Protecting Your Products at Makers

selling in a shared retail space means your products reach customers you'd never reach on your own it also means that, occasionally, merchandise can go missing or be accidentally damaged we want to be transparent about how loss works, including theft, inventory discrepancies and breakage, what we do to prevent it, what we can and can't do when it happens, and the part you play we take loss seriously while also recognizing that no physical retail environment can eliminate it entirely our goal is to reduce preventable loss, respond appropriately when incidents occur, and help you understand what you can do to protect your merchandise you can expect us to take reasonable steps to deter theft and accidental damage document incidents involving your merchandise follow our safety and loss prevention procedures let you know about incidents when required by our vendor communication guidelines look for patterns and make reasonable adjustments when we identify recurring issues you can help by keeping labels, pricing and makerspos inventory accurate maintaining stable, uncrowded displays keeping your own inventory counts flagging high value or particularly fragile items to your store team telling us early when something doesn't look right what we can't promise that theft or breakage will never happen that staff will physically intervene with a suspected thief that every damaged or stolen item will be recovered or paid for questions about who bears the cost of lost or damaged merchandise are governed by your membership agreement understanding loss what to expect we take loss seriously, while recognizing that some level of inventory loss and accidental damage can occur in any physical retail environment inventory loss is often referred to as shrink it can include theft, misplaced merchandise, counting errors, stock movement discrepancies and other inventory differences breakage means accidental physical damage to your products both can happen in a busy retail environment, and this guide explains how we work to prevent and respond to them doing the math the practical way to think about loss is as a percentage of your sales over time, rather than as a series of one off incidents one missing or damaged piece can feel alarming, but looking at loss over a longer period gives you a much more useful picture of what is happening a few useful habits look at loss as a percentage of your sales over time , not as isolated missing items consider building a modest loss allowance into how you price and plan, as many retailers do be aware that busy sales events, holidays and periods when inventory is being moved can create more opportunities for discrepancies because products are being handled and moved more frequently if you want to understand your own loss over time, the most useful measure is the value of missing or damaged merchandise compared with your sales over the same period this gives you a more meaningful picture than focusing on a single missing or damaged item if your own counts ever don't match what you expect, tell us early often the gap is a miscount, a mislabel, or a stock movement timing issue rather than theft, and the sooner we look, the easier it is to reconcile how we deter loss our approach uses several layers of prevention no single measure eliminates loss, but together they help reduce the opportunity for theft and accidental damage customer service a visible, attentive floor is one of our strongest deterrents staff greet and engage customers, offer baskets to free up hands, and offer to take items to the cash this also creates a better shopping experience for genuine customers and helps staff stay aware of what's happening on the floor floor coverage staff work the floor with deliberate movement and zoning to keep sightlines clear and stay present near displays, with extra attention around high value merchandise and blind spots staff are trained to recognize behaviours and situations that may indicate a risk of theft and to respond according to our safety and loss prevention procedures cameras and signage cameras provide another important layer of deterrence and can help us investigate incidents when they occur locations use camera coverage, including wide angle and door mounted cameras on higher risk fixtures where appropriate, alongside visible signage in areas covered by video surveillance security tagging where a location uses security tags and detection systems, these provide another layer of deterrence and help alert staff when tagged merchandise leaves the store security and police depending on the location, staff may have access to on site or mall security, and some locations may have additional security or police patrols specific measures, including camera coverage, tagging systems and whether security is on site or mall provided, vary by location when something happens involving your merchandise, it is documented with details such as what was taken or damaged, the estimated value and the circumstances this creates an accurate record and helps us identify patterns across time and locations major theft and police reports most loss is small and routine occasionally something bigger happens a high value item, a break in, or organized or repeat theft when loss reaches that level, a few things work differently, and it helps to know them ahead of time filing a police report is yours to do, not ours if you want a theft on record, whether for an insurance claim, tax purposes, or your own files, you'll need to file the police report yourself we cannot file it on your behalf what we can do is give you detailed information to support your report the product details, estimated value, date and time, and the circumstances from our internal incident report keeping your own police record matters, because insurers and tax filings often require it, and it is the vendor's record to hold, not the store's camera footage for security and privacy reasons, we cannot provide camera footage on demand, to vendors or to anyone else footage is released only when police request it as part of an investigation \<font color="#0c121d">we keep footage for approximately 2 weeks, and once it is requested through the proper channel it can typically be accessed within 2 3 business business days \</font> what to do if you believe you've been the victim of a major theft tell the store as soon as possible, so we can document it and pull together the details you'll need file your police report promptly footage and records have limited retention windows, so acting quickly protects your ability to support a claim keep your own supporting records (photos, item values, and any identifying details) to strengthen both your police report and any insurance claim share your police file or reference number with us if you'd like it noted alongside our incident record what we can and can't do this is the part vendors are sometimes surprised by, so we want to be direct about it our staff prevent theft through customer service, and they'll actively engage, offering a basket, or offering to take an item to the cash what staff will not do is physically detain, chase, or search a customer that isn't a lack of care; it comes down to a few things safety confronting or pursuing someone can turn a property loss into an injury there have been incidents at retail stores in malls where a confrontation turned into violence, so if a customer becomes aggressive, for example when staff offer to take an item to the cash, staff step back rather than push further no item is worth someone getting hurt clear grounds to act by law, an employee cannot engage a suspected shoplifter unless they have clear grounds to do so that means they have personally established (1) what the person took, (2) where they concealed it, and (3) with 100% certainty that they did not put it back if any one of those is missing, staff legally cannot act, which is sometimes why a situation that looks like theft can't be stopped security follows the exact same rules this surprises many vendors, so it's worth stating plainly our security team is not the police they operate under the same legal limits our staff do security cannot chase a person , and they can only act when those same clear grounds are met only police can pursue and detain the police have legal authority that staff and security do not when there are clear grounds, staff or security involve the police, and decisions about detention or pressing charges rest with the police and with management, guided by the law in that location so if you ever see our staff let a suspected shoplifter walk out, please know they're following exactly the policy that protects staff, customers, and vendors alike if a customer breaks one of your items because so many of your pieces are handmade and one of a kind, often impossible to repair or replace, we have a "you break it, you buy it" policy it exists so that when a customer damages your work, there is an opportunity for the maker to be supported it isn't about blame it's about respecting the craftsmanship behind every piece here's how staff handle it and what the policy does and doesn't guarantee safety and kindness come first staff check that the customer is okay, clear broken pieces safely, and respond calmly accidents happen, and everyone is treated with respect we explain the policy staff explain the policy kindly and matter of factly so the customer understands that it is intended to support the maker we can't force a customer to pay most customers understand and honour the policy, but a customer may refuse to purchase an item they have damaged staff will not escalate a situation into a confrontation over a damaged item if a customer refuses to pay, the incident is documented and handled according to our loss and breakage procedures what happens financially under the shop makers terms of service, the vendor assumes responsibility for any loss or damage to goods, displays, or related materials, including during shipping, handling, or while on the property please refer to your agreement for the complete terms incidents are documented every breakage is documented by a manager, including your product details and the circumstances you are informed when required, in accordance with our vendor communication guidelines the honest expectation is that the policy is designed to protect you and works in many cases, but, like theft, there are situations where an item cannot be recovered or paid for what you're responsible for as a vendor a few things are yours to keep accurate, and they matter for loss more than they might seem label every item correctly and clearly staff ring items up from the label the sticker price is what gets keyed in at the register an item that is unlabeled, mislabeled or priced incorrectly cannot be sold correctly keep your inventory listings accurate and current staff cannot label your products, re tag them or change your inventory listings for you that's your responsibility, and keeping your makerspos listings accurate helps keep your own records clean keep your display stable and easy to browse overcrowded or wobbly displays make accidental breakage more likely a stable, easy to browse display protects your work staff will also help by keeping shared walkways and fixtures clear and keeping an eye on fragile areas during busy periods why accuracy matters for loss accurate labels and listings are what let us tell a genuine loss apart from a miscount or inventory mismatch when your stickers, your listings and your physical stock all line up, real problems stand out immediately when they don't, ordinary discrepancies can look like theft, and real theft can hide inside the confusion report discrepancies early if you notice something doesn't look right, let your store manager know rather than trying to investigate it yourself we can then review the inventory, sales and incident records together when your merchandise is affected if an incident involves your products, here's what to expect from us a manager documents the incident, including your product details, estimated value and circumstances when reporting a missing or damaged item, please provide its true cost to you, not its retail selling price the value recorded for loss and breakage incidents should reflect what the item actually costs you to produce or acquire, rather than the price a customer would pay this helps us keep our incident records accurate and ensures we're measuring the actual value of merchandise affected for example if an item sells for $80 but costs you $30 to make, the reported value should be $30 , not $80 the incident is also recorded in the end of day report where required staff report incidents to a manager, and managers own the documentation this keeps reporting consistent across our stores you're informed when required we keep records so recurring issues can be identified and addressed , including reviewing displays, placement or additional deterrents for high value items who bears the cost? under the shop makers terms of service, the vendor assumes responsibility for any loss or damage to goods, displays, or related materials, including during shipping, handling, or while on the property please refer to your vendor agreement for the complete terms, or reach out to the vendor team if you're unsure we'd rather you have the accurate answer from the agreement than an off the cuff answer working together to reduce loss a few things vendors can do that genuinely help label and price accurately, and keep listings current this is the single most useful thing you control flag high value items to your store team so they can consider added placement or security measures where appropriate keep your own accurate counts , especially at move in and move out, so any discrepancy is easier to trace keep displays stable and uncrowded to reduce the chance of accidental damage consider your own insurance for merchandise where the value warrants it many vendors carry coverage as part of doing business in retail this is a general suggestion, not advice specific to your situation tell us early if something seems off fast reporting makes reconciliation and any follow up far easier don't confront or investigate suspected theft yourself let the store team handle it according to our procedures questions? we're happy to talk through any of this reach the vendor team at vendorsupport\@shopmakers ca mailto\ vendorsupport\@shopmakers ca , or your store manager