As the peak of shopping season begins, so does the peak of shoplifting season.
"We do have that problem, especially around the holidays," said Danielle Nelsen, owner of Fashionista Exchange, a consignment store in Overland Park. "We've had people bring in items with security tags on them."
The store owner says trying to spot stolen merchandise can be tough. However, aside from looking for security tags, Nelsen also tries to keep tabs through social media.
"We use the stolen KC Facebook group," she said.
Nelsen also said that hand bags appear to be the most common shoplifted item to be resold.
But what if you shop online?
Kelli Jo Bauer was just caught stealing bras from Kohls last week.
The Johnson County woman was charged with theft and put under house arrest last year after police found roughly $100,000 worth of stolen merchandise in her home. She was using the stolen goods for her own online store.
"As much as possible, search for things that are on reputable sites," said Master Officer Dan Friesen of Lenexa PD.
Friesen then said to carefully compare prices.
"If it's way lower than what you could buy brand new at the store, that could be a red flag there," he said.
And if you buy stolen merchandise, it could cost you.
"If you're found to be in possession of stolen property, even if you didn't know it was stolen, it will be taken from you," said Friesen.
Friesen said to always take screen captures when purchasing goods online that may seem fishy, just in case there's illegal activity that needs to be investigated later.
Shoplifting in Kansas is a misdemeanor if the item(s) is anything less than $1,500 in value. Those charges have a maximum penalty of one year in jail. Anything over $1,500 is a felony which could bring more than one year in jail.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
