Rude antique dealer

[Jennifer]

Anyone else here ever run into rude people at antique stores? I went into my first one today because I had about 20 minutes to kill. I asked the lady if they had any vintage lighting. "we only have TRUE antiques here. We don't deal with vintage stuff". She said it like "vintage" was as bad as "Voldemort". Won't makeTHAT mistake again...

I understand the difference between antique and vintage, I just thought there was no harm in checking.

[Gwen Williams]

That just means she only deals in things that few people have the bucks to pay for since the trend for places currently to have a mix so that no matter who shops they make money

[Mattmos]

The definition of antique is, 100 yrs. or older. Sounds as though the lady who was helping you may have been "antique." LOL

[Jim]

Actually, I thought it was 50 years for antique, 30 years for vintage, but that's just splitting hairs.

One of the antique malls by my house is that way.  They are strictly antiques, and yes most of their stuff is rather overpriced.  To be honest though, I don't have all that much of an issue with them taking that stance.  Its just not the place for me, but I'm sure there are others who prefer it that way. 

It most likely comes down to the sellers who purchase space there.  They want a certain image to the place where they are trying to peddle their goods.

On the other hand, there is one flea market I regularly attend that bills itself as an "antiques" flea market.  Its the best.  You do find vintage, but what you don't find: dollar tools and other assorted crap, fake purses, cheap Chinese "crafts", etc.  You try to set up with goods like that and you are asked to leave. 

[Jennifer]

Well, the best part was that one of the rented spaces had a disco ball up on a shelf. I didn't even ask... I'd like to find a swap meet like that around here. Most of ours are filled with that $1 crap... Or have turned into farmers markets. Which I love, but you can't find lava lamps at farmers markets. Then again, you can't feed your kids lava lamps. So I guess it's good to have both.

[lava luva ~ Tiffany]

i reguarly hit all the antique sotres in my area and have been doing so for about 3 years and "real antuques" are a rarity lol the stores here (and we have alot of em!) are crammed full of vintage. its what sells. this lady obviously doesnt keep up with current trends.

[Jim]

I sense though that this lady has little choice as she is likely only an employee and may not even have a space in the store.  Keep in mind that most antique stores are conglomerations of multiple sellers and the sellers likely dictate what can and cannot be sold.  The sellers have their target market in mind and don't want other sellers to turn that target market off. 

lava luva ~ Tiffany said:

i reguarly hit all the antique sotres in my area and have been doing so for about 3 years and "real antuques" are a rarity lol the stores here (and we have alot of em!) are crammed full of vintage. its what sells. this lady obviously doesnt keep up with current trends.

[Steven]

People shouldn't respond their customers like that though. Personally if someones job is making them that miserable then maybe they should be working some place else. Answering questions comes with job.

[Jim]

That is the absolute truth Steven.  When I first inquired with the "antiques only" antiques store near me I got a similar reaction.  A bit of a high brow, "all of our items are certified antiques age."  Oooh la la, aren't you special!  I do understand where they are coming from though and that is their right.  To each their own.  I just don't frequent their store as there are many other fish in the antiques store pond.

Steven said:

People shouldn't respond their customers like that though. Personally if someones job is making them that miserable then maybe they should be working some place else. Answering questions comes with job.

[Modulo '70]

You're right, there is no harm in just asking, some people like to look down their nose at others thinking they're superior but clearly this woman isn't.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

There's never any harm in asking. Occasionally, you just encounter that random rude person. Some shops do stick to 'true' antiques, and some of those consider vintage stuff to be rubbish. "Everything from the 50s and 60s and 70s was ugly!" They sell things 100 years old or older.

Antique sellers get that, too. I know one who sells mostly true antiques. In the early 1970s when he opened, he was selling Victorian-era stuff about 80-90 years old-- and antiques dealers gave him guff for "not selling real antiques" because the stuff wasn't old enough, it was just 'junk.'

If I got that, I'd just leave and go elsewhere - but I'd be tempted to say, "Excuse me, you didn't have to be so rude."
Jim refers to what are called "antique malls," in which the shop's owners divide the shop into multiple small spaces or booths, which are then leased to sellers. These can actually be great places to find lava lamps; usually at least one seller will specialize in that era. If you walk in and see mostly VERY old furniture, or high-art stuff like oil paintings and porcelain vases, chances are they don't sell lava lamps - but it never hurts to ask.

[Steven]

Its kind of wierd when you ask someone if they have an antique lava lamp. I would probably ask for if they vintage lava lamps myself.