Sellers Start GoFundMe to Recover Nearly $5,000 of Missing Merchandise

by Vivian McCall

Last Sunday, Kylie Waibel and her husband saw the bashed back window of her shop, Boss Vintage, from the alley of Georgetown Trailer Park Mall.

The interior, save for a spray of glass shards on the floor, was still neat. Nothing had been pushed over, or rifled through, but much was missing. Whoever broke in had filled Waibel’s own shopping bags with heaps of her vintage clothes and merchandise from four other consignment sellers at her shop. She wondered if someone had cased her shop beforehand, and noted the now missing button-ups, vintage belts, enamel pins, handmade clay bookmarks, and antique brass trinkets. When she tallied the damage, she discovered they’d taken $4,685 worth of stuff.

“On the positive side, it could have been way way way worse,” Waibel said. “But for a small business, when you get five grand of product taken from you—it is a hit.”

The Georgetown Trailer Park Mall decided to pay for repairs to the trailer, but Waibel’s lapsed insurance policy and no known footage of the robbery gives her little recourse for the stolen items themselves. For most Boss Vintage artists, selling their work and clothes are their sole source of income, and isn’t easily replaced. Waibel spent years curating her collection, which specialized in plus-size vintage.

Waibel’s friend, Vivian Crane-Conant, lost hundreds of stickers and handmade tie-dye shirts in the robbery, totaling more than $1,500. She started the GoFundMe to reimburse the sellers at retail value. She was inspired to start it after her Instagram followers widely shared her post asking people to look out for her shirts at boutiques and consignment stores. The post didn’t turn up the stolen items, but it was clear the community wanted to support them. 

As of Monday, they’ve raised $585. Most of the cash would go to Waibel, Crane-Conant, and an artist who lost $600 mostly in precious stone jewelry. An additional $200 would be used to purchase a Ring Camera to prevent future break-ins. Crane-Conant said she’ll throw in a care package to anyone who donates $100 or more.

“I understand that people are hard up, but it just sucks that people would steal from a small business, especially when these are a lot of art pieces,” Crane-Conant said. “I don’t know how you’re gonna sell that.”

The Stranger