Day 4

When was this invented?!?

I'm making more money from shoplifting than from any of my other scams.

Today I only hit 2 stores but walked away with $620 worth of gear.

I walked into a major store and easily took 2 pairs of Nike Air Max shoes, one of which was in my size. Yay! Once again I didn't bag them but just walked out holding them in my hands. They wouldn't have fit in my bag anyway, I'd just shoved 7 DVDs in there. Ha ha.

At the next store I bagged 2 beanies with the Jim Beam logo on them and then grabbed 2 brand new Akubra hats off a shelf and walked out. I had a good look at these hats wen I got home and they are beautiful pieces, very well made.

My eBay auctions are starting to finish now. So far I've managed to raise $418 from selling only a little of the gear I've stolen; not bad for the little work I've put in.

See ya soon.

Nike Shoes = $240

Beanies = $20

DVDs = $100

Akubra Hats = $260

Stolen Total = $2,720

eBay Total = $418

Day 3

Wow, now my confidence is really up. I went out early today and found a large motorcycle shop near home. I only went in with the intention of having a look at the bikes but of course I ended up stealing something, and what a something that was!

Today I managed to walk out with a beautiful Shoei full-faced helmet.

Oh yeah!

The idiots behind the counter had no idea what I was there for. Once again they were too engrossed in themselves to care what the customers were up to. You can definitely tell when the store is run by the owner; the owner wouldn't allow it to happen. I just walked out holding it in front of me. With staff like that I probably could have worn it out without being noticed

I might go back next Sunday and try for a motorbike, it's probably doable.

Shoei Helmet = $350









STOLEN TOTAL = $2,103
EBAY TOTAL = $0

Day 2

Had another great day today. I headed out around 12pm as I thought this would be the busiest period of the day, also it's more likely the security would be short-staffed due to breaks.

I went back to a different shopping center today, I didn't want to push my luck after yesterdays incident. The first store I hit was the same major chain I did yesterday. I managed to score the same Sony Handicam flash as yesterday and a nice Kodak Easyhot camera. These seem to get close to the tag price on eBay so I should do well with them.

I then walked into a sports store and saw a nice hat. Instead of just taking one I took 8 of them in one go, ha ha.

The next victim was a wilderness store where I walked out with a Zippo lighter, a Victornox Swiss Army knife and a nice mens travel set. I might keep that, it should come in handy for my next trip.

Finally I walked into an art & craft store, the staff there were too busy chatting to each other to notice me clearing their shelves. From there I boosted a box of nice Pentel textas and a very nice Snap-On airbrush in it's case. I didn't even bag that, just walked out with it in my hand.

Another excellent day for me! So far the items I've listed have been bid on up to $190, that's only for yesterdays booty. I'll start posting a running total on all my eBay sales when the auctions start ending. Ive found running a 3 day auction results in the same prices as a 10 day auction so am keeping them short.

Here is a photo of todays earnings.


Victorinox Knife = $40
Zippo Lighter = $30
Pentel Pens = $36
Hats = $140
Sony Mic = $230
Kodak Camera = $140
Mens Travel Set = $38
Snap-On Airbrush = $299

Total = $953

Woo hoo!

STOLEN TOTAL = $1,753

EBAY TOTAL = $0

My First Day

I looked around the internet and read all the "how to" guides and watched a few interesting videos on Youtube. After researching the various methods I decided to use what is known by shoplifters as a "boost bag" or "magic bag". This is simply a bag that has had the inside lined with around 30 layers of kitchen foil to evade the detectors at most store entrances.

Instead of using a shopping bag like most others I decided to put mine in a backpack instead. I built a cardboard box that fit in my bag perfectly and lined it with around 40 sheets of foil to be safe.

The box originally had a flap covering the top

The box fits very snugly in the backpack

Easy access

I put the backpack on and looked at myself in a full length mirror; the backpack just screams THIEF! I then decided to use normal shopping bags instead. The foil would be too noisy so I left the foil out which means I wouldn't be taking tagged items. Oh well!

Today is the day. Despite being told in all the guides to dress normally I decided a suit was the way to go. I showered, shaved and put on my best Armani suit and windsor-knotted tie; if there's a chance of having a mug shot taken I wanted to look my best.

I took a taxi to the nearest major shopping mall to start my new career. Upon arriving I started to case a few smaller stores to see what staff were doing, the store layout and security procedures.

After about half an hour I went in for the kill. I had 3 shopping bags in my left hand, the front one with some of my clothing and the 2 behind it were empty. This was a travel store and was very busy, I just walked in and when no-one was looking I slipped a pack of toilet seat covers into a bag. It was small I know, but it was a start.

What most surprised me afterwards was how calm I was when doing it. I honestly didn't feel one bit nervous, it was like I was on auto-pilot.

The next store I hit I scored a bottle of Penfold's wine. Not a bad wine going by the reviews on the web. That was easily slipped into one of my bags while I was standing behind a wine rack.

The next store was a little better. First up I took a nice box of Spalding golf balls and a classy bow tie. After that I slipped a pair of Arnette sunglasses into my bag and then spotted a nice pair of Nike shoes in my size. These were a little bulky for the bag so I picked them up and walked out of the store holding them in front of me.

The next store I hit was a large chain, I was a little worried about this one as there were cameras everywhere. Noting there was no-one checking bags on the way out I thought this would be a breeze. This store did however have sensors at the exits so I knew to be careful. I went to the electronics sections and after carefully checking for sensor tags managed to get a nice Sony camera and a Sony Wireless Mic for Handycams into my bag. I won't tell you how I got these as this would give away my very well though out ruse. I also bagged a Vanguard Camera Case, some Duracell batteries and an Energizer portable phone charger. What a great score!

Upon leaving that store I noticed there was someone at the exit now checking bags; she must have been on a break when I entered. I tried to walk past and as I was right next to the lady I heard her ask "excuse me sir, can I see your bag?"

I read up on the rights of stores and customers while doing my research and noted that store security has no right to search a bag or person without permission, unless they have witnessed the items being concealed.

Knowing this I walked straight past her and could hear her voice become more stern while asking "sir, sir...excuse me". I just kept walking and pretended I couldn't hear her. Now I was crapping myself, she was following me.

I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins and knew if I was caught I would definitely be charged. I read this stores policy when doing my research and they prosecute all shoplifters without exception.

She dropped off after a short distance and started running back to the store, probably to ask a manager what to do. As soon as I got to the corner I had a quick look back and noticed no-one following me. As soon as I was around I quickened my pace while removing my jacket. My sunglasses fell out of my pocket so I had to stop to retrieve them, I was desperately hoping that security wouldn't turn that corner.

I thought this was a good time to leave so quickly headed out to the bus stop and jumped on the bus that was just about to leave. I knew security would be out there to check if they were alerted so didn't care where the bus was going. It took me a good half an hour to stop shaking.

Have a look at the photo for my total haul, not bad for an hours work. I have listed some of the items on Fencebay and will update you on how they go.

Sony Camera = $170
Sony Mic = $230
Wine = 40
Bow Tie = $45
Golf Balls = $10
Seat Covers = $5
Camera Case = $45
Charger = $15
Batteries = $10
Sunglasses = $90
Nike Shoes = $140

Total = $800

Cha-ching!

Man that was way too easy! I'm going again tomorrow. At this rate I'll be travelling around Europe again in about 10 weeks.

Be careful!