This weekend Neiman Marcus in San Diego had a robbery of designer handbags. 16 masked thieves broke the glass door during the night and stole only purses. They were in and out in 2 min and used 5 vehicles to get away. They had hoods over their heads and I think this might be a woman's group, my speculation. The story listed Gucci and Chanel and other brands they carry BVs too.The authorities are asking people to watch online for sales. What I find strange is the Fine Jewelry department is directly across from the Chanel boutique but they only took bags. Does this story sound strange to you?
Robbery of Designer Handbags
- Thread starter KY bag lady
- Start date
Nope, not strange al all. I think thieves and potential thieves realize designer handbags are big money/big profit.
I don't think the story was posted here, but the Milan Boutique was robbed last March and the Carmel boutique was robbed in November of 2014. In Milan, about 20 or so bags were stolen and a $35K Croc Roma was stolen from the Carmel boutique along with a few other bags.
I don't know about anyone else, but personally I'm always a bit leery when there is an authentication request and the member doesn't know who owns the bag (buying it from a friend of a friend based on pics only) or is some random Instagram seller. I would imagine all boutiques and department stores have an inventory control system in place and with unique ID numbers for some brands, they should be easy to trace should they turn up. Imagine buying a $3800 BV bag from a friend or Instagram seller and taking it to the boutique for some reason and the SA runs the authenticity tag and informs you it was stolen 16 months ago. What would happen to your bag? Would it be confiscated? Would you be charged with being in receipt of stolen property over a certain dollar amount? I would die of embarrassment.
I'm sure the stolen Chanels net an amazing profit, but I guess the thieves don't realize how tragic the resale is for Bottega.
Designer handbags in Neiman Marcus sit tethered on the shelves or inside locked cases. There is also additional stock in drawers and stockrooms. I do not think the display pieces are put away at store closing. On the other hand, all the fine jewelry is removed from display and locked in the vault at the end of day. The fine jewelry departments are usually emptied of display pieces well before store closing.
Nope, not strange al all. I think thieves and potential thieves realize designer handbags are big money/big profit.
I don't think the story was posted here, but the Milan Boutique was robbed last March and the Carmel boutique was robbed in November of 2014. In Milan, about 20 or so bags were stolen and a $35K Croc Roma was stolen from the Carmel boutique along with a few other bags.
I don't know about anyone else, but personally I'm always a bit leery when there is an authentication request and the member doesn't know who owns the bag (buying it from a friend of a friend based on pics only) or is some random Instagram seller. I would imagine all boutiques and department stores have an inventory control system in place and with unique ID numbers for some brands, they should be easy to trace should they turn up. Imagine buying a $3800 BV bag from a friend or Instagram seller and taking it to the boutique for some reason and the SA runs the authenticity tag and informs you it was stolen 16 months ago. What would happen to your bag? Would it be confiscated? Would you be charged with being in receipt of stolen property over a certain dollar amount? I would die of embarrassment.
I'm sure the stolen Chanels net an amazing profit, but I guess the thieves don't realize how tragic the resale is for Bottega.
Thieves know that bags bring in big $$$$ & sadly speaking,many who buy a bag on the secondary market for a price, may or may not
be interested in the bag's provenance & some could care less. They just want that "bag"..
If a buyer doesn't have a clue as to whether the bag was stolen, how can they be held responsible?
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that you as a buyer would be held criminally responsible, but I can almost guarantee that you'd lose the goods. Now, in the case of an exotic Cabat worth say, more that $15K? I don't know. I think you need to prove intent in order to prove guilt, but like I said, I'm not a lawyer. However, if you know the deal is too good to be true... where do you think this guy who knows a guy who knows a guy got this Croc Roma to sell for $2000?
Not so sure how a SA in a store would go about confiscating personal property..That is a very sensitive matter that needs to be handled
gingerly to say the least..
Many who are going to sell a stolen item have a story.. it's up to the buyer to do their own due diligence..
If someone wants that bag bad enough & they will pay the price & not ask any questions, its a done deal
sadly speaking..
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I feel bad for the people who work for BV making these bags, that their handiwork is stolen. And concerned about the safety of people who work in the stores.
If a SA came across a bag that they found out of stolen it would be handled this way
SA ----> Manager ----> regional manager would inform manager how to handle it
I am sure the police would be brought in
The SA would not have to handle it
The person with the "hot" bag would be given the opportunity to produce bill of sale and then when they have proved that they bought it they would be released minus the bag
SA ----> Manager ----> regional manager would inform manager how to handle it
I am sure the police would be brought in
The SA would not have to handle it
The person with the "hot" bag would be given the opportunity to produce bill of sale and then when they have proved that they bought it they would be released minus the bag
My daughter is a former prosecutor and she thinks this is a gang of thieves who are taking these bags to Mexico, which is only about 15 min from this store. She said they probably have a seller for the bags already lined up, If you buy stolen goods without knowing they are stolen you aren't libel but they will confiscate the goods.
I went to one of those fake handbag parties years ago and my daughter was a prosecutor at the time. I didn't tell her I went and I bought a bag knowing it was fake, I could have gotten in trouble for that. A week later they arrested the people who were selling the fakes. I was glad when another prosecutor got the case and not her.
I went to one of those fake handbag parties years ago and my daughter was a prosecutor at the time. I didn't tell her I went and I bought a bag knowing it was fake, I could have gotten in trouble for that. A week later they arrested the people who were selling the fakes. I was glad when another prosecutor got the case and not her.
This store doesn't have any Chanel bags sitting out, they are all behind glass shelves.
Not something I would readily admit to on a public forum, especially given what your dd does for a living, but that's just me.
Yeah, in and out in two minutes tells me they knew exactly what they were after. It's not unlike the theft of high end cars* - there's an order placed, the car is located, and BAM!
* or art, or wine collections...
This happened 30 years ago and I was buying the bag for someone else - I didn't keep it. That is still no excuse for buying it.
If a client feels senses something suspicious, they won't be in the store for long enough for a SA to make a phone call
They are heading out the door!!
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Nah the SA would make an excuse like the computer froze or something
Then said I will have to go use the managers computer
The only way the client would suspect and head for the door is if they did in fact know the bag was stolen
Then said I will have to go use the managers computer
The only way the client would suspect and head for the door is if they did in fact know the bag was stolen