Warning Vinted and eBay shoppers could be unknowingly buying stolen goods
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Shoppers on secondhand marketplaces such as Vinted and eBay are being warned they may be inadvertently purchasing shoplifted goods. One leading UK security firm said there has been a huge rise in 'shoplifting to order' this month, with consumers flocking to stores for the January sales.
John Nussbaum, director of service – retail at Kingdom Security, has warned people to be vigilant if they see anything on resale sites that seem too good to be true. He said: “If you are purchasing items on Facebook Marketplace, Vinted or eBay, be mindful if the product is brand new but sold at a much lower value, and if the seller seems to sell a lot of high value items a similar way. These items may have come from ‘shoplifting to order’, and you could unknowingly be taking part in criminal activity.".
The Centre for Retail Research has estimated shoplifting adds £133 onto the cost of an average UK household's shopping bill each year. Meanwhile, the Association of Convenience Stores has said shops have shelled out £339 million so far on crime prevention measures to help prevent theft.
Mr Nussbaum added: “While it might be tempting to think that putting an order in this way is a victimless crime, it is anything but – and even if the offender is caught it still means higher costs for retailers, which in turn is passed on to consumers.”.
Shoplifting to order is essentially when thieves are given a ‘shopping list’ of the exact items that they should steal from a certain shop or supermarket. Organised gangs will target items that are reasonably easy to conceal, such as jewellery, make up, and branded goods - items second-hand shoppers have been warned to look out for.
