‘They cry': Sex shop owner exacts revenge on thieves
Dave Kidd is running a second-generation family business handed down to him from his mother — a sex toy shop called Into Love.
It has been plagued by looting with customers stealing everything from blow up dolls to empty DVD cases, according to A Current Affair.
Frustrated and unable to bear the cost of the lost revenue, Mr Kidd decided to take matters into his own hands and began outing the thieves on social media.
'Theft happens in every store, but when they steal from our store, it's a bit funnier because of what they're pinching,' he said.
He circulates footage of the shoplifters on Facebook with a plea to help identify the culprits – a technique which has proved surprisingly effective.
'I don't think you'd want to be named and shamed for taking an adult toy,' one of Mr Kidd's employees told ACA.
'They come in here very upset, very embarrassed, and don't want family members to see it. Sometimes they'll cry and say, 'please take it down'.'
Mr Kidd is happy to remove the offending content from Facebook, but only after the customer had paid for the item they stole.
One post on the Facebook page from May 1 reads:
'Well here we are once again! We are asking for the amazing assistance from our wonderful Bundaberg customers and our future customers!' it reads.
'I guess this charming lady forgot that you can't walk out the door, with a $200 product in her bag, without passing the front desk to pay for it!
'It is against the law to steal. We do have signs at the front door, we will post it on Facebook and we will press charges.
'Want this embarrassing footage taken down? Then by all means pop on down to the big purple building and we will happily process your payment, and then we can take this down!
'We have cameras, they do work, and we will always make sure a small family run business can stay in business by making sure customers can afford to pay for items. If you don't have the cash, we do lay-bys.
'We will offer the first correct ID caller (or private message) 20% off any item in the shop. Want to stay anonymous? No issues at all.
'We have so many amazing loyal customers, and because of you this business wants to say a massive thank you for shopping honestly.
'Who recognises this charming lady? We will have more footage in the comments!'
Dave said thievery had always been a problem but after reportedly losing $20,000 to the thieves he decided enough was enough.
'The thefts were coming in hot and heavy and I just couldn't afford the loss so I thought 'how do I combat this?''
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