Taylor Swift sent off surprise shipments of signed copies of her Folklore CD to select independent record stores last week and Swifties were eager to get their hands on one.
One of those fans ended up getting her hands on an entire box of them outside The Exclusive Co. by accident and did something store manager Tom Smith says “makes you have faith in human beings again.”
He learned on Friday his store in downtown Green Bay would be getting 30 of the coveted CDs on Saturday morning. But UPS delivered 15 minutes before the store was open. When he arrived to open the store, there were two Swift fans sitting on the ground in front of the shop. The delivery driver had asked one of them, Brandy Baenen, to sign for the box and drove off.
Baenen handed the box to Smith. “Out of curiosity, do you know what’s in the box?” she asked. When he told her it was the autographed Folklore CDs, she said, “I thought it was!” Smith said the fan could have easily driven off with the signed CDs and sold them online for thousands of dollars – but she said: “Taylor Swift wouldn't want me to walk away with them.”
He said the entire box could have easily gone for $9,000 online. “It’s really endearing,” he said. “Taylor Swift does so much good with her celebrity, and you can see how it also trickles down to her fans.”
Smith said he received news on Monday that Swift’s reps now want to meet the devoted fan.