Strawberry Mountain — Attraction in Denver

There's the walk of shame, then there's the consignment store walk of shame. I walked from this store feeling like I was rejected at prom. Maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but I felt like I wasted so much time.

I looked at the website beforehand to see what was wanted and carefully spent 2 hours going through all of my clothes to decide what to sacrifice to the selling bag. Found a fabulous vintage 70s dress and a several other "desired" pieces as stated on the website. It took 20 minutes to find parking, and another 15 to drag an IKEA bag the weight of a 3rd grader down to the store for my appointment. But I was hopeful!

They explained the schpiel to me. Seemed easy enough. I declined being walked through my bag with the buyer because nothing sounded less appealing than being told in a small store of people why my clothing wasn't worthy of purchasing. I'm too damn sensitive for that kind of embarrassment. Instead, I did what any person would do; sweat nervously around the store pretending to shop as they anxiously watch the buyer pick through your items and PRAYING they take something.

Well, they called my name, and when I got up there, they offered me $3. For a peter pan collar I got off Amazon once for $4. F*ck everything else, including the vintage 70s dress. There were men's flannels, shorts, etc. But the winner was an Amazon peter pan collar. I was painfully embarrassed as they offered me $3 in store credit. Why bother, you know? Whatever, I ended up buying a hat for $2 and now I have $1 to spend there 🙃.

Look, I've worked in consignment. I get you have to be picky. But after scanning that store, I seriously do not have a clue what they truly want. There were items covered in safety pins and puffy paint, flannels, a few tank tops... but I could not get a read on what the actual vibe of the store was. The worst part was that they were requesting plus sized items, and they didnt take any of mine... Then, I watched them reject the vast majority of two other peoples' clothes and they were equally as frustrated. Maybe start listing brands you WILL consider. Or be straight up honest about what you will not take on your website.

I walked my sad self the 5 blocks back to my car with all $800 worth of clothing in my large IKEA bag and cried all the way home. I dont plan on returning. I just can't face that kind of humiliation again. I'll just continue taking my stuff to local thrift stores that use their profits to support charities, the unhoused, and the unemployed. I wish Strawberry Mountain the...

Updated: Given the response from the business, I'm editing my review to 5 stars and will be giving the business another chance.

Original Review: Cute shop with an extremely well curated consignment inventory. Pay outs are store credit or cash for selling at a very fair percentage.

However, I went in on Saturday to sell and had a rather ableist experience.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, it can be a bit loud in the store - meaning when they go through your items you may struggle to be able to hear what is being said unless you specifically ask for accommodations - which I had every intention of doing by getting consent to use live caption on my phone (an accessibility feature many smart phones have) to help me fill in the gaps for what I couldn’t hear.

However, I was caught off guard by an interaction with an employee when I checked in to sell that was very off-putting and made me feel unwelcome as both a seller and customer.

It threw me off so much I bit my tongue about asking for accommodations related to being deaf.

While I normally use a wheelchair or forearm crutches, I opted to use my rollator style walker to make things easier to carry.

The employee who checked me in asked in a very condescending tone if I needed my mobility aid or if I was just using the rollator to carry stuff. The implication was that my mobility aid and disability were a problem. And yes, I was using the rollator to carry stuff. But it was as a disability accommodation because I’m physically disabled. I don’t own mobility aids to cart stuff around. I own them because I have an actual disability. I choose which mobility aid to use based on what will allow me the best accessibility for the situation.

The experience made me feel out of place, extremely unwelcome, and like I didn’t belong, and was just in the way.

I was planning on doing my payout in store credit but I opted for a cash payout as I don’t yet know if I’m comfortable returning - a lot is going to depend on the response of the business owner and if there is a willingness to help educate employees regarding how to better interact with...

With the quirky, cute name full of whimsy, I was drawn in completely. Perhaps, though, I was disillusioned. Strawberry Mountain is much more rigid than the implied playfulness of the name.

I've sold clothes here about 3-4 times over the last 3 years, and at each appointment I'm confounded by the scrutiny of the buyer. Where Crossroads will take the whole lot, Strawberry Mountain may take one item. It's the same defense every time: "dirty," "out of style," "not in season," even though I follow the website guidelines. This is especially confounding because I've bought items with stains on them from this store, and have been told by the store owner that their clothes occasionally come from The Bins (iykyk) -- which is fine, though it really confuses me how someone can scrutinize my clothing so harshly when The Bins are supplying the store.

Though each employee is amicable, I've been instructed arbitrarily about things that just seem authoritarian, like bringing a bag for the buyer to dispose of unselected clothes into for the convenience of them saving space on their countertop -- even though I was the only person selling at the time, and I only had 10 items.

Buying clothes is also out of the question if you are of the curvy, voluptuous type. They try to have a supply available, but perhaps it's their rules around buying that are keeping the selection low. They really missed an opportunity to boost their supply with the clothes I brought in. Expect to find little to nothing if you're a 29 pants size or up, or are gifted in the chest area.

Interior and name are cute, but this store is no longer for me — and lord knows I have tried. 2 stars because you can actually find a deal here, but only if you fit their specific parameters. Good thing for the Bins, because I don't know how Strawberry Mountain procures anything...