A number of things are gone from my booth

[Marthe48]

Not paid for, or credited to my account. There are 3 possibilities: I got ripped off. The new online consignment app is not accurate. People picked the items up and left them in another booth. I imagine I got ripped off. Seeing that other items have been marked sold on the new app, that is an outside chance. Possibly the items are in another booth, and haven't been turned in to lost and found. Six of the 7 missing items are from the same era, late 40s-50s.

I put 2 packs of vintage Barclay cars in. I put 2 cars into plastic bags for 1 price. I added 3 vintage sorority purse accessories (2 compacts and a cigarette case) to the booth, priced separately. All those things are gone. All those things are on the new consignment app. I've already sold other things I entered on the new consignment app at the same time as the missing things. There are 2 other things I am checking on. They were listed on the old consignment app. All of these things went missing in the last month. I take pictures of everything I add to the booth the day I add it. When I get home, I mark them on my master db so I know they are in the booth and not packed. If I take anything out, or if it is sold, I update the db to reflect that they are not on display. Sometimes, if I am in a hurry, I don't get the db completely updated. I'm checking the 2 items, in case I took them out, but didn't update my db.

Anyway, losing things has taken the fun out. I've had the booth since August 2022 and up until now, only one thing had gone without getting paid for. Now up to 7 things all at once. I went in earlier this week and took all of the small things out and checked them as inactive on my master sheet. I had a small clear display case with a latch, so I cleaned it up, got a padlock for it, and added it to my booth. I really want to be snarly and put the last pack of Barclay cars in that locked case, only that. I might still do that, but right now, I feel like packing it all up and retiring from that.

I know that shoplifting is a fact of life. I guess I'm taking this hard because I liked those things, and was pleased to offer them for sale.

[OldBaldy1701E]

1. I hear you. I have friends who also run booths at flea markets and so on.

I suspect that this is only going to get worse as the disparity over who has any money and who does not grows. I am sorry that this had to happen. You might try getting a few more of those cases, because that may be what it takes to curtail sticky fingers. Especially when it pertains to antiques and collectables.

[Marthe48]

5. Thank you

I have always shared. If someone admired something, I was happy to gift it. I wasn't generous with family heirlooms or gifts people gave me, but I didn't mind giving items I'd bought if someone fell in love with it.

I'll see if the changes I made will help.

[multigraincracker]

2. When I had my own store,

I caught 4 people stealing items. All 4 were antique dealers.
You can put up a couple of fake cameras that light up when someone gets close. Might help some.
Another problem I’ve had in malls, people changing price tags. From one item to another, even between booths. Always a good idea to have a good discription on the tag. On stick on tags, I put some clear tap on the corner with the price on it. Just about have to rip the price off the tag.
Good luck.

[Marthe48]

4. Using the online consigment app

You have a vendor ID number, that you pick. You can log into the consignment site and add your items. I type things on my master db, then copy, paste them to the online site. You type in a name of the item, and you can add a description that won't show on the tag, but stays in the consignment app. I'll put maker or other info there. You can add color, size and category to the tag when you are typing it in. When you print the tags, each item is assigned a unique (as far as I know) number and bar code that show up on the tag and the online db. Both consignment sites used Avery label layout and you can print up to 30 labels on plain paper. I use card paper. The manager will also print labels for you, for a small fee.

I think the system cuts way down on tag switching. I try to protect surfaces, so I use a number of ways to attach the tags, depending on if it is paper, plastic, etc. I was using rubber bands, but they are getting hard to find (!) I mainly use tape or pipe cleaners now. On fabric, I pin the tag to the material.

I thought about buying fake cameras, but I might wait to see if I shake off my bad mood before I do more.

I used to think that professionals in this market would do their darnedest to get a good deal, but it was just in the last few years that I realized some weren't above using the 5 finger discount. We were in one of the other local malls for 3 months and lost $300.00 of items. We moved out. From what I heard, there was a lot of theft in that mall, and while there were suspicions about the culprit, nothing was done.

[Duncanpup]

3. Oh Marthe48

I feel for you.

[Marthe48]

6. Ty, Duncanpup

[Diamond_Dog]

7. Sometimes, people just suck.

[LoisB]

8. I am so sorry this happened to you. Sometimes people just suck.

[Marthe48]

10. Did you post in the right group?

I can relate the glue to stickers, and I notice that most items meant to be adhesive fall off before they stick :/

[bucolic_frolic]

11. I did say I use them for eBay labels

which relates to selling things, and how shrinkage relates to value being stolen from us. If it's too tangential, sorry. I will remove.

[Marthe48]

12. Oh no. I was being concrete

on a cup and a 1/2 of coffee

I saw the post about stickers, so I got that reference. When I think of shrinkflation, I'm thinking of packages I buy that are approaching a sample for the same price as a family size bag used to cost :/

Getting ripped off doesn't help pay the rent. Having the booth is a good way to downsize, but when those things went missing, I lost 1/3 of my rent. Or 50% of my profit for Feb. And I can't put a price on the loss of good humor :/

[Vinca]

13. I learned my lesson on that when I had my booth. After losing a few things I decided to only

put in the booth the things I wouldn't get upset about if they were stolen. That, of course, meant the quality of my stuff suffered because unless something was expensive and too big to easily carry out the door, I didn't take it down there. To this day I'm still annoyed about 1 stolen item. It was a framed specimen of a giant, bird-eating spider. It was seriously creepy, but really unusual. I was upset because I had taken the time to disassemble the shadow box style frame to reglue one of its hairy, little legs so it would be perfect. At least it helped me with my fear of spiders.

[Marthe48]

14. I was putting things in I don't want

and didn't love. Things were going well. A few things disappeared, but 3 things in 15 months was acceptable. I felt safe putting a few better things on display. The 6 things went out in a matter of 2 weeks. I was busy with my family all of Feb., and not in the booth as often as I had been going. It wouldn't have made a difference, but I might have noticed the cars missing, and not put the purse accessories on display. I took all of the smalls out, of the booth added the locked display, and notified management.

You sound like me. I enjoy making small repairs if they are needed. It is creative in a way

[sinkingfeeling]

15. I had 3 things stolen from my vintage booth over 3 full years. The most expensive was a

1940s wooden Scottish dog pin, priced at $24.

[Marthe48]

16. I feel for you

I wanted to downsize, but not like this. I keep prices low so the stuff will sell quick. Oh well, guess the kids can dispose of the good stuff when I'm gone and I'll offer the rest.

Happy Tuesday