I have visited just about every antique store within 200 miles or so of Boise, and countless others…read moreif you expand that area even more. Unfortunately, my experience here was the most unpleasant experience I've had at any antique store that I have ever visited in the past several decades.
First, it took me three tries to find the store open, and that's a problem. I don't live in Boise, or even near it. I tried three times over the course of about four months to get in before finally finding it open. I should mention that every single time I attempted a visit was on a weekend day during the business hours that the store advertises online. I'm not sure if this is a hobby for the owners instead of a business, but I find it extremely unprofessional to advertise business hours and then so often completely ignore them. On my most recent trip to Boise, I finally had the luck to find the store open. Unfortunately, it turned out to be bad luck.
Let me explain the experience, as I'm very disappointed to be giving the rating that I am. Upon entering the store, it looked interesting, though small. A mixture of new crafty supplies and actual vintage inventory is arranged in an engaging manner throughout the small space. However, I was disappointed to find that anything smaller than a piece of furniture was without a price. I understand accidentally not pricing an item, but to not bother pricing the vast majority of your inventory is a serious mistake. Antiques are VERY subjective, and while I don't mind asking the price of one item, I become anxious when I have to engage an employee for the price of nearly every item I pick up.
The representative I spoke to initially apologized that nothing was priced, but I was soon to find out that carrying on a conversation with them would be a similar experience to being attacked by a porcupine repeatedly at close range. I selected several items to purchase, and asked about a small discount of less $5 on an item that I felt was slightly overpriced. This is common practice at every antique store I've ever been to.
I was verbally attacked by the employee for asking about pricing, and informed that I had no right to do so. Again, negotiating by up to 10% on one item in a purchase is considered standard in this industry. Dealers, of course, don't have to haggle if they don't want to. However, customers deserve courtesy, and there was none here. I don't mind a little banter about an item, but do us a favor, don't make up a price on the spot and then be offended if someone attempts to negotiate it. If a vendor acts like it's a yard sale, pricing things on the fly, then they have no right to be upset if a customer treats it like one.
While checking out, I asked about the lack of pricing, and was told that they don't have to price any of their items if they don't want to, in a very confrontational tone. I told them nicely that people would be less likely to dicker if things were actually priced.
I did ask very courteously if they could be more transparent with their hours, as many of us travel long distances to visit antique stores. It's much easier to plan an antique run when you know if stores will actually be open or not. It's also rude to potential customers to repeatedly waste their time. They made some excuses about why closures never show up on their website, or Facebook page. This was, again, done rudely. Those of us that live a
I finished checking out, was never given a receipt, and left. I'm not even certain that they charged tax on the purchase, so I hope they are subtracting that from their side of the transaction.
Sadly, this is the first time I've ever posted a review where I recommend staying away from an establishment completely. There are lots of other wonderful antique stores in the area, and I recommend trying one of those, where you'll be treated like a person instead of an enemy.
