Dutch Store Master Post
(I’ll add more later as I collect info, these are just normally the stores I hit personally out of availability and ease. If you are from the Netherlands and have anything to add, please feel free!)
TIP! Please be aware that the Netherlands has started using face recognition in many large retail chains, even the AH, where they will try to nab you when you enter at a later date due to the system sending out an alert that you’ve entered the store again. So be sure to scope out that nobody looks suspiciously at you when you walk inside. If you have a gut feeling about it, DON’T DO IT! It’s not worth getting caught.
Blindspots are easily found on escelators on larger stores and behind the isles despite having a large amount of dome cameras.
All cameras are actively watched from a central location upstairs.
You wont be followed by LP (if there even is any) but will be chased once you’ve left the store if they have it on camera you’ve taken something. So be sure to use blind spots very well.
Most small items are untagged, such as makeup and small office supplies. Clothing uses soft tags.
SA’s are pretty inattentive, they won’t customer service you at all.
Small items are very easily concealed by holding them in the same hand as your phone and then putting you phone in you pocket while in a blind spot.
Depending on the store location, some items will be untagged for you. There is one near me that nearly ¼ of the items on the floor are untagged.
Uses various types of dome and clam-shell tags, some with ink all removable with magnet. You may need a heavier magnet with some. A 15,000 gauss golf detacher should remove all tags.
Most locations have unmanned fitting rooms where it’s easy to detag and conceal.
No RFID tags inside of price tags although I recommend looking for soft tags anyway, just as good practice no matter the store.
Difficulty: 3/5 (dependent on the store location)
SA’s are mostly inattentive.
Weekends are best as there are too many customers for them to keep a close watch on you.
Blind spots are easily found, although the fitting rooms are ALWAYS unmanned, making detagging and concealment more than easy inside.
With the exception of more expensive items such as jackets, they mostly use soft tags which are sewn inside the seams of their garments.
Jeans appear to be completely untagged. I would turn them wrong side out and check inside pockets before actually trying to walk out with them however. I may buy a pair to return later, just to see if they deactivate a tag on them or not to be certain.
Uses sensormatic tags, wherein a hook is needed.
Usually has two fitting rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. Both of them have SA’s attending them plus a bag scanner which will scan for tagged items in all of your bags before you enter so do not try to conceal on the floor before entering and be absolutely sure you have nothing on you when you leave unless it’s in the pockets of the clothing you’re carrying in your hands!
TIP! Hang around each fitting room to get a feeling for how the SA works. Most times at one of the two fitting areas you will have an SA who regularly leaves to return clothing items to the floor, allowing you to find a gap in where she is gone and somebody leaves the fitting area.
Best time to hit them is when the store has few people inside, so that the fitting room doesn’t have a line but not so empty that the SA doesn’t have to leave her post to return goods.
Unsure whether they have an alarm which sounds in the fitting room when tags are tampered with.
Shoes appear completely untagged, however, they may still contain an RFID tag under the soles. I would suggest buying a pair like the ones you plan to lift, watch to see if they detag them in any way, then return them to lift another pair just incase.
Sometimes have security on hand plainly marked and standing near the door.
SA’s are difficult to spot due to pretty much everybody in the store looking the same, shoppers and workers alike.
SA’s have walkie talkies making it easy for them to communicate when you move areas without actually following you.
Some SA’s are quite attentive, generally the ones standing alone, while the ones working in small groups of two or more on the floor tend to be completely unaware of their surroundings.
Not many cameras, if any, however I suspect they do have pinhole cameras placed about.
Best place to conceal is in the small “sale item” room, if there is one, as it’s always in disarray, clothing all over the floor, broken tags everywhere etc. You can easily put your shopping bag on the floor and just happen to drop items directly into it without looking too suspicious.
All cameras and expensive, non clothing, items are spider tagged or tagged with double alarms.
Not all items are tagged, upon looking, I found at least 1-2 garments on just about every rack untagged. It’s just a matter of finding the one in your size untagged and you won’t even need to hit the fitting room to conceal it.
Status of the fitting room is iffy. Sometimes they’re completely looking to make sure the tags are on safe, counted, and not double hung and other times they don’t even bother to count you on the way in. It’s best to scout out around the entrance to see how they handle other customers going in and out and also go in once without concealing just to see how they handle you personally before using them for any lifting.
Douglas, Bijenkorf, Ici Paris, high end botiques
Douglas & Ici both have a serious amount of SA’s and LP’s about plus security at the front. Both use soft tags inside the boxes which are impossible to remove on floor.
Sometimes items are behind the counter, only testers are on the floor, especially with makeup.
You will be heavily watched and customer serviced.
Security, especially at the Bijenkorf WILL CHASE you, even for blocks and will tackle you to the ground.
Most stores in Amsterdam are far too small to effectively lift from. I would suggest visiting a city like Rotterdam if you want to do any serious amount of lifting as the stores there tend to be 3-4 times the size of the ones in historical cities like Amsterdam due to them not being located in monumental buildings. The Bijenkorf in Rotterdam may even be easier than say in Amsterdam, but I would scope it out fully and be 100% confident before trying to walk out with anything there as they do fully prosecute and have a serious amount of LP.