it is. Each act is better and you're safer if you do so.

FWIW, there's a reason things are called 'accidents'...

Two thoughts -- (1) the salesperson at the jewelry counter could have rung up the purchase of the bras in addition to the purchase of the earrings, and (2) I've tried on a lot of bras in different stores, and I don't recall a security tag ever being on a bra, if for no other reason than it would be difficult to properly fit the bra with a security tag on it.

carolb, I'm inclined to agree with you, because his explanation just isn't possible, in my opinion, lol!

wildchild, I don't think the employee stationed at the door, could have seen me from where the jewelry counter is located. But as soon as I apologized for forgetting to go to the check out line, and mentioned that if the exit sensor had buzzed to alert me, I wouldn't have left the store, he immediately asked if I'd made a purchase at the jewelry counter, and then told me of the 'problem.' (He did not convince me, as IMO, there is no plausible connection linking a purchase at the jewelry counter, with the door security sensor not picking up the magnetized tags on the bras in my bag. However, I thought it amusing and decided to share it.)

eld6161, the bras I purchased do not have any heavy tag, similar to carolb's photo. However they do have a plastic rectangular thick sticker thing attached to the product tag. It looks similar to the tag with printing on it, in her photo (on top of the tag with the scissors)...except the tag on my items have no printing, only a small symbol.

arcy, As you said, not every item in the store has something attached for security purposes. The time involved to pull out every item in someone's bags, to figure out which device wasn't removed, or which sticker wasn't demagnetized, would probably cause customers to sue the store for delaying them, over an error on the store's part. But maybe they get a lot of theft of undergarments and cosmetics, because for those items, even things under $15, (like the sport bras I bought) have magnetized stickers.

My only guess is that rather than just say "Oh, our sensor must have had a momentary glitch" he was pulling my leg, as suggested. But I still can't explain why he asked if I'd purchased anything at the jewelry counter, since the earrings I bought were in a little bag in my purse, and he would have had to leave his post at the door, to have seen me at the jewelry counter. Oh well, it'll just remain an amusing mystery to me.

I haven’t seen those heavy ones for many years. Do thry still use them on garments?

Is it possible that after you left the store, the security guard was in touch with someone who saw what happened? Maybe the clerk at the jewelry counter, who quite possibly has been instructed to never confront shop lifters but let the security handle it? Or maybe someone actually monitoring the security cameras radioed to him?

For the second time today, I mostly agree with Elmer! Think ahead and set yourself up to fail "safe". DH is famous (with me) for doing the opposite -- setting his tools down on the edge of the pond where they drop in if jostled, taking his earring out over the sink but not closing the drain cover, etc. My mom always said "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" -- true!

eld, OP here. At the store I visited, I only notice those clunky security devices on leather jackets, coats, some pricier leather boots/shoots, and pricier fabric clothing, I believe. It seems that they only put the magnetized stickers on certain things, like cosmetics, jewelry, undergarments, perfumes, certain decor pieces and certain household items. I guess they decide which items to put the magnetic stickers on, dependent on how much loss they experience through theft of that type of item. This store also carries some furniture pieces, large area rugs, and artwork, but they have no clunky tags, because it would be impossible to sneak them out, lol.

You may have had price tags with tiny security ’magnets’. They are often near (or under) barcodes and are deactivated when the cashier scans your items. Here’s just one example of what is being used now. That blue square on the back of these barcode labels is the security device.

“But I still can't explain why he asked if I'd purchased anything at the jewelry counter, since the earrings I bought were in a little bag in my purse, and he would have had to leave his post at the door, to have seen me at the jewelry”

chances are there are cameras, that are monitored by the store security, that saw you when you were in the jewelry dept. If they saw you put the bras in your bag, your action made you a suspicious customer.

Elmer, Normally I would never set anything (I haven't yet paid for) in my reusable bag. I wasn't at all worried about placing the bras on the glass jewelry counter because they were undergarments, but because there were customers perusing the items under the glass top, so I didn't want to obscure their view. However no good deed goes unpunished as they say, since I then completely forgot about putting them in my bag! So I agree with your advice to take the time for a thoughtful decision, to avoid such a happening. When one does something they'd never normally do, it can lead to forgetting what they did, precisely because it was not something they would normally do!

maddielee, you're right, there are those black globe ceiling cameras all over, in this store, and they could easily have seen me drop the bras into my bag, as I didn't do it inconspicuously. The sales lady handed me the little box to view the earrings, when I still had the 3 bras in my hand. So I said "Oh hang on, I'll just put them in here while I look at these" and slid my bag off my shoulder and dropped them into it right in front of her. Then I hung it from my arm, instead of putting it back over my shoulder. She didn't say 'Oh it's ok, I'll put them behind the counter while you look' so it didn't seem like she was at all suspicious that I'd try to sneak out without paying for them. Maybe because I had the bras in my hand the whole time I looked at the jewelry and even until she gave me the earrings to view, she just assumed if I was going to steal them, I would have sneaked them into my bag earlier, rather than put them in it right in front of her.

Only question I still have, is If the security cameras saw me put the bras in my bag, why didn't they have their security person stop me from leaving? And since the cashier at the checkout had to demagnetize them when she scanned them, I still have no idea why their exit sensors never went off when I walked right through them the first time. Unless the door employee was telling the truth after all, lol!

Yes amicus. The intent of my comment wasn't to be critical, but rather to share and reflect about how I myself have come to realize I need to be more careful and deliberate about what I do. And how much happier and easier everyday life is when being mindful to avoid inadvertent actions. It has worked for me. Small victories add up. Good luck.