Bay City Antiques Center — Attraction in Bay City

It's very big and there is a wide variety of antiques, but there is also a lot of stuff more suitable for Goodwill or the dump, and booths that haven't changed a bit in the 2 years I've been visiting - like the owner just cleared out their garage and never came back. One of the basements (there are multiple) is just disgusting.

After many visits I finally tried the upstairs on the north end of the bldg. It looks like there are a lot of architectural salvage, and old tools. Might be some great stuff there, but it's so dark I couldn't really tell - couldn't see more than 1' into the cabinet and couldn't read any prices. Seriously owners if you're reading this - light bulbs are cheap. Pry open your wallet and spring for a few 100 watters up there. You'll make the $$...

We drove all the way from Lansing. Our experience was very disheartening! A lot of the booths were so over packed you could not even look at their items. Most of the aisles were even more crowded than the booths, two people could not pass on any of the aisles. The prices over all were pretty high. Most were above retail. Very few booths had "Sales" that were so confusing! 10% off purple tags with a slash on it with purchase of $20 or more. Instead of having their sale items all on one shelf or area, you had to hunt and hunt (In messy booths) for one or two sale items. More than several booths were very dark and hard to see their items. It was VERY disappointing and certainly not...

There’s too much thrift store junk cluttering up the shelves and it became surprisingly difficult to find antiques in many of the booths. Knick knacks from 2010 are not antiques. There were areas in the building that felt unsafe like the musty basement full of broken furniture. I recommend you wear attire that covers as much as possible because some outright junk can stick out and snag you. Not every area was a disaster and I enjoyed the rooms with organized shelves but if I went again, I’d skip a lot of the building. Give it a shot if you’re in the area, some of those sellers really know their stuff and prices are going to depend on the room, I found prices fair for...