Gamers and Thieves

[jester47]

There is somthing interesting I have noticed in my time as a gamer:

There is a segment of the gamer population that are thieves.

Point 1: Almost universally, the section of most Barnes and Nobles and Borders that has the highest percentage of book theft are Role Playing Games.

Point 2: There are numerous places that have "This section is being watched by video camera" on their gaming shelves.

Point 3: Many stores (chains and FLGS) have reconfigured so that someone can watch the gaming section all the time.

Point 4: Antecdotally my friends and I were, right before we could drive, ripping off numerous stores for gaming supplies. Additionally I did my best to gather the stuff back up and return it, but still we did it.

Point 5: Also antecdotally I have had numerous gaming materials stolen from me when I was a teen, and most of my friends were gamers.

Now, I am the first to admit I didn't and don't run with the best of crowds. (the current ones are getting better with age) But I have found that there seems to be this pandemic desire to steal among much of the gamer population.

Do you find a similar trend in your experiences?

Aaron.

 

[Crothian]

When I worked at the bigger books stores like B&N there was never a problem with thief of RPGs. However, in the RPG stores, I know and have heard that employee fraud and regular theift is a problem. I had a friend who stole dozens of books when he worked for one of the local gaming stores. He also stole way more Magic cards.

I've also seen people steal from local RPG stores. It actually looks easy as they have no security, the people running the store talk with friends and really pay the other people no mind. Also, there are some stores so badly organized I doubt the owner has any idea of what he has.

And finally there is the PDF stealing of scanned books that seems to be the biggest theft in the industry.

 

[The_Gneech]

*steals this thread to use on another message board*

-The Gneech

 

[Mystery Man]

Point 4: Antecdotally my friends and I were, right before we could drive, ripping off numerous stores for gaming supplies. Additionally I did my best to gather the stuff back up and return it....

I'm in the market for some swampland in Florida, or the Goldengate bridge if you're selling.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

People routinely leave cases full of RPG and TCG material lying about in the back of the store, unattended, at my FLGS. So in that sense, I'd say no, theft isn't a problem. However, there was a bike theft at the store a few months back, so who knows.

 

[Mercule]

Point 4: Antecdotally my friends and I were, right before we could drive, ripping off numerous stores for gaming supplies.

This meshes with my experience, too. I didn't, personally, steal, but I was present and profitted from their actions.

Actually, my best friend in high school was extremely thiefly. We both worked at Pizza Hut and, during after-hours clean-up one night, he picked the door lock with a paper clip. I kid you not.

Myself, I'm more a barbarian than rogue.

 

[Ruined]

I'd love to say 'no way, that doesn't mesh with what I've seen,' but I can't. In my 20+ years of gaming, I've known a few skilled (and not-so-skilled) rogues. One friend forever banned from a mall for his teenaged shoplifting escapade, to a girl who claims her entire D&D collection was illicitly gained by her ex-husband. And then there was this one guy... hmmm, thinking about it, I should remain quiet about his 'guild of thieves'.

From my perspective, I don't practice it, and I try not to glamorize it. But these people were/are friends, and I wouldn't turn them in unless they were stealing from other friends (which is the case with my FLGS).

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I don't consider myself a thief, but I once wound up with a half-dozen Vampire books after a campaign ended...and I have no idea whose they were. None of the other players would claim them.

A friend wound up with two or three copies of the Complete Handbook of Dwarves at a convention a few years ago. And he HATED dwarves.

Brad

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Point 1: Almost universally, the section of most Barnes and Nobles and Borders that has the highest percentage of book theft are Role Playing Games.

Actually, that's not true. If you talk to almost any bookseller (chain or independant) who knows the numbers of stock loss to theft in their store, they will tell you that the most shoplifted book is the Bible. I kid you not. I worked in several bookstores for years during and after college, and my wife worked in a store for the past 5 years, and it held true across all of our experiences. It was a discussion that was had at many company meetings, and was a very difficult thing to try to counter, because it is not kids who are stealing the bibles. It's been discussed in Publishers weekly and other places as well, I'm not just basing this on my own experiences.

Point 3: Many stores (chains and FLGS) have reconfigured so that someone can watch the gaming section all the time.

Yes, but they also position the occult section and the sexuality section so they can be watched as well. Those are just sections that many teens are likely to head for in a bookstore. At the stores that I worked in that carried RPGs (not all did), the section was setup so that it was visible by the staff at all times, because we had books stolen from it. We also had books stolen from every other section of the stores, but RPGs tended to be hardcovers costing $20+ while most other theft was paperbacks that could easily be slipped into a pocket. It was usually a matter of the value of the theft vs. the amount of theft that occured that decided which sections were watched most.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Shoplifter!

-Hyp.