Back in the early 2000’s when I was just out of highschool I worked for a Copelands sports at a local mall. Idk if you guys had one or remember but they used to have a whole skate section akin to a mini zumiez or something of that nature.
This place carried about what you’d expect from a one size fits all department store so no ipath or aesthetics gear but they did have some decent shoes and of course the good shit like bones Swiss and a nice lineup of wheels and trucks etc.
I’d be back there alone for 6+ hours ringing up snowboard bindings and gripping bam Margera decks for the kids. I started to realize this place had virtually zero security or surveillance installed and relied on fake cameras (the kind with the black dome on the ceiling) and shoplifters if detected were either pursued by mall security outside of the store or scared into being detained by store employees voluntarily. Usual shenanigans.
I being a broke 19 year old obsessed with skateboarding who made minimum wage was well aware of the “core vs kook” aspect of where I was working and who was profiting off of this venture started to pocket little things here and there. A box of bearings, some hardware, harsh euro barge on vhs, shit like that. I’d just slip it in my bag since literally nobody was monitoring me or checking on me for my entire shift aside to watch the register while I was on break.
Management was negligent to say the least, but here’s the best part, this place was a logistics shitshow. Boxes would come off of the trucks and inventory wasn’t managed at all. They kept track for snowboards, golf equipment, fitness machines etc. but for the skateboarding section it would just be unaccounted for. Product was taken out of boxes and put on shelves randomly. I couldn’t believe it.
I decided to go big. I started to fill trash bags full of gear. Shoes, bearings and wheels to sell, shirts, pants, you name it. I’d walk out of the store and throw it inside one of my buddies cars who’d be waiting in the nearby parking lot. Coworkers thought I was taking out the trash to the big bins below the store. This went on for months.
Then I got brash. I decided that since nothing was being accounted for I could skip the middle man and start pocketing cash directly from the consumer. Friends and people who I thought would be into it would bring items to the register, pay me about half of what the item was worth and I’d simply remove the security tags, print out a fake receipt, bag their items and then pocket the cash. I was essentially just allowing them to shoplift. Business started booming. Locals at the skateparks knew about the hustle and would start to become regulars. People would know they can get a deck and a set of wheels for $40 if I was working. It was fabulous. This went on for about 5 months until another coworker caught wind and decided he wanted to try.
He got busted within a few weeks stealing product for himself while leaving (idiot) and crumbled. He admitted everything and threw me under the bus. I didn’t show up for my shifts and pretty much waited for the police to show up to my house. They never came. I got a call from the store manager to come pickup my last check. I go in and manager guy is sitting there with a stern looking woman who I assumed was some big shot detective there to present me with charges. It turned out to be someone from Copelands corperate who told me they knew everything I’d done.
I played it cool and denied everything “never heard of that, wasn’t me, must be mistaken” she said they had installed spy cams all over the department and had me on video stealing. I asked to see the tape. She refused to show me. I asked for my check, they threatened to call the police, I said ok, they looked at each other and told me that the cops will be in touch with me soon. I got my last check and never went back.
They went out of business a few years later.
Topic: Have you ever stolen from a skateshop? (Read 3256 times)