“Breaking up packages and putting them in a backpack then taking them out again is certainly out of the ordinary.”
Not really, its done all the time in a lot of stores. Sometimes its shoplifting but frequently its not.
We must travel in different circles then. In all my years of shopping, including 10 years of shopping at places like Costco and Sam's Club, I've never seen it done. Ever. And if I did see it done, I would certainly assume shoplifting, and if I were a store employee I'd report it as such.
Methinks Non-Sequitur has spent a bit too much time in the Costco developing himself into a loyal part of their customer base. Probably lurks around the free sample tables, going back for seconds and thirds =)