[Svartalfiar]

The system just knows what you put in your cart and charges you for it automatically. It is just designed to eliminate the requirement to have people manning check out counters.

But how does it know what's in your cart? Sensors on the shelves? RF chips inside everything? Are you matched to your cart, or do they have door scanners that just scan everything when you leave? What if two people leave at the same time? What if you have something in your cart, but put it back/on a random shelf later?

A lot of grocery stores/hardware stores have put in the self-checkout lanes. They are really annoying and buggy and I hate using them. Avoid it everytime I can.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The items that were scanned and associated with your account in the store, are sensed as they go. They could go out in anybody’s cart, probably. That might lead to another kind of stealing, pilfering a pre-scanned item from somebody else’s cart — and they end up paying for it.

[sipow]

I was just explaining to the other poster that it wasn’t a system where the items were pulled out of stock for you. I wasn’t arguing for or against the system.

All the problems you mention are valid. But I am sure they also came up during the first five minutes of discussion when this idea was first talked about. And they don’t seem particularly difficult to solve.

Personally I love the self checkout lanes. I get checked out a lot quicker and don’t have to wait in line.