You might think that returning your shopping cart after using it is a common courtesy, but it's also an actual rule at Costco.

Someone shared the fine print on the Costco Canada subreddit on Wednesday.

"The more you know…" reads the caption.

The rule is real and is stated under the big box store's Membership Conditions and Regulations. It's found under the Purchasing Privileges, Guests, and Rules and Policies section.

"Every member using a shopping cart to carry their purchases from the warehouse to their vehicle is obligated to return the cart to the enclosure identified for this purpose in the parking lot in order to facilitate the retrieval of same, as well as to avoid carts from becoming an obstacle to the traffic flow of other members’ vehicles," reads the Costco policy.

The Reddit post garnered hundreds of comments addressing the original poster's question, "Do you put away your cart?"

DO YOU PUT AWAY YOUR CART?
byu/carlolola inCostcoCanada

"Absolutely, because I'm not an a**hole," reads one comment.

"Absolutely, even though I am an a**hole," joked another.

Many agreed, saying that returning your cart reflects one's character.

Someone mentioned the shopping cart theory, an informal test that judges a person's ethics and capability to self-govern by whether they return their shopping cart to its designated area.

The theory became popular on the internet in 2020.

A screenshot shared on an online discussion forum states that the theory is "the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing."

The Shopping Cart Theory:

"The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing." pic.twitter.com/s6REzn3qUF

— Blake Robbins (@blakeir) April 25, 2022

"To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart," it reads.

"Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it."

A former grocery store worker says returning shopping carts definitely takes a load off of employees.

Another commented on the possible safety hazard of not returning carts to their designated spot, saying they had to chase down a shopping cart because the wind would smash into someone's car.

Comment
byu/carlolola from discussion
inCostcoCanada

"Put your cart away. We live in a society — behave like it. Don't let your laziness destroy other people's cherished possessions," reads the comment.

A Redditor who moved to Canada from Sweden said that not putting the cart back seems "a really weird North American thing."

"I'm from Sweden, and not putting it back is basically unheard of. In Alberta, there are always a few carts throughout the parking lot," reads the comment.

While most reactions to the Reddit post were pro-returning shopping carts, people who hate returning carts do exist.

In June, a woman spurred a messy debate on shopping etiquette after posting a video saying she does not — and will not — return her shopping cart after a trip to the store.

"I'm not returning my shopping cart, and you can judge me all you want," said the Long Beach, California, resident.

"I'm not getting my groceries into my car, getting my children into the car, and then leaving them in the car to go return the cart. So if you're going to give me a dirty look, f*ck off," she declared.