What’s Disappearing From Washington Walmarts

Money is tight, and times are tough, and tough times call for desperate measures, but is theft really a desperate measure? Especially when you see the most stolen items below.

The Moral Dilemma Of Stealing Bread

We’ve heard that question before, how it’s wrong to steal, but is it wrong to steal bread when your family is starving?

Technically, yes, it’s stealing. Morally, I’m not one to make that judgment call, but it would be a little different if the top items that were being stolen were bread or food, but to not much of anyone’s surprise, they are not.

According to Oldest.org, they’ve ranked the Top 20 items stolen from Walmart stores throughout Washington and the rest of the United States.

Certain things that fit in that morally grey area are on the list, like Baby Formula comes in at #19 and Over-the-counter Medicine at #15. But then you get things like Jewelry at #12 and small electronics at #11, but no one’s family is really going to be hurting if they don’t have a new necklace, right?

READ MORE: 11 Washington Laws That’ll Confuse You!

The Top 10 Items Stolen From Walmart Stores

10 – Cell Phone Accessories: Adapters, charging cables, cases.

9 – Apparel & Clothing: Especially popular brands and seasonal clothing.

8 – Energy Drinks: Theft is thirsty work, especially when they are taken in bulk and resold.

7 – Toys/Collectables: Limited edition toys, collector cards like Pokémon are HOT items.

6 – Office (School) Supplies: This might be one of those morally grey areas, especially with it being school supplies and a family struggling to make ends meet.

5 – Toilet Paper: During the pandemic, there was a big issue with not enough TP, and some people may still have that fear.

4 – Coffee: The rising cost of coffee is the reason why your ‘Jolly Java’ gets stolen, which, in the long run, won’t help the coffee costs.

3 – Tools: Tools and home improvement items, especially power tools. These items are easy to resell, which makes them highly sought after.

2 – Beauty & Health Products: Shampoos, lotions, deodorants, people need them, but might not want to pay for them, or be able to.

1 – Physical Media: Video Games, DVDs, etc. Even though they are locked up, that doesn’t stop the five-finger discounts.

Oldest.org also notes that these thieves can be individuals and even organized groups of people with the ability to move many products out of the store and onto social media’s resale market. Check out their full report here.

Wacky Washington State Laws True or False?