hey liftblr!

if you remember this post i made a little while back, you might be aware that i recently purchased a “faraday bag” meant for protecting your mobile phone/tablet (product linked here) from radio signals used to extract/plant data. my intent was to use it as a booster bag, and i figured i would give you all a little update on how that’s worked out for me, since a few people seem interested & i think it could help other lifters!

first things first, here are the dimensions of the bag:

(the bag itself, with a regular hook tag for scale)

(here it is when it’s folded—it’s about 1.5” thick. i fold it and usually shove it down the back of my jeans so it rests against my back. paired with a loose sweater over it, it’s actually pretty hard to spot.)

you can fit a REALLY decent amount of tags inside this thing, though it does get harder to fold the more are inside. i would estimate, while folded, it can comfortably fit 10-15 tags without getting too bulky. if you stuffed the thing with disregard for bulkiness, i’d approximate you could easily fit 40-50+ tags inside, maybe more. i got the tablet size* for 70 USD, and while it is pricey, i’m really pleased!

*they also sell a cell phone size for 50 USD, which is a good deal smaller, but i’m sure you could still fit a few tags inside, and it would also be easier to conceal on-person.

i’ve tested it at the following stores, and been able to pass through the entrance* (with tags inside) incident free:

- although not a store, it worked on my iphone, lol. putting it inside makes it unable for calls or texts to get through, and when you bring the phone out, there are a few seconds before the phone “pings” with a tower that you can see it still reads “no cellular service available.”

- forever 21

- pacsun

- lululemon

- sephora**

- urban outfitters

- h&m**

- aerie

- aeropostale

- victoria’s secret/PINK***

*while i can’t concretely verify that all these stores actually had towers/working towers at that, i know for certain that the towers at urban outfitters worked, as well as the ones at VS/PINK. i did my testing at a relatively upscale mall, so i would assume all stores would be adequately prepared with LP measures like working towers.

**i did not conceal tags directly from these stores, but the tags i had on my person from other stores did not create an incident at these places.

***this one is a bit of a special case. i walked into the VS side of the store with tags concealed in my booster bag and the towers did NOT go off—i know for a fact they were working, however, because a woman beeped on her way out (and subsequently, an SA searched her bag). however, upon leaving the PINK side of the store with tags from PINK/VS inside my bag, i did beep. more on this down below.

here are the types of tags i’ve found success with concealing in my bag & walking out with:

top left: clam tag from UO

top right: ink tag from F21/pacsun

bottom left: hook tag from lululemon

bottom right: hook tag from A&F

now, here are the tags that may have given me a problem:

i believe all of these are from VS/PINK, though i’m not entirely certain on the tag with the wire. these tags were the ones i added to my bag while inside of the VS/PINK, and subsequentially the ones that must have made me beep. upon entering a kate spade store with the same assortment of tags in my bag, i also beeped on both entry and exit.

my lifter friend (who was there at the time) and i tried to brainstorm reasons why these tags might have made me beep. note that we made sure i hadn’t left any tags/hidden RFIDs in my purse or on the merchandise i had concealed on my person. here’s what we were able to come up with (keep in mind that neither of us know jack shit about the science behind radio signals and whatnot):

- it’s possible that one or more of the tags in the picture above uses a frequency that was not blocked by the bag? i believe this would be possible if one of the tags used a radio frequency <600MHz or >5 GHZ. just gonna put it out there that i have no ideas what those numbers mean, but on the website, that‘s the range of frequencies the bag claims to block. the same case could be made with other kinds of signals the website lists that have some kind of range associated with them.

- again, just putting it out there that i have NO IDEA how radio signals or otherwise work, but maybe the amount of tags in my bag created a combined signal strength that overwhelmed the bag? i don’t even know if signals can do that, but if they can that might be an explanation. after i started beeping, we went back to my lifter friend’s car and ditched all of the tags inside the bag before continuing (cautiously) lifting. for the rest of the day, we were careful to ditch tags as frequently as possible to limit the number inside the bag, just in case this theory had any connection to why i beeped.

that’s all the information i can give you about my bag. overall, i’m SUPER pleased with how it’s working out for me—i’ve been able to steal upwards of $1300 worth of merchandise with it so far, so the cost of the bag was money well-spent. even with the rouge beep at VS, i would say i have confidence in the bag for use while lifting. although i do still have to stay vigilant whenever i pass through towers, you should ALWAYS be alert, booster bag or not, when you leave a store, and never assume that you won’t beep.

i hope this post could help some people out—and if anyone has some kind of knowledge that could concretely explain the beeping incident at VS/PINK, it would be much appreciated (for me, and anyone else who uses any kind of booster bag).

I don’t want to blow my own horn, but I have experience when it comes to lifting big ticket items and it’s all because of my look and attitude. Two years ago, I lifted a Canad@ go0se jacket. I have a closet full of ball gowns from Anthr0pologie. My bed, nightstand, mirror, and other furniture items are all from an ik3a walkout. You get the point.

The things that you need to have when l1ftibg expensive items is the right demeanor, attitude, and look.

Don’t walk into a store with a nervous tick like picking your hands, looking at cameras, or avoiding SAs. Walk in with a smile on your face, look around, take in the store, acknowledge the security guard at the entrance and the SAs, etc. Look curious in items like any regular shopper would. When I’m looking at clothing, I check the price, hold it up to myself in a mirror, feel the material, and so on. Look at items carefully like you are considering to buy them or not. Don’t make fast movements except if you’re speed concealing or something like that.

Attitude is so so so important. When you l1ft you need to be in the right headspace. I try not to l1ft when I’m angry, sad, or too confident. Being in a neutral mood is the best for me because I don’t feel I need to prove anything to myself or make a rash decision like I might if I was sad or angry. When I walk into a store, I take when I can only describe as an ‘elitist’ persona. It’s like I am a little rich girl that can afford anything and want for nothing, except I’m nice to service workers aka SAs. I ask genuine questions about things such as “is that 100% cashmere?”, “does this come in __ size?”, “is this rayon?” because when you ask questions about things, it shows you’re interested in the product and know you’re shit. Often times I leave without purchasing anything, which I’ve seen people say isn’t a good idea. I play it off as nothing satisfies me. That shirt? I prefer the French silk R3formation uses. How did those shoes work out? Too last season. I want to clarify, I am not a name-dropping ass and do not flaunt myself as better than everyone, I am a normal shopper and use these tricks when I know they will work and make SAs like me/trust me. Don’t boast. Truly rich people don’t boast about themselves and their wealth and that’s what we are trying to emulate.

I Have No Chill Haul

Uh . . . Oops??? I’d like to add that this was done at multiple stores in various locations not all at one store.

Grand Total: 2389

💫Department Stores $1297

💫Makeup Stores $526

💫Jewelry Stores $406

(well it's in a charity shop but its behind a till so eyup)

GLANCING AT THE WORKERS CONSTANTLY. from observation, Normal shoppers will smile/look at/nod at a worker once when entering the store and once while leaving. While you're lifting i know it's hella tempting to constantly look at SA's to see if you've been sussed but it's a major red flag, real shoppers completely ignore the presence of workers.

BEING SMELLY !! ik this sounds like a joke but people who lift from my store ALWAYS without fail smell of B.O or alcohol or weed etc. Maybe invest in/lift a nice perfume to blend in & save that blunt for tomorrow!! :)

being TOO nice/considerate when lifting. Im guilty of this one tbh, but I can always tell someone is lifting when they hold their items in an obvious way outstretched from their body or go out of their way to let someone know their going in the changing room in an attempt to look innocent like 'yes I'm holding these items in plain view i would never take anything!! ' Normal shoppers don't even think about going in to changing rooms being associated with shoplifting so forgetting to ask is common.

Holding money very obviously in your hand to make it look like you're getting ready to buy. from experience, regular shoppers will keep money concealed until the very last second to keep it safe.

If it's a shop with a tag sensor at the door (the ones that beep, I forgot the actual name) most people will be shocked/scared at the sound but then almost immediately act relieved and laugh it off as they know they're innocent and it must be someone around them . not reacting to the beep is a sign that you knew it could be coming (lifter) and reacting shocked a few seconds after the beep could also indicate shoplifting as they're shocked they've forgot to remove a tag.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST doing circles around the store. I'm mega mega guilty of this one. most people rarely go back to an aisle/section they've already been to and doing it more than once is a BIG sign of a lifter as it's typical that they're waiting for someone to leave their blindspot so they can conceal! I recomend searching up your store on google images to mark out every blindspot in advance so you can follow the regular direction/flow of the store when concealing as opposed to going back on yourself and sticking out.

The “everything” haul!

I have not been feeling well but the time for limited edition releases is upon us so I got my self out of bed took a shower and did stuff. I am SO proud of that VS robe and my new keyboard. If you have questions, do not be afraid to ask! Sorry I am not listing all of this, but I did nab that black sheep rug, they wanted $145 for that like fuck no lmao. Also the Squad Goals thing is on the back of the pink peace sign shirt, hella cool.

~~ Can’t Pick an Aesthetic Haul ~~

P!NK Underwear x5 - $52.50 ♥ Total: $52.50 ♥

Am3r!c@n E@gl3 Mom Shorts - $49.95 Sweater - $34.95 ♥ Total: $84.90 ♥ 

F0r3v3r 21 Black Crop Top - $10.00 ♥ Total: $10.00 ♥

H0t T0p!c Pants x2 - $69.80 ♥ Total: $69.80 ♥