I've noticed you can walk into a shop and just take things off the counter - but just not the most expensive stuff!

Some stuff's classed as stealing, yet some isnt. Why??

Apparently if you're "friends" of an NPC they allow you to take some of their stuff. So, like, if you're a Thane of Windhelm, you can probably take a lot of stuff from Windhelm with no consequence. I saw it in a loading screen tip once.

Ooooh. That will be why then

Thanks!

Thanks for that explaination -- I was wondering why I could root through the Jarl's wardrobe and take all his stuff, lol.

There is a catch to this, sometimes the NPC will still view it as a theft even if the community doesn't. That's how I had the 3 thugs end up attacking me after taking a bunch of free loot from a shop.

The odd thing about Skyrim is that while you might want to steal for RP value, money is so easy to come-by, that unlike Oblivion for example, it is not worth the hassle.

At least pick pocketing is still worth it. Nothing says "You were saying?" like stripping someone of all their gear and THEN engaging in the conversation that leads to combat.