Question to Game store owners/empl - Shoplifting?

[Omega Lord]

Ahhh yes shoplifting. I will admit that i have been guilty of this in the past but any roleplayer, no matter how desperate for money, should never ever steal from the local gaming shop. I mean come on thats just low. The closest i ever came to stealing from a local shop was a sort of "exchange" in which i substituted one of my mint condition books for another book of lesser value (and i only did that once). However stealing from big wig companies that made millions a month? minimal guilt at best.

Also for anyone who ever considers shoplifting DON'T. I know it's seductive (and free) but just dont start. I never got caught but there's still the issue of guilt and the paranoia that comes with being a habitual shoplifter. I got to the point to where I was afraid to walk through any of those little beeper things in stores, even if I hadent taken anything.

 

[Painfully]

Well, from what I understand of psychology, I've been told a cardboard cutout of a police officer is AT LEAST AS EFFECTIVE as those black domes used to cover cameras in large stores (though some dont use cameras under them!). It has something to do with making the shoplifter feel guilty while they are still thinking about it, but before they've actually stolen anything.

*edit for spelling*

 

[Buttercup]

My FLGS had problems with damaged merchandise, so they no longer allow food & beverages in the store. Shrinkage? Dunno. They focus more on comics than gaming though.

 

[bondetamp]

I know that one of the stores in my area has five or six tables for gaming just outside the store (they're in a mall). It seems to work wonders for their CCG sales, and I don't think that they experience anymore thefts than the other store in the area (not that I would know, but at least the store looks like it is going rather well, and it did expand by swallowing a neighbouring store not to long ago).

 

[Gothmog]

Well, both of the FLGS in my area have open gaming rooms in them, which always seem to be pretty busy. I don't know the owner of one very well, but the larger store is probably the best run gaming store I have ever seen. I know the owner pretty well, and she was telling me recently that they were having a BIG problem with shoplifting (several hundred dollar in just a few months), especially of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K minis, as well as some 7th Sea books. As a result, they reorganized the store this week, placing the minis and wargaming tables near the cash register, and moving the RPG books to the less trafficed areas. From what I have been told, the most shoplifted items are minis and dice, probably because they are small. Please, with the difficulty most FLGS have in keeping in the black nowdays, if you are shoplifting or thinking of doing so from one of these stores, DON'T do it. It's pathetic.

 

[Maerdwyn]

My FLGS runs two game nights a week -they're only three hours long, so its mostly CCGs and board games, but Jean (the owner) just cancelled the Yu-Gi-Oh league she was running because of all the theft - this from her weely newsletter:
"Last Wed., 5 decks, 1 binder and several cards were stolen.
They stole from me (Jean) too more than once. Over the 5 weeks, 12 decks, 5 binders and several hundred cards have been stolen....so no more Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments."

 

[Florin]

The FLGS that I used to work at actually offers a reward in store credit for turning in shoplifters. They also keep all the dice in a glass case at the counter and put those things that set off the sensors at the door if they aren't deactivated on the minis and in the RPG books. I think those are pretty much all of the reasonable precautions that can be taken.

 

[Zappo]

hope this does not get me into any trouble...

Your location and personal data have been obtained (from IP). Please don't leave the building. Agents will come shortly. Don't try to resist.

 

[blackshirt5]

I might be guilty of shoplifting from a Wizards store, maybe not... But regardless, it's jackarse to steal from a small store. A big chain, no objections from me, especially with the way WotC treats us out here(there store, at least) but the other stores I wouldn't dream of it, sometimes I even agree to "Stand Guard" for my friend's store so kids won't steal.

NOTE: I'm not advocating shoplifting, it's a horrible thing to do, if for no other reason than the paranoia it instills in one's head.