AITA for buying the last of an item that someone else hid in the store?

A Redditor shares a heated encounter in a Costco frozen food aisle over the last bag of highly sought-after soup dumplings. After discovering the bag hidden behind some corn dogs, they promptly add it to their cart, only to be confronted by a woman who claims she had saved it for herself.

Despite her pleas, the user refuses to relinquish the dumplings, leading to a clash of perspectives on shopping etiquette. To uncover the details of this shopping showdown, read the original story below.

‘ AITA for buying the last of an item that someone else hid in the store?’

I was shopping the frozen foods section of Costco. I stumbled upon a bag of frozen soup dumplings (Mila) that were not in the section they were supposed to be in. They were peeking out from behind boxes of Corn dogs. I had been looking for these soup dumplings because FB ads has been bombarding me with them for weeks.

So when I saw the one bag behind the corn dogs, I grabbed them and put them in my cart. A couple seconds later, some woman stops me and says, “Excuse me, I was saving that bag to grab after I finished the rest of my shopping because I didn’t want them to melt.” I told her I didn’t understand what she meant.

She reiterated, “That was the last bag of dumplings, so I hid them so I could do some other shopping and come get them later. So can you please give them to me?” I replied, “Sorry, no. I Found them, and I want to buy them. You are welcome to another bag if there are any left.

But this bag is mine now.” She says, “You’re a real j**k, you know that?” I replied, “Yeah, I might be. But I’ll be a j**k eating some delicious soup dumplings when I get home!”. Am I the A**hole?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

lessfamiliar −  NTA. Next time this happens don’t try to argue just lick the bag of dumplings while maintaining eye contact

SigSauerPower320 −  NTA. Grocery stores aren’t a place where you get to hid things for later. If she wanted it, she should have put it in her cart.

CaliforniaJade −  That’s up there with the people that get some old woman to stand in front of a parking place to “save it”. This isn’t grade school. Not to mention, she obviously didn’t hide it very well. If she wanted that item, she should have kept it in her cart and just kept it insulated with all those cardboard boxes that abound at Costco.. NTA

Cautious-Spited −  Obviously NTA. You can’t hide products to buy them later and get mad if someone takes it. If you hadn’t bought them, an employee likely would have put them back in their correct spot later for someone else to buy.

Virtual-Tale-2047 −  Lmao she should have just got them in her cart. What difference does it make if they are outside the freezer for 15-30 more minutes 😂

Dymetex −  NTA, you found a product on a shelf, you took it home with you. thats how shopping works. Hiding things in the store is weird.

tequilakittie −  Bojack?

cloud_watcher −  “Should have hidden them better.” NTA

Otherwise-Topic-1791 −  I picked up a clearance toy one time. Some lady behind me at checkout demanded that I give it to her. Now mind you, I’d Already payed for it! I told her she could give me the money for it, but she wasn’t having that.

She demanded that I give it back to the cashier and she’d pay the store. Well the store didn’t own it! I did! When I was leaving I saw her talking to someone in a business suit. Probably the store manager.

That f-ing b@tch showed up at my place of employment a few days later and demanded that they fire me for not giving her what she wanted “because the customer is always right.”. Forgot to say NTA

westernturnip −  yta. but for a diff reason than you think. you know this sub’s gonna agree with you. you’re just trying to dunk on this lady with the comeback you prob thought of on the drive home.

Do you think the user was justified in keeping the soup dumplings, or should they have considered the woman’s intentions? How would you handle a situation where someone claimed ownership over a product you found? Share your thoughts in the comments below!