[Jewelry making - Article 00896] - Re: [Orchid] Craft show tips-theft

[LINDA ROSSI]

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    Audie, I am new to this list; first time posting, but I have
    experienced a $5000+ theft of antique jewelry here at an antiques
    market in New York City.  I filed a police report of the theft and
    was able to show the loss on my 1040 schedule C, I believe in the
    area for losses or bad debts. 

    I wasn't aware I was being targeted because the theft ring was made
    up of 5 multi-national thieves who seemed to be individual
    buyers/lookers, and totally stangers to each other.   The actual
    theft was done by one individual who had never looked at anything in
    my booth, but apparently was seated a few aisles away just waiting
    for the time to move in. 

    Note:  There were two of us working the booth and neither of us saw
    the hit because we were both distracted by two different couples from
    the group, but a few other vendors did, and told  us what happened. 
    The large showcase was open on hinges with Plexiglas side panels, but
    this guy had arms long enough to reach over the top of the glass and
    grab the wedding ring tray at the very back of the case!   I now keep
    the glass top hinged open only enough to permit taller displays.  I
    later found out from other dealers at this show, and from security (I
    didn't know we even had security) that this group hits several shows
    in New York on the weekends.   One guy  came back about an hour or so
    later and proceeded to steal a pair of sunglasses from a booth close
    to me.  I was angry enough to go and confront him and he ran out of
    the market into heavy traffic on Broadway.  The following week I
    brought my Doberman with me and kept her behind the tables as a
    deterrent; these creeps showed up again, but passed up my booth when
    they saw the dog (she was a big, muscular 90lb female).   I finally
    stopped doing the outside markets in Manhattan totally because of the
    stress. 

    I don't recommend confronting a thief, and most shows will not let
    you bring a big dog because of insurance issues.  However,  it may be
    helpful to find out whether there is security present and ask how to
    alert them if you sense something is wrong.   AIso, I now work with
    one customer at a time; I do lose some sales, but haven't had a theft
    again. 

    One high end antiques jewelry dealer from  Connecticut has an armed
    guard come in at the end of the show, stand next to him while he is
    packing up, and escort him out of the show to his home.  Great if you
    can afford it! 

    Hope this information is useful. 

Linda Rossi,
Estate & Antique Jewelry

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