Paying for carrier bags.

Just been in the local big sports shop. The girl told me that not having bags is a nightmare as they already have major problems with shop lifting and now they 'can't tell' who is shop lifting and who is not.

My next stop was MandS where I bought two pairs of jeggings and two tops. The girl there asked if I had my own bag and said they had already had lots of complaints. She looked amazed when I said I had no bag but I did have a car outside. It's a weird feeling walking out of a shop carrying unwrapped purchases under your arm - does make you feel like a shop lifter.

Incidentally, Waitrose cannot be giving all their bag money to charity as there is VAT on the charge for a bag and that goes to the government.

Just got back from Spain and my holiday souvineers were 3 splendid reusable supermarket bags. E 1.50 each. Much stronger and capacious than anything I've seen here.

x

Oh dear! [yawn]
You will soon get used to it - we have

Right! So tell me marmight. What do Marks and Sparks do about big bulky items of clothing? (I want it from the horse's mouth)

I suppose I could go up the town and buy a coat to find out. But I had one for my birthday.

I will just not shop on the high street, if you shop online they will have to wrap the garments and put an address label on.
Next gripe, " why are high street sales falling " ?

It's here to stay as it has in the rest of the UK. Better just get over it.

NotTooOld I had not thought of the problem of shoplifting. It culd cause problems.

I am not a horse
You put it in your own bag, which you will soon become accustomed to carry with you at all times, or you pay for one - simples. Even you could manage that Jings ??
Some shops still give you a bag although they tend to be of the paper carrier variety which tend to disintegrate in the rain - but, fear not, you will still have your own bag with you............

Oops! Could cause problems.

Or you could just carry the coat out of the shop over your arm - brandishing the receipt as you go...

Primark happily handing out paper carriers, with no intention whatsoever to charge, according to neighbours.

All very well saying You put it in your own bag Marmight, bulkier purchases won't fit in my conventional bags, or will be horribly creased - if I was buying an expensive coat I wouldn't be particularly happy, let alone if trying to carry a wedding dress! Surely there should be some degree of discretion?

Goodness, surely 5p isn't much to pay for a huge M&S carrier bag?

I agree Ana absolutely fine - if there had been any at the checkout!

Not a bag in sight and when asked the assistant said it was to deter people asking, she had to go to the supervisor to get one apparently. And that wasn't a huge M&S carrier bag, just a conventional sized one.

That was when told to take a bin bag for large purchases.....

Good idea!

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I bought a coat last week. It fitted into one of my bags. I expect some shops would use their discretion and give you a free bag. I got something on line from M&S recently and picked it up from the local branch - it was in a bag. I am sure if you bought delicate china, jewellery or similar, you would get it in a box/bag. Let's not get silly about the bag situation; I am sure some establishments would not see the customer staggering out of the store enveloped in loose bras, dresses, coats and carrying a 10 piece dinner service or whatever, and would do the decent thing! There is always the home delivery option. Common sense will prevail.........

* mini handbag bag and sideways shopping bags always kept in boot of the car

If people do what Pittcity suggested and offer plastic bags at less than 5p might there arise a blackmarket in them. You might get rows of people standing in shop car parks going "Psst want to buy some cheap bags?".

Not sure I'm keen on putting my M&S clothes etc in re-used bags.....I had wrongly thought it was just supermarket check-out bags that were at stake here......serves me right for not paying attention. Mind you I have pretty much got into the habit of buying over tinternet at M&S (as they never have my size and our local one is pretty small) so I 'click and collect' and it all comes neatly packaged!

Even before dress shops were using elegant paper carrier bags. Surely everyone reading this website remembers a time before plastic bags when you took bags with you to do your grocery shopping.

harrigran - like your post - 'next gripe - why are high streets failing?' Oh, so true.

DH has been saving plastic carrier bags for years for just this event, so we now have a garage full of carrier bags containing yet more carrier bags. I think I'll do as trisher says - stand in the car park and go 'psst - want to buy a carrier bag, only 4p'. I like it.

Now it's October and plastic bags now cost 5p. Here in Wales we have been paying for them for quite a while. I work in a charity shop and find most people have got used to bringing their own. If they come without a bag they expect to pay for one and don't quibble. And yes rosesarered you are expected to push you nice new clothes into whatever one you have brought with you.

Something that's only just occurred to me - yesterday I webt to collect something from Argos, for which I'd paid online. The box had no handle, so I paid for a Bag for Life. The money went straight into the till, so how does the bean-counter know that it relates to a bag? The assistant didn't ring anything up on the till, just opened it. Multiply that by several customers and the charities will be missing out by a sustantial amount!

Not to mention the government missing out on VAT.

^Oh dear! [yawn]
You will soon get used to it - we have^

Marmight
did you ever hear such a fuss in all your life