While on vacation, our cruise ship stopped at Catalina Island. We've made a habit of picking up a small magnet every time we cruise from the island as a souvenir. This year, we decided to look at their "Epic Magnet Wall". To be fair, I don't know if I'd consider the wall "Epic", but not only did we find a magnet for ourselves, we found several other items, and at a price that didn't hurt my head or my wallet. The lady that checked us out couldn't have been more friendly and personable, and let us know that she was the "Official Merchandise Tester" with a sly smile. She absolutely made the visit more fun, and we couldn't be happier with our purchases. read more

What a charming store with a wide variety of goods and keepsakes from your Catalina trip. The value for what you get was pretty good in comparison to the comparable stores nearby. Overall. The service was good without people hovering over you, the value of goods was great and the selection of items and quality was great. If you're in the area this place is definitely a must stop destination for your Catalina goods read more

See all

This was the second souvenir shop I stopped at looking for basic Catalina Island shirts. I had a great experience here. I used the souvenir squished penny machine first and then found a sweatshirt and a few other trinkets to take home to family. I never had any issues with anyone working here. The women working the shop were nice and helpful. They took cash too, which was a plus. I even got a free souvenir bag because I spent over $50. I see where a lot of other reviews had issues with the staff here...I had no such problems. I did come here in the late afternoon, just before they closed and there were no other customers. read more

Catalina by the Sea - Gift Shops Near Me - Avalon, California

New Owners! The store looks fresh and inviting, with a great selection of unique gifts. Felt welcomed, the prices are fantastic and there's something for everyone. Definitely a must-visit if you're on the island! read more

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!! Owner is absolutely unprofessional and rude to the customers! Located in front of the beach, where people will undoubtedly have some sand in their slippers/shoes. My family and I walked in, browsing for a potential souvenir when a man working there abruptly points out how there's sand on the floor. Now mind you, it wasn't even that much! We sincerely apologized and moved aside. Of course we felt bad! The guys says, "oh well. I have a sweeper so no big." A couple of minutes pass and we are still browsing through... my husband and son go out the door and insist I keep on looking for more potential souvenirs when the guy rudely says: THANKS FOR THE ALL THE SAND. Big nope for me. Once again: unprofessional. Rude. Unnecessary attitude from the get-go. Take your business elsewhere! These guys flat out don't even want you there! read more

Catalina by the Sea - Gift Shops Near Me - Avalon, California

Rude customer service. They need to get over themselves- they sell crappy sweatshop made t-shirts, not fine jewelry.

I bought a dolphin windchime from this gift shop in 2008, which I still have to this day! The woman helping me find what I was after was so kind. I wish I knew her name, as she seemed to have a sweet attitude when I explained to her that I am sight challenged, as she let me feel a bunch of stuff in there. As with many gift shops, I always have to be careful, as there's lots of fragile stuff in there! I was with my American Aunt Terry at the time, and this was one of the stops we made on the last day of my trip to Avalon. The windchime I have has two dolphins, a big one at the top with a keyring on its back, where you hang it up, and a little one inside a ring. It has four metal bars, which make such a beautiful sound when the chime rings. I give this company a solid 5 stars! read more

I was looking for souvenirs to buy for my whole family and was planning on spending a lot of money, so i went into this shop. The merchandise is tacky, cheaply made, and overpriced. The owner was extremely rude to me, which other customers noticed too, causing everyone in the store to leave and not purchase anything. This store does not deserve to be here. There's a dozen other souvenir shops on the island owned by decent humans, and any of them would be better than this one! read more

Catalina by the Sea - Gift Shops Near Me - Avalon, California

This is my favorite gift shop in Avalon - and I've done my homework. They have the widest range of gifts at reasonable prices; something for everyone. read more

Rude store owner. I was peeking into a box of 3 cigars that I intended to buy to check their condition. She snapped at me telling me not to open the box. I insisted that I had not, and that I was not opening the packaging. She snatched them from me and placed them back in her "humidor." Her loss of revenue, not mine. read more

Customer service was terrible. Employee snatched items out of my hands and up charged me from the price (not just tax). When i went in 10 minutes later with the desire to return the shirt I purchased the employee (a different woman) was extremely rude, said i shouldn't have purchased the item if it didnt fit and said "have you ever heard of logic?" Safe to say there's no reason to stop here unless you want to be berated by employees and waste your money. read more

This is a cute little gift shop on the main drag. If you are looking for a gift for the poor suckers that you left at home while you are on your vacation, then you should find something here to help heal the pain. As you can see from my pictures, there is a lil something for everyone and some things you weren't expecting. I couldn't figure out the Aunt Jemima/mammie salt and pepper shakers on Catalina? Hmmm, something in the Island history I need to learn? read more

See all

So, I'm really cheapo when it comes to souvenirs but one of my favorite things to get is a souvenir penny. We asked around at another store and they said Catalina by the Sea is the only place to get them at! Right now, their machine is broken but they're ordering a new one. I'm giving them 5 stars b/c the manager/owner let us have one of the ones they had ready made. And we only paid 50 cents! It's only one cent cheaper but it's nice to have for the memories (: read more

I'm really surprised at all the negative reviews here. And after reading many of them it seems the tourist were rude themselves. Stores are not there to provide photo ops with their merchandise. Nor do people want to buy hats after people put them on to take picture. It's common courtesy to check your feet when coming in from the beach. Is it no wonder US tourists are viewed poorly because of lack of manners? I found the owner not rude, but nice and helpful. The merchandise is very reasonable compared to other stores there. I got a sweatshirt, and it is not cheaply made. They have a good mix of all price points. Upon coming back home I called the store to see where I could purchase another necklace and they gave me the name of the manufacturer and location. Again, they were not rude and made time for me on the phone. Clearly, it seems the bad reviews have no idea what's it's like to be in business for themselves and be expected to cater to self entitled people. And no, I do not own a business, but have experience with others who do. read more

Just back from Catalina for the Memorial weekend and had a GREAT time EXCEPT WHEN I VISITED THIS SHOP when we arrived on Friday 5/24. 7 of us, adults from age 23-55, entered this deserted shop to look around and found a Buffalo hat with horns right inside the door. My friend, whose daughter goes to Univ Colorado, Boulder and their mascot is a buffalo, put the hat on and I took a photo of her to send to her daughter to see if she liked the hat. We were all laughing at how funny she looked. My friend said her daughter already had a buf hat simiiar to this one so we continued looking through the store. Towards the back of the store we found another knit buffalo hat with long ties that was very unique so my friend again put the hat on and as I was preparing to take a photo to send to her daughter A VERY MEAN OLD LADY GRABBED MY FRIEND BY THE ARM AND YELLED "NO PHOTOS IN THE STORE!!!" We were shocked and dumbfounded. My friend immediately took the hat off and replaced it and we ALL started out of the store. WTF??? Catalina is a vacation location where people go to have a good time, which we were doing and no harm was being done. When we got out of the store I said "what is her problem, we are adults not 13 year old teens and we have the $$$$$$ to spend in her store all weekend, why is she being such a BIATCH??? We weren't hurting anything or anyone and my friend WAS GOING TO BUY THE HAT FOR HER DAUGHTER until this happened. My friend said "YOU KNOW YOU ARE RIGHT" and turned and went back into the store to tell the OWNER how rude she was, how she was going to buy that $30 buffalo hat and how she WILL NOT SPEND 1 DIME IN HER STORE NOW OR EVER and that she would give her a TERRIBLE REVIEW ON YELP. Here you go OWNER OF "CATALINA BY THE SEA" GIFT SHOP. YOU DEFINITELY NEED AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT IF YOU HOPE TO MAKE A LIVING THIS SUMMER!!! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GO TO THIS GIFT SHOP ON YOUR VISIT TO CATALINA. There are plenty of other shops you can spend your hard earned money at that are nice and friendly and GLAD YOU CAME INTO THEIR STORE TO SHOP. read more

Cute little shop by the tourist destination on Catalina island. There are lots of other shops around there too that might have cheaper things. Make sure to ask for military discount. The reason why I'm giving it 3 stars is because the lady was being really mean about returning my necklace for military discount, when my sister paid for it. She's a jerk and will most likely go to another store next time. read more

Catalina by the Sea - Cute sand dollar necklace - Gift Shops Near Me - Avalon, California

I visited Catalina for the first time may 18 2019. One of the shops I purchased a jacket from was Catalina by the Sea. However I visited island threads about 10 minutes later and the same jacket was 3 dollars cheaper. I returned to Catalina by the Sea and was told that there were no refunds even though I paid with a credit card. I told them about the price difference and the clerk said it happens all the time and the owner sets the prices. The owner was unavailable and I was told that I couldn't speak to the owner,the only thing I could do is exchange for a different size. The whole transaction was within 30 minutes of each other. I am contemplating a dispute to my credit card but with tax we are looking at 5 dollars. I only wanted them to give me the credit difference which the clerk just acted like I was cheating them. I am a senior citizen and just wanted what was fair in my estimation. Do not shop at this store when you visit Catalina. They are indifferent to the customers and not helpful. The next time I visit Catalina and I will this store will not be on my purchase list. Thank you for reading my review read more

They're not very cool on exchanging a snow globe they should have put in a box for us from the beginning. They put it in a deflated bubble wrap bag and my bag hit a wall and it shattered. I had to ask them to put the second one I bought in a box as they should have done with all breakable items to prevent occurrences like mine. Please don't snicker about customers being upset about things like this, either. It's rude and offensive. Not the greatest cashiers to deal with. Of the interactions with customer service reps I dealt with today, this store was not the greatest experience here in Catalina!!!! read more

The cashier was so rude! As it was my turn to pay, she told me the minimum was 10 dollars. Since I had a 4 dollar item, I looked down to see the jewelry she had in the glass case to add it to my purchase. She rudely tapped the back of my head, as I was looking at jewelry, and pointed at the sign. Not only that, she didn't even acknowledge me in a polite manner. REALLY BAD customer service!!! Who taps a customer's head?! read more