© MinyanvilleKeep calm and carry on shopping!
When asked why he targeted a certain store during the London riots, one teenaged looter
told Sky News: "They didn't reply to me emailing my CV, or going up there so this was payback man, payback."
His "payback" contributed to estimated losses by business owners of ยฃ17.4 million in stolen merchandise stock and ยฃ43.5 million on repairs,and shopping comparison site
Kelkoo predicts a collective loss of ยฃ392 million in one week.
Stolen during the looting sprees, which quickly fanned out from London to other cities, were iPads, BlackBerrys, XBoxes, Playstations, clothes, athletic shoes, even diapers -- but thieves have largely
left bookstores untouched.In a statement,
eBay announced that it will "cooperate fully with the investigating authorities to identify and remove any listings which are linked to criminal activity."
Here's a look at some before-and-after shots of the damage done to small businesses (and one Sony regional distribution center) over the past few days -- as well as a wonderful example of a very British stiff upper lip in the face of adversity: