Vintage Store Saga, Small-Town NC Style
A Saturday Trip to the Antique Shop
Yesterday, after our morning stops we decided to run into a “vintage” store in our tiny town in the middle of the great state of North Carolina. Vintage is the new antique, but it’s still just old things. Moments in someone’s history.
It’s quite a realization when the items you grew up with, and in some cases still have, are now displayed as vintage in these stores and online. I don’t think mid-40’s is old, but vintage I suppose I am.
I am a forever student to our history. I love hearing stories from others, reading / studying it wherever the opportunity presents, and in absence of everything else, searching items that once were. I don’t get to do it often.
When we walked into this storefront we were greeted with a resounding “Everything’s 50% Off, unless it’s marked FIRM”… Ok, this was getting better!
We found items, we put them on the counter and went back to shopping. Others came in, they were greeted with the same “50% Off.”
When we were done combing through records, books, jewelry, glassware, furniture, pictures etc we make our way to the counter to find everything wrapped in newspaper, already in a box. Honestly, I had no idea of what the kids added to the pile, if everything I added was there or not. We had spent too long in the store. It was super moldy in the back rooms, which we steared clear of except for a quick walk through...we were just ready to go.
Total- $85! This may not sound like much but when you’re expecting $40-45 it was a bit elevated. Ok, fine just let me get an itemized receipt as some items will be repurposed for my business. 'No, we can’t do that'. Ok, since you took the price tags off everything let me just take a photo of all the tags, 'no we can’t do that'. Ok, then let me write it down, ‘no, we will do that for you'.
As they are writing down our pricing none of the items are 50% off. I say, you forgot to discount everything, they say…'it has to be over $10 for it to be 1/2 price.' Why didn’t you say this to us, or the two other shoppers? Shoulder shrug… 'it’s on the flyer'. I looked to where they pointed and there, on the opposite side of the counter, was a small stack of papers that said 50% OFF ( items over $10 ).😕
Of course, card had already been processed. I said, let me guess, no refund policy? 'Correct, no refund policy'. I asked was it displayed, and yes, there is was, displayed on a bright yellow starburst in a childlike handwriting, behind my view, taped up crooked on the wall. The much larger than me elderly lady at the counter was blocking it.
Let me say, this is not a monetary thing. We are fine to spend $85 on “vintage” things…this was a principle that I have. I have little use for excuses for someone not doing their job. A quarter of my life has been spent working for the world's #1 home improvement retailer. Knowing my business, how to increase my customer count, taking care of the customer like it was my own business, was ingrained in all of us that started with this company in the 1990s. Plus, I'm in this age group where we just work.
Maybe we are the last generation that will care about these things, to stand on principle? Maybe, it’s just us. My husband is just as stubborn as me when it comes to responsibility, ownership of actions, and humility.
How hard would it have been to say “Anything over $10 is 50% off”? It wouldn’t have required anymore effort, just a honest setting of expectations. Now you have a disappointed customer who could’ve proceeded to escalate the situation but chose not to out of respect for the two elderly, not owners of the store, who were already complaining about their Saturday job. This may have been why they weren't doing it so well.
Once we were home we started searching online sellers for the items. A quick online search would tell us just how much we donated to this small downtown business or if there was actually anything of greater value than we paid.
The books, all in great condition:
1942 Edith Hamilton’s - The Greek Way
1985 National Geographic Society - Mysteries of the Ancient World
1983 National Geographic Society - Nature’s World of Wonders
2002 Readers Digest - Vanished Civilizations
The remaining items:
Wooden basket with braided trim
Hand turned wooden goblet
Two Tea Cup and Saucer Sets - Blue Floral with Gold Accent, Made In Japan
Replica Grapes and Apple (Daughter is making faux food displays. She has grapes, apples, peaches and eggs.)
Set of three earrings
1984 Pepsi Sylvester and Daffy Duck Glasses (We already have Petunia Pig that have have kept from my childhood)
Wooden Mini Violin with Bow. The case is a replacement but still trying to figure out if the violin itself is original from the 1960
So the story continues, with these items, still in circulation, but countless others just like them disposed and destroyed.
Have a refreshing Sunday!
Remember, always give praise to the one who Created it ALL!
𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓴𝓲