Humphreys Thrift Store head sales associate Rosie Faltus helps a customer in the shop at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, May 2, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Shoplifters and tag-switchers cost the thrift store on the United States’ largest overseas base about $2,600 per year, and the manager is finally doing something about it.
Humphreys Thrift Store, roughly 40 miles south of Seoul, installed security cameras in February and now requires shoppers to request permission to use the store’s sole fitting room. No one is allowed to bring more than three clothing items inside at a time.
The changes came long after workers began noticing missing clothing and price tags that shoppers had apparently removed while trying on items.
Manager Daniela Jean-Louis estimates her store loses about $50 per week.
“This is ongoing,” she said at the store on Thursday. “I would say on and off for the last two years I’ve been here.”
Unused apparel donated to the store can bring much higher prices than used items, Jean-Louis said. For example, a new Nike shirt can be resold for around $15 while a worn shirt by the brand fetches $3.
By removing the tag and presenting the clothing as used at the checkout, some shoppers have taken advantage of undue discounts, she explained.
So far, no suspects have been identified and none of the incidents were reported to military police, Jean-Louis said, adding she intends to report future thefts if suspects are caught in the act.
“I feel sad because I think our prices are not high and reasonable,” she said. “It’s basically taking away from the community …”
Humphreys Thrift Store manager Daniela Jean-Louis works at the store on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, May 2, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
Humphreys Thrift Store, picutred on May 2, 2024, has taken steps to combat theft in the shop at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
Most of the proceeds go toward helping people on and off base, said assistant manager Jennie Flores. Twenty percent of earnings pay the wages for the store’s four employees and the rest goes toward community grants and scholarships.
Roughly $60,000 in scholarships were awarded to high school seniors and undergraduate students last year, Flores said.
Around $15,000 worth of goods were donated to local nonprofits like the Pyeongtaek Women’s Association, Korea Blind Union and Eastern Pyeongtaek Welfare Town during the same period.
The store is open three days a week and one weekend a month, Jean-Louis said. It conducts around 640 transactions a week totaling around $3,000.
One shopper called the need for a crackdown “a bummer” but said she “understood what was happening.”
“It’s very unfortunate,” Army spouse Sarah Kruck said in front of the store Thursday. “There are just some people out there, whatever country you’re in and whether you’re in the military or not.”
