Two men pushed their shopping cart full of merchandise up to a checkout line Feb. 3 in a big-box hardware store in Orange City.

The cashier scanned the items, and one of the men took the goods out the door.

The shopper who stayed inside “pulled out a stack of credit cards.” He handed two of the cards to the cashier, but both cards were declined.

So he told the cashier “he was going to his truck to retrieve another credit card.”

The cashier said “he watched the male stand behind a vehicle [in the parking lot] and appeared to be getting something.”

The fellow re-entered the store and tried to pay with another credit card, but SURPRISE! that card was declined too.

Then the cashier asked the defunct-card holder to bring the merchandise back inside the store. The guy agreed to do that and also said he’d bring a check.

Cashier said “the male exited the store, crouched down between some cars in the parking lot and [ran] away from the business.”

Cashier told a sheriff’s deputy that he didn’t see what vehicle the thieves used, nor where the one with the wares went.

The total value of the goods the men stole was $934.36 before taxes.

Suggestion: Don’t let customers walk out the door with merchandise until it’s been paid for.

— By Keith Allen, based on local police-agency reports. If you have information about a crime, call Crime Stoppers, 1-888-277-TIPS. You could be eligible for a reward.